Life imitates art at California festival

Skilled writers can crystallize with words what it's like to see a glacier calving into the sea or tempt your tongue describing how a Jersey tomato tastes in the middle of August or fill your senses with the sight, sound and smell of an ocean breeze at sunset.

Those same writers also could paint a precise picture of the Pageant of the Masters.

Those with lesser skills can only take their best shot. Here's mine.

The Pageant is a 75-year Laguna Beach, Calif., tradition that is at the heart of the annual Festival of Arts in the oceanside community known for its hip restaurants, trendy taverns and art of every genre.

My wife and I have visited the Pageant four times and always leave in awe of the work hundreds of volunteers have to do each year to put on the show. Their 60,000 hours annually are evident from the moment the orchestra begins its overture to the time the curtain closes on "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci.

In between, the audience is taken through well-known and lesser-known paintings and sculptures in keeping with a theme, which changes annually.

Now, for the tough part: What exactly is the Pageant of the Masters?

The French called it tableaux vivants back in the Middle Ages when people were used to create "living pictures" to depict religious events.

Today's Pageant in Laguna Beach re-creates art masterpieces, using meticulously reconstructed background scenes of the artwork and, for want of a better word, "actors" to take the places of characters in the paintings or sculptures.

Imagine, for instance, "The Last Supper" and, in the place of Jesus and his disciples painted on canvas, put real people with makeup and dress to match the masterwork in every - and this can't be emphasized enough - E-V-E-R-Y detail.

Sit anywhere in the outdoor amphitheater under a starry sky, and I challenge any observer to find a flaw.

Believe me, I tried for the first couple of years. Now, I just sit back and enjoy.

I confess that one year my wife caught the glint of a tear in the eye of a bronze sculpture. Of course, she needed binoculars to see the twinkle.

Outside the amphitheater is the Festival of Arts, which plays host to gifted artists who display their talents in a range of expression - jewelry, woodworking, sculpture, oils, watercolors and ink. It's all there to just soak in and enjoy and, should you choose, purchase.

Across the street from the arts festival is The Sawdust Festival, a little less posh but an equally eclectic mix of art, from exquisite tiny ceramic fairies to artisans blowing glass vases.

At both venues, the artists are happy to chat about what they do and how they do it.

But the centerpiece is the Pageant.

Last season, director Diane Challis Davy, presented "All the World's a Stage," which focused on stage performance and theater.

This year, she will present "The Muse" and explore what motivates artists to create.

"Behind every masterpiece is a story of fascination, love, passion and obsession," the director said, noting that for French impressionist Claude Monet, his wife was both muse and model, while Paul Gauguin's travels to the South Seas radically transformed his art.

In addition to those masters, paintings by Salvador Dali and Maxfield Parrish will be among the more than 40 artworks re-created on the stage this summer.

The Pageant of the Masters will be performed nightly from July 8 through Aug. 31.

For information, call 949-497-6582, or toll free 800-487-3378. Web site: www.foapom.com

 IF YOU GO

» WHAT: Festival of Arts, California's longest-running outdoor fine art show.

» WHERE: Laguna Beach, Calif.

» WHEN: July 5 through Aug. 31

» COST: Festival admission prices are $7 for general admission and $4 for seniors and students.

» WHAT: Pageant of the Masters ("The Muse")

» WHERE: Laguna Beach, Calif.

» WHEN: July 8 through Aug. 31, with the eleventh annual Celebrity Gala Benefit Performance on Aug. 29.

» TICKETS: $20-$90 (depending on seat location and night of the week). Call 949-497-6582 or toll free 800-487-3378 or order online at www.PageantTickets.com.

Pageant of the Masters ticket holders can present their stub at the Festival of Arts front gate for free admission.