A eulogy, not
obituary ---
The big event this week (in my life, anyway) was the death
early Friday morning of dear friend Daryn Curtis who finally lost her
decade-long battle with cancer. She was
50 years old. Though not very productive
in her later years, Daryn embodied the artistic lifestyle. She had a wonderful knack for bringing creative
people together for projects, a fabulous entourage of characters who now have
enduring friendships. She was the
motivating force behind Cathartic Cabaret,
a community-oriented amateur theater group which was very inclusive and
delighted audiences in Santa Fe
for two years before its demise. I was honored to be a part of it. She formed flash mobs at the Farmer’s
Market. She painted and drew. And she danced, though the cancer robbed her
of this activity in the last year or so of her life. It is very hard to imagine Santa Fe culture without Daryn. All things must pass, but the good things
tend to pass quickly.
One disturbed artist
…
Speaking of local artists, social realist Eli Levin has just
published his professional biography Disturbing
Art Lessons. Eli has been a fixture in Santa Fe for decades, with an enthusiasm,
philosophy and sharp wit that has made him an equal amount of friends and
enemies. His life drawing and etching groups,
now located at the Argos Studio and Gallery on Louisa St, have been going non-stop since
the early 1970’s. Find out what’s
inspiring all those disturbing bar scenes and socio-economic class imagery
while learning about the life and times of a Santa Fe legend by buying Disturbing Art Lessons for $16.95. Or you can attend one of his group sessions,
which are loads of surly fun … or both.
Call 988-1814 to find out how.
More disturbing …
As you may know, the old College of Santa Fe
is now the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, otherwise known as SFUAD
(pronounced SFOO-ad). CSF was bought by
Laureate International Universities (with some incentive from the city
government) whose headquarters are located in Beijing,
China with dozens of
colleges worldwide (only three of them are in the US). SFUAD is an elite school whose yearly tuition
rate is around $28,000. St. John’s College,
also based in another city -- Annapolis,
MD -- is the only other four-year
college in the city, costing about the same. Both are private. Get where I’m coming from? Luckily, five high school juniors and seniors
can receive full scholarships for SFUAD’s upcoming Summer Theater
Intensive. Invited instructor William
Westbrook says, “Becoming a consummate music theatre performer involves the
development of three very distinct skills: singing, acting and dancing.” I
suspect that high school students will likely be interested in consummating
through other means. SFUAD being a corporate franchise, I also suspect that
this program is like a free sample that entices consumers to buy the product. With
that in mind, contact Terri Ross at terri.ross@santafeuniversity.edu for
further info.
And WTF happened to The Box Gallery? It was a staple in our daily recommended
allowance of visual art, especially on opening nights. Probably something to do with Railyard
rents. Any tidbits, dear reader? All things must pass, indeed.
Until next week …
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