Good Friday at SLAM

 

I'm a frequent visitor to the Saint Louis Art Museum. Sometimes I like to suggest that it's my stuff in that incredible institution that dates back to the late 19th Century. I go so often that I notice when they move things and when one of my favorite paintings or sculptures is not on view (for whatever reason). Saint Louis is finally showing signs that Spring might be coming. On this Good Friday (3/7/2025) I return to my museum in Forest Park.

Fading Cloth, 2005 by El Anatsui (born Ghana,1944) is a stunning piece on display as I entered the East Building entrance. The piece is made of discarded liquor bottle tops strung together with copper wire. I lingered in front of this work for a time, as I noted significant installations in progress and signage for an upcoming exhibition having something to do with France and automobiles.  

 

 

Praise for Elohim Adonai, 1966 by Mark di Suvero (b. 1933) On display between the parking garage and the Case Gilbert building is a piece by an artist I have come to know through my role as docent (roughly between 2012-2022) at Lauemeier Sculpture Park in Sunset Hills and even more-so on visiting Storm King in New York. This sculpture in my frame of reference just sort of appeared within the last year or so. Today I read the plaque and was sort of amused, on Good Friday (after I had traveled to a Bat Mitzvah in the Boston area). I wonder if G-d is trying to tell me something. Elohim means godhood and Adonai means my lord/my master in Hebrew. Hmmm.

 

Elvira Resting on a Table 1918-19 oil on canvas by Amedeo Modigliani (Italian active in France 1884-1920) Well, welcome back Elvira. It was not on display for a while. Maybe it was on loan to another museum. I first met this painting when a docent shared that the piece was donated by Joseph Pulitzer Jr. in memory of his wife. It seems like St. Louis is home for Elvira.

Interior at Nice c.1919 oil on canvas by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) This piece was moved, but I understood why as it was part of a Saint Louis Art Museum exhibition entitled Matisse and the Sea. I was happy to see it closer to where I expected to find it but I was surprised to see it hanging in a spot where a Picasso painting of mother and child done by Pablo Picasso when he was about 20 years old. This open door with a peak at the sea in Nice, France reminds me a bit of the time my parents enjoyed living on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. 

The Promenade with the Railroad Bridge, Argenteuil, 1874 by Claude Monet (1984 - 1926) Monet painted this Painting the same year as the Impressionists first exhibition. It is a wonderful example of the artists approach in that time. This piece is overshadowed somewhat, however, in the gallery space adjacent to one of the three panels of a remarkable Water Lillies triptych that was in the artists studio after he died. Acquired and on view in Kansas City (Nelson Atkins Museum), Saint Louis (SLAM) and Cleveland (Cleveland Museum of Art).  

Mandolin and Vase of Flowers, 1934 by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) The Saint Louis Art Museum has Picasso paintings just steps apart the celebrate his lifetime. Pablo had a child with his first wife, Olga, a ballet dancer. His next muse was just 17 when they met. He was in his 40s. The yellow in this painting hints at the golden hair of Marie-Therese. Around the corner at SLAM is a cubist representation of Francois Gilot (his Muse from about 1943-1953) and his wife after Olga died (Jacquiline Rogue from about 1957 until Picasso's death in 1973 - Jacqueline Rogue. (Olga died in 1955). I had the pleasure of seeing a remarkable exhibition Picasso and Paper at the Cleveland Museum of Art earlier this year. I also read Francois Gilot's book Life with Picasso. All of the above continues to support my contention that in Art - Picasso is the GOAT. A complex but talented and driven man.

The Mountain, 1937 by Aristide Maillol (1861-1944) Maillol might be my favorite sculpture. The model for this work was Dina Vierny. Dina led the creation of a museum in Paris celbrating the life and work of Maillol. This sculpture is a truly heroic presentation in Saint Louis but the Columbus Art Museum in Columbus, Ohio also has one. The Columbus sculpture is positioned beautifully by a reflecting pool. Maillol's The River is on display in downtown St. Louis at City Garden and in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). 

Where's my Stuff ?: (Errrrr, well some things I haven't seen in a while at SLAM). 

• Zenobia - mid 19th century sculpture by Harriet Hosmer
• Mother and Child - Picasso painting from 1901 or 1902
• Mark Rothko - orange color field painting
• St. Luke - Early 16th century limestone/Renaissance era sculpture
• George Wesley Bellows painting of his Woodstock, NY house
• Trova - Falling Man

New Stuff: (Or at least newish for being on view):

• Mark di Suvero (piece mentioned above)
• Ellsworth Kelly piece adjacent to sculpture garden

Never seems to change

• Max Beckmann gallery (seems a bit much for one artist with not all that much variety in work. I'd settle for just keeping Titanic, Blue suit self portrait, portrait of wife Mink, and maybe one or two others.
• The Donald Judd on the floor probably will never move given all the care they made to mark it off.

Good Stuff

• I feel Anything in which Simon Kelly is curator is gold: Millet, Monet/Mitchell, and Matisse and the Sea to name a few.
• Sculpture Garden - much better presentation of work outside but accessible: Maillol, Renoir, Whiteread, Roxy Paine.
• The St Louis sculpture Niehaus plaster cast in St, Louis (bronze)
• The Richard Serra - circle inset in front drive(not featured/explained enough though) 
• Claus Oldenberg - three way plug

  

Holiday Gifts

 

Well I've enjoyed the holiday season for the art of gift giving. I am one of six siblings and I have two adult kids (The A list). Of course the holiday thoughtfulness grows to include additional relatives, friends and significant others. My strategy, for a long time has been to find a memorable gift that won't break the bank that might bring a smile. I haven't tracked them over time but the following is a list of items that I recall being part of past Holiday A List gifts which I hope brought a smile or two. (The cool thing for me, it that I sometimes spot a past gift on a shelf or small space of honor in homes of those A listers.) I love that. I love you all.   

I don't recall the sequence by years but the following are some of the multiples that had seasonal meaning for me at the time.

• African Rain stick
• Magic 8 Ball
• Russian Nesting Dolls
• Bluebird of Happiness
• Polaroid Camera 
• Revere-ware teapot
• Tasco-brand Binoculars
• Kaleidoscope
• Unique Mosaic Puzzle 
• Morgan Bath Towels
• Art Museum Mug (Art Still has Truth Take Refuge There)
• Inventory Clearance (beats a garage sale)

 

March Ahead 25

 

March Ahead

Without fear and hopeful as I ride;

Pondering the future, I abide;

By one or by two on the opposite shore will be.

Looking for that light I will surely see;

A kind of focus inside.

I didn't win but it doesn't matter;

I'm older and getting fatter.

No need to compete.

You makes me complete.

What does it matter?

It just doesn't matter.

In the moment.

In the now.

No wonder. 

No fame.

Just Wow!

 

Opera New Works Collective 2025

Black Coffee

As a recent St. Louis transplant, Makena is struggling to find community. After all, how exactly does one make friends as a grown-up? From googling “how to make friends” to trying a local book club, Makena isn’t ruling anything out. As her dad often reminds her, “Have patience and you’ll land the friends of a lifetime.” Poignant and funny by turns, Makena’s story is immediately relatable to anyone who has ever searched for a village of their own.

Family Style

17-year-old Mia lives with her father, Ping. They’ve scrimped and saved for years so that Ping can open his own Taiwanese restaurant after a lifetime of working as a dishwasher. However, Ping refuses to pursue his dream until Mia graduates and goes to college. Her education must come first. One day, a promisingly large envelope arrives from Mia’s top-choice university…but will her own dream come at too steep a price?

Kandake

In the ancient African kingdom of Kush, queens were known as the Kandake. Discover the true story of Kandake Amanirenas, the warrior queen who defied the might of the Roman Empire. When Amanirenas learns that a Roman army has captured the Kush city of Philae, she’ll stop at nothing to protect her people’s liberty…including single-handed combat against a deadly centurion. This action-packed opera brings to vivid life one of history’s greatest unknown heroines.

I was so impressed to see the New Works Collective last year, I might have been among the first to buy a ticket to see the Opera New Works Collective 2025. I eagerly anticipated my viewing and attendance on February 7, 2025. 

My Notes:

Black Coffee missed an opportunity to milk the Book Club as "not for me" but it was a sweet story of a girl trying to make a friend as an adult. 

Family Style had its moments as father and daughter connected. Another opportunity to enhance a memorable bit around the father character's love of food preparation as the father character proclaims the "dreams" that included the broccoli dreaming of being a part of a delicious meal. 

Kandake was based on a true story from history and the queen prevails as they defeat the pursuing Romans Army of Augustus Cesar. The king perished too quickly in this action but the celebration of the victory with beautiful costumes and confetti falling from the sky (almost like the Super Bowl) was stunning.

The Librettists and the Music Composters of all three operas were available after the performances to answer questions. If felt to me a bit like a Q&A with advertising agency creative directors and copywriters/account managers.  

Million Dollar Quartet 1956

 

Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash at Sun Studios recording in 1956. 

My friend and theater critic Mark Bretz encouraged me to see this holiday version of the time when music was evolving into that time when we wanted to shake, rattle and roll. The confluence of these four legendary performers meeting in Memphis on December 4, 1956 is fun to imagine as the actors played and performed at the Rep Theater. 

It's a Sunday in Saint Louis (December 14, 2024) and this mid day matinee show at the Repertory Theater of Saint Louis, for me, is more uplifting than spending the day in church.

 

Art Work

 Art Work

Everyone is an artist;

Or so says the teacher;

The object is to become a better artist;

At the risk of sounding like a preacher.

Van Gogh had a lust for life;

In spite of his mental health;

Ultimately succumbing to his strife;

His brother and the market could not generate a timely wealth.

Perhaps Picasso is the greatest of all time;

The GOAT takes his rightful place;

The art world concurs with Gertrude Stein;

Wherever he puts eyes and nose on a face.

Popular culture by Andy;

The things we see and do every day;

In a gallery contest – it’s a dandy;

See the ordinary in a different way,

Super real, surreal, sublime,

Salvador can blow your mind;

Dali curling his trademark mustache;

An enduring style that is sure to last.

Abstract, color field, contemporary, Haring, Banksy, Basquiat;

On display for all to admire or eschew.

Graffiti is an origin – believe it or not;

You can decide if it appeals to you.

What will you do and how?

Study, imitate, or break new ground;

What will be the next new thing now?

Practice and work your process for what may be found.

Monet - Water Lillies at Saint Louis Art Museum

PBIS OLD NORTH

 

Classroom Management

Recommendations for Old North Academy

Wesley A Morgan (Art Teacher)

This is a response to Assistant Principal, Ms. Todd’s request for input on Classroom Management. I’m encouraged that the administration is asking for input from teachers and staff. The overall atmosphere in the classroom must be a positive one and one that allows our learners to become scholars in earnest. My input is relative to my 10 years as an educator (SPED and Art) and informed by my first year as an Art Teacher at Old North Academy (2023-2024).

I’m not a fan of rules for the sake of rules. I am however, in favor of treating each other as we expect to be treated (The Golden Rule).

My two cents:

1. Let’s reinforce our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) pillars of Respect, Responsibility and Safety (Each of these areas represent ways that make our commitment to TEACHING and LEARNING truly a credible statement of our WHY.

2. Respect for each other includes iron clad rule of NO BULLYING under any circumstance. This would include name-calling, teasing, social media, pushing and shoving, Let’s note strongly that horseplay and “play fighting” can lead to bad feelings and cause escalation in some. Let’s get in the habit of saying we are sorry to our teachers, staff and our classmates when we show any kind of disrespect (real or perceived).

3. Responsibility includes showing up on time and with an eagerness to work. Let’s recognize students that help out in the classroom and in public spaces. Let’s honor those who manage to arrive on time and use their time wisely while in school.

4. Safety might be the most important pillar of our PBIS program. Accidents happen and acts of nature happen. We must treat all drills with a level of thoroughness that makes sure everyone involved understands the safety is paramount. Intruder Drills, Fire Drills, Tornado Drills of course are critical but let’s remember that danger is everywhere. The school grounds and adjacent areas must be safe from all potential harm.

Classroom routines assure the best chance of managing an orderly learning environment. Specials and dedicated content area concentrations must be opportunities to grow as human beings (teachers, staff and students), Let’s consider a culture of helpful assistance, It is no secret that behaviors are minimized when students in smaller groups have adequate adult supervision. Specials with 20+ kids can create an opportunity for play and poor choices. Let’s lower the numbers or at least increase the adult to student ratios. 

PHOTOS - Just blocks away from Old North Academy are some sad buildings unused, abandoned or in disrepair. A view down the main hallway showing what students and visitors see inside,