From time-to-time, we’ll post stories written by Paul Parker, Santa Fe Art Club, paul@santafeartclub.com.
We hope you find them informative and interesting.
House Sketch, watercolor and ink, by Alfred Morang
I had been thinking about this mission for a long time and I finally find myself in the library seated in front of this antique microfilm viewer the size of a small refrigerator and I have loaded the reel containing the early 1958 issues of the Santa Fe New Mexican.
I was not sure why I had this unremitting need to know more about Alfred Morang. I had first seen his work painted on the adobe walls across from the bar in El Farol on Canyon Road and in Maria’s on Cordova, but I know the real inspiration came from my good friend Jim Parsons in Taos. Jim was an art dealer and appraiser forever and a friend and mentor for 20 years. When he mentioned that Alfred Morang was one of his favorites I knew I needed to pay attention. It was like Willy Wonka telling me about one of his favorite chocolate bars.
It helps that Alfred was such a compelling man, so well versed in music and literature as well as painting. He was the youngest person ever to perform a solo violin concert in the prestigious Jordan Hall in Boston. He was also an accomplished writer. The London Times once called him one of America’s leading non-political short story writers. Erskine Caldwell was a friend of his and he often visited Alfred and his wife Dorothy in Santa Fe. Alfred’s short stories and poems were published alongside Frost, Poe and Mark Twain. I do know the main reason I am so drawn to him is that his art touches me. Behind that art is Alfred’s story, his life experience and that is what drove him to create the art that Jim and I and many others enjoy so much.
There is a very sad part to his story and it is that part that drew me to the library. Alfred Morang died in a fire in his Canyon Road apartment studio on a cold January night at the age of 56. I had wanted to come here to the library and read the January 29, 1958 issue of the Santa Fe New Mexican for some time. I wanted to know the details, I wanted to read what people said, I wanted to know what page it was on and how big the article was. I was scrolling through the microfilm and as I started approaching the day he died I realized I was reading the papers that he probably read unaware he only had days to live.
The closer I got to the issue of the paper I had come to see the more time I took reading the articles and I even started reading the ads. I lingered the longest on Tuesday’s edition dated January 28, 1958. That was the last paper Alfred could have read.
There was an article on that day that I am sure must have caught Alfred’s eye and the headline read, “French Ballet loses Backing”. Alfred never made it to Paris, but his heart was there. His heroes were the French Impressionists and he considered himself to be one of them. Monet and Bonnard were his favorites. The article explained that the French Education Ministry had withdrawn the government subsidy for the production of Francoise Sagan’s ballet “The Broken Date”. The ministry’s action followed a storm of protest. Apparently one dance was performed in a bathroom setting designed by painter Bernard Buffet and was described by some critics as scandalously erotic. I would like to have gone to Paris with Alfred and attended that performance. A French ballet with a bathroom setting designed by Bernard Buffet coupled with scandalously erotic, I am sure we both would have enjoyed that.
That Tuesday the Lensic was showing “Pal Joey” starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak. Kaune’s was having a sale featuring Pork Chops at 59 cents a pound and Swanson’s Pot Pies at four for a dollar with your choice of chicken, turkey or beef. Cherry Motor’s at 607 Cerrillos Road had an ad for the new Rambler American for $1789. The ad proclaimed that one had been driven from New York to Los Angeles using only 80 gallons of gas averaging over 30 mpg. I remembered that time. One week before this ad ran I had celebrated my 12th birthday and becoming a teenager was in sight. Unlike today I was looking forward to getting older and that was the time I began thinking about cars. Chevrolet had just introduced the 283 V-8 a year earlier in the now iconic 1957 Chevy. The fuel economy push left over from the war was fading fast and the Plymouth Hemi and the “Little GTO” were on the horizon. The economical 6 cylinder Rambler American never had a chance.
I read every bit of that Tuesday’s paper. It was as if I felt that Alfred would be okay as long as I did not turn the page, but I knew it was time to see what I had come to see. I took a last look at the classifieds and marveled at an ad for a 2-bedroom adobe with wall-to-wall carpet “close in” for $16,500 and then I hit the button and watched the microfilm reel turn slowly.
The first thing I saw positioned on the top left side of the front page of that Wednesday edition of the Santa Fe New Mexican was a large photograph of a cat crouching on the corner of a charred mattress. The rest of the bed was strewn with papers and tubes of paint. Underneath the right half of the photo was a caption “Mourning for Her Master…This lonely cat was found wandering through the charred ruins of the home of her master Alfred Morang who died in the fire early this morning. The cat is on the bed where he died.” Morang’s friends had commented on his love of cats and noted that he often went hungry himself so he could afford to feed them. Two other cats perished in the fire with him. Unfortunately I discovered that the cat on the mattress in the picture had to be put down because it had extensive lung damage. There was also a picture of Alfred. A cigarette in a holder was hanging from the corner of his mouth dangling over his scraggly beard and he was wearing a black hat with a brim that was tilted slightly to the left making him look decidedly like an artist and decidedly French. The story next to the photo read “Well Known Artist Dies In Home Fire… Alfred Morang, 56, one of Santa Fe’s best known and most colorful Bohemians died at about 1:30 am last night in a tragic fire at his home in the 600 block of Canyon Road.” Friends reported they had last seen Alfred in Claude’s bar around midnight. His apartment was just up the alley out back.
Five days after the fire the New Mexican noted…“Funeral services were held Saturday at the Fairview Memorial Park Crematorium in Albuquerque for Alfred Morang, widely known Santa Fe artist, writer and critic who was burned to death early Wednesday morning in a fire at his home here. The body was escorted to Albuquerque by a group of close friends, including Randall Davey, Will Shuster, Harlan Lizer, Walter Dawley and William Currie. Alfred was transported in a Spanish Colonial coffin made by Abolonio Rodriguez, custodian of the art museum.”
Alfred was born in Ellsworth, Maine in 1901 and came to Santa Fe in 1937. Like many who came here he suffered from TB. He immediately became a fixture in the Santa Fe art scene. He wrote a weekly column for the newspaper and he produced a weekly radio program for 17 years on KVSF called “The World of Art with Alfred Morang.” Most of all he was famous for his enthusiasm for art and his ability to teach and many benefited from “The Morang School of Fine Art”.
Walt Wiggins authored a book published in 1979 appropriately titled “Alfred Morang…A Neglected Master”. Walt uncovered several quotes during his research for his book and my favorites include the following. “When Alfred Morang’s life came to a tragic end in January of 1958 nothing before or since has so shaken the New Mexico art colony. Some say it was a sense of guilt that struck the community for not having shown a greater sense of appreciation for one who, by destiny, was different.” One Santa Fe artist reasoned, “Why shouldn’t Santa Fe be stunned with the loss of Alfred? After all, he taught half of us how to paint and the other half how to see.”
The February 10th 1958 issue of the Santa Fe New Mexican carried the report of the local memorial service for Alfred in Lorraine Carr’s column “It Happened in Old Santa Fe”. Dr. Reginald Fisher, director of the Art Museum spoke first. “Friends this is not a funeral, we are simply gathered here for a creative expression of merit and appreciation of a spirit that has been active in an activity that we in Santa Fe like to call art. Alfred was an inventive, searching and daring spirit as French as Lautrec, yet he never saw Paris. Last week his restless spirit found peace.”
Painter and close friend Randall Davey was next. “I have known Alfred since he arrived back in 1937. He was a kind, a gentle and a humble soul and in all those years I never heard him speak unkindly of his fellow man. He was a great painter; many of you did not think so, because often he sold his work for a mere pittance through necessity. Nevertheless it was great art and the happiest work I have seen in New Mexico. He had a love and a delight for painting and I doubt that anyone will surpass him in this field.”
I hope Alfred enjoyed himself on that Tuesday. I hope he spent some time with friends and some extra time petting his cats. I hope he wrote another poem and put the final touches on his most recent favorite painting before he headed down the alley to Claude’s that evening.
Claude James ran the well know Canyon Road bar where he often spent time and, as legend has it, her rowdy spirit was just what was needed to run that place. I would love to have met Alfred there that fateful night for a few drinks. I’m sure we would have talked through the evening about art and life as we cast occasional glances at the ever present ladies that were often the subject of his paintings and when Claude said “It’s midnight, would you fellows like another one?” I would nod and say, how about a couple of shots of your best cognac. I would love to take a sip, lean back and turn to him and say “Alfred I know you often say that you don’t believe in art for art’s sake, but you believe in art for people’s sake. Can you explain to me what you mean by that, and please…take your time?”
A few weeks after I finished writing this story I found myself engrossed in the details of planning a trip to Paris. I was not sure why, but suddenly it came flooding over me with incredible clarity. Human life really is very fragile and it really is all going to come to an end someday and we do not know when. I knew then I needed to go to Paris and I needed to go now. Unfortunately most people have that epiphany too late in life. They start thinking about the things they never got to do after it’s too late to do them. I knew then that this sudden obsession with Paris was a message from Alfred. Paris was his promised land, but he never made it there and I was going to go for both of us.
I told a friend in Santa Fe this story and he said, “You should do something for Alfred in Paris.” It was a great idea, but what would I do? I had been in Paris 5 days when I suddenly knew. I found an image of a Morang painting on my laptop. I printed it and wrote a bit on the back about Alfred and headed off to the Musee d’Orsay. This time as I enjoyed the paintings I was also searching for a repository for Alfred’s work and I finally found it. I can tell you that a fine example of the genius of Alfred Morang now has a home in Musee d’Orsay on the banks of the Seine and it will take a jackhammer to find it. He is close to Monet and Bonnard, the masters he so admired. Alfred, you finally made it.
A Tribute to Kandinsky: Inspiration in Color
Abstract Fine Art, Abstract Paintings, PaintingsThe painting is monumental, taking up about a six by ten foot space on the museum wall; a space that now dances and swirls with brilliant color and untraceable abstraction. Straight and curved lines along with varied shapes of vivid color mingle on the canvas to create a haphazard, almost theatrical, experience. Taking in the piece, your eyes dart from side to side, top to bottom, trying to make sense of the colliding figures and colors. Finally you discover a central form, an oval, which seems to act as the eye of a compositional hurricane, surrounded by swirling color and form.
“Composition VII,” Wassily Kandinsky, 1913
The piece is “Composition VII;” its creator, Wassily Kandinsky. It hangs on the bright white walls of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1995 along with only fourteen other Kandinsky paintings, together making up the exhibition “Kandinsky: Compositions.” In front of the painting stands an awestruck Aleta Pippin, attempting to memorize the active bursts of color that seem to radiate Kandinsky’s energy.
“Though only fifteen paintings were displayed, I was thrilled that we went to see the show,” said Pippin. “Pictures of art never do justice to the real thing. Seeing Kandinsky’s paintings in person was inspiring to say the least.”
Pippin had begun painting just a few years earlier in 1992, and like Kandinsky, she started out creating representational work. Her paintings mostly consisted of portraiture, although the desire for abstraction seeped through in the blurring color that occupied the backdrops of her paintings.
Early representational portraiture by Aleta Pippin.
For Kandinsky, the transition into abstraction came in the early 1900s through a series of sparked inspirations, one of which was an 1896 Claude Monet exhibit in Moscow. He was astounded by “Haystacks at Giverny,” a series of Monet’s paintings depicting impressionistic haystacks in fields near Monet’s home in Giverny, France. Kandinsky later writes about his reaction to the work:
“Haystacks at Giverny, the evening sun.” Claude Monet, 1888.
“It was from the catalog I learned this was a haystack. I was upset I had not recognized it. Dimly I was aware too that the object did not appear in the picture. And I noticed with surprise and confusion that the picture not only gripped me, but impressed itself ineradicably on my memory. Painting took on a fairy-tale power and splendor.”
Another push towards abstraction for the Russian artist, who is credited as being the first purely abstract painter, came from looking at his own work in a different light. One night when Kandinsky came home to his studio, he was enchanted by a painting he did not recognize. After a closer look, he realized it was his own piece lying on its side. Kandinsky recognized that subject matter lessened the impact of his paintings, and from that point on he began removing it from his work. This would eventually earn him the title of “the father of abstraction,” and “pioneer” of the Abstract Expressionist movement.
“Color Abounds” by Aleta Pippin, oil/canvas, 30×30″
For Aleta Pippin, the move toward abstraction resulted from a desire to experiment with imagery, color, and various media. She relates to Kandinsky’s epiphany of removing the subject matter for a more timeless and freeing composition.
“When someone views a painting containing subject matter, there is a reaction based on their relationship to that subject,” explains Pippin. “If they’re viewing an abstract painting, they have the opportunity to consider it on a deeper level, for instance, simply enjoying the color or perhaps analyzing the artist’s message.”
Kandinsky, also a renowned art theorist, took a spiritual approach to his work, analyzing the effects of color on the mind and soul. In his book, “Concerning the Spiritual in Art,” he explored his theory that color can create an “inner resonance” with the viewer by provoking a sensory experience within their soul.
Left: “Riding the Range,” Aleta Pippin, acrylic/canvas, 36×36.” Right: “Improvisation 26,” Wassily Kandinsky, oil/canvas, 1912.
To say Kandinsky was a “colorist” is an understatement; he devoted his life to it, which is why Pippin couldn’t look away as she stood before his paintings in LACMA on that June afternoon in 1995. Her work thrives on color and has a similar spiritual bent. “I believe that true art comes from within; color is central to my individual expression,” says Pippin.
“A Tribute to Gerhard Richter..Dancing Through the Seasons,” Aleta Pippin, 48×40″ oil/canvas
The trickling effect of artists inspiring artists is how art movements are born, with creative leaders carrying the influence of master artists that came before them. For Pippin, inspiration comes from artists living and dead who appreciate a sense of color along with timeless and spiritual interpretations of abstract ideas. The visual expressions of Gerard Richter and Claude Monet have directly influenced Pippin’s paintings, and abstract expressionists like Kandinsky, Rothko, and de Kooning serve as an overall inspiration to her painting style.
With these artists as her guides, Pippin creates liberating works of art with an intuitive use of color and energetic freedom. See her vibrant abstractions hanging at Pippin Contemporary for your own interpretive experience, or find them on her artist page of our website.
Pippin Contemporary Artists: A Collection of Christmas Memories
Abstract Fine Art, Holiday, Special Events“My favorite part about this time of year is the shared spirit of Christmas…the love, joy, compassion, and Christian charity, the celebration of the human condition manifested in hope and faith.”
– Tony Griffith, abstract surrealist painter
Christmas Tree Lighting on the Santa Fe Plaza
The holiday season is a special time of year. It’s a time for giving back, a time to make memories with family and friends, and a time to start traditions that are joyously anticipated year after year. The heartwarming nostalgia, childlike excitement, and blissful emotions we feel around the holidays can be hard to explain, difficult to put into words. However, artists at Pippin Contemporary have shared some of their own special holiday memories and moments with us, putting everyone at the gallery in the holiday spirit as we look forward to the magic of Christmas in Santa Fe.
Decorating cookies, sending personal holiday cards, and hosting Christmas parties are a few favored traditions of our artists. Those who live locally look forward to the Canyon Road Farolito Walk, a celebrated Christmas Eve event hosted by Santa Fe’s art community. Aleta Pippin recalls her first year participating in the magical walk:
Farolito Walk on Canyon Road, Santa Fe. Photo Credit: Eric Swanson.
“Hundreds of people descended on Canyon Road at dark to walk the length of it. Paper bags filled with sand and a candle inside,”Farolitos” as they’re called in Santa Fe, line the street and light the way. Luminarias (bonfires) are lit along the route to warm carolers. Some of the galleries are open, serving warm mulled cider and biscochitos…yum! Everyone seems to be in a merry and festive mood. It has since become one of our favorite Christmas traditions.”
In addition to the traditional festivities, many artists use the holidays for creative rejuvenation; a time to step away from the easel and enjoy blessed moments with loved ones. But for some, it’s more difficult to take even a much-needed break from the studio.
Kevin Robb in his studio.
“Kevin thinks about his art 24 hours a day, it’s just who he is, he lives to create sculptures,” says Diane Robb, wife of steel sculptor Kevin Robb. This statement is quite literal – Kevin suffered from a massive stroke in 2004 that left him physically challenged with limited verbal communication, but the return to his studio brought him back to life through creative stimulation. He continues to design his monumental sculptures with the help of studio assistants who fabricate his dynamic and contemporary visions.
Diane admits that their family doesn’t allow Kevin in the studio on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or even the day after. It’s strictly reserved for time with family. Even though he protests being away from his work, it proves to have a positive affect.
“The holidays are a time to pause and take a breath,” says Diane, “It’s amazing what happens when he steps back a minute – the creativity flows.”
Although the departure can be difficult, getting out of the studio also means collecting fresh inspiration. Tony Griffith uses the opportunity to immerse himself in the southwest landscapes that inspire his surrealist paintings.
“I love to experience the outdoors and nature at this time of year,” says Griffith. “I hike on mountain trails fresh with snow, which also serves to inspire my art.”
“Taking Off,” Aleta Pippin, 6x6x2.5″ oil/panel, donated to Santa Fe Artist’s Medical Fund auction.
Inspiration takes many forms around the holidays, from snowy landscapes to spirited giving. Many of our artists use their talents to give back during this time of year, which proves to be rewarding and inspiring for their artistic motivations. Aleta Pippin always donates a painting to the Santa Fe Artist’s Medical Fund, a yearly auction that supports emergency medical needs for local artists. Stephanie Paige uses her artistic passion to instill a love of art in young children as a volunteer art teacher for kids.
“The gift of art was given to me and I am meant to give it away,” explains Paige, “What better way to give than give to a child who loves art.”
A few of our artists have reflected on Christmas memories where their art touched someone’s life in a special way. Here are a few personal stories that will get you in the Christmas spirit…
Aleta Pippin:
I met a couple (Linda and John) in Santa Fe celebrating the end of chemo treatments who purchased a very large painting. In a few months, they purchased two more. About 10 years later, I received a note from Linda – “Aleta–it’s been almost 10 years since we met you in Santa Fe and made our first purchase–it was our celebration of chemo being over and our beautiful art is a daily reminder of that.”
This is just one of the many comments I’ve received about how special my paintings are to collectors. It is wonderful to have a career creating something that helps people feel uplifted in some way, whether a marker of a life-changing event, as in this case – or that feeling of joy they get when they look at the work. I’m blessed.
As the holidays approach, we hope you feel inspired to create your own traditions and sacred memories. Cherish this time of year for the festive atmosphere, the spirit of giving, and the blessed time with loved ones.
Happy Holidays from Pippin Contemporary!
Pippin Studio: Spontaneous Discoveries In Color
Abstract Fine Art, Abstract Paintings, PaintingsWhen walking around the bright and airy studio where Aleta Pippin creates her lively abstract paintings, she often stops mid-sentence to notice a spot of vibrant red, subtle blue or energetic yellow on one of her canvases.
“I just love the color in that piece,” she suddenly interjects.
Aleta Pippin’s studio, Santa Fe, New Mexico
It’s not hard to detect that Pippin is a colorist; she’s quick to tell you how much she loves color and this fascination is easily apparent in her work. While her artistic process is spontaneous and her work created without premeditation, she does notice continuous changes in her style, technique, and, of course, use of color. She thrives on artistic experimentation, which keeps her work fresh and exciting to collectors and to her as a creator. However, she also periodically spends time reevaluating where she’s been and how her career is artistically progressing, while also still maintaining a consistent style that is true to her body of work.
A work in progress in Aleta’s studio. Notice the painting on the easel.
This is the completed painting – Energy Abounds by Aleta Pippin, oil on canvas, 48×48 inches.
“This time of year, I start to assess what I’m doing and why I’m doing it,” explains Pippin. “I ask myself if I’m going in a direction I want to continue.”
Circle of Life created 2012
In the past several years, Pippin has been subconsciously directed towards a “softer” color palette as she calls it, shifting away from the saturated primary colors that typically permeated her canvases. While she still uses bold red, yellow and blue hues, she has started mixing softer, muted colors on the canvas that give her work a more complex feel.
“Besides being experimental, what I offer is color,” says Pippin. “That’s always the feedback I get from collectors and people who view my work – that they love the color. So that’s where I am right now, I’m working in more color blends than staying with primaries.”
Since Pippin allows her present emotions to dictate her paint, she can’t pinpoint the exact moment when shifts in her work began to happen. She guessed the color palette altered when she started working on smaller panels in acrylic, but can’t assign the beginning of the transition to any single piece or moment of revelation.
Inspiration…An Inside Job created 2014
“I’ve created anywhere from 850 to 900 (from 2004 through 2014) at this point in time,” says Pippin. “When and why do they start changing? It’s interesting even to me.”
As you make your way through the organized chaos of Pippin’s studio, stepping over drying canvases and carefully avoiding clusters of paint bottles (“I spend a lot of time on the floor,” Pippin confesses), she will stop momentarily to explain the history and “past lives” of some of her paintings, even comparing an image of the original work with the current one. One of these reworked pieces is “Momentum,” which has existed under three different titles.
Now a lively abstraction of muted purples, bleeding blues and bursts of yellow, it was first an impressionistic nude titled “Compelling.” After deciding that a nude form was not harmonious with her current aesthetic at Pippin Contemporary, she decided to rework the piece to stay true to her abstract style. Then came the painting’s second life as a nonrepresentational “Sunrise, Sunset,” and now the layers of renewed color finally hang at the gallery as “Momentum.”
Compelling original nude under Momentum, 2012
Momentum, 48×30″ oil on canvas, 2014
Inspiring ideas, subconscious artistic decisions, and quick movements of color on canvas – it all happens in Pippin’s sacred studio space. The Santa Fe artist creates an energy with her work that she can feel while she paints, the same energy that her collectors take with them when they buy one of her paintings.
“I can always feel a shift when I come into the studio. I don’t know what it is, but there are positive things happening here and it feels good.”
Visit Aleta Pippin’s artist page to view more of her energetic abstractions and read her full artist statement. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more behind-the-scenes photos of Pippin’s studio!
7th Annual Canyon Road Paint and Sculpt Out
Abstract Fine Art, Special EventsSFGA Band gathering for parade up Canyon Road.
This Saturday, Santa Fe’s familiar stretch of road that boasts one of the most concentrated art collections in the country will transform into an outdoor studio for more than 150 artists. The Canyon Road Paint Out & Sculpt Out is a celebration of Canyon Road’s remarkable art, culture and history. Visitors to the street will have the artistic experience of watching paintings and sculptures come to life at the hands of some of the most prominent Santa Fe artists.
The event also honors the practice of painting “en plein air,” a style that took off in the
Cody Hooper painting at last years event.
19th century when artists painted outdoors to capture the effects of natural lighting. Plein air artists have long been drawn to the Southwest’s natural scenic beauty and are responsible for shaping Canyon Road into the art community it has become. This weekend, Santa Fe galleries, artists and enthusiasts will celebrate this magnificent cultural history.
At the base of Canyon Road, Pippin Contemporary welcomes visitors to the Paint Out & Sculpt Out, inviting you to experience the creativity of painters Michael Monroe Ethridge and Cody Hooper. This event provides a unique opportunity for artists to include the viewer in their artistic process, and the equally exciting chance for the viewer to experience the art first hand. Come out and be a part of this exceptional event and celebrate the heritage of historic Canyon Road.
This year, we have a special surprise at 3:00pm in front of Winterowd Gallery and GF Contemporary at 701 Canyon Road. Don’t miss it!!
Barbara Meikle usually has burros modeling for her widely collected colorful paintings.
Common Misconceptions Collectors Have About Art Galleries and Buying Art
Abstract Fine Art, Paintings, Sculptureby Alan Bamberger, ArtBusiness.com – The purpose of following list is to help increase the overall understanding of collectors (and anyone who buys art) about how the art world works, how art is viewed in terms of value, how to approach and interact with galleries and others who sell art, how to optimize transactions involving art, and most importantly, to clarify that there are many reasons to own original art other than simply financial ones. The better you comprehend the art world’s ways, the more rewarding your collecting experience will be.
Misconception: Art gallery owners live lives of unlimited fun and partying, and hardly ever work.
Reality: People are often attracted to the art world based on fantasies like these, experiencing only the pristine calm and refinement of gallery settings or festive art parties and show openings when in fact, selling art is a business like any other, and in many ways, a more difficult business than most. Why? Because selling a commodity that serves no practical purpose, has no quantifiable tangible value, and that no one really needs in order to survive is challenging to say the least. Owning art has numerous benefits, of course, but they’re not necessarily obvious or easy to explain.
Read more…
Riverbank
acrylic/canvas
48×48″
$5900
Being True to My Creative Self…New Work by Aleta Pippin
Abstract Fine Art, Abstract Paintings, Paintings, Special EventsPippin continues her path of exploration with new work for her July 2014 show. Light has always been integral to her paintings. Using various mediums and contrasting hues, Pippin’s paintings have a “glow” that expresses as backlighting. She is also a fan of technology and has been researching LED lighting over a year.
In this show, you’ll see the initial paintings using LED lighting, as well as painting on acrylic panels. Following are a few of the finished pieces.
Unlimited Possibilities
mm: acrylic, acrylic panels, LED lighting
36x36x2.5″
Shades of Green
mm: acrylic on acrylic panels with LED lighting
36x12x2.5″
How Deep Is the Ocean
mm: acrylic on acrylic panels with LED lighting
36x12x2.5″
Aleta feels this is just the beginning. These paintings open the door to future work.
Canyon Road – Where Art and History Meet
Abstract Fine Art, Paintings, Sculpture(by Eve Tolpa for the Santa Fean magazine, April/May 2014, reprinted with permission of Bruce Adams)
Aleta Pippin New Video
Abstract Fine Art, Abstract Paintings, Paintings, UncategorizedAleta’s excited to share her new video, just completed. She had a fun experience working with Carlo Zanella, DHP Multimedia, who crafted the entire project.
Passport to the Arts…Quick Draw – Pippin Contemporary
Abstract Fine Art, Abstract Paintings, Paintings, Special Events3rd Annual Passport to the Arts Quick Draw on Canyon Road Saturday, May 10, 2014. The morning started at 11 am on the dot with eight artists located in our sculpture garden racing the clock to do a painting from beginning to end in just two hours while people mingled and encouraged them. Those paintings were sold at auction raising money for the Santa Fe Public Schools Music Education Program. Participating artists: Jason Appleton, Becky Brennen, Michael Ethridge, Cody Hooper, Oliver Polzin, James Roybal, Ann Marie Trapp, Sandra Duran Wilson.
Cody Hooper…checking
Jason Appleton talking with Bev Evans
James Roybal
Michael Ethridge and Aleta Pippin showing off Michael’s painting
Pretty artist under the Pink Hat? Sandra Duran Wilson, author of four art books.
Sandy Keller and Pamela Frankel Fiedler
Rose Masterpol and friend
How do you get a hummingbird down from the skylight? Very carefully…
Hummingbird rescued by Lisa Ethridge (right) and Bev Evans
Hunting for Alfred Morang by Paul Parker
Abstract Fine Art, Abstract Paintings, PaintingsFrom time-to-time, we’ll post stories written by Paul Parker, Santa Fe Art Club, paul@santafeartclub.com.
We hope you find them informative and interesting.
House Sketch, watercolor and ink, by Alfred Morang
I had been thinking about this mission for a long time and I finally find myself in the library seated in front of this antique microfilm viewer the size of a small refrigerator and I have loaded the reel containing the early 1958 issues of the Santa Fe New Mexican.
I was not sure why I had this unremitting need to know more about Alfred Morang. I had first seen his work painted on the adobe walls across from the bar in El Farol on Canyon Road and in Maria’s on Cordova, but I know the real inspiration came from my good friend Jim Parsons in Taos. Jim was an art dealer and appraiser forever and a friend and mentor for 20 years. When he mentioned that Alfred Morang was one of his favorites I knew I needed to pay attention. It was like Willy Wonka telling me about one of his favorite chocolate bars.
It helps that Alfred was such a compelling man, so well versed in music and literature as well as painting. He was the youngest person ever to perform a solo violin concert in the prestigious Jordan Hall in Boston. He was also an accomplished writer. The London Times once called him one of America’s leading non-political short story writers. Erskine Caldwell was a friend of his and he often visited Alfred and his wife Dorothy in Santa Fe. Alfred’s short stories and poems were published alongside Frost, Poe and Mark Twain. I do know the main reason I am so drawn to him is that his art touches me. Behind that art is Alfred’s story, his life experience and that is what drove him to create the art that Jim and I and many others enjoy so much.
There is a very sad part to his story and it is that part that drew me to the library. Alfred Morang died in a fire in his Canyon Road apartment studio on a cold January night at the age of 56. I had wanted to come here to the library and read the January 29, 1958 issue of the Santa Fe New Mexican for some time. I wanted to know the details, I wanted to read what people said, I wanted to know what page it was on and how big the article was. I was scrolling through the microfilm and as I started approaching the day he died I realized I was reading the papers that he probably read unaware he only had days to live.
The closer I got to the issue of the paper I had come to see the more time I took reading the articles and I even started reading the ads. I lingered the longest on Tuesday’s edition dated January 28, 1958. That was the last paper Alfred could have read.
There was an article on that day that I am sure must have caught Alfred’s eye and the headline read, “French Ballet loses Backing”. Alfred never made it to Paris, but his heart was there. His heroes were the French Impressionists and he considered himself to be one of them. Monet and Bonnard were his favorites. The article explained that the French Education Ministry had withdrawn the government subsidy for the production of Francoise Sagan’s ballet “The Broken Date”. The ministry’s action followed a storm of protest. Apparently one dance was performed in a bathroom setting designed by painter Bernard Buffet and was described by some critics as scandalously erotic. I would like to have gone to Paris with Alfred and attended that performance. A French ballet with a bathroom setting designed by Bernard Buffet coupled with scandalously erotic, I am sure we both would have enjoyed that.
That Tuesday the Lensic was showing “Pal Joey” starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak. Kaune’s was having a sale featuring Pork Chops at 59 cents a pound and Swanson’s Pot Pies at four for a dollar with your choice of chicken, turkey or beef. Cherry Motor’s at 607 Cerrillos Road had an ad for the new Rambler American for $1789. The ad proclaimed that one had been driven from New York to Los Angeles using only 80 gallons of gas averaging over 30 mpg. I remembered that time. One week before this ad ran I had celebrated my 12th birthday and becoming a teenager was in sight. Unlike today I was looking forward to getting older and that was the time I began thinking about cars. Chevrolet had just introduced the 283 V-8 a year earlier in the now iconic 1957 Chevy. The fuel economy push left over from the war was fading fast and the Plymouth Hemi and the “Little GTO” were on the horizon. The economical 6 cylinder Rambler American never had a chance.
I read every bit of that Tuesday’s paper. It was as if I felt that Alfred would be okay as long as I did not turn the page, but I knew it was time to see what I had come to see. I took a last look at the classifieds and marveled at an ad for a 2-bedroom adobe with wall-to-wall carpet “close in” for $16,500 and then I hit the button and watched the microfilm reel turn slowly.
The first thing I saw positioned on the top left side of the front page of that Wednesday edition of the Santa Fe New Mexican was a large photograph of a cat crouching on the corner of a charred mattress. The rest of the bed was strewn with papers and tubes of paint. Underneath the right half of the photo was a caption “Mourning for Her Master…This lonely cat was found wandering through the charred ruins of the home of her master Alfred Morang who died in the fire early this morning. The cat is on the bed where he died.” Morang’s friends had commented on his love of cats and noted that he often went hungry himself so he could afford to feed them. Two other cats perished in the fire with him. Unfortunately I discovered that the cat on the mattress in the picture had to be put down because it had extensive lung damage. There was also a picture of Alfred. A cigarette in a holder was hanging from the corner of his mouth dangling over his scraggly beard and he was wearing a black hat with a brim that was tilted slightly to the left making him look decidedly like an artist and decidedly French. The story next to the photo read “Well Known Artist Dies In Home Fire… Alfred Morang, 56, one of Santa Fe’s best known and most colorful Bohemians died at about 1:30 am last night in a tragic fire at his home in the 600 block of Canyon Road.” Friends reported they had last seen Alfred in Claude’s bar around midnight. His apartment was just up the alley out back.
Five days after the fire the New Mexican noted…“Funeral services were held Saturday at the Fairview Memorial Park Crematorium in Albuquerque for Alfred Morang, widely known Santa Fe artist, writer and critic who was burned to death early Wednesday morning in a fire at his home here. The body was escorted to Albuquerque by a group of close friends, including Randall Davey, Will Shuster, Harlan Lizer, Walter Dawley and William Currie. Alfred was transported in a Spanish Colonial coffin made by Abolonio Rodriguez, custodian of the art museum.”
Alfred was born in Ellsworth, Maine in 1901 and came to Santa Fe in 1937. Like many who came here he suffered from TB. He immediately became a fixture in the Santa Fe art scene. He wrote a weekly column for the newspaper and he produced a weekly radio program for 17 years on KVSF called “The World of Art with Alfred Morang.” Most of all he was famous for his enthusiasm for art and his ability to teach and many benefited from “The Morang School of Fine Art”.
Walt Wiggins authored a book published in 1979 appropriately titled “Alfred Morang…A Neglected Master”. Walt uncovered several quotes during his research for his book and my favorites include the following. “When Alfred Morang’s life came to a tragic end in January of 1958 nothing before or since has so shaken the New Mexico art colony. Some say it was a sense of guilt that struck the community for not having shown a greater sense of appreciation for one who, by destiny, was different.” One Santa Fe artist reasoned, “Why shouldn’t Santa Fe be stunned with the loss of Alfred? After all, he taught half of us how to paint and the other half how to see.”
The February 10th 1958 issue of the Santa Fe New Mexican carried the report of the local memorial service for Alfred in Lorraine Carr’s column “It Happened in Old Santa Fe”. Dr. Reginald Fisher, director of the Art Museum spoke first. “Friends this is not a funeral, we are simply gathered here for a creative expression of merit and appreciation of a spirit that has been active in an activity that we in Santa Fe like to call art. Alfred was an inventive, searching and daring spirit as French as Lautrec, yet he never saw Paris. Last week his restless spirit found peace.”
Painter and close friend Randall Davey was next. “I have known Alfred since he arrived back in 1937. He was a kind, a gentle and a humble soul and in all those years I never heard him speak unkindly of his fellow man. He was a great painter; many of you did not think so, because often he sold his work for a mere pittance through necessity. Nevertheless it was great art and the happiest work I have seen in New Mexico. He had a love and a delight for painting and I doubt that anyone will surpass him in this field.”
I hope Alfred enjoyed himself on that Tuesday. I hope he spent some time with friends and some extra time petting his cats. I hope he wrote another poem and put the final touches on his most recent favorite painting before he headed down the alley to Claude’s that evening.
Claude James ran the well know Canyon Road bar where he often spent time and, as legend has it, her rowdy spirit was just what was needed to run that place. I would love to have met Alfred there that fateful night for a few drinks. I’m sure we would have talked through the evening about art and life as we cast occasional glances at the ever present ladies that were often the subject of his paintings and when Claude said “It’s midnight, would you fellows like another one?” I would nod and say, how about a couple of shots of your best cognac. I would love to take a sip, lean back and turn to him and say “Alfred I know you often say that you don’t believe in art for art’s sake, but you believe in art for people’s sake. Can you explain to me what you mean by that, and please…take your time?”
A few weeks after I finished writing this story I found myself engrossed in the details of planning a trip to Paris. I was not sure why, but suddenly it came flooding over me with incredible clarity. Human life really is very fragile and it really is all going to come to an end someday and we do not know when. I knew then I needed to go to Paris and I needed to go now. Unfortunately most people have that epiphany too late in life. They start thinking about the things they never got to do after it’s too late to do them. I knew then that this sudden obsession with Paris was a message from Alfred. Paris was his promised land, but he never made it there and I was going to go for both of us.
I told a friend in Santa Fe this story and he said, “You should do something for Alfred in Paris.” It was a great idea, but what would I do? I had been in Paris 5 days when I suddenly knew. I found an image of a Morang painting on my laptop. I printed it and wrote a bit on the back about Alfred and headed off to the Musee d’Orsay. This time as I enjoyed the paintings I was also searching for a repository for Alfred’s work and I finally found it. I can tell you that a fine example of the genius of Alfred Morang now has a home in Musee d’Orsay on the banks of the Seine and it will take a jackhammer to find it. He is close to Monet and Bonnard, the masters he so admired. Alfred, you finally made it.