Millenium Impressions of Human Experience

By Gene and Linda Kangas, Exhibition Curators*

Contents

• Introduction
• Nineteenth Century
• Twentieth Century
• Twenty-first Century

*MILLENNIUM IMPRESSIONS of Human Experience was an exhibition with catalog hosted by the Beachwood Center for the Arts, Beachwood, Ohio February 5 to 27, 2000. Exhibition curators and essayists were Gene and Linda Kangas, Ohio. The exhibition included folk art from numerous public and private collections from northeast U.S.

Introduction

When people first began to paint and sculpt, they portrayed those things around them that had very special significance. Tens of thousands of years ago they enlivened the hidden walls of their protective caves with impressions of magical four-footed animals. Once dark galleries in the earth were transformed into places of wonderment, which continue to intrigue us today. Now visitors go to experience the total environments, to think about the people who created them, and to time travel. Mental images link us with others like ourselves, who also required the same daily essentials of food, drink, and sleep. Like us, they dreamed, loved, laughed, and wept. Like the animals, they also migrated. And, when afforded the leisure opportunity to collect their thoughts, some chose to record personal experiences, inventing methods for that purpose. They made art and enriched lives.

From then until the present, art has facilitated communication between countless generations bypassing problematic language barriers and political borders in the process. Art speaks from the mind's eye of each artist through chosen media to the receptive eyes of a viewer. Traditionally, it has been a purely visual encounter, a human experience. Eventually some people began studying how to paint and sculpt; they learned subjective "rules" that governed art. Historians followed by classifying their every "ism." Yet, other individuals continued to create without any formal art education; many were ignored. Unaware of confining rules and prevailing fads, they boldly expressed themselves using any available resource: canvas, clay, fabric, metal, paper, wood, or others to enhance their own environments. They learned as they went, typically depicting familiar current events, genre scenes, or the remembered past. Evident skills, techniques, and backgrounds vary widely by individual. The generic term for this approach is folk art; however, whether shaped by trained or self-taught hands, the result is art.

The focus of MILLENNIUM IMPRESSIONS is nineteenth and twentieth century self-taught works that reflect a constantly evolving but shared human experience. Some artists have already received considerable published notoriety, while others are relatively unknown. Collectively, they are representative of the expressive range evident throughout the world. Some artists described simple interactions while others illustrated more complex events. Some moved to seek artistic freedom. Some created images of pleasure; others recalled painful memories. All are life studies, for better and worse. Each artist invites us to take a brief glimpse into their private world by openly sharing their deepest feelings and important ideas. The assembled global artworks represent diverse cultures, countries, and historical periods; and, they reinforce universal similarities. MILLENNIUM IMPRESSIONS reminds us of our common humanity.

Nineteenth Century

From the time cave dwellers surrounded themselves with art to the nineteenth century, tremendous changes occurred which influenced every aspect of daily life. A proliferation of inventions in the nineteenth century rapidly increased the possibilities for doing a myriad of things in new ways. Just a few of countless significant events include the development of the sewing machine, which was shortly followed by the formation of labor unions; soon, the struggle for women's rights became a debated public issue. In mid-century, the elevator facilitated the dramatic alteration of urban skylines. The invention of photography earlier in the century profoundly impacted the art world and it helped establish the foundations of modern art. New possibilities of expression and seeing were being explored. Near the end of the century the first moving pictures excited a receptive public.

Other significant inventions such as the telephone also contributed to improving communications and changing life styles. The first practical electric light bulb illuminated the darkness and forever affected the usage of time. Rubber as a product and refrigeration as a process greatly benefited the world's population. Philosophically, Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species brought forth a new theory of evolution that challenged long-standing creationist ideas. Victorian science came into direct conflict with pontiffs of the theological world. And, the American Civil War ended slavery and began a long and continuing struggle for human rights.

Ship's carvers of the early 1800s sculpted a vast array of figures for commercial purposes. Some were allegorical figureheads; others were product oriented trade signs identifying particular businesses. At that time, few European carvers or first generation immigrants in North America possessed an accurate knowledge of what actual native Americans looked like. As a result, the first tobacco trade images were portrayed as young robust black males costumed in stylized-feathered headdresses and skirts. These "Virginians," as they were known, typically held tobacco leaves, bundled cigars, or cigar boxes in their hands. By mid-century more precise information was available and the Virginians were soon succeeded by wooden "Indians" which colorfully advertised the once fashionable field crop on city streets.

By contrast, portrait painters preferred to work directly from their subjects. Affluent members of society were the most likely to commission paintings, which always were designed to elaborate on their status. Yet, more restrained portraits could be purchased for considerably less. William Matthew Prior's portrait of a "Young Woman" is an illustration of that subdued style. His unknown subject is adorned in a black velvet dress with lace collar, and a broach. A typical tasseled drapery behind her defines the room. Prior and his peers were sometimes requested to decorate furniture and home interiors, which they did to supplement their income, traveling town to town. They were hired to paint pictures of famous landmarks, important architecture, and farm scenes; they and local artists were called upon to design family trees, mourning pictures, memorials, and other specialty items. In the mid 1800s some began applying charcoal and chalk to a special textured paper to create what are now commonly known as "sandpaper drawings." Most have romantic or idealized themes; and, they were considerably more affordable for the average family. The sparkling granular surface was intended to reflect the flickering light of candles and oil lamps at night. Erastus Salisbury Field is a well-recognized portrait painter of the period. His large signed black and white charcoal drawing "Valley of Repose" exemplifies the novel technique; in it four couples picnic and relax in an exotic setting of peacocks, animals, and luxuriant vegetation. A new product, a new resource had generated multiple possibilities and opportunities for both artist and patron.

Platt R. Spencer of Geneva, Ohio perfected a writing technique intended to establish higher quality penmanship standards in America. His Spencerian teaching method was franchised throughout North America, ultimately influencing the hand writing styles of millions. To learn the fluid artistic pen strokes and fancy flourished lines, students sometimes practiced by drawing pictures incorporating those exacting elements. Many of the resulting ink drawings of elegant songbirds, flying eagles, galloping horses, running deer, and other wildlife were based upon published images in practice books. The Spencerian System of Penmanship was one. Accomplished calligraphers and teachers, however, often added their own imagination to this unique art form. L. B. Barnaby of Ohio penned the whimsical "C. P. Rogers as the Indian" in November of 1841. This early picture typifies the rhythmic qualities expressed in many subsequent works. Here, Mr. Rogers is portrayed balancing acrobatically astride a running steed; he is attired in long fringed moccasins and feathery waistcoat. Portrayed as a warrior, he's heavily fortified with dagger, hatchet, and spear. The development of Spencerian calligraphy made a profound contribution to and had a significant effect on the decorative arts, which followed. The most famous commercial example is certainly the 1886 registered script Coca-Cola logo.

Twentieth Century

The inventions of the wireless radio and plastic coinciding with Albert Einstein's new "theory of relativity" in the first decade of the twentieth century foreshadowed unparalleled change. As scientists entertained calculations to discover new laws, artists paralleled their futuristic visions by introducing their own aesthetic variations on space/time relationships. Man's first powered flight set the course for space exploration and footsteps on the moon. On canvases, notions of anti-gravity freed artists from the limiting restraints of earth. Figures could fly or be seen in more than one place at one time. Radio, television, transistors, and computers facilitated an information revolution that continues and is essentially shrinking the planet. Now, even the remotest of locations can access a wealth of available resources as well as trendy pop icons. As scientists discovered vaccines to combat diseases, they also raised moral questions through experiments with cloning. The technological result of several devastating world wars was the explosion of the first atomic bomb in 1945. That singular horrific act crystallized a world awareness of the fragility of life on earth; humans were instantly added to the growing list of endangered species. Rock 'n Roll synthesized much of this into a radical new expression that shifted the entire global spectrum of popular culture.

Modern technology enables individuals and countries to interact in increasing ways over great distances at warp speed. MTV is watched worldwide. In MILLENNIUM IMPRESSIONS, the hand sculpted "Jazz Quartet" featuring a young slim Louie "Sachmo" Armstrong exemplifies the gradual merging of world cultures. Each of the figures is an authentic paper mache mold, a one-of-a-kind pattern, a takaan. The Philippine Islands, while located in the distant Pacific, have adopted many Western Culture ideas. Not far from Manila, such wooden molds were originally carved for use as the primary tools to generate hollow paper mache forms for sale and export to countries around the globe. Soon after Ed Sullivan introduced the Beatles to his television audience in the early 1960s, cultural change excellerated. Silvio Peter Zoratti, a first generation Italian-American, was inspired by the popular English group's momentous impact on music and teenagers as he followed them in the media. "Musicians" is Zoratti's rendition of the longhaired Fab Four. Zoratti's vast sculpture vocabulary, designed for his own vegetable filled Garden of Eden, also included cartoon characters, American presidents, religious icons, a menagerie of wild and domestic animals, and other representational portraits.

Malcah Zeldis is another artist with international roots. She first started painting when living on a kibbutz in Israel and later continued the pursuit at her home in New York City. The majority of Zeldis's narrative paintings are figural impressions of a philosophy that encompasses both religion and history. A few are more intimate. "Woman and Cats" is one example; it is an innocent self-portrait of the artist in her own bedroom preparing to get dressed. The clock reads ten to seven and her black and white cats play to one side.

Pasha Polikarpov was born in Central Russia and painted captivating still-lives, portraits, and landscapes imbued with surrealistic qualities during time spent in Moscow. Nine years ago Pasha moved to the United States where he has prolifically pursued his passion, painting. "Childhood Dreams" is a fantasy filled remembrance picture where cows can fly and children are spirited away. The composition is comprised of hidden images and unusual spatial and time juxtapositions. About the scene Pasha commented, "I painted myself on this picture when I was a little boy. Originally there was supposed to be my mother instead of an angel. But since my mother died I decided that she is an angel now watching after me. Our cow was lost in the fields. We went looking for her. I asked my mother, 'Where is the cow?' And mother said, 'over there' waving towards the horizon. I did not see the cow, only the fields and the cloudy sky. So, I started looking at the sky imagining that our cow was hiding in the clouds. I painted dark wooden pieces and made a drift wood frame as a reminder of our old attic, where I was hiding to dream and watch the creatures, owls, mice and birds."¹ Some of his mind-scapes like "Childhood Dream" are framed with salvaged bits and pieces of selected wooden shapes, which he textures and alters to compliment each painting.

The media continues to be a favorite source of information and stimulation for artists; it facilitates cultural interaction. Omnipresent pictures in newspapers, magazines, television, and movies have influenced artworks of all types. Eddy Arning of Texas utilized photographs that he tore out of magazines as the basis for his colorful compositions. Arning's "Fisherman" humorously illustrates the tendency for these sportsmen to exaggerate the size of their catches. He transformed reference photographs into somewhat abstracted, flattened images rendered in his characteristic dark-toned palette.

When Gladys Ruth Sanger was approaching age ninety, she was still a vital person interested in painting, poetry, and music. The lively tempo of "Rag Time" challenged her to begin learning how to play it on her living room piano. Most of her watercolor paintings directly relate to active membership in a local Theosophical Society, a modern religious group, which studies aspects of many religions. Her largest painting titled "Symbology" combines centuries old symbols of many of those groups in its composition. When asked if she believed in life after death, she unhesitatingly replied, "Oh honey, just look at my work!"² Gladys wrote poems that add richness to her paintings. One example is "The Promised Land."

Why do we tarry here below?
When higher worlds await our sight;
The door of truth we shun as fake;
Are we not here and wide awake?
What beckons us to go inside
To wait, (if need be) many moons
For glimpses of a world deep down
And high besides.
Where people kind and gentle are,
Where light so bright,
    we cannot long with stand,
Ah yes! It really is

"The Promised Land." 4/4/63

Gladys Sanger's personal philosophy was a very positive look ahead. Her paintings are cheerful yet complex visions of "higher worlds" where souls are transformed into brightly colored-jewels illuminating the heavens and perhaps other yet undiscovered dimensions.

Somewhat like Sanger, Albert Wagner 's paintings and sculptures extol messages of hope; but in addition, they are founded upon first hand observations of the present and reflections of a much troubled past. Some of his hard to digest "in your face - speak the truth" representations such as "Mississippi Mud" were designed to remind his black brothers and sisters (and all others) of the terrible events that have been visited upon their nation. You cannot ignore its powerful content. Reverend Wagner intentionally does this to encourage progress but always, always with a prerequisite understanding and awareness of human history. Many nations have suffered. Yet, much more tender sides of life are also portrayed. Mothers comfort children. Lovers embrace. People work or kids go to school. His figural artworks might be considered autobiographical, since his recognizable profile appears from painting to painting as one of the central characters in the drama of life.

Reverend Albert Wagner is the proud and respected leader of People Love People House of God. His church and museum are both integrated into his home in the inner city. There, guests encounter thousands of creations, large and small; it's an unforgettable, different, and rich environment. If requested, he might sing a song for you or play the drums; but most certainly, he will share his philosophy of life. Albert greets everyone with a warm smile and firm handshake; life has taught him much. Now he uses those experiences to teach others. "I had always wanted to paint since I was five years old. But there was nothing, not even an old piece of cardboard to work on; but I couldn't be bitter with anyone, because what seemed to have been lost, has all come to pass in its proper time."³

William "Vaino" Perry, a Finnish/American, was a true genre artist. Similar to the Regionalist mid-western traditions of Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, Perry's oil paintings depict the daily life of a small lakeside village. "Beach Scene" is a documentation of a typical bright summer day at the Fairport beach. There, sunbathers enjoy the sun's warmth as sailboats glide by the local landmark lighthouse and protective breakwalls further off in the distance. Perry was also captivated by the diversity of ships that sailed the Great Lakes, often entering the village's protective harbor. By comparison, Unto Jarvie, another Finnish/American, preferred carving wood as his expressive medium. Jarvie's pocketknife whittlings were shaped from memory and portray the common everyday activities of his western Kentucky neighbors. "Lumberjacks" or "Two Men Sawing Wood" is one such example of his dimensional story telling. He also recalled the Depression, "I rode the rails, slept in empty box cars and hobo jungles, and cooked my coffee in a tin can. I had plenty of company, too. I saw hundreds of men, even well educated men, doing the same thing and who were just as hungry and just as broke as me. But worst of all, I saw entire families in that same sad plight."⁴

"Hobo Dreams" is the title of one of Moise Potvin's poignant creations. Potvin might well be considered the most accomplished "whittler" and three-dimensional storyteller of the twentieth century although he actually began his career at the close of the nineteenth century. He was a French-Canadian by birth who lived in Rhode Island the majority of his life with his large family. Like Norman Rockwell, Potvin was a great observer of life, down to the smallest detail. A jack-of-all-trades, his expertise as a stringed instrument maker was utilized in the creation of twenty-two incredible sculptures. Potvin showcased these carvings to hundreds of thousands of North Americans as he exhibited them around the continent during the 1930s and 1940s. His complex tableaus describe in realistic detail the diversity of life of the period: rich and poor, the Western Frontier, high society, politics, fashion, exotic locations, and news stories. These themes and several others represent his perception of current events and romantic ideas. "Stampede of Texas Longhorns" is one of his largest carvings and it reflects popular interest in the rugged, independent cowboy mystique and the great open spaces of the western plains. True to life, each of the seventy steers twists, turns, jumps, and runs differently from the next. Combined, they become a massive body of movement, potentially dangerous and apparently out of control. One can almost hear them bellow in their frenzy. Concerning Stampede Potvin wrote, "For a couple of years I had been thinking of making a stampede but always would put it off, for I knew it would be a very tiresome job. Finally I decided to begin; it was all right enough to make thirty steers, then it got monotonous after making more. I couldn't look another steer in the face. I couldn't make another one. I dropped it for three months, then took it on again and finished it as fast as I could, completing it in one year."⁵

Moise Potvin, William Perry, Pasha Polikarpov, Unto Jarvie, and Silvio Zoratti are just a few of the thousands of immigrant artists who contributed to the aesthetic melting-pot culture of America. Some began in their homelands; some started here. Each carried with them optimism for a better life; and each brought ideas, beliefs, values, and abilities that became integral to the greater whole. The blending often resulted in new images and new expressions. However, all countries possess equally rich cultural histories. Nationalistic colors, the character of local landscape, politics, and economics typically influence basic design elements. While red, white, and blue are meaningful to Americans, other color combinations are equally significant to people in other nations. Art is the mirror of the world.

The paintings of Israeli Shalom Moscovitz, also known as "Shalom of Safed," combine Old World iconography with contemporary sensitivities. Shalom was a watchmaker by trade whose two dimensional compositions are populated by figures in profile. He tended to divide his picture planes into a series of horizontal bands; many contain Hebrew inscriptions that add insights to the imagery and to his orthodox heritage. "Arie of Blessed Memory" bathed "after midday...and washed his face, his hands, and his feet in water and sat with his pupils revealing to them the hidden mystic secrets of the law. And afterwards he said to them, 'Come, let us go out towards the Sabbath queen.' And he went with them to the fields and received the Holy Sabbath with holiness and purity."⁶

Far across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean from Israel is Brazil, different countries in a multitude of ways. Artists in Brazil are exposed to visual stimuli distinctly foreign to the Middle East. "Copos de Leite" (Cups of Milk) by Ivanaldo is a vibrant painting of a woman holding a large bunch of calla lilies; the resulting portrayal echoes the lush tropical vegetation and the colorful fiestas of the South American nation. Ivanaldo lives in the State of Pernambuco, which is known for an abundance of cultural traditions. As the beautiful white blossoms he painted are presented to viewers, Ivanaldo seems to be reminding all "to take time and smell the flowers." Take time from your busy schedule and enjoy.