The meeting began right at 12:30 precariously when PP Tom Barron could not get his computer to properly work. We either heard him echoing or, he could not hear us!! So, PP Diane took the reins until Tom could figure out his i-phone/computer. ZOOM issues continue for the WVRC (is it a jink??)
Jim Crane led the pledge while PP Aly Shoji talked about relationships especially among Rotarians as well as, expressing gratitude and blessings for each other as, we are all a blessing!! Maestro PP Ed Gauld sang a solo “Clementine” but, I missed why! PP Tom came online without an echo and put is power point. Only problem, he still could not hear any one so PP Diane used head signals with him to know when to pause, when to let someone else speak and when to take the meeting back as host. It worked!!
Announcements:
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The Holiday Party is December 16th at Guido’s Restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard and the invitations are out!! If you did not receive your invitation, please let Diane know ASAP and she will resend it to you to RSVP. Don’t be left out, be sure to get your RSVP in soon.
- Sarah Leonard’s Fine Jewelry was recently recognized by the City of LA and honored for its 75 years in business and designation as a Monumental Business. Congratulations!!
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Phil Gabriel gave an update on the Shopping Spree and reminded those who volunteered that time is running out for them to shop with their selected student. Dinner for the kids will be next Thursday the 9th at 6pm and Rotarians can join by ZOOM.
With a nod to PP Tom, he then turned the meeting over to John O’Keefe to introduce our speaker of the day, Scott Tennent, Chief Communications Officer at the Hammer Museum. Scott is a very soft spoken but extremely knowledgeable on everything involving the Hammer Museum in Westwood Village. Scott worked at the Smithsonian in Washington DC and, LACMA here before joining the Hammer Museum in 2018.
He began by telling us the Hammer Museum has been around for approximately thirty years and was founded by Armand Hammer who had an art collection that included Rembrandt’s, Van Gogh’s, and Monet’s he wanted to share with the public. He died three years after the museum opened leaving it in flux which allowed UCLA to step in with an operating agreement and of course, funding to help the museum prosper.
In 1994 the museum had Hammer’s art collection, a sculpture garden on the UCLA campus, a collection received from Germany that included works from Henry Moore and Alexander Calder, over 4500 works on paper and covered the renaissance to present day. Today, with direction from Ann Philbin, Museum Director, the work includes contemporary pieces from the last twenty years.
The museum has become internationally known for its’ Exhibitions/Projects that for the most part, showcase the work of Los Angeles based artists. “Made in LA” is one of the most well-known Exhibitions that present the work of thirty LA artists and can be a launching pad for these artists to become well known. There is also the “Now Dig This” an exhibit by African American artists; “Radical Women” an exhibit by Latin female artists and, “No Human’s Involved” an exhibit by seven artists whose work interrogates and disrupts Western modes of humanism.
The Hammer Museum is more than just an art museum. It hosts film screenings, musical performances and, lecturers on many topics from politics to architecture/urban planning. The Hammer Museum has its’ own Hammer Chanel where you can access online over 1000+ talks, performances, artist profiles and more. Just put in your topic or name of an artist and the information will pop up. New to the Hammer is a restaurant, Lulu’s run by Alice Waters and David Tanis. It is a vegetable forward meal where food is obtained from regenerative farmers in the LA area.
The Hammer Museum continues to grow and renovate with a new gallery opening soon for the works on paper as well as, a new lobby with an entrance on Wilshire and Westwood Blvd.
Questions were then asked regarding cost of admission to the museum (none) the museum is free to the public funded through generous donors, UCLA, and memberships; and the Billy Wilder theater is reopened now and, LA covid protocols are in place and to be followed.
It was a wonderful presentation, and I am looking forward to a visit very soon to the Museum. Care to join me?
PP Diane
