Taming the Beast

Krentzin_Cover_new_final_16022022.indd 1

arnoldsche

9 783897 906488

Silver by Earl Krentzin

978 -3 - 8979 0 - 648 - 8

Taming the Beast

Earl Krentzin (1929–2021) was a gentle dramatist and consummate prop master. He created theatrical settings in the round with a wry sense of humor and an appreciation of the absurdity of life.

As a virtuoso silversmith who poured his considerable talents into figurative sculpture, Krentzin is an anomaly in the world of modern craft, having more in common with the sixteenth- century goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini than with his twentieth- century peers. Taming the Beast offers the breadth of Krentzin’s creations, their noble deeds, dangerous undertakings, and simple pleasures based on his love of toys, movement, and the mechanical arts.

Readers will find both humor and pathos in his theatrical settings and verisimilitude in every tiny detail. All will discover a modern master who used amusements and daydreams to unlock the imagination.

Taming the Beast

Jeannine Falino Martha J. Fleischman (eds.)

Silver

by Earl Krentzin

arnoldsche

17.03.22 16:38

Table of Contents

Foreword

6

Martha J. Fleischman

Acknowledgments

8

Jeannine Falino

Earl Krentzin: “You can call me anything you want”

12

Jeannine Falino

Detroit: Engine for Craft

46

Josephine Shea

PLATES

Chronology

64

143

Earl Krentzin, Self-Portrait, c. 1953. Woodcut on paper. 6 ¾ × 5 in. (17.1 × 12.7 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 4-5

17.03.22 16:37

Table of Contents

Foreword

6

Martha J. Fleischman

Acknowledgments

8

Jeannine Falino

Earl Krentzin: “You can call me anything you want”

12

Jeannine Falino

Detroit: Engine for Craft

46

Josephine Shea

PLATES

Chronology

64

143

Earl Krentzin, Self-Portrait, c. 1953. Woodcut on paper. 6 ¾ × 5 in. (17.1 × 12.7 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 4-5

17.03.22 16:37

Foreword

Detroit, 1953. I grew up in a house full of monsters. A few decades would pass before I realized that the extraordinary metal creatures, boxes encrusted with semi-precious stones, and sterling silver balancing acts lining the shelves, were peculiar to my own family and completely unknown to children from the neighborhood and in my schools.

Years after we moved to New York, I learned that the artist Earl Krentzin, the maker of these marvelous objects, thrived in a true hotbed of artistic activity. I discovered that my hometown of Detroit and the American Midwest was filled to the brim with talented painters, artisans, potters, weavers, metalsmiths, and industrial designers. It was historically significant that their work was recognized and supported, and many achieved renown within a cultural ecosystem of sophisticated local private collectors, museums, and forward-thinking industries that were rapidly expanding after World War II. In a way, it was a Golden Age from which Earl Krentzin emerged, with his extraordinary skills as a craftsman and his artistry of utterly indefinable originality.

Although tastes and styles have moved on during the past seven decades, innumerable mid- century artists have left an indelible mark on the world of art. In spite of this legacy, many of them remain unknown to us because, in that earlier era, few thought to strategically market their creations, promote their careers, or seek the bubble reputation, as is so prevalent today.

So many of these artists are deserving of further study so that they may take their rightful place in the history of American art.

This book reveals the private world and artistry of silver sculptor Earl Krentzin, whom I knew personally and deeply admired. It is the first in what may prove to be a series of more books devoted to extraordinary artists who are worthy of ongoing study in the twenty-first century. My mission is to share their creations, many of which are simply hiding in plain sight and already located in the permanent collections of museums in this country, with an art-loving public searching beyond the new and trendy. I am determined

to continue an exploration of the hidden geniuses whose creations, with the enormous visual pleasure they provide, await a new audience hungry for originality, beauty and meaning in a complicated world.

Finally, I would like to express special appreciation to Jeannine Falino who has traveled this Krentzin book journey with me, applying her knowledge and many years of scholarship, and has shared her personal insights to produce this very first monograph on such an eccentric but thoroughly unique subject, the art of Earl Krentzin.

Martha J. Fleischman January 4, 2022

Figure 1—Earl Krentzin, Family Group, 1959. Silver; walnut base. Approx. 5 × 5 × 4 in.

(12.7 × 12.7 × 10.2 cm).

7

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 6-7

17.03.22 16:37

Foreword

Detroit, 1953. I grew up in a house full of monsters. A few decades would pass before I realized that the extraordinary metal creatures, boxes encrusted with semi-precious stones, and sterling silver balancing acts lining the shelves, were peculiar to my own family and completely unknown to children from the neighborhood and in my schools.

Years after we moved to New York, I learned that the artist Earl Krentzin, the maker of these marvelous objects, thrived in a true hotbed of artistic activity. I discovered that my hometown of Detroit and the American Midwest was filled to the brim with talented painters, artisans, potters, weavers, metalsmiths, and industrial designers. It was historically significant that their work was recognized and supported, and many achieved renown within a cultural ecosystem of sophisticated local private collectors, museums, and forward-thinking industries that were rapidly expanding after World War II. In a way, it was a Golden Age from which Earl Krentzin emerged, with his extraordinary skills as a craftsman and his artistry of utterly indefinable originality.

Although tastes and styles have moved on during the past seven decades, innumerable mid- century artists have left an indelible mark on the world of art. In spite of this legacy, many of them remain unknown to us because, in that earlier era, few thought to strategically market their creations, promote their careers, or seek the bubble reputation, as is so prevalent today.

So many of these artists are deserving of further study so that they may take their rightful place in the history of American art.

This book reveals the private world and artistry of silver sculptor Earl Krentzin, whom I knew personally and deeply admired. It is the first in what may prove to be a series of more books devoted to extraordinary artists who are worthy of ongoing study in the twenty-first century. My mission is to share their creations, many of which are simply hiding in plain sight and already located in the permanent collections of museums in this country, with an art-loving public searching beyond the new and trendy. I am determined

to continue an exploration of the hidden geniuses whose creations, with the enormous visual pleasure they provide, await a new audience hungry for originality, beauty and meaning in a complicated world.

Finally, I would like to express special appreciation to Jeannine Falino who has traveled this Krentzin book journey with me, applying her knowledge and many years of scholarship, and has shared her personal insights to produce this very first monograph on such an eccentric but thoroughly unique subject, the art of Earl Krentzin.

Martha J. Fleischman January 4, 2022

Figure 1—Earl Krentzin, Family Group, 1959. Silver; walnut base. Approx. 5 × 5 × 4 in.

(12.7 × 12.7 × 10.2 cm).

7

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 6-7

17.03.22 16:37

Earl Krentzin: “You can call me anything you want” Jeannine Falino

“

I

usually say you have to see it. [Laughs.]” 1 Such a cryptic comment is hard to interpret. Is it modesty? Obfuscation? Overweening pride? In the case of the laconic silversmith and jeweler Earl Krentzin (1929–2021), it is the truth.

One might call Krentzin a toy maker or a child of Rube Goldberg.

Given his fascination with acrobatics and fearsome animals, one might mistake him for a former stuntman or lion tamer. At heart, he was a gentle dramatist and prop master who created small-scale mise- en-scènes that are both strange and deeply familiar. In Krentzin’s world, there are creatures to tame, daring feats to perform, and portraits to paint. On the quotidian side, there are also planes to fly (FIG. 4), ice cream to eat, dinner to make, and dreams to dream. He created these exquisitely intimate worlds for the viewer’s amusement, and his too.

Krentzin centered his work on a love of toys, movement, and the mechanical arts. Add a flair for the theatrical, a wry sense of humor, and an appreciation of the absurdity of life, and you have the essence of the man and the artist. As a virtuoso metalsmith who poured his considerable talents into sculpture, Krentzin is an anomaly in the world of modern craft, having more in common with the sixteenth- century goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini than with his peers. In another age, one envisions him creating lively automatons, elaborate clocks manned by tiny figures, and other intricate mechanical wonders.2 Krentzin’s curiously anthropomorphic figures—human, animal, and otherworldly— engage in solitary and communal pursuits. The art critic Frank Getlein likened his creations to “Peter Carl Fabergé after designs by Hieronymous Bosch.”3 Indeed, Bosch and his fellow Dutchman, the sixteenthcentury Pieter Bruegel the Elder, were idiosyncratic, essentially unclassifiable artists whose paintings have been tirelessly scrutinized for insights on morality, anxiety, and humor.4 Krentzin’s sculptures do not share the eschatological concerns of these painters, but they do possess humor, a sense of

12

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 12-13

Figure 4―Earl Krentzin, Boy with Model Airplane (box), 1978. Silver; oak base.

8 × 3 × 2 ½ in. (20.3 × 7.6 × 6.4 cm).

13

17.03.22 16:37

Earl Krentzin: “You can call me anything you want” Jeannine Falino

“

I

usually say you have to see it. [Laughs.]” 1 Such a cryptic comment is hard to interpret. Is it modesty? Obfuscation? Overweening pride? In the case of the laconic silversmith and jeweler Earl Krentzin (1929–2021), it is the truth.

One might call Krentzin a toy maker or a child of Rube Goldberg.

Given his fascination with acrobatics and fearsome animals, one might mistake him for a former stuntman or lion tamer. At heart, he was a gentle dramatist and prop master who created small-scale mise- en-scènes that are both strange and deeply familiar. In Krentzin’s world, there are creatures to tame, daring feats to perform, and portraits to paint. On the quotidian side, there are also planes to fly (FIG. 4), ice cream to eat, dinner to make, and dreams to dream. He created these exquisitely intimate worlds for the viewer’s amusement, and his too.

Krentzin centered his work on a love of toys, movement, and the mechanical arts. Add a flair for the theatrical, a wry sense of humor, and an appreciation of the absurdity of life, and you have the essence of the man and the artist. As a virtuoso metalsmith who poured his considerable talents into sculpture, Krentzin is an anomaly in the world of modern craft, having more in common with the sixteenth- century goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini than with his peers. In another age, one envisions him creating lively automatons, elaborate clocks manned by tiny figures, and other intricate mechanical wonders.2 Krentzin’s curiously anthropomorphic figures—human, animal, and otherworldly— engage in solitary and communal pursuits. The art critic Frank Getlein likened his creations to “Peter Carl Fabergé after designs by Hieronymous Bosch.”3 Indeed, Bosch and his fellow Dutchman, the sixteenthcentury Pieter Bruegel the Elder, were idiosyncratic, essentially unclassifiable artists whose paintings have been tirelessly scrutinized for insights on morality, anxiety, and humor.4 Krentzin’s sculptures do not share the eschatological concerns of these painters, but they do possess humor, a sense of

12

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 12-13

Figure 4―Earl Krentzin, Boy with Model Airplane (box), 1978. Silver; oak base.

8 × 3 × 2 ½ in. (20.3 × 7.6 × 6.4 cm).

13

17.03.22 16:37

Krentzin’s scale was practical yet subversively humorous. A blindfolded figure, emulating the figure of Justice, stands at the center of the scale, behind the fulcrum, while on the fulcrum, a slender hand points upward with a tiny bird perched at its base. Shallow plates hang from the ends of a horizontal lever. Graduated weights with knobs of cast birds and eggs sit in their nestlike wooden box and complete the assembly.

The thesis also included a few outliers: drinking cups and a tall cross, on which were applied cast or enameled elements.20 These forms required knowledge of raising and brazing techniques, standard methods of silversmithing and core skills taught in metalsmithing schools. Thomas may have prompted Krentzin to produce these forms, knowing that his student needed to demonstrate competency in this area. Having produced commissions for area churches, synagogues, and other institutions, Thomas knew the value of such opportunities for young graduates who needed to build a reputation and enhance their income.

One of these outliers was the Cup of Elijah, a kiddush cup used in the Passover ceremony. Krentzin cast a figure of the prophet for its stem and medallions to encircle its shallow bowl. Shown at the 1954 Exhibition for Michigan Artist- Craftsmen, an important annual event held at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the vessel received the coveted Founders Society Purchase Prize and consequently was accepted into the museum’s collection (FIG. 9).21 Krentzin was not a religious man by his own account, but he produced at least one menorah, other kiddush cups, several mezuzahs, a synagogue lamp, and spice boxes as commissions, exhibitions, and for friends and family. He employed a combination of wood, ivory, and enamel to enhance these objects, materials that he used throughout his career (PL. 3).22 Unlike his silversmithing peers at Cranbrook and elsewhere, Krentzin had little desire to fashion objects in the Scandinavian style that held sway in midcentury American design, craft, and popular culture and in metalsmithing departments, where Danish silversmiths like John Prip and Hans Christensen were among those who introduced the tenets of smooth, organic forms and highly polished surfaces to a generation of American students.23 Aside from the few examples of hollowware he made while a graduate student, Krentzin resolutely went his own way, choosing to construct his pieces through a combination of casting and fabrication. He devised a uniquely scumbled surface in a several-step process that began with torching the metal, followed by a light scrubbing with a fine wire brush. The result was grainy and textured; subsequent staining and waxing fixed

20

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 20-21

PLATE 3

Figure 9―Earl Krentzin holding Elijah’s cup, a Passover ceremonial vessel, 1954.

its dull gray appearance.24 The results did not look like silver, nor did the objects need polishing. These actions negated two prized qualities of silver—its intrinsic value as a raw material and its aesthetic appeal as a reflective surface—to better foreground his sculptures.

A Fulbright fellowship in 1957 took Krentzin to the Royal College of Art in London, but he found little to admire in a setting that, in his view, supported design over metalsmithing. The visual riches of the Victoria & Albert Museum, along with the many antique shops, street markets, and galleries he visited, however, made his experience worthwhile.

21

17.03.22 16:38

Krentzin’s scale was practical yet subversively humorous. A blindfolded figure, emulating the figure of Justice, stands at the center of the scale, behind the fulcrum, while on the fulcrum, a slender hand points upward with a tiny bird perched at its base. Shallow plates hang from the ends of a horizontal lever. Graduated weights with knobs of cast birds and eggs sit in their nestlike wooden box and complete the assembly.

The thesis also included a few outliers: drinking cups and a tall cross, on which were applied cast or enameled elements.20 These forms required knowledge of raising and brazing techniques, standard methods of silversmithing and core skills taught in metalsmithing schools. Thomas may have prompted Krentzin to produce these forms, knowing that his student needed to demonstrate competency in this area. Having produced commissions for area churches, synagogues, and other institutions, Thomas knew the value of such opportunities for young graduates who needed to build a reputation and enhance their income.

One of these outliers was the Cup of Elijah, a kiddush cup used in the Passover ceremony. Krentzin cast a figure of the prophet for its stem and medallions to encircle its shallow bowl. Shown at the 1954 Exhibition for Michigan Artist- Craftsmen, an important annual event held at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the vessel received the coveted Founders Society Purchase Prize and consequently was accepted into the museum’s collection (FIG. 9).21 Krentzin was not a religious man by his own account, but he produced at least one menorah, other kiddush cups, several mezuzahs, a synagogue lamp, and spice boxes as commissions, exhibitions, and for friends and family. He employed a combination of wood, ivory, and enamel to enhance these objects, materials that he used throughout his career (PL. 3).22 Unlike his silversmithing peers at Cranbrook and elsewhere, Krentzin had little desire to fashion objects in the Scandinavian style that held sway in midcentury American design, craft, and popular culture and in metalsmithing departments, where Danish silversmiths like John Prip and Hans Christensen were among those who introduced the tenets of smooth, organic forms and highly polished surfaces to a generation of American students.23 Aside from the few examples of hollowware he made while a graduate student, Krentzin resolutely went his own way, choosing to construct his pieces through a combination of casting and fabrication. He devised a uniquely scumbled surface in a several-step process that began with torching the metal, followed by a light scrubbing with a fine wire brush. The result was grainy and textured; subsequent staining and waxing fixed

20

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 20-21

PLATE 3

Figure 9―Earl Krentzin holding Elijah’s cup, a Passover ceremonial vessel, 1954.

its dull gray appearance.24 The results did not look like silver, nor did the objects need polishing. These actions negated two prized qualities of silver—its intrinsic value as a raw material and its aesthetic appeal as a reflective surface—to better foreground his sculptures.

A Fulbright fellowship in 1957 took Krentzin to the Royal College of Art in London, but he found little to admire in a setting that, in his view, supported design over metalsmithing. The visual riches of the Victoria & Albert Museum, along with the many antique shops, street markets, and galleries he visited, however, made his experience worthwhile.

21

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62

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 62-63

63

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62

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 62-63

63

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74

PLATE 12―Earl Krentzin, Halberdier (Hunter and Unicorn), 1958. Silver; granite base.

6 × 2 × 3 in. (15.2 × 5.1 × 7.6 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 74-75

PLATE 13―Earl Krentzin, Lancer with Shield on Bird, undated. Silver, 14 karat gold, malachite, mica; maple base. 8 × 3 ½ × 4 in. (20.3 × 8.9 × 10.2 cm).

75

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74

PLATE 12―Earl Krentzin, Halberdier (Hunter and Unicorn), 1958. Silver; granite base.

6 × 2 × 3 in. (15.2 × 5.1 × 7.6 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 74-75

PLATE 13―Earl Krentzin, Lancer with Shield on Bird, undated. Silver, 14 karat gold, malachite, mica; maple base. 8 × 3 ½ × 4 in. (20.3 × 8.9 × 10.2 cm).

75

17.03.22 16:38

84

PLATE 18A, B―Earl Krentzin, Pies and Whistles I, 1963. Silver; ebony base.

16 ½ × 24 × 5 in. (41.9 × 60.9 × 12.7 cm). See overleaf.

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 84-85

85

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84

PLATE 18A, B―Earl Krentzin, Pies and Whistles I, 1963. Silver; ebony base.

16 ½ × 24 × 5 in. (41.9 × 60.9 × 12.7 cm). See overleaf.

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 84-85

85

17.03.22 16:38

96

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 96-97

PLATE 24A, B―Earl Krentzin and Aaron Bohrod (1907–1992), Hanging the Picture, 1962.

Silver, oil on board; burnt walnut base. 6 ½ × 5 ½ × 3 ⅞ in. (16.5 × 13.2 × 9.8 cm).

97

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96

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 96-97

PLATE 24A, B―Earl Krentzin and Aaron Bohrod (1907–1992), Hanging the Picture, 1962.

Silver, oil on board; burnt walnut base. 6 ½ × 5 ½ × 3 ⅞ in. (16.5 × 13.2 × 9.8 cm).

97

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104

PLATE 28A, B―Earl Krentzin, Circus Train, c. 1968. Silver; 14 karat gold, walnut.

6 × 3 × 16 in. (15.2 × 7.6 × 40.6 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 104-105

105

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104

PLATE 28A, B―Earl Krentzin, Circus Train, c. 1968. Silver; 14 karat gold, walnut.

6 × 3 × 16 in. (15.2 × 7.6 × 40.6 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 104-105

105

17.03.22 16:39

110

PLATE 33―Earl Krentzin, Porcupine (Hedgehog), 1964. Painted plaster; wood base.

1 ¼ × 1 ⅞ × 1 ⅜ in. (3.2 × 4.8 × 3.5 cm).

PLATE 34―Earl Krentzin, Dragon with Stripes, 1956–60. Brass. 2 × 4 ⅞ in. (5.1 × 12.38 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 110-111

PLATE 35―Earl Krentzin, Monster Box (Animal Box), 1958. Silver gilt, cultured pearl; ivory base. 3 ¼ × 2 ¾ × 1 ¾ in. (8.3 × 7.0 × 4.4 cm).

111

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110

PLATE 33―Earl Krentzin, Porcupine (Hedgehog), 1964. Painted plaster; wood base.

1 ¼ × 1 ⅞ × 1 ⅜ in. (3.2 × 4.8 × 3.5 cm).

PLATE 34―Earl Krentzin, Dragon with Stripes, 1956–60. Brass. 2 × 4 ⅞ in. (5.1 × 12.38 cm).

Krentzin_Inhalt_final_16032022_screenkorr.indd 110-111

PLATE 35―Earl Krentzin, Monster Box (Animal Box), 1958. Silver gilt, cultured pearl; ivory base. 3 ¼ × 2 ¾ × 1 ¾ in. (8.3 × 7.0 × 4.4 cm).

111

17.03.22 16:39

Krentzin_Cover_new_final_16022022.indd 1

arnoldsche

9 783897 906488

Silver by Earl Krentzin

978 -3 - 8979 0 - 648 - 8

Taming the Beast

Earl Krentzin (1929–2021) was a gentle dramatist and consummate prop master. He created theatrical settings in the round with a wry sense of humor and an appreciation of the absurdity of life.

As a virtuoso silversmith who poured his considerable talents into figurative sculpture, Krentzin is an anomaly in the world of modern craft, having more in common with the sixteenth- century goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini than with his twentieth- century peers. Taming the Beast offers the breadth of Krentzin’s creations, their noble deeds, dangerous undertakings, and simple pleasures based on his love of toys, movement, and the mechanical arts.

Readers will find both humor and pathos in his theatrical settings and verisimilitude in every tiny detail. All will discover a modern master who used amusements and daydreams to unlock the imagination.

Taming the Beast

Jeannine Falino Martha J. Fleischman (eds.)

Silver

by Earl Krentzin

arnoldsche

17.03.22 16:38