Essential Arts: Gwyneth's art mystery

Paltrow's art mystery burns up Twitter. Plus, a Williamstown Theatre Festival update and parsing Duke Ellington's legacy, in our weekly arts newsletter. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Los Angeles Times] [Essential Arts] The Super Bowl is next week, and I hear that a local team is going, but really, I’m just here for the commercials and this [succulent guide to dips](. I’m Carolina A. Miranda, arts and urban design columnist at the Los Angeles Times, with the week’s essential arts news: The treachery of images It is only February, but 2022 is already knee-deep in rich-people-really-need-to-pay-more-taxes stories. In the Dutch city of Rotterdam, [there has been talk]( of dismantling a historic bridge that dates back to 1878 so that Jeff Bezos' new superyacht can sail through. In New York, artist Niclas Castello installed a sculpture of a cube made from [410 pounds of solid gold](. (Naturally, it’s tied to an NFT drop and a new digital currency.) And here on the Best Coast, we had the arrival of [a resplendent feature]( on Gwyneth Paltrow's new Montecito home in Architectural Digest, which set art and design Twitter alight. There was certainly plenty to ogle: the $63,000 Jim Zivic hammock, the $45,000 Lindsey Adelman chandelier, the mysteriously proportioned pink onyx bar that the movers seem to have abandoned on one side of the living room. But what really sparked the internet was an image of Paltrow in a halter dress, casually draped over her couch next to what appeared to be a woven wire sculpture by Ruth Asawa. To be on Twitter at the moment this landed was like cycling through the 12 stages of grief virtually, at very high speed. First, there was rage. “I’m irrationally angry that Gwyneth has a Ruth Asawa,” [tweeted]( design critic Alexandra Lange. “I share this emotion!” [co-signed]( fellow critic Allison Arieff. This sentiment was then followed by grudging acceptance — and an intense critique of the sculpture’s awkward placement (between a couch and a window). The conversation then turned to the question of how exactly Paltrow acquired a piece by Asawa. Paltrow has the means, but there isn’t exactly a surfeit of work on the market by the artist, who [died in 2013](. Her large-scale, labor-intensive woven pieces appear at auction sporadically. When [an untitled 6½-foot piece]( — a looping, lobed protuberance that dangles from the ceiling — was auctioned at Christie’s in 2020, bidding climbed to $5.4 million, which was above the high estimate. So where did Paltrow’s Asawa come from? The answer: It’s not an Asawa. It’s by Los Angeles artist D’lisa Creager, [whose work]( looks very, very much like Asawa’s — uncomfortably so — forcing Architectural Digest to spend Wednesday [updating images and captions]( and later add a correction to the story. Plus, the sculpture in question may not even belong to Paltrow. Home design shoots are often heavily styled and feature objects that don’t belong to the homeowner. The article features a styling byline for Colin King, and [the credits for the related video]( list the sculpture as “courtesy of D’lisa Creager Sculpture,” which would imply that the object was on loan — whether to Paltrow or King or the interior designer (Romanek Design Studio) is unclear. A spokesperson for Architectural Digest predictably stated: “We’re not commenting.” It is worth noting that this isn’t the first time an unidentified Asawa-esque piece has materialized in an interior design shoot related to Paltrow. A similar sculpture [appeared in a story]( about the design of Goop’s headquarters in Architectural Digest in 2017. [Gwyneth Paltrow, in a loose olive dress, sits in a chair on a dais before a large sign that reads "In Goop Health."] Gwyneth Paltrow hosted “In Goop Health,” one of her alternative-wellness summits, in Los Angeles in November. (Rachel Murray / Getty Images for goop) Dumping on Paltrow can seem almost too easy — a knee-jerk reaction by a snooty art world that doesn’t want Gwyneth to have nice things. After all, why am I not talking about the Architectural Digest stories devoted to Kathy Hilton's [overstuffed Christmas trees]( or Drake's [penchant for starburst chandeliers]( But Paltrow often brings it upon herself. Through her wellness company, Goop, she has cultivated [a brand]( inspired by the idea of empowerment. Turning 40 is [empowering](. Being yourself is [empowering](. A $75 candle called “This Smells Like My Vagina” is [empowering](. Naturally, she is happy to help your empowerment along by plying you with [questionable merch](. (In 2018, Goop had to [pay $145,000 in civil penalties]( to settle a lawsuit brought in 10 California counties over unsubstantiated claims related to jade and quartz vaginal eggs that purportedly helped women balance their hormones and regulate their menstrual cycles.) What’s not empowering is overwriting the work of one artist — a woman of color, no less — with that of another in your glossy home spread. If you care about Asawa’s work, it’s hard not to get ticked off when you see it used as a backdrop for this goopy lifestyle. And it’s hard not to get ticked off to see Asawa’s art unabashedly copied and plied as interior design prop — especially in light of the journey that she took to get where she did artistically. Born to Japanese immigrants in Norwalk, Asawa spent her teen years in internment camps. She studied to become an art teacher but was denied a teaching certificate because of her ethnicity. She ultimately ended up at Black Mountain College, where she studied under the likes of Josef Albers; stints in Mexico inspired her forays into weaving with wire, a technique she used to create a singular body of work. For a time, Asawa was successful, showing her work in New York galleries. But she had to reckon with being a woman in a male-dominated art world; at times, her work was dismissed as craft. She and her family would ultimately settle in San Francisco, where she became a beloved public artist, educator and activist. In the wake of her death, her work has experienced [an incredible resurgence]( — materializing regularly in museum exhibitions, including the [upcoming 59th Venice Biennale](. In 2020, she was honored with [her own U.S. stamp](. [A detail of two Asawa sculptures reveals bulbous and spherical forms made of woven wire.] Details of two actual sculptures by Ruth Asawa — photographed by me — at the De Young Museum in San Francisco in 2018. These were fabricated circa 1955. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times) Creager did not respond to an email query. But in her [online bio]( she explains that she once took a wire looping workshop with Aiko Cuneo, Asawa’s daughter. (Though, as Sarah Cascone at Artnet notes, the family [put an end]( to those because they were generating a rash of imitators.) On her website, Creager describes trying to “achieve new levels of intricacy and complexity in a way that visually attracts and invigorates.” If only. Her work has not evolved Asawa’s deft forms or scale. But better than devoting another lick of internet outrage to this shelter-rag drama, my advice: Go see a real-deal Asawa in person. The De Young Museum in San Francisco, which has an extensive collection of works by the artist, has a number of pieces on view, and here in Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary Art currently has a 1955 Asawa sculpture hanging in the permanent collection galleries at Grand Avenue. And I can promise that these are much — much — better settings than Paltrow’s overwrought living room. ADVERTISEMENT Asawa addendum While you’re at it, don’t miss the [KCET “Artbound” doc]( “Masters of Modern Design,” which emerged out of [a story]( that Alexandra Lange did for Curbed — about a generation of Japanese American artists and designers whose early lives were shaped by the internment camps. And check out this online tour of [Asawa’s public art](. Classical notes In the wake of two programs devoted to the work of Duke Ellington, Times classical music critic Mark Swed has [a fascinating piece]( on an underinvestigated aspect of the composer’s legacy: his experimentations with “hybrid in-between” compositions that invited the symphonic world into jazz. Part of the challenge in presenting some of these works, such as his 45-minute suite “Black, Brown and Beige,” has been finding orchestras that can tackle all of their elements. “If Ellington is to retain his importance to American music,” writes Swed, “then improvisation needs to be taught as a standard skill for orchestral players.” [A seated woman sings as a pianist, bassist and drummer perform; a choir is seen on a balcony above them.] Duke Ellington leads a “concert of sacred music” with his orchestra as Lena Horne sings at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York in 1965. (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images) Times opinion columnist Nicholas Goldberg writes about the performance of a John Cage composition for organ that is scheduled to [last for 639 years](. Here’s hoping for an intermission. ADVERTISEMENT On and off the stage Ashley Lee follows up on the Williamstown Theatre Festival, which [announced numerous changes]( to its operations this week as a result of [her investigation]( into the work culture there. One of the big shifts: The festival is scrapping its ambitious seven-show summer season, which was at the root of many workplace problems. “This will lessen the intensity and sense of urgency once endemic to WTF’s workplace,” read a statement on Williamstown’s website. Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. [Become a subscriber.]( Charles McNulty has been chasing some offstage drama — [on the tennis court](. Namely, the Australian Open, which featured the global theater of Novak Djokovic’s vaccine refusal and the bureaucratic nightmare that ensued, as well as the rise of Rafael Nadal, who took home the title through sheer grit and determination, and the humble Ashleigh Barty, who also had a hard-fought win. “Character, for all the right reasons,” writes McNulty, “was destiny at this year’s Australian Open.” Essential happenings Matt Cooper has rounded up [what’s doing at museums and galleries]( including a show of work by Nicolas Poussin at the Getty Center in L.A. and a celebration of the late Wayne Thiebaud at the Laguna Art Museum. Plus, it’s time to update the inventory: Frieze Week [kicks off on Feb. 14](. (On a side note: How did we all end up calling this Frieze Week? They’ve only been in town for a few years, and they get a whole week named after them? This town is a sucker for European gloss.) Related: Frieze has canceled its public sculpture exhibition due to [COVID-related delays](. Cooper also has [the nine best bets for the weekend]( including a Chinese New Year Festival at the Huntington Library and a performance by pianist Yefim Bronfman with the L.A. Phil at Disney Hall. [A lion dancer is surrounded by a backdrop of red — including red flowers — during a performance.] The Huntington’s Chinese New Year Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday. (Willie Lu / Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens) Passages David Gordon, a choreographer and director who was a founding member of the experimental Judson Dance Theater, is [dead at 85](. Donald Mahler, a prolific choreographer who worked with the Metropolitan Opera and was director of his own dance troupe, has [died at 88](. Manfred Thierry Mugler, a French fashion designer known for flamboyant, downright architectural designs that seemed to turn their wearers into sci-fi creatures, has [died at 73](. [Manfred Thierry Mugler standing among a group of models wearing his designs.] Thierry Mugler following his fall/winter 2001-2002 ready-to-wear collection presentation in Paris in 2001. (Remy de la Mauviniere / Associated Press) Architect Hilario Candela, the Cuban-born Modernist behind the dramatic Miami Marine Stadium, has [died at 87](. In other news — Call me [highly intrigued]( by the topic of apotheosis. — I am so ready to [road-trip to Lubbock]( to visit Robert Bruno’s Steel House. — When not lurking around weird houses, I’ve been entertaining myself late at night by watching videos of the haute couture shows in Paris. I dug [Chanel’s PoMo-ish set]( (even if the fashion was generally meh). — [Plans were revealed]( for Theaster Gates’ design for the Serpentine Pavilion in London: “Black Chapel” will feature a salvaged church bell in a wooden structure designed to resemble an industrial kiln. — Also revealed: [the very long artist]( for the Venice Biennale, which will include L.A. artists such as Barbara Kruger, Candice Lin and the late Noah Davis. — The art world has all the transparency of squid ink: Damien Hirst’s $100-million skull? It [never really sold](. — John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” has [turned 50](. — Tyler Green has [an interesting convo]( with L.A. artist Eamon Ore-Giron about music, monuments, color and form on “Modern Art Notes.” — Jorge Zamanillo has been [named the first permanent director]( of the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Latino. — President Biden has [rescinded an executive order]( put in place by his predecessor that put restrictions on the aesthetics of public art. — The University of San Francisco and the San Francisco Art Institute have signed [a letter of intent]( exploring USF’s acquisition and integration of SFAI’s programs into its own. — A reporter for Variety [was removed from the red carpet]( at “MJ the Musical” in New York for asking performers about the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson. — A new show by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has captured “[the look of 2021]( writes Washington Post dance critic Sarah L. Kaufman. And last but not least ... [I am here]( for the viral Renaissance mouth meme on TikTok. ADVERTISEMENT Thank you for reading the Los Angeles Times Essential Arts newsletter. Invite your friends, relatives, coworkers to sign up [here](. Not a subscriber? Get unlimited digital access to latimes.com. [Subscribe here](. [Los Angeles Times] Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times 2300 E. Imperial Highway, El Segundo, California, 90245 1-800-LA-TIMES | [latimes.com]( *Advertisers have no control over editorial decisions or content. If you're interested in placing an ad or classified, get in touch [here](. We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. Please send your thoughts and suggestions [here](mailto:newsletters@latimes.com). The Essential Arts logo was created by Alfredo Ponce. You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from The Los Angeles Times. 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