Happy Labor Day!

The end of labor is to gain leisure. ~Aristotle

Happy Labor Day.

Photo via Cote Sud Magazine

Photo by Mrs. B.

So long summer...

Wishing you a Happy Friday and a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Enjoy these last few days of summer as Fall will soon be upon us. I can hardly wait.

Photo via Cote Sud Magazine

Interview with Andrew Morrow

In yesterday's post I mentioned how much I enjoy frequenting the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco.  A huge part of my fascination with the hotel has always been the artwork.  The focal point of the lobby lounge are two large scale paintings by Canadian artist Andrew Morrow.  The paintings, entitled "Love" and "War", each measure 8 feet tall by 16 feet wide and are always a topic of conversation between Mr. B and myself.  For example, (and I'm embarrassed to say) I thought there was a headless horseman in the "War" painting only to realize a few months ago that the rider is not headless but is instead looking down. It's funny how each time I look at the paintings I see something new. 

Andrew Morrow was gracious enough to answer a few questions about his artwork and I am thrilled to share the interview with you.  You can also check out his website here.



Andrew Morrow in his Ottawa, Canada studio. 

 What inspires you as an artist?

Most of my inspiration comes from the art world or contemporary image culture. Painters are always in dialogue with their medium, but as a representational artist (someone who paints things that look like things), I'm also very interested in the images of our time. At the moment, I'm spending a lot time looking at pastoral ideals and sexually charged imagery. There is also a completely unforeseeable component to inspiration, this is the cliché of the lightning bolt striking from any place, at any time. This is a very real thing.

What was your inspiration for the “Love” and “War” paintings displayed in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco?

At the time, I'd been working on what I had called "War Paintings". These were large-scale, apocalyptic battle scenes. I knew that James Robertson, the art consultant in charge of the hotel's collection, wanted my work, but with a little less confrontation. James had decided the scale, 8'x16', and the number of paintings, 2, but mostly, the rest was up to me. I came up with the idea of two paintings that could work in opposition with another, and thus "Love" and "War". However, I'm not generally comfortable with binarisms as my universe is filled with grays, so conceptually, the paintings parallel, and overlap one another. "War", presents one side of a battle, but with humour and beauty. "Love" depicts a swirling, Baroque, bacchanal, with small moments of conflict emerging from time to time. The paintings, exhibited across from one another, present compositional mirror images of one another. Because of the scale and prominence of the works and the targeted audience of the hotel, there was an exhaustive editorial process, leading to the paintings as they are today. I remember sending an initial sketch in, and getting notes back saying that there shouldn't be any "rats", or "dogs" in the work. The rat was actually a mongoose. The dog, was, well, a dog.

"Love" by Andrew Morrow in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco. A detailed view is below.

"Love"

"War"

What can we expect next from Andrew Morrow? Can you talk about any upcoming projects?

I'm currently working on a massive painting to be exhibited in a museum show here in my hometown of Ottawa. I'm also creating works for the upcoming Art Fair in Toronto. After this, I travel to Europe for 5 weeks on a research scholarship. Following that, I'm back home, working on a video project which will be screened in March of 2010. I've got more demand for my work that I can possibly keep up with these days. It would be nice to have a clone or two in the studio. Or at least an army of talented monkeys.

What are 5 things you couldn’t live without?

What can't I live without? The logistician in me would say air, water, food, etc., but this doesn't really say much does it? Family for sure, I'd be lost without my family. I also really like my bike. And art. I need my time alone too, this makes life bearable. Let's lump in all those life-sustaining elements, like food and air in the fifth spot. I need these too.

Lobby lounge photo by Mrs. B.  All other images courtesy of Andrew Morrow.

St. Regis Hotel (San Francisco)

The exterior of the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco is rather unassuming and discreet.  In fact, unless you are actually looking for the hotel you can easily walk right past it.  However, if you are lucky enough to step foot inside you will find that there is a whole other world waiting for you.  The public areas on the ground floor are very sophisticated and chic without being pretentious.  Think lots of zebrawood paneling, herringbone wood floor and lots of reflective surfaces like glass and mirror.  Oh yeah, and who can forget the amazing glass chandelier above the bar. It's gorgeous.  Overall the hotel is very comfortable and the bar service in the lobby is always impeccable.  Mr. B and I try to jet set up to San Francisco at least once per month.  We joke that it is our home away from home.  The bar at the St. Regis is always on our list of places to stop by.  It's an oasis in the middle of the city.

More on the St. Regis tomorrow. Stay tuned for something really special.

My drink of choice at the St. Regis: the "Ginger Pom Cosmo" made with ginger beer and pomegranate juice. It's no longer on their drink menu but just ask for it and they will be happy to make it for you.

Don't feel like you have to come to the bar just for cocktails because the food is pretty amazing.  The sweet corn chowder had me wanting more. 

The pork bun trio satisfied my craving for dim sum.  These are fairly new to the menu and are incredibly delicious.

It was the cake's fault...

What I am about to say may shock those who do not know me. I do not cook. There. I said it. It's on the table and out in the open. To say I have never cooked is unfair. But I can count the number of times I have cooked on one hand. No exaggeration. In some cases the food came out great (roast pork tacos) and in other cases it was pure disaster (baked pasta casserole). Needless to say, Mr. B and I eat out a lot.

I read a story in the LA Times entitled "Historic Appeal" that talked about Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections who attempted to recreate the Grapefruit Cake from the now defunct historic Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood.  Gordon's recipe accompanies the article which states that she "...worked hard to research the confection’s history. Eventually, she honed in on a recipe that both honors the spirit of the classic while adding new vitality with fresh ingredients." 

The photo of the grapefruit cake in all its pastel glory called to me. The article intrigued me.  And it got me thinking, as it did with Valerie, about other historic recipes that were lost at the close of many other legendary L.A. restaurants.  So what happens when you are home recuperating from surgery? With the internet and a credit card you go shopping. And that is exactly what I did. I located a couple of vintage cookbooks and at the click of a button later they will be arriving on my doorstep in a few days. My goal is to make that grapefruit cake.  Maybe it will inspire so much more. Maybe it won't. I will keep you posted.

Grapefruit cake photo by Amy Neunsinger via LA Times