Sunset flashed like diamonds in the mist as rain drizzled repetitiously as we made our way into the North Carolina Museum of Art for a Friday night visit to tour the Childe Hassam: Isle of Shoals exhibit.
Listen to WUNC broadcast on exhibit
Childe Hassam has always been one of my favorite painters. I love his bold and intricate use of color, blended landscapes of impressionist and romantic ideals. He stands as one of America's master artists and premier impressionists. While Hassam is an impressionist painter in style, I find his work to be unique and daring in its American ideal - romantic and stark. The Isle of Shoals works are intrepid - showcasing the raw rugged scenery of New England's Appledore Island, while also imbuing each work with an artistry of a rugged and wild hope in the chaos of the natural world.
This exhibit showcases 39 exquisite pieces chronicling Hassam's interpretations of the enchanting landscape of the Isle of Shoals, a series of islands off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. Hassam spent countless summers living in the artist colony of Appledore Island with renowned poetess Celia Thaxter.
Thaxter and her family had deep roots in the Shoals, with Thaxter hosting literary and artistic giants of the time including Longfellow, Hawthorne, William Morris Hunt and Childe Hassam into her cottage. Artists displayed their work in Thaxter's salon and were in turn exposed to wealthy buyers vacationing on the island.
Entering the exhibit I was immediately swept into another world. With each painting I imagined myself in another time, hearing the roar of the silent ocean - that odd silent of crashing waves so loud it drowns out all other noises and you are lost in a vortex of peace in a barren land. I could feel the rugged stones of the shoals and sand and brush under my feet as I envisioned Hassam crating his canvas and materials, trekking to the perfect and at times impossible vantage point
Each piece of artwork - has a simple dynamic and rich depth that can ignite memories of lazy summer days spent outside - or lingering by a botanical garden, while invoking our own individual ideal of that country garden and seascape we imagine when studying history. Hassam creates works that are rooted in reality and our human propensity to stand in awe of nature - to see color in barren spaces, to seek life even on the edge of rocky cliffs...infusing our sense of hope in the unknown - colliding with the peace of familiar spaces...i.e. the rugged Neptune's Hall slit cove - with roaring waves fast approaching in contrast to the idyllic Thaxter cottage.
I am a literary buff and each picture reminded me of a great American novel, a mystery and magic, romance and solitary journey.
The paintings reminded me of one of my favorite books as a child, Osprey Island. The book, which is now out of print, is a story about a magic island not too different in description that the Isle of Shoals, where cousins from across the world meet through a magical portal. The island is full of color and life and adventure and peace...
Looking at Hassam's paintings I was catapulted into a desire to pack up my car and drive to New England, go camping and grab a camera and a journal and seek out the quiet wonders of Appledore, immersing myself in the history and magic of a land so rich in scenery, fortitude and inspiration.
Hassam captures the quiet wonder of the island. I choose the word 'quiet' because while the beach scenes and rocky bluffs are crass and bold - there is a peace in the barren rocks and the vivid shrubbery - a quiet that we find when we are in the face of awesome power and raw beauty - an awesome wonder that calms our soul and makes us stand quiet - quiet and awake to the world around us - each other, art in motion, something as small and delicate and alive as a blade of grass roaming across the ground, dancing as a stroke of quick brushwork in a painting.
I loved all of the paintings in the exhibit - each one reminding me of summer - that restless spirit that falls into the lazy peace of just living for three months of bliss...each introspective and unique. My mom liked the scenes of sunrise and sunset - painted from the same location nearly a decade apart...the rise of hope in the morning and the light of the moon reflected in the panorama of the vast and fearless sea - peace even in the fear of new beginnings.
In addition to the Hassam exhibit, the NCMA featured two other outstanding collections: Barbara Cooney's Island Boy and the Minneapolis Art Museum's collection of drawings.
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Marks of Genius: 100 Drawings, was an extraordinary surprise! My mom and I were delighted to experience 100 unique compositions rooted in the art of drawing spanning across the centuries - from Medieval illuminated manuscript pages recounting the Gospel message, to modern art of Warhol and Lichenstein.
Several of my favorite artists were included in the exhibit, including Degas, Henri Matisse, Modigliani, Klimt, Homer (below) and more. I plan to return to the museum again with a notebook to record and sketch my favorite pieces.
Kirchner - one of my favorites - love the freeform use of line, color and dynamic intrigue and simplicity of setting!
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Island Boy is a children's classic that continues to be a hauntingly beautiful story for adults - it is a story about loving your home, stepping out into the world ready for adventure - our sense of place, encountering beauty and love in even the everyday life - it is an ode to Maine and New England.
This exhibit showcases all the original artwork of Caldecott winner Barbara Cooney's book Island Boy. This pairs perfectly with the Hassam exhibit - showcasing the folk art and purely American identity of New England's artistic movements and cultural identity of universal themes - peace in home, our lives as an island and our struggle to be an island while also living in a diverse and closely knit community.
“I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting. …It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand. '…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.' So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to, or draw down to, children.
(from the author's acceptance speech for the Caldecott award)”
― Barbara Cooney, Chanticleer and the Fox
I look forward to learning more about the artists and art I viewed tonight. I am also ready to start taking art classes and pursue my own passion for painting.
