Artist: Ernest L. Blumenschein

In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein

On now until June 14th 2009 at the Phoenix Art Museum is the first major exhibition of Blumenschein’s work since his death in 1960. A co-founder of the famed Taos Art Colony his art is recognized for it’s predominantly Southwestern influences.
Born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Blumenschein originally trained as a violinist following in his fathers footsteps. At the age of seventeen he won a scholarship to the Cincinnati College of Music and it was there where he began taking classes at the Art Academy as well. After studying in Europe, as all serious artists at the time did, Blumenschein took a momentous trip to the American Southwest in 1898. Upon a serendipitous discovery of Taos, New Mexico, Blumenschein cultivated a life-long relationship with the landscapes, native cultures and daily life in this region resulting in international recognition and numerous awards, even during his lifetime.

The exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum is magnificently arranged. Covering a large cross section of his earlier works, those commissioned by the Santa Fe Railway, works depicting the rituals of the Pueblo Indians and Hispanic populations as well as his vivid landscapes, one experiences a comprehensive summary of the artist and his work.

Among my favorite paintings in this exhibit were three displayed together on the far right hand side of the room. Titled: Green Aspen (1935), Enchanted Forest (1946) and Untitled- Decorative Landscape with Indians (1935), they depict a natural setting predominantly of trees. The information plaque described these painting as a representation of Blumenschein’s ‘mature style’ and sights the repetitious forms and ‘patterns of harmonious color’ as illustrations of this. The first painting ‘Green Aspen’ is a vertical pattern of trees with floret like foliage and a darker back drop of triangle shaped coniferous trees. The painting has an overlapping fallen tree in the forefront which, stark on its own, is further emphasized by it’s proximity to the largest of the three ‘tree’ paintings ‘Enchanted Forest’. The middle and largest painting is of trees but includes figures to represent a ‘Pueblo Deer Dance’. The plaque describes this painting as having originally been a representation of ‘The Fall of Adam and Eve’ and says that four years after first creating this work, Blumenschein chose to paint over it and change it to represent Native American culture. This painting is also linear and replicated in the painting of the trees however is less tame with its abundance of angled semi-fallen trees. The last painting made in the same year as Green Aspen and comparable in its size is the most columned having both the trees trunks and foliage in a straight stroke.

I was particularly drawn to the railway yard painting which Blumenschein exhibited in 1956 in an exhibition titled: 'The Chief Goes Through'. Commissioned by the Santa Fe Railway to created advertisements promising tourists ‘a peaceful and scenic destination’ Blumenschein also painted many canvases of the Albuquerque Railway. The lines and color that are used are similar in all the railway painting and the color pallet is emphasized by contrasting bright colors in representations of buildings, human forms and parts of the trains. ‘Railroad Yard- Meeting Called’ is a beautiful example of Blumenschein’s ability to create brilliant paintings. Using lines formed in similar tones with minimal organic forms, in this case smoke plums, and unassuming accentuated colors, as in the case of the figures attending the meeting Blumenschein creates a style which is both classic and modern.

My very favorite paintings of Blumenschein’s are his portrayal of Native American rituals, festivals and dances. Blumenschein uses an abundance of bright colors and emphasis by detailing some parts and blurring others. In ‘Moon, Morning Star and Evening Star’ (1931) he creates a scene with mountain backdrop, pueblo village centered and forefront figures gathered in a ritual ceremony. At the center of the gathering is a robust male figure extending his arms to the heavens. At his feet lay the bounty of a harvest. Many of the figures surrounding him are faced towards him while a handful are turned towards us, the audience. The shape the gathering produces is reminiscent of female genitalia and the ceremony is female in tone due to it’s subject matter.

Blumenschein is known as a contemporary artist whose art complimented the times. He ‘was neither conservative nor radical’. His subject matter was a largely untapped theme painted in the point of view of a European trained artist. The use of patterns and color in his paintings are testament to his modern art influences thus accomplishing a secure spot ‘in the traditional stage-between movements.’

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the Development of the Taos and Santa Fe Art Colonies by Keith L. Bryant, Jr.

http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/4aa/4aa58.htm

Artist: Christian Boltanski

While in Madrid I saw my first Christian Boltanski installation and it took over all of my senses.
Having been wondering the Reina Sofia museum starting with the top floor, I followed my way around, one room after another, without a map.
I took an unsuspecting corner and was immediately overcome with a shiver. After a pause and an adjustment of my eyes; the dimly lit room took form.
My instant feeling was of having entered a walk in cooler and an instant after that it felt like a morgue. In an eerie burst of small coffins with black cloth draped over them was every natural person’s distress, children’s coffins. The ceiling hung with black electrical wires ending with exposed light bulbs. The seven coffins stood on stilts, at various heights, creating long shadows against the walls. The shadows and lights reflected off the small rectangular mirrors strewn about the walls. The center of the ceiling joined the thirteen lights which hooked and hung emphasizing bursts of light in various parts of the room.
To be sure I asked the attendant in Spanish ‘if the coldness was part of the installation’ and was told with a smile that it was.
I recognized Boltanski as the artist who took photos of dead people from Holocaust relics and titled his collages such things as ‘The Dead Suiss’ (1995).
His ominous art is a theme in Boltanski’s works as is the sense of loss. Born in 1944 to a Jewish father and Christian mother Boltanski grew up in fear, as his father hid under the floor boards of his family’s home avoiding Nazi detection. Growing up in a post WWII Paris, the influence this has on his art is undisputable however Boltanski has claimed that his art is neither Holocaust nor Jewish art.
Las Tumbas (1996) at the Reina Sofia has a shrine like quality to it that suggest it is representative of all wasted losses in all senseless wars, natural disasters, tragedies or accidents. It represents the past as well as foreshadowing the future giving a timeless unity and a uniform sadness to all human losses.

In 1991 Boltanski published a book titled “Sans Souci” which features photos of Nazi officers and their friends and families. The book implies as the Holocaust historian Christopher Browning has suggested in his book ''Ordinary Men,'' that these men and women were humans changed into evil murderers by an unavoidable human history. Of course history cannot help but repeat itself which leads one to question what role we could play in inevitable destruction.

Here is a great article about Mr. Boltanski:

http://www.tate.org.uk/magazine/issue2/boltanski.htm

Spanish Dinner

I could never get the story straight, in Spain, about how many little/light meals was typical in the course of a day. Some people eat four small meals, others ate the largest meal around noon. By North American standards nothing would be considered 'light'.

Opinions seemed to vary from region to region but one thing that all Spaniards have in common was that they ate, the last meal of the day, late.

Typical in most of Spain is Tapas. In the northern Basque country these sample plates are called pintox and are served on bread. In either case the sentiment is the same. Usually accompanying a beer or glass of wine small portions of various dishes are served. These range from seafood, fried foods, smoked meats, olives and other pickled vegetables. Sandwiches are pre-made with a splash of meat, cheese or Spanish tortilla and can be purchased at any restaurant, food market or coffee shop.

While in Madrid, I had the good fortune to meet and learn from a lovely Spanish woman. An archeologist and fifth generation Spanish, B., was eager to teach me how to make tortilla de patatas or tortilla española. As her family originally hails from the southern part of Spain I would imagine that the method she uses is common in that region. B. did explain to me that no two people make the same tortilla and that every tortilla is different.

There are five ingredients that go into making a traditional potato Tortilla which is common in all regions of Spain:
Potatoes, eggs, onion, oil and salt.
Apparently tortillas are best when they are eaten the day after. They are served both cold and hot, first meal of the day or last meal of the day and can be served as a main, side or sandwich filling. I believe I covered all of these options while in Spain. This Tortilla that B taught me how to make was amazing and we ate it soon after it came off the pan.

Step One:
Potatoes are peeled (in this case using a small paring knife) and sliced in halves then cut into two millimeter thick half circles
These are then tossed into a bowl with a diced onion

Step Two:
The most insane amount of oil, about half way up the pan, is poured into a skillet and heated.
Potato/onion are added into the hot oil and using a wooden spatula are mixed. As the potatoes become softer they are broken up using the spatula. (About 15-20 minutes) To my great relief the majority of the oil is then set aside and strained for further use in other dishes.

Step Three:
Once they are cooked through and begin to mush add them to a bowl of mixed (not beaten) eggs. At this point more eggs can be added, the mixture should show liquid around the mush.

Step Four:
Add mixture to a hot smaller skillet with a small amount of oil and cook until the eggs have set and the tortilla looks like it could withstand a flipping. B used a plate to transfer her tortilla flawlessly to the other side cooking it on each side for a few minutes. The key to a great tortilla is that the middle is still moist.

Here is a picture of the final result. True to local custom, we did not eat this meal until well past 9pm and it was eaten with bread, olives, pickles, hot peppers, and onions. As well as some fried chorizo (Spanish sausage) and croquetas (a small potato/meat filled roll that is breaded and fried). Of course we had to wash it down (or drown it) with some Mahou the best beer in Spain.

So I just made my own Tortilla using the steps above. Here are some photos in various stages:

Step one, two

The mush

The final result which Sir S said was the best meal I've ever made- Served with the best American beer.

Romanov's- Toby Faber: Faberge's Eggs

The calamitous end of the Romanov family has always been an obsession of mine. The fact that not all of the bones of the imperial family were located lead me to be a strong believer in the conspiracy theory of Anastasia Anderson. I read many books and articles believing the claims made by this woman that she was in fact the only surviving member of this dynasty. A book I still have in my collection is Anastasia The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. What is interesting about his research is the evidence from the German trials that sought to settle the claims. The real question Mr. Kurth delves into is who was this woman who created a reasonable doubt and what evidence did she have.

Through DNA it has now been confirmed that the entire Romanov family’s remains including the two that were not originally found with the rest of the family are accounted for. The royal family has been canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and reburied in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

I have had the good fortune of visiting Russia. After spending a week Moscow I boarded a very early train that would take me to St. Petersburg. It was March and it was cold and grey. Right when I arrived to the Winter Palace a light snow started to falling.


Toby Faber does an excellent job of capturing this lush elegance of royal life by telling the story of the Romanov family using the yearly commissioned Fabergé Easter egg as a timeline. In Faberge's Eggs, Faber describes in awed detail the stories surrounding the craftsmanship and inspiration for each Easter Egg. Originally commissioned by Czar Alexander III to gift to his wife Marie Fedorovna, the tradition was maintained by Nicholas II for his mother and wife the Tsarina Alexandra. Although not all of the original Egg’s have survived, details on 50 of these collectibles has. The story of the Romanov’s lives continues to hold my interest reinventing itself in a new point of view.

To order a copy of Toby Faber's book- or other titles related to this post- Please click my Amazon Store

The Zookeeper’s Wife

Diane Ackerman is an excellent writer who writes with intimacy about human and animal behavior. Her novel The Zookeeper’s Wife transforms the reader into an observer of a world we have all heard of but few of us have viewed through more than a foggy peephole. Based largely on the diary and loose notes of Antonia Zabinska, the wife of the Polish zookeeper of the Warsaw Zoo from 1929 until the Nazi invasion of Warsaw in 1939; it relays the story of Christian Poles who fought in the resistance against the Nazis.
During a time when the Nazis occupied Poland seeking to eliminate all traces of its culture and annihilate upwards of 500,000 of its inhabitants, resistance was prevalent. “The Polish Underground in Warsaw, [] fielded 70,000 fighters in 1944” (173) and was responsible for sabotaging many German efforts to murder the Jewish population. At a time when being caught hiding a Jew was punishable not only by immediate death, but the murder of ones entire family, countless Polish Christians defied the Nazis, helping save thousands of lives. It is estimated that there was upward of 28,000 Jews in hiding in 1944 and “70,000- 90,000 people who were helping them”. (173) Ms. Ackerman relays the story of one family, the Zabinskis and their participation in the Polish Underground and concealment of over three hundred Jews in the Warsaw Zoo.

Through the use of her personal writing Ms. Ackerman describes Antonia’s life in Warsaw throughout the war. The story is told often through the thoughts and observation Antonia wrote down. Her words are entwined with the meticulous research that Ms. Ackerman conducted on all things conveyed within the story. What is captured vividly is an unwavering force of opposition by the educated classes in whose circles Jan and Antonia were a part of. In an intellectually inspired spirit the people described in this story, whether university educated or simply morally offended, go through the motions necessary to help Jews, defying the laws of their German oppressors. The story shows a sense of automatic moral obligation by those who participated, in varying degrees, to the salvaging of Jewish lives. The action of these heroes is tangible in the resolute way they conduct their lives, during the war, while seamlessly including the saving of lives.

Told from a point of view that is often overlooked in Holocaust accounts Ms. Ackerman captures the innate good in humans. Through her research of history, customs, folklore, religion and traditions Ms. Ackerman writes a flattering portrayal of Poland and its people before and during WWII.

Here is a review by Susie Linfield:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/13/AR2007091301895_pf.html

A Modest Proposal

As I was preparing Friday Night dinner I had sudden flash of it looking like a new born child. Sick, I know but it reminded me of the Jonathan Swift essay 'A Modest Proposal'.

A political satire written to address the Irish child over population issues using current events it is a sickeningly great read. Swift makes reference to George Psalmanazar who was a con-man in the early 1700's. Psalmanazar fabricated that he was from Formosa (present day Taiwan) and wrote books to perpetuate his claims, which included descriptions of a culture that supported cannibalism. Swift also mocks the Catholic church which at the time had just signed the Act of Settlement in 1701, thus settling the succession to the English throne of the Sophia of Hanover, the elected choice. This resulted in criticism towards what Swift refers to as the Papists (anti-Catholic). By mocking the oppressors who would dehumanize the poor beggars that are threatening to overtake the country Swift follows the rules and structure of Latin Satire.

Latin Satire, according to the Latin Satirical Writing Subsequent to Juvenal By Arthur Harold Weston: "may deal with topics and problems and thoughts of every day life as in Horace and Persius and as a rule wherever it mentions names mention them more as representatives of types embodiments of the qualities under discussion than with any special feeling of personal bitterness in mind"

Anyway it was a good re-read:
http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

The picture I took above also reminded me of the painting by Derrick Guild:

http://www.allanstonegallery.com/

This is an oil on canvas.