Criminal!

Holy cow - plagiarism illustrated.

Where's the OUTRAGE?!

Bertha Cooper Harris: Folk Artist

At the Highland Jazz and Blues Festival recently, I purchased this cute wooden "gift tag" from artist Bertha Cooper Harris. She called it a gift tag, but I'm calling it an ornament. I'm going to hang it on my Christmas tree.

I'm not usually a fan of folk art, but I know a lot of people are. I visited Bertha's booth at the festival because for some reason, her display drew me in. Then her exuberant personality charmed me. I visited with her while I looked at her work. She was born in Claiborne parish and now lives in Blanchard, La. She has worked in fabric art (sock dolls!) for the past ten years or so and has recently begun painting. She, of course, evokes the feel of Clementine Hunter works and the comparison has been made often. Mrs. Harris has even displayed her works at Melrose. She will paint on anything; when I saw her she had paintings on canvas, wood (like my gift tag) and cardboard!

Mrs. Harris was the featured artist at the 2008 Claiborne Parish Jubilee Art & Quilt Show. If you get the chance, check out her work. I love the lively aspect of her paintings - all the things going on in them. Even if you aren't a real fan of folk art, she will probably have something that appeals!

Maya Lin's Wave Field

The New York Times today has an article about Maya Lin's new work at Storm King Art Center in New York. It is an 11-acre installation and opens next spring. The work is also third in a series of waves that she has done, the first in Michigan and the second in Miami.

I'm not artistic at all; I have no imagination or skill, but I've always been intrigued by Lin's work. She makes it look so easy. Her story has always been an inspiration to me also. I always talk about her in my classroom to motivate students that dreams really can come true if you work for them. We talk about the Vietnam war whenever we read Tim O'Brien, for example, and we talk about the memorial that Lin designed. I tell my students about the open contest that Lin entered when she was a senior at Yale School of Architecture and how her submission was selected out of 1400 entries, some from professional designers. The choice of Lin's design was controversial at the time as many people wanted a more "traditional" design.

I've seen the traveling replica of Lin's Washington memorial (but never the real one) and even the small scale version has an impact. "The New Yorker" wrote a profile of Lin several years back in which she talked about her inspiration for the project and I think that's when I really started watching her. She talked about the wall as a "rift in the earth" and as "a giant tombstone." She explained how the polished black granite is set into the side of a hill so that when you actually look at the wall, at the names of the dead, you see also your reflection inviting you to look inside yourself. When you stand on top of the hill, over the wall, you are also standing over the buried dead, as if at a cemetery. She did not want the wall to make a political statement of any kind. But the symbolism of the whole project was brilliant.

Her new wave field installation covers 11 acres and visitors will be able to walk into the piece over swells ranging from 12 to 18 feet. Lin explained that she wanted you to feel like you could "get lost" in the waves. The waves will be covered with long grasses that bend and sway as the wind blows, adding the notion of movement to the waves.

You can see the evolution of the project in various exhibition pieces that Lin has done - at left is a wave created out of two-by-fours cut to various lengths; it is sturdy enough that you could climb on it (but I wouldn't!)

The Times article also has a short video interview with Lin in which she takes you inside her studio; if you're artistic at all you will enjoy watching it. She has made sculptures from bottle caps and from plastic toys, explaining that "it's almost embarrassing how much junk we accumulate."

I think what I like most about Lin's work, besides her creativity, is how it is so organic and connected with the earth and nature. She is much more of an environmentalist than I am, but even her explanation about The Wall shows a connection with nature that I like.

(Top photo credit: Colleen Chartier)

Paws and Reflect

Because I needed to drop Steve's blood pressure by a few hundred points, we went to the Norton Art Museum today. We always go there in the spring because the grounds are so lovely carpeted with azaleas, water installations and woodland shade gardens. It's nice in the fall, too because the hardwood trees are gorgeous as the leaves change color.

The gallery had the "Paws and Reflect: Art of Canines" exhibit so we went inside to check it out. There were over fifty paintings and sculptures of dogs - right up our alley! One of my favorites was Louise Peterson's "High Four" - a huge, life sized Great Dane. Steve's favorite was a bronze search and rescue German Shepherd entitled "Ground Zero." We saw two George Rodrique Blue Dog paintings; I'm not sure why I like his work, but I do - I think they are fun.

Norton's is a real treasure and we always love it when we go. We always vow to go back more often and then promptly forget. I signed up for the email newsletter this time though, so maybe that will help keep it in my short attention span!

After prowling around the museum for about 45 minutes we went outside and sat on a wooden bench by a waterfall. We get sort of a kick out of the people with their cameras, tripods, and noisy kids all taking pictures. Lots of Christmas card portraits were apparently being made today and one wedding couple that looked straight out of Urban Cowboy - sort of.

Afterwards, we came home and Steve watched the Iowa Hawkeyes defeat Penn State which was exciting and then watched LSU lose to damn Alabama which was not exciting. We ate taco soup and I made a pineapple upside down cake which is wonderful and I'm going to eat the whole thing. By myself. Mostly.

So, I don't think I did a lot to lower Steve's blood pressure today but we did not talk politics at all (even though he tried) and that surely has got to help. I'm making gumbo tomorrow (The Teenager's favorite) which is pretty much an all day affair if done right! My students turned in research papers on Friday and I might muster up my energy and start getting a few of those knocked out.

All in all, so far it's what weekends are all about. Relaxation and football and food!

Red River Revel

I'm kind of disappointed after checking this year's Revel line-up. As best I can tell, the music headliner is Edgar Winter. There are other acts as well, some of them from the country genre, that might actually be headliners, but since I don't "do" country I wouldn't know. One year they had "Little Feat" and I went alone (couldn't get anyone to go with me!) and sat in the drizzle just so I could hear "Dixie Chicken."

I usually love going to the Revel because I like to look at the art stuff. A lot of it is kind of the same from year to year, but I like it anyway. I like the folks that sell the little carved sheep with real wool glued on. I LOVE all the stained glass people. One year Steve bought me the most gorgeous stained glass piece that reminded me of a Mondrian. Gorgeous color blocks. It hangs in my living room window now.

I love going for the food, too, overpriced though it is. The funnel cakes are great, and I love the crawfish etouffe. I always get a slice of mufaletta pizza!

The best thing about the Revel is the atmosphere; I always run into someone I know that I haven't seen in ages. The food smells, the music coming from all ends of the site, the crowds - it's all good fun. I will probably go mill around, but I'm sad that there's no big music draw this year. At least, not for me!