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A Perfect Day.  Good company. Nice lunch. A film. An  exhibit. The Diamond Lane.    

My friend and I went to Pasadena to see the documentary  Herb and Dorothy 50 x 50. You may know, from the previous documentary or related news articles, about this New York couple who collected art. Herb and Dorothy Vogel had ordinary jobs, lived in a one bedroom apartment, and managed to collect about 4000 works of conceptual and minimalist art.  The first documentary presents this phenomenal feat and the resulting donation of half the collection to National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.  50 x50 reiterates and continues the story.  The remaining work was designated to be thoughtfully distributed to each of the 50 states.  A selected museum in each state was to receive 50 works in the collection, to have an exhibition of the fifty works, and to promise to keep all 50 works. 

In viewing the film, one gets re-acquainted with the couple and their artistic sensibilities. As the couple ages, we see Herb, already short in stature, shrinking and saying only what is necessary. A true minimalist. A  thoughtful Dorothy provides the social glue that ensures the connections that make their donations possible.  As they tour some of the newly installed exhibits of their collection, it is Dorothy's grace and knowledge that provides coherence.  She admits that, for the viewer, simple lines, shapes, constructions, are not always easy. 

Sam Francis at the Pasadena Museum of California Art

We walked three blocks to the Sam Francis exhibit.  The chronological arrangement and detailed explanations of the paintings helped me to better appreciate the colorful work of Sam Francis.  His initial periods of producing representational watercolors, abstracts, and small ink expressions morphed into the colorful, large expressionistic paintings in the exhibit that we associate with the artist. As we walked through the galleries, we observed changes in structure, drips, forms, and the use of space.  According to the museum notes, this evolving art was informed by philosophical and cultural influences.  For me, the paintings are beautiful, but not always easy. 

According to art history, minimalism was a response to abstract expressionism. Apparently, the minimalists reacted to the personal aspects of abstract expressionism and chose to create work that was reduced to its essence and only about the work itself.  Conceptual art is about process more than aesthetics. It dawned on me that, had the showtime of the film been later, we would likely have first seen the the exhibit of abstract expressionism followed by the film about minimalistic and conceptual art. The direction of our perambulatory movement would have reflected that of the artistic movement.  In hindsight, perhaps this sequence would have added to our experience.  

Sam Francis  stated, “Paintings are my thinking.” The paintings, he said, are “not about anything.”  They are spontaneous and subconscious. In contrast, the work collected by the Vogels were wrought with thought. They were produced by consciously reducing elements and presenting an idea.  The Vogels, themselves, were thoughtful, focused, and disciplined. 

Upon returning home, my next task was to make dinner.  I asked myself, "should I spontaneously toss together some ingredients at hand or should I select a recipe, make a shopping list, and proceed"? Which approach would culminate my perfect day?