The Pianista Traveling Museum by Michael Frassinelli

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The Pianista Traveling Museum An anthology of more than a century of writings and images pertaining to the History and Culture of the Pianista Peoples of North America

Compiled and Edited by Michael Frassinelli

VERTICAL PIANO PRESS London, Boston and Des Moines in association with the NATIONAL PIANISTA ARCHIVES and the VENETO FOUNDATION

FIRST EDITION First Printing All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, carbon paper, wax cylinder, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing by the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Frassinelli, Michael. The Pianista Traveling Museum/Michael Frassinelli; p. cm. “In association with the National Pianista Archives and the Veneto Foundation.” Published in conjunction with an exhibit organized by the National Pianista Archives ISBN 0-295-97564 1. Pianista culture-Exhibitions. 2. Pianista art-Exhibitions. 3. North America-Antiquities-Exhibitions I. National Pianista Archives. II. Title. E99.E7FRAS 2007 731’.75’089964-dc15 95-2307 CIP The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984 Made from recycled sheet music and piano parts. No trees were harmed in the making of this catalog. * Actually, some images may have been used without permission, strictly speaking. Sorry. Owners of copyrights or their lawyers are invited to speak to the author for barter negotiations to compensate.

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Things men have made with wakened hands are awake through the years with transferred touch,, , and go on glowing for long years. And for this reason, some old things are lovely warm still with the life of forgotten men who made them.

~ D. H. Lawrence, “Things Men Have Made” from Pansies {1929}

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Contents 8

Acknowledgments

10 Introduction 14

Explaining the Unexplainable: A Century of Writings

about the Pianista Peoples of North America

Reverence and Reconfiguration: The Mysticism and Magic

of the Pianstas and Their Ur-Piano God

On the Origin of the Pianistas: A Document and Personal

History of Investigation and Discovery

Nathaniel Greenville

The Artifacts

Ceremonial Objects

34 36

Common Objects Masks

Weapons

Sculpture

Hybrids, Multi-Purpose Objects, and Objects of

Unknown or Impractical Uses

Musical Instruments

American Pianista Ensemble

The Story Behind the Music

Miss â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bâ&#x20AC;? The Incredible Dancing Bird

Pianista Toys and Games

Nautical Artifacts

Dream of the Inland Sea

Song of the Pianista

64 Pianolarians 68

Calendars and Sundials

Totems and Statuary

Ceremonial Effigies

Pianista Observatorium

Shaman Cart and Piano Elixir

82 The Pianista War Canoe and Edward Curtis

Ripley’s Believe it or Not

The Pianista Cabinets of Curiosity

The Pianista Traveling Museum Show Wagon

The Pianista Princess

1904 Milton with Exploded View

Recent Discoveries

102

Re-enactments, Replicas, and Forgeries

104

Alternative Theories

106

Alfonzo Renato Veneto

108

Collage: Alfonzo Veneto's Journal and related images

110 112

The “Mad Piano Man” of Chicago

A Veneto Family Album

114

The Secret Workshop of Alfonzo Veneto

116

The Last of the Pianistas

119

The Paintings

120

Paintings Depicting Pianista Culture

122

An Alternative Reading of the Imagery Related to the

History of the Pianistas

124

Elbridge Ayer Burbank and the Legacy of Pianista

Portraits

127 Plate: The Pianista Cabinet of Curiosity (Painting) 134

Plate: Screeching Hawk Painting and Mask

166 Plate: Pianista Princess Sideshow Banner 169

Plate: The Last of the Pianistas

171

Recently Discovered Masks

172

Pianista Masks Recently Discovered in Former Boston

Piano Factory

174

Plates: Recently Discovered Masks

184

Catalog of all known Pianista artifacts

2o4 Epilogue 205

Pianista Farewell

207

About the curator and editor ‹5›

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Acknowledgements This enormous undertaking—mounting the most complete exhibit of Pianista artifacts in recent history—could not be possible without the support of a wide variety of people. First, thanks go to The Piano Craft Gallery of Boston for hosting the inaugural exhibit. The physical size of the gallery and the history of the space as a former Chickering Piano factory adds special significance to the exhibition. Special thanks go to former director Pares Mallis, who secured the gallery for this exhibit years in advance and saw promise in the possibilities of bringing piano parts back to the space as a kind of homecoming. In addition, thanks go to those private collectors and public institutions who generously lent objects from their Pianista collections for this exhibit, especially the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Field Museum of Natural History. Over the years, several people have been instrumental (no pun intended) in furthering the cause of exhibiting Pianista artifacts in a time when the arts seem under attack or left in the dustbin of history, and the population seems preoccupied by the virtual world and forgetful of the past. These supportive individuals see the power in handcrafted objects, and the importance of the creative spirit. At the risk of missing a few important people to thanks, I'll mention just a few here. They include Doug Lack from Studio 370, in Holliston, Massachusetts; Larry DeJong, from the Ashland Public Library Gallery; the Catherine Smith Gallery in Boone, North Carolina, on the campus of Appalachian State University as well as the faculty and students in the art department in the Spring of 2011; ArtSpace Maynard, MA; Denise Driscoll, artist and curator; and especially G. A. Scattergood-Moore, Pianista collector and long-time supporter, who organized the first exhibit of Pianista artifacts in Massachusetts in February of 2004. Thanks as well go to the publishers of two extraordinary books written about the Pianistas: Myth of History, published in 2007, and The Legend of the Pianistas, published by Vertical Piano Press in 2013. Without the shared knowledge and access to resources the publishers provided, this catalog would not be possible. I’d like to thank my family, and especially my wife Katie, who has been supportive from the beginning, and who has seen first-hand the amount of time, energy, space, and attention that an exhibit of this magnitude takes on a daily basis, for a period of years. Without her unwavering support, this exhibit would not be possible. Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the individuals responsible for the creation of the objects in this exhibit. Creative, anonymous, misunderstood, dedicated, historically sleep derived, and sometimes confused; these are just a few words that may or may not describe those from the dustbin of history who found the time, the inspiration, and in some cases the mental abandon to bring life to these materials and inspire us all to strive to find beauty and a certain misunderstanding to the world around us. -Michael Frassinelli, Chief Curator of the exhibit, and Editor of the Catalog, May, 2018

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Introduction Who were the Pianistas? This question has been puzzling anthropologists and art historians for generations. Information gathered from research done over the last two hundred years is often conflicting and highly speculative, as seen from a contemporary perspective. However, early consensus seemed to indicate that this fascinating culture developed shortly after the invention of the piano in the early 18th century, and artifacts of their ceremonies and from their daily lives have been discovered throughout North America as early as the founding of America, and the arrival of the first piano here in Boston in the 1780’s. Although the opinions of experts differ about the arrival or origin of the people known as the Pianistas, it is agreed that they were not a Native American tribe. DNA testing of many of the artifacts indicates a mix of ethnicities, mostly originating in southern Europe. The prevailing theory is that perhaps sailors from European voyages to America in the 15th and 16th centuries who were lost at sea, left behind, or escaped conscription found their way onto Caribbean islands or the coastal areas of the New World and established relations with the native inhabitants. Over generations they spread across America, mostly out of sight, and their culture developed independently of both the pervasive Native American culture and the newly arrived white colonists.

A whimsical early depiction of the Pianistas. Before scholarly research began in the 19th century, early theories were often embellished with aspects of other cultures

Recent Advanced Research Techniques

In the early years of anthropological study, and for nearly a century thereafter, the Pianistas were often misidentified as a tribe of Native American ancestry. This was often the case because of the undisputed similarities between some of the artifacts found and the custom of many museums of passing down documentation and “scholarly” interpretation of artifacts to the next generation of curators year after year. In addition to this unscientific practice, there was a tendency for 19th and 20th Century historians to assign simplistic or misguided interpretations to the artifacts and archaeological, non-white cultures, often leading to grouping different “primitive” societies together because of perceived similarities, cultural insensitivity, and a lack of research funding. A Pianista archaeological site. Date, location, and identity of the individual in the photograph unknown ‹ 10 ›

Native Americans have historically distanced themselves from the Pianistas. Although their crafts and other relics were often exhibited together, no North American tribe has claimed any common heritage, and evidence suggests they were treated as outcasts. Based on interpretations of terms from several Native languages, the Pianistas were referred to as “White Story Dogs,” “Moon People,” or some variation (often vulgar) of “The Strange Ones.” Because they were shunned by both Native American and white society, the Pianistas lived on the fringes of both cultures and, because of this, very little first-person accounts of their society remains. Many theories have been proposed over the past twohundred years; they range from the ridiculous (pre-historical migration from Southern Europe on a land bridge somewhere over the Atlantic) to the plausible (sailors or stowaways from the voyages of Columbus or Giovanni da Verrazzano, who either fell overboard or escaped by mutiny, landed on Hispaniola and lived with the indigenous people there.) One theory (accepted as fact for many decades in the 19th century) postulated that the Pianistas were really an offshoot of the famed Melungeon people of the mountains of Tennessee, who came to settle initially in North Carolina.

Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano. One theory postulates that sailors on his journeys to the New World who jumped ship and made it to the islands of the West Indies may have been ancestors of the Pianistas.

In recent years, as genetic testing has become more and more accurate, a small team of scientists in the mid-west have conducted research on Pianista artifacts in order to determine the true origin of its people. Samples of DNA were taken from a large sampling of tools, masks, and other items attributed to the Pianistas. The DNA was analyzed and matched against the human Genome Bank. Although not yet confirmed, preliminary findings suggest that the most prevalent sets of genes seems to have originated in Southern Europe, most probably in Italy or the former Yugoslavia. Their research continues, although recent budget cuts for science research threatens to limit their access to essential materials that could solve this centuries-old mystery. Could a land bridge have existed between Southern Europe and Cape Cod, Massachusetts? Experts wonder.

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Writings, notes, essays, theories and stories.

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Explaining the Unexplainable:

A century of writings about the Pianista Peoples of North America

Much has been written about the Pianistas. From notes of their early discovery and

dissertations about the symbolism of their objects, to slanderous essays and mistaken understandings, and serialized newspaper articles, to scientific articles, and numerous books about analysis and cultural interpretation. We have compiled here just a few of the many essays, articles, and outlined points of that have been collected over the years, and which continue to be discovered as recently as last year.

This section will focus on a few choice scholarly essays, contemporaneous accounts, and a few

questionable

articles. The bulk of the written descriptions provided along with images of the artifacts are adapted from the writing of Nathanial Greenville, Pianista collector and scholar, which make up the standard Pianista text panels that museums have used for decades. It is augmented by new essays and contemporary scholarly articles that either support the common understanding of this complex history with the tools of contemporary investigation, or suggest alternative theories. At the time of this writing, new evidence was emerging, in some cases ground-breaking, which may throw into doubt some of the long-held views about the Pianistas. Although this editor did not have enough time to corroborate all of the information and fact-check all of the newly-found documents, it was decided by the publisher to run the additional material

to begin to create a more accurate picture of the entirety of the epic story this catalog hopes to bring to life. Although included in this edition unverified (for reasons related to printing deadlines) it is the hope of this editor to thoroughly analyze the late-arriving materials and, if found to be incorrect or unsubstantiated, remove them from future editions.

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The Pianistas were well-known story-tellers. The collection of writings here reflects the Pianistas

love of a good story, whether true or not. They come from a variety of individuals throughout the history of the study of the Pianistas, but not from the Pianistas themselves. This point is especially important to remember. Contemporary art historians and anthropologist may be able to theorize about the intentions, customs, and beliefs of a people who have no living descendants but they can never know for sure what happened in the lives of these unique individuals, especially faced with scant and in some cases, conflicting evidence. In reading the following pages, keep in mind the old Pianista saying concerning the transfer of knowledge from one person to another. They were said to have a wonderful sense of humor, in addition to a long-lived and rich, spiritual history and so, when describing the wide variety of opinions that human beings tend to have they would say: “In a world sometimes cold and confusing, warm your hands on the fire of a thousand stories.”

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f the thousands of tribes of North America, the Pianista peoples

are

the

least

understood.

Archeologists

and

Historians offer differing opinions of the customs, social structures and even the very existence of these very curious individuals.

Named after their basic source of materials (the Pianoforte), the

Pianistas populated many different regions of North America, but are believed to have originated from Europe. (The two prevailing theories of their arrival to this continent differ greatly. One claims the first Pianistas arrived quite recently, between 1500 and 1600 AD in crude sailing vessels. Another theory suggests that several millennia ago, a land bridge existed that extended from what is now the toe of Italy to Cape Cod, and that wandering clans would move ‘herds’ of Pianofortes with them on the journey to the West.)

From what has been uncovered, it is thought that the Pianista

peoples survived solely on the Pianoforte for everything except food. (Ironically, the Pianoforte is practically inedible.) Their resourcefulness with various materials found in the Pianoforte ~ wood, steel, ivory, ebony, leather, felt, copper ~ was only matched by their Native counterparts on the Western Plains who utilized the American Bison for their needs, and some Arctic Tribes such as the Yup~ik and Inuit who would catch Seal and Whale for their many uses. The Pianistas believed that by destroying the creature they could give it new life, through everything it provided.

From a recently discovered copy of Lost Tribes of North America, published 1843.

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Reverence and Reconfiguration:

The Mysticism and Magic of the Pianistas and Their Ur-Piano-God by Evaneline Cornwallis Smythe*

Evangeline Cornwallis Smythe

Evangeline Cornwallis Smythe, M.A., was the director of the Swanstown [Ohio] Athenaeum from 1937 to 1956. A childhood visit to the Chicago Field Museum gave her an initial exposure to Pianista artifacts and sparked a life-long passion for exploring this mysterious and musical culture. Miss Smythe’s amateur ethnographic work on the Pianistas never resulted in the academic recognition that she hoped for; indeed, her passion for this culture was seen by most of her peers as an eccentricity in an otherwise unblemished if unremarkable life. Moreover, she tended to argue extravagantly with those few scholars who did study the Pianistas, leaving her essentially without an intellectual community. The essay below, published in Anthropology Journal, was her last word on the Pianista culture and was written in 1957 as she was dying and knew that she would not live to find answers to the many questions that remained. Small wonder that, of all of the mysteries surrounding the Pianistas, it was their understanding of divinity and transcendence that attracted the final attention of a dying woman.

Reverence and Reconfiguration: The Mysticism and Magic of the Pianistas and Their Ur-Piano-God

Among the many elements of Pianista culture not fully understood – or, more truthfully, not understood at all – is the Pianista sense of religion or the divine. That they comprehended transcendence seems clear, for one of the only linguistic artifacts that remains to us from this rich culture is an apparent prayer or descriptive poem that celebrates what the ancient world called the “music of the spheres,” although the Pianistas’ musica universalis seems to be more literally “music” than the mystical harmonic convergence conceived by ancient philosophers. The piano and the music created through it are clearly central to this sense of musica universalis, but the meaning, role, and function of the piano itself are still a matter of scholarly debate. Or rather, they should be a matter of scholarly debate; it is a fact much to be decried that few scholars are devoting their academic and personal energies to the many questions that arise from study of the Pianista culture. Having spent my own life exploring this fascinating culture, what I am left with here at the end of my studies are questions with which I hope future scholars will grapple. This brief essay lays out what we do and do not know about Pianista religion and poses an initial theory about magic and mysticism that will need to be tested as ethnographic evidence from Pianista culture continues to come to light. * Many thanks to Dr. Karen Keely, who painstakingly translated the original text from the slightly archaic and impenetrable academic writing style that Ms. Smythe was fond of into a text more friendly to modern readers. ‹ 18 ›

Because the Pianistas had no written language beyond a crude numeration, modern scholars must rely on the problematic records left by outside observers of the culture, whose amateur observations are suspect ethnographically. The first written recording of what is usually termed the “Pianista prayer” seems to have been made by the Reverend John Lewis Brook, although unfortunately the date, location, and the original source for this text are lost to history; given Brook’s own history with the Pianistas, we may presume that he recorded the prayer in the mid- to late 1890s and in the western half of the United States, but we can be no more specific in our assumptions. Furthermore, even to call the text a “prayer” is assumption; it is certainly possible that Brook’s own theological training may have led him to presume that a text merely descriptive was intended as a means of worship. Whether direct veneration was the original purpose of the text or not, the poem clearly is imbued with a spirit of reverence:

The way of all things is this~ music of the land, music of the sky, music of ivory, music of the circle, music of iron, music of the hands, music of the discarded, music of the glorified, music of wood, music of the dust, music of the universe.

That the Pianistas would include music in their adoration makes sense, given the central role of the piano in every facet of their culture. But we have far more questions than answers about the meaning behind this adoration: Did the Pianistas believe in a type of ur-Piano, a Great Piano God that gave their society its form and spirit? Were individual pianos then seen as remembrances of this ur-Piano, a tangible representation of the divine? Were pianos themselves worshiped, or did they function more as icons, something to be prayed through rather than to? If the piano was a symbol of the divine, why did they so zealously deconstruct the instruments rather than worshiping them whole? Was using piano parts to create everything necessary for society its own form of worship, in the way that some native peoples have, for example, honored the spirit of an animal by using every part of that animal? ‹ 19 ›

Avery Schmidt, one of the only scholars to grapple meaningfully with Pianista religion, has argued that the Pianistas venerate the neo-Platonic idea of the Piano but not the tangible piano, that they worship the ideal but not the concrete representation of that ideal. In his theory (published last year in Anthropology Journal), the taking apart of pianos is actually a form of idol-smashing, brought about by the fury in which the musician recognizes simultaneously that the piano is not itself transcendent and yet that it is producing something transcendent. Certainly Schmidt is asking important questions that face any scholar of Pianista religion: If the piano is a representation of some sort of ur-Piano, if it stands for what is most powerful and holiest in the Pianista sense of the world, why then the tearing apart? Why not veneration of the piano in its entirety? Why is the deconstructing function apparently central to the Pianista relationship with the piano? However, what Schmidt’s theory does not properly account for is the reconfiguration of the piano pieces. Whereas in idol-smashing, the tangible object itself is destroyed, with the smashed parts often incinerated to remove from them all possibility of mystical adoration, the Pianistas did not wantonly destroy pianos but rather carefully took them apart and then created new objects with them, objects that were then integrated into the fabric of everyday life. (It may be that my colleague Mr. Schmidt is overly influenced by his own upbringing in a strict Calvinist tradition, in which all icons are condemned as papist and potentially demonic, golden calves as it were; hence his choice of the intellectually cold neo-Platonism through which to try to understand the warm, vibrant Pianista culture. Perhaps greater exposure to both Roman Catholic and American Indian religious traditions would have broadened his religious horizons and thus his understanding of the Pianista culture.) A more fruitful approach to understanding Pianista religion, one that I hope future scholars will entertain, is to consider the piano as imbued with and conferring magical properties. To some extent Pianistas clearly believed in so-called sympathetic magic, particularly in the construction of totems from piano parts; we can assume that worship of the totems themselves was construed as worship of the spirits whom the totems were carved to represent. However, scholars have found no evidence of piano “voodoo” dolls or other traditional objects of sympathetic magic, and for the most part the Pianistas’ beliefs seem to fall far more into the category known as contagious magic, in which direct exposure to the piano was believed to provide healing or supernatural qualities for those thus exposed. The clearest example is obviously the piano spirits, the beverage that shamans brewed from piano parts and gave to their ailing clients. The word “spirits” functions dually, referring both to the elixir to be drunk and to the healing spirits that were presumed to inhabit the elixir. We can assume – although, as is always the case when studying the Pianistas, we have no definitive proof – that other technologies created from the piano, whether the pianolarian dream objects, the ceremonial effigies, or perhaps even the weapons or the children’s toys, may have been presumed to share in this contagious magic that brought the music of the spheres into the daily life of the Pianistas. In this regard, we might think of the piano creations as fulfilling the same function as saints’ relicry or splinters of the “true cross”; the piano is thus seen as so powerful, so vital, that even a fragment of it confers the magical properties of the whole.

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And yet, the Pianista structures go beyond even this Roman Catholic model, for the remains of saints’ bodies and Jesus’s cross are presumed to have splintered naturally into their fragmented state, whereas the Pianista craftsperson has clearly exerted control over the magical piano, has deliberately taken it apart and put it together again in a new form. Perhaps the division between sculptor and shaman was a fine line at best? What was the meaning of, not just the piano itself, but also the crafter of the piano and then the re-crafter of the piano technologies? Whence did the magic originate, and who was perceived to control it? I have asked questions here, not answered them, which makes it difficult to draw the conclusions with which a scholarly essay should end. And yet, as my own time is drawing short, I recognize that mystery and the unknown are not the scholar’s enemy, but rather the scholar’s raison d’être, that which provides meaning and purpose to the scholar’s pursuits. I thus end this essay on a personal note (and I thank Anthropology Journal for allowing me to take this step, unusual in an academic essay) by quoting the traditional Pianista farewell (which, like the “Pianista prayer,” comes to us via the Reverend John Lewis Brook):

All there is to know in this world cannot be known; things of beauty and confusion are what make us most alive. May the music of mystery follow you like a hungry dog.

Soria Elsbeth Vanguard: On the Origin of the Pianistas Soria Elsbeth Vanguard was a minor historian at the turn of the century. She graduated from Harvard in 1880 with a degree in History and Philosophy (and a minor in piano performance) and was a classmate of the young Teddy Roosevelt. The following article, written by her, was published in May 26th, 1900. This copy of the magazine was found by chance by the editor in an open air market in Chicago’s South Side in 2008. Research revealed that Miss Vanguard, a free-lance writer, amateur Pianiasta scholar, and Unitarian, had a friend who was married to the an editor at Harper’s at the time. At times sounding more like a society page entry than a scholarly article, Miss Vanguard claims to have developed the theory of early travel by ancestors of the Pianistas over a land bridge from Southern Europe to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Although she may have come up with the idea independently, this theory had been around since at least 1827. The article also describes an encounter with a familiar character in the Pianista saga, Alfonso Veneto, future docent at the Chicago Field museum, whom she had met near the grounds of the Columbian Exhibition on a trip to Chicago to see the Fair and to do research from some of the exhibits on display. She describes Veneto as a sort of visiting scholar presenting papers at the Fair. There seems to be some discrepancy in the outcome of the encounter, for Miss Vanguard (who appended her name with the surname Veneto there after), seemed to be under the impression that the two had gotten married in Cincinnati. The misunderstanding is understandable, however when one considers that Veneto, who had a habit of misrepresenting himself, and Miss Vanguard, who had a history of what was then called “a nervous condition” were also separated by a common language. Their heavy accents (his from his Italian upbringing, and hers from Cape Cod) may well have been a factor in the confusion. * Thanks to academic researcher Alice Holstein who found the original article among the Harvard archives and spent many hours scanning and refining this important essay. ‹ 22 ›

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Introductory pages from the landmark publication, The Legend of the Pianistas, published 2013.

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Nathaniel Greenville As mentioned, an accurate account of the history of this curious culture is difficult. There are no known descendants of the tribe and contemporary accounts from the turn of the century were varied, impossible to verify and in some cases are hard to believe. Much of the text for this catalog and corresponding exhibit comes from the scholarly work of an anthropologist who taught at the Teacher’s College (precursor to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina) in the late 1800’s. His name was Nathanial Greenville, and his specialty was native cultures. He first became acquainted with Pianista artifacts while traveling in the West after the Civil War, and did extensive field work, in Alaska and California for the most part, and some along the Eastern Coast. Although much of his writing reflected the prejudices and misinformation of his era, his theories debunked and his research discredited, his writings form a large portion of our knowledge of the Pianistas. Without his tireless dedication to the study of this people, we would know virtually nothing of their culture. We thank his family and the ASU Department of Anthropology for allowing us to use his notes and published works for much of the text in this catalog. Unless otherwise noted, other texts were supplied by the editor, except for found texts, most likely written by other contemporary anthropologists and researchers, whose names are lost to the ages. Clockwise: Field note book; Portrait from the Greenville Library, Boone, North Carolina: Greenville doing fieldwork, location unknown,

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Nathaniel Greenville, date unknown ‹ 29 ›

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The Artifacts

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Ceremonial Objects During tribal ceremonies, many different objects were used. Dance fans were richly decorated and used to accentuate the dancers hand gestures. Prayer wheels were used, as in Tibetan society, to invoke blessing and send healing thoughts. (Some very similar objects with special markings have been found and identified as gambling wheels.) Many types of ceremonial jewelry have been discovered and historians have determined that the materials that are used may have caused the curious markings on the necks of the celebrants, previously thought to be scarification patterns of a secret society. Talking sticks have historically been used in council circles; the staff is handed from person to person, and the individual holding it has the attention of the tribe and can speak his or her mind. (Legend has it President Teddy Roosevelt eventually coined the phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” after speaking with some council members through an inexperienced translator.) War clubs were occasionally used during council circles when the privilege of the talking stick was overused. Counter-clockwise, from above left: Dance Fans, Skull Staff Head (Detail), Prayer Wheel, Ceremonial Necklaces, Ceremonial Jewelry

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Talking Stick and War Club

Ceremonial Short Staffs Meditation Egg

Although some of the true ceremonial functions of the Meditation Egg remain unclear, some theories contend that it had a similar function to the Talking Stick in important tribal meetings; some say it was rubbed for good luck, which would explain its smooth and oiled surface; it is rumored to have occasionally been thrown at tribal members holding a viewpoint differing from the chief, leading to at least one death and several instances of very serious concussions for some others.

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Common objects Tools and utensils were necessary for everything from cooking, farming, and hunting, to sculpting and mask-making. The Pianistas prided themselves on their own ingenuity for utilizing the wealth of materials in the Pianoforte to create all they needed. Pictured are just a few of the objects that have survived the ravages of time. Often useful objects were created for a single purpose, sometimes a single use, then discarded. Sometimes however, aesthetics or convenience won out over practicality.

Hide Beater

Note the spoon-tined tool known as a grünber or “eat i ng utensil” (below). For a time they were widely use for daily meals until it was discovered that it took more energy to eat with than the nutrients derived from the food being eaten. A design change was ordered by the high council to avoid what was mistakenly thought to be a famine.

Tools and utensils, with Grünber, below at left

Bowl

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Battle Ax or Corn Masher

Large Mallets

Plate and Ceremonial Utensils

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Masks Masks were an integral part of Pianista ceremonies. They are the single most common artifact to be found over the last one hundred years. The variety among them is astounding, and each regional tribe developed their own particular style, ranging from a motif of concentric circular forms in the North, to the more anthropomorphic forms of the South and East. Western tribes tended to create more experimental, abstract forms, often creating “hybrid” masks, that served as both masks and weapons or musical instruments.

Goat Skull Death Mask

The masks were used to represent animal spirits and ancestors during dance performances, and were elaborately decorated. Many utilized the mechanisms of the Pianoforte to create movement to remind the audience that the masks themselves were alive. Mask-makers were revered and, occasionally, hated. (As the masks got more and more elaborate, they became more difficult to wear and impossible to see through.)

Square Halo Mask

Eyeball Mask

Large Tufted Mask

Dream Mask ‹ 36 ›

Moving Eye Mask

Blood-thirsty Lion Mask ‹ 37 ›

Blinking Monkey Mask

Large Ceremonial Mask

Son of Square Halo Mask â&#x20AC;š 38 â&#x20AC;ş

Clockwise from top: Cosmos Mask Bull Mask King Fish Mask Tooth Mask Holey Mask Afflicted Eye Mask Transformation Mask Screeching Hawk Mask Split Head Mask Center: Annoyed Ancestor Mask

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Weapons The Pianista people were peace-loving people; their society was founded on the principles of art, music and mutual respect. They did, however, have an occasional need for weapons. Unfortunately, for spiritual or material reasons, they were not good weapon makers. In fact, there are very few examples of Pianista weapons in existence today for two reasons: they were often made poorly, and fell apart upon use, and the weapon-makers themselves, when testing out their work, would often end up killing themselves by accident.

Battle Axe, Spear and Shield Long Bow and Arrows

Tom-o-Hawk

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From left to right:

a. Spiked Clapper

b. Harpoon

c. Bolo / Mace

d. Battle Axe Mandolin e. Battle Scythe

f. Convincing Stick

g. Battle Hammer

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Sculpture

The Pianistas were a very busy people, but they were also adept at utilizing their free time. During the long winter months, activities were created to pass the time and entertain. The result of these periods of somewhat aimless activity were many examples of sculpture and toys. Adults would put together objects for their own amusement from the leftover materials around them. Some of the objects may have taken the form of freestanding effigies; some would be hung on the wall of the dwelling. The mechanisms of the Pianoforte allowed many of these objects to recreate movement, which may have symbolized the activity in the warmer months. Children would use whatever scraps of materials leftover to make their own figurines, dolls, games and other amusements. (See Dancing Bird Figure). A favorite game many children played was to stare into a box that had moving figures in it until they were in a kind of trance, and then fell asleep.

Dancing Bird Figure

Opposite: Spirit Bird Man, detail â&#x20AC;š 42 â&#x20AC;ş

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Troubled Buddha

Pagan Figure

Key Ray

Falling Apart Man

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Snake Fetishes

Clockwise from above: Standing Rabbit, Grave Guardian, Spudicas (also known as Spiked Blobs), Running Bird

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Hybrids, Multi-Purpose Objects, and Objects of Unknown or Impractical Uses The Pianistas sometimes made objects that defy description, whether because they appear to be hybrids (e.g. a weapon and a musical instrument such as the Battle-Axe Mandolin or a mask and a ceremonial staff a weapon, like the Duck Bill War Club.) In some cases this is because there is no parallel genre known in our western culture (such as the Nightmare Wall Mask or Spirit Under Attack.) In the written museum history of these objects the word “mask” is frequently use to describe something that even slightly suggests the human face or is about the same size as a human head. However, sometimes these are closer in resemblance to machines, complex tools, or, in some cases, collections of objects that seem to be falling apart. In fact, there are numerous examples of artifacts that seem to have no use and no meaning, but also no aesthetic value. These objects were known as g'unca and they have baffled archaeologists and art historians for decades. However, a new generation of anthropologists who have begun to study the Pianistas more closely have theorized that, unlike Western culture, which has spent hundreds of years categorizing and strictly defining both the natural and man-made world, the Pianistas seemed to have found joy in every object equally. Therefore terms like ‘useful’, ‘beautiful’, ‘meaningful’, or ‘symbolic’, and phrases like ‘culturally significant’ or ‘makes sense’, don’t necessarily seem to apply to many of the artifacts that this curious people have become known for. Examples of g'unca, the Pianista term impossible to translate and difficult to pronounce, but generally meaning "not one thing." Inset: Fitful Dream Mask Counter-clockwise from above left: Talking Head, Shard, Duck Bill War Club, Panicked Mallard, Spirit Under Attack, Circle Fan, Cosmos Mask, In Square Circle, Faceless Mask, Spider in a Frame, Key Head, Nervous Machine, Pianolin Mask, Snake Mask, Comb-Like Object, Clock Ceremony Mask, Battle-Axe Mandolin,

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Although there is no example of a written language for this culture, phrases and loose translations of terms have come down through the decades, mostly passed down from loose notes and text panels rewritten and reprinted from museum collections. Although this general practice, used for generations in Natural History and other museums often leads to mistaken thoughts about cultural objects, especially “primitive” objects, one phrase attributed to the Pianistas has become a mantra to Pianista devotees in recent years. It is not known where it came from, but it seems that it had appeared in the form of some illegible symbols on some object, back before scholarly note-taking was the norm in cultural studies. All that is left is a small strip of paper, probably a torn xerox copy of the original photograph of the symbols scrawled on the back of one of these hybrid objects. The image looked like this:

Linguists had tried to translate it for at least 100 years. After many had tried and failed, an Italian anthropologist named Giulio Angioni, who happened to see it on display while visiting Chicago for a conference in 1973 and finally solved the mystery. He translated it thus: It seems as useful a term today as it was untold years ago to describe the wide variety of objects both hard-to-categorize or understand.

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Musical instruments

The Pianistas were fascinated by the sounds made by the Pianoforte, and tried many ways to recreate some of those sounds after it was destroyed. They believed that all the material would resonate with the sound that it helped to create in its previous existence. For years, historians were puzzled by the fact that many musicians from these tribes were blind. One theory held that they were revered, for it was believed that they were able to see beyond this world into the realm of the spirits. Another stated that the inclusive nature of the Pianistas allowed a special place in ceremonial performance for those not able to hunt and build shelter. Upon further research and closer examination of the instruments themselves, the common view today is that the elaborate decoration and seemingly haphazard construction of some of the instruments may have caused some unlucky musicians to lose an eye while retuning their instrument. (This may also explain the traditional and highly complex atonal harmonic system used by this culture for generations.) Pianjo This instrument is often associated with shamanistic rituals. Related to the oud, this stringed instrument can be plucked or struck with the fingers or a stick.

Stringed Instruments Fish Bass

Spiked Lute

Upright stringed instrument, plucked or played with a bow, often used for water ceremony dances.

Also known as the Porcupine, this zither-like instrument sometimes doubled as a weapon, one of many examples of Pianista “hybrid” objects discovered.

Piandolin

A stringed instrument with variable tuning with a sound not unlike the Greek bouzouki or Russian balalaika. Sometimes played with ribbed tutti to create a scratching sound. ‹ 48 ›

Pianista Harp One of the heaviest of the Pianista instruments, it was seldom moved and performances were designed around its location.

Chimes Sounds made from different common objects of various materials were often used to create atmosphere and rhythm.

Percussion Instruments and Hybrids Fiddle Mask Played with a bow, this instrument, doubled as a mask, one of many examples of Pianista “hybrid” objects discovered.

Spirit Frightener (or “Boom-Box”) More of a noise maker, used to ward off evil spirits or wild animals, it was sometimes used to wake sleeping musicians, to add random percussion, or to quiet children.

Box xylophone Played with soft hammers, this instrument is acoustically related to the balafon from Ghana and the Indonesian gambang. ‹ 49 ›

Ceremonial Finger Drum Keys are tapped causing hammers to strike against a paper drum head to produce rhythm within a limited scale.

The American Pianista Ensemble In the fall of 2004, an eclectic group of artists and embarked on a long musical journey that culminated in producing the landmark recording A Noiseful Joy: Traditional Music of the Pianista Peoples of North America. Up until that point, the music of this enigmatic culture had existed only in history books and in the stories of the descendants of those who had heard those sounds last made over a hundred years earlier.

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John Edmond Richardson Strings, percussion, and vocalization Mr. Richardson is a musicologist specializing in pre-industrial folk societies. His abilities in site reading pictographs has won him acclaim in several cities in the West, and he was recently awarded the MacDaniel's Prize for his research on stringless fret instruments. He has been Professor Emeritus at the International Institute of the Americas, in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1977 or ‘78, or perhaps as early as 1968.

Joan Redbird Pennington Pianjo, shaken and beaten objects, ceremonial finger drum, vocals Ms. Pennington has extensive experience in early music from around the globe. She studied acoustics in the caves of France, where she believes echoes of the world’s first music are still reverberating. As a musician, she has made recordings on over a hundred different instruments, many of her own construction, using materials as diverse as cast bronze, human hair and plankton. She currently teaches composition and modern dance at the University of Anchorage.

Paul “Mix” Masterson Sound recording and engineering, percussion and hardware Mr. Masterson has been in and around the world of recording since the age of 5, when he pressed his own record made entirely out of melted army men. A musician in his own right, he was the founder of the influential progressive folk band Pine Pitch. He has made field recordings on all seven continents, most recently returning from capturing on tape the chants of feral surfers in southern Australia. Michael Frassinelli Instrument maker, percussion, occasional strings and whoops Trained as a sculptor, Mr. Frassinelli has been interested in music for years. He recreated the traditional Pianista instruments used on this recording from sketches and written descriptions that he discovered in a letter found in a Lone Ranger lunch box at a flea market in Bakersfield, California. He is currently working on a documentary film about the culture and controversial history of the Pianistas, and engaged is in several copyright infringement lawsuits.

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The Story Behind the Music A Noiseful Joy was a project one hundred and twelve years in the making.

Reverend John Lewis Brook

Reverend John Lewis Brook, a progressive minister from Ohio, spent much of his life gathering information about the culture of the Pianistas, and its musical traditions in particular. As a boy, he had heard stories from his father about a tribe he had encountered on his way to California. He recounted wild dances around fires and strange music in the air. This inspired young John to take up the piano. After being told by several teachers that he had no talent for music, he decided to try religion. He had heard a minister give a lecture at his church about the missionary work to be done in the West and, thinking that it would be a way for him see this extraordinary culture for himself, entered the seminary. In 1893, after his graduation from the St. Thomas School of Theology and Metallurgy, and armed with a recent invitation for employment as a missionary in Nevada, the twenty-one year-old Reverend Brook boarded a train headed west. This trip would change his life forever. On the way the train broke down outside of Chicago. While waiting for the next available train, Rev. Brook decided to take in some of the exhibits at the World’s Fair. Among the highlights was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. On the way out of the exhibition area, behind the performers’ tent, Brooks came across a man selling trinkets, elixirs, Native crafts and some strange objects he’d not seen before. Upon closer inspection he saw that they were in fact musical instruments. The salesman claimed that they were made by the “Peonistas,” a peculiar tribe “unbeknownst by Common Folk and All but died out save for these Art-i-facts [sic].” Brook immediately bought up the lot with the money he had saved for his missionary work, and so began his long and sporadically documented career as collector and amateur historian of this tribe. Promotional poster of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West ‹ 52 ›

Flash forward to 1989. Artist Michael Frassinelli, while traveling out West, comes across an open-air flea market outside of Bakersfield, CA. In a rusted tin lunch-box he finds detailed sketches, faded photographs, and a letter, describing (in broken English) musical instruments and other objects “made of woods, wire, felt and ivory keese, unlike anything I known in this country [sic].” The letter went on to say that the artifacts were won in a poker game from a down-on-his-luck preacher. It might have been tossed aside and lost forever if Frassinelli had not recognized the identity of the author of the letter: it was Alfonzo Renato Veneto, the name of a distant relative who worked for a time as an actor in early Hollywood westerns, and whose name he had just happened to remember after having seen it that very summer on a publicity photograph found among his late grandfather’s effects. (As it turned out, they were not related at all; the name was just very close to his Italian greatgrand uncle four times removed, who spelled his first name with a “ph” instead of an “f”, or the other way around, and occasionally with an "s" instead of a "z.") However, inspired by the coincidence, Frassinelli spent the next fourteen years collecting material, building instruments, researching historical archives, and searching for a group of musical adventurers to recreate a sound that had not been heard for nearly a century and had yet to be recorded.

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Photograph with illegible signature thought to be of Alfonzo Renato Veneto. The name is thought to be one of his many aliases.

Miss "B", The Incredible Dancing Bird

A still of the famous vaudeville star dancing in a newsreel film made in 1926.

Original 78 RPM record of the BirdDog Five hit song. The song was hugely popular among the youth of the time.

Dancing Bird Figure is one of a few surviving examples of the many attempts made to replicate Miss “B” after her untimely death 1929.

By the turn of the 20th Century, the Pianistas had fallen on hard times. Their land had been taken away, the population was dwindling, and much of their cultural heritage had been lost. Members of the tribe were forced to sell off ceremonial masks and other traditional objects just to survive. These were picked up by collectors, artists and other con men for a pittance. These then made their way to pawn shops and various antique stores, and the occasional roadhouse stand. It was at one of these road-side general stores in New Jersey that Cyrus Braintree acquired Miss “B”, the Incredible Dancing Bird. Much has been written about both Braintree and Miss “B”, but the facts have never been quite clear. What is clear is that between the years 1921 and 1929, Braintree took an innocent children’s toy (once belonging to members of the Pianista tribe living in Brooklyn) and created one of the most popular Vaudeville shows of its time. With the help of a friend who was bicycle repairman, he made a coin operated jukebox that would cause the small bird figurine to dance to the music. It was an immediate hit; the combination of exotic Indian tales and Jazz Age dance styles had people lining up for blocks. He began showing the machine at a local arcade, but soon it became clear that a great deal of money could be made, and so took it on the nickelodeon circuit. Miss “B” reached the height of popularity in 1927, when a New York jazz band called The Bird-Dog Five recorded a novelty hit called “Ain’t Miss ‘B’ Heaven” for Okeh Records, which sold thousands of copies. In that year alone, at least six short films were made of her dance routines, including rare footage of her foray into ballet, which some believe was the nail in the coffin of an already faltering career. Tragically, Miss “B” was destroyed in a hotel fire on East nd 42 Street in Manhattan in November of 1929, while Braintree, down on his luck, was trying to stage a comeback tour. Braintree survived the fire, but never recovered from the loss. He made several attempts to create new versions of the bird figure (of which Dancing Bird Figure is an example), but with no success. In his suicide note, he claimed that the tribe had put a curse on him. ‹ 54 ›

Miss “B” The Incredible Dancing Bird (Replica) This particularly accurate replica of the famous dancer was painstakingly constructed over the course of 7 years, based on archival photographs and several interviews with eyewitnesses. From the Scattergood-Moore Collection. ‹ 55 ›

Pianista Toys and Games The Pianistas were a playful people, and many of the objects discovered over this past century reflected their love of toys and games. Many were made for the enjoyment of children, and were either invented or styled after others they had seen. These often took the form of small figures or dolls (come to be known as pianochina) and several are pictured at right. These ranged in style from crudely bound abstract bundles to elaborately decorated figures inspired by ceremonial costumes. Although their influence is undocumented, the resemblance to Kachina dolls of the Hopi and Zuni tribes of the Southwest is evident. Also pictured is an example of a Pianista version of checkers or chess. It is unclear how this particular game was played, but it seems to have had some sort of elaborate scoring system and occasionally alternate playing pieces. Unfortunately this, set—whose playing pieces are made of lead weights used in weighting piano keys—had a negative effect on the ability (and general health) of those who played over a number a years, making them forget the rules of the game, and so new rules were frequently invented.

Top: Small Eyebird figure Counter-clockwise from above: Small bird figurines or pianochina, Wire Balls, Checker-Set, Hammerhead, Square Foot Right, clockwise: King Hammerhead, Small Goddess, Skeleton Man, Poet Figure (Photos by DC)

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Nautical Artifacts

Pictured is a sail recovered from a salvaging expedition off the coast of South Carolina in the early 1930’s. Experts disagree, but it has been attributed, by some nautical anthropologists, to a little-known enclave of the South Eastern Coastal Pianistas. The mysterious markings on the sail have been interpreted variously as a guide for celestial navigation or a crude fishing map of the Hatteras coastline.

Salvage boat the Golden Quest off the coast of South Carolina, 1931

Others, such as Dr. Jean Hill (former faculty of the University of North Carolina and from whose personal collection the sail is on loan) believes that the Pianistas believed in the spiritual power of the created image. This power, they believed, could manifest into physical phenomena (for example, wind). In this way the artist or shaman could ensure a successful sailing journey or even good fishing. Some evidence may refute this. Her former colleague (and ex-husband) Dr. Roland Hill points out in a recent article of Anthropology Journal that the Pianistas, true to their chosen material of wood, ivory, steel and felt, did not in fact use sails on their vessels. Moreover, these vessels were often not sea-worthy at all, given the weight and odd construction, and so fishing was done from shore with wire nets. Ms. Hill hypothesizes that the sail was found on shore by members of the tribe who, while waiting for fish to bite, passed the time by drawing with a rusty wire.

Dr. Jean Hill, in a recent photo. Odd markings on the sail may have been created for navigation, to keep away evil, or to conjure wind and good fishing.

Ship Model, artist unknown.

It is thought that the maker of this model was trying to recapture an image one of the original arrival ships of the Pianistas according to one theory

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Dream of the Inland Sea

The Western Interior Seaway, as imagined on an early map, circa 1713 Below: an object known as DreamFish.

Below: Imaginative view of the ocean world and Pollywog Fish

Evidence of the culture of the Pianistas has been found throughout North America, from the Eastern woodlands to the Plains and as far north as Southwestern Canada. One theme that emerges from the cultural objects from these disparate geographical locations is the legend of the Inland Sea. Known by scientists as the Cretaceous Seaway, or the Western Interior Seaway, this body of water extended from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians at its peak, about 100 million years ago. This huge body of water populated by fantastical creatures was a quest for early explorers and the legend of its vastness and complexity was a source of inspiration to the Pianistas. The strange fish and sea creature imagery that emerged from the Pianista culture seemed to have been brought about by a state of consciousness they called Waterland: a fluid, transitional time between unconsciousness, dream-state and self-imposed exhaustion, where the line between reality and imagination is removed. In this state, the elements of language, imagery, music, emotion, solid objects and time float and intermingle like the motion of water upon itself. Practitioners of this highly specialized ritual would go through cycles of intense creativity followed by long periods of confused silence and eating.

Above: Fisherman holding fish sculpture or possibly a fishing trap, found on the coast of Portland, Oregon. Date unknown.

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Clockwise from left: Framed Catfish; Fish; Fish-shaped fish trap; Fish Bass (instrument); Harp Jaw-Fish

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Song of the Pianista

Third Edition copy of Song of the Pianista from 1852. From the Scattergood-Moore Collection.

This little known work, based on an accumulation of Pianista stories and legends, was written by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in 1841. Henry was a historian, explorer, and geologist who was superintendent of Indian affairs for Michigan from 1836 to 1841. The epic poem was based on his earlier work The Myths of the Pianista, compiled by Mr. Schoolcraft and his wife Jane. (Jane was an Ojibway Indian whose name translated into English as ‘The Woman of the Sound Which the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky’. Her kinship with members of the Pianista tribe allowed Henry special access to some of the elders who, in the summer of 1838, relayed the old legends to Schoolcraft.) The story of the poem centers on a hero’s journey of a mythic figure named Pianista. It chronicles his birth, his comingof-age, his courting and tragic loss of the beautiful Arietta, as well as adventures with his friends. Written with sensitivity and an ear for the rhythms of the culture that inspired it, Song of the Pianista may well have been regarded as a classic today were it not for a very limited number of printings. The four examples pictured represent half of the total number of copies in existence.

First and Second Edition copies, under bullet-proof glass. Collection of the Helen Temple Cooke Library.

(Note: Another of Schoolcraft’s works, The Myth of Hiawatha, got considerably more attention when a poet named Longfellow wrote another epic poem, based on that myth. It was published in 1855 to wide acclaim, infuriating the hot-tempered Schoolcraft, who publicly called Longfellow a ‘hack’ and, according to one account, challenged the poet to a fist fight for stealing his ideas. The similarity between the two poems is uncanny, and has been the subject of debate between literary historians for years.) ‹ 62 ›

Fourth Edition, 1854, publisher not listed. Only known copy

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Pianolarians

Ernst Haeckel was a German zoologist and illustrator active at the end of the nineteenth century. He was a contemporary of Darwin, and his research and artistry produced several publications, including the groundbreaking Generelle Morphologie der Organismen (General Morphology of Organisms). His specialty was a group of microscopic organisms that have existed since Precambrian time, known as radiolarians. In 1869, he was invited to New York to speak at the opening ceremonies of the new American Museum of Natural History. On a tour of the museum he came across a small exhibit of newly acquired artifacts from the American West. The ceremonial objects were of unknown origin, but were believed to have been made by a tribe in the Indian Territories near modern day Kansas. What he saw was very familiar to him, though he had never seen the artifacts before in his life. The small “dream objects” were fetishes made of wood, wire, felt and other material and said to be representations of images seen in the dreams or visions of tribal elders or shamans. These objects were said to possess the power of the dreamer and so were highly sought after in these societies. (The group on display had apparently been confiscated from Union soldiers returning from duty on the frontier some years before. They had been donated by the War Department after having been found behind a desk in a box marked “Paperweights and Sundries”.) What fascinated Haeckel was that these objects were virtually identical in form to many of the freeswimming protozoa that he had been studying for the past twenty years. The radiating spokes, concentric circular forms, flowing tendrils and other common motifs of the shamanistic relics were eerily reminiscent of the spherical skeletons and pseudopodia of his oft-studied radiolarians. He theorized that these images appeared during a period of sleep or trance, when the individuals involved would actually leave their bodies and join the microscopic world of humans’ oldest ancestors: the single celled organism. He immediately bought up half of the collection. He then tore up his prepared speech, locked himself in his hotel room, ordered cigars, beer and sausages from room service, and emerged two days later to deliver an address that some consider to be the greatest in the history of natural science. In it he laid the foundation for his next great work, Die Klavierischräthsel (Mystery of the Pianolarians.) ‹ 64 ›

Ernst Haeckel photographed in 1867

A Haeckel sketch of a radiolarian

Pictured: a variety of types of pianolarian, including rare, non-radial variety, center A common radiolarian

Dream Wheel, Western Pianista, c. 1857

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Gallery view of a recreation of a typical Pianista Mandala, based on Haeckel’s early research. (Photo courtesy Museum Für Naturkund, Berlin.)

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Calendars and Sundials The Pianistas had very sophisticated systems for keeping track of the time of day and the days of the year. Sun Calendars also know as Calendar Wheels were intricately engineered and elaborately decorated, although very few survive today. Though their time-keeping function is lost to history, much has been discovered recently about how they function as calendars.

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The calendar had 88 days in each of four seasons, with a 3-day festival at the end of each season (one for the moon, sun and earth.) One day each year was set aside to celebrate a festival marking the New Year (generally held during the summer months.) The days in this calendar astonishingly add up to the 365 days that we are used to— 88 (keys) x 4 (seasons) + 13 (4 seasons x 3 festival days + 1 annual new year festival) = 365 The number of days in each season itself began as a visual symbol for the four seasons. Originally the symbol represented the four seasons. Over time the individual symbols began to touch

and the number as we know it began to emerge.

(Since the Pianistas had no written language, and no knowledge of standard numbering systems, this numerical coincidence is all-the-more astounding.) A typical arrangement (pictured to the left) was 88 keys arranged in circle, with 13 felt hammers in the middle, representing (as previously mentioned) the three festival days for each of the four seasons and one symbol in the middle to represent the new year’s feast day. When these calendars were created is not precisely known, but descriptions of evidence that has since been destroyed suggests that they may have been discovered as early as 1750, coinciding with the arrival of piano-fortes from Europe. Recent research, however, indicates that they were probably not prevalent until the early-to-mid 1800’s. These dates are significant in that pianos in colonial times had only 72 keys, with keyboards of 84 keys arriving in the early 19th century. This would anticipate the keyboard arrangement of 88 keys (currently the standard) by a hundred years, and suggest a Pianista influence on modern piano development. Note: The term leap year actually came from the Pianista tradition that occurred every four years (as part of harvest festival) whereby a member of the tribe, in a zealous frenzy, would hurl himself into the nearest chasm to sacrifice him- or herself to the god of the harvest. (Often jumping off a medium-sized rock and getting some minor injury would suffice, except in time of famine.) Examples of small calendars, according to some experts. The mathematics of these versions has not quite been worked out yet.

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Totems and Statuary Like other native peoples -- most notably the various tribes of the Northwest Coast of the U.S. and Canada -- the Pianistas created large-scale figures representing spirits or ancestors that would be used in special ceremonies or put outside the village to protect its inhabitants. In contrast to tribes such as the Tlingit and Kwakiutl, who carved their totem poles from large trees, the Pianistas had to cobble theirs together from a variety of wooden parts of the piano framework, wire, and bits of hardware. Later, as better tools became readily available, parts of the cast iron harp were used, as in this example. This resulted in the unique patchwork style and dangerously top-heavy construction for which they have become famous. Seemingly random but highly symbolic, the pieces of these complex constructions represented (to members of the tribe) the idea of individuals being held together by the common beliefs of a society. Eagle Regurgitating the Universe (Pianista Origin Story figure)

Remants of Bird Warrior figure, reconstructed; date unknown.

Unfortunately not many examples of these large totems remain. Poor construction and the tendency of members of the tribe to burn sculpture for fuel contributed to their unfortunate scarcity. (The charred surface of Hawk Totem (pictured at right) was originally attributed to this phenomenon, but it has recently been found to be the result of a fire that took place in the basement of the Chicago Field Museum in 1914, caused by a docent who fell asleep smoking a cigarette.)

A Pianista village with totem figures (at right) in various states of collapse. â&#x20AC;š 70 â&#x20AC;ş

A photographic studio card from 1896, featuring Hawk Totem, found at junk shop in Evanston, Illinois in 1975 by George Murphy, a part-time worker at the Chicago Field Museum.

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Ceremonial Effigies Examples of the elaborate ceremonial costumes and battle armor of the Pianistas have been found in regions throughout North America, from the Eastern woodlands to the Plains and as far north as Southwestern Canada. These include a variety of masks and headdresses, breastplates and body armor, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry. Worn in conjunction with ceremonial objects like dance fans, talking sticks, and weapons, dancers would perform for hours on end during special feast days and before battle. When not in use, these objects were hung up in shelters on makeshift hangers, or piled up in crude boxes. Over time however, these simple clotheshorse structures evolved into figurative effigies onto which the costumes, objects and weapons were hung. The more powerful (or wealthy) shamans, warriors and dancers commissioned very elaborate mannequins for their costumes. These were often posed and sculpted to closely resemble the physical likeness Detail of Ceremonial Breastplate, with War Skirt, Dance Fan and Eagle Fetish of their owners. It was thought that these figures contained the spirit and power of those who wore the armor or costume, or used the weapons in battle. When dressed up and outfitted with weapons, these figures could appear quite menacing. In fact, research shows that these effigies were often placed in the area surrounding the village in times of war to scare off intruders. Occasionally they were placed outside a warrior’s domicile to keep other villagers away in times of sickness, exhaustion or drunkenness.

Standing Figure with Ceremonial Costume {Northern Pianista, ca. 1893} Collection of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, Orlando, Florida. A. Bad Medicine Mask; B. War Club; C. Breastplate; D. Ceremonial Necklace; E. Dance Fan; F. War Skirt; G. Removable Eagle Fetish ‹ 72 ›

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The Pianista Observatorium and Celestial Navigation

Photograph of The Pianista Observatorium, taken in 1913, location unknown.

One of the most unusual artifacts of this enigmatic culture found by anthropologists is displayed at right: The Pianista Observatorium. It is one of a very few that have survived the ravages of time, appearing in a number of locations across the Eastern United States. From what has been discovered, it appears that this structure was central to the Pianistas ceremonial life. Though used as a place of meditation and special ceremony, its primary function was as an observatory for celestial phenomena, much like Mayan structures. Circular apertures in the roof structure allowed shamans and other ceremonial participants to view constellations in the night sky at certain times of the year as well as the equinox sunrise. The circular constellations, that make up the walls of the Observatorium represent the various corresponding star configurations, and are grouped in frames known as ladders (for their shape) that could be removed and used individually as a sort of map for celestial navigation. It is said that the Pianistas believed that these circular forms directed positive energy from the universe to those who stood in the structure, and were thought of as “windows for looking within.” (For the gallery installation at right, the constellations representing the night sky are distributed around the walls of the gallery, and can be viewed by standing in the middle of the structure and looking out at a certain angle.)

Ladder, made up of individual constellations

The Observatorium is constructed to be a temporary structure: members of the ceremonial party would carry the parts to a remote location away from the village, often miles away. However, the parts are so numerous, the construction so complicated, and materials either extremely heavy or sharp, that it is believed that this particular example was only constructed once. Researchers are very fortunate to have this version of the Observatorium; it was recently discovered in the basement of the Harvard Museum of Natural History in twenty-five crates marked “DE-ACQUISITIONED,” which were being used as a staging area for their recent renovations. Detail of an individual ‘constellation.’ In other contexts objects closely resembling these were used and known as Pianolarians. Experts cannot yet distinguish between them. ‹ 74 ›

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Reconstruction of The Pianista Mountain Observatorium, (on display in the Mary Smith Gallery, at Appalachian State University, January, 2011) remnants of which were found outside of Boone, North Carolina, 2003. Photo courtesy Watuga Historical Society.

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Two sketches of apparently different versions of what has come to be known as the Pianista Eastern Woodland Observatorium. Above, from the field books of noted Pianista scholar and archivist Nathanial Greenville, 1910. At left, a drawing in the archives of the Topeka Museum of Art and Culture, artist unknown.

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Replica of The Pianista Eastern Woodland Observatorium, (original on display at the Ripley Odditorium, Orlando, Florida) based on Greenville’s sketches and eye-witness accounts gathered during the WPA interviews with locals in Keene, New York, 1936. Above: upward view from inside the Observatorium. It is said to have been designed to view the phases of the moon, as well as a smoke hole during winter use. ‹ 79 ›

Shaman Cart /Piano Elixir Wagon Pictured below is one of the few surviving examples of a Pianista Shaman’s cart. Revered men and women from the tribe would sometimes take on the role of spiritual healers, called in to visit someone suffering from sickness or mental distress. The culture believed strongly in the healing power of music, and it was thought that the objects made from the piano could provide healing energy. Although there are no written records, the shaman would travel to the affected person’s dwelling and perform ceremonial music and dances with masks and other objects. Some of these individuals would travel long distances and so developed wheeled vehicles, inspired from some of the abandoned wagons out on the frontier. These vehicles would allow them to carry all they needed, from ceremonial items to weapons, tools and utensils, and spare parts. Part of the healing ceremony was the use of what was known as piano spirits: a strong tea-like liquid created from stewing certain parts of the piano in vats of water, and boiled down into an elixir. The process was quite complex, using different combinations of specific materials (ivory for strengthening bones, copper to settle the nerves, iron for cleansing the blood, etc.) to produce the desired effect. The liquid was highly sought after and, from some contemporary accounts, quite effective. Pianista Shaman’s Cart, displayed with what is thought to be a typical collection of ceremonial objects, including masks, fetish items, practical utensils and tools for travel, and weapons

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Above: Variety of Pianista elixirs containers and a chemist’s recreation of the concoction. Right: Clark Stanley’s version of the concoction. In one contemporary account, which illustrates Stanley’s vigor as a salesman, one man, who had gone blind after using the product was talked into buying some more to cure his blindness. Below right: detail of label of Dr. Abbott’s Pianista Elixir. Claims of having an actual medical degree among the purveyors of “Authentic Pianista Healing Oils” were often exaggerated.

Unfortunately, in the late nineteenth century, charlatans commandeered the process of making this piano extract as products like snake oil and other miracle nostrums became all the rage. They made outrageous claims and connected the healing power of their products to a distorted understanding of the native culture. The process for making the elixir for mass consumption was shoddy at best; often they would take sweepings from piano factories or from pianos found in trash heaps without any care for what parts went in. Not only did these concoctions not work, they were downright dangerous: although often mostly made of coffee and whiskey, they contained trace amounts of lead, arsenic, and often bacteria and worse. One of these con artists, Clark Stanley, known for his particularly outlandish selling style, used this very wagon to sell his concoction, and it was important to keep some Pianista-made weapons at the ready for the angry mob whose family members may have been killed by his product. Records from the period suggest that the vehicle was also used as a small hearse on occasion.

The Pianista War Canoe and Edward Curtis Pictured at right is a rare example of the boat-building genius of the Pianistas. This version is said to have been found in a North West coastal village of Washington State in 1898, and is pictured in the Native Peoples Wing of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, in Seattle. (There is some dispute among experts, because some records indicate that it was originally in the collection of the Chicago Field Museum, shortly before the turn-of-the-century.) Since its addition to the museum’s collection, it has been referred to as The Pianista War Canoe, although it was probably used as a fishing boat, especially given the peace-loving nature of the Pianistas. It is of particular interest because it was discovered by photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis during a visit to the Burke in 1927.

Edward Sheriff unknown.

Curtis,

date

Unpublished draft of Volume XXI of Caitlin’s epic series of Native Peoples featuring images of Pianista chiefs and artifacts. He wrote that his inability to publish this final volume, because of mental health and financial troubles, was “one of my life’s biggest regrets.” From the Veneto Collection, Chicago.

Curtis had just finished work on the last of his extensively researched 20 volume series of books entitled The North American Indian, begun in 1906, which documented, in detailed written description and over 40,000 photographs, the culture of nearly all of the Native American tribes throughout the continent. Upon seeing the craft, he was enthralled, and, thinking there was a tribe he had not yet documented, he asked the docents to give him all the information they had on their culture. (It has long been established by historians that the Pianistas are not part of any Native American ancestry, but the similarity to tribes he had been studying would have justified his confusion of the subtle differences in cultures, especially at that time.) They showed him the other rare Pianista artifact in their collection, the Waterland Ceremony Headdress and Costume (replica pictured at right, in the center and slightly behind), They also knew of one older, local gentleman who claimed to be a descendant of the tribe, living in a fishing shack on the coast. Curtis contacted the man, borrowed the canoe and costume from the museum, and staged a reenactment of the Waterland Ceremony on Totten Inlet, just outside the city. (An image of one of the few remaining photographs is displayed to the right.) Although he shot hundreds of photographs, wrote several essays based on interviews, and even began production of Volume XXI of his epic series, the book on the Pianistas was never published, and most all of the documentation was lost when he died in relative obscurity in 1952.

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Thought to be either an original Pianista War Canoe, or a replica built for the 1928 re-enactment, the vessel is picture here at the Burke Museum in Seattle, along with other examples of Pacific Northwest Coast Indian artifacts, including the Tlingit, Haida, and the Kwakwaka’wakw. An example of the Pianista Waterland Ceremony Costume thought to be used in the 1928 reenactment is seen near the center in the background.

Thought to be one of the only original Edward Curtis photogravures of the Pianista War Canoe re-enactment in 1928. This copy was found in a old trunk at a water front flea market in Chicago, in 1961, along with some others. ‹ 83 ›

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Clockwise from left: Music of the Spheres, Dreaming Loon, Duck Head Club Mask Above: Pianista Sun Goddess, Spoked-Eye Owl, Banshee Mask ‹ 85 ›

Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” Showcasing bizarre events, weird objects, strange places and exotic people, Robert Ripley started Believe It or Not as a cartoon in 1918 and eventually turned it into a book, a radio and TV show and a series of museums. He opened his first Odditorium in Chicago during the World’s Fair, which opened on May 27, 1933.

Above: Robert Ripley in a publicity photo posing with a shrunken head, date unknown. Below: one of Ripley’s favorite artifacts from the Pianista collection, a ceremonial mask he fondly referred to as “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer”. He would sometimes carry it around the fairgrounds, occasionally being stopped by security.

At the World’s Fair exhibit, he had three separate rooms. In one he displayed the artifacts that he had gained from the travels to 201 countries: the shrunken heads from Ecuador, the six-legged cow from Wisconsin. The second room was pure sideshow carnival: human oddities that typically could perform. There also was a separate admission price to go backstage to the third room and see his most recent acquisition: a collection of masks and other artifacts from a little known tribe known as the “Pianistas.” It was the first time that many people had heard of this culture and they lined up for hours to pay 50 cents to see the exhibit. Never one to pass up an opportunity for mystery, he told visitors not to touch the artifacts for fear of horrible consequences or a lingering curse. Sixteen years later to the day, on May 27, 1949, Ripley collapsed and died while taping the 13th episode of his TV show. Believe It or Not.

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Newspaper clipping featuring one of several “Believe-It-or-Not!”cartoons that told the story of the “curious tribe” that made everything out of piano parts. Pictured are the Standing Figure with Ceremonial Costume, the Pianista Mountain Observatorium (both on display at the Ripley’s Odditorium in Orlando, Florida) and a head detail of Bird-Spirit-Man, which can be found at the museum’s Hollywood, California location.

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The Pianista Cabinets of Curiosity

The Pianista Cabinet of Wonders

Above: Buffalo Bill Cody, Elias Ashmole Below: Club Foot Moon Bird

Cabinets of curiosity have been in existence since before the Renaissance, used to display objects both natural and man-made, brought back from exploratory voyages to strange and new lands. On view here are two spectacular examples of cabinets full of Pianista artifacts. At left (front detail), featuring a ivory mosaic-covered wooden skull and other small Pianista artifacts has come to be known by many names including, The Pianista Cabinet of Wonders, The Box of the Mysterious Piano People, and The Brown One. The identity of the craftsman is not known; nor is the identity of original owner verified. While on display at the Chicago Field Museum in 1921, it was labeled as formerly belonging to the 17th Century collector Elias Ashmole (1617-92) whose major collection remains on display at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology in Oxford, England. However, this may not be entirely accurate, since Mr. Ashmole died several years before the invention of the piano. What is known is that showman Buffalo Bill purchased these cabinets sometime before the turn of the century and used them as part of a side show that would accompany his Wild West Show, which toured America and Europe for many years. Although he displayed it on its own for several years, along with other “ethnic trinkets and art-i-facts (sic) from the deserts and woodlands of the American continent” it was eventually exhibited along with another cabinet of roughly similar size (pictured at right). This cabinet also traveled widely with the show and was known variously as The Pianista Death Cabinet, Piano Shaman Dream Cabinet, and The Black One. Both cabinets reflect the style of earlier cabinets of curiosity created in the 16th and 17th century but are entirely made out of wood from pianos. All the objects inside are also made of pianos, although at some points in their history they may have displayed other, nonPianista artifacts or objects, have been used for storage for other things and, at least once, as a bathroom or bedroom vanity. ‹ 88 ›

At their height of popularity, the two cabinets were part of a traveling exhibit known as The Pianista Traveling Museum. Words and photographs cannot express the ingenuity of these cabinets, as they not only were full of fascinating artifacts of the Pianistas, but were engineered with a complex system of swinging doors, opening drawers, foldout shelves, and a variety of spectacularly idiosyncratic niches, every inch displaying a wide variety of Pianista ceremonial objects, weapons, masks, and jewelry, as well as small paintings, notes and diagrams. It was at this time, probably between 1904 and 1919, that both of these cabinets were stored in and displayed with a large, wheeled vehicle known as The Pianista Traveling Museum Wagon (see next page). The cabinets would roll out onto side tables that would fold out from the front and back of the wagon. Drawers and shelves would fold out from the wagon as well, and the whole display had the effect of a giant mechanical flower opening up to display its beauty. Unfortunately travel took its toll on these cabinets, which were heavy and, because they were held together by animal skin glue and a random collection of hardware culled from pianos, they would fall apart frequently. Also, many elements of the display were constantly being stolen, either by excited patrons, or members of the performing troupe and freak show. Buffalo Bill eventually sold both to the Field Museum during one of his periods of financial distress. They were on display for several years but then used in the museums offices and commissary as storage cabinets until they were nearly destroyed. The were refurbished to their near-original state in 2017, in time for a major traveling exhibition.

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The Pianista Traveling Museum Show Wagon Pictured below and in the archival photos to the right and left is one of the most fascinating artifacts associated with the history of the Pianistas. At 7 feet tall and 14 feet long in its open position, the Pianista Traveling Museum Show Wagon is a marvel of ingenuity. Although the story of its construction is in question and the identity of the maker is not known, this circus wagon-like vehicle, completely made from piano parts, has become renowned after being discovered recently in an old barn in southern Vermont. Pictures of it had been seen for decades but it was assumed that it had not survived the ravages of time. Experts are still researching its history and testing its authenticity, but from letters and a few newspaper accounts from the period, it appears that the wagon was commissioned by Buffalo Bill Cody for inclusion in his Wild West Show, somewhat late in his career. It was used to house his large collection of Pianista artifacts and display them in a Sideshow that would travel with the show from coast to coast. In fact, it appears that it may have even traveled by steamship for a number of performances in Europe in the early 1920s.

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Pictured above and to the right is a photograph of the show wagon in its closed travel position, unhitched from the horse that would have pulled it to the town. (The double photograph also features three Pianista performers, who would have participated in one of the re-enactments that the Wild West Show was famous for. It should be noted that these were probably not members of the tribe, but white or Mexican cowboys or, in some cases Italian immigrants who had an “ethnic” look, and could ride a horse with a large mask attached to their heads.) At left is a shot of the wagon in its opened position. Front and side panels would hinge down to form long tables, drawers would open, shelves would pull out, and shadow boxes or small stages would appear by a complex system of pivots, hinges, and pulleys. In addition, two large cabinets, housed inside would be wheeled into position on each side. (See previous page.) Once opened the wagon could display up to 100 artifacts, weapons, small paintings, ceremonial objects, and other items.

Most of the time they were for display only, but some historians claim that on occasion “replica” artifacts were constructed by the roustabouts and some performers and sold to patrons as genuine. People were so fascinated by the story of the Pianistas, and the replicas were so realistic, that most could not tell the difference. In addition, forensic evidence has suggested that the vehicle may have been used either during these tours or afterward, as a food wagon, transportation or containment of drunk individuals, and certainly as a sales wagon for the concoction known as Piano Elixir (see page 80). The wagon currently resides in a different barn in southern Vermont and is undertaking careful conservation and documentation.

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The Pianista Princess Much has been written in certain circles about a phenomenon in the mid-1920’s that brought the Pianistas out of obscurity and to the edge of popular culture. The Pianista Princess Performing the Mysterious Shadow Dance of the Piano People was one of many stage shows traveling the country at the time, somewhere on the performance continuum between freakshow and vaudeville. Before our era of common decency and respect for those different from ourselves, these side shows would travel with small- and big-name circuses to provide entertainment heavy on shock value, sometimes taking advantage of people with physical abnormalities, and often baudy, sometimes racist, and always outrageous. Ferry the Human Frog, Two-Headed Baby, Armless Girl, Lobster Boy, and Amazon Snake Charmer are just a few of the many acts that were founded on exaggerated features, deceptive stagecraft, or outright lies. In the case of the Pianista Princess side show producers were trying to resurrect an interest in the mysterious culture that had captured so much attention earlier in the century. Not much else is known about the actual performance involved, more than likely using some of the special effects of the period, perhaps literally smoke and mirrors. Most of what is commonly accepted comes from analysis of the one artifact to survive: a large banner, painted in the freakshow tradition, that depicts a young woman wearing an odd outfit made of piano parts. She stands in the middle of a huge field at the foot of a mountain near a large structure (obviously based on the Pianista Observatorium, (discussed earlier in the catalog) The figure casts a shadow that creates the image of a masked character in full costume often interpreted as a Pianista ghost shaman. The performance was obviously based on some mistaken concept of Pianista ceremonies, or completely made up. In any case, the disrespect for other cultures is typical of the pervasive attitudes at the time and thankfully Americans have evolve away from the xenophobic and prejudiced attitudes of the period. The person who painted the banner is not known; yet another artist whose name is lost to history. The identity of the Princess herself is not known, although she is often identified as the silent move star Maude Fealy, wildly popular in the early 1900’s, but destitute by the 1920’s and working the vaudeville circuit in a variety of forgettable roles and sometimes under less than professional circumstances. Above: An artist’s rendition of actress Maude Fealy with Key Skirt, and Ceremonial Breastplate, two elements easily identified in the large side show banner inspired by customs of the Pianistas. ‹ 92 ›

Clockwise from above: view of circus site, banner on far left date and location unknown; Side Show scene, with Scottish circus band, banner again on the left behind drummer. Location thought to be eastern Kansas. Kingfish Mask, thought to be the mask depicted in the Pianista Princess Banner. Courtesy Butler Museum of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Pianista Observatorium, date and location of photo not known. Dailey Brother’s Circus, somewhere in the Midwest, possibly mid-Thirties (banner again can be seen on the left.) Colorized artist’s rendition of The Pianista Princess Sideshow Banner, imagining the original colors before the subsequent fading and recent damage. ‹ 93 ›

Above: 1907 Milton upright piano intact and dismantled. It is believed that the Pianistas were so resourceful with materials that one piano could last for several years. Right: In 1979, researchers at the Pianista Study Center in Boulder, CO concluded, after extensive carbon dating, fiber tracing, and DNA sampling, that all of the objects at right came from a single, very similar piano of earlier vintage.

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Recent Discoveries and Alternative Theories

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Recent Discoveries Each year, dozens of new artifacts related to the Pianista culture are discovered across North America. Some are found as part of archaeological digs; some are discovered in antique shops and roadside curio shacks. Others occasionally emerge from deep storage in the natural history holdings of major museums. Recent findings include masks, weapons and other ceremonial objects, photographs, other documentation and at least one set of false teeth. As this catalog went to print, archaeologists in the Midwest have discovered the remnants of large scale structures and what appear to be ceremonial wagons of some sort. As they are studied and documented, these exciting new finds will help us shed light on the history, traditions and wisdom of this unique culture. Perhaps we can learn something from a people who, misunderstood and occasionally attacked, steadfastly followed their vision, despite limited resources, physical injury and a certain lack of common sense.

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Artifacts, photographs, and other documentation continue to be discovered each year.

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Left: Sculptors at the Vermont Studio Center studied sketches and written first-hand accounts to construct a replica of the King Bird Warrior from a single baby grand piano in 2011. Above: From those same notes they re-enacted the Sculpture Cremation Ceremony and saved the remains. It is thought that over ninety percent of Pianista artifacts were purposely destroyed in this way by shamans or members of the tribe. The rest may have fallen apart with the weather. â&#x20AC;š 101 â&#x20AC;ş

Re-enactments, Replicas and Forgeries

New York Daily Journal headline from 1888 advertising Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, with special ceremonial re-enactment using Pianista artifacts. Recent interest in the culture of the Pianistas has lead to a resurgence in the re-enactment of traditional ceremonies, such as this Ceremonial Sculpture Burning.

At right one of the better forgeries of the Eastern Pianista Annoyed Ancestor mask. The genuine mask is to the far right. This has been a favorite subject for various forgers and knock-off artists for nearly a hundred years. Experts in the field don’t know why, except they seem to take in more money at auction.

There has been a history of re-enacting aspects of Pianista culture that dates back to before the turn of the last century. As part of his well-known Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, which ran from 1883 to 1916, frontiersman, war hero and entertainer Buffalo Bill would have his troupe perform re-enactments of many of the several Pianista ceremonies, beginning at his encampment outside the fairgrounds of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. These would often involve music and dance as the ingenuity of the construction and sound of the instruments created by the tribe fascinated audiences. Because there were no known descendants of the tribe by that time, he hired members of other tribes or recent immigrants, mostly Jewish and Italian, for the “ethnic look” of native peoples. He brought several of the participants on his tour of Europe in 1902 (including a museum docent from the Chicago Field Museum named Alfonso Veneto), where they had a fourteen week run, including a performance for the future King George V. Re-enactments performed by various groups continued sporadically, gaining popularity in the 1950’s, until falling out of favor because of political correct attitudes in the 1990’s. In recent years however, there has been resurgence in interest in the Pianista culture. As such, “replicas” and outright forgeries are cropping up in museum collections, and objects that for years had been attributed to the tribe have been identified as fakes by experts.

It is almost impossible for the untrained viewer to distinguish between the genuine and a fake, with this mask and many other artifacts. Because of the prevalence of defunct vintage pianos, devious craftsmen continue to this day to take advantage of the unwary. The online auction site eBay has begun to crack down on the sale of what it considers to be fraudulent, but nothing substantial has been done, and often their representatives confuse real and fake themselves. ‹ 102 ›

Clockwise from above: Re-enactor wearing a replica of a Pianista Waterland Ceremony Headdress and costume, date and location unknown; recent replica of Pianista War Canoe based on Edward Curtis film footage, commissioned by the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology; Bucktooth and Elephant masks from the Danish Museum of Natural History turned out to be made by local art students; copper knuckle replica based on original, Metropolitan Museum, NY; recreation of Sculpture Burning Ceremony, Johnson, VT, 2011; totem figure recently found to be a fake, at the Victoria National Museum, Vancouver; pianolarian replicas (de-authenticated by scholars) from the Peabody Museum; ceremonial dance reenactment, 2008.

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Alternative Theories

Despite extensive physical evidence, in the form of ceremonial objects, weapons and other items, written accounts, field sketches and notes from various sources found in numerous geographical locations across North America over the last one-hundred years, there exists, in certain segments of the anthropological community, some doubt as to the very existence of the Pianistas as a legitimate tribe. This debate has been going on since the majority of the artifacts were discovered in the late 1890â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The detractors have pointed to the very magnitude and variety of artifacts and the enormous geographical spread of the locations of their discovery. Most North American tribes settled in particular regions and, although some were sporadically nomadic (or later forced to move because of government policies), would typically live in areas no larger than several hundred miles in any direction. Accounts of the activities of the Pianistas have been documented from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, as far south as Northern Mexico and as far north as Canada, in terrain as diverse as desert, shoreline and mountain. This has led some skeptics to wonder why a culture so widely spread geographically, has no surviving members, leaving no one who could pass on an oral history or contribute a personal account. The two most quoted alternative theories are that pockets of various Native American tribes created the artifacts from discarded parts outside of towns during Westward Expansion or that the masks, weapons, and other objects were made by regional folk artists. This page and right: Some of the many disputed Pianista objects whose authenticity cannot be verified. Several experts are re-examining many objects with the purpose of supporting their alternative theories of the existence of these many artifacts.

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To some scholars, confirmation of one widely held theory came to light with the recent discovery of a hand-written journal by a little known and enigmatic figure in the history of the Pianistas, one Alfonzo Renato Veneto, an Italian immigrant who arrived somewhere near the turn of the century. Veneto, a piano-tuner by trade, was said to have begun making things out of piano parts for his fellow workers at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, where he worked as a laborer. He continued throughout his life, until his death in 1959. In the journal, Veneto, in the last year of his life, seems to claim to have made the artifacts that had been on display at the Chicago Field Museum as early as 1891 (according to some sources.) The journal, at times rambling and nearly illegible, moves from various points in Veneto’s life, and often seems to be influenced by the author’s age and perhaps, as some psychologists and hand-writing analysts have theorized, some sort of mental illness. To most Pianista experts however, it seems unlikely that one person, much less a possibly disturbed and isolated immigrant folk artist, could have created a world of this magnitude and produced the variety, scale, and extraordinary number of artifacts that have been discovered over the last century. Still, these alternative theories have their champions in the academic community, and so must be examined with an open mind and scientific rigor.

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Alfonzo Renato Veneto Over the past one hundred years, numerous objects believed to be Pianista artifacts have turned out to be made by others. These “copy-cat” artists were often junk men or isolated folk artists, and most had seen Pianista ceremonial objects in person or in reproductions.

Object attributed to Veneto, featuring the “split-face” motif that experts say may indicate a history of schizophrenia.

Hand-written and mostly illegible journal found in Veneto’s Chicago apartment upon his death. In it he retells the story of his eventful life.

One of the more well-known and enigmatic figures in the history of the Pianistas, is one Alfonzo Renato Veneto, an Italian immigrant who arrived sometime before the turn of the century, and lived much of his life in Chicago. Veneto, a piano-tuner by trade, had a colorful background as, among other things, a gondola pilot, railroad worker, snake-oil salesman, and a bit actor in early Hollywood westerns. He was known to have made at least fifty objects in the Pianista style, several of which had been erroneously identified as authentic at the turn of the century. In a journal found just recently, and written in the year leading up to his death in 1959, Veneto claims to be “the Last of the Pianistas” and to have made several of the artifacts that had been on display at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History as early as 1891. In over two-hundred pages of rambling and mostly incoherent entries, he tells his family history, his voyage to America and his work at the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893. He goes on to tell of how he began making objects out of piano parts, first while working at the Fair, then in his workshop in the basement of the Field Museum; how they were discovered and thought to be from native origins and how they were placed in museum collections. He alludes to working with The Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, and how his work traveled with “Mr. Cody’s Side Show” and was shown to hundreds of people, including the crown heads of Europe. A typical entry (from a typewritten transcription):

Chest found in a hidden room in the basement of the Chicago Field Museum, during a recent renovation. It is full of piano parts, and some artifacts that look like Pianista ceremonial objects. It has the initials “A.R.V.” carved into the lid.

Tuesday, October 27, 1959 This headache has been going on for two days and Mrs. Kovacini he says I should go to the hospital. It reminds me of the ones I used to get, a long time ago, after that fall from the horse and the kick in the head in Mr. Cody’s show on the 4th of July. Weeks later I remember having some kind of dreams or visions and saw color more brightly sometimes and had a very strong reaction to red wine, so I would always get sick when I went out with the other Italian laborers at the end of the week. I had one glass last night but I’m not sure that would do it. These are young man’s headaches.

What is known for sure is that he (or someone with a similar name) is on record for having worked at the Chicago Field Museum just after the Columbia Exposition of 1893. It is likely that Veneto was just a prolific, copy-cat artist with access to one of the largest and varied Pianista collections in America. Still, some anthropologists believe he is responsible for many more of the artifacts that have been attributed to the Pianistas, and at least one expert believes he may be the perpetrator of an elaborate hoax. For now, without further evidence, the debate continues. ‹ 106 ›

Studio photograph of Alfonzo Renato Veneto, date unknown ‹ 107 ›

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< Journal written by Veneto, and memorabilia found at in an old tin box at waterfront flea market in Chicago in the summer of 2012. In his mostly illegible entries, he recalls events in his life and claims to the “the Last of the Pianistas.” Experts are investigating his claims.

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The “Mad Piano Man” of Chicago Although today he is known only to those interested in the study of the history of the Pianistas, and to a few devotees of outsider artists of the mid-west, Alfonzo Veneto seems to have been a man of mystery. A Zeliglike character, he claimed to have met a variety of people in his life, both famous and infamous, and traveled widely, although his later years were spent within in a small radius around his duplex on North Mohawk Street in Chicago. In addition, several people over the years have mentioned him in letters or other written accounts that in some cases seem to corroborate some of his claims. Most of what we know from his life can be found in the very few public records that have surfaced, a few personal effects found in his basement and bedroom by a neighbor after his death, and his aforementioned journal. There is not space in this catalog for the many stories about this unique individual and the people he met before arriving in America in 1892 and before his death in 1959. His journal, recently published as The Journal of Alfonzo Renato Veneto, Self-Proclaimed Last of the Pianistas (Uncorrected Proof) is available for further investigation of these and many other stories. (Copies are available at the front desk for a small fee.) Here, just a few encounters are briefly noted: .

Counter-clockwise, from top: Buffalo Bill Cody, historian Soria Elsbeth Vanguard (above left), Queen Victoria, Al Capone, President Grover Cleveland, artist H. C. Westermann, outsider artist and fellow Chicago resident Henry Darger, Mayor Richard Daley, Pope Leo XIII.

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This page: Singer Enrico Caruso, painter George Inman, Native American leader Sitting Bull, Elizabeth Clift Custer (wife of Indian fighter George Custer), and P.T. Barnum

• Buffalo Bill Cody: Veneto claims to have worked for Cody’s Wild West Show for several years. • Soria Elsbeth Vanguard: Thought she was married to Veneto; may have been mistaken. • Queen Victoria: Met her on a tour of Europe with the Wild West show. • Ganster Al Capone: Know him from his neighborhood in Chicago, occasionally saw him at the market. • Grover Cleveland: Met the president at Opening Ceremonies of the Chicago World’s Fair. • H.C. Westerman: Met the artist at the Art Institute and a struck up a friendship; shared love of materials. • Henry Darger: Met him at the Museum and visited the artist once to see his work-in-progress: The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion. Decided not to go back. • Mayor Richard Daley: Knew him as a young thug and a loud mouth back in the early years. • Pope Leo VIII: Supposedly met the pontiff in Rome when he was just a boy. The pope forgave him when he was caught touching one of the reliquary cabinets in the Vatican. Veneto also claimed to have met Singer Enrico Caruso, painter George Inman, Native American leader Sitting Bull, Elizabeth Clift Custer (wife of Indian fighter George Custer), and P.T. Barnum. While there is a chance he met Caruso, either at the Opera House in Venice, the others were already dead before Veneto arrived in America, so the meetings probably did not occur.

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A Veneto Family Album According to his neighbor, Anthony Kovacini, son of Veneto’s long-time landlord on Mowhawk Street in Chicago, a number of personal effects (as well as an extraordinary amount and variety of things, raging from untold number of olive jars full of hardware, coins, and small bits of paper, to boxes of books, papers, old clothes and piano parts) were found in the basement of Veneto’s apartment after his death in 1959. Most were donated to the church, given to relief organizations, or thrown away. This is unfortunate because that treasure trove of materials may have helped to create a better understanding of this complex individual. Sadly, all that are left are a few family photos, some personal papers and news clippings, a bible, and a few of the jars of assorted objects. Quite a number of mask-like objects made of pianos were found as well, some of which are on display here. Mr. Kovacini, who went into the printing business, remained in Chicago for the rest of his life. He is responsible (with the help of his deceased mother) for transcribing Veneto’s journal into typewritten form. He also donated all of the remaining effects to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1974, in the hopes that they would find a way to display them at the museum. Although the exhibit never took place, thankfully the museum saved the few items in a box in storage marked “Outsider and Other.” It is in thanks to them that we can display the photographs seen below. These photographs are shown with corresponding notes based on Veneto’s journal, examination of Veneto’s other personal effects, research into public records both in Italy and America, and through interviews with a number of Chicago residents. Although research is still being conducted, and verification is generally not possible in all cases, here are the facts of Veneto’s family life, as far as can be determined. A man who came from Italy to America with all that the New World had to offer at the turn-of-the-century he found a creative home and a life of adventure. And whether you believe that he was just a prolific copy-cat folk artist, appropriating the imagery of a proud culture, or was in fact the driving force behind one of the greatest art and anthropology hoaxes of all time, his life story is still fascinating, and one which deserves further investigation. The Veneto family, at their home in Vitorrio Veneto, date unknown. Veneto grew up in the small village outside of Venice with his large family. His father (pictured at far left) was a carpenter. His mother (at left, in white) raised 6 children and ran their small farm.

The Veneto family, at their home in Italy.

Veneto and his siblings, from the left: Anna Maria, Damiano, Veneto (in a dress or costume), Giuseppe (in white) Antonio, and Giovanni. His aunt and uncle (who were also his godparents) and his cousin Diviana are pictured on the right and behind.

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Giuseppi Veneto Born 1870. Older brother to Alfonzo. He remained in his small village of Vittorio Veneto, a devout Catholic and dedicated family man until his death in 1951. He went into the priesthood for a short time, until falling in love with a nun, whom he eventually married. He was a politician in local government and had dreams of advancement, until developing Tourettes syndrome at age 60. His career was ruined as his condition would cause him to blurt out insults and profanity to members of the government, his church, or the press. Antonio Veneto. Born 1874. Joined Alfonso on a trip to Alaska to find gold in 1896. On the trip completely unprepared, the two nearly died but for the kindness of an Inuit family. A man of big dreams, he lived out his life in Italy as a civil servant, but traveled to America on two or three occasions and helped with some of Alfonzo’s “projects.” Always looking for “get-rich-quick” schemes, he was known for his quick temper, and possessed a salesman's ability to make you believe almost anything. Giovanni Veneto. Born 1875. Sailed with Alfonso to America to work for the Chicago World’s Fair. He was close to Alfonzo, and kept in touch with him throughout his life, even after moving to Boston in the early 1930’s. A carpenter and artisan, he was a hopeless romantic and was constantly falling for American women soon after arriving. He would help Alfonso with bigger projects that required complex engineering or heavy lifting. Lived out his life in America, returning to Italy only once for his mother’s funeral. Damiano Veneto. Born 1877. Except for one trip to America, Damiano stayed in the village of Vitorrio Veneto all of his life and worked as a merchant. He eventually took over the family farm and took care of his aging parents. A devoted family man, he was wary of Alfonzo’s life in America but helped him financially when he needed it.

Anna Maria Veneto Laviolette. Born 1883. Went into the convent after studying art in Venice but within two yeas left Italy in a hurry. She settled in Chicago to be near her brother and studied at the Art Institute. Became a bit of a bohemian and a fixture on the art circuit, socializing with artists, poets, and political radicals. She married a French Canadian, but soon they divorced and she never remarried, although she was said to have had many failed relationships with both men and women. She was dedicated to her art and helped Alfonso with several painting commissions. Diviana Veneto Kowalski. A first cousin who moved to America, first to New York then Chicago. She was a poet and musician, as well as a communist. An outspoken feminist, she was arrested frequently and battled with alcoholism and schizophrenia.

Karina Bacciochi Veneto, date unknown. She grew up in Italy but met Alfonso in Chicago. They fell in love immediately and because they could not afford a wedding, were married in City Hall, with Giovanni as Best Man and Giovanni’s future wife as Maid of Honor.

Alfonso pictured with his wife Karina, date unknown. They were married for nearly 20 years and he was dedicated to her completely. Although they tried, they never had children. For decades after her death in 1929 he could not speak her name without tearing up. ‹ 113 ›

The Secret Workshop of Alfonzo Veneto On display is a recreation of what has come to be identified as the hidden workshop of Alfonso Veneto. Discovered by workmen in the basement of the Chicago Field Museum during renovations in 2005, this hidden room, sealed up with brick, covered with horsehair plaster, and painted over, was unknown to the staff of the museum and, from the evidence found within, had not been seen for over sixty years. Older plans of the building (finished and open to the public in 1921) note several unspecified storage rooms in the basement and this workshop likely began as one of those rooms. Although not entirely clear from museum archives, it has been determined that Veneto was an employee of the museum from its opening in 1893 (in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the World’s Columbian Exposition) until 1938. He began as a laborer at the Exposition (shortly after arriving in Chicago from Northern Italy) and continued as a maintenance man for displays at the museum. It seems he occasionally acted as a translator for Italian visitors, and toward the end of his tenure there the museum allowed him to be a part-time docent as well. As can been seen on display, what was found was a densely-packed workshop full of Pianista masks and other artifacts, some crated and wrapped for storage others in the midst of being repaired. Some appear to be newly constructed, as if replicas or reconstructions were being created for display. Also discovered were boxes and boxes of piano parts, a large variety of tools and hardware and books and magazines on everything from Native American mythology to boat-building. In addition, several paintings from the Museum’s collection were hung around the workshop (including several found elsewhere in this exhibit). Other items include: an easy chair with a red blanket; a small cot; a label-making machine and typewriter; frames, hanging hardware, glass cases, vitrines, reproductions of Catholic icons, Native American masks and other artifacts, and a worn Bible. After its discovery, one camp of Pianista experts, especially those connected to museums with large collections of Pianista artifacts characterize this find as a wonderful time capsule of a bygone era when the care and preservation of Pianista culture was at the forefront of the mission of many natural history museums around the country, especially the Field Museum. In their view, this workshop represents a historical snapshot of the work of a skilled museum craftsman dedicated to the preservation and repair of the fragile artifacts and the paintings they inspired. Others are not so sure. The opposing theory of most contemporary anthropologists and art historians (and a few criminologists) is that this proves that Veneto was in fact behind the creation of most of the Pianista “artifacts” that have been found (as Veneto himself admitted to in his recently discovered journal) and this is the place where all the lies began. We may never know which of these improbable stories are true. ‹ 114 ›

Several photographs were purportedly taken by workmen and museum personnel as the hidden workshop was found. Unfortunately, because of some confusion after the renovation of the museum, only a few remain, so recreation of the workshop for this exhibit required a good deal guess work, based on old floor plans of the Field Museum and archival photographs of other storage rooms in the museum at about the same time period. Although many of the Pianista artifacts and paintings were carefully removed after being discovered, an untold number were taken by some of the demolition team, part-time museum workers, and some visiting teenagers.

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The Last of the Pianistas Depicting a Pianista shaman in full ceremonial regalia, and surrounded by an elaborate (and heavy) frame reminiscent of the Rococo Period, this fascinating and historically important work has been surrounded by controversy in recent years. Originally in the collection of the Chicago Field Museum, it had been attributed for many years to the painter, author and traveler George Catlin, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans. Purportedly acquired just after the museum’s founding in 1893, the painting hung for decades along with portraits of chiefs of numerous North American tribes, as well as among masks and other artifacts in the museum’s collection.

Last of the Pianistas (detail without frame) unknown paint on piano cabinet wood.

Anna Maria Veneto

When much of the museum’s Catlin collection went up for sale in 2004, the piece was purchased by a descendant of Chicago piano manufacturer Hampton L. Story. Frances Story Dubinski, who had been a donor to the museum since she received her inheritance as a young woman, bought the work for an undisclosed sum, narrowly outbidding a representative from the Catlin Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. When being installed at her palatial estate in Hyde Park, a Catlin expert she had hired found discrepancies in painting style, and noticed some strange writings on the back of the painting. Upon further research, it was declared a forgery, and legal battle ensued. At this writing the matter has yet to be settled. Who may have painted this work is unclear. Experts are divided; most claim it was done by an amateur painter who was briefly employed by Catlin, near the time of this death. The most interesting theory, and one which has garnered some support in recent years, is that it was painted by one Anna Maria Veneto, a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago at the turn of the century, who also happened to be the sister of folk artist and Chicago Field Museum docent Alfonzo Renato Veneto, famously known for his “copy cat” creations of Pianista artifacts, and (according to some contemporary anthropologists) the possible creator of scores of Pianista forgeries. In fact, the image of the figure in the painting is thought by some experts to be Veneto himself.

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This photograph recently found in the Pianista Archives in Wichita may offer new clues.

Large painting The Last of the Pianistas, date unknown, artist unknown. Its cast-iron frame is said to weigh over three hundred pounds and has led to several injuries during installation.

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The Paintings ‹ 119 ›

Paintings Depicting Pianista Culture

Both Recently Discovered and Historically Significant Paintings of the various native North American tribes created in the 19th century abound in collections across the United States, from the Smithsonian Institution and the Chicago Field Museum, to the Butler institute of American Art in Ohio and the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The more famous artists of this genre include George Catlin, Charles Bird King, Carl Bodmer, Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian, and Elbridge Ayer Burbank. In some cases these were commissioned official portraits (such as the images in the Catlin Indian Gallery and the McKinney Hall collection at the Smithsonian) and while others were created independently during the exploration of the West.

Mystery Figure with Annoyed Ancestor Mask (highlighted and with enlarged detail) unknown paint on piano cabinet wood. Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD circa 1910.

Images of the Pianista peoples (who, as has been mentioned, are not of Native American ancestry) are more rare; the few known examples in museums have generally been displayed in side galleries, languished in moldy basements, or sold off at auction. With the exception of The Last of the Pianistas (on display nearby in the gallery), very few have been shown in more than 50 years, and never exhibited together for perhaps 100 years. Most information found about the paintings has not been verified, and often art historians have conflicting interpretations and generally do not agree about the identity of the artists or the provenance of the work. Most believe that at least a few of the works were done by some of the artists mentioned above, or at least attributed to assistants working in their studios. Most of the other paintings in this exhibit (unless otherwise noted) were donated by an anonymous private collector, said to be a Pianista expert and scholar. Occasional notes are provided to shed light on the origins and history of these newly discovered works to the best of the editors ability. They are shown here to reinforce the unique quality of the artifacts, masks, and ceremonial costumes of the Pianistas, some of which, thankfully, have survived the ravages of time, and the fickle nature of museum exhibition trends.

Red Nose Warrior (detail, without frame) Unknown paint on piano cabinet wood. Whereabouts unknown.

Facing page: Pianista Cabinet of Curiosity (detail, without frame) Unknown paint on piano cabinet wood. Attributed to a student of William Michael Harnett. Mid-19th century. â&#x20AC;š 120 â&#x20AC;ş

Note: it has become quite obvious in viewing the paintings in the exhibit and represented by the color plates to follow, that three qualities clearly dominate the imagery of the subjects rendered in the portraits of Pianista chiefs and other individuals. First, the faces of the individuals are always obscured; secondly, there seems to be a wide variety of races, from the palest white skin and thin red hair to the darkest complexion and powerful features, represented in models for the paintings; and finally, there do not seem to be any females. This has puzzled historians for generations, and many theories have developed over time. The most common involve the idea that the subjects were terribly shy, or wanted to hide their identity (not trusting the Red Cloak Duck God (detail, without frame) artist) or, in some cases, did not want their souls stolen by Unknown paint on piano cabinet wood. capturing their image. As to the racial question, experts seem Artist unknown. to agree that the Pianistas must have been a society made up of a mix of races that lived in harmony, bound by common interests and mutual respect. And in terms of the question of the lack of inclusion of female subjects, experts wildly disagree. Some suggest female members of the society were held in such high regard, that recreating their images was not allowed for fear of objectifying them. Others believe a more practical explanation: that the women of the society were too busy actually working, doing everything from child-rearing and harvesting, to creating ceremonial crafts and protecting the village, that they did not have the time to sit for hours posing for a painted portrait. The truth may never be known. (A final note: Unless otherwise noted, the medium for these paintings is a mix of paint on piano cabinet wood. Also, several painting are pictured with custom-made frames made out of piano parts. The identity of the craftsmen are not known.)

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An Alternative Reading of the Imagery Related to the History of Pianistas For those cynical art historians who side with some of the rogue anthropologists who believe that Alfonzo Veneto is responsible for most if not all of the artifacts and therefore the painted representations of Pianistas, their explanations are quite different.

In their view, depending on which dissertation or “scholarly” article you ascribe to, the majority of (or the entirety of) the paintings on the next few pages represent an outpouring of work from two main sources: Veneto’s sister, Anna Maria Veneto Laviolette, and Veneto himself. In the view of the academics who contend that Veneto was in some way the “mastermind” behind each of these paintings, the argument, implausible as it is, follows in this way: Veneto sailed to American in 1892, and through a series of events, eventually worked at the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago (the World’s Fair) and event marked to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of Columbus to the New World (which was late in starting. He Opening of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago joined hundreds of other immigrant laborers to construct the displays for the Fair and eventually came to work at the Chicago Field Museum, which was established within the Palace of Fine Arts Building in Jackson Park (what is now the Museum of Science & Industry) with anthropological exhibits culled from the Fair. Based on accounts in Veneto’s journal, and supported by other research by this faction of art historians, they believe that, through a series of complex and confused events, Veneto began to make objects out of piano parts and pass them off as cultural artifacts. As a docent and artisan at the Museum, he had access to the exhibit spaces, and through longevity of employment, was able to establish a long-term display of “Pianista” artifacts in rooms that had previously exhibited objects from Native American, African, and Asian cultures. In their view, Anthropology exhibit, Chicago , circa 1900 as new curators came to work at the museum, they came to accept the artifacts as genuine, and continued to display them at the regular intervals. (This was at a time at the turn of the 19th Century that understanding of non-western and “primitive” cultures was not always particularly nuanced, and so “ethnic” artifacts were often lumped together, distinctions confused, and history conflated.) There is not room in this catalog to debate these two prevailing theories of the origins of these artifacts. However, it seems important in the context of this exhibit and catalog to explain the alternative interpretation of the paintings associated with the history of the Pianistas. In the view of those who believe in the “Veneto as Outsider Artist Hoax Theory” as it has commonly come to be known, the three fundamental questions previously posed about the imagery in these works are often explained in this way: ‹ 122 ›

The faces of the models in paintings are obscured for two reasons. The first is that the model in many cases, was Veneto himself, the paintings rendered by his sister, Anna Maria, who was an art student at the Art Institute of Chicago, sometime between 1900 and 1911 or 1912. She had studied painting in Venice but then went to convent upon graduation (as was often the case for young women in the Catholic tradition in Italy at the time.) However, after an apparent “indiscretion” took place and she was expelled, she sailed to America to join her brother in Chicago. By all accounts she possessed quite a bit of talent, and studied with several well-known professors at the Institute, including the Native American portraitist, Elbridge Ayer Burbank. (See full story on the following pages.) The prevailing theory is that Veneto, with the help of his sister Anna, would construct paintings based on images of Native American chiefs, first directly on top of the painted studies by Burbank that she took from his studio, but then in the style of other painters of Native American peoples, including George Catlin, Charles Bird King, Karl Bodmer, and James Otto Lewis. According to one researcher, it is thought that the two would offer many of the unemployed and desperate men who lived in Chicago at the time two dollars and a meal to anyone who would sit for a painted portrait, with a “Pianista” mask attached to their heads. This would explain the wide variety of racial types that show up in the portraits on display. In one hard-to-believe case (see Dead Man with Blinking Eye Monkey Mask) they may have actually propped up a recently deceased homeless man in a chair and packed him in blocks of ice in order to paint him for several days. This might explain the bluish tint that dominates the skin tone of that particular subject. The explanation of the lack of female subjects in this series of paintings, according to supporters of this line of reasoning explain this phenomenon in this way. Alfonzo Veneto, a devout catholic and dedicated husband, never got over the death of his wife in 1930. (He laments this loss frequently in his journal.) They believe he mourned her death for the rest of his life, and perhaps led him to the obsessive pursuits and extreme behavior that he theoretically undertook to make the creations he is purported to have made. In any case, the argument is that he would honor her memory by avoiding improper contact with any women, with the exception of his landlady, a handful of older Italian women from the neighborhood and church, his cousin Diviana, and, of course, his sister. Anna Maria, in fact, a kind and modern woman who had left the convent before sailing to America, had no such difficulty in working with the strapping laborers, boxers, recent immigrants, and others who would generally act as models for these paintings.

Possibly a self-portrait by Anna Maria Veneto. Could be a friend.

Art students, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, circa 1900

Dead man with Blinking Eye Monkey Mask, artist unknown or in dispute.

Whatever the case may be, either done by a variety of famous and anonymous artists over a long span of time, with a rich history of creation and exhibition, or done in secret, in shadowy basements and late-night studios, the paintings shown in the pages to follow are a celebration of the wild creativity, joyful abandon, and strange obsessions of a people, or an individual, whose view of life, daily activities, and unbelievable prolificacy can only be imagined. ‹ 123 ›

Elbridge Ayer Burbank and the Legacy of Pianista Portraits

Elbridge Ayer Burbank

The artist Elbridge Ayer Burbank (b. 1858) was renowned for his extraordinary output of portraits featuring members of Native American tribes throughout the West. Mostly completed between 1897 and 1910, over 1000 paintings and drawings are known to exist, documenting his obsessive dedication to the chronicling of those tribes and many of their famous leaders, such as Geronimo and Chief Red Cloud. Despite his successes, he suffered from a life-long paranoia that he would always live under the shadow of more well-known artists of the American West, like George Catlin and Charles Bird King. This led to continued financial troubles, a broken marriage, and recurring mental breakdowns.

Toward the end of his tenure on the teaching staff of the Chicago Academy of Design (now the Art Institute of Chicago) he was known to have created several small portraits of Pianista chiefs for his uncle, the business magnate and collector Edward E. Ayer. It is thought that he employed some of his students to execute many of these portraits. One of these students was a former nun and recent immigrant from Italy. She had come to Chicago to study painting and was currently staying with her brother, a docent at the Chicago Field Museum. Her name was Anna Maria Veneto.

Anna Maria Veneto

While the research is murky, it seems that Burbank and Miss Veneto struck up a relationship, both artistic and romantic. Between the two of them, they had reportedly created some fifty portraits, featuring figures in traditional Pianista costume and masks, in a variety of styles. It is not known which of the paintings on display here were made by which artist. Scholars are still sorting through recently discovered letters and photographs that may one day yield more information about these wonderful paintings. Left: Photograph of Burbank's western home; note the Pianista masks and other artifacts in the upper right Opposite: Red Haired Banchee, unknown paint on quarter-sawn Sitka spruce (piano sound board panel) Below: Burbank's signature. It was not found on any of the paintings in this exhibition and catalog

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Left: Reverse, Pianista Cabinet of Curiosities ("Empty") Above: Pianista Cabinet of Curiosities (Front) â&#x20AC;š 127 â&#x20AC;ş

Clockwise from above

Above: Goat Skull Death Mask Figure Facing page, clockwise from above: Red Haired Banchee (Musician), Wounded Key Mask Figure, Duck-Bill War-Mask Figure, Deadman with Blinking Monkey Mask,

e: Mask, Mask, Mask, Mask

Facing page, clockwise from above: Battle Ready Eyeball Warrior, Red Cloak Duck-God, Keeper of the Cosmos, Sun Bird Man Shaman Above: Duck Bill Profile Figure

Above: Mystery Figure with Annoyed Ancestor Mask ‹ 132 ›

Above: Warrior with All-Seeing Spider-Eye Mask (The Pugilist) ‹ 133 ›

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Facing page: Screeching Hawk Warrior Top: Photo Studio Card ("The Pianista") with Screeching Hawk Mask Mask, Bottom: Screeching Hawk ‹ 135 ›

Facing page: Key Mask Ghost Shaman

Above: Bird Warrior in Frame

Facing page: Pianista Elder With Felt Cloak ‹ 139 › Square Head, Radio Warrior Above, clockwise from top: Bull Devil, Mask, Duck-Bill

Above: Blood Rabbit Shaman ‹ 140 ›

Clockwise from above: Blood Rabbit Mask; Hand bill, date unknown; Framed Print, Page from American Heritage, April, 1955 Edition â&#x20AC;š 141 â&#x20AC;ş

Facing page: All-Seeing Owl Mask Figure Clockwise from above: Ant-Bull Mask Figure, Angry Tick Mask Man, Whirlwind Warrior

Facing page: Son of Square Halo (with Mace)

Above: Chattering Elk Mask Figure (with Mace)

Circling Elk with Half-Round Clock Frame

New-Born Shaman (in Trapezoid Frame) ‹ 147 ›

Facing page: Portrait of Nathaniel Greenville Above: Moon Mallard Ax Warrior, Mask Below: Blue Buddha

Top: Grackle Man etching Bottom: Grackle Man Mask Facing Page: Grackle Man

Clockwise from above: Mask, Mask, Mask, Mask

Clockwise from above: Bear Skin Square Halo Elder, Block Head Warrior, House Bird Man, Duck Bill Musician

Clockwise from above: Spinning World Shaman, Key Dog Mask figure, Shape Shifter, Whirlwind Mask figure

Bull Mask Pianjo Player

Hawk Mask Drummer

Above: Mandela Halo-Man Facing page: Detail, Pianista Mandala

Left: Mad Heron Man Above: Skull Mallard Warrior Facing page: Mad Heron Mask, Skull Mallard Mask

Left to right: Waterland Figure, Altered Headdress with ceremonial necklace, Waterland Figure with Felt Vest and Riverscape (One-Armed Mariner)

Above: Photo fragment said to be of Alfonzo Veneto Facing Page: Portrait of Alfonzo, by Anna Maria Veneto

Above: Pianista Princess Sideshow Banner, artist unknown

Above: Chickering Photography studio card of Alfonzo Veneto, date unknown Facing page: The Last of the Pianistas, attribution under evaluation

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Recently Discovered Masks ‹ 171 ›

Pianista Masks Recently Discovered in former Boston Piano Factory At the time of this writing, a large number of Pianista masks were uncovered in a store room at a former Chickering Piano factory in Boston, Massachusetts. The space was previously unknown, and was discovered by a local artist by chance while looking for parking near the rear entrance of the building. The building used to be surrounded by water where boats would deliver lumber to the piano factory from South America. It seems there was a second basement to the building that was partially filled in to protect it from the encroaching water. (Boston is a city built on wetlands, built up over the years with the aid of dams and infill.) The building, which is located in the historic South End, was built in 1853 and was once the largest building in North America except for the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. (It currently houses artist's studios, apartments, and the Piano Craft Gallery, which hosted the inaugural showing of the exhibit The Pianista Traveling Museum in May of 2018.

Jonas Chickering Artist’s rendering of John Mackay

The building was begun by the company’s founder, Jonas Chickering (born 1798). He had founded the company in 1823 with partner James Stewart until 1826, but then ran it alone until 1830, when he partnered with a businessman and wealthy sea-captain, named John Mackay (born 1775). According to letters found in the Harvard archives, both Chickering and Mackay had collections of Pianista masks and weapons, accumulated during their trips throughout America by land and sea. In fact, it seems Chickering developed a relationship with members of the Western Ohio Pianistas, and would supply them materials from his factory in order to create masks to be sold back East. Although the details remain unclear, it seems Chickering and Mackay neglected to honor an agreement with the craftsmen, taking a large number of artifacts without compensating them. This was in the Spring of 1841. Legend has it that one of the masks taken by Chickering and Mackay was cursed by one of the shamans, as retribution for the injustice. Obviously this is conjecture, but within a few months Mackay was lost at sea on a voyage to South America to get tropical hardwoods. And on the night of Dec. 9th. 1853, just prior to the completion of the new Chickering Factory building on Tremont Street, Jonas Chickering suffered a stroke and died suddenly. ‹ 172 ›

It may have been just a coincidence, as many events in history turn out to be. However, some Pianista devotees believe, the curse was real, and continues to this day. The mystery surrounding Chickeringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death may be an early example of the tragic result of cultural appropriation and unchecked disrespect of other cultures. The masks pictured on the following pages have recently been removed from the excavation site, cleaned and in some cases reconstructed after years of being buried in sand and rubble. That they survived at all is a miracle; the occurrence of their serendipitous discovery will help us to see further into the lives of these unique individuals. It underscores something that the Pianistas have taught us over the course of centuries: that the power of art cannot be underestimated.

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Ant-Bull Mask, before and after conservation efforts

Clockwise from above: Circling Hawk Mask, Tufted Ant-Bull Mask, Wood Duck Spirit Mask

Clockwise from above: Blind Bird Mask, Baby Elephant Spirit Mask, Annoyed Ancestor Replica

Clockwise from above: Jelly Fish Mask, Sleeping Spirit Mask, Chattering Duck Mask

Clockwise from above: Angry Tick Mask, Dust Rabbit Mask, Brass Bull Mask

Clockwise from above: Moon Mallard, Key Pronghorn, Radio Warrior, Raging Bull ‹ 178 ›

Clockwise from above: Smiling Grandfather Mask (“Burl Ives”), Whirlwind Warrior Mask ‹ 179 ›

Clockwise from above: Skull Mallard, One-Eyed Spirit, New Born Shaman, Mad Heron â&#x20AC;š 180 â&#x20AC;ş

Above: Headress Mask ‹ 181 ›

Catalog of Known Pianista Artifacts

Catalog of Known Pianista Objects (Including ephemera and historical documentation) While an accurate cataloging of all Pianista artifacts and related materials is an ongoing project due to new discoveries occurring almost weekly, the curatorial staff thought it important to index all known objects as of the date of the Exhibition. Many dates and whereabouts are unknown since a number of entries here include photographic images borrowed from various organizations, often without documentation. Here we note the date the artifact was added to the index, which began in 2004, and the collection if known. The catalog will be updated annually, with more information added and corrections made as new information comes to light. The Editor apologizes in advance for any mislabeling or misidentification, as some information arrived quite near the date of publication of this catalog.

Masks

006.

001.

007.

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Many-Eyed Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

002.

Mind Expansion Mask

Moving Eye Mask

008.

New Born Mask

009.

New Born Shaman Mask

Gold Skull Staff Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

010.

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

005

Screeching Hawk Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts McQuillan Collection

004.

Tooth Mask (formerly Spider Mask) Date: 2008 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

003.

Quiet Evil Twin Mask (Blockhead Jawbone)

Skull Mallard Mask Date: 2016 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

011.

Small Duck Fetish Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts

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012.

One-Eyed Spirit Mask

021.

Date: 2016 Materials: Piano parts

013.

Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Standing Mask

022.

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

014.

Whirlwind Mask

023.

Spinning World Mask

024.

Spirit Under Attack (aka Threatened Bird Spider Mask)

025.

Square Halo Mask

026.

027.

Son of Square Halo

Pianista Shaman’s Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Transformation Mask

028.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

020.

Panicked Mallard Mask Date: 2009 Materials: Piano parts Private Collectionts

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

019.

Long-Faced Ancestor Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 20104 Materials: Piano parts Collection of the Helen Temple Cooke Library, Wellesley, MA

018.

Kingfish Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2014 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

017.

Whirlwind Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

016.

Chattering Elk Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts

015.

Unknown Bird Mask

Mad Heron Mask Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts

028.

Large Tufted Mask

Large Shaman Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

‹ 185 ›

Masks, cont.

037.

029.

038.

All Seeing Owl Mask

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

030.

Annoyed Ansc

Banchee Mask

039.

Bellows Pianaccordion Mask

040.

Grandfather Spider Mask

041.

Bird Spirit Man (Decapitated)

042.

Blockhead Mask

043.

Blood Rabbit Mask

Nightmare Mask (Keeper of the Cosmos) Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

045.

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

036.

Circling Elk mask Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Collection of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Orlando, Florida

035.

Pianista object example Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

034.

Bat-Tongue Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

033

Duck-Bill Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

032.

Large Corner-Nose Mask Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

031.

Bloodthirsty Lion Mask

Spirit Under Attack Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

046.

Cosmos Mask Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

â&#x20AC;š 186 â&#x20AC;ş

047

Waterland Spirit Headdress

057.

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano parts

048.

Date: 2009 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Spider-Eye Mask

058.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

049.

Deer Dagger Mask

059.

Deer Spirit Mask

060

Dove Killer

061.

Dreaming Loon Mask

062.

Ceremonial Duck Staff Mask

063.

Large Shield Mask Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Great Barrington, MA

Ceremonial Duck-Bill Staff Mask

064.

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

056.

Grandfather Spider Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

055.

Grandfather Bull Mask Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

053.

Grackle Man Mask Date: 2016 Materials: Piano parts The Hays/Belliveau Collection

Date: 2016 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

052.

Goat Skull Death Mask Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Carmack Collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

051.

Nightmare Mask (Keeper of the Cosmos) Date: 2009 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

050.

Pianista object example

Pianista object example Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Maynard, MA

Elephant Club Mask (WereElephant Mask)

065.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Sleeping Spirit Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

â&#x20AC;š 187 â&#x20AC;ş

Masks, cont.

066.

Brass Bull Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

067.

Angry Tick Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

068.

Annoyed Ancestor Replica Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

069.

Chattering Duck Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

070.

Circling Hawk Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

071.

Headress Mask

075.

Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

076.

Whirlwind Warrior Mask

077.

Wood Duck Spirit Mask

078.

Baby Elephant Spirit Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Raging Bull Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

079.

Smiling Grandfather Mask (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Burl Ivesâ&#x20AC;?) Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

080.

Tufted Ant-Bull Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

081.

Dust Rabbit Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

082.

Chattering Duck Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

083.

Key Pronghorn Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

074.

Radio Warrior Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

073.

Moon Mallard Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

072.

Jelly Fish Mask

084.

Blind Bird Mask Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Ceremonial Objects and Jewelry

094.

085.

095.

Spiral Action Wall Staff

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2009 Materials: Piano parts

086.

Ceremonial Action Column

Pianista Ceremonial Bracelet (Pins)

096.

Pianista Ceremonial Bracelet (Actions)

097.

Pianista Ceremonial Bracelet (Hammers)

098.

Ceremonial Earrings (Keys)

099.

Ceremonial Earrings (Hammers)

100.

Ceremonial Necklace

Pianista Ceremonial Necklace Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Boulder, CO.

101.

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

093.

Ceremonial Dana Fans Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

092.

Dana Fans Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

091.

Dance Fans Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Long Island, NY

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

090.

Pianista Ceremonial Bracelet (Pins) Date: 2015 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

088.

Pianista Ceremonial Necklace Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

087.

Pianista Ceremonial Bracelet or Small Necklace

Prayer Wheel Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Boston, MA

102.

Pianista Ceremonial Object (diamond pianolarian) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

â&#x20AC;š 189 â&#x20AC;ş

Ceremonial Objects and Jewelry, con’t

Large Ceremonial Objects and Wall Sculpture

103.

111.

Pianista Ceremonial Spiral Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

104.

Date: 2010 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

Prayer Wheel

112.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Framingham, MA

105.

Prayer Wheel

113.

Ceremonial Necklace

114.

Pianista object example

115.

Pianista object example

116.

Date Size and Materials Whereabouts

Pianista Ceremonial Shield Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

Notes:

Pianista Pin Bracelet

117.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection,

110.

Pianista Split-Face Shield Mask Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Notes:

109.

Pianista Mandala Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date Whereabouts

108.

Pianista Shield Mask Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

107.

Great Monster from the Inland Sea Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

Date: 2016 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection, Keene, NY

106.

Birth of the Sun Shield/Mask

Pianista Sun Calendar Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts On loan, Arts Center, Framingham, MA

Ceremonial Tossing Balls

118.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Pianista Cell Net Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

‹ 190 ›

Musical Instruments

127.

119.

128.

Box Xylophone

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2003 Materials: Piano parts

120.

Ceremonial Finger Drum

Chimes

129.

130.

Pianolin Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Pianista object example Date Size and Materials Whereabouts Notes:

123.

Tuning Pin Chimes Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2003 Materials: Piano parts

122.

Spirit Frightener (Boom Box) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2003 Materials: Piano parts

121.

Spiked Wood Lute (The Porcupine)

Pianista object example

Toys and Games 131

Date Size and Materials Whereabouts

Pianista Checker Set Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

Notes:

124.

Long Bow Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

125.

Pianodolin

Ceremonial Costumes 132.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts

126.

Pianjo

Pianista Princess Neck Decoration Date: 2018 Materials: Piano parts

133. Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts

Pianista Princess Felt Hammer Dress Date: 2018 Materials: Piano parts

â&#x20AC;š 191 â&#x20AC;ş

Standing Figures and Large Sculptures, Found Remains

142.

134.

143.

Date: 2017 Materials: Carved Wood (piano frame)

Bird Spirit Man Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Collection of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Hollywood, CA location

135.

Waterland Spirit Headdress

144.

Bird Warrior Remains (aka Bird Man)

145.

Burning Bird Man

Pianista Traveling Museum Show Wagon and Cabinets of Curiosity

Standing Figure in Ceremonial Costume

146.

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts Collection of Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Orlando, FL

139.

Standing Figure (Waterland Spirit)

147.

Black Pianista Cabinet of Curiosities Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Music of the Spheres

148.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

141.

Pianista Traveling Museum Show Wagon Date: 2018 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

140.

Bird Warrior Hand Remains Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

138.

Bird Warrior Iron Skull Date: 2017 Materials: Cast iron (piano harp)

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

137.

Ivory Key Mosaic Skull Date: 2017 Materials: Carved Wood (piano frame), ivory

Date: 2016 Materials: Piano parts

136.

Carved Skull

Pianista Cabinet of Curiosities (Egg Cabinet) Date: 2017 Materials: Piano parts

Pianista Sun Goddess Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

â&#x20AC;š 192 â&#x20AC;ş

Weapons, Ceremonial Staffs, Tools and Utensils

157.

149.

158.

Battle-Axe Mandolin

Small Convincing Stick Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Dowsing / Jabbing Staff

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

150.

Battle Hammer

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

159.

Shaman's Staff

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

151.

Battle Scythe

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

160.

Ceremonial Staff (steel handle)

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

152.

Large Battle Axe

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

161.

Ceremonial Staff

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

153.

Pianista Throwing Mace

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

162.

Battle Spear

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

154.

Pianista Ceremonial Shield

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

163.

Battle Mallets

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

155.

Small Convincing Stick

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

164.

Pianista Bow and Arrows

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano parts

156.

Gathering Prod

Date: 20012 Materials: Piano parts

165.

Long Bow Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

â&#x20AC;š 193 â&#x20AC;ş

Weapons, Ceremonial Staffs, Tools and Utensils, cont.

174.

166.

175.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private collection

Old Battle Axe Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

167.

Large Shield Mask

176.

Shaman's Divining Fork

177.

Spiked Clapper

178.

Talking Stick

179.

Talking Stick (replica)

180.

Spiked Frightening Wheel Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private collection

Talking Stick (red replica) Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

173.

Plate and Utensils Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private collection

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

172.

Box of Tools Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private collection

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

171.

Ceremonial Bowl Date: 2004 Materials: Sheet music, glue Private collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection:

170.

Pianista War Club (curved head replica) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private collection

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts

169.

Pianista War Club (replica) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Private collection

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

168.

Pianista War Club

Tom-O-Hawk Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

â&#x20AC;š 194 â&#x20AC;ş

Ceremonial Structures and Vehicles

Special Ceremonial Objects

181.

189.

Pianista Eastern Woodland Observatorium

Sweatbox Dancer

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Collection of The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, Orlando, FL

182.

Pianista Junk Wagon

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts Carmack Collection

190.

Troubled Buddha

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

183.

Pianista Mountain Observatorium

Date: 20011 Materials: Piano parts

191.

Clockwork Ceremony Mask

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts No longer extant

184.

Pianista Observatorium

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts

192.

Grave Guardian

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano parts Location variable

185.

Pianista War Canoe (Photogravure reprint)

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts

193.

Key Ray

Date: 2012 Materials: Non-archival print

186.

Pianista War Canoe

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

194.

Nervous Machine

Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

187.

Pianista Eastern Observatorium

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano parts Private Collection

195.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano parts Location variable

188.

Pianista Shaman's Cart / Piano Elixir Wagon

Object # 1 Date: 2003 Materials: Piano parts

196.

Snake Mask Date: 2012 Materials: Piano parts

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano parts

â&#x20AC;š 195 â&#x20AC;ş

Small Figurines and Larger Animals

205.

197.

206.

Dancing Bird Figure (Stage Box) Date: 2006 Materials: Piano Parts

Standing Pianolarian

Duck

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

198.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano Parts

Insectum Pianistum

207.

Eagle Regurgitating the Universe (Origin Story)

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

199.

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano Parts

Insectum Pianistum2

208.

Hawk Totem

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

200.

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano Parts

Fish Trap Fish

209.

Holy Man

Date: 2007 Materials: Piano Parts

201.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano Parts

Miss "B" The Incredible Dancing Bird

210.

Horse-Headed Chicken

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano Parts

202.

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano Parts

Ain't Miss "B" Heaven (Newsreel)

211.

Witch

Date: 2004 Materials: Newsreal film

203.

Date: 2008 Materials: Piano Parts

Miss "B" charred remains

212.

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano Parts

204.

Pagan Date: 2004 Materials: Piano Parts

Dancing Bird Figure Date: 2005 Materials: Piano Parts

â&#x20AC;š 196 â&#x20AC;ş

Books, Curios, Photographs, and Other Ephemera

221ph. Studio photograph of Alfonzo Veneto

213.

222.ph Veneto family in Italy

Date: 2011 Materials: Found photo studio card

Ain't Miss "B" Heaven by the Birddog Five Date: 2004 Materials: Photograph record

214.

Date: 2018 Materials: Photo

Book Pages

223ph. Alfonzo and Karina Veneto

Date: 2004 Materials: Non-archival print

215.

Date: 2015 Materials: Photograph

Song of the Pianista, First and Second Edition

224ph. Guisseppi Veneto photography studio card

Date: 2004 Materials: Piano part box, books Collection Helen Temple Cooke Library, Wellesley, MA

216.

Date: 2011 Materials: Found photo studio card

Piano collage

225ph. Antonio Veneto photography studio card

Date: 2004 Materials: Photos, plastic sheet

217.

Date: 2011 Materials: Found photo studio card

Song of the Pianista

226ph. Giovanni Veneto photography studio card

Date: 2004 Materials: Hand-made book

218.

Date: 2011 Materials: Found photo studio card

Holy Man with Square Halo Mask

227ph. Damiano Veneto photography studio card

Date: 2006 Materials: Photograph

219.

Date: 2011 Materials: Found photo studio card

Moving Eye Shaman with Staff

228ph. Anna Maria Veneto Laviolette

Date: 2004 Materials: Photograph

220.

Date: 2011 Materials: Found photo studio card

Hawk Totem Studio Card

229.

Date: 2007 Materials: Postcard

Veneto parts cabinet Date: 2011 Materials: Piano wood case, full of parts

â&#x20AC;š 197 â&#x20AC;ş

Paintings, Sketches, and Prints

238.

230.

239.

All-Seeing Spider-Eye Mask (The Pugilist)

Date: 2015 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2016 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

231.

Battle Ready Eyeball Warrior

Deadman with Blinking Monkey Eye Mask

240.

Duck-Bill War-Club Mask

241.

Pianista object example

242.

Ink drawing of Cosmos Mask

243.

Ink drawing of Square Halo Mask

244.

Ink drawing of ceremonial object

Red Cloak Duck God Date: 2015 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

245.

Date: 2008 Materials: Ink on paper

237.

Wounded Key Mask Shaman Date: 2015 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2008 Materials: Ink on paper

236.

Mystery Figure with Annoyed Ancestor Mask Date: 2016 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

235.

The Last of the Pianistas Date: 2012 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel, cast iron frame

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

234.

King Fish Holy Man Date: 2017 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

233.

Keeper of the Cosmos (Nightmare Mask) Date: 2015 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

232.

Goat Skull Death Mask Figure

Red-Nosed Deer Mask Figure (aka Chattering Elk) Date: 2016 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

246.

Red-Haired Banshee Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2008 Materials: Ink on paper

â&#x20AC;š 198 â&#x20AC;ş

247.

Circling Elk with Mantle Clock Frame

256.

Blue Buddha

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel, motor, and Baby Grand panel frame

248.

Screeching Hawk Warrior (detail)

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

257.

Duck Bill Musician

Date: 2013 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

249.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Screeching Hawk Warrior (with mask)

258.

Hawk Mask Drummer

Date: 2013 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

250.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Son of Square Halo

259.

House Bird Mask Figure

Date: 2016 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel, piano wood frame, with wood and steel pin mace

251.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Sun Bird Man Shaman (aka Bird Spirit Man)

260.

Key Dog Mask figure

Date: 2016 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

252.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

All-Seeing Owl Mask Figure

261.

Spinning World Shaman

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

253.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Bear Skin Square Halo Figure

262.

Whirlwind mask figure

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

254.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Block Head Warrior

263.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

255.

Bull Devil Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Blood Rabbit Shaman

264.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Bull Mask Pianjo Player Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

â&#x20AC;š 199 â&#x20AC;ş

Paintings, Sketches, and Prints, cont.

273.

265.

274.

Date: 2017 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Duck Bill Square Head Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

266.

Key Mask Shaman

275.

Moon Mallard Ax Warrior

276.

Pianista Elder With Felt Cloak

277.

Radio Warrior

278.

Shape Shifter Mask Figure

279.

Reverse, Pianista Cabinet of Curiosities ("Empty") Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Storyteller Figure

280.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

272.

Pianista Cabinet of Curiosities (Painting) Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

271.

Bull-Goat Man Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

270.

Blood Rabbit Print (Framed) Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

269.

Bird Warrior in Frame Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

268.

New-Born Shaman (Trapezoid Frame) Date: 2017 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

267.

Waterland Headress Figure (Painting)

Portrait of Nathaniel Greenville Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel, decorative hardware frame

Tick Mask Man

281.

Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on piano wood panel

Pianista Princess Banner Date: 2018 Materials: Acrylic on theatre backdrop

â&#x20AC;š 200 â&#x20AC;ş

Forgeries and Disputed Objects

290f.

282f.

291f.

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Untitled (Wheel Pianolarian) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

283f.

Untitled (Three Pianolarians)

292f.

Untitled (Ceremonial Staff)

293f.

Untitled (Cautious Elephant Mask)

294f.

Untitled (Spiked Knuckles)

295f.

Untitled (Key Fan)

296f.

Untitled (Spiked Shield) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Untitled (Wall Fan Headress) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

289f.

Untitled (Headress) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

288f.

Untitled (Eagle Wing Skeleton) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

287f.

Untitled (Pianista Banjo) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

286f.

Untitled (Ceremonial Objects) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

285f.

Untitled (Jewelry) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

284f.

Untitled (Square Circle shield)

Untitled (Sad Mask) Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

â&#x20AC;š 201 â&#x20AC;ş

Recently Discovered, Rediscovered, or difficult to Catalog 297.

Standing Object Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

298.

Love Catcher Date: 2010 Materials: Piano Parts

299.

Inverted Bowl Pianolarian Date: 2017 Materials: Piano Parts

300.

Musical Bow Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

301.

Wire Fish Trap Date: 2011 Materials: Piano Parts

302.

Standing Object Date: 2017 Materials: Piano Parts

303.

Pianiolarians Date: 2008-2018 Materials: Piano parts Number in the hundreds, some no longer exist

â&#x20AC;š 202 â&#x20AC;ş

Epilogue It’s not known where these new discoveries may lead. At the time of this writing, research continues at several Pianista Study Centers at universities across the country; at least two major position papers are being written at major institutions by separate research teams, defending opposing viewpoints about the history of the Pianista culture; Alfonzo Veneto’s journal has just been released to the public; and “definitive” articles are said to be coming out in Smithsonian Magazine and Anthropology Today in the near future. Whether or not any of these new twists in the saga of the Pianistas turn out to be true, it is just another example of the complexity of a people and a phenomenon that remains full of wonder. The Pianistas were known for loving questions more than answers. The search for truth was more important than the discovery. In that spirit we can all look within ourselves, and out at the world, and wonder.

‹ 204 ›

All there is to know in this world cannot be known; things of beauty and confusion are what make us most alive. May the music of mystery follow you like a hungry dog..

~ traditional Pianista farewell

â&#x20AC;š 205 â&#x20AC;ş

‹ 206 ›

About the Curator and Editor

Michael Frassinelli is a sculptor, occasional musician and documentary filmmaker, art educator, collector and archivist, and the foremost authority on the culture of the mysterious people known as the Pianistas. Since 2003, he has been researching the history of this overlooked and misunderstood people, excavating and recreating artifacts, documenting anecdotal evidence and compiling various writings from a variety of sources. He is currently working on a full-length film documentary on the subject, as well as an updated and expanded hardcover edition of this catalog, as well as preparing for copyright infringement and intellectual property lawsuits. Requests for information about upcoming events or acquiring artworks/artifacts can be sent to: michaelfrassinelli.artist@gmail.com More information can be found on the Pianistas and other artworks at: www.michaelfrassinelli.com Copyright © 2018 Vertical Piano Press Printed in the USA

‹ 207 ›