16 12, 2019

Museum Monday: Vader

By |December 16th, 2019|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Ralph McQuarrie greatly influenced the design of Star Wars. I was lucky to get a gift of one of his original art books from the 70's and then later when Denver Art Museum displayed his works alongside their Star Wars: The Power of Costumes I was excited to see this original painting. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

22 04, 2019

Museum Monday: Design of Star Wars Costumes

By |April 22nd, 2019|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

A few years ago the Denver Art Museum had a great exhibit called Star Wars: The Power of Costumes. In honor of the upcoming Star Wars Day I wanted to share some of the great designs and drawings that were displayed. My top favorite was this design of a shell like hairstyle for Padme. More early Padme designs, I like the bottom one of the one below, based on a victorian dress. This design was actually created by George Lucas himself, and the museum did a good job showcasing the materials used to make the costumes. Another unused design, this proves

11 02, 2019

Museum Monday: Dior’s Palladium Dress

By |February 11th, 2019|Categories: Museums, Pop Culture, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |2 Comments

Denver Art Museum has an exhibit called Dior: From Paris to the World right now and it's really well done. Each space has its own style, lighting, and music. I spent hours going through the exhibit. One dress I was excited to see in person is this dress, the Palladium Dress from Dior's 1992 collection. It served as the main inspiration for Sailor Moon's Princess Serenity dress. In fact the creator Naoko Takeuchi based many of the outfits or drawings on fashion pieces. There is less than a month left in the exhibit. I highly recommend that you check it out. Museum Monday is

13 05, 2018

April 2018 Recap

By |May 13th, 2018|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The month of April was a month of Culture for me. I visited museums, saw plays, and laughed along with comedians. So let's dig in on the best memories! Early in the month I saw Degas: A Passion for Perfection at the Denver Art Museum with a wonderful friend and her daughter. It was an interesting exhibit showing Degas' contemporaries and influencers in relation to Degas' own work. From horses, to naked ladies, to the famous ballet dancers. Source Then I saw the Broadway version of Aladdin. I've seen a few different Disney plays some good (Lion King)

15 05, 2017

Museum Monday: Panthère de Cartier

By |May 15th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The Denver Art Museum had an exhibit called Brilliant: Cartier in the 20th Century which I was lucky enough to see in its last few days. In 1914 Cartier starting using the panther in their advertising, and came out with their first panther inspired pieces. Then in 1917, Louis Cartier gave friend Jeanne Toussaint a panther cigarette case. This was the first piece to actually depict a full panther, not just parts as inspiration. In 1918, Toussaint joined the company as a designer and frequently came up with panther-inspired designs, earning the nickname “La Panthére" partly for her bold designs and strong personality. She eventually became

1 05, 2017

Museum Monday: These Are the Droids You’re Looking For

By |May 1st, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

While the Star Wars: Power of Costume exhibit has now left Denver, I did want to share some of the great Droids that were shown in celebration of May the 4th Be With You later this week. Droids are a critical piece that helped give the feel of this futuristic society. They are the unsung heroes and comedy relief. And I'm very glad they were showcased at the exhibit. I have one of Ralph McQuarrie's original art books for the first Star Wars, so it was amazing seeing these drawings in person. You can see the influence of the old movie

3 04, 2017

Museum Monday: Queen Amidala at the Denver Art Museum

By |April 3rd, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The original costumes from Star Wars are iconic. And while the prequals have (many) faults, the costumes aren't one of those. Queen Amidala played by Natalie Portman had numerous detailed costumes, here are just a few displayed at the Denver Art Museum as part of Star Wars: The Power of Costume. One of the first costume's you'll see is the red Queen Amidala costume. The bottom bulbs used to light up and the entire platform moved. It's hard to tell, but Natalie Portman must be pretty small. This is another famous costume, with a very large and heavy headdress. Also on display are the

20 03, 2017

Museum Monday: Star Wars at the Denver Art Museum

By |March 20th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

At first it might seem strange, an art museum hosting a Star Wars exhibit. But Denver Art Museum curated the exhibit to focus on the creative process, art, and detail of more than 70 costumes and other props from this iconic franchise. DAM wants to embrace pop culture and show that it too can be fine art. Here are just a handful of my favorites! Duel of Fates! They did a good job of showing the costume evolution and details of various Jedi/Sith characters, including details of their lightsabers (and the ability to turn them on and off!) Luke lurks

20 02, 2017

Museum Monday: Glory of Venice at Denver Art Museum

By |February 20th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

My memories of the Denver Art Museum growing up were going on the chaotic free days.  Trying to peer over the rabble of families or fight to one of the children activities areas but failing due to the mass of people. As I got older, I tended to only go to that museum for big events, things like the Tutankhamen exhibit in 2010, Van Gogh in 2013, Cartier in 2015, or Star Wars in 2016. But I decided for Star Wars I'd become a member and try to go more often. It is down the street (sort of) from my office,