In the days before “politically correct”, nicknames could be caustic and descriptive. It was a time of no generation gap, few cars, and public transportation was always available. Even hitchhiking was safe. The men hung at the neighborhood poolrooms or bars, and sat on the bench out front.
A man with serious arthritic problems, who walked awkwardly, was “Quack”. A mute was “the dummy” - if you shot pool with him, you would soon learn he was very smart. A good windup boxer was Eugene “Dummy” Hairison. When things got “correct” he became Eugene”Silent” Hairison. A man with an amputated arm below the elbow became “Wingy”.
A man with serious arthritic problems, who walked awkwardly, was “Quack”. A mute was “the dummy” - if you shot pool with him, you would soon learn he was very smart. A good windup boxer was Eugene “Dummy” Hairison. When things got “correct” he became Eugene”Silent” Hairison. A man with an amputated arm below the elbow became “Wingy”.
04/07: MO KNOWS - ACTORS AS ARTISTS
Actors often have time between ‘”gigs” to involve themselves in other art forms. Acting is an interpretive art, dependent on writers, directors, producers and publicists. Painting and sculpture are arts of sole creation, no collaboration, no committees, no meetings - the painter is writer, producer and director all in one, and often their real personalities emerge.
John and Lionel Barrymore were both good draftsmen and always drew. John loved paintings and visited museums wherever he performed. In his biography of John Barrymore “Good Night Sweet Prince”, his friend Gene Fowler wrote that John’s last words were describing his favorite paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Lionel started out in the theatre as a scenery designer, but it was easy for them both to succumb to the family trade of acting.
John and Lionel Barrymore were both good draftsmen and always drew. John loved paintings and visited museums wherever he performed. In his biography of John Barrymore “Good Night Sweet Prince”, his friend Gene Fowler wrote that John’s last words were describing his favorite paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Lionel started out in the theatre as a scenery designer, but it was easy for them both to succumb to the family trade of acting.
02/07: Mo Knows - Cresson
Cresson
In 1961 nine Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts students were awarded Cresson Traveling Scholarships. The awards are made by the Board of Directors. To compete, the student must have an aggregate of 96 Academy school weeks to their credit. All competitors are unrestricted as to the amount and variety of work, provided they do not exceed the space allotted to them. They must account for at least 90 days in Europe and file a report to the Curator by the first day of November. Winners were announced in April, and since the award did not provide for my wife Bette’s transportation, my brother Jules gave us the money for her fare. We had a family party on the Queen Elizabeth before we set out in May.
From April until May I went to the library and wrote my complete report, so that we could have more freedom in Europe.
After a week of fun on this great ship we landed in Le Havre. After bargaining with a half dozen cab drivers, we got a fair deal on a ride to Paris, and found a reasonable hotel. There was only one bathroom at the end of the hall, but every room had a bidet (two young male fellow classmates didn’t know what it was. One used it for a urinal, the other for a foot bath, and he ended up with an infected toe). Bette was tired, so while she rested, I went to the Louvre. There I met a favorite artist at that time, Moses Soyer. We toured together, and it was a memorable art lesson, a seasoned educated artist and an eager student.
In 1961 nine Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts students were awarded Cresson Traveling Scholarships. The awards are made by the Board of Directors. To compete, the student must have an aggregate of 96 Academy school weeks to their credit. All competitors are unrestricted as to the amount and variety of work, provided they do not exceed the space allotted to them. They must account for at least 90 days in Europe and file a report to the Curator by the first day of November. Winners were announced in April, and since the award did not provide for my wife Bette’s transportation, my brother Jules gave us the money for her fare. We had a family party on the Queen Elizabeth before we set out in May.
From April until May I went to the library and wrote my complete report, so that we could have more freedom in Europe.
After a week of fun on this great ship we landed in Le Havre. After bargaining with a half dozen cab drivers, we got a fair deal on a ride to Paris, and found a reasonable hotel. There was only one bathroom at the end of the hall, but every room had a bidet (two young male fellow classmates didn’t know what it was. One used it for a urinal, the other for a foot bath, and he ended up with an infected toe). Bette was tired, so while she rested, I went to the Louvre. There I met a favorite artist at that time, Moses Soyer. We toured together, and it was a memorable art lesson, a seasoned educated artist and an eager student.
02/07: Mo Knows - The Boxer
MO KNOWS - THE BOXER
From kindergarten to the seventh grade I was a skinny, shy boy who would cry if someone teased or scolded me.
In 1940 my older brother “Jumbo” (6’4”, maybe 190 pounds) was drafted into the Army. While in basic training he joined the boxing team, and when he came home on furlough that June, he had two pairs of boxing gloves in his duffle bag. He gave them to me and taught me to box - how to throw punches with your weight behind them; the jab, the cross, the hook, and how if right handed a half step to the left at the end of a punch had the most power. I could deliver this punch.
That summer I grew more than 4 inches and gained 30 pounds. The “cry baby” became the toughest guy in school. That reputation continued through high school.
From kindergarten to the seventh grade I was a skinny, shy boy who would cry if someone teased or scolded me.
In 1940 my older brother “Jumbo” (6’4”, maybe 190 pounds) was drafted into the Army. While in basic training he joined the boxing team, and when he came home on furlough that June, he had two pairs of boxing gloves in his duffle bag. He gave them to me and taught me to box - how to throw punches with your weight behind them; the jab, the cross, the hook, and how if right handed a half step to the left at the end of a punch had the most power. I could deliver this punch.
That summer I grew more than 4 inches and gained 30 pounds. The “cry baby” became the toughest guy in school. That reputation continued through high school.
06/11: MO KNOWS
Many painters have written specifically on the subject of painting in one form or another – in journals, treatises, notebooks, and letters, to name just a few. One question is the correlation between art works and words. An answer is provided by Sir Joshua Reynolds in his discourse to the students at the Royal Academy on December 10, 1772. He said “Be as select in those whom you endeavour to please, as in those whom you endeavour to imitate … It is certain that the lowest style will be the most popular, as it falls within the compass of ignorance itself: and the vulgar will always be pleased with what is natural, in the confined and misunderstood sense of the word…”.
Through the years I have read quotes from many artists that I have admired. Here are a few of the ones in which I could make a connection between words and work.
“May I repeat what I told you here: treat nature in terms of the cylinder, the sphere, the cone, everything in proper perspective so that each side of an object or a plane is directed towards a central point. Lines parallel to the horizon give breath, that is a section of nature, or if you prefer, of the spectacle that the Pater Omnipotens Aeterne Deus spreads out before our eyes. Lines perpendicular to this horizon give depth. But nature for us men is more depth than surface, whence the need of introducing into our light vibrations represented by reds and yellows, and a sufficient amount of blue to give the impression of air” - Paul Cezanne.
Through the years I have read quotes from many artists that I have admired. Here are a few of the ones in which I could make a connection between words and work.
“May I repeat what I told you here: treat nature in terms of the cylinder, the sphere, the cone, everything in proper perspective so that each side of an object or a plane is directed towards a central point. Lines parallel to the horizon give breath, that is a section of nature, or if you prefer, of the spectacle that the Pater Omnipotens Aeterne Deus spreads out before our eyes. Lines perpendicular to this horizon give depth. But nature for us men is more depth than surface, whence the need of introducing into our light vibrations represented by reds and yellows, and a sufficient amount of blue to give the impression of air” - Paul Cezanne.
04/09: Mo Knows - Music and Art
MUSIC AND ART
In the Paleolithic age, bony materials were used for artistic expression - ivory, bone and antlers became awls, spears, daggers, smoothers, scissors, etc. Later came eyed needles and barbed harpoons; in addition, paintings done with mineral colors were used to decorate caves.
A flute 18.7 centimeter long, carved from a mammoths ivory, with three finger holes, was found in a cave in southern Germany. Later two other flutes made of swan bones were found, thought to be between 30,000 and 37,000 years old; other flutes were found in Ireland made of yew wood, dated between 2120 B.C. and 2085 B.C.
Other wooden instruments, all made of yew wood, were found in Ireland, it is still unclear how these curved pipes were played in 400 B.C., but they may have been the precursor to the ancient pipe organ. Experiments indicate that the pipes generate the notes E flat, A flat , F natural. The mystery of the creation of hollow pipes has not yet been established.
In the Paleolithic age, bony materials were used for artistic expression - ivory, bone and antlers became awls, spears, daggers, smoothers, scissors, etc. Later came eyed needles and barbed harpoons; in addition, paintings done with mineral colors were used to decorate caves.
A flute 18.7 centimeter long, carved from a mammoths ivory, with three finger holes, was found in a cave in southern Germany. Later two other flutes made of swan bones were found, thought to be between 30,000 and 37,000 years old; other flutes were found in Ireland made of yew wood, dated between 2120 B.C. and 2085 B.C.
Other wooden instruments, all made of yew wood, were found in Ireland, it is still unclear how these curved pipes were played in 400 B.C., but they may have been the precursor to the ancient pipe organ. Experiments indicate that the pipes generate the notes E flat, A flat , F natural. The mystery of the creation of hollow pipes has not yet been established.
22/04: MO KNOWS ~ A GOOD DRUNK
The best drunks are late at night, alone. Smalltown U.S.A. has closed down, night’s quiet silence. I go to my basement studio with a fifth of scotch, pitcher of water; bowl of ice cubes. I drink Dewars, years ago I worked with a green card Scotsman. The mild scotches were popular at that time, the scotch bricklayer preferred Dewers “’tis a workin’ man’s scotch”. I like to think of myself as a workingman.
May 1954, discharged from the army, 25 years old, married to my high school sweetheart, a union bricklayer. But I had the GI bill funding - an education. The dream was to attend the Arts Students’ League. Elizabeth, my wife, and I decided to spend a few weeks with brother Lee in Greenwich Village, to “feel out” the situation, a great memory and experience.
The young Villagers were different than the friends we were accustomed to; teens and some slightly older were discussing Dostoyevsky, contemporary English literature, existentialism, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and reciting E. E. Cummings, Ginsberg and Ezra Pound’s cantos.
The everyday conversations were a cultural happening, currently and in history. We were a little out of place, but we had our moments. Fellin’s was a favorite restaurant. The waiter was a retired actor with a thousand facial expressions. Fellin’s was a family style trattoria. I remember Raphael and Moses Soyer sitting at our table. (Years later I toured the Louvre with Moses Soyer.) Fellin’s made the best pesto sauce in the world. The Village had every authentic ethnic restaurant anyone could ever imagine; we explored and enjoyed many, and what a pleasure to relax in the coffee shops.
Elizabeth did not feel comfortable in the Village. So we inquired about art schools in Philadelphia. After a discussion with Mr. Jack Bookbinder, we decided on the Pennsylvania Academy.
At that time the artwork being done in the Village was too advanced for me to comprehend, although the artists I met there convinced me to become a painter. Especially Lawrence Woodman; this old man was overweight, probably not in the best of health but never uttered a complaint, only enthusiasm and youthful thoughts. If being an artist will do that that for me “gimmee”.
Every Bohemia is also a small town. Greenwich Village was a habitation as art setting and distraction for an artist who wished to begin with himself, its aesthetic creation was a far stretch for one who associated art with subject matter. It took many years of battling to understand art; for me to appreciate those years of being exposed this significant aesthetic affirmation of America: Greenwich Village, 1950,s and the Galleria Pierino.
The young Villagers were different than the friends we were accustomed to; teens and some slightly older were discussing Dostoyevsky, contemporary English literature, existentialism, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and reciting E. E. Cummings, Ginsberg and Ezra Pound’s cantos.
The everyday conversations were a cultural happening, currently and in history. We were a little out of place, but we had our moments. Fellin’s was a favorite restaurant. The waiter was a retired actor with a thousand facial expressions. Fellin’s was a family style trattoria. I remember Raphael and Moses Soyer sitting at our table. (Years later I toured the Louvre with Moses Soyer.) Fellin’s made the best pesto sauce in the world. The Village had every authentic ethnic restaurant anyone could ever imagine; we explored and enjoyed many, and what a pleasure to relax in the coffee shops.
Elizabeth did not feel comfortable in the Village. So we inquired about art schools in Philadelphia. After a discussion with Mr. Jack Bookbinder, we decided on the Pennsylvania Academy.
At that time the artwork being done in the Village was too advanced for me to comprehend, although the artists I met there convinced me to become a painter. Especially Lawrence Woodman; this old man was overweight, probably not in the best of health but never uttered a complaint, only enthusiasm and youthful thoughts. If being an artist will do that that for me “gimmee”.
Every Bohemia is also a small town. Greenwich Village was a habitation as art setting and distraction for an artist who wished to begin with himself, its aesthetic creation was a far stretch for one who associated art with subject matter. It took many years of battling to understand art; for me to appreciate those years of being exposed this significant aesthetic affirmation of America: Greenwich Village, 1950,s and the Galleria Pierino.
Galleria Pierino, Part 2
Galleria Pierino was located below street level. It had an iron fence in front, and children loved the sound their schoolbooks or sticks made when they were run along the fence. The Galleria became a sanctuary for young people to make music, mingle and perform.
They had originally gathered in Washington Square, but since the N.Y.P.D. hassled them, they sought a new place to avoid the police. the Galleria welcomed them, and it became their hideout.
Up the street was the Stonewall Inn, a gay hangout. Battles often occurred between macho men, homosexuals and cops. The result was known as the “Stonewall Riots”. It got so bad the cops finally backed off.
Young musicians played and sang folk songs every night. One of the performers was Mary Travers, who later joined Peter and Paul. I saw many of the young actors on live T.V. (Playhouse 90 and Studio One).
Galleria Pierino was located below street level. It had an iron fence in front, and children loved the sound their schoolbooks or sticks made when they were run along the fence. The Galleria became a sanctuary for young people to make music, mingle and perform.
They had originally gathered in Washington Square, but since the N.Y.P.D. hassled them, they sought a new place to avoid the police. the Galleria welcomed them, and it became their hideout.
Up the street was the Stonewall Inn, a gay hangout. Battles often occurred between macho men, homosexuals and cops. The result was known as the “Stonewall Riots”. It got so bad the cops finally backed off.
Young musicians played and sang folk songs every night. One of the performers was Mary Travers, who later joined Peter and Paul. I saw many of the young actors on live T.V. (Playhouse 90 and Studio One).
Choosing a place to live has always been a problem for the American artist. Where in this country can one live an “artists life style“? The American impressionists formed an art colony in Cos Cob, Greenwich, Connecticut, from 1890 to1920, and it was what Argenteuil was to the French impressionists in the 1870’s.
There was the left bank in Montparnasse; artist haunts in Venice and Amsterdam and there was, of course, Greenwich Village in NYC. The new American “abstract” art, the first art to appear here without a foreign return address constituted, interestingly enough, the first movements in the United States in which immigrants and the children of immigrants have been leaders in creating and disseminating a style: Gorky, DeKooning, Hofmann, Rothko, Baziotes, Marca- Relli, Tworkov, DeNiro, Stamos, Cavallon, Marisol. This movement in American art applies also to native settlers from the far west - Pollock, Motherwell, Still, Farren; and other sections - Tomlin, Kline, Smith, Green, Mitchell, Elaine De Kooning, Hartigan, and Roy Parker are some of those who have figured in the New York movement.
There was the left bank in Montparnasse; artist haunts in Venice and Amsterdam and there was, of course, Greenwich Village in NYC. The new American “abstract” art, the first art to appear here without a foreign return address constituted, interestingly enough, the first movements in the United States in which immigrants and the children of immigrants have been leaders in creating and disseminating a style: Gorky, DeKooning, Hofmann, Rothko, Baziotes, Marca- Relli, Tworkov, DeNiro, Stamos, Cavallon, Marisol. This movement in American art applies also to native settlers from the far west - Pollock, Motherwell, Still, Farren; and other sections - Tomlin, Kline, Smith, Green, Mitchell, Elaine De Kooning, Hartigan, and Roy Parker are some of those who have figured in the New York movement.
