Posts Tagged ‘Grand Teton National Park’
What’s Our Economy?; Rocks Art
Recently, a Jackson economics summit/conference/brainstorming session took place. I’ve now had a chance to read some reviews of that gathering–how accurate they are I can’t say, because I didn’t attend. From time to time, I have my own little economic tutorials with friends and mentors.
Jackson Hole has always been a seasonal economy. We’re a tourist destination because our region is so astoundingly beautiful, is adjacent to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, is “Western,” has a great and growing arts sector, and when the snow falls skiers go nuts to come here. Until a few years ago, the lion’s share of full time jobs in Jackson were related to the construction and real estate industries. One of my mentors points out that real estate and construction don’t really create economic growth or wealth; they are the residuals of wealth creation. And yes, those are good jobs for Jackson, and it feels like the market will re-shape and rebound to a certain extent (see the Hole Report)—but smart money won’t rely on construction to sustain Jackson’s future. It’s millionaires and billionaires with fortunes built elsewhere who have erected big houses, supplying jobs for architects, landscapers, construction companies and real estate agents. And, we’re a tax shelter. They’ve also supported many of our critical non-profits.
This coming summer, Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) and Grand Teton Association (GTA) are bringing the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP) to Grand Teton National Park, for a two-week plein air paint-out. The event celebrates GTA’s 75th anniversary and the Park’s storied tradition of plein air painting. The paint-out and its accompanying exhibition take place July 1-15, 2012 at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor’s Center, the “focal point for GTA’s educational and interpretive efforts.” RMPAP’s show will be on display at the Craig Thomas Center, home to the Park’s permanent art collection.
Recently Jackson’s Cultural Council awarded its annual Award for Creativity to writer/filmmaker/conservationist Charlie Craighead. Craighead’s modesty and low profile belie his great contributions. Documentaries
and books such as “Artic Dance: The Mardy Murie Story,” “I’ll Meet You at the Wort,” and “Who Ate the Backyard?” touch lives, educate, entertain and, most importantly, their messages stay with us.
It’s what Craighead creates that matters; the fact that he does work within his means make his contributions that much more valuable. I’m thrilled he won, and I was also proud to nominate Jill Callaway. Jill’s contributions to Jackson’s community theatre history are extraordinary. I’d love to see the Cultural Council publish all nomination letters, so that the community can know more about the many people working to enrich our cultural scene. Here’s an excerpt from my letter:
“In 2000, Jill took it upon herself to form Jackson Community Theatre (JCT) because she believes deeply that communities need culturally based theatre. Jill does what she does because she knows Jackson is full of talent, and all talent deserves creative outlet. To that end, she insists JCT provide theatre experience for novices and seasoned actors. As the group’s leader, Jill has acted, directed, produced, stage managed, operated lights and sound, created costumes, props and sets. She oversees the company’s marketing and grants writing and manages the group’s accounting. All together, Jill has been involved in over 80 local productions….Her efforts are consistently on behalf of JCT as a whole….She is passionate about Jackson’s Western culture, its history, and family values. Many good people have lent their talents to community theatre, contributing to its longevity, but Jill provides the constant spirit, energy, and motivation propelling JCT….For 27 years, Jill has donated her time. She does not work for a performing arts company and has never received payment for her work in community theatre.”
The wave of the non-profit future must be to work within available means and facilities. Across the country, original missions have been unwittingly supplanted by underfunded real estate speculation, high salaries and high rents. There are instances, of course, of patrons and founders having deep enough pockets to build and maintain new buildings. As a friend on the West coast recently pointed out, at some point many non-profits concluded the best way to accomplish mission is to build grand facilities. Many of us were seduced. With the crash, pledges were not realized, donations slowed, costs accelerated. And although all the plans for beautiful buildings were well-meaning, these days too many original missions play secondary roles to a new mission of maintaining expensive real estate.
Hey, I have a room to rent as workspace! 250 square feet includes a full bath (two sinks!) and walk-in closet! I need help paying expenses, I’m in the same boat, ya’ll! Email me (tammy@jacksonholearttours.com) if you are interested! Seriously!
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Wednesday, October 26, at 7:00 pm, the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum opens its doors for a special program. The talk, Artist Archie ‘Teton’ Teater will be presented by Dr. Teddy Khteian Keeton, a long-time friend of Teater and his wife. Keeton’s talk will focus on Teater’s early life, passion for painting, and his journey to becoming a successful artist.
Archie Boyd Teater was a painter, and a legend in his own time. His life and times are testament to the independent and eccentric artistic character typical of Wyoming. Though his name doesn’t come immediately to mind when thinking of the Western masters, Teater’s paintings have hung alongside paintings by Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, Thomas Moran and Thomas Hart Benton. Teater often “worked alongside miners, trappers and lumberjacks who had little patience or understanding for the sensitive artist, and so he would often take his wagon into the mountains, where he enjoyed the solitude, to work for days on his landscapes.”
The landscapes most inspirational to Teater were Wyoming’s mountains. According to his biography, Teater found work as a trail blazer in the newly established Grand Teton National Park. Beginning in 1928, Teater visited the Tetons annually, set up camp at Jenny Lake, and sold paintings right at his campsite. Biographers note that whenever Teater left camp, “ a note requested that art buyers pin their payments to a bed blanket.”
Teater’s log cabin gallery still stands in downtown Jackson; his Jackson Hole Art Gallery is now home to J.C. Jewelers.
Another cool fact about Teater is that he and his wife, Patricia, commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design and build a custom home–that house is situated in Hagerman, Idaho. Boy, would I like to take a tour; if it’s anything like Fallingwater, I’ll swoon…….Wednesday evening, enjoy stories about the artist and view some of his works. Free for members, $3 for non-members. Refreshments served! 307-733-9605. www.jacksonholehistory.org
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Legacy Gallery has announced that artits David Mann, Merrill Mahaffey, Richard Hall, and Walt Wooten have joined the gallery. Legacy’s show Western Reflections is currently on display, and the gallery plans a Holiday Small Works Show, opening December 8, 2011. www.LegacyGallery.com
Jackson Hole artist Erin C. O’Connor will give a free plein air painting demonstration at String Lake, Grand Teton National Park on Saturday, September 10, 2011, 2:00-5:00 pm. O’Connor’s appearance winds up the Grand Teton Association’s 2011 “Artists in the Environment” plein air series, and coincides with the opening days of Jackson Hole’s Fall Arts Festival. (Tuesday, September 6th, the Jackson Hole Art Blog will post the first of two Fall Arts Festival calendars!)
O’Connor finds her greatest inspiration by painting directly within the environment. Noted for her participation in many prestigious plein air events, she is represented in collections and exhibits throughout the country. Since being awarded the 2009 Joshua Tree National Park “Artist-in-Residency”
post, she has taken part in numerous Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP) events, most recently being awarded “Artists’ Choice, Best Body of Work” by her peers at RMPAP’s Pagosa Springs, Colorado competition. Plein Air Magazine’s Spring 2011 issue named the artist one of “Today’s Masters.”
“To gain the endorsements of your fellow artists–there’s no higher accolade,” O’Connor says.
O’Connor came to Jackson 25 years ago, and stays because it’s a place where she and so many others are free to “follow their bliss.” As an artist, you can never paint as much as you’d like, she says. O’Connor sees the world around her afresh daily. It’s a point of ecstasy or a point of madness–but for her, wanting to paint everything you see–and seeing everything as a painting–is a gift.
O’Connor drew and painted from the time she was little.
“When I first started painting en plein air I’d say I strove more to capture details and “true” colors than I do now,” she notes. “Now, I don’t get as wrapped up in those details. It’s the essence behind the details I want to capture. That was never a conscious decision–you’re not going to change the way you paint, it’s like your signature. My style is not really contemporary, not really traditional. The Taos Ten greatly influenced me, and the California Impressionists–the people in the U.S. who were painting outside. It was their clarity of light and brilliant color.”
Describing herself as essentially a “solitary individual,” O’Connor has lately been painting hay bales–”round bales, square bales, hay loaves, hay
laying on the ground, in stripes and in piles!” Painting alone allows her to stay in her “zone,” frees her to get into her signature style. Summers, O’Connor works as a landscaper. The job gets her outside, and she can think about how to access certain scenes.
“I’m not above stopping on the Wilson Bridge and placing orange cones around me so I can paint! But there’s usually an easier way,” says a smiling O’Connor.
A few years ago, while painting at String Lake, a Western Tanager flew down to perch on the artist’s easel.
“I don’t know if it was attracted to the colors of the paint or if it was a mooch! It was a great experience,” recalls O’Connor. “There’s so much going on at String Lake. There are the mountains, so dramatic. There’s the lake itself, quiet and serene. It’s shallow enough to see logs beneath the water’s surface, everything is so interesting, there’s so much to choose from. And it’s an honor to be asked back to “Artists in the Environment.”
NOTE: There are several parking areas at String Lake. To hook up with “Artists in the Environment,” proceed to the furthest parking area–String Lake’s Picnic Area lot. Walk a short distance north, up the shoreline, and find O’Connor “in plein sight,” alongside the lake.
Contact: Tammy Christel tammy@jacksonholearttours.com
Last spring Jackson photographer David Brookover unveiled what is sure to become one of his signature photographs, an iconic bromoil of a bison. Now, on the eve of Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival 2011, Brookover is introducing seven new platinum palladium prints. Traditionally, Brookover has favored landscapes and ancient architecture. For over a year he’s been shooting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s indigenous wildlife and Park habitats, redefining nature photography.
The downstairs of Brookover’s Jackson gallery has been transformed into a visitors’ sanctum. “It’s a meditative space,” Brookover says. “People come down and spend 30, 45 minutes. It’s calm; upstairs has more bustle, with the activity of Gaslight Alley and Town Square just outside. On the lower level it’s cool and quiet. When folks discover these images they want to remain with the photographs.”
Brookover’s wildlife images are crafted using traditional, ancient methods and materials. Japanese printing papers are made as they were in the 1st century. These fabrics enhance Brookover’s sophisticated, minimalist compositions, resulting in a thoroughly refreshed wildlife photography style.
Brookover talked about his bromoil process.
“It starts with silver gelatin; you strip away the silver and you’re left with a matrix of gelatin and paper. “You ‘go in’ with lithographic
pure inks. Using a special Japanese brush I tap it, brush it, work it for about an hour. I let the image set overnight, throw it in water, wipe off excess ink, and then repeat that sequence…for four more days. And usually, after four days, I’m not satisfied! So we play with different exposures, work on the negative, and I think about how to apply ink once as I get further along. We started on the Buffalo bromoil a few days before Superbowl Sunday and finished it April 15—over two months to get it right. It’s a challenge for printers! But we got it.”
A bromoil image of the Great Wall of China’s has striking perspective, its solidity and details palpable. Brookover creates thick atmosphere using a brush and a density of inks to build up shadows and enhance texture. “When silver gelatin papers were developed, they were popular because it was so much easier than bromoil,” notes Brookover. “But I love the process; there’s a certain masculinity to it.”
A photograph of Yellowstone’s Firehole River is as mystic as a sacred shrine. In another shot, two young great horned owls nestle in a cottonwood’s gnarled, sheltering trunk. “Silent Storm” is a hauntingly beautiful image of a Yellowstone bison bearing up under heavy winter snows. The animal is enveloped in hot spring mists.
Fans of Grand Teton National Park’s Bears 399 and 610 will want to see Brookover’s series of photographs of those two bears and their cubs. Like pages from a private ancestral album, the platinums portray touching family moments. The series is intimate, playful, and timeless. On a wall nearby, a wolf appears to be walking across the surface of the Madison River’s glittering waters.
“These platinums and bromoils are a team effort,” says Brookover. “We love exploring historical processes. That’s where we’ve been, and that’s where we’re going.”
I recommend stopping in to see David Brookover’s new platinum and bromoil images during Fall Arts Festival. Palates & Palettes night, the gallery will raise funds to benefit the Teton Raptor Center; Raptor Center avian “residents” will be on hand. For more information, phone 307.732.3988. Brookover will launch his new website this week! Stay tuned! www.brookovergallery.com