Jellicle Cats come out tonight

THE SONG OF THE JELLICLES

Jellicle Cats come out tonight
Jellicle Cats come one come all:
The Jellicle Moon is shining bright—
Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball.

Jellicle Cats are black and white,
Jellicle Cats are rather small;
Jellicle Cats are merry and bright,
And pleasant to hear when they caterwaul.
Jellicle Cats have cheerful faces,
Jellicle Cats have bright black eyes;
They like to practise their airs and graces
And wait for the Jellicle Moon to rise.

Jellicle Cats develop slowly,
Jellicle Cats are not too big;
Jellicle Cats are roly-poly,
They know how to dance a gavotte
and a jig.
Until the Jellicle Moon appears
They make their toilette and take their repose:
Jellicles wash behind their ears,
Jellicles dry between their toes.

Jellicle Cats are white and black,
Jellicle Cats are of
moderate size;
Jellicles jump like a jumping-jack,
Jellicle Cats have moonlit eyes.
They're quiet enough in the morning hours,
They're quiet enough
in the afternoon,
Reserving their
terpsichorean powers
To dance by the light of
the Jellicle Moon.

Jellicle Cats are black and white,
Jellicle Cats (as I said) are small;
If it happens to be a stormy night
They will practise a caper or two in the hall.
If it happens the sun is shining bright
You would say they had nothing to do at all:
They are resting and saving themselves to be right
For the Jellicle Moon and the Jellicle Ball.

T. S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot

dow's COMPOSITION part 2

PICTURES COMPOSED ON RECTANG- ULAR LINES

Great architects and designers were not the only ones to use this simple line- idea; mere doing of the work recommended here will be of little value if the only thought is to get over the ground, or if the mind is intent upon names rather than principles. The doing of it well, with an artistic purpose in mind, is the true way to develop the creative faculties.

These tracings from a variety of compositions, old and new (No. 36), show that this combination was chosen either to express certain qualities and emotions, -- majesty, solemnity, peace, repose, (Puvis de Chavannes) or be- cause such a space division was suited to tone-effects (Whistler's Battersea Bridge), cut a space finely by landscape shapes; or to color schemes (Hiro- shige). These should be copied exactly in pencil, then drawn enlarged. Find other examples in museums, illustrated books, or photographs, and draw in the same way.

puvis de chavannes himself played an interesting side-bar role in dow's life. according to dow's biographer johnson, puvis was seen by both dow and fenollosa as "the fusion of occident and orient. they discovered him for america and had much to do with his obtaining the commission to paint a series of murals in the boston public library.

"puvis came to america and to boston where he was received with cool and unintelligent criticism." dow even wrote a letter to the boston evening transcript, on jan. 2o, 1893, protesting that reaction. i am trying to find that letter....

all well and good... but... i could find no record of puvis coming to america (please feel free to correct me!), and i found this, written on the occasion of weir's death: Mr. Hassam's intimate remini- scences of Weir bring to notice many interesting traits and incidents. One of his anecdotes seems to amount to a claim that Weir was the first man to suggest the commissioning of Puvis de Chavannes to paint the mural decorations for the Boston Public Library. It appears that Weir, being in Durand-Ruel's Paris gallery, one day, met Stanford White there. "McKim's doing a library for Boston," said White. "Who's the man to make a big mural painting?" "Why, Puvis, of course," exclaimed Weir. They went from there to the Place Pigalle, found Puvis de Chavannes, "and we know the rest. He painted for Boston one of the most beautiful decorations in the world.'' 1

and this: Puvis was first approached with a request to paint murals for the staircase of the newly built Boston Public Library in 1891 Despite the generous terms offered ... complete freedom in the choice of subject matter, as much time as he wished and a vast fee of 250,000 francs ($50,000 far in excess of any other commission he received ... it took two years of patient negotiations to overcome Puvis misgivings about painting murals for a building he would never see. A plaster model of the staircase was made for him and samples of the stone used sent so that he could establish a colour harmony. In Puvis own words he chose to represent in emblematic form, the ensemble of intellectual riches, united in this beautiful monument .

The first and most impor- tant of the panels Les Muses Inspiratrices, was exhi- bited at the Salon du Champ-de- Mars in 1895 before being shipped to Boston. Over the next year or so it was followed by eight smaller panels depicting La Poesie des Champs (Virgil), la Poesie dramatique (Aeschylus), la Poesie Unique (Homer), L Histoire, L Astronomie la Philosophie, La Chimie and la Physique. As the last of them crossed the Atlantic, Puvis remarked that he felt like a father whose daughters had entered a convent. 2

did puvis visit boston? who were more important in getting his work there? just think -- in 110 years, when we try to figure out who said what to who, given that we have immediate 24-hour reporting and commentary, we still will be no better in learning who was right.

EXERCISE: To discover the best arrangement, and to get the utmost experience in line and space composition, the landscape should be set into several boundaries of differing proportions, as shown in the examples, keeping the essential lines of the subject, but varying them to fit the boundary. For instance, a tree may be made taller in a high vertical space than in a low horizontal space, (No. 37). After working out this exercise the pupil may draw a landscape from nature and treat it in the same way. Let him rigorously exclude detail, drawing only the outlines of objects.
arthurwesleydow

the rush to finery

i have long wondered about the dutch. now, we've talked here about twelve dozen times, at least, about the roots of japonisme as having begun after japan was opened to trade in the middle of the 19th century after around 200 years spent in chosen, peaceful, isolation. this gauguin image with a japanese print, for example, is from 1889.

as we've also seen, japanese objects began appearing in artworks before truly inspirational and profound changes were to take place. we know that it wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that europe began to be flooded with japanese goods, and we even know something of who facilitated the flooding.

so then tell me. what is this kimono doing in the painting by vermeer??? 'that's not a kimono. it couldn't be,' you will respond. but you would be wrong. "The history of exchange between Japan and the Netherlands started when the Rotterdam ship de Liefde drifted ashore in Japan in 1600. From the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century, during the warring states period, Japanese culture was strongly influenced by Portugal and Spain.

In 1639, the Tokugawa Shogunate prohibited the Portuguese from visiting Japan and decided to continue official trade only with the Netherlands. In 1641, the Dutch Factory of the VOC was relocated from Hirado to Deshina [an island] in Nagasaki and trade between Japan and the Netherlands entered a new stage. At this time, the Netherlands was the only country that provided Japan with western culture." 1 [and vice versa]

"The Dutch VOC envoy left the trading post on the island of Deshima once a year as he was allowed only one visit Edo [Tokyo]. The VOC United East India Company gave exquisite gifts to the Emperor in order to show its gratitude for the trade monopoly privilege. [In return] the very first silk kimono's were a gift from the Japanese emperor to the Dutch envoy.

A 'Japonsche rok' chamber coat is padded and is designed to be worn inside the house during cold weather. That was quite necessary in winter as heating was sparse (foreign visitors remarked on it in their travel journals). Padded kimonos sent back to the Republic were exotic and very warm and thus became a hit when introduced in The Dutch Republic. The wide arms were often narrowed to fit Dutch requirements for use. The Japanese style chamber gown was often worn by wealthy traders and later on by scientists, authors and painters, sedentary people working at home." 2

in fact, these wealthy traders were also responsible for 'subsidising' another major development in the world of art: the still life. "In general, the rise of still-life painting in the Netherlands reflects the increasing urbanization of Dutch and Flemish society, which brought with it an emphasis on the home and personal possessions, commerce, trade, learning—all the aspects and diversions of everyday life. Floral still-lifes were especially prominent in the early 1600s, and in their highly refined execution and in their subjects and symbolism were addressed to a cultivated audience." 3

"While artists found limited opportunity to produce the religious iconography which had long been their staple — images of religious subjects were forbidden in the Dutch Reformed Protestant Church — the continuing Northern tradition of detailed realism and hidden symbols appealed to the growing Dutch middle classes, who were replacing Church and State as the principal patrons of art in the Netherlands.

It was not until the decline of the Academic hierarchy in Europe, and the rise of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, who emphasized technique and design over subject matter, that still life was once again avidly practiced by artists." 4

the new middle class having become the audience for still-lifes, the paintings themselves had a grand task: they had to announce the sophistication of their owners. "Japanese aesthetics were seen as signs of cultural distinction. Still-life paintings afforded the opportunity to evoke Asian cultures and the values associated with them, and thus Impressionists painted images of table settings that mingled Japanese, Chinese, and American objects. Japan was not simply a sign of chicness and exoticism: it was also a dream-image of utopia." 5

and thus our treats from the dutch: still-lifes, and the very earliest glimpses of japan's cultural riches. from high-culture to low-, the inclusion of a japanese figurine or print as part of still-life spread across the globe. and we are reminded once again of the eye-opening necessary links between the finest of arts and the bourgeoisie.