Frank Verpoorten

 Belgian-born and Belgian-educated Frank Verpoorten is Executive Director and Chief Curator of Naples Art.  Since taking on that role four years ago, Frank has mounted a series of extraordinary exhibitions.  Naples Art is fortunate to have him.

Before coming to Naples Art, he served as director and chief curator of the Baker Museum at Artis-Naples for seven years, following a decade in arts administration at several noted institutions in New York City.  The current Cunningham-McCabe exhibition runs through August.  I wonder what will be next.

People at the Exhibition

 I liked photographing the guests at the Naples Art exhibition.

I photographed a woman taking a photograph of a family in front of Robert McCabe's photographs.

Later, the same woman had a conversation with another visitor.

Two friends wearing black and white stood together to look at the black-and-white photographs.

Two women and I moved at the same pace, first looking at Imogen Cunningham works (with the brown frames) and later at the Robert McCabe works (with black frames).

Robert McCabe

 Though Imogen Cunningham is a better known photographer, I was more taken by the works of Robert McCabe (born 1934).  He is an American-Greek photographer especially well known in Greece for his black-and-white images capturing the landscapes, architecture and daily life of that country.

Just look at those faces!!

McCabe's people images captivated me.

McCabe's landscapes and architectural images are lovely, with crisp details and high contrast between the light and dark areas.  Perfect for black-and-white.

Imogen Cunningham

 Naples Art opened another wonderful exhibition yesterday.  Two photographers.  Today:  well-known photographer Imogen Cunningham, who had a six decade career on the West Coast.

Some of Cunningham's photographs are almost abstract, like these hands morphing to skeletal.

She was a noted portrait photographer.  The one on the right is Minor White, himself a noted photographer.  The one on the left is simply a man exhaling cigarette smoke.

Cunningham (1883-1976) was also an avid gardener.  One alcove showed some of her botanical studies.

Later in her career, Cunningham experimented with double exposures.

One visitor gave herself a time-out to check her phone.

Fifth Avenue South

 

I walked Naples' premier shopping and restaurant street.

The simple geometry of an art gallery's open front door and the free-flowing forms of six horses stopped me in my tracks.

A newish building at the intersection with 4th Street South has an updated Tuscan styling.

An older building on the other side of the street still shows off the Bermudian pink once common two decades ago.

Aldo Castillo Gallery always has interesting modern pieces in the windows.

When the Hoffman family owned many buildings on Fifth Avenue South, they installed big sculptures along the street.  The Hoffmans sold their holdings two years ago, and the sculptures disappeared.  This juggler by Tim Rennert was on a different building but is now for sale at The Englishman.

Vettes

 

I don't want a Corvette, but their sleek lines sometimes make me stop and stare.

At 6'6" I doubt I would fit inside one.

Geometry

 

This house is completely unlike all others in its Naples Park neighborhood.  Some neighbors are small bungalows and ranches from half a century ago.  Others are big McMansions built on lots cleared of those bungalows and ranches.  I wouldn't have chosen this one for my own home, but I like it.

CMON

 

The Golisano Children's Museum of Naples (CMON) is great fun for kids.

A favorite feature is a banyan tree that lets kids climb between the ground floor and the floor above.

I decided I couldn't take other photographs inside the museum because there were kids everywhere and I didn't think it appropriate to show identifiable kids.  But, a photo of an adult -- mother?  babysitter?  -- would be OK.

Easter Egg Hunt

The number of eggs was unbelievable.  And the granddaughters both filled big baskets to overflowing.  They gave some of theirs to younger kids.

Naomi Haverland

Naomi Haverland is a mural artist who was painting at a mural event at Bennett-Hart Park in Fort Myers.  She also does a lot of sidewalk art.  Naomi is originally from Denver but now lives in Florida.

Take a look at some of her other murals.

Linked to Monday Murals.

 

Happy Easter

 

Betsy was in a store playing with Easter bunny ears.  She was a good sport and let me photograph her.

Happy Easter.

Happy Birthday

 

A delicious key lime pie was a special way to celebrate a birthday.

Fountain

At an outlet shopping mall. 

Climbing Wall

 

A good way for kids to entertain themselves for an hour or so.

Honor Flight

 

Soldiers from the Korean, Vietnam and more recent wars were lined up at Southwest Regional Airport in Fort Myers for their Honor Flights to Washington, D.C., and Arlington National Cemetery.

Sally

 Sally is captain of our bocce team.  We are terrible, but no one cares.  It is a good excuse to get together with friends.

Sally is a Brit who lives in Manhattan and Naples.  She was the chief operating officer of corporate legal departments and law firms, including GE, TimeWarner, Verizon, Akin Gump and Clifford Chance.  Her husband and she will be taking a three week trip around Japan pretty soon.

Jason

I was in Fort Myers recently, where I saw a man painting a very big mural on the side of a building.

The artist was surprisingly reluctant to talk about himself or even to tell me his name.

Eventually, Jason told me that this is the first mural he has tried to paint.  He works in construction and wasn't sure his first mural was going to be high enough quality.  Jason, it looks good to me.

Linked to Monday Murals.