Object of the Week: Artwork of A. B. Heinsbergen

BMCA#81.55.185
Oil on Canvas, 10” x 12”
BMCA#F75.2.4
Watercolor and ink on paper, detail of image

At the age of 13 A. B. Heinsbergen came to the United States from Holland. Already skilled in classic painting and art restoration he immediately (his second day in the U.S.!) began as an apprentice working with a theatre decorator where he quickly developed skills in mural and scenic art painting. At the age of 19 he was employed by a prominent theatre designer to paint the interiors of both the Orpheum and Pantages theatres and by the age of 22 Heinsbergen had inherited a business with several commissions lined up to design and paint some of the most famous theatres throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. His unique and opulent style is best described as a blend of Art Deco and Spanish Renaissance Revival styles. By the time he retired Heinsbergen had decorated over 750 buildings, most of which were theatres but also renowned hotels like the Biltmore, private mansions and other high profile businesses. In addition to his well known painting style Heinsbergen is also recognized for his incised metal techniques and also as one of the first people to work with specialized paints that glow under the earliest developed black light.

The Smithsonian Museum recognized Heinsbergen's prolific work and in 1975 staged a traveling exhibit of his work titled "Movie Palace Modern." Bowers Museum was one venue for the exhibit and after the show Heinsbergen graciously donated 6 framed works of small renderings and interior details he designed in the 1920’s. Some of these were used to show clients potential schemes or options for beams and ceilings and others are specific to buildings such as the rendering shown here of a ceiling detail of the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles.

Not widely known is that in his personal time Heinsbergen was just as prolific an artist as in his professional work. He painted regularly as a form of relaxation and described his style as an “impressionistic realism.” In contrast to his professional work he painted mostly outdoors emphasizing movement and color. His personal paintings almost always show wide open expanses and many are painted from a perspective that gives the viewer a bird's eye view. The Bowers Museum has over 300 of Heinsbergen's paintings that were made in his private time and a selection of these will be shown along with his professional design work in "The Lifework and Private Paintings of A. B. Heinsbergen: Artworks from the Collection of Bowers Museum." This exhibition is the first in a series that will be displayed at Chapman University’s Henley Galleria as part of a newly formed partnership between the institutions. Exhibition runs February 6, through March 31, and is free to the public.

All images and text are protected by copyright. Please contact the Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Klamath Quiver

BMCA#19629
Arrow Quiver
Klamath Indian, Oregon Woven natural and dyed tule
17" L

This woven quiver that was used to carry arrows is one of approximately six complete examples known to exist. It is a fine example of basket stitching but, the rarity of this object makes it one of the Bowers Museum's most prized in the collection. Flat and conical shaped the quiver was woven with tall marsh grasses called tule. The weaver incorporated alternating lines of brown dyed tule that encircle the basket at intervals for decoration. This quiver illustrates the vast extent to which the Klamath used tules and other water growing plants to manufacture most of their possessions. Whereas other tribes might make such things as the quiver, moccasins, leggings and even house coverings out of animal skins, the Klamath people preferred to weave such articles out of the plants growing in the marsh areas.

Much of Klamath life revolved around watery areas where the staples of their diets (fish, birds and pond lily seeds) were trapped and gathered. The Klamath developed sophisticated and specialized traps and nets, some of which were designated for individual species of birds and fish. Less often large animals such as bears and deer were hunted and a quiver like the one pictured here may have been used. It may also be possible that this quiver was used during times of instability with neighboring tribes or in defense of the large expanse of lands claimed by new settlers to the west.

All images and text are protected by copyright. Please contact the Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Japanese Kimono

BMCA#34981
Kimono
Japan, c.1800-1850
Silk and embroidery

This lightweight silk kimono is incredibly vibrant making it hard to believe that it dates from the first half of the 19th century. The heavy gold thread that constitutes and accentuates many design elements throughout the kimono retains every bit of brilliance, and rarely does the human eye come across such a rich and saturated color as that of the safflower dyed red-orange inner lining.
The Japanese consider the kimono as a fine art object, no different then painting or sculpture,and here the artist’s creativity and meticulous skills are evident. A number of techniques were used to create the copious amount of ornamentation found throughout the entire composition including embroidery, hand painting, couching and the application of a rice paste that resisted dye. By applying rice paste onto the silk before dying the artist was able to control if details such as leaves and rocks were to remain white. The number of hours to create such an object as this must be astounding.

Kimono designs correlated to seasons and occasions. They revealed the status of an individual and could be worn (as part of an ensemble) to invoke specific socially understood connotations. Often design elements and their combinations held personal meaning for their owners. Several symbols of prosperity and longevity (cranes, 10,000 year old turtles, open fans and an insect cage) adorn this kimono. These symbols are placed among elements that relay the beauty of the natural world including bamboo, rocks, water and a multitude of flowers and leaves. The masterful combination of color and design of this kimono is harmonious and notions of celebration and bountiful life permeate throughout it.




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Object of the Week: Photograph and Objects from the Xingu River Basin, Brazil

BMCA#91.22.23, 91.22.25, 91.22.121.2
Feathered Armband, Shell and Fiber Necklace, Woven Hat
Kamayura Village, Xingu River Basin, Brazil
c.1950

A number of objects from various cultures of the Xingu River Basin, located deep in the forest of Brazil, are held in the Bowers Museum. Collected in the 1950’s the objects were donated with thorough photographic and written documentation that provides views and descriptions of many of the objects in context. One of the most fascinating of these images shows a young sick girl from the village of Kamayura sitting in a hammock. Two Shamans hired to heal the girl suck at her knee and neck to remove the evil spirit infecting her. “Each drew his breath with a loud wheezing sound and exhaled with a deep groan. Repeating this six times, he turned his back, cupped his hands and made a noise like a horse neighing. As he exhaled, the saliva ran out his mouth and through his fingers. He then wiped his hands on the house post, took another cigar and repeated the sucking performance. The treatment was ended when one Shaman expelled a small stone or bone, believed to be the Evil Spirit, sucked from the patient’s body.”





This woven hat, feathered armband and shell necklace are very similar to those worn by the Shamans in the photograph. The selection of materials, production methods and patterning of Xingu area artwork, including body decoration, is heavily influenced and informed by the natural and spiritual world. Works of art are understood as non-lasting, sometimes only used once, and destined to be recycled into the earth. This attitude is in opposition to museum practices of physical preservation and emphasis of independent works of art, but it seems inevitably the former attitude will prevail. In the mean time these objects have the power to inspire and delight. Outstanding examples of ornaments including feather headdresses and a dazzling pair of iridescent beetle wing ear ornaments are not to be missed in the current exhibit Art of Adornment: Tribal Beauty.

Photograph and quote by James Marshall.
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Object of the Week: Austral Islands Scoop

BMCA#2006.7.2
Scoop
Wood
19th century
Austral Islands, French Polynesia


This exquisitely carved ceremonial scoop was made in the Austral Islands, the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia. The islands are best known for intricately carved ceremonial paddles which, by the 19th century had been widely reproduced for the tourist market. Similarly carved, but much more rare are the long-handled ceremonial scoops. It is believed they were used to serve kava, an alcoholic drink made from kava root, though little else is known due to lack of surviving historical documentation. Rectilinear bands of repeating tiny diamond shapes give this scoop incredible texture. This elaborate and highly ornamental carving style is a characteristic of Austral Islands artwork. A band of "masks" encircles the handle.

Like much of French Polynesia, the Austral Islands had their first contact with European explorers in the early 1800's (James Cook was the first in 1777). Waves of traders, slavers and missionaries soon followed disrupting cultural traditions and bringing with them devastating disease. These centuries of turmoil led to the destruction of artworks labeled as idols under new religious practice and to gross depopulation that forever affected the transmission of artistic history and practice.




All images and text are protected by copyright. Please contact the Collection Department for permission to use.