Art is abound this week in West Palm Beach. ArtPalmBeach, in it's 17th year, is January 24-27 at the Palm Beach Convention Center, with more than 80 international galleries exhibiting. I had the opportunity to attend the first view Thursday. On Wednesday I attended "VIP Night: Black Tie & Sneakers," the grand opening of Art Synergy'sContinuum West Palm Beach. Art Synergy is the first county-wide gallery walk weekend in conjunction with ArtPalmBeach.
First view of ArtPalmBeach Thursday, Jan. 23. The light sculpture is by artist Adela Andea.
On display at ArtPalmBeach: David Datuna: Cool Britannia. Mixed media construction with collage, with optical lenses.
A close-up view of Cool Britannia. The collage explores British cultural identity.
On display at ArtPalm Beach: Work by Brazilian artists Os Gemeos
On display at Continuum West Palm Beach: Sneakers included in the auction.
There was tight security, including the Palm Beach Police. Media and onlookers were told to remain in a designated grassy area across the street from the church, which faced the front entrance. As motorists passed by they would ask us, "Who's getting married?" Someone in the crowd would yell, "Michael Jordan."
Most motorists responded, "The basketball player?" with their eyes wide in disbelief. Others immediately took out their smartphones to take a picture of the church and the crowd to document the moment.
About 3 p.m., guests, transported in mid-size tour buses, started to arrive for the 4 p.m. scheduled ceremony. Attendees included former NBA greats Scottie Pippen and Patrick Ewing, director Spike Lee and his wife, author Tonya Lewis Lee. Though celebrities and the families of Jordan and Prieto were able to be seen entering the church, security used large white umbrellas and formed a line to obstruct the view of the bride entering. Jordan could not be seen entering either.
Church bells began to ring a little after 5 p.m. indicating the ceremony ended. As the hundreds of guests left the church, the bridal party and family members remained inside to take photos. The photography ended close to 6 p.m., when the remaining headed to their designated vehicles. Many thought the married couple might come out of the church and wave briefly before leaving. But, that didn't happen.
A black SUV with tinted windows, which waited at a side entrance of the church, began to slowly move, make a right at the corner and pull-up to the front entrance. The left, backseat window of the vehicle lowered halfway, and a man wearing dark sunglasses, who looked a lot like Jordan, began to wave. The crowd assumed it was Jordan and began snapping pictures; paparazzi shouted asking the man to lower the window more.
However, at the same time, a white Rolls-Royce also coming from the same side entrance of the church began making its way up the street, made a left, and headed in the opposite direction of the SUV. Jordan and Prieto were in the Rolls-Royce on their way to Jupiter Island for their reception at The Bear's Club.
Wednesday night I saw an advance screening of “Sparkle” at the Regal Royal Palm Stadium 18 in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. I knew what to expect, and I didn’t know what to expect. Let me explain.
Produced by Stage 6 Films and released by Sony/TriStar "Sparkle," directed by Salim Akil("Jumping the Broom"), is a remake of the 1976 film by Sam O’Steen inspired by TheSupremes, starring Irene Cara and Philip Michael Thomas.I expected to see the story of main character, Sparkle and her two sisters, Sister and Delores, attempt to pursue a music career amongst the pitfalls of the entertainment industry. Being a remake I expected there might be changes to the storyline. For example, the 1976 version is set in Harlem, N.Y. in the 1950s, the 2012 version in an affluent area of Detroit, Mich. during the Motown era in the 1960s.And the soundtrack, with the songs composed and produced by Curtis Mayfield, also included new music, much by R. Kelly, the executive music consultant.
In the 2012 version, I did not know what to expect in terms of the performances of the two headliners, one’s first and the other’s final performance. “Sparkle” is the late Ms. Whitney Houston’s final film performance, and “American Idol” winner, Pop/R&B singer Jordin Sparks’ first performance in a lead role in a feature film.
Houston, who died Feb. 11, 2012 at the age of 48, hasn’t been seen by audiences on the silver screen since her role as Julia Biggsin “The Preacher’s Wife” in 1996. For Houston fans, like me, “Sparkle” was to be the debut of her new life, so to speak.To see her in her first scene in “Sparkle,” with rollers in her hair, a scarf tied around her head and in a robe and slippers opening the door to the bedroom of her daughters knowing they were up to shenanigans, made me gasp and say softly, “I miss you, Whitney.” Since her death, especially right afterwards, we have seen constant images of the multiple Grammy Award-winning artist and actress from her triumphant recording years, to images taken during her struggles with addiction. Seeing her in a film she was excited about and even serving as executive producer, was like seeing her without a filter of controversy.
She is convincing as Emma, a strong-willed religious single mother who wanted to steer her daughters in the right direction, keeping them away from the perils of the entertainment industry, ultimately not wanting them to make the same mistakes she did. Houston has “the look” down pat. As the daughter of a black mother, I know the look well; the look, which speaks volumes without saying a word. Houston is not in many scenes, though, the ones where she is present, she is dominant. There is a scene where she sings the Gospel hymn, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” in a church, in front of the altar looking radiant in a deep purple dress and short cape around her shoulders. Houston’s voice still sent chills down my spine. She sings, “I sing because I’m happy; I sing because I’m free…” Bring a tissue for that.
Sparks portrays Sparkle, a shy songwriter who realizes she is a born performer. Her best scenes, where she appears most comfortable, are the musical numbers, and scenes dedicated to Sparkle's song writing. Sparks, who has a great voice, has more experience as a singer than an actress, so it will be interesting to see how she develops going forward with her onscreen career. Stix, "Sister and the Sister's" music manager and Sparkle's love interest is played by Derek Luke, well known for his role in "Antwone Fisher.” Luke adds genuineness to his character. He does well in making Stix very likable.
The performance by Carmen Ejogo as Sister is terrific; she kind of steals almost every scene she’s in. One of my favorite performances of Ejogo is as the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, in HBO’s “Boycott.” It's so fascinating seeing her portray a completely opposite character.She truly took this role, and played the heck out of it. Ejogo's Sister isn’t simply a typical “bad girl," but she gives her character depth. She's mesmerizing. A performance that surprised me, in a good way, is that of Mike Epps as Satin, Sister’s love interest, the conflicted comedian, with a dark, abusive side, which is not Epps’ usual type of role. This is a far stretch from Eppsas Day-Day Jones in “Next Friday.” He does a good job.
The film also offers noteworthy performances by TikaSumpter as Sparkle’s straight-laced no nonsense sister, Delores, and OmariHardwickas Levi, who tries to win Sister’s love. The cutest scene between Sister and Levi is in a diner. You’ll see. And, Cee LoGreen makes an appearance in the beginning of the film as an entertainer named, Black, with waves in hair.
I enjoyed the film. It appears to be a production where everyone put in the effort, and put their best foot forward. From adding a different spin to the original story by Howard Rosenman, co-executive producer, (the 2012 screenplay is by Mara Brock Akil), to the wardrobe, cinematography, the performances of new and more seasoned actors, no one wanted this to be just another remake.
“Sparkle” (producers Debra Martin Chase, T.D. Jakes and Curits Wallace) will open in theaters nationwide Friday, Aug. 17.
It was my first time viewing fireworks in West Palm Beach, displayed right above the Intracoastal Waterway, which lies between the city and Palm Beach Island. What would make these photos of fireworks different from any other I've taken of fireworks? I decided to include the palm tree, indigenous to the area.
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