JN Entertainment

lorenz Ziegfeld knew the
meaning of marketing:
The women of Ziegfeld's
Follies didn't just dance,
they posed. And their elaborate
portraits were used to promote
stage shows with names like Pa-
gan Ladies, Scandals and
Whoopee.
Photographer Alfred Cheney
Johnstone deserves much of the
credit for elevating Ziegfeld's
1920s showgirls to icons of se-
duction and style. His pho-
tographs, several dozen of which
are on display at Book Beat in
Oak Park through mid-Febru-
ary, capture the sophistication,
wit and extravagance of a re-
bellious time in American social
history.
Most of the vintage silver
prints come from the collection
of Book Beat owner Cary Loren,
and their gaze lingers enchant-
ingly on the puckered-lipped
beauties draped in bizarre costumes: fur, sequins, trans-
parent gauze, towering headdresses, plastic fruit. They

Paint Creek Center for the Arts,
407 Pine St., Rochester. (810)
651-4110.
Elegance in Glass, rare Victo-
rian and early 20th-century glass
from the collection of Paul Win-
dorf. Opens Friday, Jan. 26,
through June. 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Wednesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Saturday-Sunday. $3
adults/$1.50 seniors and chil-
dren. Detroit Historical Muse-
um, 5401 Woodward, Detroit.
(313) 833-1805.
Realism in Clay by Gail
R,osenbloom Kaplan; Letters

Right:
Alfred Cheney
Johnstone's portrait of
Betty Dumbizis in
Ziegfeld's Whoopee.

Left:
Ziegfeld's "Rio Rita,"
Kay English, as
photographed by
Johnstone.

cover their bare breasts with
their hands, looking coy or in-
nocent or full of attitude. But
real fame came to only a few of
them — Clara Bow, Louise
Brooks and Mary Pickford, for
example.
The Art Deco influence, Loren
points out, strongly influenced
the work of Johnstone, who was
the official Follies photograph-
er from 1917 until Ziegfeld's death in 1932 (his fee per
sitting at this time ran between $500 and $1,200).

Dipped in Honey; and Juda
k Art of Ben Glicker. "Letthrs
Dipped in Honey," is an exhibit
of Jewish children's books cu-
rated by New York's Yeshiva
University. Through Feb. 29. 11
a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday;
11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 11
a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Maple-
Drake Jewish Community Cen-
ter. (810) 661-7641.

lypse. Imagery that involves
death, including works by Dur-
er, Manet, Goya and others.
Through March 17. 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-
9 p.m. Thursday; 12-5 p.m. Sun-
day. Special tour Feb. 4.
University of Michigan Museum
of Art, 525 S. State St., Ann Ar-
bor. (313) 764-0395.

University of Michigan Mu-
seum of Art. Sol LeWitt. Five
new wall drawings. Through
_Aug. 4. Dark, Embraces. images
of War, Death and the Apoca-

Detroit Institute of Arts.
Flowers in a Glass Vase on a
Marble Ledge, the museum's
new acquisition by 17th-century
Dutch painter Rachel Ruysch.

Johnstone died in 1971, having shot 25,000 pho-
tographs in his New York studio. The Book Beat show
offers a glimpse into the fantastical world he helped
Ziegfeld create.

—Liz Stevens

e

"Women of Talent and Beauty: Showgirls of the
1920s" will remain on display through Feb. 14 at Book
Beat, 26010 Greenfield, Oak Park. Hours are 10 a.m.-
9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday. (810) 968-1190.

Romancing the American Fron-
tier. Paintings and sculptures
from the permanent collection
include works by American
artists Albert Bierstadt, George
Caleb Bingham, John Gutzon
Borglum and Jervis MacEntee.
Through April 7. Thomas Cole:
The Voyage of Life. A series of
four paintings from the Ameri-
can artist. Through April 14.
Suggested donation $4 adults/$1
children. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednes-
day-Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. week-
ends. 5200 400dwarri Ave. (313)
833-7900.

An Autobiography: Paintings
by Thomas Nozkowski with
Photographs by Judy Linn
Opens Friday, Jan. 26, through
March 24. Dream Sites: A Visu-
al Essay by George Tysh. Works
on paper chosen from the muse-
um's collections by Tysh, a De-
troit poet and WSU professor. 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday;
10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday. $4
adults/$2 students, children, se-
niors. Cranbrook Art Museum,
1221 N. Woodward. (810) 645-
3312.

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