This is one of my favorite chapters in the book because of it's introduction to SW crafts/arts and SE folk art, and the emphasis on textiles. In addition to your three standing questions of what surprised you, what impressed you and what are you taking away I have another question for you ...how do you personally and professionally balance the old with the new? Tradition with contemporary? Or if you prefer answer this extra question: how much of your household is handmade?
A few observations and a story or two.
When reading this book a few years back questions came up concerning basket making as a "women's art". Because I did not have a qualified answer, we contacted the Heard Museum in AZ and asked if all basket makers were women. A wonderful woman answered that traditionally women where the basket makers of most tribes/nations. That at times there would be he/shes who much like Hosleen Klah cross gender barriers to excel in a craft. She added that today a number of men have taken up basket making in order to preserve the craft. So what difference does gender make?
Continuing with that thought, when reading Ilonka Karasz and why her work was considered too domestic to survive over time contemplate what is consider "important" art. And why.
As a grad student in printmaking I remember a woman who did a beautiful litho of the piles of laundry she had to do weekly. She had two children under the age of 2 and used cloth diapers. When she showed her work during review the work was totally dismissed by the professor as "too mundane" while praising the prints of downhill skiers done by the male students. This literally was a turning in my life as an artist. Who has the right to chose my subject matter or determine what I find important?
Much of the discussion in this chapter is on the influence of markets or promoters on the art itself. The selling of tradition or the manipulation of the tradition or is it? In the book "Between Grace and Fear: The Role of the Arts in a Time of Change" by Wm. Cleveland and Patricia Shifferd, there is an interview with flute artist R.Carlos Nakai. He discusses how there are always those that want him to only play Native American music because he is responsible for keeping the music pure. His response is that he does not know a pure Native American or one from just one tribe or nation. That as time goes on so does culture. He follows the flute and its music around the world. So, when reading this chapter consider how much do we really know about other cultures vs. how much do we make up based on movies/t.v. or myths. What is your culture? Literally, where are you from and what makes up your family culture. How far back can you take your cultural history?
The first thing that surprised me when reading this chapter was that Art Deco was born in the Paris Exposition. I had not known that. I knew a lot of influence and characteristic of this style came from France but originally I thought America was the country that combined all of those characteristics into one style. “The 1920s was a time of affluence, of increasing sophistication, of a desire to define what it meant to be American” (pp. 106.) This statement kind of through me for a loop when I read that Art Deco came from the Paris Exposition because I remember growing up learning how popular Art Deco was in America in the 20’s. It became an iconic trend and still is today. I am still surprise that Art Deco was one of the interpretations of what it meant to be an “American”, but in actuality, it came from France. Another aspect that surprised me was that institutions did not distinguish between manufactured good and handmade crafts in the early twentieth century. My mouth dropped and I could hear Ruskin and Morris’ despair whisper in my ear before I read the authors comments in regards to them. On the other hand after reading the term of industrial art I soon began to accept that times were changing and as humans we have to move with that change or we will be left behind.
ReplyDeleteLike Future, I was in awe when I start
ed to read about Southwest Indian Arts because it was familiar to me and my childhood. This is the art that I grew up around and I remember visiting numerous galleries in Santa Fe throughout my life. My grandparents also collected tons of southwest artwork and actually started working with a manufactured selling southwest jewelry and turquoise. It really surprised me to read that tradition and innovation have often played unfairly against Native Americans. Or that their techniques or inventions were considered recycled. It actually made me sad really. Native Americans were getting their first break by being able to become citizens, since their land was taken from them and once a wave of interest was shown in their work for the first time, some were considering it recycled. I think if your family or ancestors have done a certain craft for so many years and was brought down to you it becomes invaluable. If you’re using the same technique as your ancestors but you put your own take on it, I believe it is creating something new and certainly not recycled.
I really enjoyed reading about Navajo weaving and Klah. Within the last couple of years Navajo patterns became a huge trend in fashion again which is funny to watch sometimes since it never really goes out of style in the south. When I was doing more research on Klah I came across an interesting site that shows notable sales for Navajo weaves these days…here is a few from the forum: http://buscalaluna.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=talk&action=display&thread=1621
"RECENT NOTABLE SALES
Generally, top prices are paid for the rarest mid-19th century Navajo chief blankets, not the 20th-century rugs made for the tourist trade.
$525,000 Classic Man’s Wearing Blanket, 1st Phase
Sotheby’s, 1989
$431,500
Classic Man’s Wearing Blanket, Serape
Sotheby’s, 1997
$401,500
Classic Man’s Wearing Blanket, 3rd Phase
Sotheby’s, 2001
$379,750
Classic Man’s Wearing Blanket, Serape
Sotheby’s, 2000"
All I could say was yowza! I guess recycling is paying off ;) (wink wink). I was impressed not only by Klan but also the Nampeyo’s and Martinezes. I was impressed that Nampeyo was the only Pueblo artist identified by name in early tourist literature. I was also intrigued by the success of the Martinezes and I am “in love” with their motif. There is a sense of abstract and boldness that my eye is attracted too. It was truly beautiful. If you didn’t google their work, you must! I am obsessed! I was impressed that Julian figured out how to make their pots black by smothering the fire too.
There is a wonderful little film on Maria Martinez's work that shows the entire process, from blessing the earth, to only taking what she needed to the firing of the pots. I will try to find the name of the film. What I think is important is the marketing and who gets what percentage of the final price tag. There is classic story form the Sagebrush Inn in Taos. The owner found an old Native Blanket and decided he wanted it behind the bar but it was too big, so he just cut it half. Thus totally devaluing the worth of it.I think this story could have been any of us or at least me. Liking something but not understanding or respecting it's history.
DeleteMaybe the rest of the story is how many times we have allowed our work to be altered with promises of sales.
Future,
DeleteMy ceramics professor, Lee Akins, had us watch that Maria Martinez documentary a few times; it was a wonderful insight into her process and her world. I found myself visualizing the documentary while reading the section in the chapter about Maria and her son, Popovi Da.
Is the film available online? It would be so interesting to see it.
DeleteI am interested in seeing it as well. I will search online and see what I find. I will let you know Lynn. That story gives me the chills Future. I can’t believe the owner did that; however, I could see myself doing something like that, not even thinking at the moment it happened. Anything I find in the near forthcoming I am getting it inspected before altering any aspect of it!
DeleteDonald Deskey was another artist that impressed me. His folding screens look modern for today’s time; I couldn’t imagine doing something so uber modern in 1918! Also what initiative it must have taken to branch out on your own from a designer like Frankl. “The gulf between designer and fabricator widened, until his furniture was no longer craft but what we now call industrial design”, (pp. 117). This is truly amazing and very inspirational. I would have never guess industrial design started from just one artist!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I know there were good and bad reviews about Erik Magnussen Cubic Coffee Service, but I personally think it was genius. I was surprised it didn’t get more accreditation for uniqueness and creativity. I thought this design showed not only an art deco theme but also an industrial design theme as well.
This chapter showcased a lot of talented and unique artist I think, or at least for me. I thought they all had a sense of bravery in their designs, not knowing if their rareness would be accepted into society. I love Ruth Reeves and her pictorial record of decorative folk art along with many others in this chapter. What I will take with me is that no matter where you gain inspiration from, either from ancestors or Europe that you should always follow your creative heart and have no fear. Do what you love and do it well.
When I thought about how much of my household is handmade, I realized it was hard for me to determine. I guess it depends on what I consider homemade since I am the observer. If homemade to me is building it from scratch then that would include all of my decorations including my paintings, ceramics, drawings, pillows, photographs, my headboard and some clothes. However, I consider my reupholstery homemade as well even though it is not necessarily built from scratch. That would be the majority of my house. One way that I combined old with new is taking old items such as the furniture in my house, (which was what I inherited from my mother. Items ranging from 1970’s-2000’s) and putting my own flavor on it to make it fashionable or modern. Such as sanding it, painting, staining, adding new hardware or building new hardware, reupholstering or adding upholstery, but I always leave the main details so you know what time period it came from. I think this certainly makes all of my items traditional or vintage with contemporary. I still have a piece of my mother and my childhood in all of these pieces but I also have a piece of me and my esthetic and they are now more than ever priceless.
What term should be used for furniture that has been refinished, painted, or reupholstered? Should it be called reclaimed, repurposed, shabby sheek. I to wonder if it would be considered handmade?
DeleteI was also impressed with the Erik Magnussen Cubic Coffee Service. It is just beautiful and such a dazzling look. It struck me as some sort of homage to the cubists and a wondered if it was as easy to use. But I really adored the Myrtle Meritt French green Teapot, though it was a molded pot it looks so very practical. I guess my attempts at drinking less coffee and more tea make me want to use it.
DeleteMagnussen's Cubic Coffee Service is genius to me! I love the lines! It's worthy of all the imitators that will follow. The cubist influence will soon ('30s) hit everything! It's one of my favs! It still stands up as modern, even by today's standards!
DeleteNormally hand made implies that it was made by hand not machine. I think homemade allows for the alterations and additions that made to a piece of furniture or other object.
DeleteFor me the lines get fuzzy in my kitchen...I have cups and bowls from various clay sales at school, talavara pottery that is mass produced but hand painted, my grandmothers hand painted china including a wonderful tea cup. Some things I just look at but know I could use. I often wonder if I am dishonoring the works by not using them for their intended purpose.
Future, I know what you mean about feeling a sense of guilt not using something as it was intended. But I have several items that were my great-grandmothers, like a momma bear/baby bear ceramic salt and pepper shaker set, that are irreplaceable should they break in everyday use. So they sit above my kitchen sink; I can enjoy them everyday, without having the danger of being too close to a naughty dog or silly nephew.
DeleteUpcyle is a marketing word used frequently for reclaimed and touched by an artist.
DeleteI am glad everyone had the same outlook to the Cubic Coffee Service. Gail-genius indeed!
DeleteFuture- I don’t think you are dishonoring those pieces if you don’t use them. I don’t use a lot of my homemade stuff in fear it will get ruin somehow. Do you think these types of homemade crafts are like cars? Once you drive it off the lot the value goes down? Was any of the pottery in this book that is so valuable really used for its purpose? I am curious about that now since the subject has been brought up…hmmmm. Anyone know?
My dream has always to live in a house ( the ideal would be an adobe home but a log cabin would be OK) that is filled with handmade items that I use...yes my grandmother's china included. Quilts, too. All my cloths would have some part of them embellished or be hand made/hand dyed. To have a set of dishes that I have thrown on a wheel, somehow silverware that I have made or helped with at least. Stain glass windows. Wildflowers in the yard. Homemade bread and music from people I know. A very 1970's dream. I keep thinking I have too much stuff and not enough time with the quality objects in my life.
DeleteThat is a wonderful dream! Very idyllic! I'd also love that, but I'd ruin it by turning on the TV to the real housewives or something! My contrasts and contradictions might kill me in that environment. You're so good. You'd read only good works of fiction and art books.
DeleteGail, I'm with you on the TV contradiction. Haha! That sounds like something I would do too.
DeleteHow much of your house is handmade? In my family, I have many artist who either have made functional art or decorative art. I have ancestors who have made furniture out of wood, functional accessories like trash cans out of metal, vases or dishes out of pottery, and wood carvings of birds. Some of the furniture is antique that my great grand pa made like a coffee table and a dresser. My grandpa on my mother's side worked for Wendell August and creates etchings that was considered art iron. He saved the first things that he created and is now being passed down through the family. I have the plate and a trash can that has etchings of a floral pattern. It is very precious to me because its handmade and that my grandpa made it. My dining room table was made by my parents when they where together. It is a cedar table layed out in a design with a resin poured on top to preserve the table. All the artwork in my place is ether painted by me. Because of my recent interest in glass, I have some bowls and vases made by me as well. Therefore, I would have to say that there is quite a lot of things in my place that are hand made.
ReplyDeleteSubject matter in artwork, who determines the importance? I believe there are two sides to argue in this question. I think it is the artist and the viewer who appreciates the work. However, the person who is most directly influence is the artist who thinks of the idea. This could change if an artist is commissioned to do the work and has no interest in the subject matter. It seems that commissioned work was done more in the time of the 1920s verses today. I would say that artist today work with more of their own interest even if it is commissioned.
How much do we know about other cultures vs. how much we know make-up based on movies or TV? This is a hard question to answer because I think a lot of people's knowledge is based on a second or third source and how true are those sources? It seems like people have judgements about cultures that are not quite true or exaggerated by Hollywood. Personally, I love learning about new cultures and get most of my knowledge either through art sources, Internet, or documentaries, or even through travel. My culture? That is another hard question because I come from a variety of cultures. I have my family traced back to 900s through Family Tree. Most of my family is traced back to Ireland. I love learning about my family history to restore what has been lost or learn more about their customs. I especially love learning about the artistic facts or traits. When I spent a month over in Scotland, I learned a lot about my family as well since I am related to McKenzie's and Campbell's.
Your comment about how our knowledge is often based on second or third sources is very deep comment, and I feel true. I think we often are not aware of how or what has influenced our belief on certain cultures, even in our city. The media, friends and our family have influenced us throughout our lives into what we are now with the positive and the prejudices we might have about certain art, people or places. I think it often takes a some conscious work or awareness to find the objective information needed to understand and appreciate some art or culture one might not have encountered before. I don't really see this as work but just knowing that there is so much we don't know and need to explore t understand.
DeleteI agree with Martha that your comment on 2nd or 3rd source is where our knowledge is based from. Isn’t that crazy to think? I wonder how much info we read on the internet is true or not. It was interesting to read about your family history since I come from a similar background as you. Scotland and Ireland that is.
DeleteIn art schools commissions are underrated or discredited. In the real world artists make their living through commissions. They may have more flexibility once they have some status or fame but they continue to be "commissioned" based on their past work or style.
DeleteI think one of the real mistakes we make in higher education is this disconnect from the reality of how to make a living at making art.
I often feel like a del out because I choose to make a living in art. I do about 10 commissions per year and I love them and hate them at the same time, for the very reasons you mentioned.
DeleteMaking a living as an artist is rough if you are not Picasso. I teach, I create my own work, I do commissions, I sell supplies, equipment, tools, etc. I never wanted anyone to call me a diletant, hobbyist, or worse, a housewife, so I made it my business to earn a full time living at this. There's a lot of chasing your tail to to make money, but it's worth it so I can do what I want to do! ....like go to school!
While reading about Hosteen Klan and his weaving sand painting, I wondered what that was. Through this site, http://www.canyonart.com/sandrugs.htm , I learned that it is associated with the Navajo and more of a ceremonial thing. I also wanted to see images of these sandpainting and learn more about the process of this. While in search of the process, I compared the reading in the sources on the Internet and came across more information about the gender roles of weaving.
ReplyDelete"Tension is first realized in gender roles. In the Navajo culture, men perform the roles of healer and singer. It is the hatathli, or singer, who through years of study memorizes the complex iconography associated with actual sandpaintings. Traditionally, however, women - not men - are the weavers. It is unlikely that a female weaver would have sufficient knowledge to reproduce sandpaintings successfully from memory. As these two professions are clearly delineated by gender roles, the question of how the singer's images are translated to designs on a weaver's loom is a significant one. The answer to this question for many Navajo has been perceived as a violation against the Holy People."
http://www.twinrocks.com/legends/164-sandpainting-textiles.html
I wanted to share this information with you because I found it very interesting. I am still looking for more information about the process of the sandpainting. I found out it does have actual sand and other natural materials in these weaving. Does anyone know more about the process of it?
Mary Meigs Atwater seems like a unique weaver. I love her description of "weaving as a kind of occupational therapy", that it is " built into the human nervous system" and "urge in our brains and our fingers" ( p.126). It is such a science way of thinking. I know when I get lost in a painting that it relaxes me with the braud strokes of painting to see the paint and how it smooths on the canvas. It is as if her statement could be applied to any form of art.
I have a new appreciation for basket weavers. I never new how much went into weaving baskets. I admire Aunt Cord Ritchie and how she was a self-taught artist. I think it's interesting when artist use natural resources to create their artwork. And I agreed with Goodrich and how they tried to save something old from extinction or to be lost. She reminds me of something that I'm trying to do with my own ancestors, to try to save my family traditions. I am inspired by the process of basket weaving but however I want to use other materials in creating a basket. Could this be one of the art projects for the class?
I enjoyed the canyon art link. I also didn't know very much about Native American craft and different ceremonial aspects of their art. I like understanding some of the background and familiar motifs. It makes me wonder how those traditions are carried out today (if at all?).
DeleteThat link was interesting Melanie Thanks for sharing. I have a new appreciation for basket weavers too. I have no idea how much work went into it either. I guess we all are victims of being unappreciative of the value of something until we have tired it or gain knowledge about it.
DeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteI went to the canyon art website to develope a deeper understanding of sandpaintings, and their meanings to the Navajo. The website stated that Franc J. Newcomb had recorded 700 sandpaintings, but what I was unable to determine was if these paintings were unique in their design, based on the reading or cirucumstance given by the medicine man, or standard rituals?
When I think back to where I come from or my culture it is not easy to define. My parents were from Oklahoma and Texas, met and married in Fort Worth, I was the child that was not born in Texas but Virginia. My father work for the government & we moved every 18 months. This gave me a ambiguous culture, in that I see more similarities than differences. When I hear about certain cultures being defined by traits such a love of family & food, I see that as in all cultures. Some cultures leave more evidence of those traits and perhaps more appreciation of certain traits in the art they choose to create and hand down. I feel that sometimes one can be so close to ones own culture (whatever that is) that all you can do as an artist is reflect in what you create where you have been and what you are experiencing and it might be a very egocentric view or it might be a snapshot of what the country or region is going through. I am being a bit simplistic here but this is where I see the balance of how old and new can be met and melded into an art form. From this chapter I see this done in textiles by Loja Saarinen and Ruth Reeves. In pottery I see this in the way Maria Martinez and her husband Julian were inspired by “archaeological beginnings” and created a tradition where they grew artistically within their culture. There are so many great examples in this chapter. I also think of Donald Deskey and how his experience in department story window display surely inspired him. Right out college I moved to New York, my first job was selling clothes at Saks Fifth Avenue and many of the young window display people were artists.
ReplyDeleteIn the last Chapter there was a mention of who does needle work now? Well… I did and my mother taught me. My mother’s family was originally from West Texas, outside of Graham, and though her family had very little, it is her family that had crafted items that were passed down. These include quilts, embroidery and lace handiwork such as baby bonnets. Some of the embroidery from the 1920’s was done on flour sacks or pillowcases and some clothes were made for children from the sacks too. Some of the flour sacks in later years actually were printed with floral patterns so women could make useful things out of them. At least that is what my great aunt told me. Though my mother was orphaned by age 9, she taught me to embroider mostly for fun. But she always thought I could make things for my own home some day. The implication was that I would get married and would have embroidered items to take to my new home(really). For my mother growing up having these skills was important and saved money. Growing up I had little television as we lived overseas so there was time for traditional activities like embroidery, though as someone who would rather read, draw or climb trees this was challenging for me, though I did learn and enjoy it. My mother encouraged me growing up to try local crafts and the first time I tried pottery on a wheel, was one turned by a stick (unsuccessfully). Embroidered items and a few carved candlesticks are the handmade items (made by relatives) passed down, there are other items they show at one time my mothers family lived a different kind of life in Europe. One is French clock that chimes on the hour with beautiful enameled numbers, though her family was from France long ago this clock seems very out of place in my sense of culture.
That is a remarkable beautiful story. So often people made beauty out of anything on hand, with cleverness and skill. A rich heritage.
DeleteAs someone who traveled a bit as a military brat, I know the influence other places have had on my art. The point to not to claim another culture as mine or to take from them without respect for their culture/faith. Again, in Visual Studies or at least as it is taught at TTU, we always ask that you use 'I" language...thus taking ownership of your views/ your reflections of another place.
DeleteI love your background Martha. I remember learning about women making outfits from potatoes and flour sacks in school. I had never heard of them until then, however I am sure my grandparents had some. I can visualize everything you reminisced about because I remember my grandma making lace baby bonnets and she used to make me some for my dolls that were once my moms. It sounded like you had great parents by encouraging you to pursue things other than sitting in front of the tv. I remember we didn’t have cable growing up and all my friends thought I was weird because I didn’t know what nickelodeon was. I am truly grateful my parents made me play outside.
DeleteYou're so right Brea. I grew up in Mexico and we always played outside. My dad worked most of the day and early evenings so my mom was with us most of the time. She always encouraged us to go outside, play sports, even just make stuff out of mud. We didn't own any toys or dolls. After I moved to Texas at 10 to live with my aunt and uncle that lifestyle I was used to changed drastically. I was the only child living in their home. They worked most of the time either at their job sites or at their offices at home so I spent all my time inside the house. I started watching TV more which on the other hand became my tutor and helped me learn English a little faster. It's so different when you grow up appreciating the things you have because you've earned them not just because they've been there and you have access to them. It makes you learn the value of working towards earning something.
DeleteI'm out of town and the computer seems to jump every time I try to post or type. Hope this works. Chapter four is like the other chapters overwhelming with information. Initially what surprised me the most is the role of the “Anglo-enthusiasts” in promoting Native American artists to the point of dictating design and or creating a romanticized history. This saddened and confused me, and my 21st century attitudes. It seemed so unnecessary. When the Cohn’s promoted Louisa Keyser by stressing that her baskets were of an old design when she had really designed them and it did not seem necessary to me to lie. The Cohn’s of course were much smarter than I as they were aware that the profit they could make on “traditional” basketry was much greater than a contemporary work at that time. The awareness of the controlled heritage, and how even museums like the Smithsonian had much too much influence on artist and what they chose to create was an eye opener. In the Smithsonian’s (southeasters pottery) case it was amusing when Meaders mentioned that he was making the face jugs because they asked him to. I guess it was also good that the techniques were saved. I have to admit old episodes of Star Trek came to mind and one of the “prime directives” that the Star Ship was not to influence the development of a culture came to mind. Reading about Hosteen Klah, I was disturbed by the weaving of prayer rugs with ceremonial designs but also could see that he was creating art, making a living and attempting to control the format. My sister taught in Alaska and at some point some historians and linguistic representatives on a grant taped several ceremonies of the Inuit groups she was living near. Much to the dismay of the elders of the groups some tapes eventually made it into some library archives. The songs they recorded were scared and not to be shared, it was a delicate situation. Some situations were more straightforward like the Fred Harvey Company that promoted local artists and crafts through the trading posts. I remember looking at Edward Curtis images of women working on pottery and it is neat to learn about the woman behind the portrait.
ReplyDeleteMaria Martinez and her husband Julian were the potters I remember hearing about and it was interesting hearing about the pueblo sense of community where “community balance and harmony” were more important than individual achievement. That makes the community part of a collaboration, making the art belong to everyone.
I didn't understand the lying by Cohn and Keyser either. I thought, why couldn't they just make their work and back it up instead of making stuff up? I guess they were trying to appeal to many without actually putting the work into it...? Not sure.
DeleteThe 1925 Paris Exposition that “kicked” off the Art Deco forms in the arts made me think about how exhibits have been the introduction of so many trends and made me realize that I want to know if there is an exhibition that seems to have this power today, or are the decisions made before the exhibit happens? I appreciated Desky’s screen and the other images of his work that I found on line. I enjoyed the modern furniture designs but was most impressed with the textiles and recall first the block prints of Ruth Reeves. The mention that she worked on an Index of American Design through a government-financed grant is impressive. She seemed artistically interested in the textiles of other cultures and aware that they were something that needed documenting. She was influenced by where she was and her exposure to different cultures. Looking at additional work by her on line shows this.
ReplyDeleteI was also intrigued by the innovation in looms that were introduced of lighter weight and were easier to use. The idea of promoting “social opportunity and education” were important for some of the families. It was just strange seeing the amount of creative control at these cottage industries. I guess this is similar to the controls corporate importers have of “craft” items bought in large qualities today.
The influences of the promoters for financial and social reasons played a big part in keeping some traditional skills alive and making them popular. The crafts seem to get a boost from some of the same ideas we read about in the first chapter. The ideas that come to mind are art to help fix a social problem, art for innovation and profit. Though some ideas such as mass production would not be embraced it was a positive seeing the earlier social justice ideas still being important even if a bit misdirected.
I agree with your thoughts about Ruth Reeves. I love that she is interested in a variety of cultures. If your interested in more information about her you should read this
Deletehttp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1559&context=tsaconf
I was intrigued by the looms too. It was funny because I had just read that section and last week on project runway one of the contestants made his own loom and created his own fabric on the show! It was very cool. I was impressed and everyone else on the show was too!
DeleteMakers: Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteI loved this chapter because it has information that highlighted one of my favorite styles, Art Deco! Growing up on the east coast, I identified more with the sections on Appalachian and southern potteries, craft institutions, etc. I love the southwestern textiles and potteries, and weavers, but only seem to view them as a visitor and not as a native to the region.
Looking at the timeline from 1920 to 1929, it’s notable that the decade opens with women getting the vote. So much of my viewpoint is through the lens of women’s issues, and this chapter really highlights the strength on women during this time. Loja Saarinen, Ilonka Karasz, Lydia Bush Brown, Myrtle Merritt, French, and Lucy Morgan…these women kicked it!
If you were living during this decade, it must have seemed to be such a progressive time. Determining whether evolution should be taught in schools, the introduction of penicillin, talking pictures, Lindbergh crossing the Alantic, sliced bread, and more. This was the time of the building of Hearst Castle, San Simeon, and the boom of Early Hollywood. The beginnings of Reefer Madness…I wish I had a time machine!
.
My surprises:
• I would have thought that since prohibition came into effect in 1920, that this should have been a period of austerity, but the ushering in of Art Deco’s luxurious lines and decadent designs, proved to be the exact opposite. Europeans must have been laughing at the identity crisis Americans seemed to be having. We were hiding consumption of alcohol at home cocktail parties, celebrating the temperance leagues publically, and decorating our homes with naked women designs via Art Deco.
• Just fifty years before we were killing Native Americans, and now we were granting them citizenship, coveting, and celebrating their craft. American guilt or enlightenment…I’m not sure which. This later happens the same way with the Japanese after WWII.
• I’m kind of surprised that the discussion of southwester pottery, weaving and basketry didn’t highlight the end of the decade and O’keefe and Steiglitz’s treks to Taos. Their arrival and subsequent promotion of their place in the southwest, brought tremendous attention from the East to this region. In 1928(9) O’keefe’s Callalilly panting sold for the highest amount of any living artist to date. She began painting pix of Pueblo pots in 1930…ish.
•
What impressed you?
• I was impressed b the work of Marie Zimmerman! She seemed to be a real innovator, who struck down convention to defy categorization.
• The Saarinen’s impressed me! I knew a little bit about them and their connection to Cranbrook, but I kind of thought the book underplayed their importance. Loja really was quite the mover and shaker and a strong matriarch of the clan.
• Lucy Morgan and her efforts to establish Penland School. What a legacy!!!
What are you carrying away with you?
• I am in New York today. Future, I went to my show in Chelsea and it was spectacular! It was so crowded, that I finally had to leave. My hub and I are staying with friends who just bought a house in San Diego that was built in 1928. The house is 800 ft. from the site of the Pan Californian Expo of 1915 that we read about in the last chapter. They shared photos of the period house, and one of the photos looked so familiar to me. Their fireplace is a Batchelder! I’ll post pictures for you all to see. I felt like a genius! I looked at the pictures and said OMG…I know that work!
• What I’m truly carrying away with me is a love of American Craft! Today we decide to go to MOMA (Established 1929!) in the city and I’ll give you the highlights tomorrow. As I blog it from the plane ride home. Future, you were spot on! I love this book!! TY!
I love New York and the MOMA! Did you see all the contemporary furniture? It is interesting to see how things have changed with design of especially chairs.
DeleteO'Keefe is a painter thus not a crafts person. Although some of the folks we will study painted for the most part they stayed within the arena's of clay, glass, metal, wood or textiles. But I agree, I can not think of the southwest without thinking of O"Keefe.
DeleteHave a great visit.
OMG! MOMA was outrageous! The furniture was a highlight! It was all Plycraft and I was drooling. Rae Eames and Florence Knoll knew what they were doing. Except when it came to getting their due. The husbands got most of the credit.
DeleteMy highlights were the Picassos, Severini, Rivera, and Kandinsky. There was so much to see; Calder, Warhol, Pollack, Johns, etc. Rauchenberg mixed media pieces....heart palpitations!!!!
There was also a collage exhibit, and an industrial design exhibit which was over the moon great! The day was topped of with the best indian food I've ever had (in a past life I was clearly an indian girl.) The only sad thing was that I'm a Texan now and the 20 degree temps coupled with the wind just tore through me. Otherwise the trip was perfection!
Gail you mentioned "your show in Chelsea" that is exciting it would be good hear about that as well.
DeleteI agree with Gail! Tell us more about your show! What a cool experience you had in recognizing Batchelder too!
DeleteDoes our class offer a field trip to MoMA? Haha! It sounds amazing and I hope I get to visit sometime soon. I'm piggy backing on Martha and Brea's comment: I want to hear more about your show too, Gail!
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ReplyDeleteSurprised
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to see a section on Native Americans and was delighted to read a passage on Maria Martinez. There is archival information about Maria Martinez in the Plains Museum in Canyon.
Impressed
It was impressive to note that the craft/industries which found markets in great northern cities are often the ones collected, in museums, and remembered in books. It's so interesting to be reminded of Patronage--from the Minoans to today.
It is also impressive that our author gives us the groundwork for our conversation. We have the seeds of so many ideas.
With so much art history, which is a fairly young discipline-Bernard Berenson's (who wrote at the turn if the century) give us the roots of our art history stories through great works, a focus on male artists and the belief that it was men's activities which shaped culture--wars in particular.
Remarkably, with art and more especially with craft, we can find the quotidian basket of laundry artful and provocative.
Because if that,
we can look at influences beyond wars, men's fraternal organizations (Masons).
We can realize in the teens and twenties of the 20th century, we had a blossoming media called film. We had a lost generation of writers in Paris. Agrarian writers, in the South.
In California a fledging film industry moved from New York to a tiny place called Hollywood. That change in location was lead by an innovative film maker, who created our concept of the starlet and feature length movies. He was a pioneer with lighting and changed camera angles to increase drama. In 1915, he also made a movie that 1 in 4 Americans saw and was the highest grossing movie for the next 24 year-- surpassed in 1939 by Gone with the Wind. To modern audiences, he tells a very unpopular story but linked to the chivalric Middle Ages. It has also been linked to the range wars and civil and often violent (bombings in of the LA Times building in 1910, 21 people died ) unrest between the works and capitalist in the pre crash world in America. Looking back to European history revival style, Hearst Castle was built in 1919 in San Simeon, CAThere might be many influences on the choices of medieval subject matter for California tile makers.
We can also look to the large population shifts to tell us a story of craft, art and culture. The "great migration" from the poor southern black share croppers to urban centers, like Chicago. 1920's saw the formation of Chicago's south side. Blues began to be part of American popular culture. New York, experienced the Harlem Renaissance. Jazz.
Each of the shifts- give the US, writers, and art as well as music. For example, Harlem Wood carver, Leslie Garland Bolling, exhibited in segregated white venue as an African American man. He would go on to exhibit at the Smithsonian in the 1930's and work with the WPA to help African Americans during the Depression.
http://www.lva.virginia.gov/exhibits/bolling/fewthings.asp
We had streamline styles and explorations into the sky with aviation.
Take away
Batik-the painted scene
The art world has witnessed a new interest in wax based media, particularly Encaustic, over the last decade or so. In 2000, there was a exhibition at the Met and R and F Encaustic cast tools from the original Fayum artist's tool. There have been technical innovations. Thank goodness for electricity.
There have been innovations in material. Particularly for Batik, there is a low melting point washable soy wax, removing the wax is accomplished simply by putting the textile in the washing machine,
I was surprised at the batik influence, as I had originally only experienced them in elementary school. My mother bought some beautiful materials at local markets and from some artists in Nigeria. Some of the material was from holland others locally made. The Encaustic art does seem very popular. There is an Encaustic Center in RIchardson with workshops and studio space to use once you complete, I think one of their workshopshttp://theencausticcenter.com/. I took a workshop in Irving thinking I could use the wax in a collage I was having trouble with and it was fun, but too involved for me. As a librarian I had a Cottonwood Artist Beth Erlund demonstrate her method of batik & encaustic painting which she used for some children books she writes they were thrilled with her visit.
DeleteLynn, I only live about 15mins away from the Plains Museum in Canyon so I will have to go check it out for sure! I have no idea and it was right under my nose! Those are some cool experiences you had Martha. Hold on to those pieces your mom gave you forever! So cool!
DeleteCulture:
ReplyDeleteItalio-Texan
I grew up and still live in a very communal environment. It is mostly a culture of sharing, laughing, telling stories, guilt and food. Rooted in the belief that it's knowing our history that makes us secure, prevents our mistakes, softens our blows, trains our responses, Italians are record keepers. I don't know if it was the need to keep church records or a way to connect dissimilar personalities living in the same house, records we have.
My culture relates to the class in two ways: one: people helped me I must help others and two:
It's like cooking a meal and making your favorite dish--you want everyone to have a taste because you love it and you want everyone to feel a part of something you love.
There is a title of an old NOLA cookbook "What's your name, Whose your mama, Are you Catholic ."
The title of that book summarizes that special need for both history and connection.
I'll first address the questions "...how do you personally and professionally balance the old with the new? Tradition with contemporary? Or if you prefer answer this extra question: how much of your household is handmade?"
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to learning, I prefer to learn traditional ways of making first, and then proceeding with contemporary or "new technology." For example, in printmaking I first studied at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under Karen Kunc learning traditional Japanese wood block relief and traditional intaglio etchings. In later classes, especially when taking print for "fun" at Collin College, I learned new. less toxic manners of achieving "old school" print looks. This was helpful in bringing printmaking into an elementary art room where it's generally wise to use non-toxic art products (no rosin boxes, kids!!). Also, I finally understood the science behind welding when learning one of the most primitive manner of welding, arc welding. For me, understanding what was happening to my metal helped me to have more success with modern welding, MIG.
Now in my personal choices, such as where to live, what to buy, what to place around me... I tend to surround myself with mid-century modern everything. It recently struck me, when viewing my Grandma Brown's Fenton white hobnail collection, that I'm slowly recreating a blend of my grandparents' homes. Ha! I purchased a Rambler Ranch-style home built in 1958. I've filled it with antique/estate sale furniture from about the same time period. I have furniture pieces made by family, braided rugs from Grandpa Jones, quilts from my mother. I was also reflecting a while back (this summer I think) that I have a personal relationship with the artist of every piece of art in my home; either we're related or we worked together in studio or they were a professors or a student. As an artist, I don't understand having art in one's home that doesn't have some kind of meaning, some connection to one's life. But anyway, most of my home is, I suppose, recycled, as I prefer items with history to items that come new from a box.
My current project (that just might cripple me) is refinishing the white oak floors in my home that were hidden under the ugliest beige carpet and years of paints and varnish. When acquaintances look askance at me, inquiring "why would you do that?!", I think why wouldn't I do this? I see it as my personal quest, to remove all forms of contemporary, suburban beige from this home and return it to its 1958 glory. :)
Emily, I would have ripped up that carpet faster than anyone and do what you are doing now. Even if you are crippled at the end the payoff will be worth it! Haha.
DeleteI was surprised to see Mexicans mentioned in this chapter even if it was very short. I honestly wasn’t expecting it. Whenever the book mentions immigrants, they’re usually European. Maybe later on in the book, it will be a little bit more elaborated.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about Nampeyo. Her story was very interesting to me and her works reminded me of a lot of items my aunt and uncle had in their home when I was living with them. My uncle was very fond of the Grand Canyon and visited there very often after his two sons moved to Flagstaff. He owned some rugs and pots that he bought during some of his visits. I especially liked reading about the different barriers she broke through and paved the way for other Pueblo women.
Another interesting part of the book was reading about the art deco. It mentioned how art deco utilized a lot of zigzag lines and contrast between black and white with red lines. I found that interesting because I feel like that style is still alive today or at least becoming popular again. I’ve seen a lot of backdrops in frames and posters with the chevron zigzag lines in different stores.
My favorite photograph in this chapter was Erik Magnussen’s Cubic Coffee Service on page 120. I found it a very beautiful piece and when I saw it the first thing I thought was, “I’d like to own that!” I liked how it’s not like other pieces. It doesn’t have any decorations but the shapes and forms it takes give it a consistent decoration that flows from piece to piece including the tray.
Balancing the old with the new…
Personally I try to take a little bit of what I know and have learned about different styles and give it my own twist. Sometimes it is difficult not to copy what has been done and I find myself re-doing some works. Because I paint portraits of people who are important to me, I try to find an emotion that links me to that person and convey that through my painting.
How much of your household is handmade…
This question made me stop at my tracks and feel a little embarrassed to say that most of what we own is store-bought. We have very few items that were handmade by my grandmother. She made us a tortilla holder that she knitted. My dad stitched a couple of cloths for tortillas. (We love tortillas! Haha!) Besides my paintings which are on display, by request of my principal, at the teacher’s lounge, we own very few handmade items at home. When I was in college, I enjoyed sewing purses since I didn’t have a lot of money to buy new ones. I sold a couple of them at a garage sale and the rest are in my in-laws’ attic. I enjoy sewing because my mother has always been a seamstress and she taught me to sew by hand and with a sewing machine. I made my own Madeline costume for Character Dress Up day at school two years ago. That was my most stressful but rewarding project and I plan to use it as much as I can to make up for the hours I spent working on it.
Im glad you mentioned Magnussen. I stared at the picture for a solid ten minutes, Then proceeded to try and find more photos. There are a couple webpages with minimal information nothing that was able to hold my attention to long, which was disappointing.
DeleteI had that thought too about repeating trends in fashion and design. A lot of the design qualities we see in the textiles and print designs at this time seem to be really popular again.
DeleteI liked that the Magnussen set broke with traditional service-ware; all bold and angular in the midst of symmetrical roundness. I'm interested in seeing how art metals will change through out the next chapters. I feel like this is one of the first pieces that breaks with tradition in this area, maybe other designers will feel more free to do the same?
I agree with Emily, I love that Magnussen broke off from the traditional style. Emily, I think that is one of the reasons I love this book so much. Not just learning about all of the wonderful craft history but seeing what was popular then and how it made its way back to being popular now. I think if a design becomes popular in a new generation then it becomes something iconic.
DeleteThey must have made such a big impact if people want to revive them now, right? I think it's so interesting, yet funny, when I come across something "new" and "in" and my mom or my aunts tell me "It's been done, Becky. We had that when we were younger!"
DeleteOne section that surprised me for a couple reasons was the jewelry and metals section. First was seeing Marie Zimmerman. I had recognized her name and work from a class I took several years ago when researching coloring methods and surface treatments of metals. What I did not recognize was the time period of her work; it is much earlier than I had thought. The second thing that surprised/impressed me in the section was about Erik Magnussen. I have never heard of Magnussen before and I was impressed with his cubist take on the traditional tea set and the evolution of his metal work. Learning that Magnussen viewed art deco, recognized its history, and used its history to design a piece was fantastic because I have similar concepts (though very loosely connected) in my own work. Even though the reading says Magnussen’s work has nothing to do with concepts of cubism, the connection I some how made to influences in my own work was interesting to me. One thing I have noticed while reading is how rapidly art and crafts has evolved. I find it overwhelming sometimes keeping up with how the aesthetics keep changing, and how shifts in society and culture of the time periods affect art.
ReplyDelete“As time goes on so does culture”, is a wonderful statement. One question I keep asking myself is what is my cultural history. I know my mother and father’s origins, as well as my grandparents, but beyond that I don’t know very much about my ancestors. I guess I have never really been too concerned with it. After that I was a little disappointed that I didn’t know more. Do I have ancestors or history of artist or craftsman. Then I began thinking about how craft used to be something passed down from generation to generation, such as blacksmiths, potters, or net makers. It was a family trade. Then came people desiring to learn a trade. So they apprentice or study to learn a craft. All these things were passed on from individuals and repeated. That has now evolved into, at least for me and several other people I know, art is something we chose to do and is was not something we were raised into or a craft we learned as an understudy of master. Just seeing how with time cultures change evolve is interesting.
How much of my house is handmade? Well I only have two pieces of furniture; a table and a chair. Both made separate of each other and have no similar or corresponding features. I do however have almost all the wall space and shelves in my house covered with my own work as well as several other works created by peers and other artist.
This chapter made me think a lot about how time changes art. And how I balance old and new? I had not thought of it much. But I suppose I balance it through my process of art making. I enjoy learning various methods of doing different things. Such as in the foundry and casting. Learning Italian block casting with bulky investments or direct burnouts in sand, to ceramic shell casting (the evolution of lost wax casting). I enjoy learning how it was done and how those processes have evolved. I think some of this correlation shows in my own work.
"As time goes on, so does culture." So true, the things we value and objects we choose as a national culture change so quickly, it's almost too hard to keep to track of! I do think it's great though that artisans are willing to try new things, new designs to help keep the design world fresh.
DeleteI'm very interested in the patination and surface treatments of metals; I have Richard Hughes' "The Colouring, Bronzing, and Patination of Metals" which I find very informative, although I tend to learn new processes by doing rather than reading. What metals do you work with? Are you more of a small project (jewelry) or large project (steel) artist?
Good. One of the important lessons from this book and this class is how you can use it to reflect on your own work or teaching. Each artist or movement becomes resources for you when you have to describe your art or defend your art or the art of your kids.
DeleteStephan- in referencing your culture statement it made me think…didn’t most of our surnames generate from something our ancestors did (craft or type of work) or a trait of theirs? It is just crazy to think even if we chose to be craftsmen or not it is in all of our origins. I read this article about an actor this weekend and he had a long unusual name and I wanted to know why; so I researched him and apparently his parents’ named him by the events that happened during his delivery. For instance one of his middle names is “Easy” since he delivered easily. I found it really odd but beautiful at the same time. It makes more sense than ever now. They were only naming him traits they saw in his first few seconds of life. Just like how our ancestors got their surnames from work they mastered.
DeleteHey gang, please make sure to read my response outside this thread. "EBrown Response to Chapter 4." It's exciting and riveting.
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ReplyDeleteWhat surprised you?
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me the most was the view of a museum director on the relationship between manufactured goods and art? He also stated that handmade items and machined items had no importance as regards to the relationship of life. I gather he was speaking for most museum curators and supporters of the fine arts at the time. With all that was happening in the community with the arts and crafts movement it was hard to believe that there was still such a narrow minded view of art and its relationship to society.
The next thing to surprise me was how the Native American Indians continued to be exploited, but were given opportunities to sell directly to the public through the Santa Fe Indian Market and a place where artists could sell their art directly. Several positive things that came about at this time were the exposure to the native culture and interest in their art. The situation of the American Indians taking charge of selling and controlling their own art, made me think of the Novica organization, which sells handmade items from artists around the world.
What else surprised me was how Hosteen Klah wove textiles using sand paintings from the songs of the Navajo medicine men, and how he broke from tradition in doing so. He also worked in an art that was typical of women.
What impressed you?
What impressed me the most was the value placed on folk art in the south, and the desire of individuals wanting to share in this knowledge with others, thereby creating educational programs available to the communities. Olive Campbell was one such individual. She studied traditional crafts when touring the south in a wagon with her husband. Later promoting the economic and educational development throughout the southern mountain country, setting up a school dedicated to adult education in folk art. That traditional crafts were part of the curriculum, and are so today. Another thing that impressed me was the number of schools that grew out of local society of arts and crafts. Hull House also impressed me in that it was a community based, urban settlement house teaching pottery and employing neighborhood residents to make pottery. It had a commitment to social reform, providing income to young residents.
Allanstand Cottage Industries founded by Frances Goodrich. She became interested in textile traditions of women in North Carolina, and saw an opportunity for people to make added income and not leaving the farm. She changes of education, social opportunities, and improved income to rural communities. It is interesting to note that there were so many community based art programs at this time, for I I see this type of vocational education a 20th century endeavor.
What are you carrying away with you?
I am carrying away with me the knowledge that folk art traditions are open to change, and that this change was a result of social issues, monetary gain, and creative license. Many educational programs were opening up in communities to teach Arts and Crafts, as a means of economic support. After the war Americans were influenced by Europe and became a consumer driven society.
In regards to the question about how many things in my house hold are handmade I would have to say about 1/3. I place great value on them, and do not use most of them for fear of damage, quite different from the early 20th century value placed on handcrafts.
As for my culture it is a melting pot of English, Irish, German, and Indian. I can trace my English ancestors back to the Mayflower, and my great grandmother back to an Apache Indian Reservation. Several crafts handed down to me from my family are needle pointing, crocheting, quilting, and sewing. I have not worked on these crafts lately due to working, school, and family. Hopefully I will have time to pick back up on them when I retire.
Remember Hosteen Klah was a he/she or transgender person. For him to weave was the female of his being. And he was the medicine man. Which by the way, many healers were transgender.
DeleteI love that your home is 1/3 handmade. How wonderful.
That is really beautiful that you have so many hand me downs from your family and to think of all the culture that is in every piece you have from English to Indian.
DeleteWhat is your culture? Literally, where are you from and what makes up your family culture. How far back can you take your cultural history?
ReplyDeleteIt’s funny that you asked this question Future because lately I have been obsessed with genealogy. My maiden name is Rutledge and for a long time I knew an “Edward Rutledge” signed the Declaration of Independence. I had no clue if I was related to him nor did my father. My father’s side all passed away when my dad was young and I only have one uncle surviving today so I really had no source to go to. I did ancerestry.com and they have a feature where you can send in blood work. Well come to find out Edward Rutledge was my 6th great uncle. John Rutledge was his elder brother and my 6th great grandfather and I was really interested to know that William Penn, (that founded Pennsylvania) was his best man in his wedding and they were like brothers and traded with the Indians and Quakers throughout the 13 colonies. I am interested to know what they traded but have never found out. Rutledge is Scott-Irish decent and I have English in me as well. It is weird to think I have blood in me that helped shaped our government in America.
Very cool! Have you looked into family tree? It cost money but is very helpful with finding out more with relatives. They have old articles, like newspaper articles, about some people even during the time of the civil war.
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