Most Recent Cultural Cocktails

Art world crime: In the news: Joshua Bell impersonator robs hotel room of celebrity violinist

October 15, 2018

Throwback Tuesday to an Art Crime from 2012 Art World Crime: Joshua Bell Impersonator robs hotel room of world-famous Violinist by Leticia Marie Sanchez HELLO. MY NAME IS JOSHUA BELL. CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A VIOLIN? OR A ROLEX? THANKS. So…

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The Banksy Self-Destructing Art Mystery

October 10, 2018

The Banksy Self-Destructing Art Mystery by Leticia Marie Sanchez Last week in London, after being sold for 1.4 million dollars at auction, a Banksy painting self-destructed. Banksy’s “Girl with a Balloon” had just sold at Sotheby’s when a hidden shredder inside…

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Making the Fig and Other Artistic Insults

October 1, 2018

An Eye for an Eye, a Fig for a Fig by Leticia Marie Sanchez Even noble literary figures need to blow off steam. Shakespeare’s Capulets and Montagues deliver the shocking, duel-provoking insult of thumb-biting.  Only a duel could avenge such…

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San Francisco art heist: “The Preppy Sockless Picasso Thief”

September 22, 2018

Flashback to 2011 when a Picasso sketch was stolen by a man who preferred to go sockless.. Who: Preppy Sockless Picasso  Thief What: Steals Picasso 1962 sketch ““Tête de femme,” valued at $275,000 before heading to party in Napa Where: San Francisco’s Weinstein Gallery at Geary and Powell Streets When: Tuesday the 5th of…

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Life of an artist…Philip Glass..

September 17, 2018

Philip Glass, the creative and celebrated modern composer, courageously blazed a trail despite all the absurdities facing artists. According to Elizabeth Lundy, in Secret Lives of Great Composers, Mr. Glass took on sundry jobs to pay the bills during the 60′s and…

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Wise Woman: Sarah Bernhardt

September 11, 2018

“Life begets life.Energy creates energy.It is by spending oneselfThat one becomes rich.”          Sarah Bernhardt

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Theater Review: Under Bacchae’s spell- a MUST SEE production at the Getty Villa

September 9, 2018

Under Bacchae’s Spell By Leticia Marie Sanchez The first few moments of Euripides’ Bacchae at the Getty Villa set the tone for the entire evening. Screaming Jay Hawkins’ raw, electrifying 1956 blues hit “I Put a Spell on You” plays in the outdoor theater, jolting the…

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The real reason Jane Austen’s ladies looked forward to courtly dances

September 9, 2018

“DANCING- The vertical expression of a horizontal desire legalized by music.” ~George Bernard Shaw

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Henri Matisse- Don’t touch the fruit!

August 12, 2018

by Leticia Marie Sanchez According to Kathleen Krull, in her book “Lives of the Artists,” Henri Matisse subsisted on a strict diet of rice-only when he first started out as a painter. Not Rice-A-Roni. Just plain boiled rice. Matisse refused…

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Verdi: A bold request

July 29, 2018

Verdi: A bold request by Leticia Marie Sanchez Verdi: A bold request by Leticia Marie Sanchez The following correspondence in the form of abridged letters between Giuseppe Verdi and one very unusual opera-goer, Prospero Bertani: Much Honoured Signor Verdi,       Reggio,…

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