We intellectual elitists who pull our pants on differently than the masses know that good art and culture encounters do much more than “entertain.” They give us an enhanced understanding of ourselves and our world. This truism undergirds my explorations of arts and culture in the Richmond region and my writings about them in this blog.

With this in mind I experienced a 12/19/2011 three-hour tour of a familiar art form: tacky Christmas lights.

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It’s not in the Richmond region, but it’s worth the drive and it’s currently featuring Richmond region artists. It’s Chroma Projects Art Laboratory – a two-year-old gallery in Charlottesville’s downtown mall. I was there on December’s First Friday (12/2/12) to see artworks by 15 members of the Richmond-based ONE/OFF Professional Printmakers.
 

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It’s only coincidence; there’s no such thing as mummy magic. I thought I’d seen every episode of the old Twilight Zone, but the other evening while flipping channels I discovered one I’d missed: “Queen of the Nile.” The plot centers on a beautiful woman who uses a scarab beetle to drain the life out of her lovers and then give that life to her – a process that has extended her youthful life from the days of the Egyptian mummies. The next day – 12/5/2011 – I saw the “Mummies” exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

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