Sitting Still

Artist Carl Samson and way too many iterations of me

After months of anticipation (and a fair amount of fretting over make-up and hair), I sat earlier this week for a head study done by Carl Samson.  (Samson is the juror of the 9th Biennial National Art Exhibition at the Visual Arts Center and was in town to judge the show.)    The event was a combination educational experience/fundraiser for the VAC.  In order to accommodate a sizable group (50+ audience members), we held the event in the auditorium of the Punta Gorda Branch of Edison State College.  This worked well as the auditorium has both a stage and projection capability, enabling everyone to see Carl's work as the head study progressed.  I didn't realize until I arrived that afternoon that I would also appear on the big screen.  Yikes!

Before the demo began, I asked Carl to be gentle with me, pointing to the wrinkles and other signs of aging that I try so hard to ignore.  "No worries," he assured me. "I will be as gentle as a lamb crossing a dewy field."  (He has an incredibly poetic way of speaking that somehow doesn't sound corny or contrived in any way.) 

Drawing is the first step

And so we were off.  Carl's technique to portrait painting is referred to as "line of sight."  It was quite an interesting process to watch.  As you can see from this picture, the canvas was set up next to me, but the tabouret (my new favorite word -- it's the little stand on which he put his palette) was approximately five feet away.  My chair was seated on a platform so that we were more or less at eye level.  He would gaze at me, select his paint, and then attack the canvas.  With all the back and forth, he said he would probably walk five miles over the course of the three hour demo.  (I offered him my FitBit to count his steps, but he politely declined.)

Before he began to paint, Carl shared with the audience that people often tell him he looks like a conductor when he works.  It didn't take long to figure out why.  Each time that he stepped back, there was a huge flourish of his arms.  From my vantage point, the movement fell somewhere between a maestro at work and the karate kid about to take on an opponent.  Watching him definitely helped me stay focused and amused with the process.

As I mentioned above, the purpose of the demo was for Carl to share his craft with other artists.  Much of what he had to say (like light being form and shadow being atmosphere) didn't make much sense to me.  I did, however, both understand and enjoy his explanation about why an artist should address the weakest point of his or her painting instead of leaving it to be dealt with later.  He analogized to a shepherd herding his flock.  If a sheep gets too far ahead or behind, it is likely to get eaten by a wolf.   So the goal is to keep all the sheep (translation:  parts of the painting) proceeding apace.  Throughout the demo, he kept coming back to the concept of, "The thing that's troubling me most about the painting now is.....", at which point he would work on that area.

Carl Samson and me

As the three hours drew to a close, Carl made small changes to the painting that, according to the audience, made a huge difference.  One of the last tweaks was adding a few highlights to my hair.  (I was glad to find that my time at the hairdresser did not go unnoticed.) 

The study will be on display at the Visual Arts Center during the National Art Exhibition so that visitors can see a work done by the juror. As sponsor of the demo, the painting will make its home with me when the show closes.  I love the study, and am thrilled to have had the opportunity to be painted by an artist who has, among other things, won the Grand Prize at the Portrait Institute's National Portrait Competition.  The fact that it is a memento of my first co-chairmanship of the NAE will make me enjoy it all the more.

To see more of Carl Samson's amazing work, go to www.carlsamson.com.    

National Art Exhibition -- Juror Carl Samson

After months of work and anticipation, the Ninth Biennial National Art Exhibition at the Visual Arts Center is upon us.  One of my most fun jobs as co-chair has been coordinating with Carl Samson, the juror for the show.  He is not only an incredibly talented artist, but a really nice guy.  I had a great time interviewing him for an article for Florida Weekly and learning about his work.   A version of the article (which ran in the January 23 edition) is set out below.  

Artist Carl Samson

Renowned Artist to Judge National Art Exhibition 

By Nanette Crist, Florida Weekly Correspondent

In the life of every artist, there comes that moment when the world of art reaches out and takes hold. For Carl Samson, that moment came when he was a 14 year old wandering down a street in Sandusky, Ohio. The young Mr. Samson glanced over his shoulder and was captivated by two paintings in a gallery window. He still remembers their subject matter vividly:  a ballerina and a bearded young man.  

At the time, Mr. Samson was a budding, but untrained, artist. He went into the gallery to find out more about the paintings, which he thought must have been painted by a long dead master. He was astonished to learn not only that the artist was alive and well, but that he lived in the community and was accepting students. In that moment, Mr. Samson began his journey as a professional artist. And it was that moment that, nearly 30 years later, brings Mr. Samson to the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda to judge the Ninth Biennial National Art Exhibition.  

Artistic connection

The artist whose work caught Mr. Samson’s attention was Allan Banks, an internationally known painter of plein air portraits, landscapes, and gardens. Mr. Banks was the juror in the 2013 National Faces and Figures show at the Visual Arts Center.  When asked for suggestions for jurors for future shows, Mr. Samson was at the top of his list.

Samson's Padme Amidala

The committee responsible for mounting the National Art Exhibition began to research Samson, and was immediately enthused by the results.  Ingrid Carroll, co-chair of the show, says, “Mr. Samson’s work is exciting and invites the viewer to engage. And his credentials are impeccable.” He has won both the Grand Prize and the Distinguished Achievement Award at the National Portrait Competition. He is the former Chairman of the Advisory Board to the American Society of Portrait Artists. His painting of Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala is featured in George Lucas’ book “Star Wars Art:  Vision” and hangs in Mr. Lucas’ personal collection. The list goes on and on. The question was whether Mr. Samson could be persuaded to judge the show.  

In one of those small world coincidences, Mr. Samson and his family, who live in Ohio, have spent time in Charlotte County. His in-laws used to own a place here, and he has fond memories of family vacations  with his now 16-year old twin daughters. Even without the nostalgia, spending a few days in Florida in February didn’t sound like hardship duty to him.  

Samson's The Collector

Artist in action

Mr. Samson isn’t going to have much time during his visit to kick back at the Tiki Bar, though.  In addition to selecting the winners of the show, Mr. Samson will speak with the VAC volunteers who will greet the more than 2000 visitors to the exhibit during its five week run. He will also give a three hour demonstration on his approach to portrait painting. The event will be held at Edison College in Punta Gorda from 1-4  on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

This will not be the first time that Mr. Samson has given a public demonstration of his craft.  In 2000, Mr. Samson was the first artist in history to be recorded painting a live portrait demonstration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (This honor was bestowed upon him as the Distinguished Guest of Honor of the American Society of Portrait Artists.)   

Mr. Samson tells a funny—if nerve wracking-- story about this experience. He had been instructed that he would be given two hours for the demonstration. This was a full hour short of the time typically allotted for his demos. So, in the months leading up to the event, Mr. Samson assiduously practiced painting head studies with this timeframe in mind. Once the demo was underway, he looked up and saw a guy offstage holding a sign that said, “10 minutes to go.” Mr. Samson looked at his watch, and a mere 47 minutes had elapsed since the demo stated. Unbeknownst to him, the time had been halved to a short hour.  His paintbrush was a blur as he finished his work.  

Mr. Samson’s takeaway from this experience was that the purpose of a demonstration is to provide as much information to the viewers as possible rather than to end up with a highly polished work. He says, with a bit of irony, “Audience members don’t have to worry that the demo will be like watching paint dry. I definitely err on the side of talking too much during these sessions. It’s a fantastic opportunity for artists to open the door to what goes on in the head of a portrait artist at work.”

Samson's Triumph of Truth

Art in an age of technology

Mr. Samson says that he has always been “attracted to the beauty and poetry of visual phenomena.” As a student, he would sketch the head of the kid sitting in front of him in class rather than draw pictures from his imagination. As a young adult, he spent three weeks painting in Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France. (He received special permission to paint at times when the gardens were closed to the public.) As a mature artist, he continues to be unapologetically realistic in his approach to painting despite the pressure he has often felt to work in a more “modern” way.   

This tension between realism and post-modernism led him to undertake a series of paintings entitled “Battle at the Twilight of Painting.” The works are portraits at their base, but the subjects are surrounded by the work of Picasso and other modern masters.   

Samson's At the Mirror

Mr. Samson considers these works a personification of his struggle to stay true to his love of painting what he sees in the real world. He believes that visual art based on the beauty of real people and real surroundings is more important than ever in a world in which rampant technology makes it easy to disconnect from what’s around us.  As they say, sometimes you need to stop and smell the roses.  

National Art Exhibition

With his mindset, one might wonder how Mr. Samson can judge an exhibition with works in styles ranging from abstract to impressionistic to realistic. His statement to artists participating in the show said, in part, “I subscribe to the increasingly antiquated notion that a juror for an exhibition need not factor into the decision one’s personal likes and dislikes. Turn of the century jurors had it right:  what is of utmost importance is how well an individual artist achieved his or her objective.”   

Mr. Samson was impressed when he viewed the more than 450 works that were submitted to the show. He was surprised at the depth and breadth of styles and approaches taken by the artists.  Works in all types of media were submitted, from watercolor to collage to colored pencil. From these works, Mr. Samson has selected 130 to include in the exhibit. This process was done online, and he is eager to see the works that he has chosen “in person.”  

And the winner is…

The winners of the show will be announced at a champagne reception at 7.p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, at the VAC. The prizes include a $2,000 award for the work selected by Mr. Samson as “Best of Show.”

Visitors will have their own chance to vote for the work they believe deserves recognition. In the history of the National Art Exhibition, the same work has never won both Best of Show and the aptly named People’s Choice Award.   

The Visual Arts Center is well-known as a destination in Southwest Florida for artists and art lovers alike. The National Art Exhibition is just one more example of why the VAC’s reputation is well-deserved.

"The Greatest Show on Earth" by William Woodward, Part 2

Kenneth Feld as the Ringmaster

For the past 40+ years, Peggy Williams has woken up every day and "done something circus."  Williams graduated from the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1970 and practiced her craft as a clown for a number of years.  She then moved over to the business side of the circus, working first as a production manager and now in the area of education outreach.  (This is a definite digression, but I decided to try and find out exactly what the story is with the Clown College.  The website  is pretty entertaining and includes an aptitude test with questions like, 'If you had to do one of the following for 15 minutes straight, which would you choose?  Somersaults, jumping jacks, standing on one leg, sleeping."  Based on my answers to this question (standing on one leg) and the rest of the quiz, I apparently show some propensity as an aerialist.  Who knew???)

Williams' role at the lecture on William Woodward's "The Greatest Show on Earth" was to fill us in on the performers shown in the mural.  I expected a somewhat cursory introduction of a couple of the primary acts. Instead, Williams regaled us with anecdotes about each of the 45 people pictured, most of whom she knew personally.

Tahar Douis 

Take, for instance, Tahar Douis.  Douis, known as the "Alligator King," is legendary for hypnotizing alligators and then putting his head in their mouths. (In case you're wondering, I am NOT going to try this at my next visit to Gatorama.)  Perhaps his real claim to fame, though, is his entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the base of the world's heaviest human pyramid.  In 1979, Douis supported 12 members of the Hassani Troupe in a three-level human pyramid weighing more than 1700 pounds.  The record still stands today.

Flying Vazquez Brothers

The Flying Vazquez Brothers are famous for having been the first trapeze act to complete a quadruple somersault trick.  This occurred in Tucson in 1982, and Peggy Williams was there to witness this feat.  In fact, one of her responsibilities at the time was to send a daily report to headquarters about how the day's performance had gone.  The Vazquez Brothers had been practicing the quad in hopes of adding it to their act, so there was a box on the form that read, "Quad   Yes____  No____."  For 168 consecutive performances, Williams checked the "No" box.  She still remembers with great enthusiasm her report for the 169th performance, when she finally answered "YES!"   As a side note, two of the Vazquez Brothers, Juan and Miguel, married two aerialist sisters.  Miguel and his wife sealed their vows with a kiss while hanging upside down from a trapeze.

Peggy Williams, Janice Aria and
Ruth Chaddock

The wall at Feld Entertainment's headquarters on which "The Greatest Show on Earth" was displayed had a door that Woodward had to deal with in his work.  The door was somewhat ornate, so it was incorporated as a feature in the mural. When the mural was moved to the Ringling Museum's Tibbals' Learning Center, this left a blank area that had to be completed.

As the song goes, "Send in the clowns."  Woodward decided to replicate the real door with a faux door through which three clowns peek in to see the circus world before them.  Williams is featured as the top clown in this vignette, along with two other Clown College graduates.  Needless to say, she is thrilled.

The next time you're at the Ringling Museum, stop in to see "The Greatest Show on Earth."  While the mural is more fun art than fine art, it is definitely worth a visit.

"The Greatest Show on Earth" by William Woodward, Part 1

William Woodward

I am not a circus person.  I don't have fond memories of going to the Big Top, and my feelings about clowns range from irritating to creepy.  (Stephen King's "It" didn't help any in that regard.)  And yet I love going to the Circus Museum and the Tibbals Learning Center at the Ringling Museum.  And so I found myself at last week-end's ViewPoint Lecture Series at the Historic Asolo Theater at the Ringling.  The talk featured William Woodward, the artist who created the mural "The Greatest Show on Earth" that now lives at the Tibbals Learning Center, and Peggy Williams, Education Outreach Manager for Feld Entertainment.

Woodward began his talk with a bit of family history that seemed to make it inevitable that he would paint "The Greatest Show on Earth."  Long before Woodward was born, his grandfather and his great-uncle ran away to join the circus.  They ended up not as performers, but as painters of the signs advertising sideshows like little Tom Thumb.  Post-circus life, Woodward's grandfather continued to paint large scale commercial signs, a vocation that became the family business.  It's hard to imagine another artist for whom this project would feel so personal.    

It was fascinating to hear Woodward speak about the process of creating murals in general and this mural in particular (which, at 924 square feet, is the largest mural painted by a single artist in the 20th century). Woodward explained to the audience some of the differences between easel painting and mural painting.  Murals are narrative in nature and are intended for an "ambulatory spectator."  (I love that phrase.) Murals require significant planning; the artist can't just hope that it all will come together (or start over if it doesn't turn out!)  And, for a historical project such as this one, intensive research is required before a paintbrush is ever picked up.

William Woodward with his cartoon

The preliminary drawing for a mural is called a "cartoon."  As you can see in this image, it is a gridded work that lays out the dimensions of the painting.  (As a side note, the Ringling Museum of Art is home to several of Rubens' tapestry murals that served as cartoons for some of his large scale paintings.)   Woodward's cartoon was photographed and then projected onto the wall at Feld Entertainment's headquarters in Virginia, original home to the mural.  He then traced the drawing onto two huge gridded canvases that were affixed to the wall.  (This is the stage at which the person who commissioned the work has to speak or forever hold his peace, because there's no going back once painting begins.)  Woodward then did an acrylic underpainting of the work that was monochromatic with some slight indications of the color to come followed by overpainting in oil.

Portrayal of Gunther Gebel-Williams

Woodward was enthusiastic about his research for the project, which found him both behind the scenes at the circus and poring through more than 20 years of circus programs.  He said that being on the floor of the circus felt oddly nautical with all of the ropes and pulleys.  He was enthralled with the "interspecies rapport" between the performers and the animals.  He told a story about Gunther Gebel-Williams, the leading animal trainer at the time.  Gunther (like many circus performers) spoke multiple languages and would coach different animals in different languages.  Woodward watched him as he went into a cage and told the elephants to "sit" in German, while the tigers waited for their instructions in English.  (I suspect I don't have the languages right, but you get the point.)

Portrayal of Laura Litts Weiss

Woodward shared how he was inspired by the work of different artists as he worked on the project.  The drama and excitement of the circus -- and, he hopes, the mural itself -- reminded him of Rubens' work.  The anatomy of the performers, particularly the acrobats, brought him back to Michelangelo.  (He once was flown to California where Gunther was performing just to get a picture of Gunther's hand to work from.)  And then there were quiet moments backstage when he would come upon a scene like the one pictured here that calls to mind the work of Degas.

The "Greatest Show on Earth" was donated by Feld Entertainment to the Ringling in 2012 when the company moved its headquarters.  Needless to say, moving the work was a huge project in and of itself.  In my next post, I'll share some of the tidbits from Peggy William's talk about the performers that are featured in the work.

Sarasota Keys Piano Project

I think I was part of a flash mob yesterday.  I learned last week that the Sarasota Arts and Cultural Alliance is sponsoring an event called the Sarasota Keys project.  Six spinnet pianos were donated by local businesses, painted by local artists, and situated throughout the downtown area.  Each piano has a "host" business that is responsible for bringing the piano in at night. Passersby of all skill levels are welcome to sit down and play.  The theme of the project is "Play.  Explore.  Entertain."  During my stroll through town yesterday, I saw people doing just that.

Jack Dowd's 27 piano

My first piano was Jack Dowd's "27"  in front of Mattison's City Grille on Main Street.  In 2011, Dowd created a series of paintings he calls "27:  The Day the Music Died." The series contains images of ten musicians who died at the age of 27.  When he was tapped to participate in the Sarasota Keys project, it seemed a natural outlet for the continuation of his work.  

Dowd's Morrison and Winehouse

When I approached the piano, there were a few people gathered around, but nobody was playing.  Instead, the group was trying to figure out who the pictured musicians were.  Kurt Colbain, Jim Morrison, Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse were easy to identify.  ("Easy" for everyone except me, that is.  I did, however, recognize Jim Morrison.)  More obscure were Rudy Lewis, Pete Ham, Robert Johnson, Alan Wilson, and Brian Jones.  (After the people I was talking to left, I noticed there was a cheat sheet of names on the back of the piano.)   Dowd has also included a suggested list of songs that people might play if they feel so inclined.  My tour was off to a promising start.  

Piano painted by Fulton Ross

My next stop was the piano in front of Main Street Traders. At this point it seems appropriate to comment on what a great idea this project is for the businesses in downtown Sarasota.  I have never actually walked around and explored Sarasota's galleries and shops except in St. Armand's Circle.  Sadly (for my pocketbook), I now know what a wealth of shopportunities exist!  This piano was painted by Fulton Ross, an abstract and figurative artist who has painted portraits of some seriously big names -- Justice Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington, and Jackie Robinson to name a few.   The piano was on its lonesome when I first came by, but I ran out of the store to snap this picture when I heard it being played.  By the time I had paid for my purchases, the pianist was gone.  

Stephen Fancher at the keyboard

Then it was on to the piano in front of DiFilippo Kent Gallery on South Palm Avenue.  As I approached, I was thrilled to hear beautiful classical music being played -- by a guy with a baby on his back!  I started chatting with the "audience" and found out that the pianist had asked them the name of their favorite composer.  "Chopin?" one woman had tentatively responded.  "No problem!' he said, as he started to play.  A few moments after I arrived, I got the same question. My mind went blank.  Then I had a brainstorm and said, "Would you happen to know 'Pictures at an Exhibition'?"  As he launched into the first notes of Mussorgsky's original piano composition, I started telling the group about the collaboration between the Charlotte Symphony and the Visual Arts Center.  This is when it got a bit weird. 

The pianist -- whose name I now know is Stephen Fancher -- overheard me and said, "Oh, I know Raffaele Ponti [the CSO's maestro]."  What??!!!  It turns out that Stephen showed Raffaele and his wife Isabelle around Sarasota as a potential new hometown during one of their visits.  (Fingers crossed on that!)  Before he became a broker at Merrill Lynch, Stephen worked in New York as a musician, often as an accompanist for Julliard students. Isabelle is also an accompanist, as well as a vocal coach, so the trio have a fair amount in common. In any event, what are the odds of the universe aligning so that Stephen and I ended up on that street corner at that particular moment and happened to figure out our connection? 

Danielle First at the keyboard

My last piano of the day was located in front of Louies Modern on North Palm Avenue, and it was here that I had my flash mob-esque experience.  When I walked up, a woman was playing some Elton John (quite well) on the piano.  More people kept walking up, and she segued into Don McLean's "American Pie."  She was a real crowd pleaser, leading the group in singing their hearts out.  People were laughing and clapping and taking videos.  (Note to self:  Figure out how to do that!)  I even found myself singing along (something I rarely do, even in the privacy of my car).  As the crowd dispersed, her friend yelled out, "This is Danielle Furst."  I couldn't find much about her online, but she seems to be a real musician based on this YouTube clip.  It was really fun, and the perfect way to end my tour of the Sarasota Keys project.  (I know, I'm two pianos short, but that just leaves something for next time!)  

For a list of the locations of the pianos, click here.  I heard that the project will be running through May, so there's plenty of time to check it out.  And who knows?  Maybe you'll even tickle the ivories yourself.  

Symphony at an Exhibition, Part 4

Barbara Albin with Sacred Subway

All good things must come to an end, and so ends my mini-series of posts about Symphony at an Exhibition. The concert was held last Sunday night, and the response of the audience to both the music and the art was even more enthusiastic than I had expected.  As people entered the lobby of the CPAC, they were treated to the ten works of art inspired by the ten movements of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.  Most of the artists were on hand to talk with symphony-goers about their works, and many people took advantage of the opportunity.  My favorite artist has to have been Barbara Albin, who brought along a little pen light so that people could really see the "icons" from abandoned NYC subway lines that she included in her work entitled Sacred Subway (interpreting the Eighth Movement).

The concert (which was, after all, the reason we were all there) was fabulous.  I have to admit to being a bit distracted during Profokiev's Romeo and Juliet, which was performed during the first half.   I was just so keyed up about the event finally coming to fruition that I found it hard to focus.  The music was gorgeous, though, and I loved Maestro Ponti's opening remarks about "art begetting art."

Then it was time for the main event -- Pictures at an Exhibition.  It was truly thrilling to listen to the music while envisioning the related works of art (both those by Hartmann and those by the VAC artists).  I made a few notes about each movement as I was listening, and I thought I'd share them.

First Movement:  Gnomus -- This movement rivals the Tenth for the top of my list.  The music is lumbering and exciting and suspenseful.  I love the slap of the reprimand to the gnome that you can clearly hear at the end of the movement.  (Thanks to Maestro Ponti's narrative when he met with the artists, I could recognize it for what it was.)

Second Movement:  Ode to a Troubadour -- This movement was romantic and had a Middle Eastern feel at times.  The classical saxophone (also featured in Romeo and Juliet) was wonderful.

Beverly Yankwitt's
Saturday at the Park

Third Movement:  Tuileries -- I could clearly envision children playing in a park as I listened to this movement.  Bev Yankwitt's painting captures the colors of a sunny day and the energy of kids hard at play. 

Fourth Movement:  Polish Ox Cart -- This movement was incredibly powerful with the imagery in my mind of an ox cart bearing its heavy load as it moves through town.  The snare drums add a military presence of the government overlooking everything that goes on, with the drums gaining strength as the oxen reach the middle of town and diminishing as they carry on.

Fifth Movement:  Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks -- The audience loved this movement, and laughed as the music called to mind little chicks dancing.   The contrast to the darkness of the Fourth Movement was quite striking.

Sixth Movement:  Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle -- I could vividly see the conversation between the two old Jewish men -- one rich and one a beggar -- while simultaneously envisioning Brenda's wonderful Conversation of Passion featuring the sandhill cranes. Stuart Kitts, concertmaster, was wonderful throughout the concert, but almost levitated during this movement.  He is a joy to watch perform.

Thalia St. Lewis'
Market at Limoges

Seventh Movement:  Market at Limoges -- The music was so fast in this movement that I found myself almost holding my breath.  I could see people scurrying around vying for the best produce and goods and women taking a break from their household duties to catch up with their neighbors.

Eighth Movement:  Catacombs -- The music in this movement was dark, and there was a distinct feeling of sadness in the somewhat dissonant horns.  As the music faded, I imagined a person moving on to the next world. 

Joy Carol's
Ninth Movement

Ninth Movement:  Hut on Fowl's Legs -- Like Joy Carol's work about the passage of time and Russian history, there was a lot happening in this movement.  The music was dramatic and exciting, and it was hard to sit still while listening.     

Tenth Movement:  Bogatyr Gates -- With a crash of cymbals and lots of wonderful tuba (an oft underappreciated instrument), I could literally hear the fireworks triumphantly exploding in the sky.

Throughout the evening, Maestro Ponti's conducting was the most expressive I've seen all season.  He--and the orchestra--clearly loved performing this repertoire.  And the audience responded in kind.  It was truly a special evening, and the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the VAC and the CSO. 

Symphony at an Exhibition, Part 3

Barbara Albin was next up at our session at FGCU.   I have admired Barbara's work for some time, and on more than one occasion have been tempted to bring one of her paintings home with me.  (It hasn't happened yet, but I suspect it's just a matter of time.)

Hartmann's Paris Catacombs 
(with Hartmann as one of the
 gentlemen being given a tour)

Barbara was assigned the Eighth Movement from Pictures at an Exhibition-- the Catacombs.  The painting that inspired this movement -- Hartmann's Paris Catacombs-- is my favorite of the surviving works.  I like the atmospherics, and it reminds me of a Jack the Ripper walking tour my friend Andrea and I took on a trip to London.  (I know -- creepy.  And all my idea.)

Never having been to the catacombs, Barbara searched for some kind of parallel from her own life to draw on when creating her work.  Her son lives in New York City, and she visited him not too long ago. She had to take the subway while there, an experience that was a bit daunting for this small town girl from Northern Illinois.   Little did she know that her time underground would provide later creative inspiration.

Abandoned City Hall subway station

Barbara began thinking about an image of a subway tunnel for her work.  She did some research, and learned that there are a number of abandoned NYC subway stations.  Some of the stations are beautiful, with tiles and skylights and even chandeliers.   The City Hall station shown here was built in 1904 and closed in 1945.  (There was apparently a one night event when people could tour the station, and this picture was taken then by photographer Fred Guenther.  Wouldn't that be a fun outing???)

An early version of
Albin's Sacred Subway

Barbara started on her painting, but she wasn't really happy with it.  She considers herself a glass half full kind of person, and didn't like the dark palette.  (She said it's probably been ten years since she has used brown in a painting.)  She set her canvas aside and began to work on an alternative that took an entirely different approach.  She found herself drawn back to the concept of the subway, though.  If she could just figure out how to make it work.

Barbara realized that what was missing from her painting was the sense of hope she felt when she listened to Mussorgsky's music.  She thought back to her Catholic upbringing and churches filled with icons laden with gold.  From there she went back to the abandoned subways, which felt sacred to her in some way.

Sacred Subway is the result of this creative process.  Barbara retained the subway tunnel, but added color and light in the form of images from the abandoned stations.  These images--which she calls her "icons"--are layered on in this multi-media work.  And what's a subway without some graffiti?  If you look carefully, you will see that the words read "Pictures at an Exhibition -- Charlotte Symphony -- Barbara Albin -- Raffaele Ponti."   All I can say is, "Wow!"

If you like Sacred Subway, there are lots of ways to see more of Barbara's work.  You can go to her website.  You can stop in to our local artists' co-op, Sea Grape Gallery. (Several of the other artists participating in Symphony at an Exhibition also show at Sea Grape.)  Or--my personal favorite--you can go visit the Four Artists show in the Goff Gallery at the Visual Arts Center through the end of the month.   Don't forget to bring your checkbook!

Symphony at an Exhibition, Part 2

Yesterday was the first time I had the chance to see any of the art work from Symphony at an Exhibition in real life, and I was blown away.  Three of the artists -- Brenda Berdnik, Barbara Albin, and Joy Carol -- participated in Maestro Raffaele Ponti's "Beyond the Notes" session at FGCU's Renaissance Academy.  (The Thursday before each concert, the Maestro has a two hour class at FGCU where students have an opportunity to learn more about the music that will be performed in the concert.)    The Maestro played a version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (compliments of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and YouTube), talking about each movement along the way.

Hartmann's Jew in a Fur Cap
(Goldenberg)

Brenda Berdnik was given the Sixth Movement (Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle) to interpret.  (At the artist meeting, the artists drew numbers out of a hat to determine which movement they would paint.) Some of Hartmann's works (which inspired Mussorgsky's composition) have been preserved, and Goldenberg and Schmuyle are two of the existing paintings.   (To see all of the remaining works, including Schmuyle -- and listen to the music of Pictures at an Exhibition -- click here and scroll down.)

While I am not an artist (translation:  "not an artist" in this instance means "have no imagination"), I'm pretty sure that interpreting music that was inspired by paintings of two old Jewish men -- one a rich man and the other a beggar -- wouldn't have been my first choice.   As we listened to the music, the Maestro shared his vision of the beggar whining about his lot in life, with the rich man (played by a piccolo trumpet) responding, "shut up, shut up, shut up!"  Brenda was enthusiastic, though, and I could tell by watching her that she was immediately full of ideas.

From Berdnik's sketches

During the class, Brenda talked about the process of coming up with her final work (which she had put the finishing touches on just that morning), and shared some of her sketches.  Her initial thought was that she would create two paintings -- one of the rich Jew on a long and skinny canvas and the other of the beggar on a small square canvas.   (I love the scribblings of "yada, yada, yada" --reminiscent of a Seinfield episode -- at the top of her sketches!)

It didn't take her long to realize, though, that painting two old Jewish guys wasn't going to be much fun.  She switched gears and started thinking about doing an abstract.  The reds, recalling heat and fire, would represent the dominant man in the conversation, while the squiggles and cooler blues would represent the whiner.  (Interestingly, although Goldenberg is the wealthy one, his "voice" is the one that squeaks in the music.)

Throughout this process, Brenda was talking with other participating artists about the development of their works. Somebody suggested that she put her own spin on the piece.  Why not use something that she loves to represent the conversation? Nature provides Brenda with the inspiration for a lot of her art, and the mating ritual of the sandhill cranes, in which one of the cranes flaps around and jumps and leaps in an attempt to draw attention while the other plays it coy, came to mind.  (I wasn't familiar with this ritual, so checked it out on YouTube.  Quite interesting, to say the least.)   The parallels worked, so she went with it.

Brenda Berdnik's Conversation of Passion

Her finished work -- Conversation of Passion 
-- is absolutely stunning.  She worked on a large canvas (48x48), which provided plenty of room for the cranes' "conversation" to develop.  (Brenda has been working most recently in miniatures, so painting on a large scale was a big change -- literally!   She said that she's ordered an even larger canvas for her next project.)  The piece is very textured, with fiber, crackle and modeling paste incorporated.   It is truly an amazing piece of art.  

To see more of Brenda's work, check out The Gallery at Gannon's Art & Antiques in Fort Myers.    

Symphony at an Exhibition, Part 1

Maestro Ponti (center, wearing glasses) with VAC artists

 As everyone who reads this blog knows, one of the reasons I love living in Southwest Florida is the quality of the arts scene.  Having the chance to get to know some of our community's incredibly talented people -- whether they're visual artists, musicians, or actors -- makes it all the more fun.    The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is performing this week-end, with Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition on the program.  Maestro Raffaele Ponti and CSO Chairman Ken Barber reached out to the Visual Arts Center to put together an exhibition of art work in connection with the concert, and I ended up as the coordinator of the event.  It has truly been the most exciting project I've ever worked on.  There's so much about the event that I want to share, but I'll start with a version of the article about the collaboration that I wrote for the January 3rd edition of Florida Weekly.   

CSO’s ‘Exhilarating’ concert blends orchestral music with fine art

By Nanette Crist, Florida Weekly Correspondent

As its concert title indicates, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s Jan. 12 concert promises to be “exhilarating” with its celebration of the relationship between symphonic music and other art forms.   “Literature, art, and music have influenced and catapulted each other throughout history,” says CSO Maestro Raffaele Ponti.  Mr. Ponti selected the evening’s music – Profokiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ – with this interrelationship in mind.   The pieces then fell into place for a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the CSO and Punta Gorda’s Visual Arts Center that will add an exciting visual dimension to concertgoers’ experience.   

‘Symphony at an Exhibition’

Mussorgsky was inspired to compose “Pictures at an Exhibition” by an exhibit of ten drawings and watercolors created by his friend Viktor Hartmann.   Mussorgsky translated Hartmann’s artwork into a ten movement composition that he envisioned as a musical tour through an art exhibit.  Ten artists from the Visual Arts Center have, in turn, created an exhibit of works of art inspired by the respective movements of “Pictures at an Exhibition” that will be on display at the concert. The collaboration is the consummate example of the way in which different art forms can build on one another and provide a sometimes unexpected creative spark.  

Roxie Vetter's Mussorgsky #4

For Roxie Vetter, who typically listens to rock and roll when she paints, using classical music for inspiration was an interesting challenge.  Vetter’s mixed media work interprets the fourth movement, ‘Polish Cart.’  Vetter says that her work incorporates both the heaviness of the music as the oxen struggle with their burden and the sense of jubilation as they reach their destination.   

Concertgoers will have the opportunity to talk firsthand with participating artists both before the performance and during intermission about the experience of creating art in response to specific music.  In addition, some of the artists will talk with Charlie Noble about their vision and creative process in the pre-concert talk. (The artists will also participate in Mr. Ponti’s “Beyond the Notes” presentation at FGCU’s Renaissance Academy on Jan. 9.)   The exhibit will move to the CSO’s offices following the concert.  

From piano to orchestra

Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” which was written for piano, has inspired more than 25 composers to create orchestral arrangements of the work. Maurice Ravel’s 1922 arrangement is most often performed, and is the version that will be played by the CSO.

When composing “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Mussorgsky eschewed the typical symphonic form with multiple movements that have a unifying theme. Each movements is as varied as the work of art that inspired it, and the CSO will have to change style, sound and mood “on a dime.”   The challenge is enhanced by the fact that none of the movements — other than the final “Bogatyr Gates”—is longer than three minutes. This means that the musicians will barely have time to transition to Mussorgsky’s approach in one movement before moving on to the next. 

The work begins with a promenade representing a patron walking into a gallery and to the first painting in an exhibit. The early movements of the piece are separated by additional promenades as the viewer strolls between works of art. (The Maestro compares these interludes to a sorbet cleansing the audience’s palate in anticipation of what’s to come.) Later movements are divided only by a moment of silence, which Mr. Ponti analogizes to the blank space between paintings in a gallery or museum. 

Thelma Daida's Ode to a Troubadour

The first movement, “Gnomus,” was inspired by Hartmann’s sketch of a clumsy little gnome running. Ravel’s use of tuba and percussion creates a sense of drama, and the audience can clearly hear the gnome being slapped in the face for overstepping his boundaries. Next comes “The Old Castle,” based on a watercolor painting of a troubadour singing in front of a medieval castle. Historically, troubadours were associated with folk songs. Ravel’s choice of a saxophone to represent the singer in this movement, while an unusual instrument for an orchestral work, is consistent with Russian folk music at the time. 

Sue Krasny's Nature's Grand Finale

And so the piece flows from movement to movement – from painting to painting—each with its own distinctive style, until we arrive at the Bogatyr Gates, or the Great Gate of Kiev. The feeling is one of triumph, as the trumpets and cymbals signal the victory of Tsar Alexander II in his escape from an assassination attempt.  A sense of triumph will undoubtedly be felt throughout the concert hall as the music draws to a close. 

 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ inspires through the ages

Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a prime example of the way in which literature can inspire the creative process.  Shakespeare’s story of star-crossed lovers has borne countless productions of plays, films, operas, ballets, and, of course, music. Mr. Ponti and the CSO will join this rich tradition with their performance of Profokiev’s “Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2.” 

Commissioned by the Kirov Ballet, Profokiev composed this score in 1935. (The Bolshoi Ballet originally hired Profokiev for this purpose, but declared the work—which inexplicably had a happy ending-- “undanceable.”) Three suites of music were created from the 52 movements in the ballet’s score.  Maestro Ponti has selected Suite No. 2 for the CSO's performance, a seven-movement work that begins with the drama and struggle of the Montagues and the Capulets and ends with the sorrow of Romeo at Juliet's grave.

To Mr. Ponti, the first 16 measures of Suite No. 2 capture “the beauty of love within the clash of what we know is going to happen.” The suite starts quietly, but by the third measure, the listener hears thunderous musical discord that represents the rivalry between the families. Just two measures later, the strings begin to play, with their beautiful sound symbolizing the feelings of the young lovers.

The Maestro shared that he finds Profokiev’s music so emotionally powerful that he gets chills every time he conducts “Romeo and Juliet.” Between the gorgeous music and the cultural references that concertgoers will bring to the performance — including Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” — he expects that many an audience member will be moved to tears when the Suite comes to a close. 

A sense of exhilaration

Maestro Ponti is bringing both exciting music and fresh ideas to the CSO and its audience.   The collaboration with the Visual Arts Center is certain to trigger an outpouring of ideas about ways in which the CSO can partner with organizations in Charlotte County to enhance our cultural community.  That is indeed an exhilarating way to start the new year.