Moving exhibit on display

EYE ON ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

I am rather excited that fall starts this weekend -- it just seems

like a time of renewal and energy. When I was growing up in Kansas

City, it was the most picturesque time of the year. And from having

spent many years in Colorado, I know the leaves have already started

changing in Boulder and the aspens in Vail usually hit their prime

this weekend.

To me the changing of the leaves, their color, is art in and of

itself. Needless to say, Laguna Beach is picturesque year round, with

tiny little nuances showing up each season -- the flowers, the air.

Well, you live here, you get it.

‘Peace for Humanity’

This weekend Miranda International of Laguna Beach is hosting a

world premiere sculpture unveiling and exhibit of artist Tuan

Nguyen’s “Peace for Humanity” sculpture, a Vietnam Memorial monument.

Tuan won the 2002 Grand Arts Award for outstanding contributions

to the arts by the city of Westminster and was commissioned to create

the 15-foot bronze sculpture.

As a native of Vietnam, he said he related well to the subject.

“I feel I connect because of the Vietnamese community and war --

related to that,” Tuan said.

“When the communists took over we escaped from Vietnam to the

border of Cambodia by walking to Thailand,” Tuan said.

Tuan was in a refugee camp in Thailand for a year.

“No food, no water, just a lot of hope,” Tuan said. “It was very

difficult -- we know why we escaped.”

The people who lost hope didn’t make it, he said.

“Basically you live out of hope, couldn’t live through it without

it,” Tuan said. “They tried to know who you are, are you a communist,

why you escaped.”

He explained that art in Vietnamese society doesn’t support

freedom of expression. It is more religious, in the form of Jesus or

Buddha.

“Here I have the freedom to express. Because of that I feel that I

don’t try to be a Vietnamese artist but a universal artist,” Tuan

said. “Everyone can relate to the human condition, relate to life and

feeling.”

Tuan’s sculpture will be on display next to Miranda Galleries at

the corner of Laguna Avenue and South Coast Highway on Friday,

Saturday and Sunday, with a reception on Saturday evening from 6 to 9

p.m.

For more information, please call 497-4491. Miranda Galleries is

at 417 S. Coast Highway and Miranda International is at 357 S. Coast

Highway.

Ride the Tide at Laguna Art Museum

Laguna Art Museum’s epic, “Surf Culture: The Art History of

Surfing,” continues to offer myriad experiences for Lagunans to

experience. This amazing exhibition and surf culture event series

began in July and runs through Oct. 6, with each week offering new

and unique events.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, LAM will have a slide show and discussion titled

“The Reflections on the Art and Life of Rick Griffin.” The program

features longtime friends of Rick, including surf guitarist Paul

Johnson of the Belairs, as well as celebrity photographer Bob

Seidemann and artist Robert Williams. It will be moderated by Gordon

McClelland.

Gidget Surfs into Laguna at LAM

Gidget galore -- all about Gidget will be presented at Laguna Art

Museum at 5 p.m. Sunday. The real life model for Gidget, Kathy Kohner

Zuckerman, and Deanne Stillman, author and writer for Rolling Stone

and The New York Times, will “vividly recall the world of Gidget,”

who is definitely a huge part of pop culture and an American icon.

Laguna Art Museum is at 307 Cliff Drive and can be reached at

494-8971.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321.