THE IMPORTANCE OF

Robin and Summer have been visiting since Friday and on Saturday morning, I lured them to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum with the curent Monet exhibit. The ticket entry for the Evelyn Hofer exhibit includes the Monet exhibit. So I sort of lured them there under false pretenses because the Evelyn Hofer exhibit was the thing I wanted to see the most. I mean, I love Monet and he’s one of my favorite French Impressionists, but if you’ve seen one (or three all displayed together) waterlilies painting a handful of times, you probably are not impressed to see it again.

But Evelyn Hofer?

My brain was on fire with thoughts and words as I studied each and every one of the photographs in this exhibit. Evleyn Hofer is best know for a series of travel books published between 1959 and 1967. I would consider her to be one of the best and most unheard of photographer (male or female). Borne in Hamburg Germany, she and her family moved to Geneva to escape the Nazis and then later to Madrid. While in Madrid, Evelyn started taking photography lessons. It was never a thought that she would be able to do photography professionally. Her parents encouraged photography as a hobby for her until she found a suitable husband. When Franco came to power, the family moved to Mexico City and this is where she started working as a professional photographer. She moved to New York City in her twenties and began working as a photographer for Harper’s Bizarre. Later on she would collaborate with Mary McCarthy on The Stones of Florence, which led to other book collaborations.

The whole time I was studying Evelyn Hofer’s work I could not stop thinking about the Rule of Thirds. This photography rule is easier to show than it is to describe, so I’ll just link the definition. Evelyn Hofer astringently sticks to the Rule of Thirds. So much so that sometimes the people in the photograph are themselves arranged as the Rule of Thirds. Picture after picture, your eyes are drawn to the object at the bottom left of the picture or the bottom right. Until suddenly you find yourself standing in front of a photo that places the subject of interest smack in the middle. It is a complete breaking of the rule and it forces you to stop and confront the image before you in the most direct way.

And this is what I loved the most.

Evelyn Hofer breaks the rules. It almost feels like when she’s breaking the rule of thirds, she is doing it as a protest to all of the rules. The rules of photography and even more so, the societal rules placed on women. Photography was going to be the nice little hobby she’d do until she was matched up with a suitable man. She did marry but in all of the articles and wikipedia pages about this photographer, the most that is ever mentioned about her husband or marriage is for when she took pictures in Spain for The Presence of Spain, written by James Morris. “She traveled to Spain with her husband.” That’s it. He was part of her personal life in a way that keeps him separated from her artistic life, a trait in men almost unheard of at that time and breaking yet another rule of relationship normatives.

You have traveled a long way. We have been serving the traveler since 1835. What kind of host would I be not to offer you a seat at my humble table? I will treat you, my friend, with the finest snails, a block of Manchego, and a basket of bread. Wait, and there will be another seat and an extra glass for the wine. I only ask one thing of you. Tell me where you come from and where you go and if someone waits for you.

-Jose Faus, poet imaging the voice for The Proprietor of “Caracoles” Barcelona, 1963

I want see my art as an offering to my humble table where I invite you to sit and enjoy the good food and drink. In return for a seat at this table, I only ask for you tell me your own story, to share something of your own art. It is through this shared art experience that we can learn to understand one another, how the lives we have lived and are living shape the art we create. I let my Nelson membership sit expired for months and months this year. It wasn’t until I saw the announcements for this exhibit that I finally renewed it. As I walked through this photography exhibit and then on through the Block Building, I noticed so many new and poignant pieces of art that had been added since the last time I’d been into the museum. It reminded me why my art membership is so important. I left with a clear vision of how to display my photos for the next showing (that’s happening in March of next year) and I left inspired and moved by the new (to me) artists on display.

DOING ALL OF THE THINGS

We toured Elmwood Cemetery on Sunday. This is one of the pics taken with my Nikon.

8 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "We toured Elmwood Cemetery on Sunday. This is one of the pics taken with my Nikon."

Robin and Summer were in town over the weekend. They actually came into town Thursday evening. So I took Friday off to run around town with the two of them. We were moving around slowely Friday morning and I opened my email to discover that Margaret and Philip were also in town. They wanted to know if I could meet them for lunch. I told them we'd all meet them for lunch! It was one of those nice surprises where the Universe aligns the planets in a unique way and we were all together again. For those of you who don't know, I worked for Margaret. Robin worked for Philip. Our labs were right next to each other and there was lots of collaborating and scientific shenanigans. These people are my scientific family. We all squeezed into my car and I drove us to the Nelson. We ate lunch in the cafe, which is in a very loud courtyard and we ended up yelling our conversation to each other. Afterward, we all tooled around the museum. Then I got Margaret and Philip tickets to the Picasso exhibit and we parted ways. It was nice.

I then showed Robin and Summer my favorite things at the Nelson. They still have the Dorothea Lange photography exhibit up, which is my most favorite exhibit. It's a display of her (and few other photographers) photographs taken during the Great Depression, when she was a photojournalist for the Farm Security Administration. Her images and the notes she took for each one not only gives us a history of that time, but tells the stories of people displaced by a dust bowl and job loss. Deep personal stories. You can see the stress and hardships etched into the lines of all the faces, even the children. I am fascinated by her images as much as I am fascinated that we had a government who hired photographers to document our history. There was a time we intentionally hired artists to tell our stories. The images she captured of that time are equally beautiful and sorrowful. You can feel the grit of the dirt blowing in the air. Dorothea Lange is the kind of photographer that inspires me. She was the first woman to be awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. 

After dragging the girls around the Nelson, we spent the rest of our time together eating and drinking and talking and laughing. Michael and I introduced them to IKEA. We ate famous Kansas City BBQ. It was a much needed visit and I am so happy they came up to see us. I spent the Sunday after they left, moping around a cemetery with the boys. One of our friends, Tom, is involved with the historic society in some way. He took us all on a tour of two historic cemeteries in Kansas City. The first one we went to was Elmwood Cemetery, which is on the list of National Registry of Historic Places. It was designed by George Kessler, the same architect behind many of our parks and boulevards. Many of Kansas City's founders are buried in this cemetery and it is filled with beautiful headstones and mausoleums. We traipsed around the cemetery while Tom pointed out note worthy graves and told us the history around this person and that. I learned that guys who founded Cheeze-its and Post-it notes are from Kansas City and are buried in this cemetery. 

I took my fancy pants camera with me for the tour partly out of being inspired by the  Dorothea Lange exhibit, but also in hopes of just spending some time with that camera. I didn't really expect much out of the shots I was taking mostly because the day was gray and overcast. I assumed that I would end up turning everything into black and white images. At one point, while switching back and forth between the fancy pants camera and my phone camera, Wilson (I know a guy named Wilson...he's fabulous) asked me what the difference was in using my Nikon vs the phone camera. I looked at him and said "Honestly? Not much." Both cameras have about the same megapixals sensors. Both cameras take similar photos when using automatic settings. The Nikon takes better quality images under ideal lighting situations. I prefer the phone camera for low light situations when I don't want to use a flash. The Nikon takes time. I tend to be more mindful of how I look at my surroundings when I look through the view finder on the Nikon. The pictures from this camera have to be transferred to my computer before I can upload them. The phone is like an Instamatic, meaning your pictures go straight to the internet. 

I did not explain any of this to Wilson when I answered his question. I think I said something about like "it just depends on how I'm feeling as to which camera I'm going to use." That's kind of true. If I'm feeling lazy, I reach for the phone camera because my phone is always on me, but after really thinking about his question, I knew that the answer was more complex. I like using my fancy pants Nikon when I actually get it out and use it because it makes me feel like I'm doing something special. Even if I just end up take a bunch of crap pictures. I've been thinking a lot about photography projects for the next year and how I would like to find a way to sell some prints. I'd like to do another 365 day project that focuses on my body, in hopes that will help me see a better version of myself that I am having a hard time seeing these days. I have also gotten lazy with lighting. I end up doing a lot of editing and filtering that I shouldn't have to do. I tweak here and there is one thing, but I've been doing more than the usual tweak. I've had several people ask me for camera advice lately and I'd like to be a bit more knowledgable in my answers.

Really, my biggest plan for the new year includes more actual doing rather than wanting to do. Yes, I realize that some might think it's to early to be talking about New Year plans. I think it's too early to put up Christmas decorations, so we're even.  

LOVE THURSDAY

Instagram photo by Cindy Maddera * Feb 2, 2016 at 2:38pm UTC

See this Instagram photo by @elephant_soap * 2 likes

The other morning as I was getting in my morning steps, I turned the corner on the forth floor and then glanced back over my shoulder at one of the office areas. Then I stopped and turned around to really look at that office area. The window was covered in raindrops and the morning sun was streaming through so that it looked like the window was covered in a million twinkly stars. I pulled out my phone to take a picture, but the camera just didn't capture what I was seeing. And I was good with that.

Over the weekend, Michael and I visited the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. They were hosting a Chinese New Year celebration and we were unprepared for how popular this celebration would be. We ended up ducking into the photography exhibit to get a reprieve from the crowd. The current photography exhibit, Through the Lens: Visions of African American Experience, 1950-1970, is all of the good descriptive words. There was one photo in particular that made me stop and stare for a really long time. It was photo taken of Martin Luther King as he was being arrested for loitering as he waited for a friend to be released from jail. He was half leaning over a counter and looking directly at the camera as two police officers held his hand behind him and cuffed him. I stared at that picture for a long time with tears dripping down my face. If I close my eyes now, I can still clearly see that picture and the look in Mr. King's eyes. In this case, the camera wasn't capturing what I was seeing either, but it forced me to look deeper than the tangibility of the photograph. 

You might be able to tell just because of how late in the day I'm getting this posted. Squeaking in just barely still on a Thursday. I have had a hard time writing anything for today's post. I have deleted this entry twice now, both of them describing that photography exhibit and all of them inadequate. It is hard to see a connection between twinkly stars and an image of civil rights injustice. Both of these images caught me off guard and had me stopping in my tracks and I suppose the one connection I can make is one of inspiration. I am inspired to do better and be a better citizen. I am inspired to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. I am inspired to be present in the moment and to be aware of my surroundings. 

These are just two examples of moments that have stopped me in my tracks this week. Some of those moments have caused me to close my eyes and protect my heart. Some of those moments have made me laugh out in a burst of surprised laughter. Some of those moments have just made me be still for small bit of time. Good or bad those moments have been important and significant. I hope you have moments that stop you in your tracks and I most definitely hope they are good ones. 

Happy Love Thursday!

LOVE THURSDAY

Folk art!

"Folk art!"

Last week or the week before last (something like that), Mom called me up and said that she was coming to visit. She was very business like on the phone. "I am coming to visit. I will be there Friday and I can get a hotel room if you need me too." She was so serious about it that I worried a bit that she had something to tell me that she couldn't tell me over the phone. Like I'm adopted or I ate my twin sister in the womb. The reality was that Mom was just tired of her surroundings and wanted to see our faces. This was great news to me because I was supposed to be at a softball game at 6:30 AM Saturday morning and there was no way I'd get Michael up at that time to go with. I knew that I could drag Mom and she'd be a great cheerleader. Then the game got moved to Sunday because of weather, so we decided to go to the Nelson instead. 

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has a Folk Art in America exhibit that's running right now and I really wanted to see it. The thing was, I was the only one exited to see it and I just haven't had the time to say "hey! I'm going to the museum by myself!" I knew this exhibit would be right up Mom's alley and was really happy our game got canceled so I could drag her to it. If you were planning a trip to New York and asked me what I'd recommend seeing while there, I would suggest two things. First the Ellis Island Museum with the guided headphones (free) tour is amazing. Ah-Ma-ZING! You will laugh and cry as you here true stories from people who passed through Ellis Island in search of a better life in America. Do this. Secondly, I strongly recommend the American Folk Art Museum. Not only is this museum filled with delightful exhibits, it is small(ish) which makes it feel more intimate and personal. New York City is full of big museums and the city itself is just BIG. There are times that aspect of New York can seems overwhelming. The first time I walked by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I thought "No way!" That place is huge and contains a lot of eye candy. You have to be prepared to give a museum like that most of a day and then some. The AFAM is a charming and wonderful oasis in the middle of a big city, but it also holds an art collection that is pure and tangible. 

My sister-in-law had a framed print of Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog hanging on a wall in her home. I grew up staring at that painting and noticing all the little details. I never grew tired of it. There are parts to it that seem so flat and then sections like the girl's fingers and arms that have a roundness to them. When I was small, I even believed that girl was Katrina as a young girl. The actual painting itself lives in the AFAM in New York. I squealed in delight when I saw it. Besides the portraiture, American Folk Art includes pieces like quilts of calico, braided rugs made from plastic bread bags, ducks carved from wood and painted to look real. In fact the exhibit at the Nelson was full of intricately carved wooden figures and furniture. There was a wonderful carousel elephant that I desperately wanted to liberate from the museum. 

American Folk Art is one of my favorite genres of art. It is the art of everyman and is a true example of the melting pot that is America. I feel a sense of great pride for our country when I'm looking at this kind of art because it is such an expression of American creativity and ingenuity, but yet you can see aspects of other cultures in the art. This is and was the land of opportunity. Most of this artwork comes from self-taught individuals, people like you and me. We are all American Folk Artists in some way or form. Thousands of years from now, we'll have Pinterest Art Displays of the 21st Century. Mom and I studied all the details of the portraits in this exhibit. We both reached out fingers to hover close to some of the wood carvings because we wanted to touch them so badly. We marveled at the details and vibrant colors. And we declared it an afternoon well spent.  

Happy Love Thursday!