A Fun-Loving Peeshee
Peeshee; Acrylic and charcoal on canvas; 40×60
Sounds strange? It is not to some people. Peeshee is an affectionate word for cat in Persian. Cats are called gorbeh and those cuddly, furry ones you want to caress are called peeshee. Persian cats are famous all over the world. These long-haired beauties were first imported into Europe in 1620, and have been favorites of cat lovers ever since. Why is that? Most people would say because of their beautiful coats but I think it is their eyes.
Nilou Farzaneh ‘s painting Peeshee captures the bond that can exist between humans and their animal friends. The cat’s great size and the way that the woman imagines herself riding on its back suggest the close and playful relationship connecting them.
The table, with its fruit and simple bottles, reflects the joy that we find in the simple, good things of life. It reminds me of the famous lines from the Rubaiyat:
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine—and Thou.
The texture and colors of this painting epitomize the colors of Iran, particularly the weathered earthen colors of the old buildings and the blue of the Caspian Sea.
There is a wonderful playfulness and dreaminess in this painting. It will be exhibited along with other of her works at the Lush Finesse event on October 2nd at Fremont Hills Country Club.
See http://lushfinesse.eventbrite.com for event information.
Open Conversations
Life is complex and we all face similar needs and challenges. Yet most of us do not hear from each others on how to solve these problems and therefore struggle in our corners separately and single handedly. In facing some of those problems, I realized that we all need some down time, some new experiences and some company. It is hard to find that in our hectic lives. “Open Conversations” is a series of events organized through artistic venues to respond to this need in communicating and coming closer to each other.
I have found that when I am surrounded by art, I am calmer and more grounded. During lonely or tumultuous times, I can connect to something that transcends day to day issues. To be touched and discover the world through art not only makes us understand our problems but sets us on a voyage of discovery. Artistic impressions are the ultimate method of communication between us.
I started “Chez Mana™” to open a conversation between artists and a larger audience. My plan is to stage unique events that bring together an extraordinary blend of artistic expression in settings that are both elegant and convivial. These micro events are rich yet intimate, allowing the audience to see the artists and actively engage with them since the performances are a live expression of varied traditions and social experiences.
In some countries, the freedom to express one’s individuality is greatly restricted. The talented artists living under such conditions cannot share their works with the public. Giving a voice to these artists is also a goal of “Chez Mana”.
LUSH FINESSE October 2nd, 7-11 pm
“Open Conversations” is a series of events organized by Chez Mana™, as a way to communicate and come closer through the arts. The first event, “Lush Finesse,” takes place at the Fremont Hills Country Club, in Los Altos Hills, on October 2nd, from 7-11 pm. When you see the green hills surrounding the club, you feel the soothing effect of nature. The sounds of the horses, the sight of the tennis players concentrating on hitting the ball, and the beautiful expanse of water in the pool complete an image that is warm and inviting. Up the stairs there waits a gourmet dinner and a talented group of jazz musicians led by Larry Vuckovich. For further details, please see http://lushfinesse.eventbrite.com.
Our first event!
Larry Vuckovich is a Montenegro-born, San Francisco-raised pianist. He calls his program Beyond Category. He will perform swing, bebop/post-bop, contemporary jazz, blues-funk, Balkan-Middle Eastern-flamenco, Afro-Cuban, salsa and Brazilian music. New York Village Voice critic Gary Giddins says: Larry Vuckovich has a book of piano gems that will keep you guessing. Larry has performed with top players including Dexter Gordon, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Mel Torme, John Hendricks, Bobby McFerrin, and Bobby Hutcherson. He played on the New York scene for five years, winning critical acclaim for his performances at top jazz clubs and recently returned there to perform at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club. He has appeared as a guest with Marian McPartland on her Piano Jazz show heard on NPR national and international outlets.
Belgrade-born Buca Necak is a creative, fluid, powerful acoustic bassist and master at soloing, notable for his sensitive bowing techniques, who has worked with Chet Baker, Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Freddy Cole, Anita O’Day, and Jessica Williams, among others.
International drum master Akira Tana has been a top performer in New York and has played/recorded with Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Zoot Sims, Milt Jackson, Jim Hall, Paquito D’Rivera, Lena Horne, ManhattanTransfer. He participated in a U.S. State Department concert-clinic tour of South America with Tootie, Percy and Jimmy Heath, and is equally at home in classical music, having performed at the Tanglewood Festival under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and Gunther Schiller.
A professional actress, vocalist, dancer and director, Kay Kostopoulos has performed in plays and musicals in many Bay Area theaters, including the Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, the San Francisco and California Shakespeare Festivals, Stanford Summer Theater and A.C.T. (American Conservatory Theatre). She has taught and directed in many university theatre arts programs. She currently teaches at Stanford University.
Percussionist-vocalist Sanna Craig has performed with Larry Vuckovich and his bands at the Filoli Gardens Summer Jazz series, COPIA, the Food and Wine Institute in Napa, Lincoln Theater in Yountville, and Jazz at Pearl’s in San Francisco. She was the featured vocalist for the Bay Area based Moonglo’ Orchestra.
Pierrick Gaumé, a French-born graphic designer, painter and photographer has been selling his art work to private collectors since 1994. In his Automorphose series, he catches photos of furtive urban scenes whose color and spectacular distortions inspire a sense of fusion and power. There is a deep sense of exhilaration when you see your neighborhood building in its visual remix. Urban poetry or street surrealism, these anamorphic city reflections captured in natural light can end up looking like human body parts.
French-born Fabienne Bismuth, a biochemist by training, has transformed her love for the human body from a molecular level to an emotional one through the creation of her sculptures.
Her work has been shown in Gallerie Gantois, Cannes, Gallerie Universalis, Saint Paul de Vence, California Ave Gallery & Simmons Gallery, San Francisco, and the Los Gatos Museum. She is the recipient of the Best of Show Award at the AvArt Fest 2009. She sculpts women out of clay and casts them in stone and bronze to give them volume and strength.
Nilou Farzaneh, an Iranian-born painter, uses acrylic and mixed media on canvas to create rich, vibrant and highly textured works of art. Her style — simple and elegant themes coupled with complex layering of color — is mischievous, lighthearted and refreshingly unique.
I Am a Strange Loop
There is a similarity between all forms of art. I Am A Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter, explains this.
Does the score of a Bach fugue contain a trace of the composer’s soul or essence? Certainly there is a world of difference between the Old Master himself and a folio of his sheet music lying waiting to be played. Nevertheless, that objective musical notation does represent a pattern of symbolic activity that once danced through Bach’s brain. And when we listen to a particularly sublime passage, Hofstadter speculates, are we not in some sense sharing in Bach’s subjectivity – that is, in his experience?
Poetically speaking, Bach, Mozart, Shakespeare, Plato, Socrates and our loved ones can live on through us insofar as we can see the world through their eyes.
The event, Lush Finesse, is scheduled for October 2nd, from 7-11 pm., at Fremont Hills Country Club, in Los Altos Hills. For further details please see http://lushfinesse.eventbrite.com
