As an emerging painter in the 1950s, Simone Forti became interested in movement.

“I spent a lot of time at the zoo in those days,” said the Kingsley Manor resident. “The natural movements I saw in animals was fascinating and I began sketching them.  There’s a lot of poetry in movement.”

Simone soon began to explore human movement through dance and with the avant-garde art movement exploding in the 1960s, took the next logical step – her medium became movement.

For six decades, Simone has created iconic performance art, including a show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles earlier this year. The show, simply titled “Simone Forti,” showcases more than 80 works including her 1960-61 “Dance Constructions,” in which dancers use knotted ropes to suspend themselves in space or, on a slant board, shifting their weight off the usual horizontal plane.

Now a renowned artist, that was not always Simone’s life plan. Following her graduation from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, she attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon to study biology. She continued to paint and soon came to a crossroads. She had to decide whether to continue “to play it safe” by studying biology or follow her passion and become a full-time artist. “I knew it would be difficult to make a living as an artist but it’s something I never had second thoughts about.”

After studying for four years with famed dancer and choreographer Anna Halprin, who Simone considers her mentor, she knew there were many opportunities in New York City for artists. She was correct. “Dance Constructions” was first performed at Reuben Gallery in 1960, a pioneering gallery of happenings, events and new media art. Further “Constructions” debuted at Yoko Ono’s loft, the following spring.

She and several other artists rented a loft in Manhattan, working together and encouraging each other. “It was an exciting time,” Simone said. “Being with other artists really inspired me.”

While she is widely celebrated as a choreographer and dancer, Simone views herself more broadly as an artist who works with movement, using her own body alongside other materials and media. She has expressed this philosophy through her experimental holograms, drawings and videos from her “Illuminations” and “News Animation” series and drawings and photographs from her lifelong exploration of animal movement and the natural world.

“My challenge has always been to make something out of nothing,” Simone said. “That may be the challenge of any artist.”

These days, Simone’s inspiration comes from her life at Kingsley Manor, located not far from the excitement of the city, which she loves. She has shifted her focus to writing, while enjoying the relaxed atmosphere among friends.

“I’m glad I can now be part of the Kingsley Manor community as an artist,” Simone said.

Photo Credits:

Simone Forti portrait, courtesy of Zuma News, LA, 2013.

“Dance Constructions” courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Photos by Jeff McLane

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During her travels she has seen the works of some of the world’s great masters including Rembrandt, Vermeer, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

“I remember attending a Getty sponsored reception at the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam and standing in a room full of Rembrandts,” Nancy said. “It was an unforgettable experience.”

As an editor, part of Nancy’s job was to digitally catalogue great artists and their works, or as she puts it … “bring the art world into the computer age.”

Although she appreciates the great masters, she tends to gravitate toward contemporary American artists like Anne Laddon, Edward Hopper, Dave Spurlin and Myra Burg. In fact, Nancy’s favorite piece is Laddon’s “Comida Mexicana,” a hand-pulled serigraph (silkscreen) depicting various Mexican hot sauces and other canned foods, inspired by décor found at Mexican restaurants. Her cottage is filled with all of her favorite pieces, including her favorite medium, fiber art, as well as several quilts, designed by fellow resident and friend Joan Guyon.

“It was recently my honor to coordinate an exhibit here at Claremont Manor showcasing all of Joan’s beautiful quilts,” Nancy said. “Her work is just unbelievable.”

After Nancy received her Ph.D. in English from Claremont Graduate University, she worked as an editor at the Information Sciences Institute. She was involved in the pioneering work of creating the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet, in the 1970s. “Soon after, I became one of the first people, probably in the world, to have an email address. It was an exciting time.”

Nancy has lived at Claremont Manor for a little over a year. She moved from Pacific Palisades after her husband died to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren, who live in Claremont. “I was familiar with the area, having gone to school here, and my house was so big, it was just the time for me to move,” Nancy said. “Claremont Manor seemed to be the perfect fit. In fact, my grandchildren can walk here from their school so I see them all of the time.”

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Rated one of the top 100 self-taught artists in the country, Leon has lived and worked in Oakland, California for over 25 years and has been a resident of Oak Center Towers, an affordable housing community owned and operated by Front Porch, for nine.

If you are out, about, and aware, you may run into him on an Oakland street, capturing on canvas the people and scenes of Bay Area life. His works are coveted by prominent Folk Art collectors everywhere, and even appear in the Smithsonian Institute.

Leon paints on “everything.” Some of his most impressive works have been captured on bed sheets he has found on the streets. Works on wood, tables and chairs, glass, and metal (even hubcaps) have been known to grace a thorough Kennedy collection. Many of the materials he works with come from the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in Oakland. He creates his artworks with markers, paints, crayons, beads, glitter, cotton, yarn, and rope.

Community is a central part of Leon’s vision of life, as shown in his painting, “Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.” Leon explains that his art stems from his love for humanity, and he especially loves to paint the faces of the people that matter most to him, his close friends and family and neighbors.

“I love to see a picture of the beauty of old faces, young faces, all colors,” he says. “Everyone has their own beauty, everyone has character, and everyone goes through something. My work is based on community and family, and I love doing the faces and showing the heart and love. The heart of the community — you call it love.”

“The main idea of my art is concern for people, encouraging someone else,” he said. “I love when someone loves the work, and feels touched. We’re here to serve and love and encourage one another. When I get a vision, I hope it helps someone.”

He has long had a vision as an artist. “As a child I knew that art was my vocation,” Leon said. Born in 1945 in Houston, Texas, he moved to the Bay Area in 1965. He lived in San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1970s and painted his first public mural in Hunter’s Point during that time. In Oakland, Leon began by painting on cloth, but he soon ran out of canvas, so he started painting on bed sheets and other found materials.

It seems fitting that he often finds his “canvases” on the street. “My art studio is the street,” Leon explained. “I paint on bed sheets that I hang on wooden fences and building walls.”

He explains that artistic visions constantly come to him. Living at Oak Center Towers provides him with a steady home base as well as a community from which to draw inspiration. “I love the variety of people here, I love my view of downtown,” he said. “The staff here is so supportive; anything that needs fixed is taken care of right away. I’m also inspired by the other artists here. I’d love to bring them all together so the world can see our creativity.”

Learn more about Leon Kennedy and his artwork on his website.

*This post was adapted from an article previously published in the Fall 2019 edition of Community Matters, a publication of the Front Porch Communities Foundation, with quotes adapted from a Street Spirit article from April 2014. Read the most recent edition of Communities Matters here.

The Front Porch Communities Foundation supports innovative programs and community improvements that deliver real benefit to residents, employees, and program participants across the Front Porch organization. To learn more, visit https://frontporch.net/philanthropy/.

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Leon is rated one of the top 100 self-taught artists in the country. His works are coveted by prominent Folk Art collectors everywhere. Serious collectors take huge store in the fact that Mr. Kennedy’s works appear in the Smithsonian Institute, which adds value to the ownership of a Kennedy original.

Community is a central part of Kennedy’s vision of life, as shown in his painting, “Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.” Kennedy explains that his art stems from his love for humanity, and he especially loves to paint the faces of the people that matter most to him, his close friends and family and neighbors.

“I love to see a picture of the beauty of old faces, young faces, all colors,” he says. “Everyone has their own beauty, everyone has character, and everyone goes through something. My work is based on community and family, and I love doing the faces and showing the heart and love. The heart of the community — you call it love.”

It is profoundly important for Leon Kennedy that his art serves the community. In a recent application Kennedy made for a public mural, a panelist said, “Mr. Kennedy actively builds community through his art.” His proposal was approved and the mural will be completed in 2020 at the African American Museum and Library.

“The main idea of my art is concern for people, encouraging someone else,” he said. “I love when someone loves the work, and feels touched. We’re here to serve and love and encourage one another. When I get a vision, I hope it helps someone.”

He has long had a vision as an artist. “As a child I knew that art was my vocation,” Kennedy said. Born in 1945 in Houston, Texas, he moved to the Bay Area in 1965. He lived in San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1970s and painted his first public mural in Hunter’s Point during that time. In Oakland, Kennedy began by painting on cloth, but he soon ran out of canvas, so he started painting on bed sheets and other found materials.

It seems fitting that he often finds his “canvases” on the street. “My art studio is the street,” Kennedy explained. “I paint on bed sheets that I hang on wooden fences and building walls.”

Kennedy paints nearly every day, often working on a bed sheet or a huge piece of cloth spread out on the floor of his studio apartment. He paints while kneeling, as if immersed in prayer. He explains that artistic visions constantly come to him. Living at Oak Center Towers provides him with a steady home base as well as a community from which to draw inspiration. “I love the variety of people here, I love my view of downtown,” he said. “The staff here is so supportive; anything that needs fixed is taken care of right away. I’m also inspired by the other artists here. I’d love to bring them all together so the world can see our creativity.”

Leon Kennedy will have a public mural called Oakland Faces on display at the Oakland Public Library in January. His work will be on exhibition at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center in February as a part of the Black History Month celebration.

*This article was previously published in the Fall 2019 edition of Community Matters with quotes adapted from a Street Spirit article from April 2014.

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The retired English teacher began painting on porcelain about 20 years ago at age 60, after seeing work at a local art show. “I liked what I saw,” Rose said in her one-bedroom apartment at Sunny View. “I thought painting on porcelain tiles was an unusual thing to do and I wanted to try it.”

Rose estimates she has painted more than 100 pieces. They range in size and form including plates, steins and framed tiles. Her subjects include still life, wildlife, landscape, floral and, her favorite subject, portraits.

“I like to see a person’s face come to life after I paint it,” Rose says. “Seeing that makes me happy.”

As a teacher with summers off, Rose had a passion for travel, vising Europe, Russia, China, India and Tibet as well as many locations in the U.S. “While visiting all of those places I took a lot of photos of what I saw and liked,” Rose said. “When I began painting, I used those photos for inspiration.” Rose humbly says … “I’m not a great artist but a good copier. I can copy what I take pictures of.”

“I’m amazed,” said Alex Fucile, Rose’s brother who has several of his sister’s paintings hanging in his home. “Growing up I never realized my big sister had this kind of talent. I was surprised as anyone when she started painting and I saw the results were so beautiful and detailed.”

The process is simple. Rose chooses a specific size piece of porcelain that fits the subject and using an oil-based paint specifically formulated for the medium paints directly on the blank “canvas.” She then takes the sub painted for finished product and fires it in a kiln, finishing the process. Her work has been on display at Sunny View several times for all to enjoy.

Now semi-retired from painting, Rose says her life at Sunny View allows her to explore other interests including reading, exercising in the gym and walking.

“I might start painting again,” Rose says with a grin. “They actually have a kiln here so I have everything I need.”

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