Kid's Crafts at the Museum

I think that one of the best things we do at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts is our weekly Kid's Crafts Program.  The program is free and is aimed at pre-school children.  It gets kids used to the idea of going to the museum, and also gets parents and grandparents coming to the museum who might not have a reason to come in otherwise.

Here is a link to a Valencia County News Bulletin article about the program.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/nb/index.php/la-vida/5756-storytelling-and-crafts-at-the-ll-museum-of-heritage-and-arts.html

I Don't Do Windows

One of my favorite prints, a western portrait titled "I Don't Do Windows", was given to the Lovely Mrs. B and me for a wedding present.  The artist, Gordon Snidow lives in Belen, New Mexico.  The model is a favorite of Gordon's, and was also the model for the companion to this print.  That one is called "I Don't Make Coffee, Either".

Gordon Snidow's image is an idealized depiction of a special kind of southwestern independent spirit and sense of empowerment.  This photograph of Buddy Major and his sisters, taken around 1925, shows the same spirit, power, and downright sassiness.  These are women to be reckoned with.

German Merchants in New Mexico

The proposal I submitted to the Historical Society of New Mexico's program committee has been accepted.  I will be making a presentation about the Huning family, German immigrants who came to New Mexico in the 1860s and established a mercantile trade that encompassed two southwestern states.  Louis Huning, one of the original Huning brothers to come to New Mexico, settled in Los Lunas, and started a mercantile business that existed from the 1860s to the 1990s, the entire time under direct Huning family management.  Louis is pictured here with his family, front row Louis, Lolita, Henrika (Henny) Busch Huning, Fred, and back row Louis Jr., and Emma.  The photograph was taken in the 1890s.

I will make the presentation at the New Mexico State History Conference in Santa Fe next spring.

Slippery Slope

I don't think I want to make a habit of this, but I am going to comment on an email I recently received.  Attached to the message was a PowerPoint presentation of art work by a Russian artist by the name of Anna Kostenko.  The friend who sent me the message and attachment indicated that what was remarkable about the images was that they were NOT photographs, but paintings.  I viewed the PPT slides and said to myself that the images certainly were remarkable paintings, because they looked just like photographs.  REALLY looked just like photographs.  So I googled (when a noun becomes a verb, pay attention) "Anna Kostenko", and it turns out that there are two artists named Anna Kostenko.  One of them is a painter and one of them is a photographer.  The slides in the ppt presentation were indeed photographs, taken by the photographer Anna Kostenko.  Further googling turned up a statement by the painter Anna Kostenko saying that she did NOT take the photographs in the slide show.

This mistaken identity/mis-identification brings up some interesting issues.  Does it matter whether the images are photographs or paintings?  Does adding the concept of  "art" change how you view and evaluate the image?  Does a photographic image have any validity as a documentary object?  Does the artist matter if you cannot detect the artist's hand?

At a photographic workshop conducted by Ansel Adams in the early 70s, one of the students showed Ansel a good technical print of a picturesque landscape.  "That's very nice," Ansel said, "you've made a jewel out of a jewel."

Through the Eyes of a Cowboy

When I worked on the "Through the Eyes of a Cowboy" exhibit at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts I had the chance to get a print done by the featured artist, Bob Lee.  Bob grew up near Alamogordo, New Mexico and was the grandson of well known Tularosa Basin rancher and politician Oliver M. Lee.  Bob Lee was an outstanding athlete as a young man and played football for the University of New Mexico in the 1950s.  The print is titled "Racing the Storm".

Valencia County Historical Society

The Valencia County Historical Society held its annual meeting last Saturday at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts.  Yours truly was elected president (I was the vice-president) and John Taylor was elected vice-president.  Andrea Chavez, Museum Specialist at LLMHA was elected secretary.  Susan Hershberger continues as Treasurer.  Several annual awards were also presented by retiring president Richard Melzer.  Here's a link to the article in the Valencia County News Bulletin.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/nb/index.php/news/5571-VC-Historical-Society-presents-awards,-elects-local-officers-.html

Fall Is Here

Fall usually comes to New Mexico in a rush, marked by the first cold front that blows in from the north.  Denver has several inches of snow on the ground right now and that weather is on it's way to New Mexico.  Up in the Jemez Mountains the cold nights have caused the aspen leaves to fall and the cool night air condenses to dew when the sun hits the ground first thing in the morning.  It's cold enough up there during the day that the dew does not evaporate completely.

Guadalupe Canyon in the Fall

One thing I like about the Guadalupe River is that it is only 10 miles from where it is formed by the confluence of the Rio de las Vacas and the Rio Cebolla, to where it flows into the Jemez River.  You can really get to know a ten mile stretch of river, especially if you have been fishing it for more than fifteen years.  Another thing I like about the Guadalupe is that the river changes character depending on what part of the canyon it is flowing through, and what season of the year it is.  These photographs were taken in September and October.

Small Town America

For our talk on the differences and similarities between Los Lunas, New Mexico, and London, Ohio, Bob Rea and I spoke about those classic small town events that reinforce the sense of community such places share.  If I had to choose a single photograph that epitomized "small town-ness" it would be this one that Bob took during the Fourth of July parade in London last summer.

Schoolhouse Canyon

Schoolhouse Canyon, in the Jemez Mountains, contains a wide, sweeping meadow where cattle are grazed on a Santa Fe National Forest lease.  For my taste the meadow is too windy too often for camping, but it is one of the prettiest vistas in the state.  The Cebolla River winds its way through the meadow, on its way to join up with the Rio de las Vacas to form the Guadalupe River, about four miles from this spot.  The Cebolla is narrow, shallow and open on both banks which makes it one of the toughest trout streams I have fished.  You pretty much have to fish the Cebolla on your knees and stomach so you don't spook the fish.  In all the years I have fished in the Jemez, I have caught exactly one trout on the Cebolla.

Article about SW X MW

An article about Bob Rea's and my photograph exhibition, Southwest by Midwest, at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts appeared in the October 19, 2011 issue of the Valencia County News Bulletin.  You can read the article at:

http://www.news-bulletin.com/nb/index.php/la-vida/5474-photo-expressions.html

Philmont Scout Ranch

Bob Rea and I noted in the catalog for our photography exhibit ar the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts that it was our trips to Philmont Scout Ranch, in northern New Mexico near Cimarron, that sparked our love of the southwest and fascination with the quality of light here.  The clarity and focus that intense light made possible is something that we will be attempting to capture for the remainder of our lives.  Philmont, and that light, are two of the strongest things Bob and I have in common.  We also both acknowledge the powerful role our scoutmaster, William C. Holton, had on both of us.  We have both spent our lives trying to live up to the ideals and standards Bill taught us as scouts.  His spirit was with us at the opening of our photography exhibit last Saturday.  Here is a photograph Bill took of me in 1960, during my first trip to Philmont.

And no, I don't want to hear any comments about what I must have done to that poor burro.  They said the burro would carry our gear.  They did not tell us we had to carry the burro.

Fall in the Jemez Mountains

Southwest by Midwest Photo Exhibition

Southwest by Midwest - First Post

"...because it was New Year's Eve and it seemed like a good idea at the time."  That's one reason to start a blog.  There are others...my kids have blogs, my kids know things I don't know, curiosity...lots of reasons for a blog.