Print
Welcome to the Ooops I Forgot to Write the Newsletter edition of Essential Arts. I’m L.A. Times arts editor
Craig Nakano filling in for columnist
Carolina A. Miranda, who as you’ll see has been immersing herself in architectural solutions for people who are unhoused. This week has been bizzz-eee as California kicked its reopening into a higher gear, so there’s much to share. I’m sitting down to write at an hour when I’m usually in a seismic snore. My 2-year-old is asleep, the coffee is hot, the contact lenses are out and the glasses are on. Let’s do this.
Youssef Nabil was selected to be featured in the Africa Present: INVEST section.
Natacha Fume le Narguilé, Natacha Atlas, Cairo is a striking hand-colored gelatin silver print by Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil. In this glamorous and captivating photo, the artist depicts Natacha with a hookah. This image typifies Nabil’s love of and penchant for the dazzling and glamorous cinematographic heritage of his homeland–Egypt. Growing up in cinematic Cairo, he was intoxicated with the golden age of its stars. His works draw inspiration from his childhood memories of black and white films filled with elegance and melodrama. In an attempt to idolize and immortalize the stars of Egypt, Nabil creates an imaginary reality that reflects the richness of Middle Eastern culture as well as the fantasies and flamboyance of Egyptian cinema.
Springing Creativity by Matt Swanseger
Contributed photo
Whether we re creating order out of chaos or just embracing it, the arts tend to flourish in times of turbulence. Although that push and pull is always at play in our minds and souls, rarely has the ethical and ideological tug of war outside ourselves seemed so immediate, so omnipresent. That so many of us can find inspiration or even beauty within that maelstrom is a testament to the human spirit indeed.
The 98th Annual Spring Show at the Erie Art Museum is a regional showcase of creative magnificence amongst all the madness, featuring 92 pieces by 67 artists across a range of media and disciplines. As always, a juror from outside the region was chosen to curate the exhibit this year s being American artist, ceramicist, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator Roberto Lugo. Lugo evaluated more than 450 submissions to arrive at his finalists, choosing five of the mo