WEEK 34, 2021

BOB EASTON

The reredos (a large decorative piece behind the altar) showing limewood carvings of flowers, shells, and strings of pearls, by Grinling Gibbons, pictured from below at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, London.

FINE ARTS LORRAINE FERRIER “Stupendous and beyond all description … the incompara- ble carving of our Gibbons, who is without controversy the greatest master both for innovation and rareness of work The Michelangelo that the world ever had in any age,” wrote 17th-century diarist John Evelyn about Grinling Gibbons, the greatest decorative carver in British history. This year marks 300 years since Gibbons’s death, and the Grin- of Wood: ling Gibbons Society has put together a yearlong festival to mark the tercentenary: Grinling Gibbons 300. One of the events is the exhibition “Grinling Gibbons: Centuries in the Making.” Grinling Gibbons Continued on Page 4 The Grinling Gibbons Society exhibition: Gibbons’s carvings are almost the equivalent of still-life ‘Grinling Gibbons: paintings, but in wood. Centuries in the Making’ Hannah Phillip, curator B22 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, AUGUSTWeek 34,24, 2021 TUESDAY,Week 34, 2021AUGUST 24, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B3 3

LITERATURE this story to friends and family mem- were acquainted with this story. bers. Despite these many repetitions, We can easily equip our children this fable still sends a chill up my spine with this wisdom. Our libraries and every time I read it, amazing me by its bookshops are loaded with these col- literary precision and the knockout lections—my library has more than The Fabulous Fable: A Gift for All Agespunch at the end. 20 books of Aesop’s fables alone—and many of these books are handsomely

PUBLIC DOMAIN PD A Treasure of Our Culture illustrated, adding to their appeal to JEFF MINICK Though we live in a time of cultural the young. If the children enjoy videos, SUMMERTIME STYLE storms and moral relativism, the time- you can find dozens of sites promoting n “Literature: An Introduction less wisdom of fables can act as ballast fables through cartoons and dramatic SEASONAL PIECES YOU’LL LOVE to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama,” and moorings for our children. Aesop’s readings online. the hefty volume once used by “The Wolf and the Dog,” for example, Give this gift to our children, and it my Advanced Placement English teaches a much-needed lesson in the will last them a lifetime. Literature classes, X.J. Kennedy importance of liberty. “The Lion and Iopens with a discussion of the fable. the Mouse” emphasizes the impor- Jeff Minick has four children and a Naturally, he mentions that most fa- tance of kindness, while “The Hare and growing platoon of grandchildren. mous practitioner of this genre, Aesop the Tortoise” reminds readers that “the For 20 years, he taught history, (circa 620–560 B.C.) race is not always to the swift.” literature, and Latin to seminars of Little is known of the life of Aesop Knowing some of these fables also homeschooling students in Asheville, other than he was Greek—some debate connects us more deeply to the past. N.C. He is the author of two novels, his very existence—but many of the Decades ago, a girl I knew was told by “Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their 584 fables attributed to him remain her friend, “I’m the grasshopper, and Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, familiar to us to this day. Children you’re the ant,” a remark intended as “Learning As I Go” and “Movies Make still read or hear “The Tortoise and a putdown, though the speaker appar- The Man.” Today, he lives and writes the Hare,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” ently forgot that it is the grasshopper in Front Royal, Va. See JeffMinick. “The Fox and the Grapes,” and “The that starves. But at least both of them com to follow his blog. Dog and the Wolf.” PUBLIC DOMAIN As Kennedy writes, a fable is “a brief An 1857 illustration of Aesop's fable story that sets forth a pointed state- “The Ant and the Grasshopper.” ment of truth.” The characters in fables “may be talking animals (as in many in Bagdad who sent his servant to mar- of Aesop’s fables), inanimate objects, ket to buy provisions and in a little or people and supernatural beings (as while the servant came back, white and in ‘The Appointment in Samarra.’)” trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was Fables Are Universal jostled by a woman in the crowd and These qualities make the fable readily when I turned I saw it was Death that transferable cultural commodities. Ae- jostled me. She looked at me and made sop’s stories, for example, have long be- a threatening gesture; now, lend me longed to the world. The 10th century, your horse, and I will ride away from for example, produced a collection of this city and avoid my fate. I will go to the Greek’s fables in Central Asia in the Samarra and there Death will not find Uyghur language. In the 16th century, me. The merchant lent him his horse, Portuguese missionaries introduced and the servant mounted it, and he dug Aesop to the Japanese. his spurs into its flanks and as fast as Other fabulists have also found pop- the horse could gallop he went. Then ularity outside their own countries. the merchant went down to the mar- Perhaps foremost among these was ketplace and he saw me standing in Jean de La Fontaine, whose late 17th- the crowd and he came to me and said, century collections became literary Why did you make a threatening ges- classics and remain familiar not only ture to my servant when you saw him to French children but also to others this morning? That was not a threaten- around the world. ing gesture, I said, it was only a start of (Left) A facsimile of the 1489 Spanish edition of “Aesop’s Fables” (“Fabulas de Esopo) published in Madrid in 1929. The frontispiece woodcut depicts Aesop surrounded by images and events surprise. I was astonished to see him in from the “Life of Aesop” by Planudes. Bagdad, for I had an appointment with (Right) W. Somerset Maugham’s fable “The Appointment in Samarra” is not for children. “The Gentleman and Death,” 17th century, by Pedro de Camprobín. Hospital de la Caridad. ShenYunDancer.com him tonight in Samarra. The timeless wisdom Clearly, “The Appointment in Samar- ra” is not intended for children. The fa- of fables can act as bles mentioned earlier may appeal even to the preschool crowd, but Maugham’s ballast and moorings tiny gem of writing is too confusing and for our children. frightening for the little ones. A Deeper Look TH Like their characters, the moral truths Yet I chose “The Appointment in Samar- THE NTD INTERNATIONAL of these short tales also appeal to a ra” for analysis here for three reasons. 6 broad spectrum of cultures. Whether First, Maugham’s little story contains you are from the shores of the Ganges all the classic elements of a fable. It’s PIANO COMPETITION River or from the mountains of Colo- short, the language is succinct and with- rado, you understand the message in a out decoration, and Death appears in fable like “The Ant and the Grasshop- human form, in this case as a woman. per.” The ant works hard throughout Though the moral is not directly refer- Revitalizing piano music of the Baroque, the summer preparing his larder for enced, as it is in so many fables—Kenne- Classical, and Romantic eras the cruel months of winter, while the dy asks his student readers, “How would grasshopper merrily plays his fiddle you state it in your own words?”—most and laughs in derision at the toiling of us would conclude that the message Preliminary: 9/3~24 (Online) ant. When storms and snow come, as is that we cannot escape our fate, par- they always do, it is the grasshopper ticularly in regard to death. that finds himself hungry and shiver- And unlike some fables, “The Ap- Semifinal & Final: 11/4~6 (New York) ing in the cold. The moral of this story pointment in Samarra” raises some is twofold: Be responsible for yourself; important questions: What is fate? Do there’s a time to work and a time to play. we believe in destiny or in free will? Most human beings acknowledge “I am the master of my fate,” wrote such ideas as true. poet William Ernest Henley, “I am the captain of my soul.” Maugham’s fable A Fable for Grownups challenges us to consider the truth of Let’s look now at a much more modern that bold proclamation. fable, Somerset Maugham’s version of Finally, I decided to elaborate on “The an old Arabic legend, “The Appointment Appointment in Samarra” because of its in Samarra,” which Kennedy includes power. I’ve read Maugham’s words with in “Literature.” Here it is in its entirety: numerous classes, have mentioned it Death speaks: There was a merchant in some of my writing, and have told

PUBLIC DOMAIN

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An illustration of “The Hare and the Tortoise” from the 1855 edition of La Fontaine’s “Fables.” 4B4 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, AUGUSTWeek 34,24, 2021 TUESDAY,Week 34, AUGUST2021 24, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B5 5

ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

Grinling Gib- bons carved the coats of arms of all the bene- factors of Wren Library, Trinity College, Cam- bridge. (Below) A detail from the crest’s top.

TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ed in his receiving the first of many royal Limewood is different from oak. “It al- remarkable that it’s on display. “The Quire commissions. His first was the remodeling lows [for] much finer cutting and detailing, is his tour de force carving,” Phillip said. of Windsor Palace for Charles I. He then which is what Gibbons’s work is all about— In the 19th century, the cathedral Quire worked as the official royal carver and that realism, that lightness, and fluidity. … was shortened and the organ was moved. sculptor for monarchs from Charles II to He also exploited the color of limewood, The part of the Quire that was removed is George I. which is very pale, and so set against oak, in the exhibition. As part of the royal court, he worked which is usually somewhat darker, it re- Phillip explained that one of the private alongside the court architects, one of ally brings forward the carving in its own loans came from a reordered carving, and whom was the preeminent architect Sir right,” she said. because it had been reordered, it meant Christopher Wren, who was helping to The flair with which Gibbons created that the Gibbons Society didn’t have to do rebuild London after the Great Fire in his carvings to ornament houses made any invasive removal of the work to borrow 1666. Gibbons’s most illustrious com- his carvings “art works in their own right; the piece for the show. missions were for Wren: the Quire (the they are almost forms of sculpture pinned Another example of a rearranged carv- choir stalls) at St. Paul’s Cathedral in to the wall,” Phillip said. ing in the exhibition is a surround for a London, and the ornamentation of Wren “He’s innovating in terms of materials, mirror. Instead of a coherent design, the Library at Trinity College in Cambridge, style, and influences,” she said. But he’s design loops in on itself. (I will clarify to name a couple. also elevated woodcarving to an art form, with Hannah what she means here. I she added. “Gibbons had great skill in un- thought it was an architectural surround Grinling Gibbons dercutting and understanding the dimen- on the wall (which we call a surround), Gibbons’s family were English merchants. sions of things.” not the frame. In the UK we would call a The Quire (the choir stalls) of St Paul’s Cathedral in London was one of Grinling Gibbons’s most illustrious commissions and a defining symbol of professional triumph. His mother (whose maiden name is his first “He was an amazing draftsman, as well mirror frame exactly that so Connie has name, as per tradition at the time) came as a carver. Some people can be techni- me thinking!) from a family of tobacco merchants. And cally very good at what they do, but they Phillip hopes that the exhibition not only FINE ARTS first met the 19-year-old Gibbons. While his father was one of the Merchant Adven- don’t necessarily have that understanding highlights Gibbons’s life and legacy, but walking across fields near his home in turers, a company of English merchants of design and he had both,” Phillip said. that visitors understand that carvers to- Deptford, South London, he happened who traded mainly with the Netherlands. One iconic Gibbons carving in the ex- day continue to emulate and be inspired upon a solitary thatched cottage. Inside, The family lived in Rotterdam, in the hibition demonstrates his virtuosity: A by him. Grinling Gibbons endures as the The Michelangelo he could see Gibbons carving a copy of Southern Netherlands, where Gibbons was cravat carved in limewood that imitates Michelangelo of wood. an Italian Renaissance painting from an surrounded by a myriad of artistic influ- Venetian point lace so delicately that it’s engraving. The painting was Tintoretto’s ences. It was the Dutch Golden Age, after astounding. The 18th-century art connois- The Grinling Gibbons Society exhibi- “The Crucifixion.” Evelyn recognized the all, when the Netherlands became world- seur Horace Walpole, who once owned the tion: “Grinling Gibbons: Centuries in of Wood: work because he also had an engraving, renowned for its trade, military, science, piece, decided to wear the fashionable the Making” is at Bonhams, New Bond having purchased it in Venice during his art, and culture. cravat to a dinner party of distinguished Street, London, until Aug. 27. Compton Grand Tour. (The painting is regarded as Dutch architecture, carving, sculpture, French, Spanish, and Portuguese visitors Verney Art Gallery & Park, in War- one of the best examples of the Venetian and the interest in still-life, flower, and at his neo-Gothic Strawberry Hill House wickshire will host the exhibition Sept. style of painting.) genre (daily life) paintings flourished. “It in Twickenham, London. 25–Jan. 30, 2022. To find out more, visit Grinling Gibbons They are Evelyn was astounded by Gibbons’s work. was an amazing array of influences that he Grinling-Gibbons.org almost forms “The curiosity of handling, drawing and would have been able to imbibe. And we The Business of Making Masterpieces The Grinling Gibbons studious exactnesse, I never had before can … see how he channeled that through From Gibbons’s correspondences, we see BOB EASTON of sculpture sceene before in all my travells,” he wrote. his work,” Phillip said. that he had an astute business acumen, Society exhibition: pinned to the Puzzled, Evelyn asked Gibbons why he “Gibbons’s carvings are almost the perhaps inherited from his merchant fa- worked in “such an obscure & lonesome equivalent of still-life paintings, but in ther. Phillip explained that he was always The reredos wall. place.” Gibbons replied that it was so he wood,” she said. She described a panel in looking for his next project, and he didn’t (a large dec- ‘Grinling Gibbons: could apply himself to his profession with- the exhibition from St. James Church in hesitate to write and ask his contacts for orative piece Hannah Phillip, curator out interruption. Piccadily, where an array of fruits, flowers, an introduction to anyone who might be behind the Centuries in the Making’ Evelyn was well-connected. Seeing such and animals appear real. “Not only does he having a house built. altar) crest by skill, he suggested that he could intro- draw on the natural world, but he does very Gibbons had a workshop of woodcarv- Grinling Gib- PUBLIC DOMAIN duce the young Gibbons to great men successfully imitate it as well,” she said. ers and stone sculptors whom he would bons, pictured ContinuedContinued fromfrom PageB1 1 who could employ him. Gibbons insisted call upon to help create his commissioned from below, that he was just a beginner, but that “The Early Influences works. Much like a painters’ workshop, at St James’s Hannah Phillip, Grinling 300 director and Cruxificion” carving he was working on It’s unclear exactly who trained Gibbons, Gibbons would direct the work of crafts- Church, Picca- the exhibition curator, explained in a tele- could be sold. dilly, London. but there are a couple of theories. Docu- men who specialized in particular ele- In the center, a phone interview, that the exhibition aims Evelyn described the carving: “There be- ments detail that he once worked in Artus ments. For instance, certain woodcarv- pelican can be to highlight Gibbons’s life and legacy and ing nothing even in nature so tender, & Quellinus the Elder’s workshop in Amster- ers might excel at creating cherubs, while seen feeding its to shine a light on where to enjoy Gibbons’s (Left) Grinling Gibbons, delicate as the flowers & festoones about dam. Quellinus was the foremost sculptor others might be better at creating archi- own blood to its work in situ. 1690, by John Smith, it, & yet the work was very strong.” at that time, specializing in stone, and so tectural details. “In a sense, you would see young, symbolic To that end, the Grinling Gibbons Society after Sir Godfrey Knel- That chance encounter was fortuitous for some scholars surmise that Gibbons may his hand in everything because he would of how Christ has created an online catalog called “Grin- ler. Mezzotint; 13 3/8 the young artist. He made a deep impres- have developed his amazing skills under have been the master of the overarching sacrificed him- ling Gibbons Online” to record the artist’s inches by 10 5/16 sion on Evelyn, who found him very civil, Quellinus’s tutelage. design,” Phillip said. self for man- inches. Harris Brisbane work worldwide. Any works attributed to sober, and discrete in his discourse. Evelyn, kind. Dick Fund, 1925, The But Phillip explained that recent research “His works have this great liveliness and Gibbons and his followers, or works that in his diary, recounted what he had told by Ada de Wit has put forward another three-dimensionality, and partly that’s Metropolitan Museum V&A MUSEUM are questionably his are included in the of Art. King Charles I about Gibbons’s work: “I theory. De Wit is the curator of works of due to how they are constructed. They are online catalog in the hope of opening up would adventure my reputation with his art and sculpture at the Wallace Collection made in layers and pinned in place,” she debate about his work. (Below) The Barrow coat Majestie that he had never seene any thing in London, and has written her doctoral explained. of arms, at Wren Library, approch it, & that he would be exceedingly thesis on Dutch carvers operating in Eng- The main architectural feature of Gib- Discovering a Diligent Carver Trinity College, Cambridge pleased, & employ him.” land. De Wit believes that Gibbons took an bons’s carving is called a swag, which In his diary, Evelyn described how he and details of the squirrel Gibbons’s meeting with the king result- at top, and of nuts. apprenticeship locally in Rotterdam with surrounds a picture or is an ornament the van Douwe family of sculptors whose around a fireplace. These swags would TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE workshop was very close to where the Gib- consist of a couple of drops at the sides bons family lived. and a crest on the top. Phillip explained Carving was part of Rotterdam’s thriv- that often the drops were made up of a ing shipbuilding industry. “It would have number of components and pieced to- been a profession on his doorstep,” Phil- gether with iron pins. Occasionally, those lip said. She explained that the designs components were rearranged, so that the and carvings that were being created for bottom part of a drop then became the the vessels were more than just little em- top of the drop. This rearranging typically bellishments. “This was not a bit of extra happened in country houses, where Gib- detail being put on. They’re very lavish bons’s carvings would be reconfigured and ornate forms of ornamentation.” Gib- due to renovations, or sometimes parts of bons would have been surrounded by this the carvings were completely separated carving industry. and kept as fragments somewhere else. “It In the 1660s, Gibbons traveled to England can be a real detective puzzle to work out where he first worked as a journeyman for how they [the fragments] were originally the preeminent architect and craftsman intended,” she said. Cravat, John Etty, in York, in the north of England. circa 1690, Eventually he traveled south, and settled in Exhibition Challenges by Grinling Deptford, South London, the center of Brit- Most of Gibbons’s work is part of the fabric Gibbons. ish naval shipbuilding where his fortunes of buildings, which meant that arranging Limewood changed when he met Evelyn. an exhibition of his works was a “phenom- with raised When Gibbons came to England, wood enal undertaking,” Philip said. “You obvi- and openwork carving. Gift of carvings were executed in oak, but he pio- ously don’t want to arrange an exhibition the Hon. Mrs. neered the use of limewood. Phillip ex- at the risk of the objects.” Walter Levy; plained that woodcarving in England at One of the works on show is part of the Victoria and that time was quite flat, and oak was tra- Quire in St. Paul’s Cathedral, where the Albert Museum, ditionally used to ornament houses. choir still sings. It’s a stupendous piece and London. 6B6 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, AUGUSTWeek 34,24, 2021 TUESDAY,Week 34, 2021AUGUST 24, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B7 7

LITERATURE POPCORN AND INSPIRATION

ALL PHOTOS BY MIRAMAX Calls to Cancel Chaucer Even Geniuses Ignore His Defense of Women and the Innocent, Have Trouble and Assume All His Characters’ Opinions Are His PUBLIC DOMAIN Leaving the Nest JESSICA WOLLOCK actually an advocate for human rights. My own research shows that in the course pying is a risky profession. For the of his career, he supported women’s right 14th-century English undercover to choose their own mates and the human agent-turned-poet Geoffrey Chau- desire for freedom from enslavement, co- Mark Jackson grew up in Spring Val- cer, the dangers—at least to his ercion, verbal abuse, political tyranny, ju- ley, N.Y., where he attended a Waldorf FILM INSIGHTS school. At Williams College, his pro- reputation—continue to surface dicial corruption, and sexual trafficking. In fessors all suggested he write pro- Scenturies after his death. “The Canterbury Tales” and “The Legend of fessionally. He acted professionally In his July 2021 essay for the Times Liter- Good Women,” he tells many stories on such WITH MARK for 20 years instead. Now he ary Supplement, A.S.G. Edwards, professor themes. There he opposed assassination, in- writes professionally about of medieval manuscripts at the University fanticide and femicide, the mistreatment of JACKSON acting. In the movies. of Kent in Canterbury, England, laments prisoners, sexual harassment, and domestic the removal of Geoffrey Chaucer from uni- abuse. He valued self-control in action and versity curricula. Edwards says he believes in speech. He spoke out for women, enslaved this disappearance may be propelled by a people, and Jews. vocal cohort of scholars who see the “father “Women want to be free and not coerced MARK JACKSON Meanwhile, juvie-genius Will finally ends Will: “Oh, come on! Why is it always this, I (L–R) Casey Affleck, Cole of English poetry” as a rapist, racist, and Detail from the “Canterbury Tales” mural, 1939, by Ezra Winter. Library of Congress John Adams like slaves, and so do men,” the narrator of up in jail. He’s got a rap sheet as long as his mean, I ... owe it to myself to do this? What Hauser, Ben antisemite. Building, Washington, D.C. “The Franklin’s Prologue” says. There’s nothing quite as fun in movies as arm, but he’s previously been successful ‘Good Will if I don’t want to?” The predicament would have amused As for Jews, Chaucer salutes their ancient when an apparently innocuous individual defending himself against various charges Affleck, and Chaucer himself. Jewish and feminist heroism in his early poem “The House of unexpectedly unpacks his or her super- of assault (impersonating an officer, grand Hunting’ Chuckie: “Alright. No. No no.... you. You Matt Damon scholars, among others, are shooting down woman named Cecily Chaumpaigne, al- for money and troops, while also perhaps Fame.” He depicts them as a people who powers. Like when that silent guy at the theft auto, resisting arrest, and so on). He don’t owe it to yourself. You owe it to me. play friends received who grew one of their earliest and wisest allies. This though the legal records are enigmatic. It investigating the suspicious death of Lio- have done great good in the world, only to bar, who wants nothing more than a cold knows the law back to the 1800s, but he’s ’Cause tomorrow I’m gonna wake up and nine Oscar up together is happening when new research reveals looks as though Cecily accused Chaucer of nel of Antwerp, an English prince who was be rewarded with slander. In “The Prior- beer and a quiet place to drink it in (that’s not able to get the charges dismissed this I’ll be fifty and I’ll still be doing this. ... And in South a Chaucer altogether different from what some such crime and he paid her to clear his probably poisoned soon after his wedding. ess’s Tale” he shows them being libeled by a Clint Eastwood line), gets fed up with be- time, finally running into a judge who will nominations. that’s all right, that’s fine. I mean, you’re Boston, in many current readers have come to accept. name. It’s unclear what actually happened Chaucer’s job brought him face-to-face a desperate character to cover up a crime ing harassed, and the opposition suddenly not tolerate, in this case, the striking of an sittin’ on a winning lottery ticket. ... And “Good Will My decades of research show that he was between them. with the darkest figures of his day—the of which they were manifestly innocent, realizes it’s knocked over a hornet’s nest. officer. that’s ... ’cause I’d do anything to ... have Hunting.” no raunchy proponent of bro culture but a Critics cherry-pick quotations to support treacherous Charles the Bad, king of Na- a century after all Jews had been brutally In “Good Will Hunting,” this occurs what you got. So would any of these ... guys. daring and ingenious defender of women their claims about Chaucer. But if you ex- varre, a notorious traitor and assassin; and expelled from England. when 20-year-old MIT university janitor An 11th-Hour Save It’d be an insult to us if you’re still here in and the innocent. amine his writings in detail, as I have, you’ll Bernabò Visconti, lord of Milan, who helped Chaucer’s own words demonstrate be- Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is hanging out Professor Lambeau figures out who solved twenty years. Hanging around here is a ... As a medievalist who teaches Chaucer, I see that themes of concern for women and devise a 40-day torture protocol. yond the shadow of a doubt that when his with his blue-collar South Boston buddies his math problem, comes to Will’s rescue, waste of your time.” believe the movement to cancel Chaucer human rights, the oppressed, and the per- Chaucer’s poetry reflects his experience as much underestimated Prioress tells her in a Cambridge bar packed with world-class and arranges for the directionless kid to has been bamboozled by his tradecraft—his secuted, reappear time and time again. an English agent. He enjoyed role-playing antisemitic blood libel tale, Chaucer is not Harvard minds. He notices that his best be released into his care. He takes Will Will: “You don’t know that.” consummate skill as a master of disguise. and assuming many identities in his writing. endorsing it. Through her own words and friend, Chuckie (Ben Affleck), at the other under his wing on the condition that they And like the couriers he dispatched from actions, and a cascade of reactions from end of the bar is on the losing end of a pub- solve weekly math formulas together, and Chuckie: “I don’t?” Outfoxing the Professors Italy in 1378, he brings his readers covert those who hear her, he is exposing such licly embarrassing, predatory-competitive that Will attends weekly, court-mandated It’s true that Chaucer’s work contains toxic Chaucer was actually messages split between multiple speakers. guilty and dangerous actors as they deploy debate about history—with a Harvardian. therapy sessions with a psychologist. Will: “No. You don’t know that.” material. His “Wife of Bath’s Prologue” in Each teller holds just a piece of the puzzle. such lies. Now Will’s a tough kid; he put a gang Will reluctantly accepts and goes through “The Canterbury Tales,” his celebrated col- an advocate for human The whole story can only be understood And was he a rapist or an abductor? It’s un- member in the hospital during a street fight. a series of therapists, all of whom he vari- Chuckie: “Oh, I don’t know that. Let me tell lection of stories, quotes at length from the when all the messages arrive. likely. The case suggests that he might well He could easily reduce the disdainful, pony- ously derides, messes with, or calls out for you what I do know. Every day I come by long tradition of classical and medieval rights. He also uses the skills of a secret agent to have been targeted, perhaps even because tailed Harvard guy to a grease stain on the being secretly gay, until he meets the one to pick you up. And we go out, we have a works on the evils of women, as mans- express dangerous truths not accepted in his of his work. Few authors have ever been rug, but he doesn’t need to. Because he’s who won’t throw in the towel: Sean Maguire few drinks and a few laughs and it’s great. plained by the Wife’s elderly husbands: “You Chaucer the Spy own day, when misogyny and antisemitism more outspoken about man’s inhumanity a photographic-memory-having, speed- (Robin Williams). It turns out that Sean is But you know what the best part of my day say, just as worms destroy a tree, so a wife Readers often assume that Chaucer’s char- were both entrenched, especially among to women. reading math genius with an encyclopedic, also originally from working-class Southie is? It’s for about ten seconds from when I destroys her husband.” acters were a reflection of the writer’s own the clergy. It is bizarre that one of the strongest and memorized metric ton of trivia in his head, (a South Boston area). Sean teaches at a lo- pull up to the curb to when I get to your Later, “The Prioress’s Tale” repeats the an- attitude because he is such a convincing Chaucer does not preach or explain. In- earliest writers in English literature to speak who is also able to intuit people’s thoughts cal community college, wears a Boston Red door. Because I think maybe I’ll get up there tisemitic blood libel story, the false accusa- role player. Chaucer’s career in the English stead, he lets the formidable Wife of Bath, out against rape and support women and and secrets. As mentioned: superpowers. Sox jacket, and was Lambeau’s freshman- and I’ll knock on the door and you won’t tion that Jews murdered Christians, at a time secret service trained him as an observer, the character he most enjoyed, tell us about the downtrodden should be pilloried and year roommate at MIT. be there. No goodbye, no see you later, no when Jews across Europe were under attack. analyst, diplomat, and master at concealing the misogyny of her five husbands and fan- threatened with cancellation. Will: “The sad thing about a guy like you is Sean offers an escape route from the nothin’. Just left. I don’t know much, but I These poems in particular generate ac- his own views. tasize about how ladies of King Arthur’s But Chaucer knew that the complexity of in 50 years you’re gonna start doing some confines of (in the parlance of the Hero’s know that.” cusations that Chaucer propagated sexist In his teens, Chaucer became a confiden- court might take revenge on a rapist. Or he his art put him at risk. As his character the thinking of your own, and you’re gonna Journey) the village compound. In Will’s and antisemitic material because he agreed tial envoy for England. From 1359 to 1378, he makes his deserted Queen Dido cry: “Given Squire dryly observed, people all too often come up with the fact that there are two case, this means from the meaningless, More Oscars with or enjoyed it. graced English diplomatic delegations and their bad behavior, it’s a shame any woman “demen gladly to the badder ende”—“They certainties in life. One: Don’t do that (pla- massively underachieving, drudge-filled At the 70th Academy Awards (up against Several prominent scholars seem con- carried out missions described in expense ever took pity on any man.” are happy to assume the worst.” giarize). And two: You dropped a hundred existence he clings to out of a misguided ro- the 11 nominations for “Titanic”), “Good vinced that Chaucer’s personal views are records only as “the king’s secret business.” and fifty grand on a[n] ... education you mantic notion of a life doing nothing more Twenty-year-old Will Hunting” received nine Oscar nomina- the same as those of his characters and that Documents show him scouting paths Chaucer the Chivalrous Defender Jennifer Wollock is a professor of English at could’ve got for a dollar-fifty in late charges than eventually attending his buddies’ kids’ uneducated janitor Will tions, including Best Actor (Damon), Best Chaucer is promoting these opinions. And through the Pyrenees for English forces While current critiques of Chaucer label him Texas A&M University. This article was first at the public library.” baseball games. Hunting (Matt Damon) Director (Van Sant), Best Supporting Ac- they believe he abducted or raped a young poised to invade Spain. He lobbied Italy as an exponent of toxic masculinity, he was published on The Conversation. Will gets inside Sean’s head and rear- solves a Ph.D.-level math tress (Minnie Driver), Best Original Score Harvard guy: “Yeah, but I’ll have a degree. ranges the furniture in a heartbeat. Which problem in “Good Will (Danny Elfman), Best Song (Elliott Smith), And you’ll be serving my kids fries at a is good, because Sean nearly chokes Will Hunting.” and Best Picture. Damon and Affleck won drive-through on our way to a ski trip.” unconscious for disrespecting Sean’s wife. as authors for Best Original Screenplay. The

PUBLIC DOMAIN Young, wayward men and boys need a pow- film was hugely successful, making more WHAT GOOD IS POETRY The force of Coleridge’s poem, unlike any he To such a deep delight ’twould win me, Will: “Yeah, maybe. But at least I won’t be erful male authority figure to show them than $220 million. had ever written before, lunged and loomed That with music loud and long, unoriginal. By the way, if you have a prob- exactly where the boundaries are. “Good Will Hunting” isn’t autobiographi- off the page in the lonely farmhouse room I would build that dome in air, lem with that, we could just step outside For Sean, the challenge is figuring out how cal; childhood buddies Damon and Affleck where it was suddenly and strangely born. That sunny dome! those caves of ice! and we could figure it out.” to communicate through Will’s lightning- both grew up relatively well-to-do and were The Even as it sang of uncontrollable elements And all who heard should see them there, quick manipulative verbal dances, smoke- both involved in the arts. Damon himself of primal power and fear, so did it itself, as And all should cry, Beware! Beware! Harvard guy: “Nah, it’s cool.” screens, use of knowledge as a weapon, and actually attended Harvard, which is why Fragmented a poem, possess that unbridled authority of His flashing eyes, his floating hair! psychic brick walls. He nails it: Will’s real the theme of hidden genius is something he artistic inspiration that every artist both longs Weave a circle round him thrice, Chuckie: “How ya like me now?!” smart, but he’s a boy; his glaring lack of ‘Good Will Hunting’ plays well, such as his poker-genius char- for and fears. Coleridge wrote, and the poem And close your eyes with holy dread worldly experiences can’t be validated by acter in “Rounders.” Beauty of took on a life that was wholly its own, as all For he on honey-dew hath fed, “Good Will Hunting” was famously co-au- his giant stack of book-learning, and his Director It is safe to say, though, that it’s the long- great poems do. And drunk the milk of Paradise… thored by early-career Matt Damon and lack of courage to be emotionally vulner- Gus Van Sant standing childhood friendship of two Ben Affleck, for which they won Oscars, able is the thing that’s keeping his possi- Starring guys with the common goal to make it as ‘Kubla Khan’ Five miles meandering with a mazy motion Then, a knock at the door. Coleridge’s pen thereby elevating their showbiz cache into bilities for self-actualization (and greatness) Robin Williams, Matt actors that provided the magic that made Damon, Ben Affleck, Casey Through wood and dale the sacred river paused over the word “Paradise.” He rose to the stratosphere. It’s equal parts bromance, beyond his reach. Sean’s the first person Affleck, Cole Hauser, “Good Will Hunting” work: their hilarious SEAN FITZPATRICK ran, find a person on some small business. The romance, redemption story, coming-of-age ever to call Will on any of this. Robin Wil- Stellan Skarsgard, Minnie dude-chemistry and the hysterically real- Then reached the caverns measureless to matter settled, he returned to his desk only story, and Hero’s Journey. liams captured the Oscar for Best Support- Driver istic brotherly bickering between the two In Xanadu did Kubla Khan man, to find—to his shock and dismay—the vision ing Actor for this role. Running Time real-life Affleck brothers, not to mention A stately pleasure-dome decree: A draft written between 1797 and 1818 of And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean; had fled. “Kubla Khan” was finished where Harbinger 2 hours, 6 minutes Ben Affleck’s camaraderie with Cole Haus- Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan,” And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far it lay unfinished. And so, Coleridge called it Will Hunting spends his days mopping Self-Discovery er—they’d both had their breakout roles written in the poet’s own hand. MPAA Rating Through caverns measureless to man Ancestral voices prophesying war! evermore “a vision in a dream, a fragment.” floors, his nights drinking with his bros The most powerful scene, other than the R in “Dazed and Confused” as high school Down to a sunless sea. The shadow of the dome of pleasure There is a particular pleasure that only who, in addition to Chuckie, include Chuck- famous “It’s not your fault” scene, is the one Release Date football teammates. Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan. Floated midway on the waves; an unfinished work can offer; for though ie’s obnoxious and hilariously clueless kid where Chuckie essentially kicks Will out Dec. 5, 1997 (U.S.) It’s stood the test of time. It’s still highly Samuel Taylor Coleridge awoke with a start as Where was heard the mingled measure it comes with a degree of pain, it is deeply brother Morgan (Casey Affleck) and stoic of the nest—the village compound—and inspirational for all those looking to chal- these words thundered through his thoughts. But oh! that deep romantic chasm which From the fountain and the caves. meaningful. This fragment provides a taste mechanic Billy (Cole Hauser). Weekends challenges him to be great: lenge themselves and leave the nest. Upsetting the volumes that littered his desk, slanted It was a miracle of rare device, of the power of poetry, and a foretaste of the are spent in batting cages, at the dog-racing he grasped at his pen, stabbed at his inkwell, Down the green hill athwart a cedarn A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! fulfillment for the truth that all seek. There is track, attending Little League games, pick- snatched a scrap of paper, and shivered with cover! a poignancy in unfinished art that cries out ing fights with local rival gangs, followed by wonder as his muse sang on: A savage place! as holy and enchanted The images that dropped before him were for completion, for perfection. Those mas- more barhopping. As e’er beneath a waning moon was like the discovery of a strange kingdom that terpieces whose creation is cut short—Aqui- Will’s essentially a ghost at MIT. One day, So twice five miles of fertile ground haunted was like poetry itself. From the dome of the nas’s “Summa,” Michelangelo’s “Rondanini decorated mathematician and MIT profes- With walls and towers were girdled round; By woman wailing for her demon-lover! mind to the depths of nature’s mysteries, Pietà,” Mozart’s “Requiem,” Dickens’s “The sor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) And there were gardens bright with sinu- And from this chasm, with ceaseless imagination and inspiration are twin cre- Mystery of Edwin Drood,” and Coleridge’s posts a high-octane math formula on the ous rills, turmoil seething, ative forces that can be beautiful or terrible, “Kubla Khan”—all evoke that singular sense hallway chalkboard outside his room, to Where blossomed many an incense-bear- As if this earth in fast thick pants were like heaven and hell, with music and noise, of needing to be finished that every human challenge his students. Will, on his floor- ing tree; breathing, peace and war, the sacred and the savage. being must share until we find the end that mopping rounds, sees it and solves the And here were forests ancient as the hills, A mighty fountain momently was forced: On Coleridge dashed, his brow damp with awaits us, whether it be in a sunny dome of formula overnight, scribbling on pieces of Enfolding sunny spots of greenery. Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst both fervor and fever. pleasure or savage caves of ice. envelopes and creating an instant buzz as to Huge fragments vaulted like rebound- who the mystery student-genius might be. Such were the wild words, in 1797, ing hail, A damsel with a dulcimer Sean Fitzpatrick serves on the faculty of Grego- When no one steps forward, Lambeau that rushed like a roaring river from In a vision once I saw: ry the Great Academy, a boarding school in El- puts another problem on the board that Coleridge’s pen like a cataclysm. Strug- Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail: It was an Abyssinian maid mhurst, Pa., where he teaches humanities. His took him and his colleagues two years gling with the effects of medication, he And on her dulcimer she played, writings on education, literature, and culture to figure out. Lickety-split, Will solves it, had fallen into a feverish slumber over And mid these dancing rocks at once Singing of Mount Abora. have appeared in a number of journals includ- shocking Lambeau to his core and inspir- (L–R) Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Will (Matt Damon, L) and MIT professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), in an exotic travelogue that mentioned the and ever Could I revive within me ing Crisis Magazine, Catholic Exchange, and ing him to track down the mystery math and Scott William Winters in a genius-versus-Harvard-student “Good Will Hunting.” capital city of the Mongol ruler, Kublai It flung up momently the sacred river. Her symphony and song, The Imaginative Conservative. superhero. verbal showdown in “Good Will Hunting.” B88 | ARTS & CULTURE WEDNESDAY, AUGUSTWeek 25,34, 2021 WEDNESDAY,Week 34, 2021 AUGUST 25, 2021 ARTS & CULTURE |B9 9

REACHING WITHIN: WHAT TRADITIONAL ART OFFERS THE HEART off mortal enemies, I believe, but to MUSIC protect himself against Death and the Devil on his journey. Death, with his mouth agape and the hourglass in his hand, seems to almost The Not-So-Dying Art of The Moral Hero in sneer at the Knight. It’s as if he warns the Knight, “Your time is almost up, and A barbershop you’ll be subject to me, king of the dead.” the Barbershop Quartet quartet performs in Death’s horse also bows down toward Universal City, Calif., ‘Knight, Death, and the Devil’ the skull on the tree stump as if to bring on July 27, 2013. the Knight’s attention to it. MICHAEL KUREK The snakes on Death’s crown are an ALL PHOTOS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN ERIC BESS interesting addition by Dürer. Snakes One of the great apple-pie traditions of were traditionally symbolic of both life American music, right up there with a sometimes wonder what it means to and death. In the Christian tradition, marching band or Dixieland band, is be the hero in one’s own life story. however, snakes became associated the good old barbershop quartet. My How might we lead a virtuous and with both Death and the Devil, and the mind goes right to those white gazebos dignified life despite hardships? Devil’s purpose was to undermine God in parks and town squares and those This is not an unusual question in and tempt humans. Thus, the snakes beribboned straw hats, big mustaches, Iany sense. Cultures across time and in depicted here likely associate Death with and striped jackets that barbershop different places have wrestled with this the Devil and temptation. quartets typically sport. moral question. Interestingly enough, the Knight While thinking about the famous doesn’t look at Death; that is, he is not Buffalo Bills, the quartet who sang VARIETY FOR IMAGES AKPANUDOSEN/GETTY IMEH Albrecht Dürer, the Printmaker “tempted” by the fear of Death. He is “Lida Rose” in “The Music Man” movie Born in Germany during the late 15th not concerned that his time is limited. (the subject of my last Epoch Times ar- century, Albrecht Dürer was one of His helmet appears to prevent him from ticle), I began to wonder whether bar- many artists interested in asking moral looking at Death even if he wanted to. bershop quartets still exist in America, questions during the Renaissance pe- Instead, the Knight looks straight ahead or if it’s a dead or dying art form? riod. He was an accomplished painter and continues his journey. It would be well to note first that old- and draftsman, but many of his greatest The chimeric appearance of the Devil fashioned men’s barbershops them- works are in the medium of printmak- suggests the Devil’s ability to take on dif- selves appear to be a dying breed, most ing. He pushed printmaking to new ferent forms to achieve his ends deceptive- having been usurped by large, mall- heights and legitimized it as an indepen- ly. The Devil reaches out to grab onto the based, unisex hair salons. According dent art form. Knight from behind. The Knight appears to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, One of his greatest print series is the not to notice, which also suggests how there were only 9,400 traditional men’s “Meisterstiche” or master engravings, crafty and deceptive the Devil can be. barbershops left in the United States in unified as one voice, all with the same with 700 local chapters that meet which are a group of three images: “Saint The Knight appears to be stuck be- 2020, down from 33,000 in 1972, when rhythm and words together, only on weekly. The United States has 22,000 Jerome in His Study,” “Melancholia,” and tween a rock and a hard place—that is, they began keeping records on it. different pitches, creating a new chord members, and international chapters “Knight, Death, and the Devil.” between Death and the Devil—and this It can be safely speculated, then, that for every word. have 80,000 members worldwide. In According to the Metropolitan Mu- feeling is enhanced by the rocky and many young men today have probably One thing that codified the barber- the United States, they participate seum of Art website, these three prints gnarly terrain. never been to, or perhaps even seen, an shop quartet as a classic American en- jointly in local, regional, and national were “intended more for connoisseurs Or does the Knight’s demeanor sug- old-style barbershop. So, any musical semble was Vaudeville, where quartets conventions and competitions. and collectors than for popular devo- gest something different? His calm and ensemble named after one would seem were hired to entertain the crowds be- Among several other such organiza- tion,” suggesting that the prints’ sym- stoic appearance might mean that he is to be archaic, by definition. What does tween the main acts. They would stand tions are the Society for the Preserva- bolism was specific to a limited audi- unfazed by Death and the Devil. the barbershop’s musical namesake in front of the closed curtain while the tion and Propagation of Barbershop ence. The specific meanings behind The dog beside the horse may be sym- have to do with getting one’s hair cut, next act was being set up behind the Quartet Singing in the United States these three prints still stump scholars bolic of loyalty, but loyalty to what? Loy- anyway? curtain. It was then that their typically (SPPBSQSUS); Friends in Harmony, today. alty to the Knight, most likely. Thus, the To put the answer into context, we stylish costume with the straw hats based in San Antonio, Texas; and Knight represents the moral hero, that must remember that recorded music became standard. women’s barbershop organizations is, the one who remains unaffected by and passive listening to music are rela- like the Sweet Adelines International, temptation (the Devil) and fear (Death) tively recent phenomena. People used A Still-Thriving American Tradition also formed in Tulsa and boasting for the sake of completing a journey. to have to make their own music; and In 1938, a society for barbershop quar- 21,000 members worldwide, and The Knight’s Perhaps, the fact that the Knight has well into the 20th century, ordinary tet singing emerged out of an informal Harmony Incorporated, founded in unaffected and passed the Devil suggests that he has folks could be quite uninhibited about gathering on April 11, 1938, in Tulsa, Rhode Island. already overcome the Devil’s tempta- bursting into song as a regular part of Oklahoma. An enthusiast named Perhaps thanks to lack of media calm demeanor tions, and the fact that his helmet blocks everyday life. Owen Clifton Cash invited 14 male exposure, many of us have not been the view of Death indicates that he is They sang robustly at church and friends to get together for a fun sing- aware of how thriving this genre re- even diminishes the unconcerned with Death. The Knight’s around the piano at home, or on the along party, and 26 showed up! They mains. Discovering it has felt, for me, perceived power of unaffected and calm demeanor even front porch in the evening. Street ven- sang gleefully through the night, both like coming across one of the best kept diminishes the perceived power of Death dors hawked their wares with a bit of as a full group and divided into several secrets of musical Americana, rich in Death and the Devil. and the Devil. a tune as their jingle. At work or social quartets, on the rooftop garden of the cultural heritage, vibrantly still alive, Is it then the case that being a moral gatherings, a good job or a promotion now-historic Tulsa Club Building. and deserving of perpetuation. hero on the journey of life consists in might be rewarded with a lusty refrain My final question was “What has kept With that said, we will look only at fearlessly ignoring temptation? of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” Sol- this tradition so active and enduring?” I “Knight, Death, and the Devil,” which And what is the destination of this diers often marched to a sung cadence, sought out and asked a regular member corresponds to notions of morality in the journey? The castle seems to be a place as did miners trudging into the mines Perhaps thanks to lack of the Barbershop Harmony Society philosophy of medieval scholasticism. of peace relative to the rest of the im- and home again. (“Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off in my city whether his motivation for Our intention isn’t to decipher what the age. It even appears to be a place of to work we go.”) of media exposure, belonging was primarily preservational connoisseurs and collectors in the 1500s light and glory compared to the darker, many of us have not and historic, or what. His answer was thought about the symbolic imagery gloomy environment below. Does this Barbershop Origins simple: “What motivates me to show up but to see if this image stimulates moral suggest that a peaceful mind and heart In 17th-century England, barbershops, been aware of how at all the meetings and sing my heart questions for us today. is the destination? If so, then true peace as a de facto gathering place for the out is that it is just really fun!” requires heroic effort. common man, typically had a stringed thriving this genre ‘Knight, Death, and the Devil’ instrument similar to a lute available remains. American composer Michael Kurek In “Knight, Death, and the Devil,” Dürer The traditional arts often contain spiritual for use by the men waiting for their is the composer of the Billboard No. depicts four prominent figures: the representations and symbols the mean- haircuts. To pass the time, anyone could 1 classical album “The Sea Knows.” Knight riding a horse, Death also on a ings of which can be lost to our modern use it to accompany some impromptu They decided to start meeting regu- The winner of numerous composition horse, the Devil, and a dog. minds. In our series “Reaching Within: recreational singing by the group. larly as a singing society, and so they awards, including the prestigious Acad- The Knight is in full armor as if he is What Traditional Art Offers the Heart,” By the early 19th century in Amer- did, eventually becoming what is now emy Award in Music from the American ready for battle. He holds a spear and “Knight, Death, and the The Devil watches the Knight intensely we can see a castle against the sky at the we interpret visual arts in ways that may ica, with no radio or television to fill known informally as the Barbershop Academy of Arts and Letters, he has steadies it against his shoulder. With his Devil,” 1513, by Albrecht from behind. Dürer depicts the Devil mountain’s peak. be morally insightful for us today. We do the silence of the shop, it became Harmony Society (BHS), and officially served on the Nominations Committee other hand, he grasps his horse’s rein. He Dürer. Engraving, 9 as a chimeric monster: He has goat-like not assume to provide absolute answers to common for the barber himself to as the Society for the Preservation and of the Recording Academy for the clas- looks directly in front of him as his horse 13/16 inches by 7 11/16 ears, ram horns, a rhinoceros-like horn The Moral Hero questions generations have wrestled with, belt out a popular tune. Then the men Encouragement of Barber Shop Quar- sical Grammy Awards. He is a professor walks forward. A dog follows closely inches. The Metropolitan on the back of his head, a wolf-like snout I think it’s evident that the Knight is on but hope that our questions will inspire waiting for their turn in the chair— tet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA). emeritus of composition at Vanderbilt beside the Knight’s horse. Museum of Art, New York. with a pig nose, and long jowls hanging a journey, but a journey to where? What a reflective journey toward our becom- often total strangers to each other— Today, that organization has 17 University. For more information and Compositionally, Death is to the left of from both sides of his mouth. He holds a is his relationship to the other figures on ing more authentic, compassionate, and would freely chime in with him. It is regional districts in the Unites States, music, visit MichaelKurek.com the Knight. Death wears a crown with sharp weapon in his hand and reaches this journey, and how might this rela- courageous human beings. something we can hardly imagine entangled snakes and holds an hourglass out for the back of the Knight with his tionship inform us morally? happening today, outside of a movie LINDA MCKUSICK /SHUTTERSTOCK in his hand. He also sits on a horse that other hand. Let’s first start with what these Eric Bess is a practicing representational musical. What’s more, the men could bows its head toward a skull on the tree The jagged rocks and gnarly trees of the figures might symbolize. I think the artist and is a doctoral candidate at the improvise harmony! stump ahead of the Knight. Death looks mountainous terrain suggest a difficult Knight is our moral hero. He is in Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual The style of harmony and rhythm directly at the Knight. journey. Off in the distance, however, full armor with a spear, not to fight Arts (IDSVA). that became common for such singing owes a lot to the parallel tradition of male harmony singing in the African American community. There was often the same African American inter- section of European harmony with African rhythms and scalar inflections that produced jazz. This increasingly There are few old- lent a ragtime influence to the sound fashioned barbershops of the emerging white barbershop left. This photo of Old quartets. Towne Hair in Chisago City, Minn., was taken in As with any grassroots art form, August 2020. certain norms gradually codified. The EVERETT COLLECTION/SHUTTERSTOCK ensemble shaped up into a standard four-part group—from the top down, a high tenor on harmony, then a second tenor (called “lead”) just below it on the main melody, then baritone and bass voices below that. The characteristic harmony of the style (for those who know the terms) features a chain of dominant seventh chords generally moving in descend- ing fifths around the circle of fifths. Distinct from modern-day a cappella or pop vocal groups, the traditional In this detail of “Knight, Death, and the Devil,” it’s clear that the Knight is calm This detail of “Knight, Death, and the Devil” reveals the castle to which we assume the A self-portrait of Albrecht Dürer at age 26. barbershop quartet had no “beat Singing in the barber despite the threats posed by his traveling companions. The Metropolitan Knight is journeying. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Prado, Madrid. boxes,” countermelodies, or accom- shop was once an Museum of Art, New York. paniment parts. Its members sang actual pastime. B810 | ARTS & CULTURE TUESDAY, AUGUSTWeek 24,34, 2021

ENTERTAINMENT FILM DISTRIBUTORS ty being performed by the fishermen. During the performance, Danny’s friends form a de- ceptive plan: Since Danny’s one of the junior men of their organization, they want him to prove his worth by signing the fishermen to their music label. But when Danny falls for their hoax, they suddenly vanish. Their ex- cuse is that something urgent came up—yet Danny is still tasked with signing singers. Danny tries his best to ingratiate himself with the fishermen and offers them a con- tract on the spot while visiting them in a lo- cal pub, but to no avail. They don’t trust him based on their wariness of outsiders. In a last- ditch effort, Danny goes out on a fishing trip with the men to try to impress them. After Danny finally convinces the group to give his offer a shot, his fellow execs ad- mit that they’ve been pulling a fast one on him the whole time. But now Danny’s got a A scene from “Fisherman’s Friends” that captures the flavor of Cornwall, in England. problem: He’s already given fisherman Jim his word that the offer is real, and a man’s POPCORN AND INSPIRATION word is something that Jim considers to be “as strong as a Cornish oak.” As Danny begins to appreciate the old customs, traditions, and values of the vil- lagers, he likewise tries to figure out how to The Importance of Friends, convince his major record label that sign- ing a large group of singing fishermen is good for business. A romantic subplot also develops, as Danny also has eyes for Alwyn Tradition, and Community but isn’t quite sure that she feels the same way about him.

IAN KANE ‘Fisherman’s Friends’ case) and earnest way. Where Honesty Is Sacred This biopic begins with four cynical record Although the film’s content doesn’t really Recently, some friends of mine traveled Director execs, who travel from London to a small tread any new water (couldn’t help the pun), Chris Foggin throughout the county of Cornwall, located Cornish fishing village for a stag weekend the way the story unfolds is natural, heartfelt, in southwest England and home to the Cor- Starring (otherwise known as a bachelor party). One and unforced. Daniel Mays is convincing as a James Purefoy, Meadow nish. Cornwall is known for its rich maritime Nobrega, and David of the men, Danny (Daniel Mays) seems to be somewhat bumbling Londoner who is out of heritage, which is celebrated by the many Hayman even more jaded than his pessimistic com- his depth in the picturesque fishing village, rich sea shanties (nautical work songs) that MPAA Rating rades. For instance, he regards monogamy where he realizes that big-city machinations are sung by its seagoing folks. My friends PG-13 as being unnatural. don’t mean a thing in a land where people raved about their lovely time and how unique On the other side of the equation, we are will give their lives for their words, and a hard Running Time Cornwall was in comparison to other parts 1 hour, 52 minutes introduced to the various denizens of the day’s work is a ritual of tradition along with of England. village, including rambunctious Alwyn some drinking and calloused hands. Release Date Indeed, when I researched the place, I could March 15, 2019 (UK) (Tuppence Middleton); her father, fisher- All of the actors’ performances are likewise see what they were talking about. From the man Jim (James Purefoy); and his friends and great, such as James Purefoy as the perpetu- majestic, sea-sculpted cliffs up and down co-workers Jago (David Hayman), Leadville ally suspicious fisherman Jim. Cornwall’s coastlines to its ancient stand- (Dave Johns), and Rowan (Sam Swainsbury). “Fisherman’s Friends” reminds us of the ing stones, I was thoroughly impressed and When Danny and his city slicker pals arrive importance of friends and community, added it to my “must visit” list. at the village, there are quite a few jarring while not taking itself too seriously. Come So, when I discovered that director Chris (although humorously delivered) culture for the beautiful singing, and stay for the Foggin’s 2019 film “Fisherman’s Friends” clashes between the execs and the proudly uplifting story. was about the real-life signing of sea shanty traditional folks of the village, who hold ca- singers to a major record label, I just had to maraderie and truthfulness as sacrosanct. Ian Kane is a filmmaker and author based see if it was any good: It’s not good at all—it’s Things take a turn for the unexpected when out of Los Angeles. To learn more, visit spectacular—in an earthy (or watery, in this Danny and his friends show up at a sea shan- IanKanehealthnut.com

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