HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/08/2015 - City Arts Commission - 03 Staff Report Cultural Arts ActivitiesTO: Newport Beach City Arts Commission
FROM: Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director
(949) 717-3810, thetherton@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Tim Hetherton
TITLE: Cultural Arts Activities for November/December 2014
The Blue Sky plaque dedication ceremony and the Rex Brandt Centennial Celebration were held on Saturday,
November 1. The lecture and panel interview in the Friends Room, which featured curator Gordon McClelland,
artist George James, and collector Gene Crain, drew a packed house, and the exhibition of selected Brandt pieces
continues to generate interest among visitors to the Central Library. Rex Brandt’s daughters, Joan Scarboro and
Shelly Walker, attended both the plaque dedication and the centennial, and were pleased that the City chose to
honor their father in this manner.
On November 20, Laguna College of Art and Design Library
Director Jennifer Martinez Wormser gave a very interesting
presentation on Thursday night entitled Visual Sensations of Light:
Celebrating the Life and Work of Watercolor Artist Rex Brandt.
Over 75 people received an intriguing glimpse at sketches from
Rex Brandt’s many sketchbooks held in the archives at the
Laguna College of Art and Design. Jennifer displayed and
discussed familiar scenes from Corona del Mar and Newport
Harbor fill the pages of nearly 200 sketchbooks from a lifetime
of artistry.
Wormser also showed pages with color selections and the design for the City Seal as well street sign designs and
other City landmarks that drew Brandt’s attention.
On November 25, at the City Council Study Session, Rick Stein and Pat Wayne of Arts OC presented the Arts
Master Plan.
At the November 25 City Council regular meeting, Cultural Arts Grants were presented to:
• Baroque Music Festival
• ExplorOcean
• Festival Ballet Theatre
• Newport Beach Film Festival
• Orange County Museum of Art
• South Coast Repertory Theater
• Southland Opera