Lee Daniels' Upcoming 'Empire' TV Series for Fox Inspires Rally

L to R - Robert X. Golphin, Sharon Pinkenson, Lee Daniels

By A.D. AMOROSI

Lee Daniels' work as film producer and director on The Butler, Monster’s Ball and Precious made him a household name. To Philadelphians though, he’s a native of this city and a local guy who made good. Daniels is continuing his successful run in 2014 as his dramatic, hip hop business television series Empire, starring fellow local Terrence Howard, just got picked up by the Fox network and is currently filming in Chicago, despite its Philly back-story. With that, the Greater Philadelphia Film Office (GPFO) – spearheaded by Sharon Pinkenson – held a rally on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on May 13 to ask Daniels to film Empire in his hometown.

Mosaic Master Isaiah Zagar of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens Turns 75

Mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar in his studio at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

By A.D. AMOROSI

Isaiah Zagar is an art world legend, one of the innovators of the mosaic mural form whose works have been included in the permanent collections of several East Coast museums as well as the 2008 documentary, In a Dream. Isaiah and Julia Zagar’s Magic Gardens at 1020 South Street in Philadelphia is made up almost entirely of Isaiah’s mosaics and is a sight-seeing landmark. Last Sunday at the Magic Gardens, Zagar celebrated his 75th birthday with an open studio tour.

Art Garfunkel to Perform Two Concerts at Philadelphia Museum of Art in March

By A.D. AMOROSI

Art Garfunkel isn’t just half of one of pop’s most successful duos, Simon and Garfunkel, he's a singer with the voice of an angel, a heavenly sound that inhabits the soul of a lyric like few others. After putting his singing career on hold in 2012 due to an undisclosed vocal issue, Garfunkel is now fully recovered and on tour in the United States. On Friday, March 7, and Saturday, March 8, he'll bring An Intimate Evening with Art Garfunkel to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Hot Club Brings Gypsy Jazz to the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Hot Club of Philadelphia

By A.D. AMOROSI

Throughout the 1920s, 30s and 40s, guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli crafted an innovative brand of hot Parisian-based Gypsy jazz full of passionate solos and rich with a heavy, rhythmic sway. With dancing guitars and gliding violins, they transformed tunes from the great American songbook into something sensual. Decades later, The Hot Club of Philadelphia carries on in the tradition of Reinhardt and Grappelli. On Friday April 12, they’ll play the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s prestigious “Art After 5” event.

Philadelphia Museum of Art Celebrates the Avant-garde with 'Dancing around the Bride'

John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Rauschenberg, 1964

By A.D. AMOROSI

Marcel Duchamp (28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) is one of the most crucial artists of the 20th Century, a father of the Dadaist and Surrealist movements, a spiritual godfather to the Pop Art revolution, an adviser to some of the most important museums, curators and collectors in America before his passing in 1968. That this avant-garde avatar’s most notorious works reside in a wing of the Philadelphia Museum of Art has forever made this city magnetic north for any experimental artist worth his salt. Pre-Pop painters Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg visited Philly’s Art Museum often throughout the 50s, intersected with composer John Cage and choreographer Merce Cunningham and together – whether by accident or on purpose – formed a perfect union of where the American avant-garde would go. Starting October 30 (and running through January 2013), a Philadelphia Art Museum (PMA) exhibition Dancing around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp, celebrates that union.

Roberto Capucci - Philadelphia Museum of Art

L to R: Roberto Capucci, Reese Amorosi, A.D. Amorosi

By REESE AMOROSI

On June 2, 2011 my husband and I had the opportunity to meet legendary designer Roberto Capucci at a reception at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where city officials proclaimed Roberto Capucci Day. I was astounded by his Art Into Fashion installation at the museum - the beauty of Capucci's sculptural clothing designs brought tears to my eyes and made my hair stand on end. It was awe-inspiring.

The photo above shows Roberto Capucci, me (Reese Amorosi) and my husband A.D. Amorosi, and was taken by Mr. Capucci's interpreter. The photo at left was taken by A.D. and shows me standing with one of my favorite pieces, a gold and white gown titled Angelo d' Oro (gold angel).

There are only a few days left to see Mr. Capucci's designs in person; the exhibit runs through June 5, 2011. Tickets are required.

Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19130
215.684.7822

To read more posts about food, tea, fashion, gardening and events: Glamorosi.blogspot.com

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