PRIME PHILADELPHIA

Starry, Starry Nights... "Van Gogh Up Close"

"And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you"
... Don McLean

One of the world's great artists had some serious issues. Van Gogh attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest, which ultimately led to his death two days later.

A quick study of his life clearly indicates his mental problems (such as severing a part of his ear and sending it to a prostitute). This exhibition focuses on the
tumultuous years that began when van Gogh left Antwerp for Paris in 1886 and continued until his death in Auvers in 1890.

It's very difficult to understand his art, and its relationship to his life. Having said that, his work speaks for itself, and "Van Gogh Up Close" represents yet another reason that the Philadelphia Museum of Art is so critically important to the City of Philadelphia.

From February 1st to May 6th, the people will come from literally everywhere to experience this event. It's great for the hotels and the restaurants, and proof positive what the Arts mean to a community.

The connections are interesting. Georges Perrier recently suggested that closing his venerable Le Bec-Fin would be like closing the Museum of Art. For some three months, a ton of people will do their share in keeping Chef Perrier extremely happy as there are soon to be many Starry, Starry nights.

Two Celebrity Chefs in Philadelphia...

Is it possible that our unending infatuation with celebrity chefs has gone too far?
There I sat with a sold-out audience in the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia. The tickets were priced in excess of $200, and we had the unique privilege of watching and listening to two celebrity chefs talk to each other.

The chefs in question were Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. Chef Bourdain might be the most interesting chef in America, and Chef Ripert might be one of the nicest chefs known to mankind. It promised to be a very interesting evening.

My worst prediction materialized when the audience(myself included) had little or no idea what the the great French chef was saying. It just didn't work. We did hear the F-bombs and almost everything else from Chef Bourdain, so all was not lost.

Maybe it was the sound system in the theater to blame, but the experience was somewhat of a disaster. The theater experiment just didn't get it done, and maybe the celebrity chefs should stick to what works the best. Trust me when I tell you that it's not two chefs talking to each other in the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia.