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MDPLS “Art of Storytelling” Exhibit Opening: Once Upon a Time in Almeria  

Once Upon a Time in Almeria Mark Parascandola April 26 – June 3 Miami Dade Public Library Main Library – 2nd floor exhibition space 101 W. Flagler Street Miami Florida 33130 305-375-2665 During the 1960s and 1970s, the region of Almeria in Spain, was host to dozens of filmmakers who constructed elaborate movie sets, invoking locations from the American Southwest to Bedouin Arabia. Films shot here include Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia, Patton, and Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood, of which some were inspired by both real-life events and fictional plays by Spanish poet/author Federico Garcia Lorca. Film directors […]

Artscape: The 2013 Sondheim Prize  

The 2013 Sondheim Prize Semi-Finalists have been announced and I’m pleased to report that I am one of them! You can see the full list of semi-finalists here. The prize is in conjunction with the annual Artscape juried exhibition and is produced by The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, The Walters Art Museum (WAM) and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Approximately six finalists will be selected for the final review for the prize. Their work will be exhibited in the Special Exhibition Gallery at The Walters Art Museum – an exciting new partner who generously offered […]

Brigitte Bardot in Almeria  

Options 2013  

Washington Project for the Arts has released the lineup for Options 2013, which I will be participating in. — Dates: April 10 – June 9, 2013, Wednesday – Friday, 1-7pm; Saturday-Sunday, 12-5pm Location: Arlington Arts Center, 3550 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201 Curated by: Gerald Ross, Director of Exhibitions and Faculty, MFA in Curatorial Practice, Maryland Institute College of Art. Participating artists: Selin Balci (Annapolis, MD), Christina Billotte (Baltimore, MD), Michael Borek (Bethesda, MD), Julia Brown (Washington, DC), Carolyn Case (Cockeysville, MD), Bonnie Crawford Kotula (Baltimore, MD), Evan Hume (Washington, DC), Lisa Marie Jakab (Washington, DC), Magnolia Laurie (Baltimore, MD), […]

TTR Sotheby’s International  

Photos from my solo exhibit reception January 10 at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty on 14th street in Washington DC. It was a great event with food, wine and lots of great company! Drop by 1506 14th street to see the show. You can see the full album here.

Once Upon a Time in Almería  

The Movie Capitol of the World It was 50 years ago that David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia had its premier. Lean had intended to shoot the entire film in Jordan, on the same terrain where Lawrence had waged his campaign. But the difficulties of working 200 miles into the desert for months at a time put the production behind schedule and way over budget. The work took a psychological toll as well, and Producer Sam Spiegel feared that Lean had become obsessed with the desert. So Spiegel ordered the entire production to be moved to Spain. Lean was furious. […]

Exhibit and January 10 Reception at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty  

Mark Parascandola solo exhibit at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty 14th and P Street NW. Open now. Reception and artist presentation January 10 from 6 to 8pm.

“Once Upon a Time” in the Washington Diplomat  

“‘Once Upon a Time,’ Almería Was Home to Cowboys and Cleopatra,” review by Gail Sullivan in the Washington Diplomat. Read the article here

Fifty Years Ago: Aqaba in Almeria  

Fifty years ago, in April of 1962, the Algarrobico beach on the southeastern coast of spain was bustling with activity as two hundred local workers constructed a replica of the Red Sea port of Aqaba circa 1916 for the filming of Lawrence of Arabia. They took three months to construct 300 false-front buildings and a quarter mile sea wall. The crew planted palm trees, trucked in from Alicante, placed four full-size canons on the hills above, and brought 450 horses and 150 camels from Morocco. Hundreds of local fishermen and gypsies served as extras. In the film, British officer T.E. […]

The House of the Bride  

Seeing Constellation Theater’s innovative production of Lorca’s Blood Wedding reminded me of the script’s explicit references to the barren landscape of Almeria. The set is minimal, as it should be, to highlight the isolation of the characters and the unforgiving environment they inhabit. In an exchange in the first act, the groom’s mother complains of the distance they had to travel to reach the bride’s remote house, “a four hour journey and not a house or a tree.” The bride’s father laments the dry earth and how he “had to labor over it and shed tears to get anything from […]