111 15 4189 https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/15094ca5a33ff7356f3a80614fe1dffd.pdf cd365ac77046293538fc8235b4a30020 PDF Text Text ��MANIFESTATIONS OF THE INDIGO SPIRIT SHIBORI WORKS OF RICHARD FULLER EXHIBITION CURATED STANLEY BY I GRAND ESSAYS BY STANLEY I GRAND RICHARD FULLER OCTOBER 24_DECEMBER I5, I999 SORDONI ART GALLERY, WILKES UNIVERSITY WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA �Photo: Stanley I Crand Copyright O 1999 Sordoni Art Gallery, Will<cs I lrivorilr �ITI(]HARD FULLER: SHIBORI RITUALS Sl,rttlcy I Crand r J^- r,1S1, uhile orr sabbatical leave lrorn the Art Department ! ,rl Wilkcs College, Richard F'uller u'ent to fapan to leanr I tl,. rrrt of shibori. 'l'here, under the tLrtclage olmaster textile ,rrlisl rrrr<l dvcr Hiroyuki Shindo, he studied the fr-rndamentals of rlrilror.i, ulrich inr,.oh,es resist-dveing textiies so as to crcate prrlllrrrs. l,'rrller h:rs described the process as lollou.s: Slrilrrrri torncs fron the Japanesc r,erb root shiboru, "to riring, \(lu( ( z(' or prcss"-lvords th:rt enrphasize the action or process of rrrrrrrigrrrlrrlirrg cloth. In shibori the cloth is first shaped and secured rillr llrrcrrtl bcforc being irnmersed in the dvc. The cloth is then r. rrrovt rl fi-orrr thc vat and allori'ed to oridize in the air. This cicle is rr'pcrrltrl rrrrlil thc clcsired shade is attained. Once the dreing is r orrrplt.lc, tlrc cloth is untied and returncd to its original hro,lirnt rrsiornl shape. The cloth sensitivelv records both thc shape ,rrr,l llrr' plcssrrreexertcd bv the thrcads during thc er.posure to the rlr r'; llrt' "rrcnror\," of the shape remains imprinted in the cloth. I lrc t rrrplusis on \,ing the cloth and manual nanipulation rlislirrgrrislrcs shibori frorn the lr,ax-rcsist and clamping processes, l,,,llr ol u,lrich are also practiced in lapan. ,\lllrorrglr ancient, the origin of shibori is somervhat olrscrrrt'; ancl scholars disagree as to whether the technique is rrrrligt'rrorrs b Japan or carrie origir-rally from the mainiand. 'llrt'c:rrlicst surviving pieces of shibori are ir )apan, but r.ve lrrnrol srv rvith certaintl, rvhere they were rtade. Wl-rat is lcrl:rirr, lrowcvcr, is that the character lor shibori (ffi) is of ( )lrirrcsc origin. l,orrg rr st:rplc of the traclitional decorative arts in Japan, rlrilrrrli is rrrcntioned irt Man'yoshu, ari eighth-century rrrrllrologl of 1;oenrs that includes this coriplet: \\'/rcrr / rlrr"- u child with hair dowt I tttrc rt slaat,ed robe of shibori tct cbtlt.' my shoulders Incleecl, the clemand for shibori cloth g:rrments, inclucling const:nt turtil thc present century uhen it lell r,ictinr to thc nranv chlngcs that occnrred in Jap:mese socich,after the encl of World War II. Bv the latc r97os, interest in shibori had for all practical purposcs ceased. In other u'orcls, u'hen Fullcr t-ent to learrn the craft it lras practicalh' a de:rd art sfiose practice r,vas maint:rined bv Shindo and a fei,r, others. Sincc then, hou,er.er, shibori ]ras eniol'ed a revival of interest. F'uller's interest in textile design is ir.r part an outgrorvth of his background in ihe Neu, York advertising u,orld, where behveen 1956 and 1965, he u,as Art L)irector at Gardner Adr,ertising. His experiences thcre gave him a solicl grounding in hlo-dimensional design, u,hich he brought to Wilkcs kir-r-ronos, rcnrainecl rclativelr. in 1969. The major stimulus for his interest in textile clesign, hori,ever, came four vears later. ,A.fter losing all his possessions to tlre Susqrrehanna Rir.e r fl,ood of t972, Fuller voluntcered lbr a -r,ear of missionarv- work and u,as assigned to the Schutz Arnerican School in Alexandria, Egvpt, r,i4rere he becarne f:iscinated rvith "the aesthetic potential of local clyes." He has observ.ed il-rat "Exposure to Egyptian textiles and the great traditions ofresistdved fabrics in the N{iddle East stirnulated rne to clevelop and enhance my visual vocabulary in this me<lium." Returning to Wilkes-Barre, he sper.rt the next nine ,vcars ir-rvestigating the possibilities of batik rvhile also taking cor-rrses in textiles at The Pennsyh'ania State Universitl'(1976) and Parsons School of Design (r98z-83). Nter his trip to fapan, he decided that shibori rvoul<l be his primary rnedium and has explored its aeslhelic possibililies erer sirrr.e. Eight Paper Sacks in an Indigo Box (1984, Figure r) is one of the first pieces con-rpleted after F'uller's rehrrn from Japan. It consists of hvo halves of a small box covered in shibori ar-rd placed on a base ofurpolished rice, which evokes the raked �in a fapanese rock garden. In the boftom section ofthe box, Fuller has placed eight elegantly formed paper sacks that have been carefully stitched along their edges and secured with knotted purple strings. Side by side, in hvo rows, their bright cadmium red light contrasts with the deep rich indigo of the sand box. The overall effect is of a ceremonial offering of an ideal box, an impression furthered by the fact that the lid cannot be employed witl-rout crushing the paper sacks. What seems to be important is the ritual presentation, or rather the effort and care-note the mitered corners-that went into the preparation. Fuller has often taken a concept and explored it from various angles while maintaining a set of seltimposed limitations. In r99o he began a number of pattern pieces of whichTeh6n Series 4 (Figure z) is representative. The "Teh6n" or pattern in this work consists of three horizontal bands. Tl-re upper and lower bands are r-rearly identical and suggest rippling waves. The center panel contains an abstract arrangement of regular geometric shapes, primarily triangles, forming patterns of light and dark that recall the jagged edges created when great masses of ice collide and buckle on wintry northern lakes. Water fluid, water solid, water moving, water frozen: icy crystalline patterns held motionless between two rivers. Along with the series (think of Monet's cathedrals or Warhol's personalities), another quintessential element of modernist art is the gnd (Sol LeWitt's pristine white sculptures). Fuller's lndigo Crid Series 6 (rgg1, Figure 3) contains thirty-six squares ofshibori-dyed paper arranged to form a square. Some of the smaller squares contain pieces of dyed paper stitched together. He has allowed a slight looseness to enter tl-re composition: threads now extend beyond the paper instead of being cut flush with the surface. Also new is Fuller's incorporation of photographs (or, more precisely, fragments of photographs) of rural fapan that he has cut into thin bands. Like the strip of cloth on the lid of Eight Paper Sacks in an Indigo Box, these photographic relics bisect the indigo squares. Whereas in lndigo Crid Series 6, Fuller created a tension by contrasting the static grid with a circular movement caused by tonal shifts; in 9o/zz5 Q998, Figure 4) he contradicted the inherent flatness of the grid by raising some of his color squares off the surface. The grid itself is subtly delineated by embossed lines that divide the ground into zz5 squares (r5 on a side). The title simply indicates the number of units covered. In these most recent works, Fuller has continued to make shibori expressive of his own sensibilities by substituting photographs of dyed cloth for the original and introducing readymade objects like toy clothespins. Several factors distinguish Fuller's art from traditional )apanese processes. Most obviously, he does not use the dyed cloth to create garments or wall hangings. Rather, he uses shibori as a beginning, as a color palette, to create collages, grids, or boxes. These he designs according to Western, rather than Oriental, conventions. The content, as opposed to the design, combines the two traditions. The spiritual component seems to evoke traditional fapanese values: the tea ceremony, theZen o[arranging. Fuller's work has a ritual quality. Objects or patterns are delicately arranged. The boxes are microcosms of order. Randomness and expressionism have been banished. His cool, indigo compositions bespeak a cerebral, unemotional aesthetic. In his art, Fuller has created a controlled world, a refined parallel reality, beyond the accidents oflife and the ravages of nature. He draws inspiration from nature, but nature humanized and beneficent, controlled and ordered, devoid of wilderness and unpredictability. Yet fundamentally, his is a reconstructing, affirmative, healing art. Doubtless the predilection for order existed in his art before the deluvian chaos. Now that element of order predominates: calamity changes, calamity confirms. r. Quoted in Yoshiko Wada, Mary Kellogg Rice, and Jane Barton, Shibori: The lnventive Art of lapanese Shaped Resist Dyeing (Tokyo, 1983), 4. �r l t I lt,igltl Papcr Sac/is in tut huligo Box r r,1!i1 �Telfin 1990 Series I �NffiIf,XE IilNIGffi fl::trilfiI rtrr=fl IffiTreHI rcilr3$= �nilffii il iffiffiim ffi''' xffi ffi re ffii *I* ,!tr..,. .ffin Iru 9o/zz5 t998 mffi M "nff* wr �F :t,.,. MANIFESTATIONS OF THE INDIGO SPIRIT llicltard h'uller ,Tl I I p & IIE woRK in this exliibition rcflccts nrv intcrcst in thc llcatrq oIprittcrn. rr rcl-inccl scrt'itirih lrr u:rtrrrc. rrrr<l rr deep respect lor the )apanese dvc-rcsist proccss callccl slrilxrri. Wherr I retrrnrecl frorrr ny lirst trip to Jaltarr irr tc7ll4, I tliscoverecl thert living in Japan changccl nrv vicu's about Icirclring ancl set rlre on a new colusc rcgarding thc hrhrrc of rrrv aestl.retic clevelopn.rent. Mucl.r of rvhat I hacl rc:rcl about IIrc Ja1>anese culture an<l Zen phiIosophl' sudclenlr' bccaunc :r vital l>art of my everyclay experience. I found mvself in an t'nvironrnent in which the notion of tl.re inseparable link lrctrveen nature ancl man becarne more clcarlv defined. While rvorking with the indigo d1'er, Hiroi,uki Shindo, I pcrceived the profound forces of nature rvhich surrounded me in Miyarna, a little farn'ring village in the mountains of Northern K1,oto. Nah,rre, the origin of all life, was a source of inspiration ftrr nry creative u,ork. The patterns in rny work do not copy rrithrre, but are intuitively derived through m1, intelpretation of tlrc cssence of natural form. For rne, beautiful patterns syrnbolizc nature, and are n-ranifest during the d1'eing process. Slrinclo oltcrr s1>okc of thc (locl of incligo (Aizen Sltin) in rclatiorr to his r.r,ork. Ilottlcs of sakc, which werc introclucccl into his incligo vats, u,crc tnkcn to thc villagc sltrinc to bc blesscd by thc Iltrcldhist pricsts. 'l'hc ()ocl of incligo ltrotcctecl the shrdio, arrd the sake u':rs one ingrcdient, anrong others, tlrat allowcd thc clotlr to receive a cleep incligo huc rvith strbtle variations of light ancl clark. My journal refcrcnccs of that tine suggest that an e\,er-present "spirit" prer,:rilecl ir.r Shinclo's studio. It rnav be said that the "indigo spirit" is the rnysterious energv that gives life to the work. Tl.re beauty found in these incligo patterns, not unlike the beaut,v lound in natnre, requires time to appreciate. It is m1, desire that you vieu' m1, work as you rvould a flou'er slow1y opening its petals for the first tin're. ,{lls11, yourself to be drau,n into the alluring color of indigo, the nattrral qualities ofpaper and cloth, and the bcautiful patternsall of which l-rave inspired rne to explore thc essence of nature wl-rile hor-roring a dl'e-resist process rooted in fapanese tradition. �CHECKLIST OF THE EXHIBITION Dimensions are given in inches, height precedes width precedes depth. Unless otherwise indicated, works are courtesy of the artist. t Eight Paper Sacks in an lndigo Box, ry84 rc foamcore, indigo dyed cotton, paper, rice 5x5 TxtSVzxSYz z Five lndigo Boxes, ry84 foamcore, indigo dyed cotton, rice, wood 4X20Xt2 3 Four Wrapped Boxes, ry84 foamcore, indigo dyed cotton 3zxSxzYz 4 r Untitled Collage 7, ry9o indigo dyed cotton (shibori) Rainforest, r99z indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori) n Untitled Collage 8, rygo indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5x, 6 Untitled Collage z, ry89 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5x5 4 7 Untitled Collage 4, ry89 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) \ 5x5 9 Untitled Collage 5, ry89 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5x5 $ rygz Untitled Collage z, r99z indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik ttx14 Untitled Collage D, tggo Untitled Collage 4, rygz indigo dyed cotton (shibori) indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik t4x Series 4 r99o indigo dyed cotton (shibori) t6 4 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11X14 5x5 ry Teh6n 5x, 8 1990 Untitled Collage indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5x5 5x5 Untitled Collage 3, ry89 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 4Yz x 89 ry Untitled Collage rr, indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5x5 Sxro Collection of Dr. Darlene Miller-Lanning 5 Untitled Collage 4 ry8g Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Richardson Teh6n Series 5, r99o indigo dyed cotton (shibori) Collection of Dr. Robert W Bohlander Flower Box 4 :,988 wood, indigo dyed cotton, thread 5Yzx6Yzx6Yz Untitled CoIIage 6, ry8g indigo dyed cotton (shibori) t7 Untitled Collage 5, rygz indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 5xro 14xrr Teh6n Series z, t99o indigo dyed cotton (shibori) Untitled Collate 6, ry92 5xro 14x Teh6n Series 3, tggo indigo dyed cotton (shibori) Untitled Collage 7, ry92 SXto 14xrl indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik Lt indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik Teh6n Series 4, r99o indigo dyed cotton (shibori) Untitled Collage 8, rygz 5x10 rrx14 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik �z8 Untitled Collage rc, r9g2 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11x14 zg lJntitled, ryg3 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 18 x z4Yz 7o Untitled, ry93 indigo dyed paper (shibori), handmade paper 4Yz y x zoY+ lndigo Box 4 rg94 indigo dyed thread (shibori), glass, wood TxTxzYz 7z lndigo Box z, 1994 indigo dyed cotton (shibori), rice, glass, wood TxTxzYz Collection of Mr. Herbert B. Simon 33 lndigo Box 3, 1994 indigo dyed cotton (shibori), glass, wood 7x7xzlz 34 lndigo Box 4, 1994 indigo dyed paper (shibori), rice, glass, wood TxTxzVz 75 lndigo Box 5, 1994 indigo dyed paper (shibori), glass, wood TxTxzYz 36 lndigo Box 6, ry94 indigo dyed thread, rice, glass, wood TxTxzYz 77 lndigo Box 7, 1994 indigo dyed wood (clothespins), glass, 45 lndigo Gid Series 7, 996 indigo dyed paper, batik nYz x nYz wood TxTxzYz 46 lndigo Gid Series 8, ry96 38 lndigo Box 8, 994 indigo dyed handmade paper, rice, indigo dyed paper, batik, thread nYz x nYz Collection of Ms. Laura Moses glass, wood TxTxzYz 47 67/225, ry98 19 lndigo Crid Series 4 ry95 indigo dyed paper, batik oYz x pYz Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance 4o lndigo Grid Series z, x nYz Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance 4r lndigo Cid Series 3, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography rzt/z x rz/z 4z Indigo Grid Series 4, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography nYz x pYz 43 lndigo Grid Series 5, t995 indigo dyed paper, photography vVz x ul/z 44 lndigo Grid Series 6, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography pYz x uYz 48 67/225, ry98 procion dyed paper, foamcore, acetate, color Xerox 15x15 1995 indigo dyed paper, batik uYz procion dyed paper, foamcore 15x15 49 7/n5, ry98 photography, foamcore, paper, wood, thread 15x15 5o 8z/zz5, :9g8 photography, foamcore, paper, thread r5x15 5r go/225, ry98 photography, foamcore, acetate, wood, thread 15x15 5z 9z/225,998 photography, foamcore, wood, thread 15x15 �EXHIBITION UNDERWRITERS ADVISORY COMMISSION Friends of tl're Sorcloni Art Gallery Bonnie C. Bedford, Ph.D. M&TBank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This catalogue has been made possible Freddie Bittenber-rcler Maslorv Lr-rmia Bartorillo Aclvcrtising Pcnnsylvania Council ol the Arts Christopher N. llreiseih, Ph.D The )ohn Sloar-r Mer.nori:rl Virginia C. Davis, Chair Star-rley I Grand, Ph.D. I,bunclirtion, hrc. Ardrew J. Sordoni, III Wilkes Uriversity Marior-r M. Conynghan-r Robert f . He:rm:rn, Ph.L). Mary )ar-re Henry Keith A. I{ur.rter, Esc1. Michael Lennor.r, Pl.r.D. Mclanie Maslow Lumia SPONSORS J. 'l'hc Business Cour.rcil 'I'l.reo Lunria Keureth Marcluis CBI-Creative Business Intcriors Marcluis Art :incl l,'rarre PNC Bank, NA Parrzittir Euterprises. Irrc. STAFF Starrley I Grar-rd, Ph.D., Director Nancy L. Cranci, Coordinator Earl W. Lehrnan, Preparator Callery Attendants Deiclre Blake Peter Czwalina Natalee Felten Marcy Fritz lill Klicka Christopher Rehmann Casey Williams Hank O'Neal Arnolcl Ilifkin Charles A. Shaffer, rooo copies were printed by Llewellyn & McKane lrsc1. Shoenaker, Willian Shull Strs:rn Aclams Ileler Esc1. F-arr Sloan Anclrew ). Sordoni, III Sanforcl B. Sterr-rlieb, M.D. Mindi Thalenfeld Joel Zitolsky tl.rrough the generous srlpport olWilkes Ur.riversity, including the Offices of the President, the Vice President for Acaderric Affairs, and tl.re L)ean of the College of Arts, Scicnces & Professional Stuclies. The Sordoni Art Gallery appreciates the generosity of tl-re followilg indivicluals who lent works to this exhibition: Dr. Robert W. Bohlau-rdcr, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance, Dr. D:irlcne MiIIer-Lanr-rir.rg, Ms. Laura Moses, Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Richarclson, ancl Mr-. Flerbcrt B. Simorr. Catalogue design: Johr Beck Pl.rotography: Michael'l'hornas Calligraphy: 1 F r-ryoko Umed:r ypefaces Display: Ccntaur (Bruce Rogers, r9r5) Text: Electra (W. A. Dwiggins, 1937) ISBN o-942945-rB-z ��� https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/9a3501aaaf5cd609420df9a7950bc07a.pdf 09dfad0e965a242be4a5ce77fd68c625 PDF Text Text �1 i MANIFESTATIONS OF THE INDIGO SPIRIT SHIBORI WORKS OF RICHARD FULLER 3 1 ,T A EXHIBITION CURATED BY STANLEY I GRAND ESSAYS BY E.S. FARLEY LIBRARY WILKES UNIVERSITY WILKES-BARRE, PA STANLEY I GRAND RICHARD FULLER OCTOBER. 24-DECEMBER 15, 1999 SORDONI ART GALLERY. WILKES UNIVERSITY WILKES-BARRE. PENNSYLVANIA �"‘kj- ■- :•••• ARCHIVES £ ARCRD 5 ScRR i\j \ q5 oH • RICHARD FULLER: SHIBORI R ~7 Stanley I Grand r7 TJ“n 1984, while on sabbatical leave from the Ari Department I at Wilkes College. Richard fuller went to Japan to learn JL the art of shibori. There, under lire tutelage of master textile artist and dyer Hiroyuki Shindo, he studied the fundamentals of shibori, which involves resist-dyeing textiles so as to create patterns. Fuller has described the process as follows: Shibori comes from the Japanese verb root shiboru, “to wring, squeeze or press”—words that emphasize the action or process of manipulating cloth. In shibori the cloth is first shaped and secured with thread before being immersed in the dye. The cloth is then removed from the vat and allowed to oxidize in the air. This cycle is repeated until the desired shade is attained. Once the dyeing is complete, the cloth is untied and returned to its original twodimensional shape. The cloth sensitively records both the shape and the pressure exerted by the threads during the exposure to the dye; the “memory” of the shape remains imprinted in the cloth. The emphasis on lying the cloth and manual manipulation distinguishes shibori from the wax-resist and clamping processes, both of which arc also practiced in Japan. Photo: Stanley' I Grand Although ancient, the origin of shibori is somewhat obscure; and scholars disagree as to whether the technique is indigenous to Japan or came originally from the mainland. The earliest surviving pieces of shibori are in Japan, but we cannot say with certainty’ where they were made. What is certain, however, is that the character for shibori ($■£) is of Chinese origin. Long a staple of the traditional decorative arts in Japan, shibori is mentioned in Manydshu, an eighth-century' anthology' of poems that includes this couplet: Copyright © Sordoni Art Callcry. Wilier Urmerrity When I was a child with hair down to my shoulders 1 wore a sleeved robe of shibori cloth.' �RICHARD FULLER: SHIBORI RITUALS Stanley I Grand 19S4. while on sabbatical leave from the Art Department at Wilkes College, Richard Fuller went to Japan to leam the art of shibori. There, under the tutelage of master textile artist and dyer Hiroyuki Shindo, he studied the fundamentals of shibori. which involves resist-dyeing textiles so as to create patterns. Fuller has described the process as follows: Shibori comes from the Japanese verb root shiboru, “to wring, squeeze or press"—words that emphasize the action or process of manipulating cloth. In shibori the cloth is first shaped and secured with thread before being immersed in the dye. The cloth is then removed from the vat and allowed to oxidize in the air. This cycle is repeated until the desired shade is attained. Once the dyeing is complete, the cloth is untied and returned to its original twodimensional shape. The cloth sensitively records both the shape and the pressure exerted by the threads during the exposure to the dye: the "memory” of the shape remains imprinted in the cloth. The emphasis on tying the cloth and manual manipulation distinguishes shibori from the wax-resist and clamping processes, both of which are also practiced in Japan. I Grand Although ancient, the origin of shibori is somewhat obscure; and scholars disagree as to whether the technique is indigenous to Japan or came originally from the mainland. The earliest surviving pieces of shibori are in Japan, but we cannot say with certainty' where they were made. What is certain, however, is that the character for shibori ($£) is of Chinese origin. Long a staple of the traditional decorative arts in Japan, shibori is mentioned in Man’yoshu, an eighth-century anthology of poems that includes this couplet: Copyright , 1999 Sordoni Art Callen. Wilkes University When I was a child with hair down to my shoulders I wore a sleeved robe of shibori cloth.' Indeed, the demand for shibori cloth garments, including kimonos, remained relatively constant until the present century when it fell victim to the many changes that occurred in Japanese society' after the end of World War II. By the late 1970s, interest in shibori had for all practical purposes ceased. In other words, when Fuller went to learn the craft it was practically' a dead art whose practice was maintained by Shindo and a few others. Since then, however, shibori has enjoyed a revival of interest. fuller’s interest in textile design is in part an outgrowth of his background in the New York advertising world, where between 1956 and 1965, he was Art Director at Gardner Advertising. His experiences there gave him a solid ground­ ing in two-dimensional design, which he brought to Wilkes in 1969. The major stimulus for his interest in textile design, however, came four years later. After losing all his possessions to the Susquehanna River flood of 1972, Fuller volunteered for a year of missionary' work and was assigned to the Schutz Ameri­ can School in Alexandria, Egypt, where he became fascinated with “the aesthetic potential of local dyes.” He has observed that “Exposure to Egyptian textiles and the great traditions of resistdyed fabrics in the Middle East stimulated me to develop and enhance my visual vocabulary in this medium.” Returning to Wilkes-Barre, he spent the next nine years investigating the possibilities of batik while also taking courses in textiles at The Pennsylvania State University' (1976) and Parsons School of Design (1982-83). After his trip to Japan, he decided that shibori would be his primary' medium and has explored its aesthetic possibilities ever since. Eight Paper Sacks in an Indigo Box (1984, Figure 1) is one of the first pieces completed after Fuller’s return from Japan. It consists of two halves of a small box covered in shibori and placed on a base of unpolished rice, which evokes the raked �: •1 sand in a Japanese rockgarden. In the bottom section of the box, Fuller has placed eight elegantly formed paper sacks that have been carefully stitched along their edges and secured with knotted purple strings. Side by side, in two rows, their bright cadmium red light contrasts with the deep rich indigo of the box. The overall effect is of a ceremonial offering of an ideal box, an impression furthered by the fact that the lid cannot be employed without crushing the paper sacks. What seems to be important is the ritual presentation, or rather the effort and care—note the mitered corners—that went into the preparation. Fuller has often taken a concept and explored it from various angles while maintaining a set of self-imposed limitations. In 1990 he began a number of pattern pieces of which Tehdn Series 4 (Figure 2) is representative. The “Tehdn” or pattern in this work consists of three horizontal bands. The upper and lower bands are nearly identical and suggest rippling waves. The center panel contains an abstract arrangement of regular geometric shapes, primarily triangles, forming patterns of light and dark that recall the jagged edges created when great masses of ice collide and buckle on wintry northern lakes. Water fluid, water solid, water moving, water frozen: icy crystalline patterns held motionless between two rivers. Along with the series (think of Monet’s cathedrals or Warhol’s personalities), another quintessential element of modernist art is the grid (Sol LcWitt’s pristine white sculp­ tures). Fuller’s Indigo Grid Series 6 (1995, Figure 3) contains thirty-six squares of shibori-dyed paper arranged to form a square. Some of the smaller squares contain pieces of dyed paper stitched together. He has allowed a slight looseness to enter the composition: threads now extend beyond the paper instead of being cut flush with the surface. Also new is Fuller’s incorporation of photographs (or, more precisely, fragments of photographs) of rural Japan that he has cut into thin bands. Like the strip of cloth on the lid of Eight Paper Sacks in an Indigo Box, these photographic relics bisect the indigo squares. Whereas in Indigo Grid Series 6, Fuller created a tension by contrasting the static grid with a circular movement caused by tonal shifts; in 90/225 (1998, Figure 4) he contra­ dicted the inherent flatness of the grid by raising some of hicolor squares off the surface. The grid itself is subtly delin­ eated by embossed lines that divide the ground into 225 squares (15 on a side). The title simply indicates the number of units covered. In these most recent works, Fuller has continued to make shibori expressive of his own sensibilities by substituting photographs of dyed cloth for the original and introducing readymade objects like toy clothespins. Several factors distinguish Fuller’s art from traditional Japanese processes. Most obviously, he does not use the dyed doth to create garments or wall hangings. Rather, he uses shibori as a beginning, as a color palette, to create collages, grids, or boxes. These he designs according to Western, rather than Oriental, conventions. The content, as opposed to the design, combines the two traditions. The spiritual component seems to evoke tradi­ tional Japanese values: the tea ceremony, the Zen of arrang­ ing. Fuller’s work has a ritual quality. Objects or patterns arc delicately arranged. The boxes are microcosms of order. Randomness and expressionism have been banished. His cool, indigo compositions bespeak a cerebral, unemotional aesthetic. In his art, Fuller has created a controlled world, a refined parallel reality, beyond the accidents of life and the ravages of nature. He draws inspiration from nature, but nature human­ ized and beneficent, controlled and ordered, devoid of wilderness and unpredictability. Yet fundamentally, his is a reconstructing, affirmative, healing art. Doubtless the predilection for order existed in his art before the deluvian chaos. Now that clement of order predominates: calamity changes, calamity confirms. 1. Quoted in Yoshiko Wada, Mary Kellogg Rice, and Jane Barton. Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing (Tokyo. 1983), 14. Eight Paper Sacks in an Indigo Box 1984 �225 (1998. Figure 4) he contra>f the grid by raising some of his The grid itself is subtly delindivide the ground into 225 tie simply indicates the number >st recent works, Fuller has tpressive of his own sensibilities )f dved cloth for the original and :ts like tor* clothespins. Fuller's art from traditional iouslv. he does not use the dved all hangings. Rather, he uses olor palette, to create collages, igns according to Western, rather > the design, combines the two ronent seems to evoke tradia ceremony, the Zen of arrangqualitv. Objects or patterns are :s are microcosms of order. ;m have been banished. His tpeak a cerebral, unemotional •d a controlled world, a refined cidents of life and the ravages of Tom nature, but nature human?d and ordered, devoid of ty. Yet fundamentally, his is a •aling art. Doubtless tire in his art before the deluvian rder predominates: calamity Jan* Kellogg Rice, and Jane Barton. ?se Shaped Resist Dyeing (Tokyo, Eight Paper Sacks in an Indigo Box 1984 �.... ... ... ..... ... . �Indigo Grid Series 6 ■995 �MANIFESTATIONS Or THE INDIGO Sil Richard Fuller ni □ i it L_—u 90/225 1998 kkaii HE WORK in this exhibition reflects mv interest in the beauty of pattern, a refined sensitivity to nature, and a deep respect for the Japanese dye-resist process called shibori. When I returned from my first trip to japan in 1984,1 discovered that living in japan changed mv views about teaching and set me on a new course regarding the future of my aesthetic development. Much of what I had read about the Japanese culture and Zen philosophy suddenly became a vital part of my everyday experience. I found myself in an environment in which the notion of the inseparable link between nature and man became more clearly defined. While working with the indigo dyer, 1 liroyuki Shindo, I perceived the profound forces of nature which surrounded me in Miyama, a little farming village in the mountains of Northern Kyoto. Nature, the origin of ah life, was a source of inspiration for my creative work, The patterns in my work do not copy nature, but are intuitively derived through my interpretation of the essence of natural form. For me, beautiful patterns symbol­ ize nature, and are manifest during the dyeing process. Shindo often st relation to his wo into Ins indigo va blessed bv the Bn the studio, and th that allowed the i subtle variations 1 that time suggest Shindo’s studio. I mysterious energ The beauty fo the beauty fount is my desire that slowly opening i be drawn into tl qualities of papr all of which has nature while hoi tradition. �MANIFESTATIONS OF THE INDIGO SPIRIT Richard Fuller HE WORK in this exhibition reflects my interest in the beaut}’ of pattern, a refined sensitivity to nature, and a deep respect for the Japanese dye-resist process called shibori. When I returned from my first trip to Japan in 1984, I discovered that living in Japan changed my views about teaching and set me on a new course regarding the future of my aesthetic development. Much of what I had read about the Japanese culture and Zen philosophy suddenly became a vital part of my every-day experience. I found myself in an environment in which the notion of the inseparable link between nature and man became more clearly defined. While working with the indigo dyer, Hiroyuki Shindo, I perceived the profound forces of nature which surrounded me in Miyama, a little farming village in the mountains of Northern Kyoto. Nature, the origin of all life, was a source of inspiration for mv creative work. The patterns in my work do not copy­ nature, but are intuitively derived through my interpretation of the essence of natural form. For me, beautiful patterns symbol­ ize nature, and are manifest during the dyeing process. Shindo often spoke of the God of indigo (Aizen Shin) in relation to his work. Bottles of sake, which were introduced into his indigo vats, were taken to the village shrine to be blessed by the Buddhist priests. The God of indigo protected the studio, and the sake was one ingredient, among others, that allowed the cloth to receive a deep indigo hue with subtle variations of light and dark. My journal references of that time suggest that an ever-present “spirit" prevailed in Shindo’s studio. It may be said that the “indigo spirit" is the mysterious energy- that gives life to the work. The beauty' found in these indigo patterns, not unlike the beauty found in nature, requires time to appreciate. It is my’ desire that you view my work as you would a flower slowly opening its petals for the first time. Allow yourself to be drawn into the alluring color of indigo, the natural qualities of paper and cloth, and the beautiful patterns— all of which have inspired me to explore the essence of nature while honoring a dye-resist process rooted in Japanese tradition. n■I I B■ �CHECKLIST OF THE EXHIBITION .io-.-x ,;r-c s:\cn in inches, height precedes width precedes depth. 1 u'ess ctccrwise indicated, works are courtesy of the artist. Riper Such' in an Indigo Box. 1984 1 ilwncore. indigo dyed cotton, paper, rice - x iSSS x 13^2 z Fnv Indigo Boxes. 19S4 foamcore. indigo dyed cotton, rice, wood 4 x 20 x 12 2 Four Wrapped Boxes, 1984 tbamcore. indigo dyed cotton -xSx:h 4 Flower Box 1. 19SS wood, indigo dyed cotton, thread 572 X 6^2 X 6/2 5 Untitled Collage 1, 1989 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X5 Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Richardson 6 Untitled Collage 2, 1989 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X5 7 Untitled Collage 3, 1989 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X5 8 Untitled Collage 4, 1989 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5'5 9 Untitled Collage 5, 1989 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5'5 IO Untitled Collage 6, 1989 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X5 19 Tehon Series 5, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) Collection of 5 x 10 Collection of Dr. Robert W. Bohlander Dr. Darlene Miller-Lanning 11 Untitled Collage 7, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X 5 28 Untitled Collage 10. 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11 x 14 29 Untitled, 1993 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori.. batik 20 Bainforest, 1992 18 x 24/2 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori) 23I/2 x 89 30 Untitled, 1993 indigo dyed paper (shibori), 12 Untitled Collage 8, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X 5 13 Untitled Collage 11, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5X 5 14 Untitled Collage 12, 1990 21 Untitled Collage 1, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik handmade paper 4V2 x 2014 11 x 14 22 Untitled Collage 2, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 31 Indigo Box 1, 1994 indigo dyed thread (shibori), glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2/2 11 x 14 23 Untitled Collage 4, 1992 32 Indigo Box 2, 1994 indigo dyed cotton (shibori), rice, glass, indigo dyed cotton (shibori) indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik wood 5X5 H x 11 7 X 7 X 214 15 Tehon Series 1, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5 x 10 16 Tehon Series 2, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5 x 10 24 Untitled Collage 5, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14 x 11 25 Untitled Collage 6, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14 x 11 Collection of Mr. Herbert B. Simon 33 Indigo Box 3, 1994 indigo dyed cotton (shibori), glass, wood 37 Indigo Box 1994 indigo dyed wood (clothespins), glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2Y2 38 Indigo Box 8, 1994 indigo dyed handmade paper, rice, glass, wood 7 X 7 X 2*/2 39 Indigo Grid Series 1. 1995 indigo dyed paper, batik 12/2 x 12I6 Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance 40 Indigo Grid Series 2. 1995 indigo dyed paper, batik iz’/i x 12*6 Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance 41 Indigo Grid Scries 3, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 12H x 12'16 42 Indigo Grid Scries 4. 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 12V2 x 12V2 wood 17 Tehon Series 3, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5 x 10 18 Tehon Series 4, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5 x 10 26 Untitled Collage 7, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14 x 11 27 Untitled Collage 8, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik n x 14 7 X 7 x 2/2 35 Indigo Box 5, 1994 indigo dyed paper (shibori), glass, wood 7 X 7 X 2I6 36 Indigo Box 6, 1994 indigo dyed thread, rice, glass, wood 7 x 7 x 216 46 Indigo Grit indigo dye1212 x 12F2 CoHecfion 4- 67/225, 199 procion d\ 15X 15 48 6-/225, >9< procion d\ color Xerc 15x15 49 73/225, 194 photograp thread 15 x 15 50 82/225. 194 photograp 15x15 7 x 7 x 2V2 34 Indigo Box 4, 1994 indigo dyed paper (shibori), rice, glass, 45 Indigo Gric indigo d\e< 43 Indigo Grid Series 5, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 12J6 x 12V2 44 Indigo Grid Series 6, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography x 12V2 51 90/225. 194 photograp thread 15 x 15 52 92/225, 19 photograj 15x15 �19 Tehon Series 5, 1990 indigo dyed cotton (shibori) 5 x 10 Collection of Dr. Darlene Miller-Lanning 20 Rainforest, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori) 23% x 89 21 Untitled Collage 1, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11x4 22 Untitled Collage 2, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11 x 14 23 Untitled Collage 4,1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14 x 11 24 Untitled Collage 5, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14 x 11 25 Untitled Collage 6, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14 x 11 26 Untitled Collage 7, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 14x11 27 Untitled Collage 8, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11 x 14 28 Untitled Collage 10, 1992 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 11 x 14 29 Untitled, 1993 indigo dyed paper (arashi shibori), batik 18 x 24% 30 Untitled, 1993 indigo dyed paper (shibori), handmade paper 4% x 2014 31 Indigo Box 1, 1994 indigo dyed thread (shibori), glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2% 32 Indigo Box 2, 1994 indigo dyed cotton (shibori), rice, glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2% Collection of Mr. Herbert B. Simon 33 Indigo Box 3, 1994 indigo dyed cotton (shibori), glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2V2 34 Indigo Box 4, 1994 indigo dyed paper (shibori), rice, glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2% 35 Indigo Box 5, 1994 indigo dyed paper (shibori), glass, wood 7x7x2% 36 Indigo Box 6, 1994 indigo dyed thread, rice, glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2% 37 Indigo Box 7, 1994 indigo dyed wood (clothespins), glass, wood 45 Indigo Grid Series 7, 1996 indigo dyed paper, batik 12% X 12% 7 X 7 X 2% 38 Indigo Box 8, 1994 indigo dyed handmade paper, rice, glass, wood 7 x 7 x 2% 39 Indigo Grid Series 1, 1995 indigo dyed paper, batik 12% x 12% Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance 40 Indigo Grid Series 2, 1995 indigo dyed paper, batik 12% x 12% Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance 46 Indigo Grid Series 8, 1996 indigo dyed paper, batik, thread 12% x 12% Collection of Ms. Laura Moses 47 67/225, 1998 procion dyed paper, foanicore 15 x 15 48 67/225, 1998 procion dyed paper, foamcore, acetate, color Xerox 15 x 15 49 73z—5. ‘99s photography, foanicore, paper, wood, thread i5x 15 41 Indigo Grid Series 3, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 12% x 12% 50 82/225, 1998 photography, foanicore, paper, thread 42 Indigo Grid Series 4, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 51 90/225, 1998 photography, foanicore, acetate, wood, thread 15x15 12% x 12% 43 Indigo Grid Series 5, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 12% x 12% 44 Indigo Grid Series 6, 1995 indigo dyed paper, photography 12% x 12% x 15 52 92/225, 1998 photography, foamcore, wood, thread 15 x b �-^ggggsag EXHIBITION UNDERWRITERS Friends of the Sordoni Art Gallery M & T Bank Maslow Lumia Bartorillo Advertising Pennsylvania Council on the Arts The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc. Andrew J. Sordoni, III Wilkes University SPONSORS The Business Council CBI-Creative Business Interiors Marquis /\rt and Frame PNC Bank, NA Panzitta Enterprises, Inc. STAFF Stanley I Grand, Ph.D., Director Nancy L. Grand, Coordinator Earl W. Lehman, Preparator Gaiter)' Attendants Deidre Blake Peter Czwalina Natalee Felten Marcy Fritz Jill Klicka Christopher Rehmann Casey Williams advisory COMMISSION Bonnie C. Bedford, Ph.D. Freddie Bittenbender Christopher N. Breiscth, Ph.D. Marion M. Conyngham Virginia C. Davis, Chair Stanley 1 Grand, Ph.D. Robert J. Heaman, Ph.D. Mary Jane I lenry Keith A. Hunter, Esq. J. Michael Lennon, Ph D. Melanie Maslow Lumia Theo Lumia Kenneth Marquis Hank O’Neal .Arnold Rifkin Charles A. Shaffer, Esq. Susan /Adams Shoemaker, Esq. William Shull Helen Farr Sloan Andrew J. Sordoni, III Sanford B. Sternlieb, M.D. Mindi Thalenfeld Joel Zitofsky ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This catalogue has been made possible through the generous support of Wilkes University, inchiding the Offices of the President, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences & Professional Studies. The Sordoni Art Gallery appreciates the generosity of the following individuals who lent works to this exhibition; Dr. Robert W. Bohlander, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Chance, Dr. Darlene Miller-Lanning, Ms. Laura Moses, Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Richardson, and Mr. Herbert B. Simon. 1000 copies were printed by Llewellyn & McKanc Catalogue design: John Beck Photography: Michael Thomas Calligraphy: Fuyoko Umcda Typefaces Display: Centaur (Bruce Rogers, 1915) Text: Electra (W. A. Dwiggins, 1937) ISBN 0-942945-18-2 �■J /■, r1.- ■■■■■I WILKES UNIVERSITY LIBRARY t GAYLORD FG r �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 1999 October 24 Manifestations of the Indigo Spirit: Shibori Works of Richard Fuller Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard Fuller Stanley I. Grand Richard Fuller Stanley I. Grand Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1999 October 24 - December 15 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource In 1984, while on sabbatical leave from the Art Department at Wilkes College, Richard Fuller went to Japan to learn the art of shibori. There, under the tutelage of a master textile artist and dyer Hiroyuki Shindo, he studied the fundamentals of shibori, which involves resist-dyeing textiles as to create patterns. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource shibori Japan Japanese dyeing dye Richard Fuller Wilkes College https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/5b6ece92173b1a84c239dd3fda85d8d3.pdf 13dfe29e39fdf96d374208f64a6556f8 PDF Text Text �������������������������������������������������������� https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/f4a5a6a977d6f1884c1a05f842fa4ee7.pdf df888bd881e0fe01a92617160edf5823 PDF Text Text M I SORD GA ND1290 S349 2000 ��- ' V.- Portrait of Edward Schmidt Drawing by D. Jeffrey Mims T1 Sordoni Art Gz �~Edward Schmidt i MYTHOLOGIES Exhibition Curated with Commentaries by Stanley I Grand E.S. FARLEY LIBRARY WILKES UNIVERSITY WILKES-BARRE, PA February 20-March 26, 2000 The Year 2000 Dr. Roy E. Morgan Exhibition Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University • Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania �ARCHIVES The r LENDERS TO THE EXHIBITION Mr. and Mrs. David Berelson (California) Thomas Cornell (Maine) Tracy' Freedman (California) Fredric Goldstein (New York) Mark and Lisa Helprin (Virginia) Innes Collection (Virginia) Mark Lupke (Pennsylvania) Mariano and Celia Pacheco (New York) Mary' Salstrom and Brent M. Porter (New York) Edward Schmidt (New York) Henry and Amanda Vandeveer (Massachusetts) David B. Wolf (New York) Three Private Collections (California, Florida, Oregon) ADDITIONAL THANKS The American Academy in Rome Tracy Freedman David and Audrey Ginenthal Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Inc. Nancy L. Grand Michael Hackett Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Steven Harvey Robert J. Heaman, Ph.D. Arnie Lizan James L. Merryman, Ph.D. Jonathan Schmidt Jane Schoelkopf Jeremy Sheldon Jennifer and John Sheridan Elizabeth Tops Oona von Spier Cheryl Wheat Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. T. S. Eliot, "Burnt Nor The Sordoni Art Gallery's annual exhibition in honor of Dr. Roy E. Morgan (1908—2000) celebrates the accomplishments of a journalist, administrator, and broadcaster, who left an indelible imprint on the civic and cultural life of his community. Among many other honors, he was an inductee into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Dr. Morgan's ' 'long involvement ' ‘ with ‘the arts included twenty-five years of thoughtful and generous reviews of local art exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical performances. Cover: Seduction of Callisto (Detail) Copyright & 2000 Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University 2000 copies were printed by Becotte & Company Catalogue design: John Beck Photography: Michael Thomas, except photos on pp. 21, 22, 2S, 30, and 39 Typeface: Palatine ISBN 0-942945-19-0 Edward Schmidt's Mythologies present an oblique, cultu modern modern way way of of looking looking at at reality. reality. Informed Informed by by erudition, erudition, inspiration from the Classical tradition, and paying freqt to the Old Masters, Schmidt's paintings conjure up an an literally timeless, reality in which the past and present si: neously exist. His time spent in Rome clarifies this. An historian of It and gardens, the late Georgina Masson repeatedly likene to a palimpsest, a vellum manuscript where generations pletely scraped-off writings insistently reappear and pok later scribblings. Schmidt, winner of the 1983 Prix de Roi frequent subsequent visitor to The American Academy, k a reality where the omnipresence of the past coexists ana and harmoniously with the present, where fashionably d women talk animatedly on cell phones in the intercolum of an antique temple filled in by a Baroque architect. Or, another example, a reality where the distinctions betwee and Christian seem to blur, where the church of Mary' Sts �al exhibition in honor of Dr. Roy E. the accomplishments of a journalist, who left an indelible imprint on the imunity. Among many other honors, nsylvania Association of Broadcast­ ing involvement with the arts loughtful and generous reviews of ad theatrical performances. di) y, Wilkes University >t photos on pp. 21, 22, 28, 30, and 39 The Timeless Present Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. T. S. Eliot, "Burnt Norton" Edward Schmidt's Mythologies present an oblique, cultured, yet modem way of looking at reality. Informed by erudition, drawing inspiration from the Classical tradition, and paying frequent tribute to the Old Masters, Schmidt's paintings conjure up an anachronistic, literally timeless, reality in which the past and present simulta­ neously exist. His time spent in Rome clarifies this. An historian of Italian villas and gardens, the late Georgina Masson repeatedly likened that city to a palimpsest, a vellum manuscript where generations of incom­ pletely scraped-off writings insistently reappear and poke through later scribblings. Schmidt, winner of the 1983 Prix de Rome and frequent subsequent visitor to The American Academy, knows well a reality where the omnipresence of the past coexists anarchisticly and harmoniously with the present, where fashionably dressed women talk animatedly on cell phones in the intercolumnar spaces of an antique temple filled in by a Baroque architect. Or, to give another example, a reality where the distinctions between pagan and Christian seem to blur, where the church of Mary stands on the site of a temple dedicated to Minerva. Schmidt is part of that world. He is not a parochial artist; he is not a New York artist. Rather he is Western artist who is both heir to and perpetuator of a great artistic tradition. That tradition is Classical Humanism, which in visual terms is always concerned with the human figure in the sense that the concerns of Humanism are expressed by means of and through the figure. Historically, the first great era of the human form in Western art spans the centuries between roughly 600 B.c. and 300 B.c. At the onset, we see the gestalt of a younger civilization coming into contact with an older culture and transforming its conventions to express new truths. In the monumental stone sculptures that epito­ mized permanence and stability for the Egyptians, the Greeks found the essence of movement and change. At first, the Greeks freed the Egyptians' stylized, striding forms from the confines of the stone block. Within a century, however, these delightful, perpetually smiling, rigid slim youths of the Archaic period give way to a more sober and mature type of the Severe or early Classical style, who are followed by the High Classical remote, ideal deities, whose reign ends around the time of the final defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian war. The fourth century b.c. begins with a new sensuality and ends with an expanded range of subjects, types, and ages in the Hellenistic era. In this progression from youthful ideal­ ism to duty to compassion we see a microcosm of the human condition, a coming of age. We also see, as has been often observed, 5 JU '< ij/g, �l I I that the Greeks made their gods human and their humans divine. Perfection of physical form became synonymous with divinity. How different from the Christian viewpoint! After two and a half millennia, the expressive possibilities of the human form have not been exhausted. (That the figure fell out of favor among certain artists during part of the last century is, rela­ tively speaking, of small import.) Indeed, as our civilization has become ever more complex, the tradition of figurative art has become ever more nuanced, self-referential, and weighty. The old tension between idealism and realism, between improving on nature instead of merely "aping" or copying nature, is now but one of many historical and aesthetic subtexts to be discovered in the archaeology of painting. Understanding a tradition, of course, presupposes knowledge. When the tradition is as old and venerable as literature or painting, a certain erudition is to be expected. In the Renaissance tradition, Schmidt is an artist educated in the liberal arts who deals with ideas. Selecting from a large lexicon of forms and subjects, Schmidt employs visual and literary quotes, puns, and narrative distortions, to create multireferential paintings. Unlike the pure abstractionists, his hermeticism is not one of form but of subject. In this he is closer to the Surrealists and Metaphysical painters than to the Formal Modernists. His emphasis on subject matter, however, should not be viewed as reactionary. As Edward Lucie-Smith observed in discuss­ ing Schmidt's Nocturne: "Contemporary artists have, in fact, made an interesting discovery: that, thanks to the chasm opened by Modernism between the art of the twentieth century and that of the more distant past, Old Master sources now share the kind of 'other­ ness' which was once attributed only to non-Western art."1 Schmidt's relationship to the Old Masters is not an appropriation strategy. His is a sincere, not ironic, investigation of meaningful, universal, and inexhaustible themes. Nor should he be seen as a pure history painter: His ends and means are both more ambiguous and less didactic. Rather he seeks an intensification and deepening of the visual experience. We should not be surprised that this requires some work on our part as we go from being primary to second-level viewers. 6 The Timeless Present Schmidt's own maturation in terms of technique and subject is manifest in this exhibition. His stylistic development is clear if one compares Conversation bi/ the Sen (1991) with Psyche and Venus (1995). In the former, the many characters are disposed as if on a stage. A narrow ground separates their space from ours and reinforces the impression of formality. The figures are drawn in clear relief, and their individuality is heightened further by a limpid, defining light. The atmospheric clarity associated with a dry, bright environment—one thinks of Central Italian light, for example—is reflected in Schmidt's limited palette of unsaturated colors applied with a minimum ot medium. The paint itself is opaque and frequently left unblended, which gives the painting's surface a modern, vigorous energy. Psyche and Venus, on the other hand, is quite different The number of figures has been severely restricted while their scale has become more massive. Close cropping creates a claustrophobic space in which the viewer changes from spectator to intruder Night has begun to fall on Arcady, as twilight replaces midday. With this change, the contrast of light and shade has become more pro­ nounced. The overall tonality of the painting sounds a darker chord. The paint itself has become juicy. Venetian opulence and sensuality have displaced Tuscan lucidity and intellect: The geometry and rigor of Piero della Francesca has yielded to the languor and carnality of Giorgione. Unity replaces multiplicity as a few large interconnected forms define the abstract, simplified composition. The overall finish is higher. Glazing further enhances the unitv: Surfaces are more uniform and blended. Although colors are saturated and glow with a jewel-like intensity, it should be noted that Schmidt remains a tonal painter: Line and value, not color, organize all his paintings. Indeed, here as elsewhere, his choice of hues is mostly limited to the primary triad, their complementaries, and earth colors. Finally, the scale of the paintings themselves has increased. Along with Schmidt's stylistic development, his narrative struc­ ture has changed. In the earlier paintings, he addresses universal themes such as Departure, Return, or Death allegorically and lyrically. In these canvases, the actors tell their story more directly and comprehensively, even when the narrative is somewhat unclear: An accident has occurred, workmen build, classical figures gambol in Arcadia. In contrast, the narrative paintings from the mid-19-a tend to be more ambiguous and brooding. Although the titles appear to be quite specific, Schmidt often chooses to play with and modify the original literary sources. Coincident with the other changes is Schmidt’s choice of narrative moment. In paintings sue! as the Rape of Persephone or Departure, Schmidt shows the moment when the drama is most intense. Subsequently, in the Seduction of Callisto for example, he substitutes psychological introspection for dramatic activity by showing quiet moments of no action. In this strangely still painting, we experience both tranquillity and vulner ability, repose and threat. The seducer's ambiguous, transgenderal sexuality furthers the unsettling mood. Schmidt's paintings are subject to multiple readings. Like an orator, Schmidt has become increasingly proficient al both clarifyir �tion in terms of technique and subject is i. His stylistic development is clear if one the Sea (1991) with Psyche and Venus (1995). aaracters are disposed as if on a stage. A their space from ours and reinforces the le figures are drawn in clear relief, and their further by a limpid, defining light. The ted with a dry, bright environment—one ht, for example—is reflected in Schmidt's ited colors applied with a minimum of s opaque and frequently left unblended, ; surface a modern, vigorous energy. ! other hand, is quite different. The number ly restricted while their scale has become ring creates a claustrophobic space in from spectator to intruder. Night has ; twilight replaces midday. With this it and shade has become more prolity of the painting sounds a darker chord, e juicy. Venetian opulence and sensuality idity and intellect: The geometry and rigor is yielded to the languor and carnality of multiplicity as a few large interconnected simplified composition. The overall finish mhances the unity: Surfaces are more lough colors are saturated and glow with >uld be noted that Schmidt remains a ue, not color, organize all his paintings, his choice of hues is mostly limited to the jmentaries, and earth colors. Finally, the selves has increased. ylistic development, his narrative strucrlier paintings, he addresses universal Return, or Death allegorically and the actors tell their story more directly i when the narrative is somewhat unclear: (workmen build, classical figures gambol in Arcadia. In contrast, the narrative paintings from the mid-1990s tend to be more ambiguous and brooding. Although the titles appear to be quite specific, Schmidt often chooses to play with and modify the original literary sources. Coincident with the other changes is Schmidt's choice of narrative moment. In paintings such as the Rape of Persephone or Departure, Schmidt shows the moment when the drama is most intense. Subsequently, in the Seduction of Callisto for example, he substitutes psychological introspection for dramatic activity by showing quiet moments of no action. In this strangely still painting, we experience both tranquillity and vulner­ ability, repose and threat. The seducer's ambiguous, transgenderal sexuality furthers the unsettling mood. Schmidt's paintings are subject to multiple readings. Like an orator, Schmidt has become increasingly proficient at both clarifying and obscuring his art. His sense of invention has become less illustrative and more suggestive; his deportment of figures on the canvas has become simpler and stronger; his elocution or manner has become more refined; his memory more focused on essentials, and his technique more refined, subtle, and pronounced. What has remained unchanged is his gravitas. Schmidt's reality, timeless and vaguely antique, seeks the universal and permanent in a world of constant change. This essay and the commentaries are dedicated to the memory of W.trren G. Moon, Professor of Art I tistory and Classics, University of Wisconsin -Madison. 1. Edward Lucie-Smith, Art Today (London: Phaidon Press, 1995), 234. The Timeless Present 7 �Workers (square), 1974 8% x 8% Workers (vertical), 1975 10% x 7 Although modest in scale, the two Workers provide inklings of Schmidt's future development. Perhaps most important, they clearly underscore his commitment to abstract composition, his fluent vocabulary of artistic forms, his knowledge of and respect for the history of art, and his methodical approach to mastery. Like Mondrian, Schmidt has divided his canvases into tightly interlock­ ing squares and rectangles. Unlike Mondrian, however, he relieves the architectonic structure with occasional diagonals, contrasts of void and mass—light projecting forms and dark receding holes— and a three-dimensionality that derives, ultimately, from the archi­ tectural illusionism associated with Pompeian second-style painting. On the controlling horizontals and verticals, Schmidt has added movement. In the square painting, the eight figures are disposed in a circular pattern that flows from the foreground cement mixers to the seated architect, up the rising steps, and then downward through the figure standing on the ladder. Movement in the vertical painting 8 comes from the zigzag line that sweeps upward from the wheel of the barrow through the head of the climbing figure with upraised arms and then horizontally through the three figures above. In both works, the animating line simultaneously moves forward and back through space. Schmidt's highly regularized, geometric figures— which trace their ancestry back through Balthus, Seurat, and Pierofurther demonstrate his eclectic, synthesizing approach to painting. Although the paintings have a deliberate, constructed, almost didactic quality, the solutions are elegant, respectful, and confident without being brash. At this point in his development he is con­ cerned with mastering multifigure compositions. His solution recalls the isolated forms of the Italian primitives; subsequently he will develop a more Baroque integration of figural elements. In these modem yet timeless narratives, Schmidt wears his learning lightly. The paintings maintain a vitality and freshness that is a direct consequence of his brushwork and avoidance of excessive finish. �I I l 2 ■ J I■ II I ■ ■■ I ’ jag line that sweeps upward from the wheel of . the head of the climbing figure with upraised zontally through the three figures above. In both ig line simultaneously moves forward and back nidt's highly regularized, geometric figures— icestry back through Balthus, Seurat, and Piero— ? his eclectic, synthesizing approach to painting, ntings have a deliberate, constructed, almost ■ solutions are elegant, respectful, and confident i. At this point in his development he is con­ ing multifigure compositions. His solution recalls >f the Italian primitives; subsequently he will oque integration of figural elements. ret timeless narratives, Schmidt wears his learning 5 maintain a vitality and freshness that is a direct irushwork and avoidance of excessive finish. 9 �-10x50 In the left foreground, a figure cloaked in a dark hooded robe turns back impatiently from a flight of stairs in response to a restraining hand. He pulls his hood tightly and glares grimly. One slippered, stockinged foot extends beyond the tread of the top step as if to underscore the urgency of the departure. The other figure, recalling Donatello's Zuccone, is elderly, barefoot, and dressed in a green toga­ like garment that falls in wide, flat folds. He has the veristic, topo­ graphic features found in ancestor busts of the Roman Republic: cropped hair, aquiline nose, no beard. Yet his head appears overly small for his attenuated body. He carries a walking staff, a symbol of both the traveler and the aged. In the middle distance, a small silhouette of a bent-over figure, also leaning on a staff, slowly ascends a zigzag staircase to a small plateau before an ochre ruin. The land is uniformly barren, arid, and devoid of vegetation, excepting only a few stunted trees and bushes. One thinks of a Greek island from which heroes set sail upon the wine-dark sea. Much like the staff that bisects the space between the men, the flowing course of a dry arroyo divides the painting. The contrast of active men on one side of the composition and reactive woman on the other, separated by a charged space, recalls David's Oath of the Horatii. The grieving, seminude woman sits on a solid cube and bows her head. Neither of her companions offers any gesture of comfort. Despite its rational composition, planar recession, limited palette, and clear division into foreground, middle ground, and background, 10 the entire scene is decidedly unclassical in mood. One recalls antique departure scenes on red-figure vases such as Munich 2415, where the protagonists include an old, bearded man, women, and a young warrior. No emotion is shown although all realize that death might well await the young scion. Rather the scene is treated with quiet dignity, as befits a solemn occasion. No exaggerations, no pantomimes, no gestures taken from a Charles Lebrun treatise intrude on the tableau. One also thinks of a melancholic statue of Penelope in the Vatican Museum. Like our weeping woman, she sits on a cubic seat. But whereas Penelope and her gestures are selfcontained, here the woman's gesture points toward the outward source of her great grief—Death leading the old man on his final journey. The steps lead down the steep cliff to a harbor; the destination involves crossing water; Charon is the guide. We sense his impa­ tience as he pulls his body away. The balance of convex and concave contours echoes the action of moving forward and pulling away. In Departure, Schmidt employs continuous narration to show the old man at the moment of his death and subsequently ascending a staircase, a vision laden with Biblical and personal meanings. Painted at the time his mother was dying, this work seeks to univer­ salize a personal sorrow. The light from the right indicates that the sun is still climbing, an offshore breeze is blowing clouds inland; it is time to go. �edly unclassical in mood. One recalls s on red-figure vases such as Munich 2415, ndude an old, bearded man, women, and a ion is shown although all realize that death mg scion. Rather the scene is treated with solemn occasion. No exaggerations, no s taken from a Charles Lebrun treatise )ne also thinks of a melancholic statue of Museum. Like our weeping woman, she sits reas Penelope and her gestures are selflan's gesture points toward the outward —Death leading the old man on his final he steep cliff to a harbor; the destination Charon is the guide. We sense his impaly away. The balance of convex and concave >n of moving forward and pulling away, employs continuous narration to show the )f his death and subsequently ascending a with Biblical and personal meanings. lother was dying, this work seeks to univerit indicates that the sun is still climbing; an ig clouds inland; it is time to go. �Figures in a Forest, 1981-82 36x60 In the foreground, two ample, semicloaked females, their bodies forming a triangle, pause momentarily. The reader marks her place in the book and looks up at the listener, who—seated under a large tree—touches her own breast. From the right, an aged man, pre­ ceded by his walking staff, enters the glen. His face concealed and body wrapped tightly against an inner chill suggest that the fire has departed his bones long ago. He is an ominous presence, a memento mori, an unpleasant reminder that Death too dwells in Arcadia. In the center, framed by the trees, a nude youth runs, his movement indicated by both his posture and his spreading red cloak, which flies behind and offsets the form of his body. A couple proceed to the stately pace of their private minuet. The woman, with her cloak falling to expose both breasts, points at the fleeng youth. Her partner, dressed in a short loincloth, raises his arms like a more restrained version of the famous Dancing Satyr from Pompeii. Whatever is going on matters not to the two old anchorites, one of whom sleeps while the other, like a hooded Giotto interlocutor, rests his back against a slender tree and drifts in reverie. The artist has provided an explanation: "In my picture the two women represent reader and listener. Behind and around [them] are the imagined characters of this imagined book. The whole scene, 12 then, is the product of the imagination of the listener."1 The painting, therefore, combines "real" and fictitious characters simultaneously, as Edgar Wind believed Titian (?) had done in his Concert Champetre, which Schmidt had copied during his student days in Paris. Schmidt's interest in different levels of reality, in the separate but unseparable realities of life and literature, furthers the allegorical reading of this work from which emerges no single narrative or myth. All that might be noted is the contrast between the vitality of youth, underscored by the strong light, with the melancholy and shadow of age. It is typical of Schmidt that he here expresses his meaning by gesture rather than facial expression. Indeed, he has left most of the faces in a state of generalized finish. The composition embodies multiplicity, not unity, which adds to the impression of multiple realities overlapping in time. Recession into space is planar and orderly, with alternating bands of light and dark that provide easy access to the scene. Although abundant drapery evokes the Classic past, Schmidt handles the drapery folds most unclassically, further obscuring a literal reading of this allegorical painting. 1. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, February 2, 2000. �iroductof the imagination of the listener."1 The painting, mbines "real" and fictitious characters simultaneously, nd believed Titian (?) had done in his Concert Champetre, idt had copied during his student days in Paris, terest in different levels of reality, in the separate but realities of life and literature, furthers the allegorical is work from which emerges no single narrative or it might be noted is the contrast between the vitality of ■scored by the strong light, with the melancholy and 1 of Schmidt that he here expresses his meaning by i than facial expression. Indeed, he has left most of the te of generalized finish. The composition embodies not unity, which adds to the impression of multiple lapping in time. Recession into space is planar and alternating bands of light and dark that provide easy scene. Although abundant drapery evokes the Classic t handles the drapery folds most unclassically, further iteral reading of this allegorical painting. Schmidt, letter to author, February 2, 2000. 13 �— •I The Tempest, 1981-82 24x36 In The Tempest, a storm assails eight figures on a desolate promon­ tory bv the sea. The windswept trees, bending under the gale's lash, express the violence. Two men struggle with billowing cloaks that flare like the pitiful sails on that "brave vessel... Dash'd all to pieces!'' off Prospero's island.1 In the middle ground, a nude figure wearing a leafy garland on his head (we presume it's ivy, sacred to Bacchus) incongruously appears to assault a maiden or nymph. In front of this pair, at the base of a twisted tree trunk, a woman in a blue cloak protectively hunches over her swaddled child. To the left, a figure in a tan robe huddles in the meager shelter provided by a few convenient boulders. The contrast between standing and notstanding figures—between contrasting responses to the gale—adds tension and disorientation to the composition. This dynamic equilib­ rium of opposing elements is manifested as well in the landscape's sloping diagonal rebuffed by the wind's countering force. Schmidt has recalled a violent storm that hit Brooklyn when he was living there. He describes venturing out to Prospect Park, a neighborhood fixture, and witnessing the havoc caused by the winds: "I was in the park (a beautiful grand place, similar in scale to 14 Central Park) when the strong winds came up fast. The suddenness and intensity of the storm, and the physical force against my body, making it difficult to stand, much less get home, made a deep impression."2 In the The Tempest Schmidt has stripped these memo­ ries of specificity in favor of a distilled essence. Consequently, he relies on rhetorical gestures and poses instead of facial expressions to convey sentiment, and thus he leaves the faces concealed or sketchily rendered. At the time he painted this canvas, Schmidt was experimenting with various underpainting techniques. The first layer consists of a charcoal drawing which he then covered in a greenish-grey oil grisaille. The figures in the monochrome layer were nude. The final layer added both color and clothing, excepting only the nude figure in the middle ground. We recall Schmidt's interest in levels of reality and wonder if the tempest is more psychological or meteorological. 1. Shakespeare, The Tempest, 1: 2, 6-8. 2. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, March 3, 2000. �e strong winds came up fast. The suddenness ton, and the physical force against my body, tand, much less get home, made a deep ie Tempest Schmidt has stripped these memoror of a distilled essence. Consequently, he turns and poses instead of facial expressions nd thus he leaves the faces concealed or ed this canvas, Schmidt was experimenting nting techniques. The first layer consists of a -h he then covered in a greenish-grey oil i the monochrome layer were nude. The final ' and clothing, excepting only the nude figure interest in levels of reality and wonder if the ological or meteorological. "pest, 1: 2, 6-8. iter to author, March 3, 2000. �Dies Irae—Destruction of a City, 1982 36x48 Few words are more chilling than Dies Irae, the Day of Wrath described by John in Revelation. For John had seen in the right hand of God a scroll with seven seals whose unsealing inaugurates the beginning of the end: When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?"1 Dies irae has had a particularly significant role in Western Chris­ tianity since at least the fourteenth century, when a poetic text attrib­ uted to Thomas of Celano (active first half of the thirteenth century) was included in the Requiem Mass and inserted into the Roman Missal during the sixteenth. With an important role in the Mass for the Dead, Thomas's poem has inspired a rich tradition of sacred 16 music with earlier compositions by Antoine Brumel, Ockeghem, Giammateo Asola, Orfeo Vecchi, G. F. Anerio, and G. O. Pitoni, as well as works created after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) by Mozart, J. C. Bach, Cherubini, Verdi, Faure, and Britten, to name only the most famous. In addition, the plainsong motif of the Dies irae has haunted many composers through the years, including Berlioz, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff. Although Penderecki's Dies Irae (1967) does not depend on Thomas's text, it finds in the tradition a way to memorialize the victims of Auschwitz. Painted during a time of "major fires, cities being bombed, [and] varieties of urban destruction," Schmidt desired to create "a 'heroic' subject, a picture with seriousness and gravity."2 Equally fascinating to him were formal concerns: "the wonderful possibilities of odd, broken walls born of invention, geometry, and accidental views, the free form abstraction of the smoke with its value and color rich­ ness."3 Schmidt's painting continues a rich tradition of cataclysmic works that include the Classical sculptural group, now dispersed, of Niobe and Her Children being slaughtered by the arrows of Apollo and Artemis, Raphael's Fire in the Borgo, and Poussin's Massacre of the Innocents and Rape of the Sabine Women. 1. Revelation 6: 12-17. 2. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, February 3, 2000. 3. Ibid. �ositions by Antoine Brume], Ockeghem, > Vecchi, G. F. Anerio, and G. O. Pitoni, a ter the Council of Trent (1545-1563) by jbini, Verdi, Faure, and Britten, to name i addition, the plainsong motif of the Dies jmposers through the years, including raninoff. Although Penderecki's Dies hue >n Thomas's text, it finds in the tradition a victims of Auschwitz. of "major fires, cities being bombed, [and] ction," Schmidt desired to create "a 'heroic' riousness and gravity."2 Equally fascinating ;ms: "the wonderful possibilities of odd, mtion, geometry, and accidental views, the he smoke with its value and color richg continues a rich tradition of cataclysmic assical sculptural group, now dispersed, of ing slaughtered by the arrows of Apollo ire in the Borgo, and Poussin's Massacre of he Sabine Women. to author, February 3, 2000. �Rape of Persephone, 1982 51x67 I I We read of the Rape of Persephone in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, an epic poem once believed to have been composed by the author of the Iliad. In the hymn, the anonymous author relates how Hades, son of Cronos and Lord of the Underworld, swept away Demeter's "trim-ankled daughter" while she was out "gathering flowers over a soft meadow."1 Having wandered away from her companions, "the deep-bosomed daughters of Oceanus," Persephone was set upon suddenly by Hades: "wide-pathed earth yawned there in the plain of Nysa, and the lord, Host of Many, with his immortal horses sprang out upon her [and] caught her up reluctant on his golden car and bare her away lamenting." The story is repeated subsequently in the hymn; when Demeter asks Persephone to describe what happened, she replies "we were playing and gathering sweet flowers in our hands ... but the earth parted beneath, and there the strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in his golden chariot he bore me away, all unwilling, beneath the earth." Although the versions differ slightly—in the second we learn that Persephone was taken underground—both include Hades' chariot. Artists, on the other hand, have often preferred the dramatic possibilities inherent in distilling the scene to its essence of strug­ gling figures—eliminating the horses and chariot. Completed in Italy during his Prix de Rome fellowship, Schmidt's sketchlike painting reflects a firsthand knowledge of Bernini's well-known marble 18 Apollo and Daphne in the Villa Borghese. Compared to this dynamic, lusty conflict, Schmidt's abduction seems rather chaste and tender as Hades grasps his quarry and she pivots on her left foot to face him. A dynamic equilibrium is established between the pursuer's movement to the right and the diagonally inclined trees behind. Schmidt has populated his version with additional friezelike figures not mentioned as being present at the abduction. To the lefts woman—"dark-robed" Demeter we surmise—bends over in grief. She is balanced by a second female, with Michelangelesque biceps, who might be "tender-hearted Hecate," who heard Persephone's "shrill cry." Although the identity of the two naked youths is uncertain—they serve as witnesses to the event—their presence furthers the Classical mood by recalling the compositions on antique sculptural reliefs, including sarcophagi, and establishing a stable, triangular arrangement of the figures. The Rape of the Maiden, her eventual liberation from the Dark Realm, and her obligation to return there for a third of each year became the basis of an elaborate fertility mystery. Centered on t gift of grain, the cycles of the seasons, and the disappearance an reappearance of the deity, the myth retains its vitality to this day. 1. All quotations from the Homeric Hymns, II (to Demeter), Loeb Class'01 Library translation. �ilia Borghese. Compared to this dynamic, ibduction seems rather chaste and tender ry and she pivots on her left foot to face am is established between the pursuer's d the diagonally inclined trees behind, his version with additional friezelike being present at the abduction. To the left a emeter we surmise—bends over in grief, id female, with Michelangelesque biceps, irted Hecate," who heard Persephone's identity of the two naked youths is vitnesses to the event—their presence d by recalling the compositions on antique ig sarcophagi, and establishing a stable, the figures. 1, her eventual liberation from the Dark to return there for a third of each year, borate fertility mystery. Centered on the the seasons, and the disappearance and the myth retains its vitality to this day. Homeric Hymns, II (to Demeter), Loeb Classical 19 �The Shepherd's Dream, 1989 50x60 In The Shepherd's Dream, Schmidt again revives the old tradition of continuous narration whereby a figure appears two or more times within the composition. In the left middle ground, the shepherd with his staff reclines like an antique hero or god on his rustic, rocky throne. In the foreground, across a small stream—the River Lethe?— he appears again, with upraised arm, gazing at a ministering woman in perfect equipoise attended by a nude youth. The two narratives, however, exist in different realms. The only "real" personage in the composition is the seated shepherd since, accord­ ing to the artist, the "foreground ensemble is meant as a projection of the back shepherd's imagination."1 Schmidt emphasizes the power of imagination by painting the ensemble in greater detail than the rather sketchily rendered dreamer. The reverie of desire is more vivid than life. Originally titled The Shepherd's Dream—Thirst and Desire, the painting is a study in contrasts: active-passive, tension-relaxation, dream-reality, consciousness-unconscious. Even the values continue this dichotomy: foreground in shade, the back figure in the sun. Yet both episodes are linked by images of the alma mater or nourishing 20 mother. At the shepherd's feet, a lamb suckles. In the foreground, it is the shepherd himself who receives a proffered plate, while the ephebe holds a primitive vase that lacks handles. Both the plate and vase appear to be unglazed and undecorated. We wonder whether spiritual or corporeal nourishment is being offered. Slightly apart from the central triangular composition, a young woman rests her knee on a boulder, draws a red cloak around her waist, and turns away from both the central scene and the dog that leaps up play­ fully. The dog's shadow falls on her covering and on the rock. The juxtaposition of the sheep and the goat recalls Christ's parable of the separation of the Blessed and Damned on Judgment Day (Matthew 25: 31-46). The two creatures, one light the other dark, also evoke conflicting values: The goat represents lust, one of the seven deadly sins, while the nursing sheep might be seen both as a metaphor for the Virgin and the sacrifice of Her innocent child and, more generally, as Charity. But we are left uncertain. 1. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, January 24, 2000. �pherd's feet, a lamb suckles. In the foreground, it nself who receives a proffered plate, while the mitive vase that lacks handles. Both the plate and unglazed and undecorated. We wonder whether eal nourishment is being offered. Slightly apart iangular composition, a young woman rests her draws a red cloak around her waist, and turns e central scene and the dog that leaps up playadow falls on her covering and on the rock. n of the sheep and the goat recalls Christ's parable f the Blessed and Damned on Judgment Day 6). The two creatures, one light the other dark, ing values: The goat represents lust, one of the while the nursing sheep might be seen both as a 'irgin and the sacrifice of Her innocent child and. Charity. But we are left uncertain. It, letter to author, January 24, 2000. �Conversation by the Sea, 1991 4316 x 56 Mystery' prevails in Conversation by the Sea. The identities of the figures are unknown, as is their reason for coining together. The absence of any softening vegetation or architectural details provides no clues to the setting's locale. The time of day is unclear: We don't know if the light that falls from the right is from a rising or setting sun or if the ominous sky in the background is darkening or clear­ ing. Time appears to have stopped as the players assume and hold Classic poses, which serve to transform further the scene from the quotidian into an eternal realm. Painted contemporaneously with "its compositional doppel­ ganger,"1 Four Muses and Pegasus, in Memory ofM.A. (not in exhibi­ tion), Conversation shares that work's underlying elegiac mood. The death of Milet Andrejevic, a painter and Schmidt's close friend, which is specifically noted in the title of Four Muses, here seems to inform Conversation with a quiet and understated sense of loss. The figures resolve themselves into pairs. One grouping rests firmly on the ground; the other is silhouetted against the sky. The upper and lower groups are linked by a gracile dance of arms that flows diagonally downward from the right. In the disposition of her legs, the line of her back, face in profile, and outstretched arm; the rightmost woman pays homage to Raphael's Venus and Cupid in the Villa Famesina, Rome. Her upraised arm, however, differs from the prototype. And what, we wonder, does the gesture itself signify: Is she cupping her ear to hear better above the roar of the sea, or is she—like the seer from the pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia—reacting to some disquieting vision? Looking at the small red poppy—a classic symbol of death—held by the comparable 22 figure in Four Muses, we might answer that she brings the same sad tidings. As she delivers her message to the woman in white, an enigmatic figure, whose elaborate hat and scarf recall those of some Tanagra figurines, stares out to sea—or eternity—like some lonely visionary in a Caspar David Friedrich painting. On the ground level, the leftmost figure squats in an elaborate equilibrium of tension and relaxation, motion and countermotion: The rotation of her head is balanced by the opposing twist of the torso; the upward motion of one knee is countered by the other; the bent and extended arms neutralize each other. Totally self-contained within a closed, oval contour, the figure, so reminiscent of antique Crouching Venuses, turns inward to reflect upon the words just read. Her downward gaze, face in shadow, and compact form are opposed by the figure draped in white, a balance of opposites that continues in the coloration and attitudes of the sleek dogs or in Schmidt's employment of primary and secondary colors in the draperies. Conversation represents a refinement of Schmidt's homage to Andrejevic. The gestures are less exaggerated and dramatic than those in Four Muses; symbols have been eliminated; and a more Classical restraint and order prevail. Seriousness has replaced emotion; the dross has been burnt away. Typifying this new attitude is the transformation of the leftmost figure from a pleasant girl into a dark and melancholic sibyl. 1. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, January 22, 2000. 1 ! �we might answer that she brings the same sad irs her message to the woman in white, an ose elaborate hat and scarf recall those of some ires out to sea—or eternity'—-like some lonely' • David Friedrich painting. ?1, the leftmost figure squats in an elaborate n and relaxation, motion and countermotion: ?ad is balanced by the opposing twist of the ition of one knee is countered by the other; the ms neutralize each other. Totally' self-contained contour, the figure, so reminiscent of antique urns inward to reflect upon the words just gaze, face in shadow, and compact form are ’ draped in white, a balance of opposites that ation and attitudes of the sleek dogs or in nt of primary and secondary' colors in the ents a refinement of Schmidt's homage to ires are less exaggerated and dramatic than ymbols have been eliminated; and a more i order prevail. Seriousness has replaced s been burnt away. Typifying this new attitude of the leftmost figure from a pleasant girl into ic sibyl. 2tter to author, January 22, 2000. �Nereids, 1991 40x50 Two Nereids, each bare to the waist, bask side by side near the calm ocean. One closes her eyes from the intense sun overhead. The other simultaneously shades her own face with an upraised arm and pulls a blue, wavelike coverlet over the nude body of the sleeping child whose head rests on her left thigh. We know of the Nereids from many sources, both literary and visual. In his genealogy' of the gods, Hesiod (Theogony 240-264) writes that Nereus, the son of Pontus (Sea) and Gaea (Earth) married Doris, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and from their union were bom fifty daughters. Known individually (Hesiod lists the names of all fifty’) and collectively as Nereids after their eponymous father, these sea nymphs appear frequently in Classical art—paired with Poseidon, cavorting with Tritons, or (on a charming kylix [Boston 00.335, Museum of Fine Arts]) surrounded by lively dolphins whose Minoan ancestors (c. 1450 b.c.) grace the walls of the Palace at Knossos. In the Renaissance, Raphael painted his great Galatea (1513), one of the Nereids, for the Sienese banker and bon vivant Agostino Chigi. Inspired by Poliziano's poem "La giostra," Raphael depicts a dynamic, triumphal sea nymph fleeing from the jealous Polyphemus, a cyclops who had just surprised the Nereid and her lover Acis, soon to fall victim to the one-eyed giant's well-aimed stone. Schmidt's Nereids are strangely still. They neither drive scallop­ shaped water chariots, nor dance, nor frolic with sea creatures. They merely repose on the beach. Even their identities are uncertain. One might imagine, however, that the Nereid protecting the child is Thetis who, along with Amphitrite and Galatea, is one of the best known of the sisters. Like Galatea, Thetis was unlucky in love. Sought after by both Zeus and Poseidon (who ultimately married Amphitrite), Thetis found the ardor of her divine suitors cooled upon hearing Themis prophesy that her son would eclipse his father. Zeus, in particular, would have been sensitive to such a prophecy; he had overthrown his own father, Cronos, who in turn had over­ thrown his father, Uranus. The father destined to be outshone was the hero Peleus—a mortal, an Argonaut alongside Jason, and a participant with Meleager in the Caledonian Boar Hunt—whose deeds of courage and marriage to Thetis are depicted on the famous Francois Vase (c. 570 b.c.) from Chiusi, now in Florence. Their son was Achilles who, despite his mother's best efforts to cloak him with immortality; was fated never to enter the Olympian pantheon. Although the precise identity of the foremost Nereid is ambigu­ ous, her pose specifically echoes that of the Barberini Faun (Glyptothek, Munich), a Hellenistic nude, spread-legged sleeping satyr dozing in a drunken state. The explicit eroticism of the Munich sculpture, so atypical of the preceding Classic era, has been jetti­ soned and replaced by concern expressed in a protective gesture. A metamorphosis, but this is typical of Thetis herself who, like her father, had the power to assume different shapes. �the beach. Even their identities are uncertain. One awever, that the Nereid protecting the child is ; with Amphitrite and Galatea, is one of the best ers. Like Galatea, Thetis was unlucky in love. □th Zeus and Poseidon (who ultimately married is found the ardor of her divine suitors cooled mis prophesy that her son would eclipse his father, r, would have been sensitive to such a prophecy; ti his own father, Cronos, who in turn had over­ Uranus. The father destined to be outshone was a mortal, an Argonaut alongside Jason, and a Teleager in the Caledonian Boar Hunt—whose and marriage to Thetis are depicted on the famous 70 b.c.) from Chiusi, now in Florence. Their son , despite his mother's best efforts to cloak him with fated never to enter the Olympian pantheon. recise identity of the foremost Nereid is ambiguifically echoes that of the Barberiiti Faun (Glyptolellenistic nude, spread-legged sleeping satyr en state. The explicit eroticism of the Munich ical of the preceding Classic era, has been jetti•d by concern expressed in a protective gesture. A mt this is typical of Thetis herself who, like her wer to assume different shapes. 25 �Dryads, 1993 50x52 In discussing the fate of Areas in the Seduction of Callisto, Ovid was the source. But Pausanias, the second-century traveler and geogra­ pher, recounts a different destiny for the son of Callisto and Jove. Upon the death of Nyctimus, Areas became king of Pelasgia, which thereafter was known as Arcadia, and married Erato, "no mortal woman but a Dryad nymph."1 The Dryads were woodland nymphs, minor female deities or spirits who watched over and protected oak trees. Along with the Oreads (who guarded hills and mountains), the Naiads (who dwelt beside springs, rivers, and fountains), and the Nereids (who frol­ icked in the sea), the Dryads possessed youth and beauty and frequently' aroused the ardor of gods, mortals, sileni, and satyrs, those naughty followers of Pan. Typical of the latter is a scene on a red-figure kylix [Boston 01.8072 Museum of Fine Arts] in which satyrs attack a sleeping nymph. Like Schmidt's, this nymph has a hand behind her head in a pose common to sleepers whether on vases or sculpture (the famous Ariadne that de Chirico appropriated comes most readily to mind). When we think of Dryads and other nymphs, the kingdom of Areas most often comes to mind. As to how "that particular, not overly' opulent, region of central Greece, Arcady, [came] to be 26 universally accepted1 as an ideal realm of perfect bliss and beauty, a dream incarnate of ineffable happiness, surrounded nevertheless with a halo of 'sweetly sad' melancholy"1 we turn to Erwin Panofsky. The answer Panofsky' advances in his famous essay is Virgil, in whose Eclogues is resolved that "vestpertinal mixture of sadness and tranquillity."2 With Virgil the pastoral becomes elegiac. In painting, the quintessential representation of the elegiac is, of course, Poussin's second Et hi Arcadia ego, now in the Louvre. As Panofsky' has convincingly' shown, Poussin compels the viewer to mistranslate the title: the meaning of the phrase becomes "I, too, [lived] in Arcady" rather than "Even in Arcady [there am) 1 (i.e., death personified)." In Poussin's fully developed interpretation of the theme, the speaking tombstone becomes a memento mori, just as the ruins in Schmidt's painting remind us that even in Arcadia, where Dryads peacefully sleep, time devours all. 1. Pausanias, Descript ion of Greece 8.4.2, Loeb Classical Library translation. 2. Erwin Panofsky, "Et in Arcadia ego: Poussin and the Elegiac Tradition, Meaning in the Visual Arts (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1955), 297. 3. Ibid., 300. �deal realm of perfect bliss and beauty, ■ happiness, surrounded nevertheless melancholy"1 we turn to Erwin sky advances in his famous essay is esolved that "vestpertinal mixture of Vith Virgil the pastoral becomes elegiac, al representation of the elegiac is, of in Arcadia ego, now in the Louvre. As hown, Poussin compels the viewer to ■aning of the phrase becomes "I, too, tn "Even in Arcady [there am] I (i.e., sin's fully developed interpretation of bstone becomes a memento mori, just as ng remind us that even in Arcadia, 'ep, time devours all. reece 8.4.2, Loeb Classical Library translation. 'din ego: Poussin and the Elegiac Tradition," City, N.Y: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1955), 297. �Nocturne, 1993 4114 x 6414 Their passion spent, two lovers lie together in a small clearing in the woods. Their bodies overlap, blend together, and seem to form a new entity in a closed, or enclosing, contour. Within the single shape their clavicles join in a continuous curve offset by the angular rhythm of their bent elbows and arms. Their faces, separated by an obscuring, in one case, upraised arm, repose like some cubist visage in which the profile and frontal views appear simultaneously. So closely are these figures linked that only the fall of light isolates one from the other. Regarding his arrangements with figures, Schmidt has observed that "compositionally, two bodies can be placed in opposition, in order to heighten or contrast—or 'doubled,' or posed similarily, as an echoing of line and shape, to reinforce and enrich a composi­ tional element."1 In Nocturne, Schmidt reinforces the composition by "playing with a repetition of bodies, a double rhythm" that he further enhances by having the "landforms echo the women's outlines."2 How these two women arrived here is clearly indicated by the rough pathway that catches a bit of stray light as it curves back into the woods and sky. The dark shapes of the guardian trees, the indistinct forms of the massed foliage, and the sky all possess an atmospheric quality that, like the title, reminds one of Whistler. The green sky evokes the silence and desolation of a de Chirico piazza transformed by the misty light of a late George Inness landscape. A 28 curious mix of artificial and natural lighting further dislocates the viewer. Edward Lucie-Smith has noted that Nocturne ... pays homage to the Italian Baroque, but as much in stylistic terms as in those of content. The probable source is Guido Cagnacci (1601-81). Cagnacci has caught the fancy of twentieth-century art historians because his paintings, espe­ cially those of the female nude, have a presence and an immediacy of impact that make them seem anachronistic, in terms of the sensibility of their time. Schmidt has obviously felt this attraction, but his reaction has been to distance the material once again? Commenting on this observation, Schmidt notes that "I long ago established a belief that all art exists in the present. Maybe I lack that filter, common to artists and others of my time, which rejects the past art's relevance and finds an unbridgable chasm. I was always seeking a bridge to connect to my artistic ancestors."4 1. 2. 3. 4. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, January 29, 2000. Ibid. Edward Lucie-Smith, Art Today (London: Phaidon Press, 1995), 234. Schmidt, letter to author, January' 29, 2000. �rural lighting further dislocates the id that the Italian Baroque, but as much af content. The probable source is 'agnacd has caught the fancy of ans because his paintings, espeie, have a presence and an ake them seem anachronistic, in dr time. Schmidt has obviously felt )n has been to distance the tion, Schmidt notes that "I long ago xists in the present. Maybe I lack d others of my time, which rejects the i unbridgable chasm. I was always ty artistic ancestors."4 lor, January 29, 2000. / (London: Phaidon Press, 1995), 234. rry 29, 2000. �Ariadne, 1994 50x65 On the beach at Naxos, Ariadne awakes with a start. She raises her hand in a gesture of shock. The Athenians' ship is not in the quiet harbor. She is alone. For love Ariadne had thwarted the will of her father Minos, the lord of Crete. She assisted Theseus when he entered the Labyrinth, the handiwork of Daedalus, wherein dwelled the Minotaur, a monster born of the unnatural union between her mother Pasiphae and a bull. After Theseus slew the monster, Ariadne fled the palace at Knossos with her lover and the other tribute youths. She was to be his bride. Their boat reached Naxos, the Cycladic island known in ancient times for its wine and Dionysian worship, and heaved-to. Now she is alone, abandoned by the fickle Theseus. This version of the story was popular in the Renaissance. In ancient times, however, it was not the canonical version. Homer, for example, states that Artemis slew Ariadne on the island of Dia (which Diodorus Siculus subsequently' identified with Naxos) while en route with Theseus to Athens.1 The Roman biographer Plutarch records several differing and conflicting traditions, including the legend that after Theseus abandoned Ariadne on Naxos she gave birth to his children Staphylus and Oenopion.2 Apollodorus, on the other hand, states that Dionysos fell in love with Ariadne and carried her off to Lemnos where she bore Thoas, Staphylus, Oenopion, and Peparethus.3 In any case, retribution befell Theseus. When he set sail for Crete, King Aegeus had told his son Theseus to hoist white sails upon his' 3° return as a sign that he was unharmed. But Theseus forgot. Seeing a black (or scarlet) sail on the approaching ship, Aegeus presumed that Theseus had perished and flung himself to his death, either from the Athenian acropolis or into sea, which thereafter was known as the Aegean Sea. Just as the sea holds many secrets, Schmidt's Ariadne is not wholly what it appears to be. Beneath the surface is a subpainting that Schmidt has described as "complete, more complex, and more finished" than the present work.1 The original painting, titled Danae—a subject favored by Titian—had an interior setting in which Jove appeared as "golden light (no coins)" to ravish the wholly nude, splay-legged Danae.5Schmidt's decision to repaint and simplify his composition, to layer the abandonment of Ariadne over the impregnation of Danae (which resulted in the birth of Perseus), and to move from boudoir to landscape, produces a haunting archeology of symbols and paint. 1. 2. 3. 4. Homer, The Odyssey 11: 321-325. Plutarch, Lives: Theseus 20. Apollodorus, Epitome 1.9. Edward Schmidt, letter to author, January 30, 2000. �i that he was unharmed. But Theseus forgot. Seeing !t) sail on the approaching ship, Aegeus presumed ad perished and flung himself to his death, either tian acropolis or into sea, which thereafter was known Sea. :a holds many secrets, Schmidt's Ariadne is not wholly s to be. Beneath the surface is a subpainting that :scribed as "complete, more complex, and more the present work.4 The original painting, titled set favored by Titian—had an interior setting in which as "golden light (no coins)" to ravish the wholly ;ged Danae.’Schmidt's decision to repaint and nposition, to layer the abandonment of Ariadne over on of Danae (which resulted in the birth of Perseus), am boudoir to landscape, produces a haunting ymbols and paint. Odyssey 11: 321-325. ves: Theseus 20. s. Epitome 1.9. imidt, letter to author, January 30, 2000. �Demeter and Persephone, 1994 50x60 Mother and daughter sleep peacefully on sandy soil near the sea. In the foreground, Persephone reaches out and gently touches her mother's wrist. On the earth between them sit an open book and a linen-lined basket—two white points of light, one hard and geomet­ ric, the other soft and convoluted. The story of Hades' abduction of the Maid has been told previ­ ously in conjunction with The Rape of Persephone. Now mother and daughter are reunited. At her daughter's disappearance, Demeter had forsaken Olympus and for nine days neither bathed nor ate as she sought the whereabouts of Persephone. Despite her grief, Demeter rewarded those who treated her hospitably, her greatest gift being the art of plowing and wheat cultivation that she taught to Triptolemus on the Rharian Plain. Schmidt's basket (should we call it an artophorion?) symbolizes Demeter's great gift to Triptolemus. When Demeter finally learned the awful truth—and of the complic­ ity of Zeus, father and uncle to the unfortunate girl—she ordered that a temple be built for her at Eleusis. In sorrow, she retreated into her sanctuary and no longer watched over the fields. All the crops 32 withered, and the gods became alarmed that mankind would perish from the earth. To the gods, who sought to placate her with gifts, she would not yield. Finally, great Zeus sent Hermes to demand the return of Persephone, but as she had already eaten seeds of the pomegranate, she was unable to leave the underworld until Rhea brokered the great compromise between her children Hades and Demeter. Henceforth, Persephone would spend a third of the year in the chthonic realm and the remainder with her mother. By her actions, Demeter unshackled her daughter from the fetters of the Host of Many. Although the Mysteries celebrated in her honor at Eleusis have remained inviolate and hidden down through the centuries, they doubtless concerned death, rebirth, and the initiates hope of immortality. Schmidt alludes to the cycle of life by quoting a famous Hellenis­ tic sculpture of a Hermaphrodite, now in the National Museum, Rome. Combining the sexual attributes of both male and female, the hermaphrodite represents a perfect, but flawed, manifestation of the generative principle. �red, and the gods became alarmed that mankind would perish the earth. To the gods, who sought to placate her with gifts, she 1 not yield. Finally, great Zeus sent Hermes to demand the i of Persephone, but as she had already eaten seeds of the granate, she was unable to leave the underworld until Rhea red the great compromise between her children Hades and ter. Henceforth, Persephone would spend a third of the year chthonic realm and the remainder with her mother. By her is, Demeter unshackled her daughter from the fetters of the if Many. Although the Mysteries celebrated in her honor at s have remained inviolate and hidden down through the ies, they doubtless concerned death, rebirth, and the initiate's )f immortality. nidt alludes to the cycle of life by quoting a famous HellenisIpture of a Hermaphrodite, now in the National Museum, Combining the sexual attributes of both male and female, the phrodite represents a perfect, but flawed, manifestation of the itive principle. �Echo, 1995 50x60 Once, loquacious Echo had a form. A nymph then, she would often sit beside Juno, spinning long stories, while Jove, taking advantage of his wife's distraction, would pursue his amorous escapades on earth. When Juno finally realized cunning Echo's true motive, she curtailed the nymph's power of speech, allowing her only to repeat the last few words uttered by others. Such was Juno's wrath. One day Echo came upon Narcissus, a youth of transcendent beauty', hunting in the fields. In that moment, she fell in love and, concealing herself from sight, followed him stealthily. She longed to win his heart with sweet declarations. But unable to speak first, she only echoed and repeated back his own shouts to his hunting companions. Finally she approached him, longing to embrace his neck, but at the sight of the nymph, Narcissus fled, declaring Death a better mistress. Shamed and shunned, Echo abandoned the bright mountainsides and dwelt apart in dark woods and darker caves. Fueled by grief, her love ultimately consumed her body, leaving naught but a disembodied voice. In Schmidt's painting, Echo's metamorphosis is in the future. For the present her body remains full. Her pose is complex-—the head in profile and the torso frontal. The force of gravity causes one breast 34 to appear almost in profile. The deportment of her legs and arms in the pinwheel manner of a triskelion seems to set the body in motion. She rests her curiously masculine, almost Deco, head on curled fingers. Though the gesture is closely associated with Melancholy (Durer's engraving comes readily to mind), it here lacks that conno­ tation. In the background, a tree fallen in its prime echoes the quiescent figure's fate. Echo sleeps beside still waters that foretell the watery mirror of Narcissus's destruction and her retribution. For Narcissus could love only himself, but unable to possess his own image, he was destined, like Echo, to wither away.1 To Ovid's poetic story, Pausanias provides a skeptical rejoinder: "They say that Narcissus looked into this water, and not understanding that he saw his own reflection, unconsciously fell in love with himself and died of love at the spring. But it is utter stupidity to imagine that a man old enough to fall in love was incapable of distinguishing a man from a man s reflection."- And yet where love exists, utter stupidity is often to be found. 1. Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.344 ft. 2. Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.31.7, Loeb Classical Library translation. �. The deportment of her legs and arms in triskelion seems to set the body in motion, sculine, almost Deco, head on curled e is closely associated with Melancholy readily to mind), it here lacks that connoa tree fallen in its prime echoes the to sleeps beside still waters that foretell ssus's destruction and her retribution. For himself, but unable to possess his own ce Echo, to wither away.1 To Ovid's poetic i skeptical rejoinder: "They say that water, and not understanding that he saw ciously fell in love with himself and died : is utter stupidity to imagine that a man vas incapable of distinguishing a man And yet where love exists, utter stupidity 44 ff. Greece 9.31.7, Loeb Classical Library translation. �T'-s £ ■I Psyche and Venus, 1995 44 x 56 Human hubris always annoyed the gods. When Marsyas picked up Athena's pipes and challenged Apollo, "Lord of the Silver Bow, to a musical competition, his reward was a flaying. When Psyche's incomparable beauty caused men to neglect their worship of Venus, the goddess determined to punish the interloper. After all, how could she, whom Paris had pronounced the most beautiful in a contest among goddesses, be surpassed by a mortal! In The Golden Ass, Lucius Apuleius recounts the travails of Psyche. At first, jealous Venus simply instructed Cupid (Eros) to employ one of his mischief-making darts and cause Psyche to fall in love with the most ugly, vile, and miserable man imaginable. But on beholding Psyche, Cupid felt the sting of his own arrow and—ignoring his mother's instructions—took Psyche as his wife. This disobedience further enraged the goddess, who then set upon Psyche three seem­ ingly impossible tasks, of which the last involved descending to Hades to obtain some of Proserpina's beauty. Then—having paid Charon twice for ferrying her across the River Styx and back, having thrown both sops to Cerberus, the three-headed guardian hound of hell, and indeed having returned to the world of the living—Psyche, against all advice, opened the box she bore. Instantly, she was overcome by deep and deathlike sleep, and remained so until Cupid finally awoke her. The story, much abbreviated here, has long inspired artists. Among paintings, the classic rendering is Raphael's on the ceiling 36 and spandrels of the Villa Farnesina loggia. The scene that Schmidt depicts of Psyche sleeping while Venus watches, however, does not correspond exactly to any in Apuleius or by Raphael. The conflict and its outcome are well expressed in the underlying abstract design of Schmidt's painting. The opposition of the concave arc of Venus's body, suggestive of confidence and sexual openness, with the convex arc of Psyche's back, denotative of self-protection and closeness, implies dominance and subjugation. Psyche is earthbound, not only by sleep but symbolically by the color of her drapery. Venus, the goddess of love, lies on a deep red cloth, the color recalling her attribute, the rose, with a golden yellow cloth wrapped turban-like about her head. Her dominant light tonality further enhances the Triumph of Venus over a broken, dejected, and exhausted Psyche. Venus's triumph, however, is short lived. Distraught, Cupid pleads his case to Jove and secures divine approbation for his marriage to Psyche. Perhaps then the golden cloth heralds a new golden age, when mother-in-law is reconciled with daughter-in-law, when peace returns to the family, and when even the gods can smile on a most unlikely union. One recalls Plato's Phaedrus, where Socrates instructs llissus how love (Eros) gives wings to the soul (Psyche). Here Schmidt prolongs the moment just before the soul awakens by the power of love and takes flight. �1 1 ! loggia. The scene that Schmidt us watches, however, does not is or by Raphael. ell expressed in the underlying The opposition of the concave nfidence and sexual openness, , denotative of self-protection id subjugation. Psyche is 'mbolically by the color of her lies on a deep red cloth, the , with a golden yellow cloth . Her dominant light tonality ms over a broken, dejected, and t lived. Distraught, Cupid livine approbation for his e golden cloth heralds a new econciled with daughter-in-law, id when even the gods can smile Is Plato's Phaedrus, where Eros) gives wings to the soul e moment just before the soul akes flight. i �•sj Seduction of Callisto, 1995 50 x 70 Among the constellations in the nighttime sky, none recalls a more poignant story than Ursa Major. As retold in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Callisto was a woodland nymph whose beauty smote omnipotent Jove. One day, when the sun had passed its apogee, Callisto retired to a secluded spot, known to her, and laying aside her bow and arrows "she took her quiver from her shoulder, unstrung her tough bow, and lay down upon the grassy ground, with her head pillowed on her painted quiver."1 Consumed with passion, Jove approached her after having "put on the features and dress of Diana and ... kissed her lips, not modestly, nor as a maiden kisses."2 In Schmidt's painting, the seduction has begun: Jove, disguised as Diana, gently pulls back a red cloak to expose Callisto's breast. In perfect profile, he stares at what one writer quaintly called the point of her belly, while she covers her eyes against the light that falls from the left. Only his slightly darker skin, which follows an ancient Egyptian convention that men are dark and women light, contra­ dicts what our eyes perceive. The mood is calm; the pace relaxed. We are witnesses to seduction, not rape. That Jove's legs are immersed in water is a small detail that foreshadows Callisto's undoing. Pregnant, she seeks to avoid the bosky baths that Diana so loved: "when the goddess ... came to a cool grove through which a gently murmuring stream flowed over its smooth sands. The place delighted her and she dipped her feet into the water. Delighted too with this, she said to her companions: 'Come, no one is near to see; let us disrobe and bathe us in the 38 brook.' [Callisto] blushed, and, while all the rest obeyed, she only sought excuses for delay. But her companions forced her to comply, and there her shame was openly confessed."3 When Callisto gave birth to Areas, Juno, consort of Jove, flew into a rage, denouncing her as an adulteress whose son would "publish my wrong by his birth, a living witness to my lord's shame."1 In punishment, Juno transformed her into a bear. Callisto spent the next fifteen years wandering the woods, alternately hiding from hunters and from savage beasts, until one day the boy, out hunting "chanced upon his mother, who stopped still at sight of Areas, and seemed like one that recognized him. He shrank back at those unmov­ ing eyes that were fixed forever upon him, and feared he knew not what; and when she tried to come nearer, he was just in the act of piercing her breast with his wound-dealing spear."5 Then Jove "stayed his hand, and together he removed both themselves and the crime, and together caught up through the void in a whirlwind, he set them in the heavens and made them neighbouring stars."6 1. Ovid, Metamorphoses 2: 420ff. All quotations are from the Loeb Classical Library translation. 2. Ibid, 2: 425ff. 3. Ibid., 2: 453ff. 4. Ibid, 2: 472ff. 5. Ibid, 2: 500ff. 6. Ibid, 2: 505ff. �I ■ vhile all the rest obeyed, she only r companions forced her to comply, confessed."3 teas, Juno, consort of Jove, flew into ilteress whose son would "publish vitness to my lord's shame."4 In ter into a bear. Callisto spent the woods, alternately hiding from until one day the boy, out hunting topped still at sight of Areas, and lim. He shrank back at those unmovpon him, and feared he knew not > nearer, he was just in the act of nd-dealing spear."5 Then Jove le removed both themselves and the irough the void in a whirlwind, he le them neighbouring stars."6 j •f 1 11 quotations are from the Loeb Classical 39 �Terpsichore and Erato, 1995 46x58 How different from Courbet's working girls sleeping by the Seine are Terpsichore. Muse of dance and song, and Erato, Muse of lyric and love poetrv? Of their birth in Pieria, Hesiod tells us in the TTtecyctr.. that great Olvmpian Zeus had lain with Mnemosyne i Memory) for nine nights; when a year had passed and the seasons run their cycle, she bore nine daughters, the Muses. Protectoresses of the arts, the Muses frequented Hippocrene on Helicon, Castalian on Parnassus, and other magical springs whose waters possessed powers of inspiration. For company, they kept the lovely Graces, Htmerns (Desire), and Phoebus Apollo. The Muses combine primordial inspiration with the rise of the r.ew anthropocentric Olympian deities. Memory, henceforth, as­ sumes order and discipline, rather than existing in a great chaotic mix. The Muses determine how the past is preserved and under­ stood. Thus Clio eventually came to oversee history, Melpomene tragedy, Thalia comedy, and Urania the heavens. The other sisters concentrate on poetry, whether epic, lyric, pastoral, or love, along with music, song, and dance. When the Muses first appear in Hesiod, Homer's epics had existed in written form for only two centuries. Prior to the eighth century b.c., the Iliad and Odyssey had been transmitted orally from generation to generation for hundreds of years. The birth of the Muses signals the end of the era of memory, 4« the end of the oral epic tradition, and the ascendancy' of the text. The Muses too reflect the beginnings of a new, more personal era, in which a softer lyric genre expressive of more private feelings and moods coexists with the public, heroic epic poem. In the Iliad Homer sings of the final year of a decade-long struggle between aggrieved Greeks and defending Trojans. Although many gods actively partici­ pate in the events on the Ilian plain, Dionysos and Aphrodite appear infrequently. Indeed, when Aphrodite ventures onto the furious battlefield, she suffers a blow from mighty Diomedes and promptly retires from the fray'. But then Aphrodite and Dionysos, gods of love and wine, are more appropriate to Ivric poetrv (although, it should be noted, Aphrodite receives her due in Virgil's great epic poem). Which Muse is which in Schmidt's painting? Characteristically, he avoids depicting the attributes that identify them. Neither viol nor lyre nor harp lies at the side of Terpsichore. No garland of flowers crowns her head. Likewise, Erato has no tambourine or Ivre. and no mischievous potto frolics at her feet. Still, the deep red drapery and open pose suggest the heat of love and by extension Erato. If this conjecture be so, then it must be Terpsichore who, encircled by a bit of golden cloth, begins to stir, to stretch, to wake her sister from a peaceful dream. Unlike Goya’s Sleep of Reason, that of the Muses produces no monsters. �? tradition, and the ascendancy of the text, thebeginnings of a new, more personal era, enre expressive of more private feelings and ■ public, heroic epic poem. In the Iliad Homer a decade-long struggle between aggrieved rojans. Although many gods actively partici’ Ilian plain, Dionysos and Aphrodite appear ren Aphrodite ventures onto the furious blow from mighty Diomedes and promptly t then Aphrodite and Dionysos, gods of love ropriate to lyric poetry (although, it should eives her due in Virgil's great epic poem), i in Schmidt's painting? Characteristically, he ributes that identify them. Neither viol nor side of Terpsichore. No garland of flowers rise, Erato has no tambourine or lyre, and no cs at her feet. Still, the deep red drapery and leaf of love and by extension Erato. If this must be Terpsichore who, encircled by a bit to stir, to stretch, to wake her sister from a Goya's Sleep of Reason, that of the Muses �I Checklist of the Exhibition (Dimensions are given in inches, height precedes width) The Accident, 1969 oil on paper, 1214 x 10 Courtesy of the Artist The Accident, 1969 oil on linen, 50 x 41 Courtesy of the Artist Composition with Fallen Figure, 1969 oil on paper mounted on cardboard, 12 x 11 Courtesy of the Artist Dance, 1969 oil on cardboard, 15 x 20 Courtesy of the Artist Judgment of Paris, 1969 oil on paper, 11 x 1316 Courtesy of the Artist The Philosopher (composition sketch), 1969 oil on paper, 11 x 1614 Courtesy of the Artist The Tempest, 1981-82 oil on linen, 24 x 36 Collection of David B. Wolf Workers (square), 1974 oil on board, 816 x 816 Collection of Thomas Cornell Destruction of a City (small version), 1980 oil on linen, 18 x 27 Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Workers (vertical), 1975 oil on masonite, 1014 x 7 Collection of Thomas Cornell Family at Rest (Flight into Egypt), 1980 oil on masonite, 1014 x 19 Collection of Mary Salstrom and Brent M. Porter Departure, 1981-82 oil on linen, 40 x 50 Innes Collection Figures in a Forest, 1981-82 oil on linen, 36 x 60 Innes Collection Dies Irae—Destruction of a City, 1982 oil on linen, 36 x 48 Private Collection Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Rape of Persephone, 1982 oil on linen, 51 x 67 Collection of Mark and Lisa Helprin The Shepherd's Dream, 1989 oil on linen, 50 x 60 Private Collection Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco 43 �Conversation by the Sea, 1991 oil on linen, 43H x 56 Private Collection Courtesv of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Nereids, 1991 oil on linen, 40 x 50 Fredric Goldstein Collection Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Drwids, 1993 oil on linen, 50 x 52 Tracv Freedman Collection Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Nocturne, 1993 oil on linen, 4114 x 6414 Collection of Mr. and Mrs. David Berelson Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco 44 Edward Schmidt Ariadne, 1994 oil on linen, 50 x 65 Courtesy of the Artist Demeter and Persephone, 1994 oil on linen, 50 x 60 Collection of Mariano and Celia Pacheco Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Echo, 1995 oil on linen, 50 x 60 Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Psyche and Venus, 1995 oil on linen, 44 x 56 Collection of Henry and Amanda Vandeveer Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Seduction of Callisto, 1995 oil on linen, 50 x 70 Collection of Mark Lupke Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco EDUCATION SOL( 1978 2000 Atelier 17, Paris (Studied with S. W. Hayter) 1972-74 M.F.A., Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York "Drai Oe: "Edw Art Wil 1998 Terpsichore and Erato, 1995 oil on linen, 46 x 58 Private Collection Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco 1967-68 Oreads, 2000 oil on linen, 42 x 84 Courtesy of the Artist 1966—71 Hamadryads at Rest, 2000 oil on linen, 50 x 74 Courtesy of the Artist 1964-71 Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris "Figu Gal 1967 1997 Skowhegan School of Painting, Maine "Drat Phi The Art Students League, New York City (Studied with Robert Beverly Hale) B.F.A., Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York (Honors) 1962—63 1995 "Rece Gal 1993 "Rece rar Ecole Internationale, Geneva, Switzerland 1992 Boni: Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1946 "Worl Ne’ �I Edward Schmidt I i EDUCATION Seduction of Callisto, 1995 oil on linen, 50 x 70 Collection of Mark Lupke Courtesv of Hackett-Freedman Gallery; San Francisco 1978 2000 Atelier 17, Paris (Studied with S. W. Hayter) 1991 "Drawings & Works on Paper," Marguerite Oestreicher Fine Arts, New Orleans Edward Schmidt: Mythologies," Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania New York Academy of Art, New York City 1972-74 M.F.A., Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York 1998 a Pacheco Gallery; Gallery, a Vandeveer Gallery, Terpsichore and Erato, 1995 oil on linen, 46 x 58 Private Collection Courtesy of Hackett-Freedman Gallery, San Francisco Oreads, 2000 oil on linen, 42 x 84 Courtesy of the Artist Hamadryads at Rest, 2000 oil on linen, 50 x 74 Courtesy of the Artist I SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1967-68 Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris "Figures & Landscapes," Lizan-Tops Gallery, East Hampton, New York 1967 1997 Skowhegan School of Painting, Maine "Drawings & Paintings," The More Gallery, Philadelphia 1966-71 The Art Students League, New York City (Studied with Robert Beverly Hale) 1995 "Recent Paintings," Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco 1990 "Muses of Music—Paintings for Riverbend," Gallery West, Suffolk County Community College, Brentwood, New York 1988 "Drawings & Paintings," Brooklyn College of Art, Brooklyn, New York 1983 "Drawings," Temple University' Tyler School of Art in Rome, Italy 1982 Robert Schoelkopf Gallery' New York City 1964-71 B.F.A., Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York (Honors) 1993 "Recent Paintings & Drawings," Contempo­ rary Realist Gallery, San Francisco 1962-63 Ecole Internationale, Geneva, Switzerland Bom: Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1946 1992 "Works on Paper," Stiebel Modern, New York City 1980 "Images & Ideas," Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia Salve Regina Gallery, Catholic University, Washington, D.C. �Museum, Charleston, South Carolina (traveling exhibition) "Chateaux Bordeaux," Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland 1989 Suffolk County Community College, Brentwood, New York 1998 s'. "The Artist as Subject," The Art Students League, New York City "Mural Projects—The National Society of Mural Painters," The Art Students League, New York City 1997 "10th Anniversary Exhibition," HackettFreedman Gallery, San Francisco "Contemporary Drawing," Shasta College Art Gallery; Redding, California "The Derriere Garde," The Kitchen, New York City' "Re-presenting Representation III," Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, New York "Instructor Exhibition," The Art Students League, New York City 46 Edward Schmidt 1995 "Eight Artists: Eight Views of the Figure," Koplin Gallery, Santa Monica, California "NYAA Graduate Faculty Exhibition," Plaza Gallery, Fordham College, New York City 1994 "Centennial Banners," The American Acad­ emy in Rome, Italy "Gallery Artists," Stiebel Modern, New York City "Parallax Views," Koplin Gallery, Santa Monica, California "Art Miami," Contemporary Realist Gallery at the Miami Convention Center, Florida 1993 "Drawing on the Figure," Carlsten Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point 1992 "New American Figure Painting," Contem­ porary Realist Gallery, San Francisco (traveled to Rudolph E. Lee Gallery, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina) 1991-92 "Artists from the Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco," New York Academy of Art, New York City "The Modern Pastoral," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City Union League Club, New York City "Drawing: Points of View," Belk Art Gallery, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina "Design U.S.A.," United States Information Service, Moscow, USSR (traveling exhibi­ tion) 1988 "Works on Paper," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City "Chateaux Bordeaux," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (traveling exhibition) 1987 1991 "Gallery Artists," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City 1990 "Figure," Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco "The Italian Tradition in Contemporary Landscape Painting 1960-90," Gibbes "Storytellers," Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City "Modem Myths: Classical Renewal," Boise Gallery' of Art, Idaho (traveling exhibition) "Studies from Life: Paintings by Contempo­ rary Artists," Bayly Art Museum, Univer­ sity of Virginia, Charlottesville 1986 "Short S Penn "Michaf Solwc "Figure Galle 1985 "Art &. Pega; Muse "Michai Colla York "Artists labor Cleve 1984 "Clos P Univ Prine Robert "Figura Phila "Instru Leag 1983 Americ �'4I ’ z. ■? A 5 of Figuration: Selections From the fork Academy of Art," Contempoealist Gallery, San Francisco igs by American Artists," Contemr Realist Gallery, San Francisco gs III," Koplin Gallery, Monica, California " Contemporary Realist Gallery at s Angeles Convention Center, igeles nerican Figure Painting," ContemRealist Gallery, San Francisco ed to Rudolph E. Lee Gallery, m University, Clemson, Carolina) rom the Contemporary Realist ', San Francisco," New York ny of Art, New York City Museum, Charleston, South Carolina (traveling exhibition) "Chateaux Bordeaux," Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland 1989 "The Modem Pastoral," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City Union League Club, New York City "Drawing: Points of View," Belk Art Gallery, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina "Design U.S.A.," United States Information Service, Moscow, USSR (traveling exhibi­ tion) 1988 "Works on Paper," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City "Chateaux Bordeaux," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (traveling exhibition) 1987 Artists," Robert Schoelkopf ' New York City Contemporary Realist Gallery, mcisco an Tradition in Contemporary ape Painting 1960—90,' Gibbes "Storytellers," Contemporary Realist Gallery, San Francisco Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City "Modem Myths: Classical Renewed," Boise Gallery of Art, Idaho (traveling exhibition) "Studies from Life: Paintings by Contempo­ rary Artists," Bayly Art Museum, Univer­ sity of Virginia, Charlottesville 1986 Short Stories—Narrative Painting," One Penn Plaza, New York City "Michael Graves & Edward Schmidt," Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati "Figure in Architecture," John Nichols Gallery, New York City 1985 "Art & Architecture & Landscape, The Clos Pegase Competition," San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco "Michael Graves/Edward Schmidt: A Collaboration," Academy Gallery, New York Academy of Art, New York City "Artists & Architects: Challenges in Col­ laboration," Contemporary Arts Center, Cleveland 1984 "Clos Pegase Winery Designs," Princeton University School of Architecture, Princeton, New Jersey Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City "Figurative Drawings," The More Gallery, Philadelphia "Instructors Exhibition," The Art Students League, New York City 1983 American Studies Center, Naples, Italy "Alumni Exhibition," Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York "Prix de Rome Fellows," The American Academy in Rome, Italy Grand Central Gallery, New York City Academy Gallery, New York Academy of Art, New York City "Realistic Directions," Zoller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, University Park •■'i A 1982 "Contemporary Arcadian Painting," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City "Juried Biennial Exhibition," National Academy of Design, New York City First Street Gallery, New York City "Casts and Cast Drawings," Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville "A Painter's Appreciation of Realism," Williams Proctor Institute, Utica, New York Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York "Art on Paper," Weatherspoon Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro 1981 "Contemporary Figure Drawings," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City Mythologies 47 �•• -.i- ■ I >979 "Huit Voyages a Ners," Musee de la Grande Combe, Ales, France "Toward a Renewal of Classicism," Tatistcheff and Co., New York City Bayly Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia 1978 "Mural Projects for New York," Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Museum, New York City "Metaphor in Painting," Federal Memorial National Hall, New York City ■ I IJ I I i >977 "Art on Paper," Weatherspoon Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville >975 "Annual Invitation," First Street Gallery, New York City "New Talent," Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, New York City The Residence, Pratt Institute, Ners, France 1974 "Annual Invitation," First Street Gallery, New York City 48 Ii 1 Edward Schmidt >973 "Annual Invitation,” I 11.1 Street Gallery. New York City "Drawings,” Viterbo College Ari Gallery. 1 aCrosse. Wisconsin M U R A t C O M MIS S10 N S >989 I 1 her 1 foils*-, ' HONORS, (.RAN I Pratt Manhattan Art Center < iallery. NewYork( it. >97° Brooklyn Museum of Art, Bmol.h n. Nev. 'mrl "The Representational Spirit,' Univ.-rsilv Art Gallery, SUNY, Albany, New York 1968 Le Salon National des Beaux Art-.. Pan SELECTED PUBLIC COLL1X I IONS Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia. Charlottesville The American Academy, Rome, Italy The National Academy of I tesign, New York Citv The Elizabeth Greenshields Memorial Foundation, Montreal Crown .America Corporation, Johnstown, Pennsylvania i'ork < it . Quantum Corporation. N<-w Award 111 P New Y01 k < il, y . Cm. >9®7 l<J7fe Art! 1 Grae 11)9<> Nati<ii 1 il * >< xietyof Mm >11'nni,., . I Intel Giorgio, 16-n*. er I 1 mural.; 1994 >985 Al II'.f■. < •! .11 II, A 1 li >• Irafalgar 1 Ion , New York ( it-, <Ki.hn Peder ert I ov. Arihitix!’.) •984 Cm* mn.iti Symphony 1 tra Pax ilion, Cincinnati, (Mi* had Grave.. Art hitixtj Alwyn Court l andmark Butldm New York City >977 Ahgr.i industri •9*3 l‘|r* lie 16,r Academ* H)<)8 19HH >972 G \RDS I >.fh.-I ( . ttlub I emulation, ! ho a \ ( i‘7 *99'» AfA Honor. Av- rdf..-' t ■, pi ,■■■ ■ Wmt 1 •; ( ollaboi.ilmn (with Mi- heel Crave 1 1972 Artist , Gr, I oundati MI I ( ff '985 Competition Win loi < >974 f J Brookjyi . P ) rd ■■ I ). sign < oil-.txir.it 1 . 1 r .1 I a o Mu ..-urn of Modern Art Visual J eilov. ship <.rant,.'. ition.il Endow­ ment for the Arts, Wa-iiingtoii, D.C >984 So; iety of 1 >-lit, . ., I hr American Academy in Rome, New York City Artist'-. Grant, Ingram Merrill f ounda.. New York City Bratt, Phyll lurv.” 7/;. Bresson, ,M Paint," I '■ ■■' i > ■, San I ran Gallery, Campbell, Schoelko 19S3). Ch : Interior h 1988. �AL COMMISSIONS House, New York City am Corporation, New York Citv Siorgio, Denver (4 murals) ar House, New York City (Kohn ■rsen Fox, Architects) HONORS, GRANTS, & AWARDS 1983 199s Prix de Rome Fellowship, The American Academy in Rome, Italy Award in Painting, Arthur Ross Foundation, New York City 1976 1996 Artist Grant, Change, Inc., New York City National Society of Mural Painters 1974 Graduate Fellowship, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York 1994 Artist's Grant, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, New York City 1990 1972 Artist's Grant, Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Montreal ALA Honors Award for Clos Pegase Winery Collaboration (with Michael Graves) nati Svmphony Orchestra Pavilion, innati, (Michael Graves, Architect) Court Landmark Building, York City Industries, New York City (2 murals) SELECTED LITERATURE 1985 Competition Winner (with Michael Graves) for Gos Pegase Winery, Architect—Artist Design Collaboration, San Francisco Museum of Modem Art Visual Fellowship Grant, National Endow­ ment for the Arts, Washington, D.C. 1984 Society of Fellows, The American Academy in Rome, New York City Artist's Grant, Ingram Merrill Foundation, New York City Braff, Phyllis. "Classicism in the 20th Cen­ tury," The New York Times (October 20,1997). Bresson, Michael. "Telling Stories with Paint," The New York Times (July 25,1986). Bolt, Thomas. New American Figure Painting. San Francisco: Contemporary Realist Gallery, 1992. Campbell, Lawrence. "Edward Schmidt at Schoelkopf," Art in America (February 1983). Cass, Caroline. Grand Illusions—Contemporary Interior Murals. London: Phaidon Press, 1988. Clubbe, John. Cincinnati Observed: Architec­ ture and History. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1993. Cohen, Ronny H. "The Symbolist Renewal," Drawing (September-October 1985). Cooper, James F. "Contemporary Artist Linked to 17th Century French Painting," Weekend World (June 11,1982). Delman, Frederic E. "Au Clos Pegase," Gazette des Beaux Arts (January 1985). Filler, Martin, and Helen Fried. Art & Architecture & Landscape: The Clos Pegase Design Competition. San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1985. Fort, Ilene Susan. "Contemporary Arcadian Painting," Arts Magazine (February 1983). Godfrey, Robert. "Art Exhibitions Say As Much about Curators As Artists," Asheville Citizen-Times (January 24,1989). Goldberger, Paul. "Too Much Italian Flavor in a California Winery," The New York Times (October 11,1987). Gordon, Douglas E. "AIA Corporate Honor Award, Clos Pegase Winery," Architecture (March 1990). Grand, Stanley I. Drawing on the Figure. Stevens Point, Wisconsin: Carlsten Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin, 1993. --------- . Edward Schmidt: Mythologies. WilkesBarre, Pennsylvania: Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, 2000. Mythologies 49 �Helprin, Mark. "In Appreciation of Edward Schmidt," Edward Schmidt. San Francisco: Contemporary Realist Gallery, 1993. —----- . "The Arcadian Lyricism of Edward Schmidt," American Arts Quarterly (Spring 1993). Hollander, John. The Italian Tradition in Contemporary Landscape Painting, 1960-90. Charleston, South Carolina: Gibbes Museum, 1990. Jencks, Charles. Post-Modernism: The New Classicism in Art and Architecture. London: Academy Editions, 1987. --------- . I Mia* Is Post-Modernism? London: Academy Editions; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. Kaufman, Jason. "Academy of the Future," American Arts Quarterly (Spring 1988). Kohn, Benjamin. The Centennial Directory of The American Academy in Rome. New York: The American Academy in Rome, 1995. Ligare, David. "Premodernism," Artweek (August 19, 1993). 50 Edward Schmidt --------- . Art Today. London: Phaidon Press, 1995. Merkel, Jayne. Michael Graves and the Riverbend Music Center. Cincinnati, Ohio: Contemporary Art Center, 1987. O'Hern, John D. Re-presenting Representation III. Elmira, New York: Arnot Art Mu­ seum, 1998. Perl, Jed. "How Simple Everything Could Be," The New Criterion (May 1989). --------- . "Still Life Painting Today," ACM: The Journal of Artists' Choice Museum (Fall 1982). --------- . "Life of the Object," Arts Magazine (December 1977). Phillips, Patricia C. "Figure in Architecture: Michael Graves, Edward Schmidt, Ray­ mond Kaskey," Artforum (March 1986). Rosenthal, Deborah. "Metaphor in Painting: The Struggle for a Tradition," Arts Magazine (June 1978). Russotto, Ellen Romano. The Representational Spirit. Albany, New York: University Art Gallery, SUNY Albany, 1970. Stabler, Wendy. "Mural Painting," Interiors (September 1985). Stanger, Karen. "Edward Schmidt: Images of Arcadia," American Artist (December 1993). Tapley, George M., Jr. "The Arcadian Ethos in Contemporary Painting," Arts Maga­ zine (February 1983). Taylor, Julie. "That's Italian," The Designer (January 1989). Thorton, Gene. "In Praise of Academic Drawing," American Artist (December 1982). Who's Who in American Art, 20th Edition. New Providence, New Jersey: R. R. Bowker, 1994. Wolfe, Tom. "The New Radicals in the Fine Arts," American Arts Quarterly (Fall 1990). Woodbridge, Sally. "The Mountain of Pegasus," Progressive Architecture (Decem­ ber 1984). EXHIBITION UNDERWRITERS AD Friends of the Sordoni Art Gallery M & T Bank Maslow Lumia Bartorillo Advertising Pennsylvania Council on the Arts The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc. Andrew J. Sordoni, III Wilkes University Bon Free SPONSORS The Business Council CBI-Creative Business Interiors Marquis Art and Frame PNC Bank, NA Panzitta Enterprises, Inc. Funding for this exhibition and catalogue is provided by the Commonwealth of Penn­ sylvania through grants administered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Chr Mai Virj Star Rob Mai Keil J.M Mel The Ker Hai Arr Ch; Sus Wil Hel An Sar Mil Joe �hwartz, J. P. Artists & Architects, Challen'gt’s in Collaborations. San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modem Art, 19S5. nith, James E. American Ethos in Contemporary Drawing, Drawing Points of View. Cullowhee. North Carolina: Belk Art Gallery, Western Carolina University, 1989. abler, Wendy. "Mural Painting," Interiors (September 1985). anger, Karen. "Edward Schmidt: Images of Arcadia," American Artist (December 1993). pley, George M., Jr. "The Arcadian Ethos in Contemporary Painting," Arts Maga­ zine (February 1983). ylor, Julie. "That's Italian," The Designer (January 1989). torton, Gene. "In Praise of Academic Drawing," American Artist (December 1982). ho's Who in American Art, 20th Edition. New Providence, New Jersey: R. RBowker, 1994. olfe, Tom. "The New Radicals in the Fine Arts," American Arts Quarterly (Fall 1990). oodbridge, Sally. "The Mountain of Pegasus," Progressive Architecture (Decem­ ber 1984). EXHIBITION UNDERWRITERS ADVISORY COMMISSION STAFF Friends of the Sordoni Art Gallery M & T Bank Maslow Lumia Bartorillo Advertising Pennsylvania Council on the Arts The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc. Andrew J. Sordoni, III Wilkes University Bonnie C. Bedford, Ph.D. Freddie Bittenbender Christopher N. Breiseth, Ph.D. Marion M. Conyngham Virginia C. Davis, Chair Stanley I Grand, Ph.D. Robert J. Heaman, Ph.D. Mary Jane Henry Keith A. Hunter, Esq. J. Michael Lennon, Ph.D. Melanie Maslow Lumia Theo Lumia Kenneth Marquis Hank O'Neal Arnold Rifkin Charles A. Shaffer, Esq. Susan Adams Shoemaker, Esq. William Shull Helen Farr Sloan Andrew J. Sordoni, III Sanford B. Sternlieb, M.D. Mindi Thalenfeld Joel Zitofsky Stanley I Grand, Ph.D., Director Nancy L. Grand, Coordinator Earl W. Lehman, Preparator SPONSORS The Business Council CBI-Creative Business Interiors Marquis Art and Frame PNC Bank, NA Panzitta Enterprises, Inc. Funding for this exhibition and catalogue is provided by the Commonwealth of Penn­ sylvania through grants administered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency' funded by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. I i •A Gallery Attendants Deidre Blake Peter Czwalina Natalee Felten Marcy Fritz Jill Klicka Christopher Rehmann Casey Williams 1 - 51 ��^--•■ .. s <?is5 g *.•'ib^, V- d ■ ItA^feas « ■ *1^1/’-‘T & � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2000 February 20 Edward Schmidt: Mythologies Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Edward Schmidt Stanley I. Grand Stanley I. Grand Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000 February 20 - March 26 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Edward Schmidt's Mythologies prsesnt an oblique, cultured, yet modern way of looking at reality. Informed by erudition, drawing inspiration from classical tradition, and paying frequent tribute to Old Masters, Schmidt's paitnings conjure up an anachronistic, literally timeless, reality in which the past and present simultaneously exist. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Edward Schmidt old masters painting painter mythology Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource SAG https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/ed4855a99076ad69df69b2b5107b4c8f.pdf 239c62c26b21d6d2cf82057342d0ba01 PDF Text Text Tiains That Passed in the Night The Railroad Photographs of O. Winston Link AN ExrmmoN oRGANTZED BY Srmroox Mruonrer Anr Genrny exl Scurprunr GenoBN Uxnrrnsrry or NTSRAsKA-LTNCoLN FoR TRAVEL THRouGHour rm UNrreD Srerrs, 1998-2000 Thomas H. Garver Guest Curator / January 7- March 22, 1998 Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Lincoln Nebraska April 21- Jane 21.,1998 Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Mrginia Jriy 21.- September 20,'1,998 / Virginia Historical Sociery Richmond, Mrginia October 20- December 20,7998 Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, 'West Virginia January 1.2- March 1.4, 1.999 / Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas April 13- June 13, L999 Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio July 13- September 1,9, 1999 Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina October 15- November 26, 1,999 Cantor-Fitzgerald Gallery Haverford, Pennsylvania January 11- March 1.2,2000 New York State Museum, Albany, New York April 18- June 18, 2000 Sordoni Art Gallery, rJflilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania August 20- November 5,2000 Stanford Museum of Art, Stanford, California / / I / / / / I !mrllmI f,rr" Jl' -E^..*I-, ^ 12*tmdRStleetUnimityof o rP. P"^*J$ "r, N€bmsk&Linol&6858&mm �The Photographs of O. Winston Link inston Link was a young practitioner of an old photographic tradition, one still much used, but which now colrlmands little public notice. He developed a strong personal style within the technique of using cameras that were usually fixed in place, mounted on heavy tripods and using large negatives, typically 4 x 5 inches in size. The dynamic qualities of photographs made this way came through their careful planning: the precise placement of the camera, and equally careful placement of the lighting sources, with people and objects also being arranged with an eye for the final effect. Photographs using this technique were (and still are) made by the millions for advertising and illustrative purposes. \X4rile this manner of photography is still widely used, we have come more often to think of photographic "truth" through another aesthetic, one created by photographers using small hand held cameras. Sometimes described by the generic term "street photography," photographers who work in this way usually move rapidly and invisibly through their surroundings, making images using only the light available and leaving the environment untouched and unchanged. Not only did \Winston Link use a different photographic technique, his motivations were different from street photographers. His interest, in all his work, was to create as precise and careful a record as possible of the scene being photographed. Using lessons he learned from his commercial advertising photography, Link had less interest in documenting life as he found it than in creating images of life as he (or his clients) might wish it to be. Thus in his railroad photos, Link built a record that not only documented the locomotives and trains themselves, but emphasized the benefits of the railroad to the life of the communities through which it passed. He was, in his way, preparing and executing an advertising campaign for the "American Sream Railroad," and the good life in the United States which it ,upport.d. In many of his photographs, the passing train is incidental to the activity in the foieground, be it buying groceries, taking a swim or herding cows. Yet, even in the background, the steam railroad was still the essential element which stitched together'$Tinston Link's personal vision of this good life in America' Sometimes the Electricity Fails, Vesuvius, Virginia, 1956 �O. Winston Link and the Norfolk and Western Railway inston Link has loved railroads for just about as long as he can remember. As a teenager, he and his friends would take the subrvay from Brooklyn to Manhattan and cross the Hudson on a ferr,v to spend the day in the Jersey Central or Baltimore & Ohio railyards in New Jersey. He photographed the railroads then, and continued to do so during the early part of his professional photographic career, but just for pleasure. Gradually, however, Link realized that the steam locomotive was disappearing, and with it a network of railroad towns and repair shops which it supported. Also disappearing was a quality of life that he saw as a personalized relationship benveen the railroads, their employees and the powerful but very labor intensive steam locomotives. The desire to preserve a record of this time and these places was the basis of the motivation that gave him the energy to create a visual document of a whole manner of life that was fast disappearing. It was a massive private undertaking, financed entirely by the photographer, that resulted in the creation of a five year long cycle of photos of the last years 'West of steam railroading on the Norfolk and \Testern Railway (N&\7) in Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. N&\7 was the last major American railroad to operate exclusively with The N&W (since merged with the Virginian Railroad and the Southern By 1955, the sream power. Railroad and now known as Norfolk Southern) was one of the country's major coal haulers, moving coal from the mines in'West Virginia east to Norfolk, Virginia, for ocean shipment up and down the coast and overseas) and west to users in the Midwest. The railroad was true to its major customers, but the steam locomotive is a hugely labor intensive machine, and despite the cheap fuel available, parts were becoming scarce and by the mid1950s it was clear that its days were numbered. Early in 1955 Y/inston Link was sent to Virginia on assignment, and he took the opportunity to watch N6C\ff/ steam trains at'Waynesboro, nearby. After one night of watching, he activated an idea which had been a fantasy in his mind for more than a decade. He would photograph the railroad at night, using flashbulbs synchronized to the camera's shutter. This way he would be able to stop or slow the motion of the train, while being able to control the light on his subject, just as a cinematographer controls light, to emphasize certain areas while making distracting elements disappear. He went back to Waynesboro the next night, January 21., andtried his ideas by photographing an arriving passenger train. They worked perfectly. Link approached the management of the N&'!7 with a proposal. He asked for no compensation, but wanted permission to enter onto railroad property to make photos. The president of the N&IX/ at rhe time, R. B. Smith, had been with the railroad more than 40 years and loved his steam locomotives. The N6cW responded positively and in March, 'S7inston Link made the first of at least 20 trips to the N&S7 to begin the project 1955, which continued until March, 1960, just a few weeks before the N&'S7 terminated all sream operations. He financed the entire five year cycle of photographs from the profits of his successful photographic practice, and recovered almost none of his expenses until his work began to be exhibited and collected in the early 1980s. Link began his task by spending the first year photographing along the railroad's right of way or in its shops and yards. He worked mostly at night, but photographed in daylight as well, primarily along the railroad's mountainous Abingdon Branch, a 55 mile spur that ran 'West one rrain a day, six days a week, from Abingdon, Virginia to Jefferson, North Carolina. He perfected his flash equipment during this time and in its final form this flash power supply could fire 60 flash bulbs synchronized to the shutters of up to three cameras in an instantaneous blaze of light equal to 50,000 watts of illumination. He also spent days traveling on the railroad's passenger trains, watching for possible photo sites from each side of the train. Maps and suggestions from railroad men also provided leads for good spots to photograph. As he came to know the railroad, its often rugged environment and the colorful people who worked for the road or lived along it, Link expanded his vision. In many of the pho- �tos he made beginning in 1956. the trains became the background to the life lived along the tracks. Whether chatting quietlr, pumping gas or going to the drive-in, the train was always there. He also returned to the Abingdon Branch that r-ear to create some of his most memorable photos made during davlight hours. By 1957,steam had been removed from several divisions of the railroad, and Linkconcentrated on recording the splendid J class streamlined passenger engines before they were withdrawn from service on most runs. B,v 1958 steam u,as regularly found only in the western end of the N&\X/, working in the coal fields of Vest Virgini a. By 1,959 there was not much steam left, and \Tinston Link again concentrated on rhe engines themselves, so soon to be gone, bur this time photographing them in a more expressionisric way, trying to record in static images some sense of that incredible surge of flailing, ground shaking energy as these engines, some weighing upwards of one million pounds, thundered past in the dark. sr=! ,;.f ( t.l.,F r {<, Hawksbill Creek Swimming Hole, Luray, Virginia, 1956 (i I �O. Winston Link and History ne lesson \Tinston Link learned from his father was how to tell a good story. His skills at weaving a tale were transposed into his photographic vision as well. He was able to see an image in his mind that would exist in reality only for the split second it took for the flashbulbs to ignite and record the event on film. He often worked in all but perfect blackness, on occasion spending days to make a single photo-all for the benefit of adding a page or chapter to his story of this steam railroad. While he loved railroads, Link never considered himself to be a "rallfan." He didn't travel around the country to visit railroads, nor was he interested in making static photos 'lfhen he was shown such photos, he dismissed of as many steam engines as he could find. them as "hardware shots," because the locomotives were no longer in their normal environment of their life on the tracks or along the line. Like a good story teller, Link was also willing to wait until his audience was ready for the tale. He made little effort to have his railroad work seen, beyond publication of a few photos reproduced in railroad magazines, until the mid-1970s, and it was not until 1983, almost thirty years after he started the project, that these photographs received their first museum exhibition. Since that time they have been widely exhibited and published, and many people who otherwise would have no interest in photographs of railroads have warmly responded to them. The reason for their wide appeal must lie in the breadth of the project's conception, and in the care taken in its execution. These photographs are period pieces, bits of another time and place, but they are also images created with deep respect for the people photographed, the places where they iived and worked, and the splendid machines they operated. T. H. G. Maud Bows to the Virginia Creeper on the Ahingdon Branch, Green Cove, Virginia, 1956 �O. Winston Link Winston Link was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1.9L4, the son of a school teacher. Early on, Link showed an aptitude for technology, and his father, a demanding man but a good instructor, introduced him to a variety of options. The elder link trained his son to handle tools well and encouraged his interest in photography. It was at this time that he also developed an interest in steam railroading which was to remain with him for life. Link attended the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, where he was a good student and a popular one, being particularly well known for his practical jokes. He graduated in 1,937 with a degree in civil engineering, but photographrwas to claim him before engineering could. Engineering jobs were scarce in Depression America, but Link was offered a position as photographer for a large public relations firm. His job was to make photos for his clienrc which were submitted for free use in newspapers and magazines. The photos had to carn' the clients' messages, and do it with such cleverness and wit, or be so unusual, that photo editors couldn't resist using them. In this job he learned to use people to animate his pictures, and how to give them both compositional "punch" and the vivacin' editors rvanted. '!7ith the onset of World \\ar [. Link used both his engineering and photographic skills as a photographer and researcher for a secret militanproject, designing and building der-ices to detect submerged eneml-submarines from airplanes flring orerhead. The research laboraton'rvas located in Long Island. adiacent to rhe tracks of the Long Island Rail Road which was porvered br- steam ar that point. Link reneu'ed an interest in steam locomotives and railroads that had been all but dormant tbr some years, and began to phorograph them. In 1,945, with the end of the s'ar. he chose to become an independenr tree lance photographer and opened hi> own photographic studio. tirsr in Brooklyn and later in \Ianhaman. His clients included manl' major ^\merican companies and leading adr-errising agencies who called him s'hen therneeded a photographer with a knowledge of large cameras and complex lighting serup":. It was during this time, from January, 1955 to March, 1960, that he created the da-umenra'Western Railrvar'. He rerired tion of the last years of steam railroading on the Norfolk & from active practice in 1983, and now lives in ITestchester Counry Nerv York. 'Western Railway are documenred in Winston Link's photographs of the Norfolk & two books, Steam, Steel dt Stars, L987, with text by Tim HensleS and Tbe La-<t Steent Railroad in America, 1,995, with text by Thomas H. Garver. Both are published br HarnN. Abrams, Inc., New York, and both are in print. 0. Winston tink (left) and George Thom, and Night Flash Equipment, New York, Cover: Hot Shot Eastbound, laeger, West Virginia, 1956. 1956 �Checklist of the Exhibition Photographs are listed chronologically, with the negative index number following the photo title. Most of the prints in the exhibition are black and white, gelatin silver photographs printed either L6x20 or 20x24 nches in size. Ten color coupler prints printed 16x20 inches are indicated by the "C" or "K" in the negative numbers. AII the prints in the exhibition have been lent ZidegPortola Valley, Califomia. either by the photographer or Cheryl and Robert The title for this exhibition is taken from a video program on O. \Tinston Link created and direaed by Paul Yule, Berwick Universal Pictures, London, England, for presentation on British televisiont Channel Four in 1990, and is used by permission. All photographs in the exhibition and desigrations reproduced here are O O.'STinston Link, and are used by permission. 1. Station Interioq Waynesboro, Virginia, 1955 (N!73) 2. J.W. Dahlhouse Polishes a Headlight, Shaffers 11. J. O. Hayden, Engine Greaser at Bluefield Lubritorium, Bluefield,'West Mrginia, 1955 (N\)f330) Crossing Yard, Roanoke,Mrginia, 1955 (NWB) 12. Y6 Locomotive Moving out of the Wash Bay, Bluefield Yard, Bluefield, West Mrginia, 1955 (N$f342) 3. VashingJ Class Locomotive 605, Shaffers Crossing 4. 13. A Summer Evening With Tiain No. 2, Lithia, Virginia, 1955 (NIf362) 5. Y5 Virginia, 1955 (NW419A) 5. Troy Humphries and a Cracked 15. Locomotive 104 Thking Water, Bristol Roundhouse, Bristol, Virginia, 1955 (N!f612) Yard, Roanoke, Virginia, 1955 (NW13) Filling a Tender with Water, Shaffers Crossing Yard, Roanoke, Virginia, 1955 (N!f14) Locomotive on the Turntable, Shaffers Crossing Yard, Roanoke, Virginia, 1955, (NW28) S7indow, lTaynes- boro Station, rWaynesboro, Virginia, 1955 (N!f32) Locomotive Drive \Wheels, Lubritorium, Bluefield Yard, Bluefield, \X/est Virginia, 1955 (NX786) 8. Abingdon Branch, Ralph lil/hite, Conductor, and 7. Fresh Laundry, Damascus, Virginia 1955 (N$f114) 9. Abingdon Branch, Children at Nella, North Carolina, Wait for Lollipops, 1955 (NI7149) 14. Ghost Train - Freight, Moving'West at Norfolk, 16. R. E. Boother Polishes the Bell, Locomotive 104, Bristol Roundhouse, Bristol, Virginia, 1955 (NW617) 1.7. l. H. Pope Washes Locomotive 104, Bristol Roundhouse, Bristol, Virginia, 1955 (NW620) 18. Abingdon Branch, Train No. 201 Arrives in Alvarado, Virginia, 1955 (Nlf639) 10. Abingdon Branch, Locomotive Taking Water at 19. Abingdon Branch, Train No.202 Passing over Bridge 8, South of Abingdon, Mrginia, 1955, 'West (N!r666) Jefferson, North Carolina, 1955 (N!7152) A Class Locomotive and Fast Freight on a Foggy Day, Blue Ridge, Bonsack, Virginia,1959 �20. Abingdon Branch, Tiain No. 202 Crossing Keller's Field at Harvest Time, Watauga, VA, 1955 (N!(/573) 5.[. Locomotive 104 on the Turntable, Bristol Roundhouse, Bristol, Virginia, 1.9 57 (NW 1 372) 52. The Birmingham Special Passes Max Meadows 21. Coaling Locomotives, Shaffers Crossing Yard, Station, Max Meadows, Virginia, 1957 (NW1518) Roanoke, Virginia, 1955 (NW691) 53. The Birmingham Special Gets the Highball at 22. Father and Son Watch Rural Retreat, Virginia, 1957, (N!71635) a Coal Extra, Montgomery Tunnel, Christiansburg, Virginia, 1 955 (NW704) 54. 23. Mrginia, 1957 (NWl537) Hester Fringer's Living Room on rhe Tracks, Lithia, Virginia, 1955 (N!7720) Christmas Time at Bridge 322, Seven-Mile Ford, 24. Norvel 55. Giant Oak and the Birmingham Special, Max Meadows, Mrginia, 1957 (NW1643) 25. Train, Max Meadows, Mrginia, 1957 (NW1648) Ryan and His Son Herd Cows as Train No. 3 Passes, Shawsville, Virginia, 1955 (N$f723) S7inston Link, His Assistant George Thom, and Night Flash Equipment, New York, 1955 (N!7792) 26. Locomotive Backing Past Hager Toweq Hagerstown, Maryland, 1956 (N!7798) 27. Archie Stover, Crossing Guard at Luray, Virginia, 1956 (N$r817) 28. Loray Crossing at 3 AM, Luray, Virginia, 1956 (N!7821) 29. Winston Link and George Thom Making the Photo of Archie Stover, Luray, Virginia, 1955 (NW829) 30. Train No. 2 Arrives at Natural Bridge Station, Natural Bridge, Mrginia, 1956 (N!f873) 31. Train No. 2 and Gooseneck Dam on the Maury River, Near Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1955 (N!7883) 56. The Popes Watch the Last Steam Powered Passenger 57. Uncoupling on the Fly (Six Photo Sequence), Blue tudge Grade, Virginia 1958 N$f1909, N!f1916-1920) 58. Swimming Pool,'Welch, \7est Virginia, 1958 (N!r1963) 59. Main Line on Main Street, North Fork, West Mrginia, 1958 (N!f1955) 60. The Honey Hole: Waiting for the Next Train, Boaz Siding, Vinton, Mrginia, 1958 (NW1977) 61. S1a Switch Engine and its Crew, Shaffers Crossing Yards, Roanoke, Virginia, 1958 (N!71980-93) 62. A Class Locomotive and Freight on a Foggy Day, Blue Ridge, Bonsack, Mrginia, 1958 (NW1998) 63. Contact Sheet. The Cavalier Leaves Williamson, Virginia on a Rainy Day, 1,959 (N\f2018-2029) Tiain No. 2 Passes in the Background, Lithia, Mrginia, 1956 (N'S71081) 'West 33. Hot Shot Eastbound at the Iaeger Drive-In, Iaeger, rVest Vrginia, 1956 (NX71103) 34. Tiain No. 2 on Bridge 425 (Back View), Arcadia, on a Rainy Day,1,959 (NXf2024) 32. The Keith Children Fish as Virginia, 1955 (N!71107) 35. Trairr No. 2 on Bridge 425 (Front View), Arcadia, Virginia, 1956 (N!f1108) 36. Sometimes the Electricity Fails, Vesuvius, 64. The Cavalier Leaves W'illiamson, West Mrginia, 65. A Class Locomotive in a Hurry, Near Bonsack, Virginia, 1959 (NW2128) 66. Coal Extra \Testbound Hauling Empty Hoppers, Near Bonsack, Virginia, 1959 (N!72129) 67. Joe Estis, Fireman on a Y5 Locomotive, Near 'lfilliamson, (N$f2159) West Virginia, 1960 Virginia, 1956 (NW1122) 68. The Second Pigeon, on a Kermit-Bound Mine Run, 37. Hawksbill Creek Swimming Hole, Luray, Virginia, 1955 (NXf1126) Near I7illiamson, West Mrginia, 1,960 (l{W21,771 38. Abingdon Branch, Maud Bows to the Virginia 69. Y6 at the Massey Mine, Near Gilbert, West Mrginia, 1960 (NW2222) Creeper, Green Cove, Virginia, 1955 (N\71230) 39. Abingdon Branch, Train No.201 Leaving Green Cove, Virginia, 1956 (NW1236) 40. Abingdon Branch, Train No.201 Leaving Green Cove, Wginia, Ford Car in Foreground, 1955, (Nlf1238) 41. Abingdon Branch, Folks Wait for the Creeper at the Station, Green Cove, Virginia, 1955 (N!71248) 42. Abingdon Branch, Creeper, Tuckerdale, Joe Dollar'Waits for the North Carolina, 1956 (N\71252) 43. Abingdon Branch, Train No. 202 Arrives Late at Bridge 7, Near \Watauga, Mrginia, 1956 (NSfl1264) Color Photographs 70. The Powhatan Arrow on the Bridge West of Cooper Tunnel, West Mrginia, 1955 (NI75K) 71. Colonna Shipyards at Night, Norfolk, Virginia, 1955 (NW10K) 72. Abingdon Branch, Maud Bows to the Virginia Creeper, Green Cove, Mrginia, 1956 (NW39K) 73. Coal Train Moving Westbound, Montgomery Tunnel, Christiansburg, Virginia, 1956 (N]X/121K) Branch, Train No. 201 Passing by Overlook, South of Damascus, Virginia, 1955 (N$f1291) 74. Two Class A Locomotives Hauling a Coal Extra Eastbound, Blue Ridge Grade,Yirginia, L957 (NW26C) 45. The Meet of N&'S7 Tiain No.2 and B&O Tiain No. 7 at Shenandoah Junction, Maryland, 1957 (NIf1333) 75. Abingdon Branch, Train No. 201 44. Abingdon 45. Ghost Town, Stanley, Virginia at3 AM,1,957 (N'{r1345) 47. The Volunteer Fire Department and Train No.2, Grottoes, Virginia, 1957 (NI71349) 48. Solitude Siding and Train No. 2,Yirginia,1,957 (NW1350) 46. and Train No. 2. Vesuvius, Virginia, 1957 Cloverdale, Virginia, 1957 Crosses a Forked North Carolina, 1957 (Nlf44K) 76. Abingdon Branch, Train No. 201 at Creek Junction, Virginia, 1957 (NW64K) 77. Abingdon Branch, Train No.202 Passing the General Store, HuskAJella, North Carolina, 1.957 (NW7sK) 78. The Pocahontas Eastbound, Blue Ridge Grade, Egg Stove and Bananas, Vesuvius General Store 50. The Lone Star Shifter Stream, Tuckerdale, (N!f1352) Passing the Station, (NIf1359) Virginia, 1958 (N!f34C) 79. Highball for the Double Header, Blue Ridge Grade, Virginia, 1959 (N$f32K) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2000 April 18 Trains That Passed in the Night: The Railroad Photographs of O. Winston Links Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O. Winston Links Thomas H. Garver Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000 April 18 - June 12 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Winston Link was a young practitioner of an old photographic tradition, one still much used, but which now commands little public notice. In this exhibition, he uses a different photographic technique to capture life as he might wish it be. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource O. Winston Link train trains photography photos train photography https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/724178dd6791013b5aebddb9d124a166.pdf 3ce65d0b044aa765e96398277ef1e7b1 PDF Text Text �������������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2000 September 5 Hank O'Neal Portraits 1971-2000 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Hank O'Neal A.D. Coleman Stanley I. Grand Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2000 September 5 - October 15 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource In this comprehensive exhibition, Hank O'Neal's portrait photography and the endearing stories they tell are on display. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Hank O'Neal photography photos photographer portraiture https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/adf90d0e40fc7a40070b4b6e7c06d128.pdf 8efbc7056150a559a3df803c24527ff8 PDF Text Text �������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2001 January 15 Michael Thomas: Cables Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Thomas Stanley I. Grand William Sterling StanleyI.Grand KarenEvansKaufer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001 January 15 - February 25 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource As a designer, Michael Thomas has chosen to engage in architectural issues primarily through the medium of photgraphy. This choice has allowed him to focus on the essential components of the most practical of the fine arts. This exhibition is a show of his photographic series of architectural structures from around Pennsylvania Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Michael Thomas photography photograph architecture Pennsylvania Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource SAG https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/c573164ec5e62f94903d5b26c00e2aae.pdf 30298b14d93c9a5e26372f78e2b9016d PDF Text Text ���� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2002 March 10 Pamela Earnshaw Kelly Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Pamela Earnshaw Kelly Karen S. Chambers Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002 March 10 - April 21 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Pamela Earnshaw Kelly's subjects are ordinary---farm or jungle animals---and her material is humble----clay. But there is nobility in her depiction of her subjects, and thousands of years of ceramic history to show clay's potential to move, provoke, memorialize, honor. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Pamela Earnshaw Kelly ceramacist clay ceramics animals farm animals jungle animals https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/dd2abb76273de88e4525375d483166a1.pdf 673b6bb766ea643c7667774b30e618a5 PDF Text Text MICHAEL DE IONG F �s0 0T HSqa Mo.fi;I CI4()[ 3A leAHf IM ���ExhiL-.,ition Curatcd bv Ror-rald R. Bclnier, Ph.D. Karcn Irvans Kaufcr With an lJssay b1' Ronal.l R. Ilcrnier, Ph.[). F'ROM L,DE N TO OZ Arrgtrst 25 to Octobcr 13, 2002 Art Ga11e11' \\'ilk.'. Univcr 'it1 S,rrcloni \\'ilkct-B,rrle. P.'nn.vl r :trti;t �Copyright @ 2OOZ Sordoni Art Gallery ISBN 0-942945-ZZ-O 2000 copies were printed by Zodiac Printing Corporation Catalogue design: John Beck Typeface: Centaur, a classic American face designed about I9 I5 by Bruce Rogers by Doug Burg landscapes by MichaelThomas; Photography: ciryscapes �I;It.OM EDEN TO OZ l{onrl.l I{. Berr.rier, Ph.D. In Utopia. . . everyone is rich-for what greater wealth of mind, and frcc.lom from anxiety? . . .The Utopian way of life provi.les r-rot only the happiest basis for a civilized cor.r.rr-r-rur-rity, but also one which, in all human probability, c;rn there be than cheerfulness, peace will last forever. Thornas More, Utopia (I5I6)l MAI-l- Al)l:l{ltJlltls I,UNrTIt,\l-t, white walls, opening onto public in gold, they depict the intimate and l.rivrtc scnsuous cnclosurc of a deep forest interior, while from dizzying lr, iqlrts, ll:unt'.1 in black, are footless views of a glistening metropolis,,rclr tirry :rs pr36iq115 object yet imrncnsc as content.The miniature s(:rl(';uld cxxcting.lctail prompt us closer, inviting us to peer, as if illi, irly, into thcsc distant spaces. We advance, an.1 in that closeness, ,,tlrcl lrotlics .lisappcar, falling away at the edges of our awareness; visiorr is crrt ,rf}, isolated from the presentness of the body. In this way lVli, lr;rt'l [)c Jong's irnages perforrn an operation of rndividr-ration, ,1,'lirrirrg 1l1p yi1-1ys1-1he self-as isolated, withdrawn from the worl.1, r', t s11,irrg trpon it. What is beyond, what is on the'other'side, is the rrrlinitcly rcnr()tL', the visionary ideal-Utopia. In the early watercolors, rt r5 r'('r)(lclcd es tht'full baroque spectacle of rugged mountain terrait-t ;ur.1 spaces. Framed of nineteenth-century ,'\nr.ri(';ur l:r..lsc:r1.e'painting that told the heroic story of a New ,rrr,l lrrrrrirrotrs vista, the romantic drama h World, here borrowed and reformatted to miniature scale. For those artists, painted vistas of uncultivated nature symbolized a desire for domir-rance and possession, confident expressions of a privileged national identity tinged with the romantic myths of paradise, innocence and Mar-rifest Destiny.r America as the Great Experiment, the discovery of an unspoiled contir-rer-rt where man could escape the contamination of the OldWorld. Reduce.l in size and crushing in detail, De Jong's fetishes speak iror-rically to this tl-reme of America as the new Golden In its postn-rodcnr vcrsior.r, tlris paradisc of abundancc is recast as the sylvan rctrcat of a Pcr.rr-rsylvar-ria garden ancl the towering pageantry Age . of uptowr-r Manhattan.l The Garden/City-5",.,..7au11u1g-dixlgctic is ideologically loaded with paiired associations of private and public, individnal arrd society, self and world, solitude and community. Nature, as the subject of landscape painting, lras long been invested with the physical, moral, and spiritual qualities of peace and equilibrium. It is the space of health, the sanctuary of remoteness and restorative wholeness in schizophrenic modernity. To experience nature is to step inside the subjectivity of private sensation and the good life.The city, by contrast, is nature's antithesis, the space of moral malaise, r-rumbing spectacle, choking densitp and alier-rating salneness. And within the present exhibition, the artist holds out the possibility of being simultaneously in two seemingly incompatible spaces, able to dip into that other, restful and refreshing asylum of rural virtue, while holding fast to the �;, Copyright @ ZOOZ Sordoni Art Gallery rsBN 0-942945-ZZ-O 2000 copies were printed byZodiac Printing Corporation Catalogue design: John Beck Typeface: Centaur, a classic American face designed about 19I5 by Bruce Rogers Photography: cityscapes by MichaelThomas; landscapes by Doug Burg �FROM EDEN TO OZ Ronald R. Bernier, Ph.D. In Utopia . . . everyone is rich-for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety? . . . The Utopian way of life provides not only the happiest basis for a civilized community, but also one which, in all human probability, will last forever. Thomas More, Lltopia (I5I6)I MALL APERTURES pENETRATE white walls, opening onto public and private spaces. Framed in gold, they depict the intimate and of a deep forest interior, while from dizzying hcights, fiamed in black, are footless views of a glistening metropoliscrrch tiny as precious object yet immense as conrent. The miniature sensuous enclosure prompt us closer, inviting us to peer, as if spaces. We advance, and in that closeness, otlrer bodies disappear, falling away at the edges of our awareness; vision is cut ofI, isolated from the presentness of the body. In this way Michael De ]ongt irnages perform an operation of individuation, ,lcfining 6he yigy/6s-1he self-as isolated, withdrawn from the world, ),ct spying upon it. What is beyond, what is on the'other'side, is the irrfinitcly remote, the visionary ideal-Utopia. In the ea4 watercolors, sc,rle and exacting detail illicitly, into these distant it is rcn.lcre.1 as the full baroque spectacle of rugged mounrain terrain the romantic drama of nineteenth-century r\rrrt'r'ican lar-rdscape painting that told the heroic story of a New :rrr.1 ltnr-rinous vista, World, here borrowed and reformatted to miniature scale. For those artists, painted vistas of uncultivated nature symbolized a desire for dominance and possession, confident expressions of a privileged national identity tinged with the romantic myths of paradise, innocence and Manifest Destiny.2 America as the Great Experiment, the discovery of an unspoiled continent where man could escape the contamination of the O1d World. Reduced in size and crushing in detail, De Jongt fetishes speak ironically to this tl-rerne of America as the new Golden Age. In its postmodern version, this paradise of abundance is recast as the sylvan retreat of a Pennsylvania garden and the towering pageantry of uptown Manhattan.r The Garden,/City-Nature/Cul6l116-di2ls6tic is ideologically loaded with paired associations of private and public, individual and society', self and wor1d, solitude and community. Nature, as the subject of landscape painting, has long been invested with the physical, moral, and spiritual qualities of peace and equilibrium. It is the space of health, the sanctuary of remoteness and restorative wholeness in schizophrenic modernity. To experience nature is to step inside the subjectivity of private sensatiolr. and the good life.The city, by contrast, is nature's antithesis, the space of moral malaise, numbing spectacle, choking density, and alienating sameness. And within the preser-rt exhibition, the artist holds out the possibility of being simultar-reously in two seemingly incompatible spaces, able to dip into that other, restful and refreshing asylum of rural virtue, while holding fast to the �of its oppobreached. momentarily two worlds sigg-shs the wooded of warmth the suffused golden As presented here-in of urban collage and hallucinatory flickering interior and the cool, sglfx6g-6f6y arc both lJtopia. On the one hand, the prelapsarian perfection of the Garden of Eden, and on the other, the City of Oz' end of the journey, "a place where there isnt any s16u!16"4-gle city as final fulfillment of the original promise of America as Utopia. And Oz, like Eden, is precisely thae a fabled, fantastic, self-contained world- heady exhilaration, opulence, and breathless excitement boundary between che paradise regained. It is fitting, then, that utopia takes the form of the geometric figure that sFmbolizes harmonp unity, coherengs-1hg circle- And here we return to the procedure of painting itself-the miniature- In these manipulations of scale, place, and proportion, the normal equations between picture and observer are altered. The beholdert experience is simultaneously intimate and distant, the body bereft of spatial coordinates. In drawing 6165g1-whi.h in the conventional viewing of painting allows us to engage in detail, dissolving distance through the privacy of individual f66u5-ghs viewer is presented with the panoramic view of a perfectly miniaturized world, paradoxically dwarfing the observer through its own kind of immensity. This dislocating expedence is what aesthetic theory has defined as the Sublime, wherein our ordinary perceptual faculties' rendered incapable of taking in the sheer immensity of the world's manifold, are overwhelmed, awed, resulting in a kind of stupelring power which forces us into an awareness of our own Puny position in the universe, a kind of "existential vertigo."s Our glimpse into Utopia-just beyond 1g26h-5sgrn5 an utterly unreal and unfathomable ideal; as such, ttr imagination is launched into a vain attemPt to comprehend iu magnitude in a way that ultimately leads to the consolation thr! something'beyond' transcends the limitations and imperfectioru ordinary phenomenal being-infiniry, perfection, the ideal. Thri fact, the literal translation of SirThomas Moret punning word to describe his visionary state, Utopia-no place-while maintaininS hopeful belief in the possibility, the necessiry, of discovering Beyond subject itself-beyond the wistful desire for Eden and I what invokes the sublime here is the overwhelmingly infinitesimrl De Jong assigns the sublime to the immeasurably tiny, to the ncu dismissible, through the procedure of painting itself, where thc indescribable-perfection, the ideal, Utopia-is lodged in tle imperceptible. NOTES I. Tians. PaulTirrner, 1965: I28-I3I. See exhibition and catalogue, Borrowed Paradkr, Krannert College of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Illinois at 2. Art I998. 3. Both of which the artist claims as home. The peacefulness of hir northeastern Pennsylvania retreat is easily traveled from NewYork City 7O-mile stretch of roadway. 4. Spoken by the central character, Dorothy, as she dreams of her o unrealized utopia from the drabness of the American heartland in thc l9l technicolor fantasia of L. Frank Baum's I900 story Tbe WondetJulWizeil { 5. Paul Crowth e\ The Kantian Sublime, From Morality to Art, 1989: I70. ����Ir I rl I �ll ���EXHIBITION CHECKLIST (2) Untttlt d, 19 9 2-19 9 8 watercolor on paper 22h" x 30" (paper size) (12) Untitltd,200I oil on panel gold leaf frame 2/4" diameter (landscape image size) (14) Untitbd,2002 oil on panel ebonized frame 3/4" diameter (cityscape image size) �CHAEL DE JON Chicago Heights, Illinois, I962 2OOO Borrowed Paradise, Northern Illinois University. DeKalb, IL (catalogue) 1999 1998 TION of Illinois (M.F.A. 1988) d'Ardritecture, Versailles, France, 1987 Illinois University (B.F.A. 1984) AND HONORS Foundation Fellowship, I999-2OO0 Neil Kinley Memorial Foundation Fellowship, I995 Foundation Fellowship, 1992-199 3 of Illinois Fellowship, 1985-1988 P. Bates Memorial Scholarship, 1984 Iota Xi Annual Scholarship, 1980 D SOLO EXHIBITIONS FromEden to Oz,Sordoni Art Gallery,Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA (catalogue) ForatJor the Trus, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR (catalogue) 200I ForestJor tbeTrees, ForestJor tbe Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA (catalogue) Art Museum, Waterloo, IA (catalogue) Trees,Waterloo Borrowed Paradise, I-Space, Borrowed Paradise, Champaign, IL Chicago, (catalogue) Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, IL (catalogue) 1997 P.P.O.W, NewYork, NY I996 Feigen Contemporary, Chicago, IL 1995 P.P.O.W NewYork, NY I988 Rastovski Gallerp NewYork, NY SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS Exhibltlon,Ltttlejohn Contemporary Fine Art, NewYork, 2OOl Summer 2000 Shlfting Grounk: Tran{ormed lhnus oJ NY Art Gallery, University of the American Landscape, Hemy Washsott Seatde,WA (catalogue) College of Art Gallery, City 1999 As Far as the E1e Can Su,The Adanta Atlanta, GA (catalogue) Gallery at Chastain, 1998 Summer Exhib*ion/Calltry Artists, PP.O.W, NewYork, NY Dfuining Nature, Sottheastern Center for Contemporury Art, Winston-Salem, NC (catalogue) Remembering Beautl, The Seductfue and Nostalgic Nature oJ the American South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, IN (catalogue) 1997 Summer Exblbition/Galbry Arrrsts, P.PO.W, NewYork, NY Landscape, ,.ii �19 9 6 Toale Gallerp Boston, MA Summer Exhibitior/Gollrry Art*rs, P.PO.W:, NewYork, Small Works, Bernie Watertolors, P.PO.W:, NY NewYork, NY Monique Knowlton Gallery, NewYork, NY Seattle Arc Museum, Seattle, WA l, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA Field G,Stream, 100 NewYork Artlsts, Weatherholt Gallery, Washington, DC 1989 TwelJth Annitersary BeneJit Auaion,-fhe New Museum of Contemporary Art, NewYork, NY 1988 Made in New York Gr1,, Rastovski Gallery, New York, NY Sebaior,is From Private Colleaions, I995 Nature Studies Summer Exhibkion/Gallery Artisrs, P.P.O.W., NewWorks, Feigen NewYork, NY Contemporarp Chicago, 200I IL Portrait, Figure, Landscape, Brave-Post-Lee Gallery, New 1994 Sur* Garden, York, NY Curnrnings Art Center, Connecticut College, New London, CT 1993 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Quo Quo on Queens Road Central, Queens Road Central Gallery, Ronald R. Bernier, Ph.D. "Forest for theTiees,Works by Michael De Jong," exhibition catalogue, February-]une 200I. Sioux City, IA: Sioux City Art Center. "shifting Ground: Transformed Vews of the American 2000 Landscape," exhibition catalogue, curated by Rhonda Lane Honq Konq Exquk,The Drawing Center, New York, NY; The Corcoran Gallery of Arr, Washington, D.C.; Foundation for Contemporary Art, Mexico City; The Santa Monica Museum, Los Angeles; The Forum, St. Louis, MO; The American Center, Paris, France Cada'tre lmmanent Domaln, Selections/Fall I993, The Drawing Center, New York, NY (catalogue) 7992 Contemporary lcons: From the Sublime to the htisbistic, Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter College, NewYork, NY (catalogue) Group Summer Exhibition, Galerie George-Philippe Valois, / Lifile Men,White Columns, New York, NY lmmediate Rrallty, Postmasters I99I 1999. Henri Robinson,Ph.D. 'As Far as the Eye Can See," exhibition catalogue, January-March I 999. Atlanta: Atlanta Joyce I998 College of Art Gallery, City Gallery ac Chastain. Ron Bernier andTim Porges. "Borrowed Paradise," exhibition catalogue, Contemporary Art Series No. I7, ScptemberNovember I998. Urbana: Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Campaign-Urbana. "Divining Nature," exhibition catalogue, April-July I998. Winston-Salem, NC: South Eastern Center for Contemporary Art. Linda Johnson Dougherty. "Divining Nature." Art Papers, September-October I998. Susan LabowskyTalbot. Paris, France Little Wmen I999 Howard, February-August 2000. Seattle: The Henry Art Gallery, Faye G. Allen Center for the Msual Arts, University of Washington. James Yood. "Michael De Jong." The New Art Examiner,February Gallery, NewYork, NY NewYork, New Yori, Museum Gallery, San Francisco Museum Modetn Art, San Francisco, CA of �Susan Visser and Leisa of the American October 4, L993, Landscape," exhibition catalogue, August-October 1998. South Bend, IN: South Bend Regional Museum of Arl Alan G. Artner. "Catherine Opie, Terri Zrtpanic, Michael De ebruary I 6, I99 6. "Voice & Michael De Jong." Pid<s:TomWoodruff Kim Levin. ice, March I 995. Vo Tbe Vilkge Claire McConaughy. 'Sdll-Life, Portrait, Landscape." Flash Art, VoL I8, no. I82, May-)une 1995. Kim Levin. 'Voice Picks: Michael De Jong." TbeVillageVoice, February 22, 1995. Richard Hsu "Exposure" exhibition catalogue, December 1993. Ingrid Sdraffner, Mary Ann Caws, and Charles Simic, with Foreword by Ann Philbin. "Return of the Cadawe Exquisj'exhibition Jongl' "Goings on AboutTown: Immanent Domain." TheNmYorker, Rundquist. "Remembering Beauty: The Seductive and Nostalgic Nature New York Times,Weekend Chicago Tribune, F catalogue, December 1993. NewYorkThe Drawing Center. Kim Levin. "Voice Choices:The Return of the Cadavre Exquis." The Wlkge Voiee, November 23, 1993. Midrael Kimmelman. "The Exquisite Corpse Rises from the Dead!' The NewYorkTima, Sunday, November 7,1993' p 4I. "Word of Mouth Big Art (Cadawe Exquis)." Harpers Bazaar, November 1993,p. I20. Arlene Raven. "Immanent Domain." Tle l4lkge %ice,SePtember p.34. Robert Mahoney. "Immanent Domain," exhibition catalogue, September-October I 993. New York The Drawing Center. 1992 Roberta Smith. 'Art in Review: I0 StepsToward the Best." Ile Section, December 4, L992. to the Fetishistic," exhibition catalogue, November I 992. New York: The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter Susan Edwards. "Contemporary Icons: From the Sublime College. Joshua Dector . Arx, Aprl.1992. Kim Levin. "Voice Choices: Immediate RealiryJ' I99I Janrary 15, 1992. Kim Levin. "Vllage Listings:Value!'TheWlkge Tltel4llageVoice, Zoire, November 26, t991, p.79. Roberta Smith. "New Galleries in Soho, From Glittering to Not So." NauYorkTimes,Weekend Section, November 15, I99I' Robert Mahoney. "Official Guidebook House of Value, 252 Lafayette Street, NYC: AITRACTIONS," exhibition handbook, November I99I. 1989 Robert Mahoney. Arts, Merch 1989' Joshua Dector. Flash Art lnurnational,March/ April 1989. Lois Nesbitt. Arforum, March 1989. 29, 1993. .,/.d �EXHIBITION UNDERWRITERS ADVISORY COMMISSION Friends of the Sordoni Art Gallerv Bonnie C. Bedford, Ph.D. loseph Butkiewicz Marion M. Conyngham Vrginia C. Davis, Chair Joseph E. (Tim) Gilmour, Ph.D. Robert ]. Heaman, Ph.D. Keith A. Hunter, Esq. J. Michael Lennon, Ph.D. M&T Bank Maslow Lumia Bartorillo Advertising The John Sloan Memorial Foundation, Inc Andrew'J. Sordoni, III Wilkes University STAFF Melanie Maslow Lumia Theo Lumia Kenneth Marquis Allison Maslow Hank O'Neal Ronald R. Bernier, Ph.D., Director Karen Evans Kaufer, Associate Director Earl Lehman, Preparator Arnold Rifkin GALLERY ATTENDANTS Charles Shaffer, Esq. _[illian Ford Brianna Herron Susan Adams Shoemaker, Esq. Sara Scalzo Helen Farr Sloan Andrew J. Sordoni, III Sanford B. Sternlieb, M.D. William Shull Sarah Leskosky MindiThalenfeld JoelZito{sky Thk project was supported in part b1 the Pennrylvania Council on tbe Arts, a state agenry Junded b1 the Commonwealth oJ Pennsllt'ania and tbe National Endowment Jor the Ar*, aJederal agencl. ��� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2002 August 25 Michael De Jong Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael De Jong Ronald R. Bernier Ronald R.Bernier Karen Evans Kaufer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002 August 25 - October 31 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Michael De Jong's images perform an operation of individuation, defining the viewer---the self---as isolated, withdrawn from the world, yet spying on it. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Michael De Jong watercolor oil painter paintings Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource SAG https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/09bb92646261dae371630d5580dd606a.pdf 956b6fe9ca5759b3c7f1003908cde1ee PDF Text Text ��������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2002 October 27 Collecting At Century's End: Selections from The Maslow Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Willy Heeks Terry Winters Melissa Meyer Jane Hammond Robert Cummings John Beerman Ronald R. Bernier Ronald R.Bernier Karen Evans Kaufer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2002 October 27 - December 15 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource This exhibition covers a few artists whose work has joined the Maslow Collection at the end of the twentieth century. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Maslow Collection collecting, collection paintings painters https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/998d8ef552a6c6267efaf8969722744c.pdf e83679cf84dd712a90c4a6bfb9230044 PDF Text Text ���������������������������������������������������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2003 March 10 Birds in Art 2003 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Carl Brenders Al Agnew Edward Aldrich Neil Allen Charles Allmond Wayne Anderson Tony Angell John Banovich Barbara Bathien Al Barnes Larry Barth Robert Bateman Linda Besse Henry Bismuth Allen Blagden Francois Blin Jules Bouchard Stefane Bougie Carel Brest van Kempen KerriBurnett DianeBurns NatalieCaproni TimCherry LewisCisle C.D.Clarke GuyCoheleach IanColeman EwouddeGroot AdeleEarnshaw MarkEberhard SallyElmer DawnEmerson BethErlund MelanieFain AnneFaust JohnFelsing JoeGarcia UlcoGlimmerveen EllenWelchGranter Shirley Greene Grant Hacking Joyce Hall Charley Harper Janet N. Heaton MatthewHillier Cindy House NancyHowe MarthaHudson Colle Johnson LarsJohnson M.C.Kanouse Eugene Kisselmann JoshuaKnuth DavidEdward Kuecherer Mark Larson Katie Lee Karen Leffel-Massengill Stephen Left Sherry Loehr Franna Lusson Harro Maass Walter T. Matia Jan Martian McGuire Larry McQueen Janice Meister Krystii Melaine Terry Miller Dirk Moerbeek James Morgan John Mullane Rock Newcomb Elliot Offner Peter Olson Mary Louise O'Sullivan Dino Paravano Patricia Pepin Jonathan Pointer Greg Postle Tony Pridham JulioPro Thomas Quinn Don Rambadt Gamini Ratnavira Maynard Reece Bill Rice Andrea Rich John Richen Michael James Riddet Sue ellen Ross Kimberly Roush Bart Rulon Linda St.Clair Sherry Salari Sander Randall Scott John T. Sharp Juan Varela Simo Richard Sloan Daniel Smith Dee Smith Matt Snebold Jan McAllaster Stommes Karl Taylor Kent Ullberg BarryW. Van Dusen Pieter Verstappen Bart Walter Paula Waterman Dale A. Weiler Sandra Wiesman Weiler Tim Wider Ronnie Willford Lin-HueYen Pete Zaluzec Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 March 10 - May 4 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Birds in Art is a comprehensive catalogue of artists depictions of birds of various species and in various forms. From hyperrealistic to abstract and in 2D and 3D mediums, artists share their love of ornithology. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Birds in Art birds bird ornithology watercolor acrylic oil bronze 2D 3D mixed media gouache pencil pastel oil pastel graphite Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/457d2f698ecbf5cdf28fd3cda682821f.pdf ebd879049aa0ce30680a22891bfaa0c1 PDF Text Text �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2003 June 18 People, Places, and Things: Photographs from the Permanent Collection Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 June 18 - August 10 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Invitation Subject The topic of the resource N/A https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/3399fc5de0f819e975538577c58fca84.pdf 85c52c656fae2f3dadc89418708f7d08 PDF Text Text ��������������� https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/628bf026fca935815e7ec0204fd1e419.pdf c37cdc99cd06d3856bb32f68ee26f31e PDF Text Text �JON CARSMAN Rhythm, Movement, Energy �) O N C j Rhythm. \ E.S. H WILKE WILKI Ion in 4 r- Street Studio, photograph by Jack Mitchell �JON CARSMAN Rhythm, Movement, Energy Organized by the Sordoni Art Gallery Guest Curator Darlene Miller-Lanning, Ph.D. Gallery Director and Adjunct Faculty The University of Scranton Essays by Darlene Miller-Lanning, Ph.D. F. Charles Petrillo, Esq. E.S. FARLEY LIBRARY WILKES UNIVERSITY WILKES-BARRE, PA September 7 - October 19, 2003 Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania September 7 - October 12, 2003 Mahady Gallery, Marywood University Scranton, Pennsylvania �El' Acknowledgments Reflections on Jon Carsman, 1944- Special thanks must go to several individuals who were central to the success of this project. To Karen Plant we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for her unflagging enthusiasm, generosity of time and spirit, and diligent attention to virtually every detail of the exhibition's preparation and presentation. To Darlene Miller-Lanning, Ph.D., Director of the Art Gallery at The University of Scranton and Guest Curator, who first admired Carsman's work here at the Sordoni Art Gallery as an under­ graduate at Wilkes University, we are indebted for her thoughtfulness and insight and, in particular, for her determination to see this project to its realization. Her essay herein only further enhances and illuminates her fellow alum’s remarkable career. We also wish to recognize other supporters of this long-awaited project, namely, F. Charles Petrillo, Esq., friend and devoted admirer of Jon’s work; Sandra Ward Povse, Director of the Marywood University Art Galleries, with whom we are delighted to share this exhibition; and private lenders of work to the show: Mrs. Jack (LorettaJ Carsman; Joseph Carsman; Ken Marquis; the Edward Welles, Jr., Collection, D. Leonard Corgan Library, King’s College; and Sandy and Arnold Rifkin, long-time friends and supporters of the Sordoni Art Gallery and Wilkes University. This project is, indeed, the happy result of collaboration. Ronald R. Bernier, Ph.D. Director ARCHIVE •W « s cau Ay 3 Karen Evans Kaufer Associate Director won Carsman was born in December 1944 m Wilkes-Barre, F I kindergarten, Jon displayed an extraordinary fascination wit J eight, his parents, Jack and Loretta Carsman, arranged draw (1893-1982). a respected Wilkes-Barre artist-teacher. At Kings Graydon Mayer, chair of the school’s art department, a remark Jon and other students on weekend painting excursions to rur; in Wyoming and Susquehanna counties. The Carsman family i Harvey's Lake, and the rambling streams and waterfalls along Hunlock's Creek, and Ricketts Glen were re-formed by his ima.s the small towns of Edwardsville and Courtdale, uniquelv char; frequently found in his work. After a year at Wayne State University, Jon enrolled al was a record-setting member of the swim team to which he w mates in his senior year. While still a student, ion exhibited hi and Binghamton. New York. Following graduation from Wilke: tion, Jon earned an M.A. in Art Education in 1067 from New) taught at Harlem schools for the New York City school system After Jon’s college graduation. Graydon Mayer introdi Wyoming Valley native and head of the American Art division City. Graham Gallery served as Ion's initial agent in New York group shows in 1969 to 1974. after which Ion moved to Fisch From his studio in lower Manhattan Ion completed a rooftops in the early 1970s. followed by a critically successful then a series of small-town roadways and frame houses in Bi River, later returning to a favorite theme of woodland views. \ his aim was not simply to recreate the scene: "I want to give ’ when I was."' Indeed, one commentator found Jon’s work an graphic, art historical and personal resources."1 These "personal resources" included what has been . Ion’s work, reminiscent, perhaps, of late-night walks with fnend Theater, tranquil summer days with his family at Harvey’s La surrounds during excursions to the Hamptons. Long Island. Individual exhibitions quickly followed in the 1970s. southern and western United States, and Australia in 1976-1 group exhibitions at venues as diverse as Paris and Santa Fe. featured in an exhibition at the Everhart Museum m Scrantar alma mater. Wilkes, for a group show in l°82 with other alu I- Ion Carsman: Paintings and Watercolors (New York: Crispo Gali 2. Ruth Bass, "ion Carsman," Art Vkws. May 1979. © 2003 Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University I ____ _g. �Reticciions on Ion Carsman, lt->44-l987 b trecer." ; to success c: in s prc'ect. ”c ce for her ;;n: egging or.;.Tt:sics-. generosity of even, ceta'.’ of toe exh.biiicn's preparation and cr c: the Art Cabery at The Utv.-ersltx of Scranton work here at the Sordon; Art Gallery as an underrer theughnuxess and .-.-sigh: and, in particular. ta­ rtan. Her essay herein cn'.y further enhances and rrs of this ■c-g-a/.aitec project. namely. F. Charles cric Sandra Ward "ovse. Director 0: the Man-wood rted to share this exhibition; and private tenders cf •seph Cars—an; Ken l.la-c-ist the Edward Weiies. Ccdege: and Sandy and Arnold Rifkin, ■eng-rt—e and kes UrD ersiby. :: to’iabc—ti'cn. Karen Evans Kauder Associate Director I -on Carsman was born in December 1044 in Wilkes-Barre. Pennsylvania. By the time he reached lk:::de:garten, Jon displaced an extraordinary fascination with color and drawing. When Jon was I Jeighi- his parents, lack and Loretta Carsman, arranged drawing lessons with Niccolo Cortiglia ,i893-:-'eE’, a respected Wilkes-Barre artist-teacher. At Kingston High School, |on was tutored by Graydon Mayer, chair of the school’s art department, a remarkable naturalist who frequently took Jon and other students on weekend painting excursions to rural haunts in the Back Mountain and i in Wyoming and Susquehanna counties. The Carsman family itself had a summer cottage at Harvey's Lake, and the rambling streams and waterfalls along Bowman's Creek, Buttermilk Falls, Hunlock's Creek, and Ricketts Glen were re-formed by his imagination. Jon also found inspiration in tne small towns of Edwardsville and Courtdale, uniquely characterized by uphill perspectives and frequently found in his work. After a year at Wayne State University, Ion enrolled at Wilkes College in 1963, where he was a record-setting member of the swim team to which he was elected co-captain by his team­ mates in his senior year. While still a student, Jon exhibited his work in Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, and Binghamton. New York. Following graduation from Wilkes in 1966 with a B.A. in Art Educa­ tion. 'on earned an M.A. in Art Education in 1967 from New York University. He subsequently taught at Harlem schools for the New York City school system. After Jon’s college graduation, Graydon Mayer introduced the artist to David Herbert, Wvo.-.ing Valley native and head of the American Art division of the Graham Gallery in New York Gtv. Graham Gallery served as Jon’s initial agent in New York, featuring him in individual and group shows in 1969 to 1974, after which Jon moved to Fischbach Gallery, also in New York. From his studio in lower Manhattan Jon completed a series of views of New York City rooftops in the early 1970s. followed by a critically successful exhibition of Harvey's Lake works, then a series cf small-town roadways and frame houses in Bucks County and along the Delaware River, later returning to a favorite theme of woodland views. While Jon painted from photographs, his a'—, was net simply to recreate the scene: "I want to give you a feel of what it is like to be there when 1 was.” Indeed, one commentator found Jon's work an “interesting synthesis of photo­ graphic, art historical and personal resources.”2 These “personal resources" included what has been described as a haunting quality in ltr.’s work. reminiscent, perhaps, of late-night walks with friends returning home from the Kingston Theater, tranquil summer days with his family at Harvey's Lake, and, in later years, the lush floral surrounds durng excursions to the Hamptons, Long Island. Individual exhibitions quickly followed in the 1970s, throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, southern and western United States, and Australia in 1976-1977. By 1977, Jon was represented in group exhibitions at venues as diverse as Paris and Santa Fc. During this period the artist was also featured ir. an exhibition at the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he returned to his z-.r.a mater. Wilkes, for a group show in 1982 with other alumni. . Ion Cartwam paii’isny;. und Watercolors (New York: Crispo Gallery. 1979). '■ Puth i’j'w -Jun Carsman," Art Views. May 1979. I’liytlini. Movement. I netgv �By 198-1. more than 80 museums in 31 states held Jon’s work in their permanent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washing­ ton. D.C Many of America’s most prestigious corporate institutions also acquired Jon’s work for " their collections. A visit around 1980 to Impressionist Claude Monet’s adopted home at Giverny in France inspired Jon’s final major group of paintings. An exhibition of this work traveled to Reading, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City, and Little Rock, concluding at the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio in September 1984. Jon’s last exhibition with Hammer Galleries in New York, in October 1986, featured a broad range of paintings and watercolors. Shortly thereafter. Jon fell terminally ill and concentrated on cataloguing his body of work. As Jon would not compromise his art, he would not compromise his life—which he ended in December 1987. Jon would not accept classification. While designated variously by the commentators as a “super realist,” “new realist," "rural photo realist," and "impressionistic realist,” Jon himself always sought to eschew comparisons and categories. Perhaps Jon’s work—and Jon himself to those who knew and loved him—was best described by a friend and critic: “a singular intensity."3 Chuck Petrillo Jon’s Co-Captain Wilkes Swim Team '66 Everson M^eum^S (Syracuse. Oklahoma City. Wichita: v-cmer, wicnita Art Museum, 1977-78). 6 / JON CARSMAN R‘te of Spring. 1978. acrylic, 84 x i 20 inches. Collection o: Ra ��Winter Lights, 1979, acrylic. 90 x 66 inches, Collection of Karen Plant Pink Frenzy. 1074. acrylic, 70 50 inches. Collection of Kare ��; I I? : ' '"i ' ’ Edwardsville. 1968. acrylic 59 « 64 inches So �I F. Charles Petrillo, Esq. Edwardsville, 1968. acrylic, 59 z 64 inches, Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, Permanent Collection �M ■ ii' : Artist’s Father, 1968, acrylic, 49 x 37 inches. Collection of Loretta Carsman Trexler's Corner. iQ"4, waiercolor, 30 * 22 inches Co?!ecf �ta Carsman ■ �■ ■■■■ Realizat’ons: The Paintings, Print allowing m the ic/. . : Jacl I j example of a creative and chari career, lived a vibrant ht<- and c art. was truly immersed in the Ne . lished galleries like Graham and liar Mugaeine and was described as one c the importance of representational im strength as a painter, however, lay n ground a popular and emerging ar! ot northeastern Pennsylvania's Wyu the region's lonely towns and wood! Charles Burchfield and Edward Hopf :ii flat and brightly colored depictions •. i; ■ and neon lightwires combined elem< issues ot cultural and technological in change the stillness of rural pools a inherently linked with loss I he am- with regret. Carsman's connection-, to t of 1078. With its broad areas of flat woodland scene. which owed its cla H’ II =■ If • site for Rig ■/ Sp 1 Graydon Mayer, consersaucn a '""■r'er f --. -lion Announcement (Southan Evening Geometry. 19S6. acrylic. 60 72 inches. Collection of Karen Plant �Realizations. The Paintings, Prints, and Watercolors of Jon Carsman following in the footsteps of Jackson Pollock and James Dean. Jon Carsman was a classic L example of a creative and charismatic American artist who, during his short but productive I career, lived a vibrant life and died tragically young. Carsman, in the style of both his life and art, was truly immersed in the New York art scene of the I 970s and 1980s. Represented by estab lished galleries like Graham and Hammer, the artist was well received by critics for Art News and Arts Magazine and was described as one of the New Realist or Photo Realist painters who reestablished the importance of representational imagery in the wake of Abstract Expressionism. Carsman’s true strength as a painter, however, lay not in his ability to keep pace with his peers but in his capacity to ground a popular and emerging art style in enduring personal and art historical traditions A native of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley coal fields, Carsman never lost his fascination for the region’s lonely towns and woodland glades nor his respect for the American Scene painters. Charles Burchfield and Edward Hopper, instilled in him by a local high school art teacher. Carsman’s flat and brightly colored depictions of Victorian houses, overgrown gardens, shadowed waysides, and neon lightwires combined elements of Photo Realism, Pop, and the American Scene to address issues of cultural and technological innovation and isolation. In America’s fast-flowing current of change, the stillness of rural pools and eddies revealed that contemporary progress was uneven and inherently linked with loss. The artist faced this reality with optimism and tempered it, only slightly, with regret. Carsman’s connections to Photo Realism were evident in Rite of Spring, a large-scale acrylic of 1978. With its broad areas of flat color and sinuous arches of flowing line, this representational woodland scene, which owed its clarity to the artist’s use of photographs as preliminary studies for his works, was comparable in style and content to paintings by predecessors Neil Welliver and Fairfield Porter.1 Critics reviewing Carsman’s work during the 1970s recognized these obvious links but also acknowledged that the paintings moved beyond them. Noting that Carsman interpreted and extended the content of his initial photographs, Patricia Hamilton credited the artist with developing “a new vocabulary in nature," while Robert Doty observed that Carsman’s landscapes contained “suggestions of mystery, hints of an unearthly presence [and were] redolent with omnipresent but unseen I- Graydon Mayer, conversation with the author, Tunkhannock, PA, 24 June 2002, lohn Carsman Fairfi Porter Exhibition Announcement (Southampton: Tower Gallery. 1973). Karen Plant Rhythm. Movement. Energy ■ 15 �powers ”2 Carsman himself conceded that expressive exaggerations of natural forms, sometimes described as "bats,” regularly appeared in his paintings. In an analogy particularly suited to Rife .< Spring which took its name from the Stravinsky ballet, Carsman likened these forms to patterns of rhythm, movement, and energy found in music. Beyond its existence as a landscape painting, he described Rite of Spring as an attempt “to force an involvement with the state of being in the woods at springtime and seeing its arrival. Other people have attempted to produce this state with color, words and music. The chevron-eye shape is Spring. . . . There are growth-like shapes around the trees that are flying towards you. These to me signify the arrival of spring in the woods. It happens there whether or not someone is there to experience it.’’3 Themes of transformation and change found in Carsman’s representations of nature were also evident in his depiction of rural structures and roads. In the acrylic Winter Lights of 1979. Carsman’s heightened realism bordered on Pop: nineteenth-century brick and clapboard cottages Carsman himself dismissed them, stating ” perceptive writers interpreted Carsman’s ties to carl’.’ :we-> of shared insights rather than shared styles. John A-nbwy portraying scenes of rustic disrepair was neither to iseLst American scene for purposes of nostalgia, nor to opp-,-. subject in the interests ot -pure’ landscape pa n! r, their due."3 Similarly. Richard lynch writing littce- Jr- and Hopper had painted American landscapes that were i peace with his memories, painting "not portraits o* me'pl positions constructed from life’s experience ’ Ever, in . .. depicted the famed willows, bridges and waterlilies m stood as white and vermilion patches against an ultramarine sky, while violet and lavender phone American sensibilities prevailed. Forgoing Monel’s accepts lines and guard rails paralleled the yellow markings of a darkly shaded lane. Like his Pop predeces­ sor Andy Warhol, Carsman exploited the satirical quality found in this juxtaposition of the tradi­ ephemeral and atmospheric visions of Monet to produce r tional and commercial and further reinterpreted it in the related silkscreen Winter Shadows of 1980. imagery." which, when coupled with the fluid watercolor Carsman’s two-man show with Warhol at the Tower Gallery, Southampton, in 1982, demonstrated Monet’s scumbling, dots and dashes ot oil pigment.’ and French Impressionism. Carsman. in the words ot le-. Ultimately, Ion Carsman’s paintings prints md that these similarities were more than superficial.'1 Using what John Canaday described as “a Eisenhower, when the latter was painting by numbers," Carsman infused otherwise nostalgic of photography. Pop. and American Scene, were work*, realism but with broader issues of cultural realization. R subjects with jarring elements of contemporary technique and content.’’ All vestiges of picture- vibrant, free-spirited vitality, could, on its exuberant mat postcard tranquility were banished and replaced, in the words of Richard Lorber, by Carsman’s "hallucinogenic vision of the apple-pie American townscape. Finally, Carsman’s paintings of domestic landscapes sparked debates about American culture and provincialism. Throughout the a glimpse of its slightly haunting, barely dismissed, and artist’s career, critics linked his style to those of the American Scene painters: like Carsman, Burch-field had stylized and energized his world. curious double recall of past masters, being remindful at once of Charles Burchfield and Dwight D. ........... V., "I, it the- a . experience that excitement of nature and attempt to < V T ,<>*., Ml, Mill . ,< I 0 depictions of vegetation to create an aura of the phenomena of mass-media and postmodernism with tional built and natural environments In an era when th of the virtual. Carsman respected the enduring resonanc ’;''■. mystery; Hopper had heightened and length­ ened his buildings and shadows to address issues of existentialism; and both artists had possessed a love and mastery of watercolor. The riotous color and haunting architecture found in Carsman’s acrylic Pink Frenzy of 1974, ; Hr ■■ .• 1 he U did little to dispel these comparisons, although New Lumberville, site for Winter Lights, 1979 2. Patricia Hamilton, “Jon Carsman," Arts Magazine (February 1976): 9; and Robert M. Doty, ion Carsman (Huntsville: Huntsville Museum of Art, 1975): 2. 3. Robert Pavlik, “Jon Carsman: An Impressionistic Realist," Arts Magazine (February 1979): 160. 4. lohn Carsman/Andy Warhol Exhibition Announcement (Southampton: Tower Gallery. 19S2). 5. John Canaday. “Art: Carsman Shows Strength," New York Times (8 December 1973). 6. Richard Lorber, “Jon Carsman," Arts Magazine (April 1976); 21. 16/ION c a rs ma n 7. Pavlik, "Jon Carsman,” 158. ■ 8 lohn Ashbery, Ion Carsman (New York’ Graham GalteryB 9. Richard Lynch, ion Carsman. Paintings and Water. I 10. Lowell Adams, ion Carsman: Givemy Watercolors ipead.rw Reading Art Museum, Oklahoma Art Center. Arkansas Art Ce® �:sivc exaggerations of natural forms, sometimes intings. In an analogy particularly suited to Rite of iallet. Carsman likened these forms to patterns of .eyond its existence as a landscape painting, he involvement with the state of being in the woods have attempted to produce this state with color, ng. . . . There are growth-like shapes around the inlfy the arrival of spring in the woods. It happens ice it.”3 und in Carsman's representations of nature were id roads. In the acrylic Winter Lights of I 979, ineteenth-century brick and clapboard cottages Itramarinc sky, while violet and lavender phone gs of a darkly' shaded lane. Like his Pop predecesquality found in this juxtaposition of the tradiin the related silkscreen Winter Shadows of I 980. ver Gallery. Southampton, in 1982, demonstrated ’ Using what John Canaday described as “a dful at once of Charles Burchfield and Dwight D. rers." Carsman infused otherwise nostalgic :hnique and content.' All vestiges of picture­ in the words of Richard Lorber. by Carsman’s nvn scape."6 andscapes sparked debates about American Car: ,n-n himself dismissed them, stating “If there are similarities in our work, so be it for we a!! experience (hat excitement of nature and attempt to communicate it in our paintings “' More perceptive writers interpreted Carsman's ties to early twentieth-century American realists in terms of shared insights rather than shared styles. John Ashbery aptly stated that Carsman’s intent in portraying scenes of rustic disrepair was “neither to isolate some fragments of the always vanishing American scene for purposes of nostalgia, nor to suppress the picturesque, anecdiside ot his subject in the Interests of 'pure' landscape painting, but to give both the evocative and the pamterlv their due.”1’Similarly, Richard Lynch, writing fifteen years later, maintained that while Isp, i,t!and Hopper had painted American landscapes that were haunted and isolated, car- man ., J( peace with his memories, painting “not portraits of inexplicable fears, but rather thoughtful, sn positions constructed from life s experience. Even in his watercolor sei e.-. of i ■», > > | ,, depicted the famed willows, bridges and waterlilies from Monet s garden .it thverny. Car m.m American sensibilities prevailed. Forgoing Monet's accepted association . with Japane teaesth and French Impressionism, Carsman, in the words of Lowell Adams. ■ sifted through tin h.wv ephemeral and atmospheric visions of Monet to produce his own more clearly defined .mJ tjn^ibl. imagery," which, when coupled with the fluid watercolor medium, proved to be ’ tin- p< n,-, 11 i,. Monet's scumbling, dots and dashes of oil pigment.’’ Ultimately, Jon Carsman’s paintings, prints and watercolors, with their wmhn d ■ , vn, of photography, Pop, and American Scene, were works concerned not with .tylidi bate ah. a realism but with broader issues of cultural realization. Recognizing that i an cult ,■ _i'i vibrant, free-spirited vitality, could, on its exuberant march into the future, ornvtime I .... a glimpse of its slightly haunting, barely dismissed, and not so distant p.r.t c.r man ..nth : the phenomena of mass-media and postmodernism with subject mattei drawn tr. tional built and natural environments. In an era when the reality oi c. (lit. • . i . he -., , ■ of the virtual, Carsman respected the enduring resonance of direct eriLou’iter ■. . ' .■ world. Darlene Miller-Lanning. i'h D Gallery Director Adjunct I acuity University Art Gallery The University of Scranton New Lumberville, site for Winter Lights, I 979 (February 1976k 9; and Robert M. Doty. Ion Carsman Realist," Arts Magazine (February 1979k 160. nt (Southampton: Tower Gallery. 1982). <ew York Tunes 18 December 1973). phi 1976): 21. 7. Pavlik, "|on Carsman." 158. _ . 8. lohn Ashberv. Ion Carsman (New York: Graham Gallery, |9,,l , 9. Richard Lynch. Ion Carsman. Paintings ami Watercolors (New ’.erk Hammer Gafkn^ 10. Lowell Adams, /on Carsman: Givemy Watercolors (Reading. Oklahoma utv. l 1 " [9g4i. , Reading Art Museum. Oklahoma Art Center. Arkansas Art Center and Dayton xrt ms -■ R6\:hrr ’c.e'-"’- �lisisjs | Exhibition Checklist dimensions are given | in inches, height precedes width. Sordoni Art Gallery Wilkes University Pink Frenzy, 1974 acrylic 70 x 50 Collection of Karen Plant Evening Geometry, 1986 acrylic 60 x 72 Collection of Karen Plant Artist’s Father, 1968 acrylic 49 x 37 Collection of Loretta Carsman Edwardsville, 1968 acrylic 59 x 64 Sordoni Art Callery Wilkes University Permanent Collection Second Avenue, New York City, n.d. acrylic 12 x 14 Edward Welles. Jr., Collection D. Leonard Corgan Library King’s College Civerney Cannas, 1981 watercolor 29 x 22 Collection of Karen Plant Winter Shadows, 1980 serigraph 33 x 24 Collection of Ken Marquis September Stillness, 1983 watercolor 21 Vi x 29 Collection of Sandy and Arnold Rifkin Blue Runner, 1979 acrylic 50 x 60 Collection of Sandy and Arnold Rifkin Winter Lights, 1979 acrylic 90 x 66 Collection of Karen Plant City Scene, New York, n.d. oil 16 x 20 Edward Welles, Jr., Collection D. Leonard Corgan Library King's College Lakeside Shadows, 1974 acrylic 26 x 32 Sordoni Art Gallery Wilkes University Permanent Collection Hippie, 1966 crayon 1014 x II V, Collection of F. Charles Petrillo, Esq. IB /ION c A H s M A N Lake Winola, I 971 acrylic 72 x 72 Collection of Joseph Carsma Lehigh Valley Railroad Station, 1966 watercolor 13 x 21 Collection of F. Charles Petrillo, Esq. Man in Window, 1967 watercolor 8 x 11 Edward Welles, Jr., Collection D. Leonard Corgan Library King's College Red Rose Bar, NYC, 1968 pencil 1314 x 10 Sordoni Art Gallery Wilkes University Permanent Collection Velvet Waters, 1982 watercolor 29 x 22 Collection of Karen Plant Covered Gate, n.d. watercolor 34 x 2514 Collection of F. Charles Petrillo. Esq. Pink House. 1983 watercolor 22 x 29 Collection of Karen Plant Collect c~ . �width. .'etv York City. n.d. |r.. Collection ;an Library 1981 Lake Wiitclu, 1971 acrylic 72 x 72 Collection of Joseph Carsman Lc/'.-g.'.- Va’.'ey Railroad Stat:-'’:, 1«66 watercolor 13 x 21 Collection of F. Charles Petrillo. Esq. en Plant Man •• Hrrdciv. 1967 1980 watercolor 8 x 11 Marquis >. 1983 Edward Welles. Jr.. Collection D. Leonard Corgan LibraryKing’s College Red Rose Bor. .VYC 1 968 pencil dy and Arnold 13u x 10 Sordoni An Gallery Wilkes UniversityPermanent Collection '9 ■n Plant Velvet Waters, IP32 watercolor 29 x 22 Collection of Karen Plant 1974 Y tion tries Petrillo, Esq. Covered Cate. n.d. watercolor 34 x 25:i Collection of F. Charles Petrillo. Esq. �Advisory Commission Exhibition Underwriters Friends of the Sordoni Art Gallery . Andrew J. Sordoni, III M&T Bank Wilkes University Business Council Sponsors Benco Dental Creative Business Interiors Joseph Butkiewicz Marion M. Conyngham Virginia C. Davis Joseph E. (Tim) Gilmour, Ph.D. Robert J. Heaman, Ph.D. Keith A. Hunter, Esq. J. Michael Lennon, Ph.D. Melanie Maslow Lumia Theo Lumia First Heritage Bank Kenneth Marquis Quaker Oats Company Allison Maslow Service Electric Company Westmoreland Club Arnold Rifkin Hank O’Neal Charles Shaffer, Esq. Additional funding was provided by F. Charles Petrillo, Esq., and Bruce J. Phillips, Esq. William Shull Helen Farr Sloan Andrew J. Sordoni, III This project was supported in part by the I Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Sanford B. Sternlieb, M.D. Mindi Thalenfeld Joel Zitofsky, Chair Staff Ronald R. Bernier, Ph.D., Director Karen Evans Kaufer, Associate Director Earl Lehman, Preparator Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University 150 South River Street Wilkes-Barre. PA 18766 Telephone 570-408-4325 Fax 570-408-7733 sordoni.wilkes.edu 2.500 copies were printed by Llewellyn & McKane. Inc. Catalogue design: John Beck Photography: Michael Thomas, pp. 10-12 ISBN 0-942945-24-7 2I> /JON C A R S M A N �HIBIBi iiiiwiiajMii ^■r Rrh ms . BbS'- ■■' [• ■> t . . SIS '■ : ■ ;■/ liOQDSEaLtil WILKES UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ■i h -Jun BOB |||||§l^ - . ajfe^jSgsstsag if a ■^aa^MWBBaM B ■' r'7"Lv. J '-': nu ? ■ '-. Bags IS ; J\ - '«wS?SsWW ■ r •? -■ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2003 September 7 Jon Carsman: Rhythm, Movement, Energy Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jon Carsman Darlene-Miller Lanning Ph.D F. Charles Petrillo Esq. Darlene-MillerLanning Ph.D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 September 7 - October 19 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource Jon Carsman was a classic example of a creative and charismatic American artist who, during his short but productive career, lived a vibrant life and died tragically young. He was described as one of the New Realist or Photo Realist painters who reestablished the importance of representational imagery in the wake of Abstract Expressionism. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Jon Carsman landscapes landscape painting paintings painter https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/0ba45c7f073a0bda0ade54956eb25095.pdf 2a7fc2e9c8c76dd2be4ee307cda6490c PDF Text Text ���� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2003 November 2 The Gift of Art Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ronald R. Bernier Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003 November 2 - December 14 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource This exhibition is the first survey of the work of the Sordoni's original permanent collection. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource permanent collection https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/bbd8599673afca58aff202c5b783a340.pdf e436236b49af8c6a88b1ee9f75364804 PDF Text Text �A Shared Vision: Photographs by Berenice Abbott and Hank O'Neal ET .A..4 ,-A il fanuary 19 - February 29,2OO4 Organized by Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Creensburg, PA Gallery Talk by Hank O'Neal Saturday, January 24, 5:00 pm Reception immediately fol lowing Ceneral exhibition support is provided by the folIowi ng Exhibition Underwriters: Friends of the Sordoni Art Callery, M&T Bank, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Andrew J. Sordoni, lll, Wilkes University. Business Council: Creative Business lnteriors, Westmoreland CIub. o a .o { { FAJ AJ .Y (E o f! ts & qJ a o (E zc) o -:z Many artists have focused on the same subject, but few have shared a vision like that of photographers Berenice Abbott and Hank O'Neal. For 19 years, the two not only shared an interest in the same topic - the state of Maine - but a way of seeing as well. lncluded in this exhibition is the last scene that Abbott wanted to photograph, but couldn't, which was later taken by O'Neal. I ;j o II Sordoni Art Callery Wilkes University 150 South River Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766 (570) 408-432s sordoni.wilkes.edu Callery Hours: Noon until 4:30 pm daily � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2004 January 19 A Shared Vison: Photographs by Bernice Abbot and Hank O'Neal Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bernice Abbot Hank O'Neal Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004 January 19 - February 29 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Invitation Subject The topic of the resource N/A https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/f55a698c838a55e1196cbc452a578100.pdf 5d80d82b06f0d476e7520542c34ebd02 PDF Text Text ������������������ Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2004 March 15 Wade Schuman Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Wade Schuman Ronald R. Bernier Ph.D. Carter Ratcliff Mia Feneman Ronald R. Bernier Karen Evans Kaufer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004 March 15 - April 25 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Description An account of the resource The paintings of Wade Schuman, distinguised by observational skill, technical mastery, and recognizable subject matter is, however, less about Realism and more about Illusion. What is at the issue in his painting is not how depictions are madeto convey the look of the subject, but rather how recognition---the most basic relation we have to the world---functions in a distinctive way within the painting. Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition program Subject The topic of the resource Wade Schuman painting realism paintings painter allegory Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wade Schuman https://omeka.wilkes.edu/omeka/files/original/5ff31fe1893e5b9c434d5fa363456286.pdf 565f7e6b8b680061c4cc935fed431698 PDF Text Text �Adele Aleoy Reaent, Works Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage May O-June 20,2OO4 Reaefiion to Meet the Art"ist: 1aturday, May 8, 2OO4,5-7 p.m. 5ordoni Art" Gallery Wilkes Univereity 15O 5ouih River 1treet Wilkes-Oarre, ?A 10766 (57o) 4oO-4325 sordoni,wilkes,edu Gallery Houroz Noon until4zSO p.m, daily FronL: )rchard Gate, 2OO1 oil on canvae,SO x54 inches CourLeey Alexan dre O allery The following Exhibition U nderwritera provide qeneral exhibition auppor|.: Frienda of the )ordoni Art Gallery, M&T Dank, Fennaylvania Counail on the Arte, Andrew J. 1ordoni, lll, Wilkea Univeraity. BusineEe Counall: Creative Buainesa lnteriora, Firat Heritaqe Dank, Quaker Oata, Weatmoreland Club, Paid Permit No. 355 Wilkes-Barre, PA � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Exhibition Programs, 1973-present Description An account of the resource Exhibition programs created by the Sordoni Art Gallery from 1973 to the present. Digitized by Wilkes University Archives interns, Zachary Mendoza and Sophia Kruspha. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Sordoni Art Gallery Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Wilkes University Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Sordoni Art Gallery Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-present Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Wilkes University retains copyright of these exhibition programs. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Exhibition programs, flyers, and calendars. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2004 May 8 Adele Alsop: Recent Work Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adele Alsop Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004 May 8 - June 20 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Type The nature or genre of the resource Invitation Subject The topic of the resource N/A