Barnsdall Art Park
Encyclopedia
Cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is having different cultures respect each other's differences. It could also mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole...
. This is in keeping with the wishes of Aline Barnsdall
Aline Barnsdall
Louise Aline Barnsdall was an American oil heiress, best known as Frank Lloyd Wright's client for the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles, now the centerpiece of the city's Barnsdall Art Park.- Biography :...
, who donated Barnsdall Park to the City of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
for arts and recreational purposes, including the preservation of the historic architecture and landscape features. Located at the crest of Olive Hill, Barnsdall Park overlooks the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The park is centered on the National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
ed Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
and several other buildings on the grounds designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
.
History
Barnsdall Park had its beginning in the early 1900s when Aline Barnsdall came to the West with plans to develop a new theatre company. In 1927, Aline Barnsdall donated the Park and its Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
designed structures to the city of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, wishing to provide an accessible arts center that incorporated and preserved the famous Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
as a vital component. The spirit of Barnsdall's intention was to maintain an active arts center for the community with assured longevity.
The owner - Aline Barnsdall
Aline Barnsdall was a native of Bradford, PennsylvaniaBradford, Pennsylvania
Bradford is a small city located in rural McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the United States 78 miles south of Buffalo, New York. Settled in 1823, Bradford was chartered as a city in 1879 and emerged as a wild oil boomtown in the Pennsylvanian oil rush in the late 19th century...
. William Barnsdall, her grandfather, drilled the second largest oil well
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, establishing the fortune that would finance Aline's philanthropy and her extensive travels. She was an unconventional, independent woman with a passion for the arts. In the 1910s, her interest in the future of the American stage led her to Chicago, Illinois, where she co-directed an experimental theatre
Experimental theatre
Experimental theatre is a general term for various movements in Western theatre that began in the late 19th century as a retraction against the dominant vent governing the writing and production of dramatical menstrophy, and age in particular. The term has shifted over time as the mainstream...
company. While in Chicago, she met the equally unconventional Frank Lloyd Wright, whose recently completed Midway Gardens
Midway Gardens
Midway Gardens was a 300’ square indoor/outdoor entertainment facility in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. It was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who also collaborated with sculptor Alfonso Iannelli on the famous “sprite” sculptures decorating the facility...
she admired. When a trip to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1915 turned Barnsdall's attention to Los Angeles, she hired Wright to help her develop an innovative theatrical community on the nation's cultural frontier.
The architect - Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright is America's best known architect. Wright was often absent during the actual construction of Hollyhock HouseHollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
, due to the demands of another major commission, the Imperial Hotel
Imperial Hotel
Imperial Hotel, Ltd. is a company that operates hotels in Japan. Its flagship hotel, the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo , and its headquarters are located in the Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo, near the Imperial Palace, Hibiya Park, and Ginza.The Imperial Hotel group includes five hotels throughout Japan.-List of...
in Tokyo, Japan. Therefore, he entrusted supervision of the Barnsdall project to two young men who would later rank among Los Angeles's most prominent architects: his apprentice, Rudolph Schindler
Rudolph Schindler
Rudolph Schindler may refer to:* Rudolph Schindler * Rudolph Schindler...
and his son, Lloyd Wright
Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. , commonly known as Lloyd Wright, was an American landscape architect and architect, most active in Los Angeles and Southern California...
.
The building - Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Residence, known as Hollyhock House, is the first Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
project of Wright. Built between 1919 and 1921, it represents his earliest efforts to develop a regionally appropriate style of architecture for Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
Taking advantage of the area's mild climate, Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
is a combination of house and garden. It is a remarkable example of the architect's love of nature and how he incorporated it into his designs. The House takes its name from the favorite flower of Wright's client, oil heiress Aline Barnsdall. At her request, Wright's abstract hollyhock pattern was incorporated into the decoration of the House.
Aline Barnsdall was an unconventional independent woman with a passion for the arts. In 1915 she commissioned Wright to help her develop an innovative theatrical community on the nation's cultural frontier. Selecting a thirty-six acre site known as Olive Hill, client and architect worked together to develop a plan that included a home for Barnsdall and her young daughter, two secondary residences, a theater, a director's house, a dormitory for actors, studios for artists, shops and a motion picture theater. Because of financial and artistic differences, only the two secondary residences and the Barnsdall home, Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
, were finally built.
In 1927 Aline Barnsdall gave Hollyhock House and eleven surrounding acres to the City of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
for use as a public park in memory of her father, Theodore Barnsdall. Additional buildings including a modern theatre, an art gallery and studios have been built on the property.
Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery
The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery is a 10000 square feet (929 m²) venue that offers dramatic exhibition space for large, thematic group exhibitions and major retrospective exhibitions of individual work. The Junior Arts Center Gallery is a 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) venue that offers a more intimate space. At times the two spaces are linked by a single, large scale exhibition occupying both galleries.Exhibitions program
The exhibitions program at Barnsdall Park produces approximately nine exhibitions of contemporary art each year at the Municipal Art Gallery. The mission of the program is to promote, interpret and present to the general public, the contemporary art of artists from culturally diverse Southern California. The curatorial focus includes painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, video, electronic, performance and installation works. Exhibits at Barnsdall Park serve over 45,000 visitors annually.Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
Owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Community Arts Division, this 299-seat fully equipped and wheelchair-accessible Barnsdall Gallery Theatre is a low-price rental house for live theatre, dance, music, spoken wordSpoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
, lecture, film and for events of all kinds to individuals and organizations . The theatre is equipped with dual sound, lights, a HD ready
HD ready
The HD ready is a certification program introduced in 2005 by EICTA , now DIGITALEUROPE....
digital projector
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
, plus a built in 16mm film
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
, slide and video projectors; as well as dressing rooms, spacious upper and lower lobbies with box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
and refreshment counters.
The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre also co-produces a variety of community events in the theatre, including many popular FREE programs, including "Independent Shakespeare Company", Silverlake Conservatory of Music's "Music Summer Camps", and many yearly festivals including the "Thai Festival" and "Artwallah."
Now in its third year, the "Independent Shakespeare Company, at the Barnsdall Art Park, is an on-going, free to the public, live series being held on an outdoor stage, overlooking the hills of Hollywood. In 2004, in association with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Independent Shakespeare Company (ISC) established a residency in Barnsdall Art Park, the hidden jewel of Hollywood. The summer season was kicked off with a gala performance of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
". Twelve performances, offered free to the public, followed.
In October 2004, the ISC toured "Richard III" to France as part of the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale
Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...
, the only Shakespeare performance in France to be honored in this way. This production returned to Los Angeles as part of Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Art Park 2005, performed in rotation with "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" and "Hamlet."
In 2005, the ISC returned to Barnsdall Art Park with a new production of "Hamlet", running in repertory with "Richard III" and encore performances of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." And in 2006, the ISC has returned once again to the Barnsdall Art Park with the productions of "As You Like It" and "Hamlet."
The ISC helps to serve our community through creating inspiring, accessible theater and bringing it to as wide an audience as possible. The outdoor stage averages 200 to 300 people each evening, ready to enter the world of Shakespeare.
Now in its second year, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music presents "Music Summer Camps,'" bringing music to young people inside the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. A team of professional master musicians present a music program combining academic information with live performance. The musicians perform their music, and then "break it down" explaining how their instrument fits into the rhythm, the chord structure, and the mood or melody of a piece.
Young people who are interested in a musical career are able to experience learning from professionals. For those with little knowledge about the musical art form, this program builds awareness and interest.
The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre also produces festivals, some of which include theatre events at Barnsdall Art Park. These festivals, such as the "Thai Festival" and "Artwallah" present a wonderful forum for the expression of the arts and an opportunity to learn about the city's cultural heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
. Festivals also increase harmony between ethnic and cultural groups and create a positive climate among all people in this city enriching the communities we serve.
The Gallery Theatre is a 229-seat venue available for rental at a nominal fee for individuals and organizations.
Barnsdall Art Center
The Barnsdall Art Center provides college level art instruction at low cost in a unique Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
building. The center is temporarily housed in the Junior Arts Center due to the Frank Lloyd Wright building being closed due to safety reasons. The Barnsdall Art Center Student Advisory Committee (B.A.C.S.A.C.) is the organization that provides support and student influence for the centers' growth. The non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
provides volunteer services with registration and assists financially covering programs and classes that the city is unable to fund.
The Junior Arts Center
The Junior Arts Center and Gallery are dedicated to the development of the creative process in children and teens. The vision and mission encourage curiosity, creativity, and all aspects of human developmentDevelopmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
. Children at the center come from all ethnicities, religions and economic levels. Programs include the Living Arts Program that provides arts experience for children with special needs and the Barnsdall Goes to the Library program that presents workshops free of charge at local libraries.
The Junior Arts Center offers extensive art programs to children and youth ages three to eighteen, including many unique programs designed to serve the needs of children of Los Angeles. Art instruction held at the Center throughout the year includes drawing, painting, film making
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
, printmaking, acting, photography and sculpture. Parent/child classes are also available. The Living Arts Program serves as a national model in arts education for special needs youth. The Junior Arts Center Children's Gallery features the work of young artists. The Center's location within the beautiful city park lends itself to a variety of multicultural festivals, celebrations and family outings.
The Junior Arts Center Gallery provides family oriented exhibitions of both children and adults work as well as interactive exhibits for the entire family. Annual Special Events include Dia de los Muertos
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...
and Aline Barnsdall Day, Culmination of Children's classes, and Barnsdall Art Center Students exhibit.
See also
- Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Hollywood
- Lloyd G. DaviesLloyd G. DaviesLloyd G. Davies was a Hollywood advertising and public relations man and sometime actor who was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1943 to 1951.-Biography:...
, Los Angeles City Council member, 1943–51, urged purchase of land surrounding Barnsdall Park, to prevent "honky-tonk" development
External links
- Barnsdall Park - official site
- Barnsdall Art Park - informational site