Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Marilyn Monroe: Life as a legend exhibit – Jacksonville, Fl

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Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend is a travelling exhibit hosted by MOCA – the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. The exhibit highlights the life of the beloved actress Marilyn Monroe by featuring the works of over 50 artists including Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bert Stern.

In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked Marilyn Monroe as the sixth greatest female star of all time, so the title of the exhibit “Marilyn Monroe: Life as a Legend” is fitting. The exhibit begins on January 22, 2010 and continues through  April 4, 2010.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA) will host a traveling exhibition over the next several months, highlighting the life of Marilyn Monroe. This exhibit features the works of more than 50 artists including Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Bert Stern.

Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946.  She has performed in many movies, but is perhaps most known for her roles in “The Asphalt Jungle”,  “All About Eve”, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”, “Some Like It Hot” and “The Seven Year Itch”.

Museum of Contemporary Art MOCA Jacksonville Florida

From Monroe to Ocean, Architecture and Jazz. Explore in Jacksonville, Fl

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The Beaches Museum & History Center present the work of award-winning architect, William Morgan, Jan. 16 through Feb. 13, 2010. Maintaining that there is no such thing as primitive architecture but only primitive means, Morgan relates buildings and human activity to the ecological context, thus revealing the universality of phenomena while also advocating creative freedom. An Evening at the Museum with William Morgan will be held Feb. 11, 2010, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

The Beaches Museum and History Center
413 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville Bch, FL 32250
(904) 241-5657

Jazz it Up

Beginning Jan. 20, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will unveil a new must-see exhibit for jazz fans of all ages. Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits by Paul Rogers highlights jazz greats through poetry, from A (Louis Armstrong) to Z (Dizzy Gillespie). Each portrait and poem is evocative of the particular musician’s sound, and each work of art alludes to song titles, artifacts, and other markers of the time, including artistic references to well-known artists who were particularly inspired by jazz music.

The Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens
829 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32204
904.356.6857


Life as a Legend: Marily Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is once again in the limelight at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville this season. The feature exhibition, Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe, will debut on Jan. 22 and run through April 4, 2010. Forever Blonde, a captivating one-woman live performance celebrating the life and glamour of Marilyn Monroe will take the stage Thursdays through Sundays Feb. 11 to March 7, 2010. On March 13, MOCA will host the Mad About Marilyn Soirée, a Hollywood-style party featuring diamond-laced cocktails, live music, dancing and late-night tours of the Marilyn exhibition.

MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art
333 North Laura Street,Jacksonville, FL, 32202 USA
(904) 366-6911

Virtual Ocean Trip
A fully immersive maze-based exhibit starts on January 30 at The Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville. A-Mazing Sea is a virtual trip into the ocean with surprises around every corner – from role play games and puzzles to problem-solving and deep-sea sleuthing.

A-Mazing Sea compels visitors to climb into sea turtle shells, crawl through a whale’s mouth and reach into an octopus cave while discovering simple solutions for challenges that face inhabitants of the deep blue and beyond.

MOSH Museum of Science and History
1025 Museum Circle, Jacksonville, Florida 32207
904-396-6674

Crazy Quilts – Charleston, South Carolina

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As part of an ongoing rotation of quilts from its permanent textile collection, The Charleston Museum will showcase the “craziest” quilts in the collection. From December 5, 2009 to March 28, 2010, visitors will have the chance to view twelve “crazy quilts,” a style popular during the last three decades of the 19th century.

Crazy quilts are characterized by the use of lavish fabrics such as velvets, satins, and silks, as well as commemorative pieces, symbols, and needlework embellishments.

“Crazy quilts were not unlike modern day scrapbooks,” notes curator of textiles Jan Hiester. “They were highly personalized, marked special moments in the maker’s life, and preserved memories.”

Crazy quilts were comprised of an array of colors, elaborate embroidery, and were usually fairly small and decorative rather than functional. Oddly shaped scraps sewn to a foundation fabric with diverse stitches are the basics of crazy quilt manufacture. The random, irregular shapes throughout the quilts are “crazed” to resemble
cracked ice and crackled Japanese and Chinese ceramics popular with Victorians. Crazy quilts were also known as kaleidoscope and Japanese patchwork.

For more information about the Crazy Quilt exhibit, please visit www.charlestonmuseum.org or call 722-2996.

The Charleston Museum will offer special programming in conjunction with the crazy quilt exhibit. Quilters and non-quilters alike can explore the basics of crazy quilting with Museum staff during a one-day workshop. For a twist on crazy quilting, the Museum will partner with Blue Heron Glass once again for a fused glass workshop. Program details will be available at the beginning of the year. Please visit www.charlestonmuseum.org for more information.

Photos courtesy of The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC.
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Santas of the Old World – Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl

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A most unique holiday exhibition will take place at the Cultural Center from December 2nd through December 9th, 2009, when Dannehl M. Twomey’s wonderfully creative “Santas of the Old World: Toys, Legends & Traditions” will be display. Dannehl creates Santas that appear to have been made in the 1800’s and sculpts each head individually and adds antique textiles and toys to create a unique Santa that reflects that time period.

Featured in Southern Living, Dannehl’s Santa figures are created to look as though they were created by your great-great-grandmother and handed down through the family for generations.

This exhibit will appeal to children and adults of all ages. The Cultural Center is open Monday through Friday, 9am – 5pm; Saturday 10am – 4pm.

For more information please call The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach at (904) 280-0614 or visit www.ccpvb.org

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Jekyll Island Arts Association’s Fiber and Wood Exhibit

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Color, textures, elegance and creative essence will be on display from an exceptional group of Fiber and Wood Artists in the Gallery of Goodyear Cottage in Jekyll Island’s Historic District. Opening day of the exhibit will be November 2nd continuing thru November 29th.   The Jekyll Island Arts Association sponsoring this exhibit will hold the artists’ reception Sunday, November 8th from 1 – 3 PM. This reception is free and open to the public.

Dianne1Weavers Judith Krone, Kay Guilment, Christine Stanton, Janet Bealer, Lynn Pollard, Dianne Totten and Ann Doherty will exhibit fiber arts that represent their personal styles and creative stories. They are fascinated by gorgeous color; complex weaving structures; the elegant simplicity of design and the challenge of creating and weaving fabric. These talented weavers create one-of-a-kind creations that demonstrate their dedication and exploration of their craft.

Wood turner, Bob Stanton reveals the essence of the wood in each unique piece he creates. (See photo below) He feels the deeper he explores the more the wood reveals because each piece of wood is unique in and of itself. Thus enabling him endless creativity as a wood turner.

The Fiber and Wood Exhibit will run from November 2nd – November 29th. Remember, admission is always free at Goodyear’s Gallery and shop where regular hours are Mon.- Fri., Noon – 4 PM and weekends 10 AM – 4 PM. For more information call 912-635-3092

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