Niki de Saint Phalle

It was on a bright, beautiful, balmy Saturday morning down town in the North Carolina City of Charlotte that my daughter; Gail and I chanced upon something incredible and very interesting. We were just outside the newly opened Bechtler Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.  A large (fifty three foot) flat- bed trailer truck was being unloading by workers and museum staff members. They were in the process of installing a mammoth sculpture. As my daughter and I witnessed the piece was being stacked to a magnificent height right there in the museum’s plaza. The structure was an extravagant, mosaic-like work with a reflective silver surface. What was becoming a fantastic creature of gigantic scale (granted slowly and methodically) was the Niki de Saint Phalle original; “Firebird.” Just how fortunate were my daughter and I to be privy to this amazing and fantastical event?

Miss de Saint Phalle came to the world’s notice first as a model for Vogue and Harpers in the late fifties. Her intelligence, beauty and sophistication radiated with undeniable elegance and style. Her artistic and creative skills would develop after a nervous break-down.

Painting was therapy and a way of coping with the troubles of her early life. Niki would take her pain, resilience, imagination along with every part of her being and use them in the creation of pieces that continue to resonate and thrill. The paintings evolved into mixed-medium expressions that would lead her into the “Shooting Paintings.” These paintings were literally created by Niki attaching polythene bags of paint to a designed surface and bursting them by firing a loaded shotgun. The making of the paintings would become performance pieces and through them Niki became the only female member of the elusive and respected “Nouveau Realists.”

The works that were most identified with Niki de Saint Phalle; her signatures, her alter egos, her “Nanas.” The sculptural statements of the “Nanas” were representations of robust colorful women; the “every-woman.”   As magnificent in their glory as they were playful in style and execution. Her crowning and most celebrated Nana was a work entitled: “Hon-en- Katedral.”  It was a large scale dwelling like work that visitors entered through what Gustav Courbet would have refer to as “The Origin of the World.” It was credited with a jump in Sweden’s birth rate the year it was exhibited. It seemed the work was enjoyed on a truly unpresented, inspirational level by the many.   

“Life … is never the way one imagis it. It surprises you, it amazes you, and it makes you laugh or cry when you don’t expect it” 

                                                       Niki de Saint Phalle

“The Tarot Garden” in Tuscany, the “Miles Davis” sculpture outside the Hotel Le Negresco in Nice and on a smaller scale (but no less monumental) her impressively unique Niki de Saint Phalle” perfume bottle were among the great and truly wonderful achievements of Niki’s vastly creative life. Her career and out-put continually expanded especially during her marriage to sculptor Jean Tinguely who she also collaborated with on multiple projects including film and video.  The personal price of Niki’s creativity was ultimately the highest. The polyester fibers in her favorite medium would cost her life. Her lungs were scare by breathing in the destructive, fine particles of the material.  Within her time and continuously through our own Niki de Saint Phalle towers and sustains. We are left with the brightness, the beauty, the spirit of adventure that was Niki de Saint Phalle.

David Finch Pencils

                                                                                                                                      

 Lichtenstein, Warhol and Ramos “discovered” comic books in the 60’s and made large, beautiful and intellectual pieces from the imagery. Somehow the art world forgot to laud the original creators: Bob Kane, Roy Thomas and Curt Swan. A number of the original artists of the comic book genre ironically didn’t see themselves as artist either. They were happy to be working in a field they loved as they entertained their readership.  There were still others like Carmine Infantino that studied and sited artist including French Impressionist; Edgar Degas as a major influence on his style of drawing. Infantino would produce many of the most iconic and reproduced images from comics “Silver Age.” We now come to the contemporary where comic book creators are recognized as artist in their own right. Robert Crumb, Alex Ross and Daniel Clowes are definitely “Comic Book Guys” and favorites of the “High” art world as well. Another artist to watch that has all the gifts of any master is David finch. His work is to note.

Drawing is critical and the heart and soul of any great work. Go to the core of every work of refinement and you will find draftsmanship is foremost. Film, design, portraiture and scientific development depend heavily on drawing. Story boarding, studies and sketches are critical as well as informative. The mind and hand come together on page as problem solvers and developers. The act and result of drawing by hand as especially expressed with pencil is the alpha. 

Finch’s pencils are of a confidence and grace that rival any draftsman of the day. His is an elegance and refinement that transcends all labels and genres. The lines, shadows and nuances from his hand are treasures as well as joyous to the eye of the viewer. Finch’s portfolio is extensive and possesses’ many remarkable things. Some of his best are displayed here and they are to delight and to please.       

FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS Gordon Parks

The release of the sound track to the motion picture “Shaft” starring Richard Roundtree was to be a major event. It featured the music of Maestro; Isaac Hayes for which he would win the much coveted Oscar and sold in the multiple millions. The album was released a few weeks earlier than the film and I had become engrossed in the music. The cover too, was itself an achievement of advertising art featuring the action hero/detective in a pulp fiction moment of triumphant motion with grim expression and guns blazing..  The bold, original concept “Shaft” logo most prominent! The liner notes spoke of many things including the film’s remarkable director; Gordon Parks. There was also a photo of Isaac Hayes with Parks and the creator of Shaft; Ernest Tidyman standing on the MGM studios film lot. All distinguished and excited about their collaboration. This was my introduction to Gordon Parks; an illustrious and variously talented man; one most gifted and accomplished. 

 From the starting point of film director I would discover that Mr. Parks had earlier directed the celebrated account of his own autobiographical novel “The Learning Tree.” He had even scored that film himself as well as having written the screen play. Parks had another major star point in his universe of expression. He was a photo-journalist of the highest order. He had been a staff member of the most lauded photography magazine in history.  The legendary magazine; “LIFE” was his home for a number of brilliant years. His contributions to the magazine included essays and photos on fashion, sports, Broadway and racial segregation. Parks remains a standard bearer for the ages; he is one among the greatest generation of photographers.

The films, writings, music and teachings of Gordon Parks have served as testaments to his journey to understanding, self-expression and the enrichment of the human experience. The catalogue of Gordon Parks’ efforts is eclectic, extensive and extraordinary. I have selected five pieces to illustrate his photography. They are his voice and speak to our pleasure.