George Widener: Calculations and Numbers in Art

(Above) Megalapolis 21 - 2005, ink on paper, 26 x 40 inches
(Above) Census Ship - 2004, ink on paper, 26 x 24 inches
(Above) Month of Sundays -- 2004, ink on paper, 10 x 7.5 inches
(Above) Sunday’s Crash - 2005, ink on paper, 36 x 52 inches
(Above) Megalapolis 2077 - 2005, ink on paper, 26 x 38 inches

WHEN I FIRST MET GEORGE WIDENER at the Outsider Art Fair some years ago, it was by happen chance. I was immediately drawn to the magnificent drawings on the walls of the Henry Boxer Gallery, drawings unlike I had seen in some time… maybe ever. Complex, complicated and filled with numbers, lists, tables and calculations of all kinds, I knew that I was looking at something fresh and different. On one wall, facing one of the main corridors, was an incredible cut-away style drawing of the HMS Titanic, the White Star Line’s greatest ship and greatest tragedy. The ship, which was drawn in profile with it’s skin peeled away, showed all the many levels of the ship and revealed the inventory of it’s contents: 2411 lbs. of flour; 12.5 lbs. of black pepper; 161 lbs. of salt; 903 lbs. of cured beef; 2023 lbs. of swordfish; and on and on. [ For reference in this example, I used bogus numbers—but George could correct me with the actual numbers at first glance. ]

Standing nearby was Henry Boxer who said “It’s quite remarkable, isn’t it?” Still wide-eyed, I agreed. He went on to tell me that the artist was sitting nearby, that his name was George Widener and that George actually knew and had memorized ALL the facts, figures, and details of the Titanic contents after having read the information only ONCE at one time in his life. This was quite jaw-dropping, seeing as I cannot remember 5 grocery store items if not written down, and even then, I have a good chance of misplacing the list before I get to the store. I eventually learned that George was a high-functioning savant, diagnosed with Asperger’s. George could tell me the zip code of any city in the United States and he knew the day of the week that I was born when I gave him my birth month, day and year. And, he knew what the weather was like across the country for that single day in 1951!

I was convinced I was looking at something phenomenal without even having met George, who was a delightful man to talk to. I actually bought a piece, right then and there, the first year his work was shown to the Outsider Art Fair public. Widener’s work stands, in my opinion, as a singular creative style on the merit’s of it’s content and vision. There is nothing else like it. And THAT is what makes a great artist.

Contact The Henry Boxer Gallery to see more of George’s work.

Early Infographics: The Path of a Jaywalker

I purchased this several years ago from photo dealer James Lampkin, who occasionally sells photographs on eBay. His store is called VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS, and he looks far and wide for great pictures. James has a deep understanding of the history of photography and puts each photo he lists into its historical context. This press photo, by photographer Ray Platnick, was taken in New York in 1946 for Picture Magazine. What I like about this photo is the added, painted-on arrows, showing “the path” a jaywalking woman took in her crazy path across the street. With the retouchers addition of the arrows, the photograph enters a more conceptual place—without the arrows we are looking at another busy street.

An AM repost from 11/27/08.

Stamps, Part Deux: Arranging the Page

Click any image for larger view.


Click any image for larger view.


STAMP COLLECTIONS ARE SOMETHING AKIN to scrapbooks. How you arrange the stamps on a blank page can be an entirely personal design exercise. Some of the most beautiful arranged collections I have ever seen are arrowheads. Since they are pointed, displays usually end up with some unique, creative arranged designs. With the exception of the top image, these pages showcase unusual cancellation marks of stamps, which I think is a highly artistic collecting focus.

These stamps were part of the 2009 Heritage Auction Galleries Inaugural Signature Stamp Auction. Heritage Auction Galleries is the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. The auction is online, through Live Auctioneers.

An AM repost from 2/7/09.

The Bonus Side of Cabinet Cards

All of us have seen cabinet cards, those 19th century portraits on heavy card stock you find for a buck in almost every antique shop in America. Did you ever consider the backs of these cards? Almost all have beautiful and graphic typographic or pictorial examples that advertised the photo studio or photographer. While many cabinet cards portraits (the fronts) can be relatively bland, you might want to flip the card over. Like a second chance lottery ticket—you just might have a second chance at something wonderful. These images are from Luminous Lint, the most comprehensive Web site on photography in the world. Luminous Lint is a labor of love by Alan Griffiths. (alan@luminous-lint.com)

These cabinet card backs are from the private collection of Anthony Davis, and were part of an online exhibition on Luminous Lint.
Antiq-photo Rainbow Creations
(www.19cphoto.com)

An AM repost from 2/11/09

Richard Serra at The Nasher Sculpture Center

Photos by John Foster.

My Curves Are Not Mad, 1987 Cor-Ten Steel, Overall: 168 x 539 3/8 x 139 in. (426.7 x 1370 x 353.1 cm.) Each plate: 168 x 539 3/8 x 2 in. (426.7 x 1370 x 5.1 cm.) Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Dallas


RECENTLY I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY to visit The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. Besides being able to view the installation of a major exhibition of monumental works by British artist Tony Cragg—the building itself was a stunning piece of architecture by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano.

Though The Nasher Sculpture Center provided plenty of art to discuss, I want to write about the incredible work I viewed by Richard Serra (born 1939), entitled “My Curves Are Not Mad.” Imagine the fabrication process of bending and twisting two, 44 feet long, 14 feet high pieces of Cor-Ten steel, metal that weighs over 50 thousand pounds. But this is just the mechanics, the behind-the-scenes part. What I really want to address is the art of Richard Serra.

Choose a vantage point. Pick a time of day. Open your mind and your eyes to the subtle shifts of color and light, in a massive, immovable object that is in no way static. Shape and form become organic, steel becomes inviting and warm, and rust and light speaks to change. My photographs were taken about 1:00 in the afternoon, and the sun was nearly directly overhead. Still, under the Texas sun, these “gently” twisted and flexed sheets of steel fit beautifully into the formal outdoor sculpture garden of the Nasher Sculpture Center.

The Nasher is a lovely place, inside and out. And on this beautiful day—Richard Serra—a man of steel, warmed my heart.

Note: St. Louis is home to two Richard Serra pieces, one of which, entitled “Joe,” is housed at the magnificent Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and the second, which is in a public space at Market Street and 11th, entitled “Twain”.

Who is Serge D.?

(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Francis Bacon and His Art
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1975
24” x 16”

(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1973
24” x 16”


(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Art Critics
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1975
24” x 16”


(Above) DOUBLE PORTRAIT: Angie Dickenson and Sammy Davis Jr.
Serge D.
Oil on Canvas
1970
24” x 16”


ANDREW FLAMM & MICHELLE HAUSER find incredible things and make them available to collectors like me. Their shop, Odd Fellows Art & Antiques, is located in Augusta, Maine, but you can find them at most of the higher-end antique shows. As dealers, they represent a new vision in collectible antiques and objects—they, and a few others, who have been redefining the “antiques” industry. If anyone is going to bring the younger generation into this collecting field, it will be collector/dealers like Andrew and Michelle.

I saw these paintings several years ago at Andrew and Michelle’s display at the Intuit show in Chicago. I loved them, and I was surprised when Andrew told me the paintings are basically anonymous, except for the signature “Serge D.” I have to tell you, I think they are great. These paintings have a Chicago Imagists kind of look, sort of a cross between really quirky thrift store art and a highly stylistic point of view. Andrew says the paintings surfaced in Connecticut some years back, and nothing—absolutely NOTHING—is known about the artist. For what it’s worth, and it is a considerable compliment to Serge D., Michelle told me that the Chicago artist Karl Wirsum saw the paintings and liked them very much. Andrew says they have about 12 or 15 paintings by this artist.

So, who was Serge D.? Was he a talented art school painter who gave up too early because no one bought his work? Or, was he a self-taught artist with great talent who has disappeared from our sights? Talk to me, Serge.

An AM repost from 2/2/09

Please Turn Off Headlights Upon Entering the Drive-In

Early 1950s


Ads top and bottom from 1943 and 1944.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP in Winston-Salem, NC, the “Drive-In” was thought of as a bit sleazy. Parents didn’t take their kids there, at least not in my town. Plus, it was the place where the “adult” movies were shown, and obviously was where the teenagers went to neck. Add to that— the theatre I knew was in a “not-so-safe” part of town.

Another thing, the ads for drive-in’s were tiny, something a little larger than 2 ” square and of course, in one color. While the big, mainstream movies filled half pages of the week-end paper, the drive-in advertisements were seriously hard to find—sometimes found on the page following the regular movie ads!

When I spotted these ads for a drive-in in Wisconsin, it made me think what living hell it would have been to actually layout and design these things. But, everything comes back around, I guess. It has taken 60 years for these designs to be considered kind of “Art Chantry” hip.

An AM repost from 2/8/09.