Nope. Just a wet paper towel as I played with watercolors today.
Posts Tagged ‘art’
silken shroud?
Posted in Inspiration, tagged abstract, art, colors, fun, Inspiration, Photography, watercolors on January 12, 2016| 3 Comments »
race, character and the art of dee beebe
Posted in Inspiration, tagged American history, art, black history, culture, Dee Beebe, illustration, Inspiration, perspective, race relations, racial identity, watercolor on January 7, 2016| 4 Comments »
When do we see ourselves? How do we see ourselves? How is our sense of self shaped by the images of others? This past year, I spent a lot of time researching U.S. history, mostly pre-Civil War into the early twentieth century. One of the things that I re-discovered for myself was an evolution in the illustration and other visual representation of African Americans that reflected the sentiments of a rapidly evolving nation. A nation that had loosely reknit after a Civil War, thirty-years later still in rancorous debate about the “Negro Problem”, and now having to deal with waves of mostly non-English speaking European immigrants making their way to a promised land. Culture clashes took place at every level of society. And those tensions were reflected in the arts and how “others” were represented.
I chanced upon an 1898 issue of the magazine, The Art Amateur: Devoted to Art in the Household, a popular type of magazine at the time. The article that caught my attention, by E. Day McPherson, focused on Drawings of the Negro Character, an actual tutorial for how to capture the character of your artistic subject. When reading the text I tried to keep in mind the context of the time. For example … “Character might be defined as the result of emotional habit, and certainly the lines expressive of character are those which show what emotions the person is most frequently subject to and in what degree he is accustomed to repress or hide them. The negro is much more accustomed to give his emotions free play than white people, and they more than the yellow and the red races. To the Japanese we seem as “funny” as the negro seems to us …”
But my focus was not the words but the artist’s work. Most publications from that time, outside of publications produced by African Americans, were already presenting stereotypical images of African Americans, if any images were being shown at all. I was struck by Dee Beebe’s portraits of young African Americans, possibly in Galveston, Texas, in the casual clothing of their day. I don’t know if she captured their character but she captured their beauty for me.
I couldn’t find out much about the artist. She was born in 1870 into a prominent family in Galveston, Texas. Her artistic skills were clear at an early age. As one writer noted in 1896:
At the Art Academy of Cincinnati, she studied with Frank Duveneck. In New York, she studied with William Merrit Chase and Kenyon Cox, and later with Theodore Wendel in Gloucester, MA. Throughout her life she was a teacher while continuing to produce oil and watercolor paintings as well as etchings. The last reference to an exhibit that I could find was 1922. She exhibited at the Ainslie Galleries in New York, seventy-five watercolors, “including bits of Holland and Switzerland, views of New England, the Arizona desert and around San Francisco and studies of flowers in localities as diversified as Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Switzerland and Holland.” She died in 1946.
It would be intriguing to see more of the work of this artist. I found a few landscapes online. The 1898 article says that at one period while back home in Texas she “devoted much time to the portrayal of negro types.” Perhaps those other images, if they still exist I might not like so much, but I am glad she created these images and that they were shared with the public in that popular magazine.
Sources
The Art Amateur: Devoted to Art in Household, Volume 39-40, 1898
Prominent Women of Texas (1896), p. 82
Magazine of Art, 1922
interlude extra: the art of ludwig aloysius joutz
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, beauty, colors, family, family archives, gifts, history, illustration, Inspiration, Monuments Men, Photography, sketching, storytelling on December 22, 2015| 5 Comments »
This too is a story about gifts.
watercolor by ludwig a. joutz
Ludwig Aloysius Joutz (1910 – 1998) was an architect noted for his work with religious and educational institutions primarily in the Washington, DC area. I learned of this gentleman while researching Joseph Anthony Horne as part of my Interlude Series.
By the time Horne meets Joutz, Joutz had already earned his doctorate. His 1936 thesis is still referenced with regard to medieval church architecture. In 1939/40 he was awarded a travel grant from the German Archaeological Institute but was perhaps unable to use it because of the outbreak of World War II. He would be drafted into the German army and become a prisoner of war.
Exactly how he and Horne originally met is unclear. It might have been as early as the Invasion of Italy where Joutz was captured but certainly by the end of the war they were fast friends. The earliest document that I’ve been able to find so far is dated May 1947. In that year, Horne was working with the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives unit.
As the Monuments Men continued their efforts to find, catalog and restitute items looted by the Nazis and others during the war, Joutz would become a valuable resource. German-born, he was fluent in English and several other languages and knowledgeable about the art and literary worlds. Horne, American-born and fluent in German thanks to his immigrant parents, was culturally sensitive and knowledgeable about the arts. They apparently worked well as a team.
Between June 1, 1947 and March 1948, Joutz would serve as an operations specialist on books and archives at the Offenbach Archival Depot. During that period, he and Horne, by then director of the Depot, would become great friends. Horne would aid Joutz in resettling in the U.S. where he would establish himself as architect. They would become godparents to each other’s children and remain friends until the end of their days.
joseph and elsie horne and ludwig and lucy joutz
Throughout out his personal and professional life, Joutz would travel around the world. As part of those travels, whether for work or for pleasure, he would view his surroundings with an artist’s eye and try to capture what he saw. Yes, with a camera like his friend Horne, but Joutz would also explore many different forms and techniques of art. He experimented with pen and ink, pastels, watercolor, woodblock prints, papercutting and more. How do I know this? By a gift he painstakingly assembled for his son.
When visiting Joutz’s son, Frederick, a noted economist, I noticed a stack of suitcases tucked in a corner. Now these suitcases were the old-school, at least 1950’s if not earlier, kind of suitcases that are deep enough to curl up and go to sleep in and strong enough to, well, last a lifetime. Frederick explained that they contained his father’s artwork. Now at first I thought he meant prints related to his father’s architectural practice, photos of completed projects, etc. But that was not so.
artwork by ludwig joutz
artwork by ludwig joutz
Inside the suitcases was artwork spanning nearly five decades. Joutz had carefully organized his artwork, everything from sketches on the back of used envelopes to sweeping washes of color applied to delicate Japanese papers. It was all layered in stacks in these deep suitcases. The son remembered his father engaged in the process and how he culled items along the way. One can only imagine what the father may have considered not worth saving.
artwork by ludwig joutz
What I managed to see, the content of only two of the many suitcases, was breathtaking in its scope, in the diversity of imagery, and the range of techniques attempted. Each image suggested a story. On some of the pages were notes. What did they mean?
artwork by ludwig joutz
artwork by ludwig joutz
Some of the works were clearly copies of masterpieces, as done by any art student spending a day in an art gallery might do, but many images appeared to be of ordinary people. Perhaps seen in European town squares or along desert routes when he traveled in Egypt?
artwork by ludwig joutz
artwork by ludwig joutz
artwork by ludwig joutz?
Then there are the images that are ecclesiastical in nature … were they the early concepts or cartoons for church murals? Did the murals still exist or had they become lost and all that remains are these vestiges?
Those are stories that others may choose to research and tell one day. I am grateful that his son allowed me to see just a fraction of what is contained in those suitcases. And a salute to Mr. Joutz for preserving his own artwork as he helped to preserve the works of others throughout his career.
artwork by ludwig joutz
Sources and Additional Readings …
Fold3.com Holocaust Collection
so close and yet so far …
Posted in Inspiration, tagged angels, architecture, art, beauty, colors, Edward Burne-Jones, Inspiration, Photography, stained glass, Trinity Church, William Morris on December 21, 2015| 8 Comments »
I will not likely make my goal of photographing by Christmas day all eighteen Burne-Jones angels in the stained glass windows known as the Christmas Windows at Trinity Church in the City of Boston. The logistics are just not going to work out. But …
… it has been a delightful exercise. As I review what I did accomplish, new ideas are forming.
I think I shall consider this attempt a “first draft.” We’ll see what unfolds in the new year. 😉
You can read more about this personal project here: https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/2015/11/02/as-for-those-angels/
You can view the gallery of angels here: https://photosbycynthia.smugmug.com/ArchitectureDesign/Burne-Jones-Angels/
the art of asia in boston: introducing nancy li of tao select
Posted in Books I Love, Inspiration, tagged art, art history, Asian art, beauty, creativity, design, Edmund de Waal, family, fashion, Inspiration, interview, jewelry, Nancy Li, Photography, porcelain, TAO Select, The White Road on December 13, 2015| 1 Comment »
Nancy Li of TAO Selection
Image courtesy of artist.
Believe it or not, porcelain had been on my mind just before my chance encounter with Nancy Li of TAO Selection. I had come across a review of Edmund de Waal’s new book, The White Road. A noted potter, the book chronicles de Waal’s “journey into an obsession” to learn more about the origins and reinvention of porcelain. The prologue opens with de Waal in China: “I’m trying to cross a road in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province, the city of porcelain, the fabled Ur where it all starts …” Nancy Li is quick to tell you, and rightfully so, her family is from this region of China and that she is a third generation designer of porcelain.
Image courtesy of artist.
As I later told her, what I most admired about our first brief encounter outside of a church gift shop was her determination to find venues to market her jewelry, and also to share the story of her family and cultural heritage of working with porcelain. In his book de Waal writes of working with porcelain clay to make a jar. Though his studio is in South London, he writes, “… as I make this jar I’m in China. Porcelain is China. Porcelain is the journey to China.” During an interview, Nancy Li made a similar statement.
Image courtesy of artist.
We met briefly in Cambridge during her lunch break. Again, with great passion, she began sharing the story of her family especially of her grandfather, a porcelain master. For three generations the family and 15-20 employees have been working with clay using a proprietary process, molding it in forms from pendants to bowls to large statuary, hand-glazing and then firing the pieces in her family’s kiln. I’ve always thought of porcelain as fragile but porcelain can be strong as Nancy demonstrated by dropping a lovely blue and white bracelet on the floor. It made a beautiful ringing sound and remained unbroken.
On her website, Nancy describes attending the top fashion school in China, Donghua University. In talking with her I learned that six years ago she moved to the U.S. where she also received a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Boston University and a Management Degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management, part of her dual efforts to better understand the science behind porcelain and to raise awareness globally about the family business and the high-quality of the artwork produced.
Image courtesy of artist.
On top of her full-time job as a Systems Engineer, Nancy makes time to interact with people around Boston, educating them about porcelain and obtaining feedback about peoples’ fashion interests. She shares the feedback with her family, including producing sketches for alterations and new designs, inspired by what she hears and by her own artistic background.
She describes wanting to help people understand that high-quality porcelain is not only for the wealthy. It is not only something from the past to be found in antique stores. It is contemporary and it is art, an art that represents a culture. “Each piece of art has a story behind it,” she says at one point, holding a necklace in her hand. “It is art that inspires, that’s meant to be shown and shared. I think Americans have a wrong impression that everything made in China is cheap quality. What my family does in its local community, what it has been doing for so long, is of the highest quality and I want to share that work, our work, and help it evolve.”
Following are links to learn more about and connect with designer Nancy Li and to view more of her wearable porcelain art.
Following are links to learn more about artist and writer Edmund de Waal and his passion for porcelain.
the art of asia in prague
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged art, Asian art, beauty, czech republic, Inspiration, Photography, porcelain, pottery, prague, travel on December 10, 2015| 2 Comments »
An unexpected treat as I meandered about the streets of Prague was to visit the National Gallery and view a small selection of its Asian and African art collection. There’s an excellent description of the collection’s origin and growth on the gallery website. When I visited, I was one of only a few people. In the silence and near solitude, it became almost a meditative space. You can learn more in the link below.
Additional Reading
another angel found
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged angel, art, beauty, churches, colors, czech republic, Inspiration, Photography, prague, travel on December 10, 2015| 2 Comments »
A “found image” on my camera. Detail from a ceiling mural inside a church in Prague.
just one more week
Posted in Inspiration, tagged art, colors, fine art, illustration, Inspiration, John La Farge, McMullen Museum of Art, Photography, stained glass, Tiffany on December 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »
watercolor study for purity, a stained glass window at trinity church in copley square
John La Farge and the Recovery of the Sacred is an exhibit at the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College. This free exhibit concludes December 13, 2015. I am most familiar with La Farge’s murals and stained glass windows at Trinity Church in Copley Square. Complex is a term often used to describe La Farge’s work, and I have a better understanding why after seeing this exhibit.
study for presentation of the virgin, a stained glass window at trinity church in copley square
It was a treat to see the range of his artistic talent expressed in pen and ink sketches, watercolors, oil paintings, wood block prints and of course in stained glass.
watercolor study by John La Farge
watercolor study for bishop hatto and the rats illustration
He may have been horrible at self-promotion, unlike his contemporary and supposedly one-time friend Louis Tiffany, but La Farge was certainly visionary when it came to manipulating light, colors and texture to capture particular moments, such as from his travels in Japan and the South Seas, and to tell stories both spiritual and secular.
tromple l’oeil curtain stained glass window by john la farge
Well worth a trip if you’re in the area. Further details can be found on the museum website: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/artmuseum/visitor-information/index.html
Additional links
John La Farge and the Recovery of the Sacred Exhibit
still collecting burne-jones angels
Posted in Inspiration, tagged architecture, art, beauty, churches, colors, design, Edward Burne-Jones, Inspiration, Photography, stained glass windows, Trinity Church, William Morris on December 4, 2015| 4 Comments »
You can read more about this personal project here: https://wordsandimagesbycynthia.com/2015/11/02/as-for-those-angels/
mucha’s slav epic
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged Alphonse Mucha, art, beauty, colors, czech republic, Inspiration, painting, Photography, prague, Slavic history, storytelling, travel, world history on November 17, 2015| 6 Comments »
As far as I know, I have no Slavic blood in me but I do not think you need to be of Slavic heritage in order to appreciate the beauty and majesty of Alphonse Mucha’s Slav Epic anymore than you need to be of African American heritage to appreciate the Singing Windows at Tuskegee.
They both employ, in vastly different ways, visual storytelling to convey the histories of peoples and their journeys from subjugation to celebration, from despair to hope. As described on the Mucha Foundation website: “The Slav Epic (Slovanská epopej) is a series of twenty monumental canvases (the largest measuring over 6 by 8 metres) depicting the history of the Slav people and civilisation. Mucha conceived it as a monument for all the Slavonic peoples …
… The idea of the work was formed in 1899, while Mucha was working on the design for the interior of the Pavilion of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which had been commissioned by the Austro-Hungarian government for the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
In preparation for the assignment he travelled widely through the Balkans, researching their history and customs as well as observing the lives of the Southern Slavs in the regions that had been annexed by Austria-Hungary two decades earlier. From this experience sprang the inspiration for a new project – the creation of ‘an epic for all the Slavonic peoples’ that would portray the ‘joys and sorrows’ of his own nation and those of all the other Slavs. ”
On that website you will find a picture of all 20 paintings, a description of the stories depicted in each painting, and “related objects” which include photographs of Mucha at work on particular canvases, working with models, etc.
I read several reviews that said do not go out of your way to see this exhibit. I would say, if you have the opportunity to visit Prague, do all that you can to go out of your way to view this exhibit. What struck me? The scale of this creation, the source of the inspiration, the vision of the artist and the dedication to completion. And of course the use of color and the expression of light.
It took Mucha approximately five years to shop his idea around and find a benefactor and then over a dozen years to produce his epic even as he produced all of the other art — the posters, the advertisements, murals, etc. — which are considered his definitive works.
Through December 2016 the exhibit can be found at the Trade Fair Palace in the City of Prague (http://www.ngprague.cz/en/exposition-detail/alfons-mucha-the-slav-epic/) and the online exhibit can be found on the Mucha Foundation website (http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic).
Sources & Additional Readings
http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slav_Epic
1925 Article about the Epic as a Work in Progress
Words + Images 