THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 34, Number 47 Thursday, November 29, 2018 In Pursuit of O’Keeffe by Linda Weigel “The meaning of a word – to me – is not as exact as the meaning of a color. Colors and shapes make a more defi nite statement than words.” Georgia O’Keeffe, 1976 ome folks have a favorite sports team they re- of her own thoughts, feelings). ligiously follow. Others worship a band, singer • Intuitive (knowing something without any con- or actor/actress. scious reasoning). SArt junkies have their favorites, too. One of mine • Individualistic (led her life her own way). is Georgia O’Keeffe. • Innovative (able to devise new ways of interpret- My fascination began while engaged to my hus- ing information). band, my future mother-in-law inviting me to join Additionally, I came to admire her brush tech- her at The Art Institute of Chicago. I had never been nique, which was fi nely applied and blended vari- there and was excited to see what it was all about. ous color values almost seamlessly. I was attracted During the initial walk-through, my Continued on Page 2 mind and heart were overwhelmed with the amount of art and the vast variety of it, almost to the point where I could barely process what I encountered. Regardless, my eye did latch on to O’Keeffe. By the time we left, I became determined to learn more about her and her artwork, a challenge that continues up to last month’s pilgrimage to New Mexico to discover more about her and the land she loved. What was it that captivated me over decades to pursue this particu- lar artist? Initially, it was a purely visceral response to the work. Then, my curiosity sought answers to her artistic development. Furthermore, I couldn’t stop thinking about her as a person, wondering how her art reached the point where it was col- lected internationally and revered by so many artists and non-artists alike. My attraction to her work can be summed up in what was to become my classroom mantra over the course of a teaching career – The Four I’s. She was: • Introspective (inward exploration A 1918 gelatin silver print of Georgia O’Keeffe by Alfred Stieglitz. THE Page 2 November 29, 2018 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 %HDFKHU&RPSDQ\'LUHFWRU\ e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] 'RQDQG7RP0RQWJRPHU\ 2ZQHUV email: Classifieds - [email protected] $QGUHZ7DOODFNVRQ (GLWRU http://www.thebeacher.com/ 'UHZ:KLWH 3ULQW6DOHVPDQ PRINTE ITH Published and Printed by -DQHW%DLQHV ,QVLGH6DOHV&XVWRPHU6HUYLFH T %HFN\:LUHEDXJK 7\SHVHWWHU'HVLJQHU T A S A THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS 5DQG\.D\VHU 3UHVVPDQ 'RUD.D\VHU %LQGHU\ Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is 0LNH%RUDZVNL+RSH&RVWHOOR&KHU\O-RSSHN 3URGXFWLRQ also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. -RKQ%DLQHV.DUHQ*HKU&KULV.D\VHU'HQQLV0D\EHUU\ 'HOLYHU\ New York. She taught at Continued from Page 1 In Pursuit Columbia Col- lege in South to how she could reduce shapes and forms in nature Carolina, fol- to their more simple components, and do it with lowed by West carefully thought out composition. I especially en- Texas State joyed her subject matter, intrigued by how she com- Normal Col- bined objects with interesting shapes and textures. lege in Can- For example, her work included with the Georgia yon, Texas, O’Keeffe Museum collection, “Ram’s Head, Blue before devot- Morning Glory,” contrasts the hardness of the skull ing herself full with the more fl uid/softer petals of the fl ower. time to her Most of all, I related to a love of nature so preva- art. lent in many of her works. In 1914, O’Keeffe was born Nov. 15, 1887, on a farm near while teaching Sun Prairie, Wis. The eldest in a family of seven chil- in South Caro- dren, she was named after her grandfather, George lina, her good Totto. Living on a farm surrounded by nature and friend, Ani- large open spaces left her free to explore and observe ta Pollitzer, the world around her, thus ingraining within her a was living lifelong connection with the environment. In 1905, “Black Diagonal,” a 1919 charcoal on paper in New York for a short time after high school, she attended The example of her early abstract drawings. City. Georgia Art Institute of Chicago. Unfortunately, she became mailed her a tube of recent drawings, seeking her ill with typhoid and was unable to return. Later opinion. Anita was so impressed, she took them to studies included classes at the Art Students League Gallery 291 run by photographer Alfred Stieglitz. and Teachers College at Columbia University in He owned that famous New York City gallery where he promoted con- temporary French artists, American modern artists and photography. He was so impressed with her work, he exhibited her drawings without her permission, which made for a rocky start in their relationship. Eventu- ally, he divorced his wife and mar- ried Georgia. After their 1921 joint exhibition at the Anderson Gal- leries, the trajectory of her career moved quickly. By 1929, her love of open spaces called her to head west. She began by staying with Mabel Dodge Lu- han in Taos, N.M. For a while, she traveled back and forth between New York and New Mexico before securing a small piece of property in 1940 from Arthur Pack, owner of Ghost Ranch outside Abiquiu, N.M. “Yellow Hickory Leaves with Daisy,” a 1928 oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago. By 1945, she had acquired her sec- THE November 29, 2018 Page 3 ond larger place in the village of Abiquiu, which to- day stands as her fi nal home and studio. The American Southwest’s landscapes, fl ora, ar- chitecture and sun-bleached bones formed many A Gift for Bird Lovers of her signature works, all refl ective of her love of open space and natural shapes. The window sill in her studio is fi lled with horns, bones and a ceramic D INNER “Dinner Party” bowl. She died on March 6, 1989, in Santa Fe, N.M. P ARTY A poster printed from the original oil painting by local artist Kimberly Beck depicting 22 common Midwest birds, and a “guest” from the South Available online at: www.kimberlybeckfi neart.shop $20.00 Unframed Also available First Friday, December 7 Kimberly Beck 722 Franklin Street, #18, It was this doorway in the inner courtyard that prompted O’Keeffe to buy (Birds, top to bottom) House Wren,Troglodytesaedon;Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea; Northern Cardinal (male), Cardinalis cardinalis; Purple Finch (male), Carpodacus purpureas; Northern Cardinal (female), Cardinalis cardinalis; White-breasted Nuthatch,Sittacarolinensis;American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis; Purple Finch (male), Carpodacus purpureas; Black-capped Chickadee,Poecileatricapillus;Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus; Red-bellied Woodpecker,Melanerpescarolinus,Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis; Pine Siskin, Spinus pinus; White-throated Sparrow,Zonotrichiaalbicollis,Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female), Archilochus colubris; Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris; Scarlet Tanager, Piranga Olivacea; White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys, Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis; House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, Tufted Titmouse, the home in the village of Abiquiu. She just had to have it. Baeolophus bicolor; Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens; Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus; Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis; Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata Michigan City “Dinner Party” ©2018 Kimberly Beck Fine Art ■ Design Phillip Ross ■ Contact [email protected] ■ KimberlyBeck-Art.com After enjoying her collected works at The Art Size: 10” x 39” Institute of Chicago for many years, I discovered www.kimberlybeck-art.com a much closer connection: Valparaiso University’s Brauer Museum of Art, which holds one of her sig- nature works in its permanent collection. “Rust Red Hills” is an exciting painting executed in 1930 and a fi ne example of her rendition of the nearby hills PPOSHOSH surrounding Abiquiu. UUpscalepscale CConsignmentonsignment BBoutiqueoutique It was this particular painting that prompted last 110909 NN.. BBartonarton SStreettreet month’s “pilgrimage.” In mid-October, I traveled to NNewew BBuffalo,uffalo, MMII 4491179117 2269-469-050569-469-0505 New Mexico to visit the Santa Fe museum named CCLOSEDLOSED TTUESDAYSUESDAYS for her, and to tour her village of Abiquiu home and SSUNDAY-SATURDAY,UNDAY-SATURDAY, 112-5PM2-5PM studio. The home, itself, is constructed in the tra- FFUR:UR: eelegantlegant nnaturalatural fi bber,er, ditional adobe style, which means it is built from ttreasuredreasured forfor ggenerations,enerations, actual fi nely sifted dirt, straw and water. The out- bbiodegradable.iodegradable. er appearance of such a structure is very organic, with rounded edges and thick walls. Her particu- FFauxaux FFUR:UR: cchemicalhemical bbasedased ffabric,abric, lar home/studio is sited on a hill, and the unusually ddisposable,isposable, large studio windows present a stunning vista of llanguishesanguishes iinn llandandfi lll.l. the valley below and distant mountains. IInn tthehe mmarket?arket? Today, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum houses LLookook nnoo FFURtherURther tthanhan PPosh!osh! many of the artist’s fi nest works and also maintains TTakingaking FFallall CConsignments.onsignments. AAppointmentsppointments AAppreciated.ppreciated. Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 November 29, 2018 In Pursuit Continued from Page 3 her two homes: the one at Ghost Ranch and the other in the village of Abiquiu. Special tours of the surrounding Ghost Ranch land- scape can be arranged. If you plan to visit her Abiquiu home/studio, you would need to make a special advance reservation.