EX LIBRIS

— Necia Liles, editor
Some people say that black and white is the only real art in
photography; that color is too flagrant to show much depth. That’s
poppycock, of course, but we all have our own preferences. Mine is
sepia – those brown-toned snapshots and portraits you find tucked
into little corners glued onto black pages in your grandmother’s
albums. Humans literally glow in sepia, but it becomes real art –
well, to me – in nature and crumbling structure photos. There is
something about those soft tones that make the eye want to rest
there, discovering subtleties, whatever the subject. Old cars, for
instance, or peeling paint and glassless windows take on a beauty
in sepia-tone that you might just curl your lip at if you walked
by. What’s appealing about decaying and rusty stuff, I don’t know.
Maybe it brings us back to the mysterious junkyard we played in as
kids, or the possibility of hidden treasure. Maybe it’s a memento
mori of our own future. Whatever.
We have a sepia expert here in the Burg. Rob Schied was
commissioned to document the immigration station on Angel Island,
the Ellis Island of the West, and we are lucky enough to be getting
his show at our very own library. I don’t know that they’re all
going to be sepia, but I’m hoping. The FOHL/library’s annual art
show opens September 28 in the Forum Room with Schied’s work,
called Marking Time: Angel Island. It will be open during the
monthly Art Walk on October 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. and will stay until
October 23.
The reception for the artist will be on October 16, 6 to 8 p.m.
I’ll remind you again in next month’s column. Rob will talk about
how Angel Island impressed him as he trekked around it, taking in
the micro views of wildflowers and flotsam, and the majestic macro
views from the pearl of San Francisco Bay.
There’s a lot going on at the library this month. Besides the
art show, we have some inspiring authors doing talks. The next best
way to learn about something – after reading – is to listen to and
question an author. Here are our September possibilities: Lorraine
Hee-Chorley will discuss her book, Chinese in Mendocino County on
Saturday, Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. On Wed., Sept. 16 at 7 p.m., Craig
Nathanson will talk about his book Don’t Just Retire and Die – A
New Approach to Your Life and Work after 40. [40? 40’s still just a
kid, isn’t it?] Then, on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m., Eva Rutland
will discuss her “When We Were Colored – A mother’s story.” Find
out more about the books and their authors at
http://www.sonomalibrary.org/cgi-bin/webevent.cgi?cmd=calmonth&cal=cal5.
Phrase of the day: mouse potato. I shouldn’t have to define that
one.
— Necia Liles, editor