Tag Archives: Jonathan Clark

Butterfly Book at Bird & Beckett & Stanford Bookstore

It’s spring! The flowers are blooming and the butterflies are flying. Weather is now warm enough to facilitate their flight. You did not know that butterflies require a particular warmth to be able to fly? Time for you to read THE STORY OF OUR BUTTERFLIES: MOURNING CLOAKS IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, the wonderful new book by Leslie Friedman. It is available at the Bird & Beckett Bookstore in San Francisco, the Stanford University Bookstore at Stanford, and through The Lively Foundation. The story begins when Jonathan Clark, award winning photographer and husband of Leslie Friedman, sees a butterfly laying eggs on a pussy willow tree. Jonathan and Leslie clip the twig, keep it inside in a container with willow leaves, and then a bigger container, and then in an outdoor butterfly house. They feed the always hungry caterpillars, wait for the chrysalises to open, and then release more than 125 butterflies in nature preserves.

Book cover: front is close up of Mourning Cloak wing and back shows caterpillars on willow leaves. Photos by Jonathan Clark. The book has many full color pictures by Jonathan Clark & Leslie Friedman.

The book also explores the deep cultural ties between butterflies and humans as seen in Chinese legends, Italian operas, Shakespeare, American pop music, collectors, and artists. The amazing Appendices include the story of the caterpillar which is the insect equivalent of the Groundhog for predicting winter, the plight of the Western Monarch Butterfly, the murders of men protecting the Butterfly Biosphere in Mexico, and the destruction of private property and the National Butterfly Refuge, sacrificed for a border wall, in Texas.

Butterflies, though endangered, symbolize HOPE to many individuals and cultures from survivors of genocide to families in San Jose, CA, who supported a mural showing butterflies flying out of books on the wall of an elementary school.

Visit these bookstores! Stanford is open for browsing from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. daily and also takes orders over the web or phone. You can pick up your book anytime or have it shipped. Bird & Beckett is open noon- 6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, at 653 Chenery St., SF 94131, 415/586-3733. It is located in the wonderful San Francisco Glen Park area.

Please see http://www.livelyfoundation.org/wordpress/?p=3477 for Butterflies Released! and how to buy from The Lively Foundation.

Encore! The Exhibitionist Returns

The Lively Foundation is delighted to announce that The Exhibitionist, the one-act play by Lively’s artistic director, Leslie Friedman, will be presented in another online reading. This encore performance will be on Thursday, Feb. 11, 11:15 a.m. Pacific time. Once again Jonathan Clark will read the role of Danny, and Leslie Friedman, will read the role of Lily. This will be the third reading/performance of The Exhibitionist in a week and a half. The first encore presentation was Wednesday evening, Feb. 3. This time the program was only The Exhibitionist. Reactions to the play were so enthusiastic that Leslie’s undergraduate classmates decided to present it so that more of their class and others could see it. To watch The Exhibitionist, please email The Lively Foundation to receive the Zoom link.

J Jonathan Clark, better known as a photographer and fine art printer, will read the role of Danny. Leslie Friedman, better known as a dancer/choreographer, will read the role of Lily.

Leslie’s Play THE EXHIBITIONIST on Sunday, 1/31

It is very exciting to announce that the play, The Exhibitionist, written by The Lively Foundation’s Artistic Director, will receive a reading on Sunday, January 31, at 2 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Eastern). Play by Play, a theater organization in Berkeley, CA is presenting the program. In addition to The Exhibitionist, another one act play, Not Too Kosher, by Judith Offer will also receive a reading. Both plays are about 15 minutes long.

The Exhibitionist is a two person play. Jonathan Clark takes the part of Danny, and Leslie Friedman portrays Lily. They are re-meeting after a long time.

Jonathan Clark – best known as a photographer with work in distinguished museums such as the Getty in Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York – reads the role of Danny.

Leslie Friedman – best known as a dancer- is the playwright of The Exhibitionist.

The presentation is free. Please remember that this is a reading, not an on-stage performance. All San Francisco Bay Area theaters have been closed since March, 2020. Play by Play, the readers, and playwrights welcome you! To receive the Zoom codes, please email The Lively Foundation.

GIVE LIVELY BOOKS!

It is time to make your list, choose gifts that are just right–time to select Lively gifts! The Lively Foundation helps you by offering three splendid Lively books. They are beautiful to look at, entertaining, and enlightening to read. You will be tempted to give one (or more) to yourself; better buy two of each!

OTTAWA, ILLINOIS: 1967 Photographs by Jonathan Clark, published by Nazraeli Press. This award winning book presents photos of the small town the artist lived in for his first 10 years. He took the pictures when 15 years old. Like the Mozart of photography, his art was already outstanding. Ottawa still exists, but the way of life there is different. You will see a time that is gone in meaningful, beautiful photographs.

THE DANCER’S GARDEN, This beautiful book has text and photos by Leslie Friedman with additional photos by artist Jonathan Clark and one by Dennis Parks, English actor. Review and comments on this book call it “a treasure,” “a marvel,” and “a wonderful quirky, perky series of ruminations on gardens, flowers, plants, trees, cats, people, indeed life. It has magnificent photographs…It is an exhilarating read!”

THE STORY OF OUR BUTTERFLIES: Mourning Cloaks in Mountain View, Text by Leslie Friedman with photos by Jonathan Clark and Leslie Friedman. Jonathan and Leslie see a butterfly lay eggs on a willow tree. They bring the eggs inside to protect them, care for them through all their life stages, and release the butterflies into nature. Explore cultural ties with butterflies in Chinese legends, Shakespeare’s plays, American pop music, Mozart and Puccini. Climate change threatens butterflies and yet they symbolize hope.

All three books are available now, hardback, fine paper. Prices include shipping. If you use PayPal, add $1.50 to price. To use PayPal: go to the landing page of livelyfoundation.org Scroll down to the DONATE button. Follow PayPal instructions OR make your check to The Lively Foundation, mail it to The Lively Foundation/550 Mountain View Ave/Mountain View, CA 94041-1941

OTTAWA, ILLINOIS: 1967 $55

The Dancer’s Garden $45

The Story of Our Butterflies $36

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from The Lively Foundation!

Leslie’s Play, The Panel, Given Reading by Play by Play

Lively’s Artistic Director, Leslie Friedman, wrote The Panel, a one -act play, in 2005. It was accepted for performances at the Marin Festival of New Plays and received awards for Best Play, Best Actor, and Best Director. On September 27, 2020, The Panel was read – online – for an audience, also online, as the September event of Play by Play, an organization based in Oakland that presents readings of new one acts. Play by Play was founded by Judith Offer, herself a playwright and poet.

Please see link below to watch a video of the reading. This will be available for two weeks after the reading, closing, we believe, on October 11.

Originally scheduled for a live presentation in March, 2020, the pandemic forced that date to be canceled. Leslie said, “It was great to receive the invitation from Judith to put The Panel’s reading on Play by Play’s calendar.” The readers all gave outstanding performances even though they were seen in a small screen instead of on a stage. Here they are:

Readers from top L: Pam Wong (The Young One), Laurie Mokriski (The White Ethnic Dancer), Torey Bookstein (The Great One, and The Jive Person), Paul Harkness (The Old One), Jonathan Clark (The Film Guy), Susannah Wood (The Moderator).

The performances were fantastic. The readers created a theater within the small, electronic box and brought their sometimes troublesome, often funny characters into three dimensional life. It was an exciting event! Some comments from audience: “I loved it!” “I loved it and thought it was perfect!” “We enjoyed it!” “The dialogue is incredibly clever! Thanks for a delightful afternoon.”

Here is a link to the recording of the reading. Please remember that this is a second generation recording and the sound may not be consistent. Thank you for your interest and CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CAST!

Share recording with viewers:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/zEGhNdHrWYpgk-5c53CR-vfXODBabO1S8tHpzkT7JoIBgIBf5kkxcr9dqm6bnX6a.qzLPJWjNfcNL_0z3 Passcode: !9PW3upU

The Dancer’s Garden: How to buy it!

Thank you all for your queries about buying The Dancer’s Garden. Your interest is profoundly appreciated. Here is how to buy it:

Buy it directly from The Lively Foundation or online from the Stanford Bookstore.

Choose which edition you prefer. Both have the complete text and more than 60 full color photos by the author, Leslie Friedman, plus 10 by renowned photographer, Jonathan Clark, and one by English actor Dennis Parks. Both are printed on fine, glossy paper. Both are hard back books.

Version A: Costs $45. That price includes tax and mailing cost.

Version B: Only available from Lively. Costs $75. It is printed on extra heavy paper. It comes with a photographic print by Jonathan Clark. It is signed and suitable for framing. It also can fit into the book. The price includes tax and mailing cost.

Please mail a check made out to The Lively Foundation to The Lively Foundation/550 Mountain View Avenue/Mountain View, CA 94041-1941 OR go to the landing page of this blog. You will see the PayPal button. You can purchase through PayPal. Please add $2.00 to the cost of each book: Version A: $47 — Version B: $77

Stanford Bookstore: 650/329-1217 X456 or www.stanford.edu/group/bookstore/orders.html

We will send you The Dancer’s Garden right away. Thank you again!

FERLINGHETTI’S 100th BIRTHDAY! GET THE POSTER!

This post was originally published for Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s 100th Birthday. We present it again to honor his passing at age 101 and 11 months. Good news: there are still posters to purchase as well as the remarkable greeting cards which were not offered 2 years ago. Buy one or more now to honor an activist artist who inspired so many. POSTER NEWS! We continue to get requests for this poster. Please note new price due to limited supply.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s birthday is March 24. Just a few days ago he turned 100. Celebrate this great life landmark with an exclusive poster designed by Jonathan Clark. His birthday is also March 24th! but not his 100th. Not yet. The poster is colorful with a strong image of Lawrence’s painting. Buy one now for yourself and another as a gift. It was a limited edition poster of which Jonathan is offering some of what he has in his own collection. In 1994, Jonathan –the internationally acclaimed photographer and fine art printer—was the Chair of the Visual Arts Committee for the City of Mountain View, CA. He organized and presented the first major exhibition of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s paintings. Well known as a poet and publisher, Ferlinghetti’s visual art was not well known. Soon after the exhibition in the Mountain View City Hall, the exhibition moved to San Francisco to be shown in The Lively Foundation’s new studio at the corner of Grove and Gough Street, just a block from the SF Ballet and the SF Opera House. It was Lawrence’s 75th Birthday Party and our opening; a great day with a great crowd of art lovers and many who were devoted to Lawrence’s role in the cultural life of San Francisco.

Original poster. It is 18″ x 24″

Cost for one poster is $36. If we mail it to you, postage cost is $7.84 (exact postage cost can change depending on destination). Yes, that really is the postage. This is the real deal. You will not find this anywhere else, and it is terrific. Previously not for sale, but NOW AVAILABLE: greeting card, blank inside, with portrait photo by Jonathan Clark of Lawrence standing by his painting.

Email us at livelyfoundation.org Let us know your name, address and how many posters or cards you would like. This is first come, first served. Mail a check made out to Jonathan Clark to Jonathan Clark, 550 Mountain View Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94041-1941. You will love having this historic poster celebrating an individual who is a significant cultural force and who has done so much for many artists. Do it today!

Photography by Jonathan Clark at Smith Andersen North: Profound & Original Vision

GATOR TIME: Gulf Variations, Recent Photographs by Jonathan Clark, by Susan Embers

Strolling through San Anselmo, CA, I had not expected to come upon the most significant photography exhibition I have seen in at least a decade, but that is what I found. It’s at the Smith-Andersen North Gallery, 20 Greenfield Avenue. It will be up through June 9. {Note: It was extended and taken down on 6/14}. If you are looking for work by an artist of vision and the highest level of technical accomplishment, go. Whether your interest is painting, sculpture or photography you will find the gold at the end of your rainbow in “GATOR TIME: Gulf Variations.”

Jonathan Clark with a photograph in Gator Time: Gulf Variations at Smith Andersen North

These are photographs taken by Jonathan Clark over several years in southwest Florida. He stood in the same spot on a bridge overlooking a bayou off of the Gulf of Mexico. The photographs are of the reflections of the sky, a building, and an alligator. The water is sometimes disturbed by rain, illuminated by sunshine, or colored by sunset. Every image is different. The alligator’s head moves and causes ripples. Green dots of algae, the sequence of distorted squares that are the building’s windows offer a painterly excitement. The three dimensionality of the images in the water adds the shapeliness so satisfying in sculpture. And yet, this collection reveals the genius of photography. It captures a moment, the truth of each moment. Unique and disappearing, there is the world in each moment. Look, it’s gone; look again, it is completely different and then gone; look, snap, look, snap: gone.

This photographer’s art conveys a philosophy without ever pressing it forward. This is art that is above the trends of manipulated images. In his eloquent artist’s statement, Clark wrote: “The interplay of substance and reflection becomes a dialogue with nature, creating ever-changing metaphors of reality that the camera alone can capture and preserve.” Jonathan Clark’s work is in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Getty Library and Museum, Los Angeles; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, as well as distinguished private collections.

Smith-Andersen North Gallery hours: Tuesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Saturday Noon – 5:00 p.m. Tel: 415/455-9723 info@smithandersennorth.com

A TALE of TWO MUMMIES at SF’s Legion of Honor Museum

The ancient Egyptians longed for immortality, but the afterlife they achieved as eternally-popular museum displays may not be what they expected. At San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum, we can contemplate the mysteries of mummification in The Future of the Past: Mummies and Medicine, on view through August 26, 2018. The museum has transformed its intimate Gallery 1 into a showcase of Egyptian antiquities from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s own collection, featuring two mummies: Irethorrou, a 2600-year-old priest, and a woman called Hatason who is 500 years older. A team of scientists, Egyptologists, physicians, museum curators and conservators has explored how thse embalmed individuals lived, died, and were prepared for eternity. Rebecca Fahig and Kerstin Muller of Stanford University Medical School’s Dept. of Radiology conducted high-resolution, three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) scans of the mummies, and the resulting data

was studied and interpreted by Jonathan Elias of the Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium.

The exhibit reveals information that has been gleaned about Irethorrou’s lifestyle, the society in which he lived, his religion, and the funerary beliefs of his time. The second mummy and her coffin have not fared as well and present a stark contrast to Irethorrou’s perfectly preserved body. In high-tech contrast to these ancient Egyptian practices, visitors can examine both mummies by means of an interactive “virtual dissection table.” A fascinating group of amulets and tomb furnishings is also on view.

In a brilliant move, the museum commissioned Los Angeles-based artist RETNA to cover the gallery walls with his signature painted calligraphic shapes, based on Egyptian as well as Arabic, Hebrew, runic and other sources. The ghostly white writing enrgizes the space and evokes a sense of mystery akin to what the ancients must have felt in the presence of hieroglyphics (meaning “sacred writing”) Originally a graffiti artist, RETNA (born Marquis Duriel Lewis, in 1979) has built a formidable reputation as a studio painter and public artist; appropriately enough, his stage designs grace the current San Francisco Opera’s current production of Veridi’s Aida. Renee Dreyfus, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Curator of Ancient Art, explains: “The history of graffiti goes back far into the reaches of antiquity….When I look at RETNA’s words I get the same sense of power that I get when I look at hieroglyphics. He has managed to create the same feeling that I get when I walk into an Egyptian tomb.” While the interpretive panels in the exhibit are excellent, the sense of unfathomable mystery remains.

Entry to this exhibition is included with general museum admission: adults $15, seniors 65 + $10, students with current ID $6, members and youth 17 and under Free. Legion of Honor Museum, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave., SF, Open 9:30 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. Tues-Sun; open select holidays, closed most Mondays. see Legionof Honor.famsf.org

Gold Rush in Fremont!

Bringing The Gold Rush! to the Brookvale School, Fremont, CA, was a fantastic way to close this spring season. Wonderful students and teachers filled the auditorium. The Lively Foundation performers truly hit it out of the park; a great performance by dancers Amity Johnson & Audreyanne Delgado Covarrubias, singer & banjo player Jonathan Clark. Ms Johnson & Ms Covarrubias also narrate comments originally written by people living in the mining fields. Mr. Clark is the tech director setting up and running the sound (recorded narrations, music for the dances) and projections of the archival photographs, engravings, paintings which HE researched, found, photographed and made into slides for our absolutely unique, wonderful show. Director Leslie Friedman choreographed the dances, narrates, and wrote the show. She dances in Sweet Betsy From Pike which is appropriate as both Sweet Betsy and Leslie are Californians originally from Missouri. Here are pictures of some of the Broncos from Brookvale, teachers and performers. Thanks to teacher Laura Dean for organizing this great event!Top: two of the classes attending The Gold Rush! May 30, 2014. Bottom row, L to R: Audreyanne Covarrubias, Amity Johnson backstage preparing to perform.