O'Keefe Pilgrimage Complete

"Pilgrimage" is both a noun and a verb:

a journey, esp. a long one, made to some sacred place or shrine,

a long search made for exalted or sentimental reasons;

a quest.

When I set out almost a year ago on my "Georgia O'Keefe Pilgrimage" I had few expectations other than attempting to track as much of her art as possible and to learn as much as I could about her life.  Timing and a travel-loving husband made many exhibits accessible and, naturally, I gained much in unexpected ways (subjects for another blog!) After visits to five cities, many exhibits, numerous movies and several books, I am reporting on my final stop on the tour: the New York Botanical Gardens.

At the height of her popularity O'Keefe accepted an offer by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (Dole) to spend 9 weeks at their expense in Hawaii.  The caveat was that they would have two paintings they could use for advertising.  A coup for them except that Ms O'Keefe was her usual stubborn self and refused to stay where they had contracted and also refused to be told what to paint (pineapples, duh!).  Taking a commercial assignment was seen by her husband Steiglitz as demeaning but she saw an opportunity to see a new part of the world.  And see it she did.

Flowers already spoke to her and in this new tropical climate she just could not get enough of all the gorgeous exotic varieties.

The scenery was unlike any other she had ever seen.  Here are four paintings she made of the same waterfall...a common exercise when she was intrigued by the landscape.  All four are now in separate collections but it is easy to see the similarities in them as she explored the subject.

After living with the field hands, traveling the islands and walking miles on the black beaches O'keefe had completed 20 paintings.  She offered the Pineapple Company one of a heliconia and one of a papaya tree.  They were, to put it mildly, furious and both parties to the contract felt miserable.

By the time she got back to New York she had decided to start a pineapple piece working from her memory when one arrived on her doorstep shipped by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company.  She finished her painting and they ended up using both in their advertising.  See below.

Once again Ms O'Keefe's star is shining brightly so the NYBG seized upon the idea of a gallery show of her work done in Hawaii while highlighting the plants in their conservatory which inspired and informed her work.  It was brilliant and a lovely marriage of the environment and her art.  It was another link in my study to understand her work and her motivation.

Even though it took 9 arduous days of trains and steam ships to reach Hawaii, Georgia returned after Stieglitz died.  It opened her world to new possibilities through travel and was the beginning of many exotic excursions she took world wide.  

Now that this pilgrimage has come to a close I hope to dive deep into thinking about what I have gained, not just in knowledge about her but in ways to apply the most intriguing aspects of her work (in my opinion) to my own.  More on this to come I promise.

From an exhibit of her clothing to spending time where she lived, from an NYC exhibit to a piece in Bentonville, AR this has been a compelling search for work done by an extraordinary woman.  While she had an uncanny (and ahead of her time) understanding of "branding" and personal presentation, she never succumbed to letting her own art conform to popular trends.  She exhibited an amazing personal strength in light of the many obstacles she had to work her way around in becoming who she knew she was.  

I'm almost sorry to see my list get all checked off...but not sorry to have made this fascinating journey.

MORE TO SHARE,

Cindy

Georgia on My Mind...O'Keeffe that is!

"I found I could say things with color and shapes

that I couldn't say any other way --

things I had no words for."

Georgia O'Keeffe

Not long ago I mentioned my plans to make an "O'Keeffe pilgrimage" in the spring.  My tennis buddy perked up and said that I must have seen the current exhibit at the Reynolda Museum in Winston-Salem.  I had not but the sun barely set before I had made reservations, signed up for a lecture and booked a package with the nearby Graylyn Estate owned by Wake Forest.  Be still my heart, lots of history and art accompanied by haute dining and fine wine!

It was hard not to sit down and read the entire 300 page catalogue they gave us upon check-in but I resisted as our timed tickets were coming due.  The Reynolda House, (of course of RJ Reynolds fame) is not a huge venue, much of the home is left intact, furnishings et al, as part of the exhibit, so tickets are timed and many of the rooms (small turn of the century bedrooms) are closely monitored for capacity.  

What a treat this proved to be.  The curator, Wanda Corn, proposed the exhibit using clothes left by O'Keeffe as a springboard to all manner of insight and discovery.  There is no way I can do proper justice to Corn's work, or her breadth of knowledge, in a short blog.  But this was without a doubt one of the most interesting pathways I have ever followed into learning more about the life and work of a major artist.  I will try to share just a few "take aways" in no particular order.

• O'Keeffe was an accomplished and prolific seamstress from an young age.  Early photos show her preference for a streamlined style of whatever the current fashion and a reduction of the styles to neutral colors and natural materials.  She somehow had the patience and skill to pin tuck entire blouses making them into the shape she desired. Later this knowledge lead to a highly discerning preference for well made, exquisitely designed clothing.

(p 96 exhibit catalog)

Alfred Stieglitz, photographs, 1918

for many more go here

Her many years of modeling for manager and husband, Alfred Stieglitz, taught her much about image projection.  The black and white photos he took have intentional structure and shape and while it tested her patience to model as he directed, the experience proved to be valuable in the future design and maintenance of her public persona.  It is rare to find a photo of her in anything but black, almost never does she look directly at the camera, her head is always a shape designed to convey a mood etc.  Because she is, throughout her life, very controlling with other photographers who came to capture her (including Ansel Adams, Arnold Newman, Cecil Beaton...), she maintained total control of the public image she wished to project.  I told my husband that she certainly understood "branding" before that word was bantered about.

(sorry it is wonky, the person in front of me wouldn't schooch over!)

•  Despite her penchant for being photographed in black and white, I did learn that she and I share a love for the color red, no doubt one of the reasons she chose to move west for half of her life.  Knowing this made it interesting to look for red throughout the exhibit.
• Even as she controlled the images of her that circulated publicly, it was widely known that she was not one thing in private and another in public.  O'Keeffe always seemed to embody her preference for minimalism and shape whether it was in her art, her homes, collections or her wardrobe.  

            " ...never allowed her life to be one thing and her painting another.  She has never left her life in disorder while she sat down to paint a picture that should be clean, simple, and integrated.  To her art is life; life is painting."  1927, friend, Frances O'Brien

My photos are not quality, nor comprehensive because I was too preoccupied in absorbing every morsel to remember to pop out the camera.  But my notes (taken in the dark lecture hall) are endless.  I could share so much more about a most intriguing view of an artist I only thought I knew..  But one final tidbit:

(photo from exhibit pamphlet)

Pool in the Woods, 1922, collection of Reynolda House Museum of American Art

When I came across this piece in the exhibit I noted it was owned by the hosting museum.  I asked the knowledgable guard how many more pieces they owned and he smiled.  "Only this one," he answered.  "The curator wanted it in the exhibit so the Reynolda agreed on the condition that the entire exhibit, when ready, would visit.  Other than Brooklyn and Boston, this is the only eastern location Living Modern will appear."  (please click that link to view a short video I just found from the Brooklyn Museum)

Wow.  My lucky day!  As you are reading this the exhibit has left Winston-Salem; but it is worthy to note that the Renaldo was able, right after we left, to negotiate one additional week of scheduling for this magnificent show.  The attendance by southern art enthusiasts had far exceeded their expectation.

STILL FLOATING,

Cindy

and of course: P.S. - remember how much you have read about the taboo sexual innuendos in her paintings of flowers?  

 Sooo, that's HER story and I'm sticking to it!

Penland Pilgrimage

"She had a point.  A pilgrimage is not about punishment but

about making an intentional decision to look at the world

with fresh awareness and to consider your place in it. 

A pilgrim defines her own pilgrimage; 

maps are guidelines, not prison sentences."

from What the Psychic Told the Pilgram

by Jane Christmas

I have been researching pilgrimages lately.  I have the itch to challenge myself in some way that reveals a new aspect of the world I live in.  It's probably a sign of my age or my ceaseless curiosity but the whole idea appeals to me. So imagine my surprise when I recently realized that I had been on a pilgrimage and didn't even recognize it.

 Early morning mist at Penland School of Craft

I enrolled for a week at the Penland School of Craft in western North Carolina with my sister. She is developing a passion for pottery and while I don't "do" clay I thought it would be a fun week together learning new things.  I like to think I truly enjoy the process of exposure as I dabble in something out of my field.  I now know I am my own worst enemy when it comes to "dabbling".

 Penland offers so much: gorgeous scenery, experts and equipment in many fields, 3 meals a day, interesting fellow students, time to immerse yourself in learning...the list goes on to include yoga, late night chats, meditative walks and time to sit.  Somewhere I got hung up on the "subject immersion" part.  Without realizing it I found myself rushing through breakfast to get back to the studio to try, try, try again a technique that was totally foreign to me.  I inadvertently cut short my lunch break because the call of a failed piece was all I could hear.  And I would barely clean up for dinner as I was anxious to produce a credible copy of every demonstration we were privy to watch.

As the week went on I became more and more anxious that neither my quantity nor my quality was "measuring up."  The irony was that no one, except I, was doing any measuring.  The gal across from me took a week to make 3 pieces, the far more experienced potters behind me were crushing as many as they kept and the giggles from my sis as she broke pieces and parts were having no positive affect on my drive.  Head down, in a minute I'll be there I said, only to turn and find myself now alone in a darkened room.  Nose to the grindstone...for what?  In hindsight I have no answer.

Kiln opening is always a big deal: a reason to party and laugh and share the big reveal.  Our night was no exception.  Wine in hand we all prepared for the "really big shoe."

happy hands reach into the treasure trove of cooked pots

always a collective inhale as the lid is raised

 we gather our work and give it a closer look

I laid my treasures out at my work station and the grin slowly slid from my face.  "What in the world?" I wanted to say.  "I spent a week making this crap?"  Only to myself would I admit that 9/10ths of all I had attempted were fit for the garbage pile.  Suddenly I felt very, very tired.  Even the excitement of fellow students and their sincere attempts towards encouragement didn't lift my spirits.  And let me be honest: I was the first to admit that I had no idea what I was doing, just an interest in doing it.  What was I expecting?  And to what end?

I packed up my treasures that had now lost their luster and it was 3 weeks before I had an interest in unpacking them.  With time had come a kinder eye and I could see the things I had learned, the areas that failed and where some fun things had mistakenly happened.  Most did end up in the dumpster but I now called them "practice pieces" not "production pieces."  We had a good laugh.  Still...still...I knew there was more to this; processing takes time, mulling needs distance, analysis means stepping back.

the piece I kept - my pilgrim's token

I realize now that the purpose of my pilgrimage to Penland was not about pottery...it was about lifting my head up and partaking of all that is around me.  My lesson had very little to do with wet or dry clay slabs and everything to do with slowing down and breathing in the rarefied air that exists in such a place.  I coulda (shoulda, woulda) come home with one decent piece and enjoyed the yoga, taken long walks, lingered over dinner with the writer and visited the studio next door.  This epiphany was mind blowing and, in a funny way, comforting.  It's easy to espouse what we believe but so much harder to live it.  I wanted a quantitative bang for my buck and my time, I came back with a qualitative one.   

I know this doesn't sound much like an ART blog or even a decent PILGRIMAGE story.  But it was both for me.  Have you ever been on a pilgrimage that you didn't recognize as such?  Have you ever had to learn, the hard way, how to really live what you think (or pretend) to believe?  Please tell me I'm not the only one.

ALWAYS A PILGRIM,

Cindy