The Magazine - April, 2012 Issue by FlavorGrafix Design

Santa Fe’s Monthly

of and for the Arts • April 2012

M A S T E RWO R K S

G R U M A N N A L B AT RO S S M IR RO R

G E R M A N T O W N N AVA J O W E AV I N G

V I N TA G E F R E N C H S O FA & L AMP

WILLIE RIZZO

M A R I A M A RT I N E Z

53 Old Santa Fe Trail

Upstairs on the Plaza Santa Fe, New Mexico

505.982.8478

shiprocksantafe.com

;

Letters

Universe of glass artist Stacey Neff

Art Forum: Federigo Gonzaga, by Francesco Francia

Studio Visits: Mitchell Marti and Kerry Sherck

Food for Thought: Vegetable Dinner, by Peter Blume

One Bottle: The 2009 Fontanafredda Piemonte Barbera “Briccotondo,” by Joshua Baer

Dining Guide: Bobcat Bite, Zacatecas (Alb.), and The Pantry Restaurant

Art Openings

Out & About

Previews: Creative Santa Fe and Christopher Benson at Gerald Peters Gallery

International Spotlight: The Oracle, at WE*DO Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

Feature: Meditating on Leonard Cohen, by Rinchen Lhamo

Critical Reflections: Agnes Martin at the Harwood Museum (Taos); Ed Larson at Ed Larson Studio; Jaune Quick-to-See Smith at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum; Vivian Maier at Monroe Gallery of Photography; Spotlight at 222 Shelby Street; Reconsidering the Photographic Masterpiece at the University of New Mexico Art Museum; Taka Kobayashi at Tai Gallery; and Under Thirty-Five at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art

Green Planet: Buffalo Man Speaks, photograph by Jennifer Esperanza

architectural Details: Hot Damm Chile, photograph by Guy Cross

WritinGs: “Black Holes,” by Leticia Cortez

CONTENTS

Charles Jencks is a landscape artist, but he could just as easily be called a scientist and a philosopher. His ideology encompasses archeology, string theory, national identity, and evolution—and is expressed in the dynamic living landscapes he has installed worldwide. Using nature itself as his medium, Jencks’ creations draw connections between aspects of the natural world. For instance, the image Cells of Life is a graceful interweaving of ponds, paths, and ridges designed to express the life cycle of a cell. Jencks sees the cell as “a city of sublime coordination” and a metaphor for life as a whole. Another project, entitled The Curse of Agamemnon, is Jencks’ meditation on the chaos of war. In it, he incorporates waterwheels and cisterns that twist and pivot to simulate the sound of a machine gun. The Universe in the Landscape: Landforms (Frances Lincoln Ltd., $65) is a comprehensive survey of Jencks’ recent work. The book is as eclectic and extensive as the artist’s mind, including concept sketches, notes on the challenges of creating a sustainable public space, musings on the immorality of war, and explanatory diagrams on the life cycle of the cell. A liberal education may be required to wholly comprehend Jencks’ artistic vision, but the beauty of his final creations is evident to all.

In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom A lecture series on political, economic, environmental and human rights issues featuring social justice activists, writers, journalists, and scholars discussing critical topics of our day.

READINGS & CONVERSATIONS

This series brings to Santa Fe nationally and internationally recognized writers from the literary world of fiction, nonfiction and poetry to read and discuss their work.

PHYLLIS BENNIS with David Barsamian TUESDAY 10 APRIL 6:30 P M at the James A. Little Theater

W.S. MERWIN

“Although political brinksmanship with Iran is nothing new, escalating tensions do not bode well for the region…changes in the regional and global balance of forces, and national election campaigns, all point to this round of anti-Iranian hysteria posing potentially graver risks than five or six years ago.” — Phyllis Bennis Phyllis Bennis directs the New Internationalism Project at The Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., and is a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. She is a writer, analyst, and long-time activist on Middle East and U.N. issues. In 2001 she helped found and remains on the steering committee of the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation. Bennis works closely with the United for Peace and Justice anti-war coalition, co-chairs the U.N.-based International Coordinating Network on Palestine, and plays an active role in the growing global peace movement. She continues to serve as an adviser to several top U.N. officials on Middle East and U.N. democratization issues. She is the author of Ending the U.S. War in Afghanistan: A Primer (2010), Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer (updated 2012), and Understanding the U.S.- Iran Crisis: A Primer (2008), and publishes a bi-monthly newsletter on events in the Middle East.

Tickets: www.lensic.com or call 505.988.1234

www.lannan.org

with Michael Silverblatt WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL 7:00 P M at the Lensic Performing Arts Center “When a poem is really finished, you can’t change anything. You can’t move words around. You can’t say, ‘In other words, you mean.’ No, that’s not it. There are no other words in which you mean it. This is it.” — W. S. Merwin “Merwin… is an unwaveringly political poet… [he] not only tracks the literal impoverishment of our planet, but he makes it symbolize the impoverishment of our culture’s capacity for symbolization.” — Ben Lerner W. S. Merwin, poet, translator, and environmental activist, has become one of the most widely read poets in America, with a career spanning five decades. The son of a Presbyterian minister, for whom he began writing hymns at the age of five, Merwin went to Europe as a young man and developed a love of languages that led to work as a literary translator. He currently holds the position of U.S. Poet Laureate. Merwin’s first book of poems, A Mask for Janus, was selected by W.H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets in 1952. Numerous poetry collections have followed as well as books of essays. He is a notable translator of poetry and drama, primarily from the French and Spanish, and also the classics, with nearly twenty titles published including a much-praised translation of Dante’s Purgatorio, and more recently, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

LETTERS

magazine

VOLUME XVIII, NUMBER IX WINNER 1994 Best Consumer Tabloid SELECTED 1997 Top-5 Best Consumer Tabloids SELECTED 2005 & 2006 Top-5 Best Consumer Tabloids P U B L I S h e R / C R e AT I V e D I R e C T O R guy croSS PUBLISheR / FOOD eDITOR Judith croSS ART DIReCTOR chriS myerS COPy eDITOR edgar Scully PROOFReADeRS JameS rodewald kenJi Barrett S TA F F P h O T O G R A P h e R S dana waldon anne Staveley lydia gonzaleS PReVIew / CALenDAR eDITOR elizaBeth harBall weBMeISTeR

JaSon rodriguez COnTRIBUTORS

diane armitage, JoShua hua Baer, daviS BrimBerg, Jon carver, matthew chaS ha e-d daniel, leticia cortez, kathryn m daviS, Fernando a ett, delgado, JenniFer eSperanza, anthony haSS S , richard toBin, Ster marina la palma, iriS mcliSter and SuSan S San wider COVeR

photograph By B taka koBayaShi

Yokoso (Welcome), 2010 courteSy tai gallery, Santa Fe

See review on page 45 ADVeRTISInG SALeS the magazine: 505-424-7641 edie dillman: 505-577-4207 vince FoSter: 505-690-1010 chaSe ault: 505-690-3639 DISTRIBUTIOn

Jimmy montoya: 470-0258 (moBile) THE magazine is published 10x a year by THE magazine Inc., 320 Aztec St., Santa Fe, NM 87501. Corporate address: 44 Bishop Lamy Road, Lamy, NM 87540. Phone: (505) 424-7641. Fax: (505) 424-7642, E-mail: themagazineSF@gmail.com. Website: www.TheMagazineOnLine.com. All materials are copyright 2012 by THE magazine. All rights are reserved by THE magazine. magazine. Reproduction of contents is prohibited without written permission from THE magazine. magazine. All submissions must be accompanied by a SASE envelope. THE magazine is not responsible for the loss of any unsolicited materials. As well, THE magazine is not responsible or liable for any misspellings, incorrect dates, or incorrect information in its captions, calendar, or other listings. The opinions expressed within the fair confines of THE magazine do not necessarily represent the views or policies of THE magazine, its owners, or any of its, employees, members, interns, volunmagazine, teers, agents, or distribution venues. Bylined articles and editorials represent the views of their authors. Letters to the editor are welcome. Letters may be edited for style and libel, and are subject to condensation. THE magazine accepts advertisements from advertisers believed to be of good reputation, but cannot guarantee the authenticity or quality of objects and/ or services advertised. As well, THE magazine is not responsible for any claims made by its advertisers; for copyright infringement by its advertisers .and is not responsible or liable for errors in any advertisement.

This issue is dedicated to lives and the work of Ken Price, Celia Rumsey, Darren Curtis, and ethaan Boye.

| A P R I L 2012

Experiments in Cinema V7.9—presented by Bryan Konefsky and Basement Films—is a seven-day film festival in Albuquerque that will highlight contemporary, international, experimental, or “un-dependent” cinema. The festival will feature sixty-five films (thirtythree made by women) from twenty-five different countries including: India, Belgium, Chile, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic. The festival’s first venue will be at the KiMo Theater on April 4, and from April 16 to April 22 films will be shown at the Guild Cinema, Southwest Film Center, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. Details: experimentsincinema.com TO THE EDITOR: I wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed reading the Joel-Peter Witkin interview. Great job. Very informative! Thanks. Keep up the good work, as always. —Brad Bealmear, photographer, Santa Fe, via email TO THE EDITOR: I just saw the latest issue of THE magazine and, quite frankly I am overwhelmed. Thank you for believing in me and supporting what I do. You’ve raised the bar higher for me and I welcome the challenge. This is a beautiful issue and I couldn’t be more honored for being in the company of Joel-Peter Witkin. I am glad that the online version has been posted so I can disseminate the issue to everyone! —Fernando delgado, photographer, alBuquerque, via email TO THE EDITOR: I just received the February/March issue—loved the cover. I enjoyed the interview with Joel-Peter Witkin and found it surprising that he took such a strong stance against pornography. It was also interesting to learn about who were the artists who influenced him. Finally, I was happy to see that the Arlene Shechet show at James Kelly Contemporary was reviewed—it was the best thing I saw in town during my last visit to Santa Fe. —r richard polSky, SauSalito S , ca, via email TO THE EDITOR: Writers talk about what a memorable experience it is to hear their own work read back aloud to them, and reading Susan Christie’s review in your February/March issue was akin to such an event for me. The piece did a truly wonderful job of pulling together the odd variety of past experiences that has led to my current work. It meant a great deal to me to see the culmination of those efforts treated with such attention and insight. At a moment when it seems the hands on the clock hesitate—contemplating going backward instead of doing their proper job—it is reassuring to know that publications

such as yours will continue to wind the works for forward motion. Many, many thanks for dedicating the space to my work. As always, I look forward to future issues. —deBorah klezmer, via email TO THE EDITOR: So many people have asked me during the last month how come I’m so special, and how did I manage to be featured on THE magazine’s Studio Visits page in the February/March issue? I simply answered that we’re all—painters, sculptors, writers, and other artists—special to THE magazine, which is a big part of what makes New Mexico a wonderful place for artists to live and work. Thank you for including me in the Studio Visits section. Not only does the page look fabulous, but THE magazine has raised my credibility level several notches. The photo shoot with Anne Staveley was fun and exciting—there is no other way to put it. And it is such a pleasure to see my studio in the beautiful pages of your publication. — nna patricia keller, Santa Fe, via email —a TO THE EDITOR: As an avid reader of THE, and a writing instructor at Santa Fe University of Art & Design, I have particularly appreciated your high standards in creative, scholarly journalism. While reading the February/March issue, I was delighted to find numerous skillfully written articles, which perfectly exemplified a current assignment for my students—to write a critical analysis of the relationship of artist/art and nature. I especially applaud Diane Armitage and Kathryn Davis for their masterful, critical reflections. Keep up the great work! —p patti clawS law on Berry, Santa Fe, via email TO THE EDITOR: I love Jon Carver’s writing. In California, where people think we have everything, we don’t have that much good art and even less discourse. I appreciate THE magazine and Carver’s writing. — ean marquardt, via email —J

the magazine | 5

ANSEL ADAMS DIANE ARBUS E U G È N E AT G E T A N N A AT K I N S THOMAS BARROW HILLA & BERND BECHER J AY N E H I N D S B I D A U T H A R RY C A L L A H A N H E N R I C A RT I E R - B R E S S O N L A R RY C L A R K

ANTOINE CLAUDET JOHN COPLANS

hiroshi sugimoto L IG H T NIN G F IE L D S SEASCAPES DIORAMAS M E C H A NI C A L F O R M S T HE AT E R S

M I K E D I S FA R M E R WILLIAM EGGLESTON R O B E RT F R A N K LEE FRIEDLANDER LAURA GILPIN BETTY HAHN EIKOH HOSOE

reconsidering the Photographic masterpiece

D A N N Y LY O N R A L P H E U G E N E M E AT YA R D LISETTE MODEL

F E B R U A R Y 10 – M AY 2 7

L Á S Z L Ó M O H O LY - N A G Y

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M A RT I N PA R R AUGUST SANDER CHARLES SHEELER ALEC SOTH S O U T H W O RT H & H AW E S Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japanese, b.1948), Lightning Fields 216, 2009 / printed 2010. Gelatin silver print, © Hiroshi Sugimoto, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco and Pace Gallery, New York

ALFRED STIEGLITZ W. H. F O X TA L B O T E D WA R D W E S T O N JOEL - PE TER WITKIN

John Coplans (British,1920 – 2003), Hands Holding Feet, 1985. Gelatin silver print © The John Coplans Trust, image courtesy of Carl Solway Gallery, purchased with funds from the Friends of Art, 2012.2.1

UNIVERSIT Y OF NE W MEXICO ART MUSEUM | AL BUQUERQUE www.unm.edu/~artmuse 505. 277.4001 Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10 – 4 Closed Sunday & Monday

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Project Room: Jenna Kuiper: 17 Stones April 13 - May 25 Reception: Saturday, May 19, 6-8 pm Richard Levy Gallery • THE-HOLT.qxd:Layout 1

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505.766.9888

Santa Fe Art Institute

Top: Nancy Holt - Sun Tunnels / Bottom: Ida Kleiterp - Acequias

Dutch Installation Artist & Sculptor Ida Kleiterp – Acequias Mon Apr 9, Lecture and Opening Reception, 6pm Tipton Hall. Reception to follow at SFAI Apr 9 -27, Exhibition, 9am-5pm M-F SFAI Sat Apr 21, Workshop, Time TBD at Santa Fe Railyard In collaboration w/ SF Watershed Assoc. & Railyard Stewards.

Nancy Holt: Sightlines Sat May 5, Exhibition Opening Reception, 4-6pm SFAI May 5 – June 29, Exhibition, 9am-5pm M-F SFAI Mon May 7, Artist & Curator Talk w/ Nancy Holt and Curator Alena WIlliams, 6pm SFAI

Artists and Writers in Residence Thur Apr 26, Readings & Open Studios. 5:30pm SFAI WWW.SFAI.ORG, 505- 424 5050, INFO@SFAI.ORG, SANTA FE ART INSTITUTE, 1600 ST.MICHAELS DRIVE, SANTA FE NM 87505 | THE SANTA FE ART INSTITUTE EXPLORES THE INTERCONNECTIONS OF COMTEMPORARY ART AND SOCIETY THROUGH ARTIST AND WRITER RESIDENCIES, PUBLIC LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS, EXHIBITIONS, & EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH THIS PROGRAM PARTIALLY FUNDED BY THE CITY OF SANTA FE ARTS COMMISION AND THE 1% LODGER’S TAX AND BY NEW MEXICO ARTS, A DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS

JAMES KELLY CONTEMPORARY PLEASE VISIT US IN THE NEW SPACE WITHIN THE SAME BUILDING AT 550 SOUTH GUADALUPE IN THE RAILYARD

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BernardChaet coastal memories april 6-29, 2012 opening reception: Friday, april 6, 5:30-7:30pm

Georg Baselitz James Drake P R I NT S

railyard Gallery

JimiGleason, TimothySchmitz & WoodyShepherd color queries march 9-april 15, 2012

March 30 through April 20 OPE NING RE CE PTION

Friday, March 30 from 5 – 7 pm GEORG BASELITZ Zero für den Maler (detail), ed 17/18, sugar lift aquatint, 26.25 x 19.5 inches

LewAllenGalleries 435 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 505 982-8111 www.zanebennettgallery.com Tuesday-Saturday 10-5 or by appointment RAILYARD ARTS DISTRICT WALK LAST FRIDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Railyard: 1613 Paseo de Peralta (505) 988.3250 Downtown: 125 W. Palace Ave. (505) 988.8997 www.lewallengalleries.com info@lewallengalleries.com

O DY S S E Y + A RT The 1960s

MILTON AVERY NORMAN BLUHM BYRON BROWNE GENE DAVIS THOMAS DOWNING FRIEDEL DZUBAS HELEN FRANKENTHALER HANS HOFMANN MORRIS LOUIS KEN NOLAND JULES OLITSKI ESTEBAN VICENTE

APRIL 17 — JUNE 30, 2012 YA R E S A RT P R O J E C T S + 1 2 3 G R A N T A V E S A N TA F E , N E W M E X I C O 8 7 5 0 1 www.yaresar tprojects.com (505) 984-0044

The Raw Materials Ever wonder what happens to your glass after you put it in the green bin to recycle? Each year in the United States, there are more than thirteen and a half million tons of waste glass, the medium that I choose as my raw material. In developing batches of glass for specialized applications, I add ingredients to act as flux—colorants or textural agents. I add a sprinkle of boric acid or a pinch of cobalt, and mix them with cold glass, then add that mix to the furnace, melt thoroughly, and blow. I document each test firing, or blow session, as an experiment—describing the event, the variables, and the results. The information I gather from the development of my pieces and other artists’ works I facilitate, I offer as a body of open-source information that is available at the New Mexico Experimental Glass Workshop.

The Heat of the Furnace The heat of the furnace is about two thousand degrees for melting glass, although many of the fusing and slumpings using plate and safety glass happen between twelve-hundredand-fifty and sixteen hundred degrees. The furnace is loud and hot. I blow very direct, primitive glass shapes—working fast and without reheats. I gather, shape, gather, shape, gather, shape, blow, flash, put it away, and then begin again.

photograph by D ana W aldon

Team Neff When I make large blown-glass components, it is a collaborative endeavor. I use different

UNIVERSE OF

Artist Stacey Neff is known for inventing new forms of art glass and has

authored cutting-edge art-market programs. In 2009, Neff founded the New Mexico Experimental Glass Workshop, whose goal is to explore and expand the application of hot glass as a contemporary art medium by making it accessible to non-glass artists through progressive programming. Artist Dana Newmann says, “When I work with Stacey, I know I am working with a master.” When doing her own glass work, Neff begins a piece by deciding what type of form she intends to create, which dictates the specific setup of glass on the end of the pipe. Variables include thickness, shape, and heat. Her glass-blowing team—Team Neff—works with her in a choreographed manner to stretch, bend, and inflate the molten glass. Neff has exhibited her art internationally and has received many awards, including a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and a Bellinger Sculpture Award for her innovative use of glass.

glass blowers on my team depending on their individual skill set and time availability. Patrick

progressed to where I want it, then I turn the kiln down and call it a piece. They’re my

Morrissey, co-owner of Prairie Dog Glass, is always on my team. Besides bringing great ideas

pieces, I know when they’re done—call it intuition.

for alternate techniques, he works tirelessly and makes sure that I have all the necessary tools and people prepared for the task. Pat works so closely with the glass that he often catches

Growing Glass, Seeding Ideas

himself on fire, requiring that we “pat” him out. Other members of my team include Ira Lujan,

Some pieces evolve naturally from an initial idea, while others are cultivated by a series

Robert “Spooner” Marcus, Cia Friedrich, NMEGW interns—they don’t catch fire as frequently.

of happy accidents. Making event-driven sculptures keeps me interested, as there are

In my experience, glass blowers are brave and true, and the members of my team work

always new variables to explore, new decisions, mistakes, and unforeseen occurrences

heroically to realize each piece—protecting each other from the heat until the piece is either

to encounter. I draw at the start of a series but don’t (sculpturally) stay in the lines, instead

safely in the annealer (cooling kiln) or broken on the floor. There’s no crying in glassblowing.

keeping allegiance to responding to what truly occurs. This keeps the pieces growing. In my role as Executive Director of NMEGW, I feel that part of my “art” is to seed recycled

The Place of Intuition

glass ideas for other artists—demonstrating material possibilities, and supporting their use

Intuition links closely with discovery. Although I control the variables, the quintessential

in other artists’ explorations. My open-source documentation of recycled glass relates to

quality of my current sculpture relates to timing a singular moment of intuition. In preparing

the seeding idea—planting the use of the materials solidly in our community and sharing the

pieces, I blow the necessary component parts: spheres, tubes, and cones, which are sealed,

research online, like seeds in the wind that take root in surprising locations.

closed, hot off the pipe—like Japanese fishing floats. Once all the parts are made, I arrange them into molds in a large kiln, heat them up to a slumping temperature and allow gravity,

Influences

heat, and time to do the work. I’m looking for a certain interaction between the forms

My sculptures are influenced by natural environments and events—geology, ecology,

as they slump that describes the tension where one form pushes into another. Looking

botany. I really love art and have a large collection of regional artist works to enjoy in my

for where forms meet, yielding to each other’s mass and movement is subtle. I visually

day-to-day reality. These pieces, and the artists that make them, are a tangent influence to

check the work in the kiln every few minutes as the piece is slumping until the event has

everything I create.

| april 2012

THE magazine | 13

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MOROCCANOIL

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version witness Cinema Like you have never

EXPERIENCED IT

BEFORE

For more information visit www.experimentsincinema.com

April 4, 16-22

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ART FORUM

THE

magazine asked two New Mexico artists and a clinical psychologist to share with our readers their take on this 1510 painting by Francesco Francia. They were shown only the image—they were not told the title, medium, or name of the artist.

And the hat sends me off again,

cream and craquelure of the center

now seeing Washington crossing

more preciousness. Now not only

the

seeing

an image, it’s also a fragile object,

Napoleon. Even with all the

hidden and protected and lost and

Delaware,

now

We see a vulnerable Renaissance

I’m feeling an Italian groove. The

out of broken irrigation pipes into

attention to the face and hands

found for five hundred years. That

prince in this quiet, still, and

meadow is calling me to eat rapini

an arroyo, but it couldn’t be. The

and the big nutty thing, I’m drawn

draws me to those wide nocciola

contemplative painting. Concern

and olives. But that strange, big,

golden hair is so thick and straight,

to the rough sketchy clouds

eyes, and almost tasting a spoonful

washes over the noble child’s

eggy head dwarfs the landscape.

I’m thinking this must have been

moving above, and to the frame:

of Nutella.

porcelain face. Perhaps he is

What’s that glinting light on the

painted just after the invention

All scuffed up and with an odd white

—Matthew Chase-Daniel

questioning his future, feeling

sides? Looks like water spraying

of the hairbrush, in celebration.

band at the bottom, it gives the

Artist/curator, Santa Fe

pressured to live up to royal expectations?

Privilege

comes

I can see clear references to what

with responsibility—it brings the

is called the Northern Renaissance

burden to rule and forces one

(Netherlandish) portrait style. By

to make difficult and potentially

1400, oil-based paint was preferred

unpopular decisions. Being the

by artists when rendering texture

authority can be lonely, and

in luxurious fabrics, the sparkle of

one senses the boy is already

jeweled surfaces, as well as the

aware of this. The child’s hand is

play of light upon the landscape.

pristine. He has never worked,

In stark contrast to this obsession

unlike most children from this

with detail, these artists rarely

era. The boy, however, is also

idealized their subjects, preferring

thrust into adulthood. Although

to depict them in their all too

prepubescent, he is dressed like

real, sometimes unflattering glory.

a grown-up. Psychologically, this

This young man is clearly of noble

symbolizes a pressure to act as an

lineage. His identity is defined by

adult. Likewise, the main “action”

fashion and environment. I notice

happening in this pastoral scene

the aloof, distant gaze and pale

is the child’s introspection—

complexion. Then my attention

introversion and soul-searching

shifts to the bulbous head in

are very adult ways of behaving.

relation to the tiny, feminine hands,

He gently grasps his sword as if

which lends an air of caricature

he welcomes the chance to use

to the portrait. These Mannerist

the blade when he becomes an

distortions are akin, in my opinion,

adult. In the background we find

to the surrealist depiction of a

mountains on one side and a castle

beautiful woman with a fly on

on the opposite side, far in the

her face. Richard Avedon, when

distance. Two small figures appear

speaking about his portrait series

in front of the castle, perhaps

In the American West, best expresses

his parents. The mountains and

this very awkward coexistence:

castle may represent his desire

“A portrait is not a likeness.

for upward mobility. This well-

zThe moment an emotion or fact is

manicured

transformed into a photograph it is

peaceful, sunny sky. Things look

no longer a fact but an opinion—all

calm now, but will the serenity

photographs are accurate. None of

last? Who would want to be king?

them is the truth.”

—Davis K. Brimberg

—Fernando Delgado

estate

echoes

Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist Francesco Francia, Federigo Gonzaga, tempera on wood, 1510

16 | THE magazine

Photographer, Albuquerque

| april / 2012

MONROE GALLERY of photography

Stephen Wilkes: Day to Night

Coney Island, Day To Night

Opening Reception, Friday, April 27 • 5 - 7 PM Open Daily 112 DON GASPAR SANTA FE NM 87501 992.0800 F: 992.0810

e: info@monroegallery.com

www.monroegallery.com

STUDIO VISITS

GeORGIA O’KeeFFe SAID, “ART IS nOT whAT yOU See, BUT whAT yOU MAKe OTheRS See.” TwO ARTISTS GIVe TheIR TAKe On O’KeeFFe’S STATeMenT. When I create a photograph, I’m not thinking about what the final result will be or how others will interpret the image. I’m searching for a composition, subject, or perspective that resonates with me. When a viewer sees something in my image beyond their reality, I feel like I’ve opened a door for them to make it their own. Maybe they’re seeing something mundane in a new way, or finding beauty in an object or landscape that wouldn’t normally be considered beautiful. When that happens, and our creations lead others to see something new—even if it’s not in exactly the same way we see it—a connection is formed. It doesn’t always happen, but I feel a greater sense of purpose to my work when it does.

—kerry Sherck Sherck’s photography has been shown at the Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe; 22 Havilland Street Gallery, South Norwalk, CT; and Lazy Pear Gallery, Montpelier, VT. kerrysherckphotography.com

While channeling Degas, O’Keeffe exclaimed, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” This statement gets me wondering about the openendedness of its terms. See seems to refer to perception, rather than sight. To make others see is a moment of perceptual shift that happens when three conditions—time, place, and audience—come together. At the right time, in the right place, and to the right audience there is potential for an object or an action to change what others see. A painter does not hold any advantage over a basketball player, nor does clay or marble over Astroturf or Jell-o. It is all about placing the right elements in a context that offers a new perspective to its audience… what you make others see.

—mitchell marti Marti will be having an exhibition of multimedia prints and a video installation— Generalized Section—at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art in Santa Fe. Reception: Friday, April 27, from 5 to 7 pm. His work has been shown at the Center for Advance Research in Computing at the University of New Mexico, Alb; SCA Contemporary, Alb; and at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI. In 2012, Marti will show his work at Golden West College, Huntington Beach, CA.

photographS By a nne S taveley

| A P R I L 2012

the magazine | 19

SAN Q

31 Burro Alley (next to the Lensic)

992-0304

* ORGANIC GARDENING WATER CONSERVING SIMPLE & SUSTAINABLE KNOW YOUR FOOD SOURCE GROW YOUR OWN YEAR-ROUND GIVE THE GIFT OF FOOD TO OTHERS

food for thought

Vegetable Dinner by Peter Blume Lurking just below the surface of Peter Blume’s Vegetable Dinner are signs of a troubled relationship. While in his twenties, Blume lived with a woman named Elaine, also an artist, in what he referred to as a “trial marriage.” The two shared a home by the harbor in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Blume and Elaine argued constantly, frequently separating after their disagreements. The figures in Vegetable Dinner, painted when Blume was twenty-one, represents two sides of Elaine—the glamorous party girl, with painted lips and a cigarette—and the housewife, dutifully preparing vegetables for supper. Blume was terrified that marriage would entrap him, as indicated by the dark, claustrophobic space surrounding the domestic Elaine. The carrots and sunburst squash at the center of the painting contain several possible meanings. They may represent Blume’s vegetarianism, a popular practice in bohemian communities at the time. Additionally, they resemble male and female genitals. Elaine’s alarming slicing motion—it looks like she’s about to cut off her thumb—may represent a fear of castration. Blume was drawn to the philosophy of Nietzsche, who held that the attraction to women dampened artistic energy. Blume and Elaine parted ways in 1928. Vegetable Dinner is included in Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties (Rizzoli, $60), a book exploring the fresh, modernist art of the jazz age. D

| april 2012

THE magazine | 21

“Where Elegance Reigns”

Easter Brunch

—Patricia Greathouse, Pasatiempo

lunch – monday thru saturday sunday brunch dinner nightly

A la Carte Easter Menu ~ April 8 ~ 11:30 am to 3 pm Children’s Menu Available Featuring Compound Classics & Seasonal Specialties

restaurant bar 231 washington avenue - reservations 505 984 1788

gift certificates, menus & special events online www.santacafé.com

The Compound Restaurant: A Family Tradition Reservations 982.4353

653 Canyon Road

compoundrestaurant.com

Available at Select Purveyors in Santa Fe & Taos: ARROYO VINO 315 RE STAUR ANT & WINE BAR C L IFF ’S L IQUOR S COYOTE CAFÉ E L C AMINO C ANTINA E L MESON RESTAURANT E NC AN TAD O GERONIMO INN AT L ORET TO K AUNES NE IGHBORHOOD MARK ET K ELLY L IQUOR BARN KOKOM AN L IQUID C OMPANY MIDTOW N MARK ET & L OUNG E PINK AD OBE SANTAC AFE SUNFLOWER MARKET SUSAN’S F INE WINE & SPIRITS TAOS INN TESUQUE V ILL AGE MARKET T HE G ORGE T HE MATAD OR

Small Batch Heirloom Spirits Hand Crafted in New Mexico at Rancho de Los Luceros Destilaría

e Los L od u ch

ros ce

Drink different.

Ra n

THE PAL ACE

one bottle

One Bottle:

The 2009 Fontanafredda Piemonte Barbera “Briccotondo”

by Joshua Baer

“I continue to encourage the legislature to trust the people of New Jersey

are, yes, conjugal, but also [inaudible], but also procreative. That’s the perfect way

and seek their input by allowing our citizens to vote on a question that represents

that a sexual union should happen. We take any part of that out, we diminish the

a profoundly significant societal change. This is the only path to amend our

act. And if you can take one part out that’s not for purposes of procreation, that’s

State Constitution and the best way to resolve the issue of same-sex marriage

not one of the reasons, then you diminish this very special bond between men

in our state. The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy

and women, so why can’t you take other parts of that out? And all of a sudden,

to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets

it becomes deconstructed to the point where it’s simply pleasure.” –Presidential

in the South.” – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, defending his call for a

candidate Rick Santorum, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, on February 16, 2012.

state-by-state ballot referendum on same-sex marriage. Governor Christie

Again, the extraordinary thing about Rick Santorum’s remarks is not the fact

made his remarks on January 26, 2012, after vetoing a same-sex marriage

that he made them. The extraordinary thing is that no one in the Republican Party

bill recently passed by the New Jersey state legislature.

spoke out against him. The Republicans also chose to remain silent when Santorum

The quote is pure Republican. Let the voters decide. How wrong can that be?

advocated the arrest and prosecution of doctors who perform legal abortions, and

The Civil Rights Act was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson on

when he stated that same-sex marriage undermines the fabric of our society. That’s

July 2, 1964, one hundred and one years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The Act made it illegal to discriminate against African Americans in schools, public areas, and the workplace. The most critical part of the Act made it illegal to

how Republicans operate. That’s how they get reelected. That’s how they get paid. They listen. They nod. And they keep their mouths shut. Which brings us to the 2009 Fontanafredda Piemonte Barbera “Briccotondo.”

discriminate against African Americans who wanted to register

In the glass, the 2009 Briccotondo is a clear, luminous garnet.

to vote. After he signed the Civil Rights Act, President Johnson

The bouquet is simultaneously careful and raw, but raw in the way

told Bill Moyers, “I think we have just delivered the South to the

that great talent is raw. On the palate, the Briccotondo delivers

Republican Party for a long time to come.”

more depth than you might expect. It has the same qualities you

If Lyndon Johnson had chosen not to sign the Civil Rights

find in a person of authenticity, the type of person who used to be

Act, and had recommended that each state hold a ballot

characterized as “a natural.” The finish is an extended version of

referendum on civil rights, the right to discriminate against African

the bouquet. The flavor of deliberate savagery comes and goes,

Americans would have been decided by popular vote on a state-

but in the end it stays with you.

by-state basis. In the South, in 1964, African Americans had the

The word “bigot” comes from the Old French bigotte,

right to vote, but were prevented from registering to vote, often

“a religious hypocrite.” Bigotte may have evolved from the

by force. If ballot referendums had been held, African Americans

medieval Norman custom of shouting “Victory, by God!” while

would have been prevented from registering, and the right to

charging into battle. During medieval times, the French and the

discriminate against human beings because of their skin color

Normans fought many battles, and the French did not take kindly

would still be the law of the land, at least in the South.

to the Normans’ sanctimony.

The extraordinary thing about Governor Christie’s remarks

Silence may be golden, but this is not the time for silence.

is not that he made them. The extraordinary thing is that no one

This is the time to stand up and speak out. Yes, it’s an election year,

in the Republican Party stood up and said, “Governor, no offense,

and, yes, the Republicans are engaged in a rabid form of self-sabotage,

but you’re mistaken. The reason people of all colors took to the

but their efforts to destroy themselves do not excuse their behavior.

streets in the South was because they had no choice. Their state

We are one conservative Supreme Court justice away from the repeal

governments had failed to protect their rights. The only way they

of Roe versus Wade. Contraception, abortion, and gay marriage are not

could abolish Jim Crow in their lifetimes was to risk their lives and

“women’s” issues. They are issues of human liberty. If you are a man

hope that the federal government took notice of their protests.”

or a woman, and you do not take a loud, emphatic stand against the

By holding their tongues, Republicans everywhere gave support

Republicans and their bigotry, then you betray

to Chris Christie, to his remarks, and to the bigotry that beats like

your family, your friends, your country, and all of

a drum inside the Republican heart.

your descendants, male and female. Holding your

“One of the things I will talk about that no President has talked about before is I think the dangers of contraception in this

tongue does not make you a bigot. It just makes you a coward. D

country, the whole sexual libertine idea. [sic] Many in the Christian faith have said, ‘Well, that’s okay. Contraception’s okay.’ It’s not okay because it’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be. They’re supposed to be within marriage, they are supposed to be for purposes that

| april 2012

One Bottle is dedicated to the appreciation of good wines and good times, one bottle at a time. The name “One Bottle” and the contents of this column are ©2012 by onebottle.com. For back issues, go to onebottle.com. Send questions or comments to jb@onebottle.com

THE magazine | 23

dining guide

The $7.40 Basic Burger at

Bobcat Bite 418 Old Las Vegas Highway Wednesday to Sunday

$ KEY

INEXPENSIVE

up to $14

MODERATE

$15—$23

EXPENSIVE

$$$

$24—$33

Prices are for one dinner entrée. If a restaurant serves only lunch, then a lunch entrée price is reflected. Alcoholic beverages, appetizers, and desserts are not included in these price keys. Call restaurants for hours.

VERY EXPENSIVE

$$$$

$34 plus

EAT OUT OFTEN

Photos: Guy Cross

...a guide to the very best restaurants in santa fe, albuquerque, and surrounding areas... 315 Restaurant & Wine Bar 315 Old Santa Fe Trail. 986-9190. Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: French. Atmosphere: Reminds one of an inn in the French countryside. House specialties: Steak Frites, seared Pork Tenderloin, and the Black Mussels are all winners. Comments: A beautiful new bar with generous martinis, a teriffic wine list, and a “can’t miss” bar menu. Winner of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Andiamo! 322 Garfield St. 995-9595. Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Patio. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Italian. Atmosphere: Casual House specialties: Start with the Steamed Mussels or the Roasted Beet Salad. For your main, choose the delicious Chicken Marsala or the Pork Tenderloin. Comments: Good wines, great pizzas, and a sharp waitstaff. Anasazi Restaurant Inn of the Anasazi 113 Washington Ave. 988-3236 . Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Valet parking. Major credit cards. $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary American cuisine. Atmosphere: A casual yet elegant room evoking the feeling of an Anasazi cliff dwelling. House specialties: We suggest blue corncrusted salmon with citrus jalapeno sauce, or the nine-spice beef tenderloin. Comments: Attentive service. Azur Mediterranean Bistro & Wine Bar 428 Agua Fria St. 992-2897 Dinner Wine/Beer Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Mediterranean. Atmosphere: Intimate restaurant housed in a small adobe building. House specialties: We enjoyed the Butternut Squash with crimini mushrooms, shallots, shaved parmesan, and brown sage butter. Comments: A variety of small plates are offered. Bobcat Bite Restaurant 418 Old Las Vegas Hwy. 983-5319. Lunch/Dinner No alcohol. Patio. Cash. $$ Cuisine: American as apple pie. Atmosphere: This is the real deal—a small, low-slung building with eight seats at the counter and four tables. House specialties: The enormous inch-anda-half thick green chile cheeseburger is sensational. The 13-ounce rib-eye steak is juicy and flavorful. The secret of their great burgers is a decades-old, well-seasoned cast-iron grill. Go. Body Café 333 Cordova Rd. 986-0362. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Organic. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: In the morning, try the breakfast smoothie or the Green Chile Burrito. We love the Asian Curry

for lunch or the Avocado and Cheese Wrap. Comments: Soups and salads are marvelous, as is the Carrot Juice Alchemy.

Tails, the Southwestern Rotisserie, or the grilled 24-ounce “Cowboy Cut” steak. Comments: Good wine list.

peppers, and chickpeas served over organic greens. Comments: Chef Obo wins awards for his fabulous soups.

Cafe Cafe Italian Grill 500 Sandoval St. 466-1391. Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Italian. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: For lunch, the classic Caesar salad, the tasty specialty pizzas, or the grilled eggplant sandwich. For dinner, go for the perfectly grilled Swordfish Salmorglio. Comments: Friendly waitstaff.

Downtown Subscription 376 Garcia St. 983-3085. Breakfast/Lunch No alcohol. Patio. Cash/ Major credit cards. $ Cuisine: Standard coffee-house fare. Atmosphere: A large room with small tables inside and a nice patio outside where you can sit, read periodicals, and schmooze. Tons of magazine to peruse. House specialties: Espresso, cappuccino, and lattes.

Café Pasqual’s 121 Don Gaspar Ave. 983-9340. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Sunday Brunch Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Multi-ethnic. Atmosphere: The café is adorned with lots of Mexican streamers and Indian maiden posters. House specialties: Hotcakes got a nod from Gourmet magazine. Huevos motuleños—a Yucatán breakfast—is one you’ll never forget. For lunch, try the Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich.

El Faról 808 Canyon Rd. 983-9912. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Spanish. Atmosphere: Wood plank floors, thick adobe walls, and a postage-stamp-size dance floor for cheekto-cheek dancing. House specialties: Tapas. Comments: Murals by Alfred Morang.

Kohnami Restaurant 313 S. Guadalupe St. 984-2002. Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine/Sake. Patio. Visa & Mastercard. $$ Cuisine: Japanese. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: Miso soup; Soft Shell Crab; Dragon Roll; Chicken Katsu; noodle dishes; and Bento Box specials. Comments: The sushi is always perfect. Try the Ruiaku Sake. It is clear, smooth, and very dry. Comments: You will love the new noodle menu.

The Compound 653 Canyon Rd. 982-4353. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Atmosphere: 150-year-old adobe with polished plaster walls and white linen on the tables. House specialties: Jumbo Crab and Lobster Salad. The Chicken Schnitzel is flawless. Desserts are perfect. Comments: Chef/owner Mark Kiffin, winner of James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef of the Southwest” award has a new restaurant, Counter Culture 930 Baca St. 995-1105. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Patio. Cash. $$ Cuisine: All-American. Atmosphere: Informal. House specialties: Breakfast: burritos and frittata. Lunch: sandwiches and salads. Dinner: flash-fried calamari; grilled salmon with leek and Pernod cream sauce, and a delicious hanger steak. Comments: Boutique wine list. Cowgirl Hall of Fame 319 S. Guadalupe St. 982-2565. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: All-American. Atmosphere: Patio shaded by big cottonwoods. Great bar. House specialties: The smoked brisket and ribs are fantastic. Super buffalo burgers. Comments: Huge selection of beers. Coyote Café 132 W. Water St. 983-1615. Dinner Full bar. Major credit cards. $$$$ Cuisine: Southwestern with French and Asian influences. Atmosphere Bustling. House specialties: For your main course, go for the grilled Maine Lobster

El Mesón 213 Washington Ave. 983-6756. Dinner Beer/Wine. Patio. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Spanish. Atmosphere: Spain could be just around the corner. Music nightly. House specialties: Tapas reign supreme, with classics like Manchego Cheese marinated in extra virgin olive oil. Go. Geronimo 724 Canyon Rd. 982-1500. Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$$ Cuisine: We call it French/Asian fusion. Atmosphere: Kiva fireplaces, a portal, and a lovely garden room. House specialties: Start with the superb foie gras. Entrées we love include the Green Miso Sea Bass, served with black truffle scallions, and the classic peppery Elk tenderloin. Comments: Tasting menus available. Il Piatto 95 W. Marcy St. 984-1091. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Italian. Atmosphere: Bustling. House specialties: Our faves: the Arugula and Tomato Salad, the Lemon Rosemary Chicken, and the Pork Chop stuffed with mozzarella, pine nuts, and prosciutto. Comments: New on the menu: a perfect New York Strip Strip Steak at a way better price than the Bull Ring—and guess what— you don’t have to buy the potato. Jambo Cafe 2010 Cerrillios Rd. 473-1269. Lunch/Dinner Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: African and Caribbean inspired. Atmosphere: Basic cafe-style. House specialties: We love the Jerk Chicken Sandwich. Try the Curried Chicken Salad Wrap; or the Phillo stuffed with spinach, black olives, feta cheese, roasted red

La Plancha de Eldorado 7 Caliente Road at La Tienda. 466-2060 Highway 285 / Vista Grande Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Sunday Brunch Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Salvadoran Grill. Atmosphere: casual open space. House specialties: Loroco omelet and the pan-fried plantains. Try the Salvadorian tamales . Everything is fresh. Recommendations: Sunday brunch. Lan’s Vietnamese Cuisine 2430 Cerrillos Rd. 986-1636. Lunch/Dinner Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Vietnamese. Atmosphere: Casual and friendly. House specialties: Start with the Pho Tai Hoi, a vegetarian soup loaded with veggies, fresh herbs, and spices. For your entrée, we suggest the Noung—it will rock your taste buds. Comments: Generous portions. La Plazuela on the Plaza 100 E. San Francisco St. 989-3300. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Full Bar. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: New Mexican and Continental. Atmosphere: Enclosed courtyard. House specialties: Start with the Classic Tortilla Soup or the Heirloom Tomato Salad with baked New Mexico goat cheese. For your entrée, try the Braised Lamb Shank, served with a spring gremolata, couscous, and vegetables. Comments: Seasonal menus. M aria ’ s N ew M exican K itchen 555 W. Cordova Rd. 983-7929. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$

Cuisine: New Mexican. Atmosphere: Rough wooden floors and hand-carved chairs set the historical tone. House specialties: Freshly made tortillas, Green Chile Stew, and Pork Spareribs. Comments: Famous for their margaritas. Mu Du Noodles 1494 Cerrillos Rd. 983-1411. Dinner/Sunday Brunch Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Pan-Asian. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Green Thai Curry, Comments: Mu Du is committed to organic products.

Museum Hill Cafe Museum Hill, off Camino Lejo. 984-8900. Lunch: Tuesday - Sunday Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: American/Contemporary New Mexican. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: We love the Asian Shrimp Taco sand the Smoked Duck Flautas. Comments: Menu changes seasonally. Nostrani Ristorante 304 Johnson St. 983-3800. Dinner Beer/Wine. Fragrance-free Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Innovative regional dishes from Northern Italy. Atmosphere: Elegant. House specialties: Start with the Mushroom and Artichoke Salad. Entrees: Veal Scalopinni or the Roasted Trout with Leeks, Pepper, and Sage. Dessert: Go for the Mixed Berries with Lemon Comments: You cannot go wrong dining here. Menu changes seasonally. Frommers rates Nostrani as one of the “Top 500 Restaurants in the World.” Note: fragrance-free. Plaza Café Southside 3466 Zafarano Dr. 424-0755. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner 7 days Full bar. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: American and New Mexican. Atmosphere: Bright and light, colorful, and friendly. House specialties: For your breakfast go for the Huevos Rancheros or the Blue Corn Piñon Pancakes. Comments: Excellent Green Chile. Rasa Juice Bar/Ayurveda 815 Early St. 989-1288 Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Organic juice bar. Atmosphere: Calm. House specialties: Smoothies, juices, teas, chai, cocoa, coffee, and espresso—made with organic ingredients. Juice: our favorite is the Shringara, made with beet, apple, pear, and ginger. Real Food Nation Old Las Vegas Hwy/Hwy 285. 466-3886. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Farm to table with an on-site organic garden. Atmosphere: Cheery and light. House specialties: Grilled veggie burgers and organic grass-fed beef burgers. Comments: A new dinner menu featuring Chicken Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes. The Flat Iron Steak is great too. Kid-friendly. Rio Chama Steakhouse 414 Old Santa Fe Trail. 955-0765. Sunday Brunch/Lunch/Dinner/Bar Menu. Full bar. Smoke-free dining rooms. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: All-American classic steakhouse. Atmosphere: Pueblo-style adobe. House specialities: USDA Steaks and Prime Rib. Juicy and flavorful Burgers. The Haystack fries with cornbread and honey butter is a big, big plus. Recommendations: Nice wine list.

continued on page 27

| april 2012

THE magazine | 25

A Pair for Every Palette

NEW SPRING MENU FROM

CHEF LOUIS MOSKOW BACK IN THE KITCHEN PAN ROASTED ALASKAN COD, VEAL SCALLOPINI & SOCCA WITH CAST IRON SEARED VEGETABLES

LAST MONTH FOR OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL! 315 Old Santa Fe Trail • Reservations 505.986.9190 www.315santafe.com Kate Russell Photography

Taste the New Southwest Chef Charles Dale’s modern rustic cuisine introduces a Contemporary American fare that is regionally inspired by Northern New Mexico and infused with local and organically sourced ingredients.

Inventive American Cuisine Palace Restaurant & Saloon Tel. 505 428 0690 palacesantafe.com 142 West Palace Avenue Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 877.262.4666

198 State Road 592, Santa Fe

encantadoresort.com

DINING GUIDE

The Shed 113½ E. Palace Ave. 982-9030. Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Patio. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: New Mexican. Atmosphere: A local institution located just off the Plaza. House specialties: Order the red or green chile cheese enchiladas. Many folks say that they are the best tin Santa Fe.

Zacatecas In Albuquerque’s Nob Hill District 3423 Central Avenue NE • 505-255-8226 Ristra 548 Agua Fria St. 982-8608. Dinner/Bar Menu Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Southwestern with a French flair. Atmosphere: Contemporary. House specialties: Mediterranean Mussels in chipotle and mint broth is superb, as is the Ahi Tuna Tartare. Comments: Ristra won the Wine Specator Award of Excellence. San Q 31 Burro Alley. 992-0304 Lunch/Dinner Sake/Wine Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Japanese Sushi and Tapas. Atmosphere: Large open room with a Sushi bar. House specialties: Sushi, Vegetable Gyoza, Softshell Crab, Sashimi and Sushi Platters, and a variety of delicious Japanese Tapas Comments: A savvy sushi chef makes San Q a top choice for those who really love Japanese food. San Francisco Street Bar & Grill 50 E. San Francisco St. 982-2044. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: All-American. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: The San Francisco Street Burger, the Grilled Yellowfin Tuna Nicoise Salad, or the New York Strip. Comments: Sister restaurant located in the DeVargas Center. Santacafé 231 Washington Ave. 984-1788. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Contemporary Southwestern. Atmosphere: Minimal, subdued, and elegant. House specialties: The worldfamous calamari never disappoints. Favorite entrées include the perfectly cooked grilled rack of lamb and the pan-seared salmon with olive oil crushed new potatoes and creamed sorrel. Comments: The daily pasta specials are generous and flavorful. Appetizers during cocktail hour rule. Santa Fe Bar & Grill 187 Paseo de Peralta. 982.3033. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: American and New Mexican. Atmosphere: Casual and friendly. House specialties: Try the Cornmeal-crusted Calamari, the Rotisserie Chicken, or the Rosemary Baby Back Ribs. Comments: Easy on the wallet. Saveur 204 Montezuma St. 989-4200. Breakfast/Lunch Beer/Wine. Patio. Visa/Mastercard. $$ Cuisine: French meets American. Atmosphere: Casual. Buffet-style service for salad bar and soups. House specialties: Daily chef specials, gourmet and buildyour-own sandwiches, wonderful soups, and an excellent salad bar. Comments: Breakfasts, organic coffees, and super desserts. Family-run.

| april 2012

Second Street Brewery 1814 Second St. 982-3030. Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Patio. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Simple pub grub and brewery. Atmosphere: Casual and friendly. House specialties: The beers are outstanding when paired with Beer-steamed Mussels, Calamari, Burgers, and Fish & Chips. Comments: Sister restaurant at 1607 Paseo de Peralta, in the Railyard District. Shibumi 26 Chapelle St. 428-0077. Lunch/Dinner Fragrance-free Cash only. $$. Parking available Beer/wine/sake Cuisine: Japanese noodle house. Atmosphere: Tranquil and elegant. Table and counter service. House specialties: Start with the Gyoza—a spicy pork pot sticker—or the Otsumami Zensai (small plates of delicious chilled appetizers), or select from four hearty soups. Shibumi offers sake by the glass or bottle, as well as beer and champagne. Comments: Zen-like setting. Shohko Café 321 Johnson St. 982-9708. Lunch/Dinner Sake/Beer. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Authentic Japanese Cuisine. Atmosphere: Sushi bar, table dining. House specialties: Softshell Crab Tempura, Sushi, and Bento Boxes. Station 430 S. Guadalupe. 988-2470 Breakfast/Lunch Patio Major credit cards. $ Cuisine: Light fare and fine cofffee and teas. Atmosphere: Friendly and casual. House specialties: For your breakfast choose the Ham and Cheese Croissant or any of the Fresh Fruit Cups. Our lunch favorite is the Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Tomato sandwich on a Cabatta roll. Comments: Special espresso drinks. Steaksmith at El Gancho

Old Las Vegas Hwy. 988-3333. Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Major credit cards $$$ Cuisine: American. Atmosphere: Family restaurant House specialties: Aged steaks, lobster. Try the Pepper Steak with Dijon cream sauce. Comments: They know steak here. Table de Los Santos 210 Don Gaspar. 992-5863 Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Sunday Brunch Full Bar. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: New Mexican–inspired fare. Atmosphere: Large open room with high ceilings House specialties: Try the organic Chicken Paillard with vegetables—it is the best. For dessert, we love the organic Goat Milk Flan. Comments: Well-stocked bar.

Teahouse

821 Canyon Rd. 992-0972. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner 7 days Beer/Wine. Fireplace. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: Farm-to-fork. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: We love the Salmon Benedict with poached eggs, the quiche, the Gourmet Cheese Sandwich, and the Teaouse Mix salad. Comments. Teas from around the world. Terra at Encantado 198 State Rd. 592, Tesuque. 988-9955. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$$ Cuisine: Contemporary American. Atmosphere: Sophisticated and very elegant. House specialties: For dinner, start with the Risotto with Shaved Truffles. For your main, order the Harris Ranch Beef Tenderloin served with foie gras butter, or the Fish of the Day. Comments: Chef Charles Dale certainly knows what “attention to detail” means. The Palace Restaurant & Saloon 142 West Palace Avenue 428-0690 Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Major credit cards $$$ Cuisine: Modern Italian Atmosphere: Old World flavor with red-flocked wallpaper in the bar. House Specialties: For lunch: the “Smash” Burger or the Prime Rib French Dip. Dinner: We love the Chicken Breast Diablo Italiano, Tuscan Shrimp, or the All-American Steak au Poivre. Comments: Great pour at the bar. Italian, Hawaiian, New Mexican, Chinese, and Moroccan influences show up on the dinner menu. Chef Joseph Wrede works his magic in the kitchen.

The Ranch House (Formerly Josh’s BBQ) 2571 Cristos Road. 424-8900 Lunch/Dinner Full bar Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: BBQ and Grill. Atmosphere: Casual—family and kid-friendly. House specialties: Josh’s Red Chile Baby Back Ribs, Smoked Brisket, Pulled Pork, New Mexico Beef Strip Loin, and New Mexican Enchilada Plates. Comments: Nice bar. The Supper Club 628 Old Las Vegas Hwy. 466-2440 Dinner: Wednesday–Saturday Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Fine dining. Atmosphere: Comfortable and intimate. House specialties: Organic salads and soups, sustainably-raised meat, poultry, and seafood. Recomendations: We love the perfectly-cooked Berkshire Pork Chop. Comments: Fine wines and attentive service. Tia Sophia’s 210 W. San Francisco St. 983-9880. Breakfast/Lunch Major credit cards. $ Cuisine: New Mexican. Atmosphere: Casual. House specialties: Green Chile Stew, the traditional Breakfast Burrito, stuffed with bacon, potatoes, chile, and cheese. Comments: This is the real deal. Tomme Restaurant 229 Galisteo St. 820-2253 Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Contemporary. Atmosphere: Casual and friendly. House specialties: Start with the Cheese Board or the Chicken Pâté. Entrée: the Steak Frites, the Vegetable Fettuccini, or the Southern Fried Chicken Our favorite dessert is the Caramel Pots de Crème. Comments: Yes, innovative cuisine. Tree House Pastry Shop and Cafe 1600 Lena St. 474-5543. Breakfast/Lunch Tuesday-Sunday Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Only organic ingredients used. Atmosphere: Light, bright, and cozy. House specialties: Order the fresh Farmer’s Market Salad, the Birdhouse Burger, or the Lunch Burrito, smothered in red chile and served with a salad.

T une -U p C afé 1115 Hickox St.. 983-7060. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: American, Cuban, Salvadorean, Mexican, and, yes, New Mexican. Atmosphere: Down home, baby. House specialties: Breakfast faves are the scrumptious Buttermilk Pancakes and the Tune-Up Breakfast. Comments: Super Fish Tacos and the El Salvadoran Pupusas are excellant. Sunday brunch. V inaigrette 709 Don Cubero Alley. 820-9205. Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine. Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: We call the food here: farmto-table-to-fork. Atmosphere: Light, bright and cheerful. House specialties: All of the salads are totally amazing— as fresh as can be. We love the Nutty Pear-fessor salad, and th4e Chop Chop Salad—both totally rock! Comments: Vinaigrette will be opening a “sister” restaurant in Albuquerque in the fall. Keep tuned. W hoo ’ s D onuts 851 Cerrillos Rd. 629-1678 6 am to 3 pm. Major credit cards. $ Cuisine: Just donuts. Atmosphere: Very, very casual. House specialties: Organic ingredients only. Comments: Our fave donut is the Maple Bar, with or without the bacon. Organic coffee is a big plus. Z acatecas 3423 Central Ave., Alb. 505-255-8226. Lunch/Dinner Tequila/Mezcal/Beer/Wine Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: Mexican, not New Mexican. Atmosphere: Casual and friendly. House specialties: Try the Chicken Tinga Taco with Chicken and Chorizo cooked in housemade Chipotle Salsa or the Slow Cooked Pork Ribs with Tamarind Recado-Chipotle Sauce with Sweet Potato Fries and Serrano Slaw. Over 65 brands of Tequila are offered. Comments: Mark Kiffin brings his food chops to Albuquerque. Z ia D iner 326 S. Guadalupe St. 988-7008. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Full bar. Patio. Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: All-American diner food. Atmosphere: Down home. House specialties: The Chile Rellenos and Eggs is our breakfast choice. At lunch, we love the Southwestern Chicken Salad, the Meat Loaf, all the Burgers, and the Fish and Chips. Comments: The bar is the place to be at cocktail hour. Sweets and pastries are available for take-out.

The Pantry Restaurant 1820 Cerrillos Rd. 986-0022 Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Beer/Wine Major credit cards. $$ Cuisine: New Mexican/American. Atmosphere: Bustling with counter service and extra-friendly service. House specialties: Breakfast rules here with their famous stuffed French Toast, Corned Beef Hash, and Huevos Rancheros or Consuelo. Also a terrific hand-breaded Chicken Fried Steak smothered in red chile, fries and an egg on top. Burgers, Green Chile Stew, and homemade Meatloaf round out the extensive menu. Comments: The Pantry Restaurant has been around since 1948. The Pink Adobe 406 Old Santa Fe Trail. 983-7712. Lunch/ Dinner Full Bar Major credit cards. $$$ Cuisine: All American, Creole, and New Mexican. Atmosphere: Friendly and casual. House specialties: For lunch we love the Gypsy Stew or the Pink Adobe Club. For dinner, get the Steak Dunigan, with green chile and sauteed mushrooms, or the Fried Shrimp Louisianne. Comments: Cocktail hour in the Dragon Room is a Santa Fe tradition.

The Pantry Restaurant 1820 Cerrillos Road • 986-0022

THE magazine | 27

Jack Zajac Works of the Early 1960s APRIL 2 - 28, 2012 Opening reception: Friday, April 6, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Jack Zajac, Shrouded Bearers, 1962, oil on canvas 68 x 58 1/2”

DavidrichardContemporary.com 130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | p (855) 983-9555 | f (505) 983-1284 info@DavidRichardContemporary.com

ART OPENINGS

a P R i l a RT o P e n i n G s FRIDAY, MARCH 30 axle cOntemPOrary rary at the Santa Fe Railyard, Santa Fe. 670-5854. Chenrezig’s Cave: works by Patrick Nagatani and Leigh Anne Langwell. 5-7 pm. eiGht mODern, 231 Delgado St., Santa Fe. 9950231. All in One: works by Rebecca Shore. 5-7 pm. James Kelly cOntemPOrary, 550 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe. 989-1601. Place (Series): new photographs by Bill Jacobson. 5-7 pm. reD DOt Gallery, 826 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 820-7338. Lumen: Fine Arts & Book Arts. 4:30-7:30 pm.

zane Bennett cOntemPOrary art, 435 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe. 982-8111. Prints: George Baselitz & James Drake. 5-7 pm.

SUNDAY, APRIL 1 unitarian uniVersalist church, 107 W. Barcelona Rd., Santa Fe. 554-3891. Egg Tempera Feast Feast: works by Eliza M. Schmid. 10 am-1 pm.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 Ph hOtO-eye Gallery, 376-A Garcia St., Santa Fe. 988-5159. First Wednesday Salon: photography by Steven Fitch. 6:30 pm.

FRIDAY, APRIL 6 calDera era Gallery, 926 Baca St., Santa Fe. 9261242. Sad Tuesdays: drawings by Peter Gray Hurley. 5-9 pm. chalK farm Gallery, 729 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 983-7125. The Manifest World: works by Steve Cieslawski. 5-8 pm. chiarOscurO, 702 1/2 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 992-0711. Spring Thaw: group show. 5-7 pm. DaViD richarD cOntemPOrary, 130 Lincoln Ave., Santa Fe. 983-9555. Works of the Early 1960s: paintings by Jack Zajac. 5-7 pm. 1960s eGGman anD Walrus, 131 W. San Francisco St. and 130 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 6600048. Birdland: group show. 5:30-9 pm. inPOst a rtsPace, Outpost Performance Space, 210 Yale Blvd. SE, Alb. 505-268-0044. Visions of the Poorly Described: pen and ink drawings by John Gallegos. 5-8 pm. mariPOsa sa Gallery, 3500 Central Ave. SE, Alb. 505-2686828. Spaces in Between: urban folk art by Isaac AlaridPease. Circus and Simians: works by Janet Hoelzel. 5-8 pm.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7 exPO neW mexicO, New Mexico Fairgrounds, 300 San Pedro NE, Alb. 505-260-9977. Masterworks of New Mexico 2012: group show. April 7-28, 10 am-5 pm, Tuesday-Sunday.

MONDAY, APRIL 9 santa fe art institute, 1600 St. Michael’s Dr., Santa Fe. 424-5050. Acequias: sculpture, installation and lecture by Ida Kleiter. 6 pm at Tipton Hall.

FRIDAY, APRIL 13 institute Of american inDian arts, 83 Avan Nu Po Rd., Santa Fe. 424-2300. DOME2012: experimental video art. 5-8 pm. Also Sat., April 14, 5-8 pm. JO Ohn sOmmers Gallery, University of New Mexico Art Building, Alb. 505-235-5510. Anxiety and Control Control: paintings by George Pierre Evans. 5-9 pm. museum Of cOntemPOrary natiVe arts, 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe. 428-5908. Ladies and Gentlemen—This is the Buffalo Show Show: works by Frank Buffalo Hyde. INITIATION: 2012 BFA student exhibition. Under the Influence: Iroquois Artists at the IAIA (1962-2012). 5-7 pm.

nOB hill Gallery, 7400 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Alb. 505-268-9969. Works by Sandy Baca, and Jerry and Tricia Love. 5-9 pm.

santa fe clay, 545 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe. 984-1122. Works by Ryan Greenheck and Nick Joerling. 5-7 pm.

Palette cOntemPOrary art anD craft, 7400 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Alb. 505-855-7777. EYE-conic: glass art by Tamara Coatsworth. 5-8 pm.

las Placitas PresByterian B Byterian church, NM 165, Exit 242, Placitas. 867-8080. Placitas Artists Series: group show. 2-5 pm. Series

Patina Gallery, 131 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 9863432. Overlay: paintings and collaborative jewelry by Steven Ford and David Forlano. 4:30 pm. stranGer factOry, 109 Carlisle Blvd. NE, Alb. 505508-3049. The Great Escape: works by Andrew Bell and Kelly Denato. 6-9 pm. taylOr a. Dale fine triBal art, 129 W. San Francisco St. (upstairs), Santa Fe. 6703488. African Art from Santa Fe Collections. 5-7 pm.

Odyssey + Art: The 1960s 1960s—the Yares Art Projects’ opening exhibition will be on view April 17 to June 30 at 123 Grant Avenue. Artists include Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell, Jeff Overlie, Rico Eastman, Marty Horowitz, Milton Avery, Manuel Neri, Paul Pletka, and Elias Rivera. Image: Joan Mitchell. No opening reception

Weyrich Gallery, 2935-D Louisiana Blvd. NE, Alb. 505-883-7410. Unfurled—Drifting Into the Unknown Unknown: works by Christine Herman. 5:30-8 pm.

tOuchinG stOne Gallery, 539 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe. 988-8072. Tanba Modernism: ceramics by Keiichi Shimizu. 5-7 pm.

SSUNDAY, UNDAY APRIL 15 UNDAY,

neW mexicO art leaG ea ue, 3407 Juan Tabo Blvd. NE, Alb. 505-293-5034. Dancing With Dragons: group exhibition celebrating the Year of the Dragon. 1-5 pm.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18 1629 cluB, Casa Rondeña Winery, 733 Chavez Rd. NW, Los Ranchos. 505-550-7220. Taos Connection: works by Ann Huston and Ed Connection Sandoval. 5-8 pm. riO BraVO ra fine art, 110 N. Broadway, Truth or Consequences. 575-894-0572. LightScapes-— Minnesota to New Mexico Mexico: paintings by Misha Martin. 6-9 pm.

FRIDAY, APRIL 20 eGGman anD Walrus, 130 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 660-0048. The Funny Ones: works from the Diane and Sandy Besser collection. 5:30-9 pm. GeralD Peters Gallery, 1011 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. 954-5700. Stilled Life: paintings and drawings by Christopher Benson. 5-7 pm. continued on page 32

| A P R I L 2012

the magazine | 29

HERE’S THE DEAL for artists without gallery representation in New Mexico. Full-page b&w ads for $600, color $900. Reserve your space for the May issue by Monday, April 16.

Jonas Povilas Skardis

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Training, Planning, Setup, Troubleshooting, Anything Final Cut Pro, Networks, Upgrades, & Hand Holding

phone: (505) 577-2151 email: Pov@Skardis.com Serving Northern NM since 1996

OUT AND ABOUT photographs by Mr. Clix Lisa Law Dana Waldon Stacey Adams Linda L. Carfagno and Jennifer Esperanza

WHO SAID THIS?

“I stand naked when I draw. God holds my hand and we sing together.” 1. Lucien Freud 2. Robert Mapplethorpe 3. Jenny Saville 4. Nick Cave

ART OPENINGS

intriGue Gallery, 715 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 820-9265. Miniatures and Monumental Figures in African Art: Art tribal works from the Robert Fiedler collection. 5-7 pm. Karan ruhlen Gallery, 225 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 820-0807. Wild Flora: paintings by Daniel Phill. 5-7 pm. selBy B fleetWOOD By leet Gallery, 600 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 992-8877. Local Exposure: group show. 5-7 pm. Friday, riday april 27 Jane sauer Gallery, 652 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 995-8513. Ornithology Abstracted: glass works by Noel Hart. 5-7 pm. mOnrOe Gallery, 112 Don Gaspar Ave., Santa Fe. 992-0800. Day to Night: photography by Stephen Wilkes. 5-7 pm. turner carrOll Gallery, 725 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 986-9800. Heroes: works by Deborah Oropallo, Hung Liu, & Squeak Carnwath. 5-7 pm. zane Bennett cOntemPOrary art, 435 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe. 982-8111. Generalized Section: video installation and prints by Mitchell Section Marti. Mapping Atmospheres 2008-2011: multimedia prints by Soledad Salamé. 5-7 pm.

SPECIAL INTEREST 333 mOntezuma annex, 333 Montezuma Ave, Santa Fe. 988-9564. The Art of Systems Biology and Nanoscience Nanoscience. Fri., March 30, 4-9 pm; Sat., March 31, 10 am-8 pm. stmc.health.unm.edu 516 arts, 516 Central Ave. SW, Alb. 505-2421445. New Mexico Showcase: with Gail Buono and others. Through Sat., April 28. 516arts.org artists Of neW mexicO Galleria, 501 Main St. NW, Alb. 505-750-8266. New Mexico Veterans Art Show Show. Thurs., April 5 through Sun., April 8, 10 am-6 pm. artistsofnm.com axle cOntemPOrary, various locations in Santa Fe. 670-5854. Jungle: installation by Lara Nickel and Brandon Soder. Fri., April 27 through Sun., May 20. axleart.com BOOKWOrKs, 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Alb. 505-344-9382. Lecture by Loretta Hall, author of Out of This World World. Sun., April 1, 3 pm. bkwrks.com center fOr cOntemPOrary arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe. 982-1338. Calaveras Resplandecientes: archival photo prints by Resplandecientes George O. Jackson. Through Sun., April 1. Arrhythmic Visions: sculpture and wall works by Jamie Hamilton and Alison Keogh. Through Sun., June 10. ccasantafe.org

Birdland—group show at Eggman and Walrus, 131 West San Francisco Street. Reception: Friday, April 6, from 5:30 to 9 pm. Image: Cannupa Hanska Luger.

city Of santa fe cOmmunity mmunity Gallery, 201 W. Marcy St., Santa Fe. 955-6705. Poetry workshop with Joan Logghe. Sat., April 28, noon-4 pm. santafenm.gov

Jemez state mOnument, Jemez Springs. 575829-3530. Put a Spring in Your Step: Earth Day Celebration: ranger-led hike. Sun., April 15, 10 Celebration am-3 pm. nmmonuments.org

cOrOnaDO state mOnument, Exit 242 off I-25, Bernalillo. 505-867-5351. Nature’s First Green— Earth Day Celebration Celebration: activities for all ages. Sat., April 14, 10 am-4 pm. nmmonuments.org

las cruces cOnVentiOn & VisitOrs Bureau, Main St., Las Cruces. 575-525-1955. Avenue Art New Mexico Mexico: Sat., April 28, 7 am-4 pm. downtownlascruces.net

eGGman anD Walrus, 130 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 660-0048. The Funny Ones: comedy performance by Matt Besser. Sat., April 21, 2-3 pm. Auction, 3:30-5 pm. eggmanwalrus.com

lensic center fOr the PerfOrminG arts, 211 W. San Francisco St., Santa Fe. 988-1234. Lysander’s Song Song: documentary film by Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson. Wed., April 25, 7 pm. lensic.org

eGGman anD Walrus, 131 W. San Francisco St. and 130 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 660-0048. Experimental Drawing Drawing: Mixed-Media Workshops with Diane Rolnick. Sun., March 29, 10 am-2 pm. eggmanwalrus.com encaustic art institute, 18 General Goodwin Rd., Cerrillos. 505-424-6487. Beginning Encaustic Workshop. Sat., April 28. eainm.com Workshop encOre Gallery, 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos with ParKs Gallery, 110-A Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos. 575-751-0343. Melissa Zink—Major Works Works. Through Sun., Apr. 22. “Melissa Zink: A Life of the Mind”: lecture by Stephen Parks at the Encore Gallery. Sat., April 14, 4-5 pm. tcataos.com exPO neW mexicO, San Pedro Dr. NE, Alb. 505977-6899. InSight: juried show of female New Mexico photographers. Sat., April 21 through Sun., April 29. insight-nm.com GeOrGia ia O’Keeffe museum, 217 Johnson St., Santa Fe. 946-1037. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith— Landscapes of an American Modernist. Through Sun., April 29. okeeffemuseum.org GeralD Peters Gallery, 1011 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. 954-5700. Paintings by Theodore Waddell. Through Sat., April 28. gpgallery.com GVG cOntemPOrary, 202 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 982-1494. Odes and Offerings, Deconstructed. Through Tues., April 10. gvgcontemporary.com harWOOD ar museum, 238 Ledoux St., Taos. 575-758-9826. Agnes Martin—Before the Grid. Through Sun., June 17. harwoodmuseum.org Jane sauer Gallery, 652 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 995-8513. Structures and Surfaces— Churches Around the World World: new sculptures by Roberto Cardinale. Through Tuesday, April 10. jsauergallery.com

the millicent rOGers museum, 1504 Millicent Rogers Rd., Taos. 575-758-2462. The Art of the Dress—Four Conceptual Fittings Fittings: works by Michelle Cooke, mixed media; Nancy Delpero, painter; Deborah RaelBuckley, sculptor; and Zoe Zimmerman, photographer. The Power to Create, Collect, and Inspire: works by Millicent Rogers. Maria Martinez—Matriarch of San Ildefonso. Through Dec. 2012. millicentrogers.org miraDOrr Gallery, 616 Canyon Rd., Santa Fe. 995-1977. Tibetan Contemporary Masters: contemporary art from Tibet. Through Aug. miradorgallery.com museum Of inDian arts anD culture, 710 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe. 476-1250. Breaking the Rules Rules: works by Margarete Bagshaw. Through 2013. Woven Identities: basket art from the museum’s collections. Through 2014. indianartsandculture.org museum Of sPanish P cOlOnial art, 750 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe. 982-2226. New Deal Art: CCC furniture and tinwork. Through Sept. Art spanishcolonialblog.org neW mexicO histOry museum, 113 Lincoln Ave., Santa Fe. 476-5200. Words Away: with Santa Fe Poets Laureate, Joan Logghe, Valerie Martinez, and Arthur Sze. Fri., April 27, 6 pm. santafenm.gov nOrth f Ourth a rt c enter, N4th Theater; 4904 Fourth Street NW, Alb. 505-3452872. Straight from the Heart: fundraiser for VSA Day Arts Program. Wed., April 4, 7pm. vsartsnm.org san PatriciO retreat center, 119 La Mancha, San Patricio. 575-258-9210. Seeking God Through Visual Art Art: seminar. Fri., April 27. sanpatricioretreat.org

Sad Tuesdays: drawings by Peter Gray Hurley at Caldera Gallery, 926 Baca Street. Reception: Friday, April 6, from 5 to 9 pm.

continued on page 34

32 | the magazine

| A P R I L 2012

OIN N LPRINT, I N E AON R TTHE A U RADIO CTION

AND ONLINE

ANNA PATRICIA KELLER

Prairie’s Edge

Oil and Wax Paintings

600+ full color images in 280+ pages 5000+ artists indexed to their galleries Gallery, Studio & Museum profiles Detailed street-by-street maps Dining & Lodging resources Calendars of events Informative articles Collector's resources Glossaries of art terms

VISIT US AT

collectorsguide.com

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 31, 3-5 pm • To June 24

The Gallery at Pioneer Bluffs • Matfield Green, Kansas 620-753-3484 • www.pioneerbluffs.org • gallery@pioneerbluffs.org

ART OPENINGS

santa fe artists marKet, 551 W. Cordova Rd., Santa Fe. 310-1555. Artists Market season begins. Saturdays, from 8 am to 2 pm. santafeartistsmarket.com

taO aOs cOnVentiOn center, 120 Civic Plaza Dr., Taos. 360-981-5509. Taos Fiber Marketplace. Fri., April 20 and Sat., April 21, 9 am-6 pm; Sun., April 22, 9 am-2 pm. taosfibermarketplace.com

santa fe circle Of frienDshiP BriDGe, United Church of Santa Fe, 1804 Arroyo Chamiso, Santa Fe. 984-0160. Dinner with Desiree: benefit for Friendship Bridge. Fri., April 27, 7 pm. friendshipbridge.org

the Gallery at PiOneer neer Bluffs, Matfileld Green, Kansas. 620-753. Prairie’s Edge: oil and wax paintings by Anna Patricia Keller. Through June 24,. pioneerbluffs.org

santa fe clay, 545 Camino de la Familia, Santa Fe. 984-1122. 2012 Summer Workshop Preview and Selections from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection: ceramics group show. Through Sat., Collection April 7. santafeclay.com santa fe cOmmunity cOlleGe, 6401 Richards Ave., Santa Fe. 819-3828. Seminars on Carbon Economy. Various events through April. Economy carboneconomyseries.com site santa fe, 1606 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. 989-1199. SITE Unseen: artists create works on identical boards and exhibited anonymously. All works sell for $300. Fri., April 21 to Sunday, April 24. Time-Lapse: works by Mary Temple, Byron Kim, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and Eve Sussman. Through Sun., May 20. sitesantafe.org taO aOs art museum at fechin hOuse, 227 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos. 575-758-2690. The Remarkable Women of Taos: Taos Dora Kaminsky and Duane Van Vechten. Vechten Through June 17. Taos Living Legends—Magnificent Masters and Treasures from the Vault. Vault Through May 31. taosartmuseum.org

uniVersity Of neW mexicO art museum, 1 University of New Mexico, Alb. 505-277-4001. “Lee Friedlander—Truth in Excess of Fact”: lecture by James Enyeart. Tues., April 10, 5:30 pm. unm.edu/~artmuse uniVersity Of neW mexicO BOOKstOre, 2301 Central Ave. NE, Alb. 505-277-7473. Working the Land Land: book presented by author Sandra K. Schackel. Thurs., March 29, 1 pm. bookstore. unm.edu

The Santa Fe Artists Market takes place every Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm at the Railyard Park—Paseo de Peralta at Guadalupe. Local artists show and sell paintings, pottery, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, photography and more.

Audrey Rubinstein. Fri., April 13, 6 pm. newmexicowomeninthearts.org

PERFORMING ARTS

VerV er e Gallery Of PhOtOGraPhy, 219 E. Marcy St., Santa Fe. 988-1234. Year of the Remarkable Woman: talk/exhibit by Jennifer Schlesinger. Sun., Woman April 1, 3 pm. newmexicowomeninthearts.org

alBuquerque theatre GuilD, P.O. Box 26395, Alb. Performances throughout April. Info: abqtheatre.org

William r. talBOt fine art, 129 W. San Francisco St., Santa Fe. 982-1559. Missions and Moradas of New Mexico—Modernist Views 19101985: annual Easter group exhibition. Through 1985 Sat., April 28. williamtalbot.com

atKinsOn recital hall, 1075 N. Horseshoe, Las Cruces. 575-646-3709. Classics Five: Las Cruces symphony with guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel. Photography by Ron Saltzman and paintings by Kathleen Squires. Sat., March 31, 7:30 pm.

zane Bennett cOntemPOrary art, 435 S. Guadalupe St., Santa Fe. 988-1234. Women, Work, Gesture Gesture: performance artist

center fOr cOntemPOrary arts, 1050 Old Pecos Tr., Santa Fe. 982-1338. Southwest Festival of New Music: One 11 and 103 103: film by John Cage. Sun., April 22, 7 pm. ccasantafe.org GeOrGia ia O’Keeffe museum, 123 Grant Ave., Santa Fe. 946-1000. The Southwest Festival of New Music— ””John Cage at 100”: talk by SFNM’s John Kennedy. Tues., April 3, 6-7:30 pm. okeeffemuseum.org

e GGman anD W alrus , 131 W. San Francisco St. and 130 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 2315039. The Dirt Experience: mountain bike art show. Call for artists to exhibit works inspired by mt. biking. Deadline: Tues., July 15. Contact: jeffdellapenna@aol.com e GGman anD W alrus , 130 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. Mixed-media workshops with Diane G. Rolnick. Thurs., March 29 through Sat., March 31, 10 am-2 pm. dianegrolnick. blogspot.com G irls i ncOrPOrateD Of s anta f e , 301 Hillside Ave., Santa Fe. 982-2042. 40th Annual Girls Inc. Arts & Crafts Show Show. girlsincofsantafe.org G reG m OOn a rt , 109-A Kit Carson Rd. Taos. 575-770-4463. After Dark: show celebrating all things nocturnal. Deadline: Sun., April 1. gregmoonart.com/links n eW m exicO m useum Of a rt , 107 W. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 476-5072. Art on the Edge: hosted by Friends of Contemporary Art. Deadline: Mon., April 30. nmartmuseum. org/artontheedge

la casa sena cantina, 125 E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe. 988-923. Patsy Cline—Sweet Dreams of a Lifetime: Lifetime with Kelley Zinge and Guido Valeri. Sat., April 28, 6 pm. lacasasena.com

P lacitas a rtists s eries , PO Box 944, Placitas. 505-867-8080. Placitas Artists Series: call for artists to exhibit works Series accompanying the 2012-13 concert season at Las Placitas Presbyterian Church. Deadline: Sun., April 1. placitasarts.org

natiOnal hisPanic Panic cultural center, 1701 Panic 4th St. SW, Alb. 505-724-4771. Pimentel Concert Series:: virtuoso guitar performances. Sat., April Series 14, 7 pm. nhccnm.org santa fe uniVersity ersity Of art anD DesiGn, 1600 St Michael’s Dr., Santa Fe. 473-6494. Artists for Positive Social Change Series Series: conversation with Chuck D. and Brian Hardgroove; Public Enemy concert on Sat., April 28. learn.santafeuniversity.edu

34 | the magazine

CALL FOR ARTISTS

James a. little theater, 1060 Cerrillos Rd., Santa Fe. 670-2152. Belisama Contemporary Dance: Dance spring repertory concert. Fri., April 13, 7 pm. belisamairishdance.com

mPD PerfOrmance rmance sPace P , 1583 Pacheco St., Santa Fe. 473-7434. Spring Repertory Concert: performance by ARCOS Dance. Fri. and Sat., April 6 and 7, 13 and 14, at 7:30 pm; Sun., April 15 at 2 pm. arcosdance.com

Tanba Modernism: Keiichi Shimizu explores the three-dimensional interplay of lines and surfaces at Touching Stone, 539 Old Santa Fe Trail. Reception: Friday, April 6, from 5 to 7 pm.

st. JOhn’s cOlleGe, 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe. 988-1234. Julian Pollack Jazz Trio. Sat., April 21, 7:30 pm. sjcsf.edu

sunshine theater, 120 Central Ave. SW., Alb. 505-764-0249. All American Rejects. Mon., April 2, 8 pm. allamericanrejects.com

r ailyarD s teWar W War Ds , Santa Fe Railyard, Santa Fe. 316-3596. Accepting proposals for 2012 summer temporary public artworks in the Railyard. Deadline: Sun., April 15. railyardpark.org s anta f e u niVersity Of a rt anD D esiGn , 1600 St. Michael’s Dr., Santa Fe. 888497-3553. Summer Theatre Intensive: workshops for high school juniors and seniors. Wed., June 20 through Sun., July 8. santafeuniversity.edu/theatreintensive sca c OntemPOrary a rt , 524 Haines Ave. NW, Alb. 505-228-3749. The Finite Passing of an Infinite Passion Passion: show curated by Laura Ratcliffe and Danielle Rae Miller. Seeking work in all media about religion. Deadline: Tues., May 1. scacontemporary.com

| A P R I L 2012

P reviews

Imagined Futures: A Creative Santa Fe Initiative 314 Read Street, Santa Fe. 989-9934. creativesantafe.org The Atlantic magazine recently recognized Santa Fe as the “Most Artistic City in America.” Founded in 2005, Creative Santa Fe (CrSF) is a nonprofit dedicated to the growth and vitality of the region’s creative economy, working to promote the city’s unique position as an international leader in enhancing urban life through the arts, sciences, and other cultural endeavors. Members of CrSF worked with the community to plan the Arts + Creativity Center, providing affordable space for Santa Fe’s creative workers. CrSF was also instrumental in the city’s decision to purchase the former College of Santa Fe campus to keep a four-year university in Santa Fe as a foundation for its creative industries. Imagined Futures, a new CrSF initiative, is planned as a continuing series of events and conversations exploring the escalating significance and economic impact of culture in Santa Fe. The initiative will launch with IF: The Santa Fe Series, which will include lectures, panel discussions, and events exploring the unique development of Santa Fe and the key decisions it faces as a world center of arts and culture. With Laura Carpenter as its Creative Director, Cyndi Conn as the Program Director, Kris Swedin as Director of Community Action, and William A. Miller as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Imagined Futures initiative hopes to encourage far-reaching discussions about the future of our community, bringing fresh ideas and showcasing what Santa Fe has to offer to other cities across the globe.

Christopher Benson: New Works April 20 through May 19 Gerald Peters Gallery, 1011 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. 954-5700. Opening reception: Friday, April 20, 5 to 7 pm. Christopher Benson’s oil paintings are quiet interpretations of what he calls “the substance of my life’s experience.” The Rhode Island native’s recent work marries his past explorations of realism and abstraction, describing everyday elements of his world with masterful composition and thick, deliberate brushstrokes. Sebastian, painted in 2011, is a simple rural scene, but Benson’s careful approach to detail and color renders the painting richly poetic. Dark clouds spread across the sky, and the viewer is caught within the gaze of a sturdy man in the foreground who leans against a rose-red door. In 2002, Benson received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and his work was included in a 2008 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. He has lived in Santa Fe for the past six years, and is also known for his gallery and printing atelier, the Fisher Press. New Works is Gerald Peters Gallery’s first solo presentation of Benson’s paintings; approximately fifteen recent works will be on view. Christopher Benson, Sebastian (detail), oil on linen, 64” x 74”, 2011

36 | THE magazine

| april / 2012

In Step with the Galaxy

Angel’s Child

12” X 18”

Dancing with Spirits

20” X 30”

Whispers of Eternity

30” X 20”

16” X 20”

Fusionism! by L. Heath

Fusionism is a new art movement that blurs the lines among different cultures, fuses old and new painting media, and mixes human versus machine-generated work. Heath is inspired by ancient native cultures, digital images from NASA’s Hubble space telescope, and the opening of Spaceport America in New Mexico. The new series, Ancient Spirits I, reflects a fusionist pathway from here to eternity led by ancient spiritual guides. Heath has been painting for 30 years and a full-time artist for the last 10. She began envisioning the blending of digital photography and traditional painting with a mix of cultural elements in 2002. Since then she has been experimenting with and perfecting the techniques that have resulted in this exciting new series.

Upcoming Shows Placitas Studio Tour May 13th–14th, 10 am–5 pm www.placitasstudiotour.com Placitas Artists Series Opening May 20th, 2 pm www.placitasarts.org/may.html By Appointment: LindaHeath.com

T A D

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SANTA FE COLLECTIONS Opening Friday, April 6th

5-7pm

Upstairs at 129 West San Francisco Street Santa Fe, NM 87501

TAYLOR A. DALE • FINE TRIBAL ART Gallery Hours: 11-5 Thursday-Saturday & by appointment tribaldesign@cybermesa.com

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Annie Leibovitz

Currently featuring a large selection of Annie Leibovitz photographs as well as spectacular photographs by Laura Gilpin, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paul Caponigro, Lee Friedlander, Ansel Adams, Edward S. Curtis, Elliott Erwitt and many more.

122 Grant Ave., Santa Fe, NM 87501 Next to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

• 505.984.1234 • www.AndrewSmithGallery.com

international spotlight

The Oracle Collaborative Images by Alexandra Eldridge and Predrag Pajdic According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, a prayer was recited on the day of a funeral: “May my soul lift itself up before Osiris, having been found to have been pure when on earth… may I smell the savor of the divine food of the Company of the Gods; may I sit down with them… may I draw nigh unto the Neshem Boat; and may neither my Heart-soul nor its lord be repulsed.” These are not mourning words; rather, they are a celebration of new life in another world. While attending an exhibition of the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead at the British Museum, artists Alexandra Eldridge and Predrag Pajdic were inspired to collaborate on a project exploring the realm between life and death. In an interview with Husk magazine, Eldridge said a friend had given her a series of nineteenth-century glass plate negatives containing images of nameless children. Soon afterwards, her friend committed suicide. Eldridge explained, “Death—a subject not easy to deal with—became reality in which I saw the urgency in fulfilling her intuition.” Eldridge and Pajdic printed the children’s images on vintage Chinese scrolls, then adorned them with objects, painted designs, and prints. The scrolls are meant to be messengers who travel in the world between life and death. In the same interview with Husk, Pajdic said, “We became deeply engaged in urging out the essence of each child, bringing them into life through our imaginations.” These works are on display at WE*DO Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand. D

| april 2012

THE magazine | 39

Medita

ting

F E AT U R E

Old Ideas, Cohen’s twelfth album, which came out in January of this year, is an unpromising-sounding title that suggests something washed out, or recycled. Could the new songs be expressing tired, old ideas from an old-ish man, maybe? The answer is no, on both counts. Certain familiar themes do suggest themselves—penitential longing, the demand for surrender, the slippery wiliness of human rituals and interaction, the difficulties of obligations and the impossibility of closure... the ebbing away of something in its own time. Cohen’s songs sometimes address a crucial bewilderment, sometimes they fuel the expression of some further sublime thing, and sometimes they are simply unintelligible (to me), but no less engaging for that very reason. In fact, I mostly don’t know what Leonard Cohen’s songs are about. I also don’t care so much. It is enough that they have a self-secret, solipsistic allure, an undeniable and ravishing beauty, even when the occasional petulant phrase asserts itself. How to explain this attraction? For one thing, Cohen’s voice has a unique resonance that is quasi-mournful and celebratory all at once—quite a lot to achieve with a pop song—and his voice works close to the bone, with each syllable seeping into the air like a single parched molecule, meticulously, one by one. It works. Still, the singer has said: “my voice is hopelessly bleak and empty without the admixture of the female voice, and I’ve needed to hear them.” Accordingly, he has long used backup vocals, and as we know, he has chosen them well. The sweet melody of female voices insinuates itself throughout pristine, lapidary arrangements in every song, and like a sublime chorus, they beautifully complement the voice of the boy-as-broken-toy. “Boy” as in timeless, universal boy, beyond numerical qualifications: that is, a certain kind of human who is born a little broken, who keeps trying to use a Band-Aid to seal the skin... maybe not

on leo

understanding that trying to cure a wound in this way is actually not the most clever approach. In “Show Me the Place,” the penitential singer portrays himself as humanly inadequate to the task. What that task is, I haven’t a clue. Each man’s religion, if he has one, is a mystery unto his own self, and sometimes (even mostly) I think that Cohen is making his religious pronouncements tongue-in-cheek. But who knows?

nard c

Let’s hope so, at least when he writes Show me the place / Where you want your slave to go. “Slave”—an unfortunate

ohen By ri n

chen

word. On the other hand, haven’t

all

felt

lhamo

enslaved to something at one time or another? “Slave” implies obsession, and obsession is innately capable of shifting shape and finding new ways to express itself. Actually, having monumental aspirations is a great idea—it’s the expressing of them that can be such a hard sell. In “Darkness,” a fabulous song, the lyrics allow room for our fumbling imaginations to move around in; they reveal a state of mind tinged partly with melancholy, a mind overgrown and in a state of decay, but never morose. How can this be? It might be another manifestation of the special Leonard Cohen trick: moaning pronouncements that come off as upbeat reverberations of a primal gong. Inconsolably dark and ffunny, the song is a kind of homage to Bob Dylan. Over time, Cohen’s lyrics have often suggested the fragility of a heightened, sympathetic state of awareness that, if not nurtured and responded to properly, could seemingly turn to the black. “Seemingly” because there’s also a feeling that there’s a lot of posing in Leonard Cohen’s songs; that he’s saying things for the hell of it, or even simply because a certain word or phrase fits the line or the beat, and that’s good enough reason to put it there. And who says that good poetic lines have to match up accurately with life? Song is first and foremost evocative, and certainly not intended as a didactic tool. Expediency doesn’t necessarily mean that the presentation is false. In fact, Cohen’s presence on stage is generous and warm, there is innate chivalry in his demeanor, and his poetry and music consistently offer the intimacy and sophistication of a cabaret experience. And as many of us have witnessed over the years, when Cohen acknowledges his gratitude to the audience there’s no doubt that he means it. Though Cohen has spoken of depression in the past, and his lyrics have on occasion suggested the unease of lonely, haunting shores and gloomy realms, what we get on this album instead is a lot of humor. In “Going Home,” the singer seems to cheerfully address his own mortality as an entity that does double duty as his alternate, gently chiding self; one that is encouraging him to disengage and surrender. This is a handy conceit: a kind of bold pep talk and a way to address the unknown. Going home / To where it’s better / Than before: this sounds almost sweet, like a refuge—if you can convince yourself to be so gullible, that such a possibility exists to begin with. If you’re that desperate for false solace, good luck to you. Still, surrendering can be a difficult exercise, and is a worthwhile task for any one of us to achieve, however imperfectly practiced it may be. And Leonard Cohen, as a songwriter and a singer, is doing it with fetching style. D Rinchen Lhamo has written reviews and articles for THE magazine over the last fifteen years.

| A P R I L 2012

the magazine | 43

peter lieberson he who sparkled like a special jewel

(1946 –2011)

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Taka Kobayashi: Geigoto

TAI Gallery 160-B Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe

Today, geishas

seem like romantic vestiges of a bygone

legs in front of her, her feet hidden by the silk of her kimono. Even her hands are modestly

era, but it was not long ago that these

covered by the long sleeves of her robe, and though she looks into the camera lens, her

extravagantly appointed ladies strolled throughout Kyoto’s “flower town” district.

expression is otherworldly and unapproachable. The romantic life and sexuality of the

In the 1920s there were eighty thousand active geisha, but since the Second World

geisha is somewhat perplexing. They were not prostitutes, and they were forbidden to

War that number has dwindled to just over two thousand. In Geigoto, Taka Kobayashi’s

marry—but they were paid to entertain men, and grey areas must have been common.

exhibition at TAI Gallery, the costumes and mannerisms of the traditional geisha are

Formally outlawed in 1959, mizuage (which somewhat unappetizingly translates: “to

captured in large-scale photographs. Kobayashi pays homage to this art form while

unload a ship’s cargo of fish”) was a transaction between a wealthy male sponsor and

conveying a sense of his personal devotion and respect for its practitioners. A prolific

a geisha house for the privilege of a maiko’s virginity. This was an important rite of

commercial and fine-art photographer, Kobayashi has said his inspiration for Geigoto

passage that recognized the maiko as an established geisha, but after this ersatz initiation

was a nineteenth-century Japanese artist Shoen Uemura, a respected female painter in

ceremony she was expected to refrain from physical intimacy.

a male-dominated field.

The idea of the docile and chaste geisha can seem like an affront to modern

Our Western fascination with Japan is perhaps linked to our curiosity about its inhabitants’ willingness to engage in fantasy worlds with which we have little to compare. Consider the most characteristic aspect of the geisha: her white makeup. A thick paste made

feminist sensibilities. Kobayashi’s photographs both refute and perpetuate this concern. In Yusuzumi, the face of a young geisha is partially obscured by an outspread fan. Her downcast eyes and the practiced restraint of her posture make this composition feel like a textbook example of the hyper-feminine,

of finely ground rice powder is applied along the

exaggeratedly coy geisha. In Kiku, however, the mood changes. One of a

jawline and swoops around the back of the neck,

few works that focus just on the face, the subject tilts her head slightly,

revealing what is considered an especially erotic

and we see where the razor sharp line of white makeup meets her

strip of flesh just above the kimono collar.

jawline. The detail of a deliberate swipe of foundation on her earlobe

The shiny black wig of the geisha can be

is strangely titillating. Her profile is one of radical determination

manipulated into simple chignons or more

and confidence, suggesting a rather thrilling contrast to the formal

complicated styles like the “split peach.”

modesty of other images. The modern feel of Kiku made me think

Her eyes are lined with charcoal, and her

about an aspect of contemporary Japanese pop culture called

lips are coated with liquid sugar for sheen

cosplay, or costume play. In Tokyo’s Akihabara district, young

and the oil of pulverized flower petals

Japanese women dress up as French maids and work in so-called

for color. Pulverized flower petals.

maid cafés. Here, guests are greeted with a cheery “Welcome

This is not just a beauty ritual,

home, Master!” You can order an omelet delivered to you by

folks. This is an intentional

a pigtailed schoolgirl with a perma-giggle; for an additional

departure from reality. The

fee you can have your name spelled on top of it in ketchup.

grass-green

The word in Japanese for this over-the-top cuteness is

Wakaba is breathtaking.

mo-e. Even the translation is adorable: “the blossoming

This image, like most in the

or sprouting of a flower from a bud.” The jolt of squirmy

exhibition, is of a maiko, or

cuteness you get from picking up

kimono

apprentice geisha. She

a kitten or hearing baby talk

is in a posture of

can also supposedly come

stiff

repose,

from

interacting

with

and

one

frilly-

mermaid she

these

aproned young women.

sits

Visitors to these cafés

w i t h

assert that the sexual

h e r

undercurrents are subtle. The general consensus is that the maid cafés are about creating a warmly transformative experience. The tendency towards escapism is evident in ancient and modern Japanese hospitality culture, whether it’s achieved with costumes and affected giggles, or with elaborate tea ceremonies. Both of these social constructs require a willingness to participate in fantasy. In a world that’s become inundated with mass-produced technology and homogenized beauty standards, the ritualistic discipline and subtle elegance of the geisha seem decidedly archaic. And that’s too bad. Photography like Taka Kobayashi’s offers a welcome aesthetic respite, and it reminds us in dramatic detail of the sublime, often bewildering qualities of the feminine. —Iris Mclister Taka Kobayashi, Wakaba, pigment print, 31 ½” x 18”, 2011

| april 2012

THE magazine | 45

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CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Ed Larson

Entering

Ed Larson Studio 229-C Johnson Street, Santa Fe Ed

Larson’s

rustic

studio-

certain kind of American dream. Cowboys and Indians, snake-oil

in a satirical reconfiguration of an America blinded by the surface

warehouse-gallery is a pre-

salesmen, as well as sumptuous presentations of now dormant or

glare of its own meaty reflection. This is not the work of a great

modern experience, reminiscent of a time when contraptions

dying fetishes of American culture—stockyards, watering holes,

sublimator. This is no-nonsense, muscular American speech that

clanked in tune to an American tradition that barely existed.

happy couples—surface throughout his oeuvre. Politicians with

springs whole hog out of a tradition of self-made culture, flinging

Stripped of media glut, Larson’s paintings, sculptures, quilts, and

fat and glistening faces, like rashers of bacon, sum up a style that

pots of enamel paint in the eyes of fate. In this regard, Larson’s

toys conjure up lost panoramas culled from the vicissitudes of a

combines Expressionist deformation and Surrealist composition

work reminds us that the modern visual artist is simultaneously a writer, arguing his or her epistemological, theoretical proposals via invocations and material configurations that echo, whether they like it or not, Stefan George’s famous verse, “Nothing can be where the word fails.” In other words, Ed Larson’s work has something to say. Born in Joplin, Missouri, Larson backed into being a painter through a stint in the navy, hauling aviation gasoline for pilots in the Korean War. His tour ended in Long Beach, California, where he signed up at the old Art Center School, which moved to Pasadena in 1976. Ansel Adams taught photography there and a majority of alumni from the Art Center went on to become filmmakers, car designers, concept illustrators, and admen. Larson went on to Philadelphia and Chicago to work as a corporate art director, followed by a stint in a toy design house and then as a professor at the Chicago Art Institute. So far, so good. But as Donald Rumsfeld demonstrated in a brief act of amateur philosophizing about the relationship between the known and unknown: “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” What he forgot to add is the crucial fourth term: the unknown knowns, things we don’t know that we know. In Larson’s case, what he didn’t know that he knew was that all this time spent in the established order was in fact producing a conscious, methodical alienation from the entire sphere of business and industry. Turning the music of the soul into the music of salesmanship has, in the end, the upchucking flavor of mendacity. Perhaps that is the pre-modern feeling I mentioned at the top of this review. The acceleration of the sciences and technology has beggared both the reach and veracity not only of language, but of much contemporary visual art. There is, moreover, a dilemma probably unique in the history of art. To many, the installations of global celebrity artists are monstrous assemblages of pretentious, maddeningly repetitive obscurantism, confidence tricks perpetrated by tainted mountebanks, voluminous with footnotes. On the other hand, in statistical surveys of telephone conversations and electronic messages recorded and dispatched across America on an average day, modern word usage has been shown to have diminished to some sixty-five words. On both ends of the spectrum the retreat from the word, from its traditional promise of meaning, has become almost pathological. If Ed Larson has anything to say, it is somewhere in between the fantastically intricate and demanding speech of the Plutocratic art market on the one hand, and the Neanderthal babble of Facebook on the other. The viewer’s eye must listen. —Anthony Hassett

Ed Larson, Girls, Girls, Girls, oil on canvas, 36” x 36”, 2012

| april 2012

THE magazine | 47

Under Thirty-Five

It cannot be

Zane Bennett Contemporary Art 435 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe an easy thing for

There is a strange and interesting distillation of emotion and

presence of migratory birds—mainly geese and cranes—that

technical skill that elevates this work and renders it literally

winter there. This work reminds me of Australian Aboriginal

and figuratively oceanic in its metaphysical underpinnings.

painting where dots and line are used to map out defined

contemporary

artist to paint seascapes. In these postmodern days, the artist would have to reckon with a prevalence of extreme

I should mention that not everyone in this group

spaces and relate mythic narratives that symbolically anchor

irony and a few raised eyebrows. Many viewers might ask:

exhibition is under thirty-five. Nakabayashi isn’t, neither

a particular landscape to the life of the tribe. Pollard’s image is

Why bother? What does a tight rendering of water and foam

is Holly Roberts, and I don’t know about the other artists:

both a landscape and a mindscape, and really, all remembered

have to offer us anyway, seeing that just about everyone has

John Andolsek, Dunham Aurelius, Karina Hean, Tom Miller,

spaces are indeed haunted by our desire to remember them

a camera? You’re on a beach, you look out to sea, click. So

Heidi Pollard, Matthew Szosz, Michael Freitas Wood, and

and infuse them with something of ourselves.

simple, so immediate. And you don’t have to think about art

Tamara Zibners. Does it matter? The show feels decidedly

Speaking of ghosts—I think I found the ghost of Jean-

or the motivations behind its making. On the other hand,

refreshing, with art that swings from Miller’s minimal and

Michel Basquiat in Andolsek’s painting Prophet. It was the

does David Nakabayashi’s Little Ocean series—startling,

elegant architectonic drawings in acrylic on paper to Zibner’s

three-pointed crown placed securely on the dark ovoid

jewel-like paintings—actually up-end our expectations about

prints of emotionally over-wrought horror scenes depicting

form with its vaguest-of-vague suggestions of a face, eyes

landscape painting by giving us something new to mull over

varieties of murder and mayhem. Pollard’s bold, abstract

behind a white blindfold, a blue thought-balloon floating

in the guise of something old? Maybe I was initially drawn

paintings wrestle with color and spatial issues, sometimes

away from the area where a mouth would be. Basquiat

to this particular work because the images reminded me

in a restrained way when she uses a simplified vocabulary

would often place crowns very much like this one in his

of where I lived before the desert swallowed me up. The

of schematic forms; other times Pollard comes across as a

paintings as a way to honor some of the heroes in his

artist’s seascapes depict the edge where ocean meets land,

brash daredevil where painterly spontaneity doesn’t always

Black Pantheon such as Charlie Parker or Dizzy Gillespie.

and there are no swimmers, no boats, no people walking on

work to her advantage. The artist’s pictorial concerns come

On the other hand, Andolsek might have meant no such

the beach; there is only the timeless inscrutability of distant

together successfully, however, in Bitter Lake Ghosts. Here

direct homage to Basquiat, even though there is a similar

watery depths and a far-off horizon. This suite of small

Pollard references the Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge in southern

graffiti-like energy and the ghost of some shared political

works—each one six inches square—was painted on thick

New Mexico, where she lived and worked until recently

or social issues.

blocks of Masonite that protrude from the wall, and each

during a Roswell Artist-in-Residence Grant. The Bitter Lake

As a rule, Roberts’ mixed-media photographs are

painting possesses a curious holographic quality. The images

Refuge is a starkly beautiful place, bracketed on the east

immediately identifiable. They usually depict hybrid

are also a record of a profound sense of longing. But for what?

side by red-orange cliffs and filled with marsh grass, shallow

spirits—part human, demon, and animal—all of them

An altered state? A transcendent merging with the elements

ponds, and a system of canals. It is remote and desolate in

reeking with existential angst. That said, there’s one work

that has preoccupied humans from time immemorial?

an otherworldly sense, haunted by the actual or implied

in this show that doesn’t shout her name. In the piece Fox with Hummingbird, there aren’t the typical Roberts pictorial distortions, and the underlying ecological pathos of Fox with Hummingbird is maybe the stronger for it. Roberts implies the death of nature at the hands of culture and its love of

frivolous

decoration,

hummingbird feathers for hats and purses, fox fur used as other fashion accents. This is a very succinct work with no tinges of excessive and

psychodrama

exaggerated

shape-

shifting. It quietly critiques an aspect of our civilization as it faces the extinction of species as a function of our carelessness. Under ThirtyFive is an exhibition filled with

thoughtful

visions,

and unfortunately I have only scratched the surface of them. —Diane Armitage John Andolsek, Prophet, oil on linen, 40” x 30”, 2011

Heidi Pollard, Bitter Lake Ghosts, oil on canvas, 24” x 24”, 2011

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Reconsidering the Photographic Masterpiece

With Alfred Stieglitz

walls of either bright white or gunmetal grey. There are

University of New Mexico Art Museum UNM Center for the Arts 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Julia Margaret Cameron, which feels like coming home.

separate sections for churches, buildings, masks, people,

The greats are accounted for: Atget, Steichen, Weston,

as the greeter and Michele Penhall as the curator, we are

landscapes, and more. The plant and flower corner is a

Arbus, Cartier-Bresson—but in keeping with the museum’s

in good hands. The UNM Art Museum’s new exhibition,

pleasure. Here are Anna Atkins, Lady Mary Georgiana

educational mission, we also discover some arguably

Reconsidering the Photographic Masterpiece, takes us deep

Caroline Filmer, Karl Blossfeldt, Betty Hahn, Laura Gilpin, and

lesser-known photographers like Anna Atkins, through her

into the museum’s extensive collection, presenting more

Edward Weston offering us everything from ambrotype to

cyanotype Hymenophyllum Wilsoni (ca. 1850). Lifting the

than one hundred and thirty images selected from its ten

Victorian photocollage to embroidered French knots.

protective black velvet veil that covers the fragile image,

thousand photographs. First up is Stieglitz’s cloudscape

A free-standing display cabinet near the front entrance

we are met with the surprise and beauty of this early blue

Equivalent (1927), which Penhall pairs with this Stieglitz

allows us close inspection at all angles of two historical

and white, iron-based photographic printing process. (The

quote as part of the wall text: “I wanted to photograph

treasures. One item is a beautifully preserved, untitled

exhibition’s nicely-produced gallery brochure includes exactly

clouds to find out what I had learned about photography.”

stereograph daguerreotype (c.1850s) by Antoine François-

the glossary we need.) In her curator’s statement Penhall says,

And once again the UNM Art Museum invites us on a

Jean Claudet and the other, Portrait of Mother and Three

“The current selection of pictures before you now—in which

learning discovery.

Children (c.1910-1920), is an autochrome (with its colors still

masterworks co-mingle with less familiar but no less masterful

beautifully intact) mounted in a diascope.

works—is one of a particular curator’s preference. This

The photographs in the exhibition date from 1843 to the present and they represent a wide range of techniques

The narrow back wall of the gallery displays Hugh

exhibition could be recreated many times over with equally

from gelatin silver prints to tintypes to collotypes to salt prints

Edwards’ statement: “A great picture is something that

renowned artists and recognized masterpieces together with

to digital prints. Some are on view for the first time. Penhall

awakens a very different reaction from each person who

unfamiliar artists and the equally compelling images all worthy

pairs many of the images with quotations either from the

looks at it.” Below this invitation are photographs by Bill

of our close attention and our renewed consideration.”

photographer or from another related, and always thought-

Brandt, Cindy Sherman, Shelby Lee Adams, and William

And this is perhaps Penhall’s point. Embedded in the exhibition

provoking, noted authority. For example, Joel-Peter Witkin’s

Eggleston which all beg for very individual responses. Shall

is the important question of what defines a masterpiece.

Face of a Woman (2004) is accompanied by art historian

we pity the coal miner, laugh at Mrs. Santa, fear the old man?

When the UNM Art Museum’s first director, Van

Eugenia Parry’s observation, “If Witkin’s excess engenders

I fell in love with an untitled gelatin silver print by

Deren Coke, started to build the collection, in the 1960s,

revulsion, even among sophisticates, it also serves a purpose.”

Robert Adams, which pulled me through a field of flowers

he set the stage for what has become one of our country’s

André Kertész’s Wooden Horses (1926) hangs beside his own

to the dark, distant trees beyond. And I also fell in love with

most respected photography collections. Penhall’s selections

words: “The camera is my tool. Through it I give a reason to

Adams’ words: “We rely, I think, on landscape photography

for this exhibition blend the personal styles of these

everything around me.” How nice for the viewer to try to see

to make intelligible to us what we already know.” Yes, yes,

photographers with history, technique, and the vivid images

as the photographer did, and also to hear his voice.

screams my brain. And here I am doing exactly what Hugh

created by the well-chosen quotations. It is impossible to

The museum’s entire Main Gallery is given over to the

Edwards invited me to do, having my own reaction. And

leave uninspired.

exhibition, and Penhall displays her thematic groupings on

later I get to spend time with another favorite photographer,

—Susan Wider

Anna Atkins, Hymenophyllum Wilsoni, cyanotype , ca. 1850

| april 2012

THE magazine | 49

Jaune quiCk-To-see smiTh: landsCaPes oF an ameriCan modernisT

Primo

GeorGia o’keeFFe museum 217 Johnson sTreeTT, sanTa T Fe Ta

post-mo painting and drawing is what Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

and absorbed the lessons of Guston’s fantastic final swan dive the decade prior, finally

brings, and what she’s been all about bringing for some time now. It’s

found a way out of the cul-de-sac where Picasso had parked the car and abandoned it to

about as suitabobble as sweet potato pie after dinner that the o’keepers of the O’Keeffes

the Beatniks and Abstract Expressionists who drove it off the cliff for Modernism’s last

should honor the painter as part of their, ahem, Living Artists of Distinction series. She’s got

gasp of the air of pure abstraction. High modernism is essentially over at that point. Pop,

painterly chops that don’t stop, a sly mind for images (and image info) that can be straight-

like a balloon, the privileging of abstract formalism evaporates and art begins a mannerist

up powerful, subtly polyvalent, and everything in-betwixt, plus a raw expressivity that

phase of repeating earlier modalities and aims.

could arm wrestle Die Blaue Reiter and quite possibly win. Okay, okay, as Peewee used to

The Neo-Expressionist painters of the eighties, including Quick-to-See Smith,

say, she got the big okay from the big O’K! And that’s because Quick-to-See Smith is one

have aims more in keeping with street art and agit-prop. While this in no way

of the best-known and most significant artists of her generation.

constitutes a turning away from painting as praxis, quite the contrary, they do in some

Like O’Keeffe’s, her drawings and works on paper achieve the powers of projection

sense seek a more just economy of praise and of getting paid than the ol’ Beaux Arts

and presence usually associated with paintings. This fact was amply on display in the

or current auction house–driven models allow. They also tend to strip painting of fluff,

museum’s galleries. This is not always the case with even the best of the best of the

asserting its power as a device for telling the truth, for speaking out, for establishing

painter/drawer types. “Drawing is the probity of art,” said Ingres, and his drawings are

belief, for chronicling specific times and places. This is painting in its primal form as a

incredibobble to the beyond (I’m serious), but they don’t hold the room like his Large

system for the generation of meaningful images, no longer striving for Modernist goals

Odalisque. Picasso was capable of it, as his art’s life-blood is drawing, but for that self-same

of reductive universality. This is an art that seeks to include the real world rather than

reason Quick-to-See Smith can paint circles around him when it comes to pure painterly

establish Platonic playgrounds.

texture and incident, and with a muscular authority that rivals his.

In the Petroglyph Park Series of 1985 through 1987, Quick-to-See Smith derives

The title of the exhibition seems a little misleading on certain counts. First, yes,

art from the politics and activism generated by a specific geography and the fight for

these are and, no, these are not, landscapes. They are more like cubist screens of shapes

the preservation of petroglyphs near her home west of Albuquerque. Disallowing the

rising vertically just beyond the picture plane, though with occasional punch-throughs

undisturbed viewpoint of traditional landscape, but adapting the techniques of Marsden

of non-perspectival depth, like hallucinatory visions generated by the earth, or troubled

Hartley, Robert Indiana, and to some degree, O’Keeffe herself, combined with petroglyph

mindscapes of the thoughts and human constructs that keep us from seeing nature, the

imagery, lands her squarely in the camp of postmodernism.

importance of art, and the importance of each other.

So, while a better title for the exhibition might have been Anti-Landscapes of a Salish-

Quick-to-See Smith, as an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and

Kootenai Postmodernist, there’s really no need to quibble-bobble about art-historical

Kootenai Nation, is as American as American gets, so no points off there. If the adjective is

categories. Actually experiencing art is far more important than whether some curator

included in the title to beg questions of genuine sovereignty, or signify how a Eurocentric

or art historian thinks a particular artist should be labeled this way or that, and there is

nomenclature somewhat colonizes identity, so much the better. But the last identifier,

plenty to experience in the presence of the accomplished, alive, outstanding, and highly

Modernist, is the most puzzling of all. A number of paintings on display are from the late

energetic work of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.

1980s when, in terms of painting, graffiti artists and neo-expressionists, having observed

—JOn carV arVer

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Untitled, pastel and pencil on paper, 30” x 42”, 1991

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Spotlight: Group Show

What do I

222 Shelby Street 222 Shelby Street, Santa Fe

go to art for again

into a form. Her Black and Brown, positioned next to an

built-up clay on the inside is deliberate and precise.

and

What

untitled Nino Caruso monoprint, allows both works to

Yet, rather than culminating in an aloof perfection of

initially draws me is the artist’s individual engagement

speak eloquently of skin and light, of earth and poise.

form, they seem to dance.

with materials, his/her expressiveness or presence. Then

Also on view are several works by her daughter-in-

Jeffrey Gibson has displayed monoprints, works on

there’s an opening or transcendence into a universal

law Louisiana Bendolph, whose stately etching Mayday

paper, and sculptures—including works called totems

level where questions about what it means to be human

looks like a water-colored quilt design in contrast to

and fetishes. Some earlier paintings suggest Vasarely

are being asked (or provisionally answered). Not a “that’s

Mary Lee Bendolph’s saturated definitive colors.

experiments in pattern superimposition fortified with

again?

pretty” or “that’s sooo beautiful” kind of pleasure or

The back room is peopled by terra-cotta works

a dose of exuberant graffiti sensibility. Two of the

the “how irritating—what’s that about?” push-pull,

by Nino Caruso. These twenty-inch-high figures—

four assemblages here have the word Remix in the

but something that engages in an immediate way the

Zoomorphous Form, Zoomorphous Shape, Oneiric

title. Small patches of “recycled and collaged” painted

thinking, feeling, and embodied parts of me, something

Shape, Anthropomorph Vase, along with Dancer in the

canvases are irregularly connected in interesting ways

that connects to the past and future in this moment, but

front room—are like small people saying hello. Their

to one another by means of unexpected devices such

not in words. Maybe I just mean a kind of joy.

idiosyncratic handmade forms emerge from a dream-

as steel studs, pins, grommets, and, in one case, glass

this

like life of their own. Several are made of micaceous

beads that are reminiscent of beaded Haitian folk art.

response with Fall Spotlight, an inspired juxtaposition.

clay that sparkles; others, like The Strips Man, are

This is stimulating to encounter on the same wall as

The biographical diversity here—an African-American

painted. Caruso, who comes from a family of stone

quilts whose parts are connected uniformly with more

woman in her seventies from the south, an eighty-

craftsmen, moved from eloquent early iron pieces to

or less invisible thread stitches. Gibson combines craft

something Sicilian-Italian artist born in Libya, and an

engage totally with terra madre, and for twenty years

and fine art fragments to create, on this small scale, an

American artist of Choktaw and Cherokee heritage,

was the director of the International Ceramics Centre,

intimate, lively field for unexpected discoveries.

barely forty years old—is something to note and

in Rome. With these pieces, every thumbprint in the

—Marina La Palma

222

Shelby

Street

gallery

generated

celebrate. These three share a deep engagement with their materials and a focused fearlessness. On display are five stunning quilts by Mary Lee Bendolph, one of the outstanding artists featured in the exhibition and book The Quilts of Gee’s Bend. This collective of women, descendants of slaves who were settled in a small, isolated community in Alabama and have lived there for many generations, hands down the tradition of their craft and continues to produce innovative designs, which The New York Times called “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced.” The quilts display tremendous individual flair, often incorporating familiar motifs such as the pinwheel, snowball, star, flying birds, log cabin, and housetop. Bendolph’s two-sided Housetop Variation, from 1980, using only red, white, and three shades of pale blue satin, is perhaps the most masterful. It speaks softly of the intimate domestic act of passing fabric through one’s fingers and stitching it together, yet announces itself from across the room, confident of its gentle beauty. A textile lover cannot pass this piece without lightly stroking its surface. Other Bendolph quilts, from 2005 to 2011, enact animated interplays between horizontal and vertical; uniform shapes are wittily offset by irregular ones: Here a steep triangle of bright green corduroy cuts across a field of muted rectangles, there a narrowing strip of white crisply defines one edge while curving sinuously along another. Several untitled quilts contain rich, complex compositions on a par with Mondrian’s and Braque’s. They are accented by jagged shapes singing out their unique colors in blue-note defiance of a prevailing color scheme. Bendolph’s aquatint etchings reveal, in an entirely different medium, her inventive way of fitting shapes Mary Lee Bendolph, Untitled, quilted fabric, 86” x 82”, 2009

| april 2012

THE magazine | 51

vivian maier: disCovered

Art as Experience:

monroe Gallery oF PhoToGraPhy 112 don GasPar P Par avenue, sanTa T Fe Ta Twitter). Our continuous but “streaming” interaction

stuffed with memorabilia. Unclaimed and delinquent

with our environment rarely yields “an experience…

in payment, the locker contents—placed in a Chicago

It’s not likely that Vivian Maier ever read pragmatist

[that] runs its course to fulfillment. … integrated within

auction house in 2007—were found to contain some

philosopher John Dewey’s classic 1934 text on art

and demarcated in the general stream … from other

100,000 negatives, mostly in undeveloped rolls, taken by

and aesthetics. It is certain that John Dewey never

experiences.” Dewey cites examples: a task done well, a

Maier over five decades. The negatives developed thus

saw a photograph by Maier, whose work was virtually

problem solved, a game played through, a good meal, a

far reveal powerfully understated work by a major urban

unknown until 2007. Yet the street photography of Vivian

personal encounter—any interaction that “is so rounded

photographer of the last half of the twentieth century.

Maier could be a contemporary case study for Dewey’s

out that its close is a consummation and not a cessation.

grounding of art’s genesis in ordinary experience.

… It is an experience.”

A first, cursory look reveals the consistent depth of her work and the unerring eye with which she

Dewey’s Art as Experience is slow going, weighed

Dewey’s notion of an experience—most often a

imbued formal and narrative import across a wide

down after seven decades by its now-archaic style

common interaction—is key to art’s critical role in our

range of subjects. Maier’s sense of place is especially

and language. Well worth the read, though: Its lasting

lives: It constantly redirects our focus to the vital import

evident in her shots of New York City—for example,

contribution to discourse about art are Dewey’s

of “ordinary” experience. Arguably, it is the most salient

in scenes that evoke paintings by the Ash Can School:

fundamental insights about the nature of experience and

function of photography. Case in point: Vivian Maier,

the street façade in September 28, 1959, 108th St. East,

the location of the art object within culture rooted in

whose gelatin silver prints are featured at Monroe

New York recalling Edward Hopper’s 1930 Early Sunday

concrete experience. He’s at his best—and most relevant

Gallery through April 22.

Morning, or the John Sloan rooftop view of the dining

for today—in Chapter 3, “Having an Experience.”

Vivian Maier (1926-2009), born in the Bronx,

couple framed in the window of the second-floor Chop

He asserts that the way we often experience things is

worked as a nanny in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s.

Suey restaurant (Untitled, 1953). The latter photo’s

largely inchoate, marked by an initial engagement that

Returning to New York City, she would pass her whole

choice of an unusual vantage to underscore human

is rarely completed, turned aside by “distraction and

life as a caregiver, supported in the poverty of her old

exchange occurs again in New York, NY, April 1953,

dispersion” (multi-tasking) and by “external interruptions

age by three of the children she had nannied in her

another restaurant shot, taken from a railing directly

or … internal lethargy” (read cellphone, Facebook,

early years. All she left behind was a storage locker

above a young woman and a man in army uniform holding hands across a table—a private moment whose intimacy is breached innocently by the camera’s lens and ominously by the date of the print, taken some three months before the end of the Korean War. Maier’s shots of human encounters are more than matched by her views of urban locales, where an epic sense of place vies with their sheer artistry as formal studies. An aerial view of a steel pylon dwarfing two pedestrians nearby (Untitled, no date); a worm’seye view of a huge warehouse whose towering wall is stenciled with an “X” formed by the crossed shadows of two adjacent steel girders from an elevated train line (Unknown, September 1956); in Undated, Chicago, the dramatic recession to a distant vanishing point, beyond its pinhole portal at the far side, of a skyscraper’s colossal portico whose soaring Promethean columns are mocked by their incorporeal shadows strewn across its retreating marble corridor; in Untitled, 1955, a promenade high above the East River overlooking a massive Romanesque building enveloped in mist hosts a family of sightseers menaced by the looming bulk of a sharply foreshortened lifeboat suspended overhead, pointing far beyond and below them to a fog-laden inlet between the docks—a brilliant, blade-runner composition in black and white. Finally, there are the crowd shots like 1954 New York in which Maier’s extraordinary eye for the ordinary mediates a benign balance between the monumental and the intimate, achieved in each instance by her attention to that rare, fleeting composition where the human subject

exerts a dual role as formal agent and narrative device. —r icharD t OBin

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS

Agnes Martin: Before the Grid

When it comes to

the painter Agnes Martin, we tend to think of her

H arwood M useum of A rt 238 L edoux S treet , T aos white dots aligned in vertical stripes against a barely

making art, having quit suddenly within a week of the

discernible graphite grid. The rest, of course, is art

death of Ad Reinhardt, in 1967. (What passions might

history, and here the exhibition ends.

have driven the woman?) By the time she resumed

quietly moving, so-simple-they’re-brilliant canvases of

What stands out, particularly in the second-

painting, at the age of sixty, Martin had assumed the

penciled grids lightly washed in pale colors. More Zen

floor gallery of works by the young artist, is how ably

role of an inscrutable Buddhist, an individual whose

koans than objects, they reflect Martin’s deeply Taoist

Martin expressed her vision through different genres

unshakable character found its expression through

sensibility. Her paintings, packed with the emotional

while seeking an essential identity on the canvas.

painstakingly hand-drawn lines on a canvas lightly

bliss of a good meditator’s high, appear at first glance

An exceptional work, The Expulsion of Adam and Eve

washed with the hues of an infinite dawn. Though

to be so reductivist that Martin is often mistaken for

from the Garden of Eden (1953), reveals the obvious

the myth may belie the person, it is difficult to argue

a minimalist artist. Yet she always called herself an

influences of Klee and Pablo Picasso—two pioneers of

otherwise in the face of her oeuvre—a perfect haven

Abstract Expressionist. Before the Grid, at the Harwood

an organic abstraction that would come to define early

of tranquility. Tellingly, Martin wrote in a letter to Louis

Museum in Taos, contains ample evidence of Martin’s

Modernism. A more subtle influence can be detected

Ribak (from the Mandelman-Ribak Foundation archives)

roots not only in purely non-objective painting but also

from the painting’s content, leading us to infer that

in 1974: “I have been called brilliant, shrewd, strong,

Surrealist works in the organic, biomorphic style of

Martin had seen Masaccio’s early Quattrocento frescoes

weak, everything right down to ass licker, and the truth

Paul Klee. Unlike Klee, however, Martin dropped a fully

in the Brancacci Chapel, in Florence, with its standout

is I have never done anything.”

loaded palette in favor of neutral hues fairly early in her

work, The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Although

Not bad for an artist who claimed never to

painting career.

her Expulsion is quite abstracted, the couple’s anguish,

have worked toward her own personal gain. There

That we are privy to works made by Martin

which Masaccio so splendidly depicted, is also found

is hardly a modern art collection today worth its salt

before she developed her grid style is no small

in Martin’s version. By the 1950s, Martin had begun

without its Agnes Martin. And still, we know so little

miracle, since legend has it that she destroyed all

to work into her palette of whites, taupes, and rich,

about the person behind the marvelous grids whose

her pre-grid works. The fact is that she destroyed

earthy browns the blues and pinks that we all recognize

lines Parsons described as “heartstrings pulled out,

most of them; fortunately, astute patrons managed to

from her later grid paintings. She was already a gifted

endlessly.” Perhaps the early anguish of Adam and Eve’s

hang on to enough canvases that the exhibition is a

painter during this period, living in Taos until, at the age

experience of permanent exile from Eden stood as

thought-provoking pleasure. Before the Grid provides

of forty-five, she moved to Coenties Slip in New York,

metaphor for the artist’s more mature calling to soothe

the joy of discovery that comes from a well-curated

at the behest of gallerist Betty Parsons.

those exposed heartstrings.

show; kudos to Tiffany Bell and Jina Brenneman for

It was not until the late sixties that Martin returned

three galleries of works that are quite attentively and

to New Mexico during a period when she was no longer

—K athryn M D avis

attractively placed. I can’t help but believe that Martin would have felt proud of the exhibition, once she got over her initial ire at its public display. Before the Grid begins on the second floor of the museum with a very early self-portrait (no date) that brought to mind Frida Kahlo’s first self-portrait, …in a Velvet Dress (1926), painted by Kahlo as a love token from a smitten teenage girl to her darling Alejandro. Both portraits show the artist as long-necked and graceful, a Juliet for her Romeo’s adoring gaze. The way Martin chose to be depicted later in her life was nearly as crafted as Georgia O’Keeffe’s “loner in the desert” persona; the facts, as revealed by a small display from a treasure of archives as well as photographs by Mildred Tolbert, give us a youngish, smiling woman in a painter’s smock—not the elderly recluse in overalls whom we tend to label “the” Agnes Martin. This more youthful version was a woman with an incredibly high visual IQ; Martin successfully borrowed from several painterly movements—notably Surrealism and a strongly de Kooning–esque abstraction through the forties and fifties—in her quest for absolute beauty before she found her personal template in the grid. By 1961, Martin had made The Islands, a linen square of Agnes Martin, The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, oil on board, 40” x 72”, 1953

| april 2012

THE magazine | 53

jennifer esperanza photography

Red Dot Gallery

505 204 5729

new mexico

california

GREEN PLANET

Buffalo Man

“People of Earth, I am here to tell you now, it is too late. We have passed the point of no return. Any half-measures, pseudo-remedies, or dramatic shifts in consciousness will not be enough. Even if these efforts were multiplied a hundred times, they would still be puny, absurd, and pathetic. We have proven with certainty that, as a race, we have not achieved the maturity to divert or reverse the course of our own demise. On the contrary, we are picking up speed in a race to foul our air and water, deplete our life-giving resources, mismanage our technologies, collapse our economies through greed, and destroy each other through war. Much like every other

“great,”

self-congratulating

civilization that has risen and fallen on this planet, we failed to respect our Earth, each other, and future generations. The bill for this lack of vision has now come due and we are accountable and we will pay dearly. If you have to go, go with a smile and keep on dancing.” —Buffalo Man Tesuque, New Mexico January 2012

photograph By JenniFer eSperanza | A P R I L 2012

the magazine | 55

My mistress thinks she is a cat. But she knows that I am a dog. And today is the day she takes me to the groomer for my monthly cleanup. Make your appointment today!

466-6708

Randolph Laub Picture Frame Specialist 303 825–9928

A Great Grooming Shop at the Agora Shopping Center in Eldorado

A R C H I T E C T U R A L D E TA I L S

h ot D amm c hile , h atch , nm photograph By g uy c roSS | A P R I L 2012

the magazine | 57

WR R II T T II N NG GS S W

Black Holes By leticia cortez

Event horizon Where nothing can escape, not even light. Deep within, infinitely bright, Black holes are not black at all Bizarre creatures their density would vaporize us. Startling infinitude, curved space-time, Gives appearance of gravity falling over itself. Why are they in the middle of galaxies? Answer lies in the Big Bang. Giant stars, burn into Super Nova, they are its seeds. Intergalactic cannibalism, as galaxies grow,

bound together by their force, orbiting around the giant one. In a Black Hole matter goes around producing a magnificent magnetic field. The more mass in, the more it blasts out. Most of the time it is inactive, Then all changes. In this case Andromeda and The Milky Way these spiral galaxies are approaching each other the collision will send gas and energy everywhere funneling toward the center. our planetary system at the mercy of these unknown forces in the Universe.

Leticia Cortez was born in Mexico, living there until the age of twelve. She majored in English and Spanish Literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago and studied Scandinavian Film and Literature at the University of Norway in Oslo. Cortez worked at La Raza newspaper, then the Exito newspaper, which is the Spanish equivalent of the Chicago Tribune. Cortez was one of the editors of the bilingual publication ¿Hasta Cuándo?. She also wrote non-fiction articles for many Chicago publications including Chicago Ink, Lumpen Times, Polvo, and AREA. She currently lives in Santa Fe.

58 | the magazine

| A P R I L / 2012

Christop her B enson N e w Pa i N t i N g s a N d d r aw i N g s

Apr i l 20 - M ay 26, 2012 For more information please contact Mary Etherington, Director of Contemporary Art 505.954.5761 or metherington@gpgallery.com Evan Feldman, Administrative Director 505.954.5738 or efeldman@gpgallery.com Tiverton Window-drawing, 2012, charcoal on paper, 12 x 16 inches. © Christopher Benson, courtesy Gerald Peters Gallery.

Opening reception with the artist: Friday, April 20th from 5pm to 7pm v i e w m o r e wo r k s at g p g a l l e ry. co m

1011 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | 505-954-5700

Spring Thaw

Katherine Chang Liu Peter Millett Nora Naranjo-Morse

Mike Stack Gretchen Wachs Emmi Whitehorse

c h i a r o s c u r o 702 1/2 & 708 Canyon Road, at Gypsy Alley Santa Fe, New Mexico 505.992.0711