A Mother’s Love: A Eulogy for Jane Jaspersen Anderson

My mother-in-law Jane died last week and in the same month Anderson loses another grandparent...  A Eulogy for Jane Jaspersen Anderson (Nov. 23, 1934-January 27, 2015) was delivered by her daughter, my wife, Dr. Alida Anderson de Campello on February 2, 2015 at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Parish, Silver Spring, Maryland:

Jane Jaspersen Anderson was triumphant. Those who knew her witnessed her struggle and achieve over the hills and valleys of her mountainous 80 years. Those who knew our mother immediately recognized the characteristics that made her one-of-a-kind: compassion, empathy, intellect, fierce independence, devotion, kindness, and an unstoppable will. 

From the first decades of Jane’s life as the oldest child of four, she cared for her siblings and supported her working mother and father.  Jane was a task-master, as her brother Rick and sisters Lucy and Barbie can attest to. She had a deep and lively intellect and read voraciously from an early age, sneaking into her parents’ room to read the latest breaking reports such as Kinsey’s.

Jane was very gifted athletically and her father described her as a blur of constant movement, always in action. She excelled in field hockey,

swimming, basketball, tennis, and cycling. Jane had exceptional physical and intellectual gifts that often conflicted, as was recognized when her high school history teacher advised her to set her own intellectual goals rather than to adhere to the social conventions of the day. For a teenage girl in 1952, the dream of being an historian was probably unfathomable. However, Jane persisted. She went on to earn her PhD in History from Brown University and to become among the first women to do so.  

Jane dedicated her life to teaching and learning. She was intensely concerned with the struggles of others, and with the human condition. As an avid art lover, Jane immersed herself in the visual and performing arts, conceding that she always wanted to be a ballerina or performer.  Jane sang in the choir, played piano, and attended concerts and operas regularly. She identified with, and taught the life lessons of artists and the history surrounding their art making as a way to give testimony to the struggles they endured.  

Jane had a limitless well of compassion and empathy. She so strongly identified with the struggles of others, and created teachable moments at every opportunity for the good of others. Jane believed that we as a human race could learn from our history and from our past, to contribute to a more fair and just future. This yearning for social justice, combined with her appreciation of history, was part of her attraction to the Catholic Church, which she joined in 2002. 

Jane dedicated her life to teaching and learning. She spent 42 years teaching college students with passion and commitment.  Jane brought enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge on all things historical and on her particular subjects of expertise such as the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman Histories.  Jane believed so strongly in the benefit of education and ensuring its access that she and our dad William Anderson established scholarship funds at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD, Widener University, in Chester, PA, and at Sidwell Friends School, in Washington, DC.  Jane was particularly nurturing and supportive of students whose routes to college were unconventional; those who may have been working full time, some with families, some arriving in the United States for the first time, and some who were giving education a second chance after a negative high school experience. She took extra special care and interest in nurturing her students, with the hope that they could see their potential and reach it, and that she could help them. 

Jane volunteered her time to help those in need in our community. 

The House of Ruth and Martha’s Table were just two of the organizations that she supported with her time and heart.  She was so compassionate that she would be moved to tears over the plight of total strangers that she heard about on the news.  Her compassion knew no boundaries and her spirit to help others was unfaltering. 

Jane never gave up. She was a dreamer and an idealist, and along with that spirit came the commitment and discipline of an unmatched heroine. She was hard-working and fastidious and raised her family with this same spirit.  

Our mom often referred to her child-rearing style as Spartan, and her four children were probably the only youngsters to understand this historical reference. To us it meant that there would be no candy in our house.  It also meant that our mom and dad would take us on long bike trips, such as our weekend rides along the tow-path, and more spectacularly up Cadillac Mountain in Maine.  Also, memorably in Maine, our mom fearlessly led us in a lake swim across Tunk Lake – all the while being dive-bombed by loons; and it took at least a half-hour to swim across that lake!  Our mom taught by example, and infused everyone around her with an energy and life force for what could be possible and attainable.  

Jane was an innovator way ahead of her time; she rode a bicycle to work at a time when it was rare to see anyone commuting in anything other than a car or a bus.  

Some might say that Jane’s spirit was timeless: both vulnerable and courageous, devoted and effervescent. Her thoughts and actions were outside of the box, and they were always grounded in her ideals and compassion for others.  And she accepted the inherent challenge of her ideals, and so many others, as she exceeded expectations and created new standards as a daughter, sister, scholar, teacher, wife, mother, grandmother…human being.  

Family meant everything to our mother, and she showed us at every opportunity that she was our biggest fan, and that she couldn’t be more proud of us.  When mom introduced us or talked about us to others, she beamed.  She was a doting and generous nana and adored her grandchildren.   

Most of all, our mom’s world revolved around our dad.  Our dad is, was, and always will be mom’s everything—her best friend, confidant, and soulmate.  Their nearly 55-year marriage is an incredible example of a love that spans a lifetime and lasts for eternity.  Our mom loved our father will all of her heart and being. 

Jane was a dreamer, and she found ways to celebrate life through her sheer exuberance and unbridled enthusiasm for a beautiful painting, a classic opera, or with the seemingly ordinariness of each year’s Christmas tree creation. She shined so brightly in her thought and appreciation for others, knowing that her words and actions could lift others to their own greatness.  

Jane never gave up. She found greatness in others and in herself through her devotion and love for her family, and through her relationship with God. No matter how much physical or psychological pain life brought to Jane over her lifetime, she never gave up. She persisted and triumphed.  

In Jane’s last hours of life, as we perceived her to be slipping away from us, she was working to ensure that her beloved husband, grandchildren, and children would be okay for her to leave. When we visited, she had a glimmer of a smile showing from underneath a tight oxygen mask and one eye that opened wide enough to make eye-contact and smile as her eyes could do. She held on throughout the morning hours to feel sure that she could leave, to be sure we would all be okay, and then to let go of life and to be free. That was truly a mother’s love, to once again and finally to place her own needs after those of her family. Jane has triumphed in body, mind, and spirit.

Marx on Turner

From talented DMV are painter Amy Marx:

Last night I saw the film "Mr. Turner", a sweepingly beautiful film about the great master painter of storm and sea and steam. I hadn't known much about him as a human being and it was rewarding to learn more about his life and character.

It was also very interesting to see John Ruskin brought to life as a young man, though I question the accuracy of this portrayal. England's greatest art critic was also a wonderful artist in his own right and much more. About Turner he wrote that his paintings "move and mingle among the pale stars, and rise up into the brightness of the illimitable heaven, whose soft, and blue eye gazes down into the deep waters of the sea forever."

When I was in second grade my father took me out of school one day and the two of us drove from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where we were living, to Manhattan. He took me to The Museum of Modern Art to see an exhibit of Turner's paintings.

It was 1964, a year my father later characterized as the worst of his life. This period was dominated by my mother's hospitalization for schizophrenia . This trip to MOMA was a brief respite into another universe. I absorbed the art like a sponge, as one does at that age. My mother had started me painting at three, so by this time I was accustomed to seeing the world through the eyes of an artist.

In the film there is a scene in which Mr. Turner is lashed to a pole. The snow is driving down. The camera pulls away and you see that he is standing in the crows nest, way up high atop the masthead of a ship at sea, like Ullysses.

He does this in order to experience the terror and the wonder of the manifestation of the cosmic forces. For the same reason I have stood in the open in a field in a storm. The veracity of ones experience imbues the art created. It is the portrayal of the numinous which is the true illumination of Turner's work and is what I have alway sought to convey in my own paintings.

Though I would never deign to compare my work with Turner's, and though my work looks nothing like Turner's, the truth I absorbed at seven looking at his work has influenced my work ever since.

Please feel free to respond directly to this email with any thoughts you may have in response to these words. I appreciate your time in reading what I write. I am most grateful to those of you who have let me know what you are thinking.

I remain,

Amy

PS- the painting above "Strange Days" is in the collection of Janice Huff, TV meteorologist at NBC, NY. More work can be seen by clicking here: http://www.amymarx.com/

Creator or Buyer: Who Really Owns the Art?

When we purchase an item, whether it’s a blender, a car, or a really cool toboggan for snowmageddon races, the purchaser owns what the bought and can modify it to their heart’s content.  Buying an artistic work, on the other hand and the ownership is joint, with some right going to the buyer while others are retained by the work’s creator.

Read all about it here.

XLIX

41-10 Hawks

How to turn $5,000 into $5.2M in 18 months

The award for the most compelling market tale undoubtedly goes to the third highest-selling painting, a rediscovered John Constable landscape, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831), that sold for $5.2 million, far exceeding its $3 million high estimate. The consignor had acquired the work at Christie's London in July 2013, and paid a mere $5,300 for it, but then set about getting the work authenticated as a Constable. (See Sotheby's Ratchets Up Price on Rediscovered Constable).

See the whole article by Eileen Kinsella here.

Do you think that the previous owner, who dished this out for $5K, is pissed off that he/she didn't do due diligence?

Visions of Home

Submission Deadline: February 20, 2015

The Art Connection in the Capital Region (ACCR) invites you to participate in Visions of Home, an exhibition and art placement project presented in conjunction with the Arts Management Program at the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University (GMU).

Visions of Home will feature original artwork that embodies the idea of "home". The artwork will be placed within nonprofit organizations that provide affordable housing to underserved communities throughout Northern Virginia. The artwork, selected by the participating nonprofits, will be considered a donation to the agencies for permanent display.

Read the prospectus

 

Wanna go to a museum talk tomorrow?

Photoworks: Presence of Place
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
January 24 through March 15, 2015Artist Gallery Talk:  January 31, 2015, 4PM

American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
Museum Hours: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Tuesday-Sunday

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Elsie Hull Sprague                 Brad Beukema                Joe Cameron
Tanguy de Carbonnieres        Eliot Cohen                      Sora DeVore
Rebecca Drobis                     Saman Michael Far           Peggy Fleming
Henry Friedman                    Sheila Galagan                 Frank (Tico) Herrera
Michael Horsley                    Karen Keating                   Michael Lang
Julie Miller                             David Myers                    Christine Pearl
Mark Power                           Molly Roberts                   Gayle Rothschild
Sarah Hood Salomon            Sonia Suter                       Grace Taylor
Tom Wolff                            Alejandra Vallejo              Fred Zafran
Judith Walser

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW
Forty years ago, in a derelict building hidden among the abandoned amusement park rides of Glen Echo Park, four young photographers founded Photoworks with little more than a shared passion for the daily work of seeing, shooting, and printing images of lasting beauty and artistic integrity.

Photoworks: Presence of Place will feature works by past and present members of the Photoworks community, faculty and students who have distinguished themselves by the quality and integrity of their work. This exhibition is in memory of Elsie Hull Sprague, an artist with a MA in Film from the School of Communication, American University.

Peck on Schwartzberg

DMV artist Judith Peck reviews Deanna Schwartzberg at the gorgeous Art Museum of the Americas:

 

It was my pleasure to attend the opening reception of “Primal Connections” a one-person show by local artist, Deanna Schwartzberg, at the Art Museum of the Americas F Street Gallery.  

 

It is a deceptively simple, long, and brightly lit grand hall.  Deanna's intensely jewel colored palette and assured brush strokes lit up the space. 

  

As curator of the exhibition, “Primal Connections”, Ana Maria Ascano tells us; “Viewing the art of Deanna Schwartzberg is like reading a favorite poem.”  This thought stayed with me as I viewed an array of paintings beautifully composed, with the artist’s unique understanding of color and light.  These works spoke to me in an indirect manner, the way poetry does, igniting the mind and senses and making the artist’s subject matter all the more intense and powerful.

 

For many years, Deanna has been working with the interconnection of humanity and the world of nature. She gave an intriguing talk about how she went from nonobjective painting to finding her voice in paintings that invite us, the viewer, to discover with her the fluid relationship between body and nature.  In her larger works a powerful figure merges with an abstracted landscape. The subject matter resonates, and her color choices are so inventive that we feel we are discovering places we have been, perhaps only in a dream.

 

Along with eight large figurative pieces, the artist has an installation of 28 small painted faces.  The poem by the artist, Primal Connections, is the source of inspiration for these works. The faces, each have a feminine name for one of the elements: earth, fire and air. Each one is different and expressive in its own way.  Neither happy, sad, scared nor surprised, they appear to be centered in their own thoughts and feelings and part of the drama and wonder of the world that surrounds them.

 

You can contact the museum or the artist directly at schwartzbergart@verizon.net to find out when tours are available. Hours are by appointment only.

 

“Primal Connections”

Paintings by Deanna Schwartzberg

Art Museum of the Americas F Street Gallery, 

1889 F St NW,

Washington, DC
Opening Reception  Jan 28    Jan28 through March 6, 2015.

Contact; Art Museum of the Americas, 202- 370- 0151, for appointments and tours.

Why Self-Censorship of Controversial Artwork is Wrong

Following the shocking events of the massacres and sieges in Paris, a debate has raged over whether or not to publish images of the prophet Muhammad for fear of reprisals, apparently from whichever shadowy fundamentalists might be out there.

So, the latest news, that London's Victoria & Albert Museum quietly pulled from its website a reproduction of a 1990 Iranian poster depicting Muhammad, held in the V&A's collection, is dispiriting. Citing the level of “security alert" the V&A has to operate under, a spokeswoman defended that the work, “as with most of our reserve collections, would be made available to scholars and researchers by appointment."

Read the whole piece by JJ Charlesworth in artnetnews here.

Broken Wing

That's my right shoulder, which has been out of commission since December 23rd.

It all started in the mid seventies (as I recall), when I was in the US Navy and suffered a shoulder injury which dislocated my right shoulder.

It was "popped" back in, but after that, over the years, it would almost pop out at will, and I even learned how to pop it back into the shoulder socket on my own.

It was immensely painful to do this process, but it was a brilliant flash of pain, followed by muscular pain for a few days afterwards.

Eventually I got so sick and tired of this (it once popped out when I was swimming and I nearly drowned), that I went back to sick bay and began weight training treatment, which essentially involved building up the shoulder muscles and thus keep the darn shoulder bone tight inside the socket.

On December 23rd it decided to make an exit, aided by a fall caused by a small rug slipping on hardwood floors.

And now, after a horrendous MRI, I am told that the injury to the shoulder, close to 40 years ago, has been causing issues with that shoulder, the bones, and eroded a lot of cartilage, and thus needs to go under the surgeon's knife.

4-6 weeks of immobile right shoulder follows, plus 6-9 months of intensive therapy.

It could have been worse... I could have landed on my head or busted my neck... but Feh!

I'm right-handed by the way.... double Feh!

When in Scotland - Part II

As I noted earlier, I was fortunate to have lived in gorgeous Scotland, perhaps the most beautiful country on planet Earth, from 1989-1992 (although I had been visiting it regularly several times a year starting in 1987).

This spectacular nation is an artist's dream come true, especially if you are a landscape artist (which I wasn't), but the sheer beauty of the Scottish landscape turned me into one... and over the years I produced hundreds of Scottish watercolors, pastels and drawings (and some etchings) which celebrated not only the Scottish landscape, but also all the "stuff" around me (I lived in a farmhouse built in 1532), such as sheep, horses, cows, Highland games, fish, and the brilliant Scottish people.

See some of my Scottish sheep pieces here, and enjoy the below art homages to Scotland.

North Sea, near Stonehaven, Angus, Scotland
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1989.
In a private collection in Aberdeen, Scotland

Loch Ness, Scotland
11x14 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1991.
In a private collection in Montrose, Scotland

Two Deer, near Little Keithock Farmhouse, Brechin Road, Angus, Scotland
28x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1991.
In a private collection in Brechin, Scotland

Snowfall, near Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
16x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1989.
In a private collection in Braemar, Scotland

Back Road, near Little Keithock Farmhouse, Angus, Scotland
30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Norfolk, Virginia

Seagulls Following the Plow, near Edzell, Angus, Scotland
40x32 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Boise, Idaho

Road to Cairn O'Mount Pass, near Fettercairn, Angus, Scotland
30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1990.
In a private collection in Banchory, Scotland

Seagulls following the plow, near Stonehaven, Angus, Scotland
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1989.
In a private collection in Aberdeen, Scotland

Back Road, near Little Keithock Farmhouse, Angus, Scotland
30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in San Diego, California

Back road, near Battledykes, Angus, Scotland
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1991.
In a private collection in Aberdeen, Scotland

Northern Lights, Back Road, near Little Keithock Farmhouse, Angus, Scotland
30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Seattle, Washington

Just Before Trinity Fields, Enroute Brechin, Angus, Scotland
6x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Dundee, Scotland

Back Road near Smiddie Wood, near Stracathro and Careston Estates, Angus, Scotland
12x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Brechin, Scotland

River South Esk, near Brechin, Angus, Scotland
30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1991.
In the Collection of the Earl of Southesk

View of the Highlands, near Edzell, Angus, Scotland
10x14 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Fresno, California

Back Road, near Little Keithock Farmhouse, Trinity, Angus, Scotland
18x36 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1990.
In a private collection in San Francisco, California

North Sea, near Stonehaven, Angus, Scotland
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1989.
In a private collection in St. Cyrus, Scotland

Road near Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland, where my daughters would take horse riding lessons
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In the Collection of the Earl of Southesk

Back road near Laurencekirk, Angus, Scotland
7x10 inches. Ink wash on paper, c. 1990.
In a private collection in Brechin, Scotland

Taking the walk behind the Blue Door, The Burns, near Edzell, Angus, Scotland
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1991
In a private collection in the United States

View from Little Keithock Farmhouse, near Fettercairn, Angus, Scotland
28x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Glasgow, Scotland

View of the Highlands, near Maryculter, Angus, Scotland
30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1990.
In a private collection in Montrose, Scotland

Call for Artists: Bethesda Painting Awards

Deadline: Submissions must be received by Monday, February 20, 2015. 

 

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is currently accepting applications for the seventh annual Bethesda Painting Awards. Up to nine finalists will be selected to display their work in an exhibition during the month of June at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, and the top four winners will receive $14,000 in prize monies. 

 

Best in Show will be awarded $10,000; Second Place will be honored with $2,000 and Third Place will receive $1,000. Additionally, a “Young Artist” whose birthday is after February 20, 1985 may be awarded $1,000. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. 

 

All original 2-D paintings including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimensions should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions. 

 

Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibit. Each artist must submit 5 images, application and a non-refundable fee of $25. 

 

Digital entries will be accepted in JPG, GIF or PNG format. For a complete application, please visit this link or  send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

 

Bethesda Painting Awards

c/o Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District

7700 Old Georgetown Road

Bethesda, MD 20814

 

Or call 301-215-6660 x117.

DC in NYC

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, PULSE Contemporary Art Fair returns for its New York edition from March 5 – 8, 2015 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea and hard-working DMV gallerist Adah Rose will be at the coming Pulse New York art fair where she will be showcasing Joan Belmar, Brian Dupont, and Alan Steele.

When in Rome... I mean Scotland...

I was fortunate to have lived in gorgeous Scotland, perhaps the most beautiful country on planet Earth, from 1989-1992 (although I had been visiting it regularly several times a year starting in 1987).

This spectacular nation is an artist's dream come true, especially if you are a landscape artist (which I wasn't), but the sheer beauty of the Scottish landscape turned me into one... and over the years I produced hundreds of Scottish watercolors, pastels and drawings (and some etchings) which celebrated not only the Scottish landscape, but also all the "stuff" around me (I lived in a farmhouse built in 1532), such as sheep, horses, cows, Highland games, fish, and the brilliant Scottish people.

Here are some of the hundreds of pieces that I did on sheep, which were essentially everywhere!

Sheep in a field near Fettercairn, Angus, Scotland

26 x 40 inches, Pastel on paper, c. 1989

In a private collection in Edzell, Scotland

View from Little Keithock Farmhouse, near Fettercairn, Angus, Scotland

30x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1990.

In a private collection in Montrose, Scotland

Field off the A90, near Fettercairn, Angus, Scotland
12x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1990.
In a private collection in Brooklyn, New York

Blackface Highlanders, near Inverbervie, Angus, Scotland
12x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1990.
In a private collection in Arbroath, Scotland

View from Little Keithock Farmhouse, near Fettercairn, Angus, Scotland
28x40 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992.
In a private collection in Glasgow, Scotland

Blackface Highlanders (Near Edzell, Angus, Scotland)
8x10 inches. Watercolor on paper, c. 1992
In a private collection in the U.S.

Blackface Highlanders, near Glamis Castle, Forfar, Angus, Scotland
20x40 inches. Pen and ink wash on paper, c. 1992
In a private collection in Banff, Scotland

Blackface Highlander, near Dunnottar Castle, Angus, Scotland
28x40 inches. Pen and ink on paper, c. 1991
In a private collection in Stonehaven, Scotland

Blackface Highlanders, near Little Keithock Farmhouse, Brechin Road, Angus, Scotland
30x30 inches. Pen and ink wash on paper, c. 1990
In a private collection in St. Andrews, Scotland