Laumeier Art Fair 2025

 

I volunteered to help out at the Annual Art Fair again this year. Since 2012 I have been a docent and member. My duties over the three day event was essentially to man the Artist Hospitality tent. The weather cooperated and a steady stream of visitors viewed 150 artists work for sale leading up to Mother's Day on Sunday. A robust schedule of live music and lots of food trucks and vendors gave visitors plenty of food options. 

I think this was my 12th or 13th art fair in a row. I think it's fair to say I am a credible judge of the overall quality of this year's show. Maybe my favorite thing is the social nature of just being there.

• Perry Drake, Beth Hammond, Donna Jeffries and another lady (former majorette from Fredericktown).
• Stephanie Camden 
• John Grizzell and Francesca
• Marie Oberkirsch from Central Print (former LSP)
• Sarah Lorenz - Plein Air Painter
• Neil Brown - Photographer
• Liz Murphy Siense (sp?) with husband Chuck and their little girl. Liz if former LSP employee who went to the Science Museum and recently moved to the Federal Reserve. I asked her what I should do with my pennies. Her response "Hang on to them. It will take an act of congress to eliminate that bit of currency in spite of political pressure." She invited me to schedule a tour.
• Maureen Jennings, Ferda, Mary Hansen former docent colleagues.

When I rise up, let me rise joyful like a bird. When I fall, let me fall without regret like a leaf.

 

 

Stuff Wes said (and sometimes still says)

 

Photo is of James O'Connell Morgan and Wesley A Morgan (me) around 2011. Dad passed away at age 95 in 2013. Nothing beat seeing my dad laugh. He wasn't always amused by stuff I said in jest but maybe my favorite was at a gathering of Morgans after mom died in 2011. I was play acting about bragging about my my father's time in the Army when he was a camouflage expert. I postured as a proud son bragging that "My dad was so good at camouflage that there are military installations in California they still can't find. He was that good." (I still smile when I recall his sincere laughter at that wise crack.)

My college pal and long time friend, David Drimer, reminded me on a phone call recently that one of his favorite Wes Morgan quotes is my profound declaration: "Some people say I don't have priorities. I disagree, I have priorities - they're just not in the right order."

I credit this quote to him. It's sort of the same vintage. "I learn from my mistakes. Given the opportunity, I could repeat them exactly." Dave reminded me of another gem I used to say a lot. "It isn't easy being anybody. But no-one is better at being you." The point is to remind people that in spite of whatever struggles they face, they can approach life with their own unique style/brand. Dave forwarded this cartoon with a chuckle as a Morgan theory "corollary".

My Siblings have heard me say a bit of wisdom that I attribute to observing my mother in action. "The truth belongs to the teller". Mom was a talented actress and director of community theater with a Masters in Dramatic Arts from Case Western Reserve University. (She earned that Masters degree after having 6 kids.) Clearly she understood the art of storytelling. She often repeated her version of of reality. 

• Greg was christened the "navigator" on family road trips. He also "Fixed the vacuum cleaner when he was 4 years old."
• Dan was always "so sensitive."
• Sundance (formerly known as Jimmy) was not responsible and lost every wrist watch he ever owned when he was growing up.
• Mom and Dad agreed that Rob "is the best." That declaration went with the prize of having his aging parents moving close to him in their senior years.

On the occasion of my parents 50th wedding anniversary. I couldn't wait to offer my toast. My punch line was a matter of fact statement: 

"You know I lived with these people 18 years. I don't know how they managed to live with each other for 50."

On more than one wedding occasion I offered this bit of tongue-in-check: "You know Marriage isn't a WORD. It's a SENTENCE." 

I started calling my sister "Zsa Zsa" as a sort of celebration of her surviving 3 marriages. (If you are scoring at home: 6 Morgan Siblings - 11 marriages.)

I love it when my kids quote me is some amusing ways. My son, for example, gives me credit for saying "80% of life is showing up."

Similarly, my daughter remembers that I avoid left turns so enthusiastically that I would prefer to make three right turns to avoid the traffic dilemmas that can come in spite of turn signals and traffic laws.

80% is showing up. 

It's not easy being anybody. (But no-one is better at being you.)

I have priorities...

The Truth belongs to the Teller.

"Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

― Bruce Lee

 

 

Parker at Hawthorn 4-8-25

 

Parker Millsap, opening for Larkin Poe at The Hawthorn in Saint Louis. I recruited Dave Shogren and his wife Linda and Tom (Scooter Man). The four of us riding with Tom (as our driver in his new car) met at Dave and Linda's place on Gayola in Maplewood. We did a bit of "Front Porchin' " before grabbing a bite to eat at Hi Pointe (on Dave). 

The venue is spacious, The crowd shuffled in as doors opened at 7pm. There was just enough time for us to visit the bar, where Tom bought a round of 16 oz Modelo Beers. The stage is dramatic and Parker Millsap is a crowd pleaser. 

• Your Water
• Front Porchin'
• Very Last Day
• Heaven Sent
• Real Thing
• Dammit
• Hades Pleads

Parker promises to be available for the sale of merch (T Shirts, CDs, LPs, and mini watercolor masterpieces). I was able to update my CD collection with the latest available. Parker was welcoming and with a big smile he said "And I have something for you..." That "something was a Morgan crest pin that explains the Welsh Irish origin of the name and the motto FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD. 

It's always fun to catch Parker Millsap in Saint Louis. I've seen him at the Pageant (twice), Delmar Hall, Off Broadway (three times), The Rock House. 

Planning a road trip to see Parker in Memphis on May 30, 2025. (I will visit with Dr and Mrs. Thomas Farrar and Ryan on that trip.)

MFA Boston

I wandered into this beautiful art class as the instructor was encouraging students to really see the ancient sculptures in the gallery space. It reminded me of a time when my brother and I would catch a bus to the Cleveland Museum of Art on Saturdays and participate the same sort of ritual on our fold-out stools. We were just kids but the experience of being around and studying great art is something that stays with you forever (I believe).

I saw this great image of David with the head of Goliath. I could not resist sharing the image via text to two of my friends named David. I have several friends named David. (They are most significant people in my life. Dave Drimer and Dave Shogren each saw the humor in my sharing the image. I would venture to guess that David Cox, David Brunner, David Dassenbrock would also smile at this image.) 

Cezanne self portrait (about 1898-1900)

Renoir 1886

 Helen Sears,1895 by John Singer Sargent

 

Appeal to the Great Spirit

Appeal to the Great Spirit, 1909 by Cyrus Dallin (1861-1944) 

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston is an amazing place and I am thrilled to have visited this place again on February 28, 2025. I lived with my cousin Philip around 1979-80 as an Admissions Representative of the University of Miami. The iconic sculpture in front of MFA Boston is an image that has stayed with me and I was so happy to see it again. I wandered through this great building again. 

I saw an entire gallery space devoted to Monet. I am past the halfway point in reading of Monet: The Restless Vision A groundbreaking look at the life and art of one of the most influential, modern painters of the late nineteenth century and founder of the Impressionist movement (by Jackie Wullschläger).

I feel joy as I see masterpieces by artists I have studied and so many others who on view at great places like MFA Boston.

 

William J. Glackens NSU

Young Woman in Green 1915 (at Saint Louis Art Museum)

William J. Glackens Collection

The Glackens Art Collection, 

bequeathed to NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale in 1991 

by Ira Glackens, son of William J. Glackens, 

covers the artist’s versatile talent from 1892, 

when he made a living as an artist/reporter, 

to 1938, the year of his death, 

when he was internationally known as America’s Renoir. 

This encyclopedic collection boasts a wide variety 

of examples of Glackens’ artistry – from casual crayon sketches 

to a unique hand-carved wooden panel, from rare etchings 

to heartwarming family photographs.

Artist Biography

William Glackens (1870–1938)

William Glackens was a member of the artists group, The Eight, who favored cheerful subjects of leisure activities over the dark manner and social realism of others in that circle. Born in Philadelphia, Glackens attended Central High School along with John Sloan and the collector Albert C. Barnes. In 1891 he began a career as an artist-reporter for various Philadelphia newspapers and in the evenings, attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. That same year Sloan introduced him to Robert Henri, with whom Glackens shared a studio for a year and a half. After traveling to France and The Netherlands in 1895, Glackens moved to New York, where he continued working as an artist-reporter, magazine illustrator and painter. In 1898 he accompanied the U.S. Army to Cuba to record the Spanish-American War for McClure’s magazine.

Glackens gave up illustration in order to devote himself to painting in 1904. He made a second trip to Europe in 1906, returning to New York to prepare for an exhibition of paintings by The Eight held in 1908. In the same year, one of Glackens’ paintings was shown at the National Academy of Design, where the New York public was surprised at the change in the artist’s palette. After nearly a decade and a half of producing paintings that reflected the influence of Robert Henri in their muted colors and gestural brushstrokes, Glackens, inspired by his visits to France and the Netherlands, had turned to depicting outdoor scenes, using bright, lively colors. His change in style was reinforced by frequent trips to France, including a 1912 journey sponsored by his friend Albert Barnes, who sent Glackens to France as his agent to purchase contemporary French paintings, including works by Cézanne, Matisse, and Renoir. Glackens served as chairman of the committee that selected American art for The Armory Show in 1913, and later, in 1917, was first president of the Society of Independent Artists.

Glackens’ mature style suggests Monet’s paintings of the 1860s in the broad and direct treatment of color, quick touch, and jewel-like dashes of color that denote foliage and the sun’s shimmering reflections on the water. Glackens distinguished himself from impressionism, however, by not allowing light to dissolve the contour of his forms. From about 1925 to 1932 he divided his time between New York and France, but he continued his involvement in the New York art world and his friendship with other artists associated with The Eight until his death in 1938.

Educator Caucus Panorama

It's a drizzly and grey Saturday (March 29, 2025) in Saint Louis but our impromptu gathering of random educators comes together nevertheless.   

Tammy Slater says this pic of her is horrible. Kathy McCaslin says the pic of Marty (her husband in plaid) is bad too. Marty wonders how the Panorama Restaurant can call it a Chef's Salad without any Romaine Lettuce. Tim Neckerman assures me that the temp who was teaching gym is covering the art classes at Old North (the classes once covered by Wes Morgan). Kathy provided adorable Voodoo dolls as attendance prizes for each of us. Nicole enjoyed her pancakes but doesn't like blueberries. Kelly Hock is in Barbados at her daughter's wedding. Brian McCalpin is recovering from pneumonia. Candace Baker is a no show. So Wes' reservation for six at the Panorama Restaurant in the East Building at the Saint Louis Art Museum is perfect (In spite of persnickety critiques of photo skills and food prep).

The Panorama Restaurant gets high marks from me on courtesy, friendliness, service and artful food presentation. 

The group was treated to a mini tour from former art teacher Wes Morgan of some of his favorites, subject to limited attention spans.

("Did you know that of the Saint Louis Art Museum collection, only 16% can be on view at any given time?")   

Rothko is back. This piece has not been on view for a while.  

 

Louise Nevelson is a favorite.

This Bull is something like 4,000 years old. I hope I look that good at age 4,000. It's from the Early Dynasic III era, maybe 2600 BC. 

The group departs as the grey skies continue as the rain subsides. 

The Mountain by Aristide Maillol (1861-1944)

ART STILL HAS TRUTH 

TAKE REFUGE THERE

Elevator to the Gallows

 

SLAM Cinema—Elevator to the Gallows

Friday, March 14, 2025 | 6:30–8:15 pm CDT | Free

In honor of 314 Day, SLAM celebrates the cinematic contribution of jazz icon and East St. Louis–native Miles Davis, who created the groundbreaking soundtrack for this 1958 French crime thriller. Directed by Louis Malle, the film noir and French New Wave classic stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as illicit lovers whose murder plot starts to unravel after one of them becomes trapped in an elevator. In French with English subtitles. Not rated. 91 minutes.

Tornado warnings and potential hail did not keep me from going to the Saint Louis Art Museum Farrell Auditorium for a Black & White movie in French with subtitles featuring jazz music by Miles Davis. I used the parking garage for fear of hail damage that did not happen. In fact I was home in Creve Coeur in time to watch an evening of weather updates and storms that interrupted my DVR while I slept. 

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. I noted significant installations in progress and signage for an upcoming exhibition in the East Building - 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 I usually expect to see 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 in this gallery somewhat, however, as it is adjacent to one of the three panels of a remarkable Water Lillies triptych that was in Monet's studio after he died. The three triptych panels are now 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 that celebrate his lifetime. Pablo had his first of four children with his first wife, Olga, a ballet dancer. His next muse was just 17 when they met. (She gave birth to his second child). 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 mother to two more children). After Olga died in 1955, Jacqueline Rogue became Picasso's wife from about 1957 until Picasso's death in 1973. Jacqueline Rogue. 

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 sculptor. The model for this work was Dina Vierny. She led the creation of a museum in Paris celebrating the life and work of Maillol. This sculpture is a truly heroic presentation in Saint Louis. 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
• Most of an entire gallery room dedicated to German artists - Expressionists and more.

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, the bust of his head 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