Places I'm Visiting: The Blackhawk Automotive Museum, Danville, CA

Today I visited the Blackhawk Automotive Museum, in Danville, CA. I've long wanted to see the car collection there because it always housed at least one of the Alfa Romeo BAT cars (for more information about the BAT cars, visit the Wikipedia page on them at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_BAT). I was disappointed to find that the museum has been changed a great deal since I first heard about it (years ago). The BAT cars are no longer there and the automobile collection has been pared back substantially to make room for a large exhibit on the upper floor on the "Old West".

That seems an odd pairing, but, even stranger, in a couple of wings connected to the main building there is a large exhibit on China, another showing African Art, and another that is effectively a mini natural history museum stuffed full of stuffed animal specimens. An eclectic mess.

There are, however, some interesting cars on the first floor of the main building (see photos). The whole complex is at one end of a shopping mall that seemed very quiet, if not quite abandoned. The highlight was Draeger's Market, which has quite an impressive selection of wines from every corner of the world. I picked up a Vermentino. 

Art I'm Looking at: Alice Neel at the De Young

Hubert and Rita (1954)

With an open mind and largely ignorant about the career and work of Alice Neel, I visited the De Young Museum yesterday to see the Alice Neel retrospective. 

David Bourdon and Gregory Battcock (1970)

What struck me most forcefully was how comfortable she appears to have been with work that appears unfinished. I was reminded of some of the paintings of Edvard Munch, which likewise feature bold, unmodified brushstrokes and areas of unpainted canvas. I was also reminded of Gilbert Stuart, who is probably best known for his portraits of George Washington. I've read that Stuart loved to paint faces but found painting backgrounds and clothing tedious. As a result, he sometimes left portraits unfinished.

Richard in the Era
of the Corporation (1978-1979)

I wonder if Neel felt the same way? I doubt it. That's not the impression I got from looking at her riveting portraits. I felt rather that, having so skillfully captured the essence of her sitter, she may have felt the rest was simply superfluous. The paintings suggest not laziness but an uncanny ability to capture a look, a gesture, or a posture, that says everything that needs to be said. The palpable presence of the sitter in these paintings is unsettling because it so strongly contrasts with the economy of the brushwork, particularly in the later paintings. The paintings, as I've said, often look unfinished. They sometimes look cartoonish (an effect heightened by the creamy whites and pastel hues she sometimes uses that reminded me of Wayne Thiebaud confections). Some of the work is reminiscent of Van Gogh in its directness and almost naive use of paint. Some reminded me of David Hockney—a painter I don't much care for because his simplicity of style too often suggests vapidity to me rather than  anything substantial, in sharp contrast with the impression I get from Neel. Despite these characteristics, the sitter is always there in Neel's portraits. These paintings seem to be alive. 

Cindy Nemser and Chuck (1975)

Seeing the Alice Neel show at the De Young Museum was a very worthwhile way to spend a few hours. Recommended. The show closes on July 10. 

Pregnant Woman (1971)

The Cocktail Glass Collection: Toot's in Crockett, California

On a short trip in the East Bay recently I found myself in Crockett, a little town near the southern coast of the Carquinez Strait. On a corner near the center of town stands a bar called Toot's. It has an unusual neon cocktail glass sign above its entrance. Besides the name "Toot's" in neon, there is a martini glass in neon—which is common—but into this one has fallen a nude woman. It's not clear whether she's frolicking or drowning, but there she is. I'd like to see this sign lit up at night. 

For more, click the "Cocktail Glass Collection" label at right toward the top of the page.