Editor's Letter June 2009

Take a minute, if you must, to bemoan the heat, and then let’s get on with the serious business of summer. If you have been around the desert for a while, you probably know of all the great deals available to those of us who enjoy dining out, taking in spa treatments, landing ideal tee times, and visiting cool attractions, such as Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Knott’s Soak City. In “Deals, Deals, Deals!” (page 10 in Desert Guide), Palm Springs Life editor Janice Kleinschmidt reveals a sampling of opportunities to cash in on the many perks of summer in the desert.

 One of the best bets is a day at Palm Springs Art Museum. Although renovations have closed the top floor, the galleries on the main level burst with installations of top-drawer artwork from the permanent collection. Look for the expansive canvas by Helen Frankenthaler; the color field painting by Mark Rothko; action paintings (and a sculpture) by Willem de Kooning; a focus on paintings by Sam Francis; Hard Edge paintings by midcentury Los Angeles artists Lorser Feitelson, Helen Lundeberg, and Karl Benjamin; and — on loan to the museum for the summer only — European master works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, and Henri Matisse.

This issue also celebrates local color. In “Home is Where the Art  Is” (page 20), writer Jorie Parr and photographer Elena Ray visit the home studios of three artists: globetrotting photographer Shari Applebaum, mystery novelist Michael Craft Johnson, and sculptors Karen and Tony Barone. “The houses of three Coachella Valley artists ... reflect their distinctive styles,” Parr reports.

Rounding out the issue, we re-introduce former La Quinta-based photographer Susan Benay, who now lives in Hawaii, where she photographed President Obama before and after his election. This month, Exposure Gallery in Palm Springs premieres the first exhibition of Benay’s photographs of Obama outside of Hawaii (page 28).

The desert has a wealth of action in the summer. Get out, take advantage of the great deals and sales, and enjoy the world-class attractions and culture.