Art in San Diego…

I’m going to take a couple of days off from writing what I’m thinking about the Common Core Strategies for “bringing up” the test scores of American Children.  My gut reaction to the whole business is that all decisions about what should be happen to children in classrooms all across America should be decided by teachers.  It’s on my mind, so I’ll continue to think and write and post my writing on the BLOG over the next few weeks.  In the meantime…

This morning’s L.A. Times’ Arts and Books section begins with giant type under a giant chalk drawing by Michelangelo: CREDIT NOT SET IN STONE.  The drawing is indeed by Michelangelo, but the story by Mike Boehm questions whether or not the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley is correct in assuming a “rarely seen bas relief sculpture created toward the end of his life” was actually done by the great artist himself. There is no doubt that the small sculpture should be exhibited, but there is plenty of reason to doubt that the bas relief piece should be shown to thousands of people who will believe it was done by Michelangelo.  My advice: It ain’t gonna hurt anybody for people to make the trip to the library to see the important bas relief pieta, but I wouldn’t put any money on a claim that it was done by the man who designed St. Peter’s Basilica and did the David and thirty-six other significant sculptures. 

My suggestion:  Be sure to go to The Timken Museum in Balboa Park and see the Johannes Vermeer Lady in Blue Reading a Letter before it goes back to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam on September 9th.  While you are there drop over to MOPA so catch the unusual exhibition Seven Billion Others before it leaves on September 15th.