{"id":100959,"date":"2026-01-15T08:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100959\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T08:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:42:10","slug":"surreal-quirky-and-diverse-the-manhattan-beach-art-center-presents-are-you-seeing-what-im-seeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100959\/","title":{"rendered":"Surreal, Quirky, and Diverse: The Manhattan Beach Art Center presents “Are You Seeing What I’m Seeing?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

A leap of the imagination<\/p>\n

\u201cAre You Seeing What I\u2019m Seeing?\u201d opens Friday at the Manhattan Beach Art Center<\/p>\n

\"\"Drica Lobo, \u201cOrbit of Being\u201dby Bondo Wyszpolski<\/p>\n

I have mixed views about art, and often they fight one another. Which I encourage. And while I maintain a healthy respect for the Old Masters \u2014 Vermeer, Chardin, Rembrandt, Sargent, Manet, and so on \u2014 that is to say the exquisite work of art, fine-boned, mannered and elegant, I also think that art should jump down from the wall and slap us around. A shake up so we wake up.<\/p>\n

After all, art is not just the candle flame, it is also the forest fire, and the artist should at times be as fearless as a matador or a rattlesnake handler. The artist should be mindful, yes, but willing to be reckless, to exceed the speed limit. While art is not always about precision, I feel it should be about risk and exploring new ideas. To quote Karl Ove Knausgaard, \u201cArt lives by transgressing boundaries, by going beyond what everyone has agreed to see and think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Art demands the right to be confrontational, to step in front of us and say, Hold on! Where do you think you\u2019re going? Show me your papers!<\/p>\n

But very few artists dare to be outrageous. They fear the PC police and so they police themselves by painting the same tired subjects in the same tired manner. In this era of not stepping on toes, we forget that art is about stepping on toes. Not all art, of course; we can always admit the defanged and the declawed, but why, if we may be rhetorical, are you still painting flowers in 2026? You\u2019ll never duplicate the vibrancy of van Gogh or the delicacy of the many 17th Century Dutch floral painters. The world has had it up to here with wallpaper art. \u201cI am an artist,\u201d wrote Gottfried Benn, \u201cI\u2019m interested in countercurrents.\u201d Don\u2019t make ripples; make waves. Learn the rules \u2014 and then push your way past them. Art allows you that freedom. Take it.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hannah Smoot, \u201cA Quick Response\u201dA \u201cprompt\u201d response<\/p>\n

The Italian futurist Marinetti called himself \u201cthe caffeine of Europe.\u201d Who is the caffeine of the South Bay? Who is our Goya? Our K\u00e4the Kollwitz? Our Lucien Freud or our sacrilegious F\u00e9licien Rops? Art should be provocative, but provocation alone is not art. It requires sensibility above all, and imagination.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m fully aware that you\u2019ll find very little of this in our local galleries. If you paint a picture of our President with his limbs snipped off, believe me, no gallerist will touch it. Religion, sex, politics, you have to tread very carefully. But sometimes you can suggest or infer such things and then maybe, just maybe, you\u2019ll sneak in under the radar.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to \u201cAre You Seeing What I\u2019m Seeing?\u201d which opens on January 16 at the Manhattan Beach Art Center and features new work by 36 artists. Schoolkids are frequent visitors, and so those youngsters (meaning their parents) needed to be factored in.<\/p>\n

Five years ago, a few colleagues and I formulated an exhibition we called \u201cAre You Thinking What I\u2019m Thinking?\u201d and it was shown at the Palos Verdes Art Center, the Malaga Cove Library Art Gallery, and the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. Here\u2019s how it evolved: Several \u201ctitles\u201d (actually drawn from my reservoir of potential chapter headings for never-written novels) were placed into fortune cookies and the fortune cookies were then taped to a wheel of fortune, and in turn each artist stepped up, spun the wheel, got their title (that is, the title of the work they were to create), and the results were often surreal and amusing.<\/p>\n

Titles like \u201cWho\u2019s Whistling at My Antiquities?\u201d, \u201cWaking Up in My Halloween Costume\u201d, and \u201cFrom Swan Lake To Swanee River\u201d ended up in the hands, respectively, of Steve Shriver, Bernard Fallon, and Stephen Mirich, and the results were delightful and delicious. I\u2019d like to revive this concept someday because I have a crop of new titles such as \u201cThree Ways to Convince Andrea to Help Mow the Lawn\u201d and \u201cThe Faster You Dance, the Less Bullets I\u2019ll Use.\u201d<\/p>\n

But today we\u2019re trying something a little different.<\/p>\n

\"\"Debbie Giese, \u201cThe Wondering Wayfarer\u201dMy colleagues and I \u2014 Fei Alexander, Debbie Giese, Bernard Fallon, Eileen Oda Leaf and Karen Wharton \u2014 selected 62 short descriptions, or prompts, which were then separated into ten themes or categories. These included Marine and Coastal, Mythical\/Biblical, and Death and Disorder. We then reached out to various artists, explained the unconventional scheme we had in mind, and fortunately most of them said variations of \u201cYes, count me in!\u201d
\n\"\"Bronnie Towle with \u201cDEATH Wish\u201dSo where did these descriptions come from? Well, in one of my sprawling, unfinished novels I have several characters who visit numerous museums and galleries, all of them imaginary, and for dozens of pages they examine and comment upon the works that they see. These pictures, like the venues showing them, do not exist, but I\u2019ve described them nonetheless. That\u2019s where these descriptions originated. For our purposes, however, we excluded the ones that were too silly or provocative, these being, as one might guess, of a political, heretical, or deviantly sexual nature. Tsk, tsk. You\u2019ll never know what you\u2019re missing.<\/p>\n

Each prospective artist was given the entire list of 62 descriptions to mull over, and if they happened to choose the same prompt as someone else, well, so much the better. This in fact happened in a few cases such as: \u201cA beautiful, well-lighted seascape or woodland scene, but with a terrible, angry black sky hovering over it.\u201d To my disappointment, no one wanted to illustrate \u201cWe spent an hour looking at their mummified dog collection,\u201d although viewers will have a chance to see Mark Fenton\u2019s interpretation of \u201cA mechanical bull with the head of Marilyn Monroe, and people lining up to ride on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One might ask, and I\u2019m glad you did, why have the artists chosen the descriptions they did? What piqued their imagination? I solicited a few replies:<\/p>\n

\"\"Hung Viet NguyenHow the wheels began to churn<\/p>\n

Hung Viet Nguyen selected the description mentioned above, the one with the furious sky and the pleasant foreground, which he not only found surreal but, he says, \u201cgave me much inspiration to challenge myself into new work. I visited Iceland not long ago; the melting icebergs are still in my mind and I\u2019m pretty much concerned about global warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larry Manning picked a description from our \u201cQuirky\u201d category. The prompt suggested that the work would be placed flat on the floor or carpet and looked at from above, as if the viewer is peering into a deep hole.<\/p>\n

\u201cI employed AI to compile 100 divisive slogans and narrowed them down to 20 from each side of the political split. I used them to create a satirical composition that shows well-intentioned people, signs aloft, spiraling down to a literal well of hell, intolerance paving the descent. I hope the painting has enough shock value to make viewers reconsider, and start a conversation along the lines of \u2018the end game being intolerant of intolerance.\u2019\u201d Larry then pointed out that \u201cI never do paintings with social commentary; this is a first. I hope it is meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, and like Hung\u2019s painting, poignant and relevant today.<\/p>\n

Bronnie Towle selected the prompt, \u201cA bad day at the theme park (you pick the ill-fated ride).\u201d And why this one? \u201cI think it was the imagery of an exciting carnival ride juxtaposed with the impending fear that something disastrous could happen. I have always been fearful of high roller coasters\u2026 What could be more terrifying than to fly off the rails! Hence the title \u201cDEATHwish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Daniel Gonzalez, \u201cAlone with Her Snakes\u201dDaniel Gonzalez was intrigued by \u201cShe spent the day alone on the veranda in her rocking chair, alone with her serpents.\u201d He made several preliminary sketches that he shared with us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat immediately appealed to me was the quiet strangeness of the description. I wanted to make a painting that invited the viewer to look a little closer, to almost do a double-take. At first glance, she (the young woman) seems peaceful, resting in the warm afternoon light, but the longer you look, the more the scene reveals itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo that effect,\u201d Daniel says, \u201cI played with contrast throughout the painting. The straight, rigid lines of the veranda frame her in place while the curved fluid bodies of the snakes weave around her form. I kept most of the snakes in the shadow, so the hands and lap become a focal point, allowing the viewer to discover the serpents gradually rather than all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, he adds, \u201cThe bleached warm highlights lay against very cool deep shadows. The interplay of temperature and value helps soften the surreal moment into something intimate and calm, almost dreamlike\u2026 I wanted the painting to hold that tension between serenity and unease, beauty and strangeness \u2014 and to reward anyone who stays with it for a few extra seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, as one more example of the diverse subjects that will be on view, Fei Alexander explains why she chose to illustrate this prompt: \u201c1950s American tract homes in the foreground, T\u2019ang dynasty landscapes, like in old Chinese scroll paintings, in the distance and above them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Fei Alexander, \u201cScroll of the Time and Culture\u201d\u201cThis choice was influenced by my instinct as a native Chinese regarding the phrase \u2018T\u2019ang dynasty,\u2019\u201d Fei says. \u201cHaving practiced traditional Chinese ink paintings from an early age, the aesthetics of T\u2019ang dynasty landscape art have become an integral part of my artistic expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cI researched 1950s American tract houses and employed a bird\u2019s-eye view composition. I then started by painting a fictional traditional T\u2019ang dynasty landscape on the upper section of the canvas to set the tone and ambiance of that era, then gradually incorporated the American tract house structures. By employing the format of a T\u2019ang dynasty handscroll, I transformed this East-West convergence into a dynamic Chinese scroll painting \u2014 essentially a painting within a painting that intertwines diverse cultures and historical epochs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another artist, Judy Herman, tackled the same description, and viewers will find parallels as well as divergencies in both works.<\/p>\n

Open minds, open eyes<\/p>\n

What I\u2019ve endeavored to say is that art is more savory when spiced with awe and wonder. One doesn\u2019t need to rely on the cattle prod to evoke a reaction, but at the same time the beauty of an artwork does not have to depend on the beauty or morality of its subject. Take a familiar subject, or object, and re-envision it so that we see in it an unfamiliar light that captures our attention.<\/p>\n

For example, an image of an airliner gliding through a bright blue sky may look sleek and graceful, but the airplane itself is not generally a memorable sight. What\u2019s memorable is the plane on fire and plunging down from a sky that can no longer support it. Metaphorically, that\u2019s where the art is \u2014 in the plunge. Beauty with a slight tic or blemish is always more intriguing.<\/p>\n

\"\"Judy Herman, \u201cNo Place Like Home\u201dAnd yet, for all that, this exhibition is a fun show where diversity of subject matter, passion and imagination have yielded an abundant harvest from the seeds of fruitful thinking. You\u2019ll come and join us, won\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

Our website is: www.areyouthinkingwhatimthinking.art<\/p>\n

Are You Seeing What I\u2019m Seeing opens on Friday, Jan. 16, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Manhattan Beach Art Center, 1560 Manhattan Beach Blvd, MB. Hours, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m; closed Monday and Tuesday. Special programming to be announced. Closes March 29. Call (310) 802-5540 or visit manhattanbeach.gov. PEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A leap of the imagination \u201cAre You Seeing What I\u2019m Seeing?\u201d opens Friday at the Manhattan Beach Art…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-100959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}