Art Education

On the day when, at long last, the reincarnated Barnes museum opened to the public, the collection of visitors was so strange a conglomeration that the eccentric Albert C. Barnes might actually have approved. Early Saturday morning downstairs in the auditorium, a private symposium, sponsored by Christie's, was held for about 200 art collectors, museum directors, educators, and auction-house representatives - the very sort of cuff-linked and pedigreed swells Barnes disdained. The first speaker, John Henry Merryman, an emeritus professor at Stanford University, lamented the growth of cultural nationalism, which keeps many important art objects sequestered in "dead storage," like the 30,000 objects unearthed in Greece during preparations for the 2004 Olympics.

Like the fabled Japanese soldiers who stayed in foxholes in remote South Pacific islands years after the end of World War II because they didn't know the conflict was over, opponents of the move of the Barnes Foundation to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway battle on. Yes, the Barnes litigation, now nearly a decade old, refuses to go away. This even as the Barnes was preparing for a huge opening Saturday, and as hundreds of journalists from around the nation and the world swarmed its galleries Wednesday for an advance look.

"What do you see?" asks Noreen Scott Garrity, pointing to the painting. Hands shoot up. Voices call out. "I see a boy sleeping and someone throwing up on him. " "A boy sleeping and a monster beating on his head. " After some gentle prodding, someone suggests that it is a sleeping boy and his guilty conscience. A guilty conscience, muses Garrity. "If you had to draw your conscience, how would you do it?" "It would have blue hair, a blue face, three toes and three fingers.

Can we all get along? — Rodney King   The remarkable art collection of the late Albert C. Barnes has been moved to a new, more appropriate home within the city that will allow thousands more visitors to see it than could have at its former suburban location. This should be a time of celebration. And yet, some want to continue fighting the civil war over moving the art that finally had to be resolved by the courts. It's hard for the move's opponents to get over what transpired, but it's time for them to work just as hard to see that Dr. Barnes' vision is adhered to as much as possible in his collection's new abode.

By Seymour I. "Spence" Toll If the New York Times doesn't understand what the Barnes Foundation is, it's no wonder countless others don't. In a recent article, Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff called the Barnes "one of the country's most beloved and quirky museums," comparing it to two other actual museums, the Getty Villa in Los Angeles and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. But the fact is that since its creation in 1922, the Barnes has always been a school, not a museum.

Gustavo Ramirez, 17, has aspirations of someday opening his own tattoo parlor. The soft-spoken sophomore at Overbrook High School in Pine Hill never expected his first client to be a life-size fiberglass cow. Ramirez is one of nine finalists - and the only one from New Jersey - selected by a panel of judges from 9,200 entrants nationwide in the seventh annual Lucerne Art of Dairy Contest, an art competition sponsored by Safeway Inc., the grocery...

Horticulture and art are related fields, but in bonsai, they are one. As curator of the bonsai collection at Longwood Gardens, Mary Allinson makes use of her art education and her childhood experience on her family's farm. She is teaching two sessions in bonsai at Longwood this month that already are filled. Bonsai is the art of growing plants as dwarf, picturesque specimens in containers. The technique originated in China and was developed further in Japan.

When Claude J. Falcone decided to create the art major program at Penncrest High School 30-something years ago, he wouldn't settle for anything mediocre, recreational or even therapeutic. For Falcone, the art program had to be challenging and meaningful for life as a possible vocation or permanent avocation. "We started very modestly and built steadily over the years to a point of unique success," said Falcone, who is retiring this year after helping hundreds of students exhibit their work and win top awards.

The Chamber Players of America Ltd. is seeking classical musicians and listeners to participate in a chamber music conference Feb. 17-20 at Eagle Lodge conference center in Lafayette Hill. Cellist Jeanne Kelly will be music director of the event. The Chamber Players was formed to bring together professional and amateur musicians in an environment suited for well-matched ensemble play while providing other leisure and recreational activities, according to Ira Gutzeit, president.

Contrary to what was suggested in a letter on Tuesday ("Great art should be available to everyone"), people have never been denied access to the Barnes collection's Latchs Lane site. You could always can take a train and walk a few big blocks to the foundation, or a bus and walk from City Avenue. For many years the admission price was just $5. Albert C. Barnes was interested in education for all people, not just the wealthy. He encouraged "everyman" to learn to love and understand art. More to the point these days is that, unless we direct more funds and time to teaching the arts, our children will believe that art education is only for "a fortunate few. " We should be mad as hell about the real problem - cuts in spending for the arts.

On the day when, at long last, the reincarnated Barnes museum opened to the public, the collection of visitors was so strange a conglomeration that the eccentric Albert C. Barnes might actually have approved. Early Saturday morning downstairs in the auditorium, a private symposium, sponsored by Christie's, was held for about 200 art collectors, museum directors, educators, and auction-house representatives - the very sort of cuff-linked and pedigreed swells Barnes disdained. The first speaker, John Henry Merryman, an emeritus professor at Stanford University, lamented the growth of cultural nationalism, which keeps many important art objects sequestered in "dead storage," like the 30,000 objects unearthed in Greece during preparations for the 2004 Olympics.

Like the fabled Japanese soldiers who stayed in foxholes in remote South Pacific islands years after the end of World War II because they didn't know the conflict was over, opponents of the move of the Barnes Foundation to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway battle on. Yes, the Barnes litigation, now nearly a decade old, refuses to go away. This even as the Barnes was preparing for a huge opening Saturday, and as hundreds of journalists from around the nation and the world swarmed its galleries Wednesday for an advance look.

Can we all get along? — Rodney King   The remarkable art collection of the late Albert C. Barnes has been moved to a new, more appropriate home within the city that will allow thousands more visitors to see it than could have at its former suburban location. This should be a time of celebration. And yet, some want to continue fighting the civil war over moving the art that finally had to be resolved by the courts. It's hard for the move's opponents to get over what transpired, but it's time for them to work just as hard to see that Dr. Barnes' vision is adhered to as much as possible in his collection's new abode.

Montgomery Media presents the 17th annual Baby & Toddler Expo at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Performances on both days include the Petting Zoo Puppet Show with puppeteer Abby London and magician Sam Singer. On Saturday, singer and caricaturist David C. Perry will perform his Drawings, Songs, & Silliness concert. There will also be a diaper derby and inflatable play park for kids. On Friday from noon to 2 p.m., games and prizes will be provided by mascot Buzzbee and the B101 B-crew.

Gustavo Ramirez, 17, has aspirations of someday opening his own tattoo parlor. The soft-spoken sophomore at Overbrook High School in Pine Hill never expected his first client to be a life-size fiberglass cow. Ramirez is one of nine finalists - and the only one from New Jersey - selected by a panel of judges from 9,200 entrants nationwide in the seventh annual Lucerne Art of Dairy Contest, an art competition sponsored by Safeway Inc., the grocery...

By Carole Haas Gravagno Zulmarie Nazario, a 16-year-old junior at Palumbo high school in South Philadelphia, is a testament to the power of arts education. She has been painting and drawing at the Fleisher Art Memorial just about every week since she came here from Puerto Rico three years ago. "I feel like a totally different person when I come to Fleisher," said Zulmarie. "It allows me to express my feelings and not be afraid of being judged or self-conscious. " Today, Zulmarie will represent the Fleisher Art Memorial at the White House, where first lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to present this year's National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards.

Contrary to what was suggested in a letter on Tuesday ("Great art should be available to everyone"), people have never been denied access to the Barnes collection's Latchs Lane site. You could always can take a train and walk a few big blocks to the foundation, or a bus and walk from City Avenue. For many years the admission price was just $5. Albert C. Barnes was interested in education for all people, not just the wealthy. He encouraged "everyman" to learn to love and understand art. More to the point these days is that, unless we direct more funds and time to teaching the arts, our children will believe that art education is only for "a fortunate few. " We should be mad as hell about the real problem - cuts in spending for the arts.

By Seymour I. "Spence" Toll If the New York Times doesn't understand what the Barnes Foundation is, it's no wonder countless others don't. In a recent article, Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff called the Barnes "one of the country's most beloved and quirky museums," comparing it to two other actual museums, the Getty Villa in Los Angeles and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. But the fact is that since its creation in 1922, the Barnes has always been a school, not a museum.

Karen Malandra, 45, of East Mount Airy, an art teacher, died of gastric cancer Thursday at Abington Memorial Hospital. Raised in Warminster, Ms. Malandra graduated in 1981 from Archbishop Wood High School and in 1985 earned a bachelor's degree in printmaking from Kutztown University, where she received the Stimmel Award for Academic Achievement. She earned a master's in art education from Tyler School of Art in 2001 and a doctorate in urban education from Temple University in 2007.

As a guide at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Marion Brodeur did more than talk about the pretty pictures. "She got the dish" by studying the lives of artists, said her daughter Nicole. What she found was "who had a mistress . . . all this crazy stuff . . . who was sleeping with what model. People always said they would hear my mom [and] would break off from their tour guide and go over to my mom," her daughter said. On Monday, Marion Daniel Brodeur, 76, of Cherry Hill, a teacher for 20 years at Cherry Hill High School East, died of a heart attack at Virtua West Jersey Hospital Voorhees.