Art Matters

Thursday, January 24, 2013 Page 15www.montgomerynews.com

artmatters

■ Covering the Arts throughout the Philadelphia Region

■ February 2013

ExhibitionsInSight

“Saint Michael the Archangel,” 18th

century. Artist/maker unknown, Peruvian. Oil on

canvas, Image: 79 1/8 x 61 inches (201 x 155 cm). Framed: 83 1/2 x 64 3/4 x 3 1/4 inches (212.1 x

164.5 x 8.3 cm). Promised gift of the Roberta and Richard Huber

Collection. Now in view in “Journeys to New Worlds” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

By Burton Wasserman

Energies, throbbing with the emotional essence of the Baroque period, will soon make themselves felt in an exhibition of fine and decora-tive art from the Huber Collection,

set to open at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Feb. 16.

The items scheduled for pre-sentation are choice examples of Iberian colonial form dating from the 17th and 18th centu-ries in Latin America and the Far East. Titled “Journeys to New Worlds,” the overall instal-lation will remain on public view at the museum until May 19 of this year.

What began for Roberta and Richard Huber as a fascinating collecting hobby attracted their ever-deeper involvement with an appealing, though highly

underappreciated, area of focus in the worldwide history of art. Specifically, the selections on display will include paintings and sculpture concerned with religious and secular subjects as well as assorted objects of finely crafted silver and at-tractive specimens of wooden furniture.

All of these objects were pro-duced during an age of flourish-ing imperial prosperity when Spanish and Portuguese trade routes were very much in the ascendant. They were located in places where venturesome sea captains like Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and Vasco da Gama claimed territories for the European countries that sponsored their voyages abroad during the Renaissance.

The exhibition is especially worthwhile for dealing with selections that were, until

New World art shines at PMA

Please see New Worlds on A17

Page 24 Thursday, January 24, 2013www.montgomerynews.com

Every painting was different from the last, “and each has so much life and vigor,” added Patrice. “Each has its own per-sonality.” I witnessed colossal paintings, some of which stand well over 8 feet in height and width and provide a command-ing and inspiring presence. The passion for creating done with such authenticity — they weren’t done on typical canvas but on carved Masonite — so as to pull the viewer’s gaze up, up, up in order to take it all in.

Art is a reflection of its period in history; the softest of echoes that we must sometimes strain our ears before we can hear it. One of my stories took me to the Temple Judea Museum in Elkins Park, where I met Rita Poley, the exhibits curator, who told me that “people need to see themselves in an exhibit. That’s what makes it come alive for them.”

The show consisted of politi-cal memorabilia of the sort that we don’t see much of these days: pins and buttons (approxi-mately 500 of them), ribbons, handkerchiefs– the list goes on and includes pieces from the Civil War era. It was an exhibit that highlighted an age in which people could easily see themselves – and it did so using the artwork found within these politically-driven pieces, each one a handprint from a different time.

“We are in many ways the guardians of this material,” Dr. David P. Silverman told me when I paid a visit to the Penn Museum, on South Street. “We are working to preserve these pieces of our history so later generations can learn from them.” Silverman is the curator-in-charge of the museum’s Ancient Egyptian section, which provides an intimate look into this almost alien-like world

and the works of art that were subsequently born of it.

These pieces of art are handprints that can never be reprinted.

“Each period of civilization creates an art that is specific in it and which we will never see reborn,” said noted Russian ab-stract artist Wassily Kandinsky. “To try and revive the principles of art of past centuries can lead only to the production of stillborn works.”

Art is an expression, on the

part of its creator, to connect not only with other people, but also with them-selves. Still others use it to reconcile their passion for humanity with the world around them. Writing “State of the Art” has been a rewarding experi-ence. Visiting these galleries and meet-ing the people who make it happen has been an inspiring venture.

Let’s end with a thought from Kurt Vonnegut, taken from his 2005 essay collection “A Man without a Country.”

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

The passion and connectedness of artState of art, from A16

Above is one of Tom Steigerwald’s monumental paintings. Below is another. The artist is with his beloved dog.

stateoftheart

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Page 16 Thursday, January 24, 2013www.montgomerynews.com

stateoftheart by Adam Crugnale

architecture by Diane M. Fiske

By Diane M. Fiske

Almost everyone in Philadelphia knows about Frank Furness, the fabled archi-tect of several landmark build-ings, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the

Fine Arts, several University of Penn-sylvania buildings such as the Fisher Fine Arts Library of the School of Design and the First Unitarian Church in Center City Philadelphia.

Furness, the son of a famous Unitar-ian minister, Henry Furness, pastor of the First Unitarian Congregational-ist Church, died 100 years ago. To celebrate the anniversary of his death, exhibits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and other institutions were scheduled.

Like most architects of the latter half of the 19th century, Furness designed more than the generous total of 300 buildings. He also paired his work with furniture, crafted woodwork and

masonry specific to his buildings and clients.

But none of the examples of his work was as surprising as the exhibit at the Athenaeum, the architectural history museum.

The famous, trend-setting architect apparently loved to draw caricatures of his clients, his family members and himself.

And this son of a Philadelphia minister did not always draw flattering images of his subjects.

According to Bruce Laverty, the cu-rator of architecture at the Athenaeum who created the exhibit, Furness had asked that the drawings not be exhib-ited during his lifetime.

“Many of the drawings were ironic and less than flattering,” Laverty said. “There may have been a good reason that he didn’t want the drawings showed until well after he died,” Laverty said.

More than three sketchbooks of drawings of family members and clients, drawn during the period from 1860 to about 1890 were hidden in sketch books held by his family. They are finally being exhibited this month at the Athenaeum as part of the city-

wide observation. “He came from a prominent family

and there are several branches surviv-ing,” Laverty said. “His father was a well-known Unitarian minister and the family protected the sketchbooks.”

Laverty said that only a small per-centage of the sketches are included in the exhibit. The books on display, like the ones that were not shown, are the property of family members and will be returned.

One of the least flattering was one he drew of himself, Laverty said. It seemed he had the ability to draw the essence of what he saw as his subject’s personality.

Several of the drawings show Fur-ness’ passion for ending slavery and some of his subjects include leaders in the struggles of the times such as Frederick Douglass.

“In fact,” Laverty said. “Furness actually abandoned his practice to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War and was decorated for his bravery.”

At the time he began serving in the Union Army, Furness had been sched-uled to go to Paris to study at L`ecole Des Beaux Arts, a popular practice

among contemporary architects in the late 19th century. He never went to school after the war.

When he returned from the war, Furness began practicing with a series of col-laborators, especially George Hewitt, with whom he designed the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Later, he hired an apprentice, Louis Sullivan, who later worked briefly in 1873 as an appren-tice with Furness.

This, of course, was a path also followed by Frank Lloyd Wright, who worked with Sullivan much later.

Laverty said that, though the exhibit at the Athenaeum is ending, a book of his work based on the sketchbooks is being planned.

— This is a monthly column about architecture, city planning and land-scape design. Feedback from readers will be welcomed. Diane Fiske can be contacted at [email protected].

An architect with a piercing pen

By Adam Crugnale

ibegan writing “State of the Art” about eight months ago and have loved the journey since day one. It’s afforded me the opportunity to meet with artists and (albeit, briefly) be a small part of their world.

From what I can gather, Vonnegut was right on the

money: art is a means of real human connection; art is the

medium on which our passions run. Each piece of art is an echo from its era — a generational handprint we can trace (some-times literally) with our eyes and fingertips.

For a fleeting moment, we’re transported.

Beginning with this issue, Art Matters will be featured as an eight-page section within Ticket.

I was visiting a good friend of mine in Washington, D.C., over the weekend when we decided

to take in a new exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum — a fantas-tic and unapologetically defiant show entitled “Ai Weiwei: Ac-cording to What?” Though the show concerns itself with chal-lenging China’s political status quo, it still somehow transcends language and thought, bridging our hearts and minds to an op-pressed people on the other side of the planet.

It got me thinking. Artwork is a means of expression and con-nection. It’s also much, much

more than that. In the right hands, art can be wielded like a weapon to combat injustice, rac-ism, discrimination. Ai Weiwei is using his art to make a stand against his government. Part of the exhibit features a Neolithic vase with the phrase “Coca Cola” painted over it in brazen silver paint, suggesting our need to move on and change when something isn’t working.

In one of my previous stories, I had the privilege to interview Corky Lee, the “unofficial and

undisputed Asian American Photographer Laureate,” who was showcasing his latest ex-hibit at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia.

Lee’s photos range from soft, candlelight vigils to police brutality victims. Staggering acts against humanity, captured in time. Lee sought to point out that many of us who face such hardships are as American as anyone else, and more impor-tantly, that “people are people,” as Lee put it.

Art is the medium on which our passions run. One of my earlier columns featured the work of Tom Steigerwald, a true embodiment of the “Renais-sance Man” ideal. Though I never had the chance to meet him (he passed away in June of 2011), Steigerwald’s passion for his work, for his garden and home, for his life and wife, were made abundantly clear as his wife Patrice guided me through the home studio.

Expression, Connection, Passion

An unidentified caricature by Frank Furness. Courtesy of the Athenaeum.

Please see State of art on A24

recently, only marginally researched in depth in our country.

Fortunately for the serious connoisseur, they open up areas of study and insight that are artistically eye-opening and intellectually ecumenical.

This could not have hap-pened without the dedicated commitment to the task of organizing the show and bringing it to fulfillment by two members of the museum staff, Joseph Rishel and Mark Castro. Incidentally, they also contributed signifi-cantly to the preparation and completion of the superbly illustrated and soundly-writ-ten exhibition catalog.

The 126 items that make up the exhibition are bounti-ful with a diversity of de-sign elements and alive with an unwavering commitment to expression in depth. In addition, there is also an identifiable animating ele-

ment that lends a unifying consistency to the otherwise varied objects on view.

Two painters who are represented by several examples of their personal styles are Melchor Pérez Holguin and Gaspar Miguel de Berrio. They were active in the city of Petosi, Bolivia, and focused their efforts on subjects of religious devo-tion.

Holguin’s “Pietà,” for example, is a deeply moving oil on canvas in which the Christ figure is seated on the ground while his upper torso is supported by the grief-stricken Holy Mother. The

poignancy of the scene is profoundly touching.

Geographically, the area where these painters worked was also blessed with the presence of silver mines that provided a major source of wealth for the mother coun-try and ample raw resources for a great metalworking tradition. The exhibition includes objects fashioned in this material specifically

for both ecclesiastical and secular purposes.

Yet another fascinating area of specialization in the exhibition is a group of handsomely worked small sculptures in ivory, originally crafted in the old Portuguese colony of Goa, located in the Far East, and in the Philippines, which were once governed by Spain.

A “Seated Christ Child” in a very faint rose-toned ivory by an anonymous carver is especially excep-tional. The work exhibits a rare touch of tenderness and is most skillfully handled in its portrayal of infantile anatomy. It is also distin-guished by an unusually fine treatment of gesture and human expressive-ness. In addition, all of the features are convincingly intensified by the presence of painted detail in the hair of the figure and in facial features executed with subtle delicacy and impec-cable sensitivity,

Another notable piece in carved ivory represents a re-clining “Christ Child as the Good Shepherd.” The left hand of the figure touches an expertly cut image of a young lamb while the head

of the “Child” is supported gracefully by a bent right arm. Overall, the artwork gives voice to a mood of peaceful well-being.

By contrast, several other ivories deal convinc-ingly with representations of “Christ Crucified.” These are emotionally awesome

treatments of the suffering of the Christ Figure. As such, they offer eloquent testimony for the Christian dogma that this event was the culminating factor in providing for the redemp-tion of humanity through the sacrifice experienced by the Savior.

Without question, this is an eminently reward-ing art exhibition. Clearly, such installations do not come along every day of the week, which is why it deserves to be visited at the first opportunity available.

Thursday, January 24, 2013 Page 17www.montgomerynews.com

ExhibitionsInSight by Burton Wasserman

ifyougo“Journeys to New

Worlds”continues at Philadelphia

Museum of Art,26th & the Parkway,

Philadelphia, PA 19130,through May 19.

Info: 215-763-8100 orwww.philamuseum.org.

Stunning Art from the New World

New Worlds, from A15

Our Lady of Mount Carmel with Bishop Saints, 1764. Gaspar Miguel de Berrío, Bolivia, Potosí 1706 - after 1764. Oil on canvas, Image: 38 3/4 x 33 1/16 inches (98.5 x 84 cm). Framed: 45 1/2 x 39 3/8 x 3 1/4 inches (115.6 x 100 x 8.3 cm). Promised gift of the Roberta and Richard Huber Collection.

Plaque from an Altar Frontal, 1700-1750. Artist/maker unknown, Bolivian. Silver, repoussé, chased, engraved, and burnished, 10 1/2 x 21 1/8 x 1 1/4 inches (26.7 x 53.7 x 3.2 cm). Roberta and Richard Huber Collection.

Page 18 Thursday, January 24, 2013www.montgomerynews.com

Your resource for finding artists, soliciting entries, renting art studious and for promoting your service.For more information call 215-628-9300, ext. 226

We’re clearing out our inventory of allready-made frames, great prices!!!

Dozens and dozens of ready-made frames,all sizes, all styles, all finishes!

Sale is on through the end of February.Carol Schwartz Gallery

101 Bethlehem PikePhiladelphia, PA 19118

215-242-4510www.CarolSchwartzGallery.com

FRAME SALE!!For Artists and Art-Lovers

2013 Lancaster CountyArt Association National

Juried Exhibition

June 9- July 18, 2013Featuring five art categories {oil, acrylic, watercolor,

photography, sculpture and ceramics, other media}, and$3,000 in awards.

Sponsor: James S. Gibson of the Gibson LuckenbillGroup, RBC Wealth Management

Deadline for submission is April 6, 2013.Open to all artists 18 years or older. Original work in allmedia is eligible. Work previously shown in the LCAA

galleries will not be accepted.Artwork must have been completed in the past three

years.$15 non-members, $10 members per piece; 3 piece

max.$3,000 in total awards, $500 Best of Show, $300 Firstplace each category, $200 Second place each category,

$100 Third place each categoryThe LCAA will retain a commission of 30%.

Slides or digital images on CD accepted.Visit www.lcaaonline.org for prospectus and application,

or send SASE. You may also call (717)687-7061.LCAA 149 Precision Ave. Strasburg, PA 17579

(717) 687-7061

JurorsGarth Herrick and Jennifer Frudakis

$2,000 in Prize Awards

Artists may submit up to 3 images ofcompanion animal works in drawing,

painting, pastel, mixed media, ceramics,���������� ������������ ����� ��� �����

Online application only.January 1 - March 1, 2013

www.reigningcatsanddogs.com

Exhibition will open April 5thand remain on display until May 4, 2013

Wayne Art CenterCALL FOR ENTRIES

413 Maplewood AveWayne, PA 19087����������������610-688-3553

Jurors

wayne art center

25th Annual LansdaleFestival of the Arts

Saturday, August 24, 2013Memorial Park, Lansdale, PA

A juried exhibit & sale of fine art,handmade crafts, performing arts,

cash awards, & more.

Jury will be held Saturday,April 27th. For prospectus &

jury Information 215-361-8353,[email protected] orvisit www.lansdale.org

Sponsored by LansdaleDepartment of

Parks and Recreation

ARTISTS & CRAFTERSWANTED

85TH ANNUAL JURIEDEXHIBITION ARTASSOCIATION OF

HARRISBURG21 N. Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17101

May 17 - June 20, 2013Two entries per artist, $15.00 per entry.

Entries must be submitted as digitalJPEGs, high-resolution images on

CD BY FEBRUARY 28, 2013. Includeself-addressed, stamped envelope

with CD and entry form for notificationof acceptance/ rejection. Juror: N. LeeStevens, Retired Senior Curator Art

Collections, The State of Pennsylvania.Call 717-236-1432 for entry form or

visit www.artassocofhbg.com

Call for EntriesThe Philadelphia Sketch

ClubART OF THE FLOWER 2013

A juried exhibition and sale of workswith floral themes in diverse

mediums. March 1 – March 24, 2013at the PSC’s historic location

in center city Philadelphia.

Juror is Paul DuSold. Artworks maybe juried on line or delivered forjurying. Entry fee of $15 for one

piece or $25 for 2. A prospectus withschedule can be downloaded from

www.sketchclub.org or send S.A.S.E. to:

Philadelphia Sketch Club235 S. Camac Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

wayne art center

Wayne Art Center7th AnnualPlein Air FestivalCall for Entries:

Wayne Art Center is pleased to announce aCALL FOR ENTRIES beginning

January 1, 2013 for the 7th Annual WayneArt Center Plein Air Festival open to artists

working in the plein air method. Thirtyartists will be chosen by this year’s juror, Jim

Wodark to compete in the festival fromMay 6 - 10, 2013 in Wayne, Pennsylvania andits historic and pastoral surroundings. Workscompleted during the festival week will be

judged for prizes amounting to up to $6000.

The exhibition will open at a Preview Partyand Artist’s Reception on May 10th. Paintingswill remain on display, open to the public and

for sale through June 28th.

The Wayne Art Center 2013Plein Air Festival

prospectus can be downloaded atwww.waynepleinairentry.com

as of January 1, 2013.

Deadline for entries is March 1, 2013.

CENTER FORTHE ARTS INSOUTHERN NJ

Call for Artists Information:Women’s History & CFA Theme Exhibition

“Music For All Ages”March 4 - 25, 2013

Annual Open Juried Watercolor ExhibitionApril 1 - 22, 2013

For prospectus to either exhibit send SASEto CFA/SNJ,

123 S. Elmwood Road, Marlton, NJ 08053Telephone: 856-985-1009

__To place your listing in__

ART MATTERS,____For Information____

Call 215-628-8330; ext [email protected]

Wednesday, January 30Camden County College Art Gallery, 5 – 7pm, Blackwood, NJ

Thursday, January 31Lawrence Gallery, Rosemont College, 4 – 7pm, Rosemont, PA

Lehigh University Art Galleries, 5pm - , Bethlehem, PAFriday, February 1

Blue Streak Gallery, 5 – 8pm, Wilmington, DEDarlington Art Center, 1 – 5pm, Boothwyn, PASweet Mabel Folk Art, 6 – 9pm, Narberth, PA

Muse Gallery, 5 - 8pm, Philadelphia, PAPennsylvania College of Art & Design, 5 – 9pm, Lancaster, PA

Phoenix Village Art Center, 6 – 9pm, Phoenixville, PAGoggle Works, 5:30 – 7:30pm, Reading, PA

Christiane David Gallery, 6 – 9pm, Lancaster, PASunday, February 3

Manayunk-Roxborough Art Center, Noon – 3pm, Phila., PAGreater Norristown Art League, 3 – 5pm, East Norriton, PA

Wednesday, February 6Institute of Contemorary Art, 6 – 8pm, Phila., PA

Thursday, February 7The Philadelphia Foundation, 5pm - , Phila., PA

Friday, February 8Ocean City Art Center, 7 – 8:30, Ocean City, NJ

Sunday, February 10Lancaster County Art Association, 1 – 5pm, Strasburg, PA

Cheltenham Center For the Arts, 6:30 - 8:30pm, PAThird Street Gallery, 1 – 3pm, Philadelphia, PA

Wayne Art Center, 3 – 5pm, Wayne, PAWednesday, February 13

Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey, 7 – 9pm, Marlton,NJ

Friday, February 15Main Line Art Center, 5 – 8pm, Haverford, PA

Saturday, February 16Chester County Art Association, 1 - 4pm - , West Chester, PA

Main line Unitarian Church, 3 – 6pm, Devon, PASunday, February 24

Philadelphia Sketch Club, 2 – 4pm, Phila., PA