It’s a rare opportunity to be in the presence of an artist, let alone experience his breadth of work over a period of time. Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece is at the de Young Museum until this Monday October 10th, Columbus Day. It’s a gift to be able to enjoy art right in the middle of a park (Golden Gate) with its neighbors (California Academy of Sciences and the Japanese Tea Garden). One can walk away with a strong idea of how wonderful life can be with the attributes of such people who have and do inhabit this green earth.
Another favorite artist, one in which can be experienced in the privacy of your own abode is Stanley Kubrick’s masterpeice Full Metal Jacket. The beauty in this harsh story (similar to Deer Hunter) about young American men transforming into soldiers in the Vietnam War is Kubricks elaborate masterpiece encasing how bloody stupid war is in the first place. Vincent D’Onofrio plays Private Gomer Pyle, a character who laughs in the face of his Sergeants wrath; a smart defense mechanism, mind you. Gomer gives the impression of brave fearlessness to the Sergeants invariable insanity. After all, all the men are there to defend American soil to some degree or another. But somehow that’s not enough and the ritual of being spit on creates a self-loathing which in context of the film blows-up in the Privates’ face. The exact opposite result the Sergeant was shooting for.
This Sunday, another piece of art one can entertain is PBS Masterpiece Theater. There's something thrilling about the longevity of Masterpiece Theater and it's ability to be riveting. Perhaps it's a cultural thing, or maybe their writers are just that good. Never you mind, it's a treat to be relished.
