LA Fridays with Bob and Tom: Fowler Museum

LA Fridays with Bob and Tom

 Week 19.  Fowler Museum

This week we visit the Fowler Museum of Cultural History (The Fowler) located on the campus of UCLA.  Originally established in 1963, The Fowler has a rich history of exploring art and material culture primarily from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas, past and present.  Its collections, both in number and quality rank it among the top four university museums in the country. The museum is generally home to three to six exhibitions at any one time.  It also acts as a venue for lectures on cultural topics, musical performances, art workshops, family programs, film screenings, festivals and more.  The Fowler’s collections comprise more than 120,000 art and ethnographic and 600,000 archaeological objects representing ancient, traditional, and contemporary cultures of Africa, Latin America, and Asia and the Pacific.  From Yoruba beaded arts of Southern Nigeria to pre-Columbian ceramic vessels of Peru, to elaborate basic textiles of Indonesia and the vibrant papier-mâché sculptures of Mexico, the Fowler’s collections offer a comprehensive resource for exhibitions and scholarship central to the Museum’s mandate.  The museum offers a plethora of cultural events throughout the year. 

This is your university museum come pay a visit.

lafridayswithbobandtom@gmail.com

ROBERT BLAUNSTEIN, PhD BIO

Robert (Bob) is a PhD physicist whose career has spanned academia, government and private industry. As a faculty member of the Department of Physics at the University of Tennessee, a Branch Chief at the United States Department of Energy and Vice President of an American International Group Company, his scientific endeavors include radiation physics, environmental research, environmental insurance and nanotechnology.

Originally from the East Coast, Bob was seduced by his sons and their families (and the California weather) to leave Washington, DC after retiring in 2010. While recovering from culture shock, Bob found many outlets to reconcile his eclectic interests. As a member of Senior Scholars for over six years he continues to take courses in a myriad of subjects ranging from film to art history to brain science and finds great intellectual and social rewards in Senior Scholars and the Plato Society.

As a latent artist, he sketches scenes about town once a week with an artist friend from his college days and is attempting to learn to play the electric guitar.

On moving to Los Angeles, he found Tom Jacobson, another recent transplant. They became great friends and decided to explore their new town together leading to over 113 sites in our city. Dubbed “LA Fridays with Bob and Tom” they are happy to share their experiences with others.

Bob lives in Brentwood with Phyllis, his wife of 56 years, an education policy executive. They have two sons and four grandchildren, one of whom plays a guitar a lot better than Bob.

THOMAS JACOBSON BIO

Thomas (Tom) is an attorney who practiced trial and constitutional law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in 1938 in Bamberg Germany, he was one of the youngest passengers on the ill-fated voyage of the Damned, the SS St. Louis, turned away from Cuba in 1939.

Tom represented local civil rights activists and Dick Gregory and twice argued cases successfully in the United States Supreme Court. In 1970 he was the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General.

Retiring in 2008, he and wife, Peggy, moved to California to join their two sons and four grandchildren, and enjoy the warm weather.

Tom has kept busy as a member of Senior Scholars and Plato for the last six years keeping his brain stimulated and active. Yoga and swimming have kept his body in shape.