Show - "- - ' "r4f'40 - n4t I 1 Le Conte Stewart leaves a legacy of poignant and earthy imagery By George Dibble Tribune Art Critic LeConte Stewart painted a land which Utah poet Harrison R Merrill surmised rivaled heaven From both men came an imagery of effulgent nature toil and contentment From both many have gained understanding and appreciation for a land they also treasure Stewart set his brushes quietly aside Ilast week passing away at the age of 99 He leaves a poignant imagery on canvases from easels anchored firmly in mountain and valley soil: a threshing crew blurred in the golden chaff from the harvest tired buildings along a city street barns and farmstead that argue for security and contentment the fall season wrapped in willowy swatches of faded yellow and ochre gray winter and cool rivulets that run in the roads under a warm sun overgrown summer and a plethora of greening about which he sometimes complained A hopeful springtime in which he occasionally permitted violet and pink blossoming but which were usually anchored to the natural earthy modesty which his valleys wore There were occasional desert areas bound in the adversity of drought and in a sober note a church filled at midweek with sorrowing neighbors Weary travelers with bedrolls sit listlessly in the boxcar of a moving train One of his most outstanding works "Private Car" is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Church History and Art of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Da- y Saints just off Temple Square Painted during the Depression years of the '30s it mirrors the shock when the nation reeled from finan 1 ' ''- - ''''' ' II 4'14 - 401 lieek''''' A 400iitNi Ls eak' 1 tidr :4 ' ' ':' - y 1 I ''''''' ' ! -- 1 7: !"r::"'''''' ::: :::::::::: :::t4i0:4 4::::: r-- -1::::: tv-- ( Le Conte Stewart A Beloved Mentor cial collapse Verbal descriptions scarcely convey the sensations of such a traumatic experience The gritty reality comes through clearly from the sensitive artist's brush Such tired and numbed creatures with bedrolls and weather-beate- n hats were allowed to travel the railroads of the nation in search of employment Painted in backlighting the cars seem to be moving through a barren landscape A yellow harsh light burns out color from the tops of the cars Somewhere near the noon hour the shadows cast in the lower part of the study take on a harsh green hue discordant harmony of a sort not common to the artist's work Tired faces and disconsolate shoulders are mercifully cloaked in shadowy images Numbness persists in ' ! o In addition SLAC's staff draped lobby photo displays of productions that had been funded wi — rm 77':': 'N' :' ' :: :: :: ' ' '' 'N ' ::': '' '(! et " : ''!: ' :r:"fati44'"":: sK ':'::: ZX: ::e K $ — ' 2$11: Z'''''''''''''' ' -4 ' 'q!4' ::- !!::: 4WI!: i!:: ::'': t: t- ' ::: e':: '! r: ' - 4' 4' t !:: - :!:-:-:::- :: '' I 4T:77::77167:!" ''''' ta1""71977°7771771i- 1C1111111PH :r O i AhioN1 '::::: ii4:''-'"'-"""'''''''''"777777:7"'"!::71777"'"""itiio Information distributed by the museum said NEA grants to the museum and other Utah arts groups "have been invaluable and have made the essential difference in the maturing of our arts organizations to national standards and recognition" The Utah Symphony which also receives NEA support sent letters Tuesday to its 60 board members outlining the controversy and urging them to write their congress- men about reauthorizing the NEA Alison Gregersen director of the Utah Media Arts Center said her organization and the Salt Lake Art Center have set up a joint display showing a video that describes why the NEA is important to American artists and also provides information for people to use in writing their congressmen In a recent letter to leaders of Utah arts organizations architect M Ray Kingston a member of the National Council on the Arts urged all Utahns to write letters to political leaders telling them how important NEA support is to cultural institutions (over $74 million to Utah during the past six years) and also requesting support for "President Bush's courageous position" to reauthorize the NEA without content restrictions mini-exhibi- ts ::)101:::: :::i:7::::::: :::ii the '30s is in the permanent collection of One of the late Le Conte Stewart's most out- standing works "Private Car" painted in haylofts and barns appear frequently in Stewart's landscapes It is these much cultivated much loved homesteads which call many perhaps back from a more sophisticated scene Soil turned hopefully year after year brings success and failure with a humility that is becoming to the human race Although the walls of such homely settings are not transparent the artist allows the viewer to comprehend a wholesome way of life Stewart met and married Zipporah Layton while both were teaching in the Davis County Schools Three sons Maynard John and Birge and daughter Mary were born to them - ::::: Ak17'N t :7'N::: :: the University of Utah campus affected an exhibit of Greek art on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston according to assistant director Chuck Loving He said the loan is supported by an NEA grant which made possible educational programs in Greek art for Salt Lake City school children "Greek art is the foundation of the Western tradItion of art including American art" Loving said "It is essential for the museum to display this material if we hope to provide a full context for the understanding of European and American art" he said NEA funds made possible the preparation of 25 which the museum circulates to schools and libraries across the state Loving said and NEA money was essential in organizing the exhibition "Recent Fires: Contemporary American Ceramics" currently traveling throughout the West It-S- C - Z1: The shrouded display case and exhibit 1: 4 darkened gallery at the facility on planned for the Corcoran Gallery Washington DC and supported in part by NEA money was canceled because it included some sexually explicit photographs Congressional reauthorization of the NEA is being fought by conservative groups led by Sen Jesse Helms An assistant for the CommunityState Partnership Program of the Utah Arts Council Kristen Madsen said arts organizations are seeking NEA reauthorization for five years with no restrictions on who the NEA can support an approach supported by President George Bush "Voice of the Prairie" said artistic director Ed Gryska He said he instructed technicians to put him in a "very dim light" to dramatize how dark theater would be without the NEA "My emotions got away from me" he said of the experience "By the time I finished with my little speech the audience the actors the technicians and the SLAC '' ''''''t'4': '5'' ::x ''''1444ig''' : :: V: USA by the NEA Gryska said this drew of just attention to theater-goer- s how much SLAC depends upon federal grants for its survival The federally funded agency has been under attack by some members of Congress because of its unrestricted support of controversial artists including the late Robert Mapplethorpe current production SLAC's ' ::‘i - — ": -:-- : IF NEA-funde- to a nation's culture Mapplethorpe I ::r- " !? Also Thursday Utah Museum of Fine Arts officials placed a d exhibdrape over an it and darkened a museum gallery to show support for Arts Day portant unrestricted federal funding of the arts through the NEA is A :: - 4:&- -: i He deplored laboratory experiments as such preferring the stimulus of directly observed natural phenomenon Abstract painting in the expressionistic sense seemed to carry little influence Formulas as such were inconsequential although certain proportionate devices persist perhaps from exercised judgments rather than routines In "Private Car" for example a finely honed sense of proportion contributes to a skilled combination of major and minor roles in spatial assignment Old homes pioneer homesteads He said he talked about how im- emotion by audience actors technicians and staff members SLAC along with other arts organizations participated in Arts Day USA a movement called by the Association of Art Museum Directors and other national organizations to dramatize what would happen if the NEA was eliminated The NEA awards competitive grants to American arts organizations "I planned to just make a few comments about the situation" just prior to a performace of "::: 4v — ic staff were in tears" unexpected reaction: extreme ' ::!: '"W"57:7""'i 777'7: Utah arts groups dramatize commitment to NEA By John Keahey Tribune Staff Writer Several Salt Lake arts organizations dramatized concern Thursday over pending congressional reauthorization of the National Endowment for the Arts One of those groups — the Salt Lake Acting Company — got an ' - 1144:4i back-countr- ":-- ' Z the shocking contrast of hue and value The landscape in the background seems ethereal and unreal by comparison with the positive treatment in the foreground The artist who often includes nostalgia in the mellow blending of color turns his magic inside out Generally the exigencies of pronounced change in mood or atmosphere are accomplished with a tranquility that y smooths the ruts in a road or masks a severely cracked windowpane With eyes attuned to a steadily aging glory of the passing scene Stewart eschewed pomp and panoply and with disciplined hand and mind cultivated a dignified design that marked his work in oil the etcher's needle pastel and particularly the medium of pencil which sometimes began as preliminary sketches became masterpieces in their own right In this latter medium he finds an exquisite textural approach to canvas painting With skilled eye and hand be tutored aspiring artists with much patience and encouragement He stressed meaningful design with a palette that was logical if not ecstat- ''''''' -- E3 The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday June 10 1990 LDS Museum of Church History and Art I and Maynard followed in his father's footsteps teaching for a time at Brigham Young University and at San Jose University in California where he continued as a noted artist in watercolor and oil He was named for the prominent Southwest painter Maynard Dixon LeConte joined the University of Utah faculty as chairman of the art department in 1938 having previously taught art at Murray High School East High School and Ogden High School He retired from the university in 1956 Teaching as a member of the art staff at the U was enjoyable duty : His favorite means of communica— tion was a penciled note signed by the "LS" in the graceful smooth flowing style which completed his fine drawings I enjoyed a long conversation with him on the morning of his retire- ment Although given an invitation by the administration to continue teaching he declined saying "There is much to be done out there where I have spent so much time Tomorrow I'll get in the truck and drive over to West Kaysville I doubt if there is time to come down" His many students had lost a beloved mentor well-know- n Symposiums lecture series offered by Utah arts groups legal topics relating to artists a half- hour discussion period will follow Law Basics will assist private and corporate art collectors administrators of art programs and artists of all disciplines to understand rights and : responsibilities and ethical and legal " precedents in art law On Tuesday Mike O'Brien and Phyllis Vetter will discuss "First Amendment Freedom of Expression and Censorship" Vetter and Sue Vogel will discuss "Moral Rights of Artists" on July 10 "Contracts for Art- - ists" will be explained by Guys' Kroesche on Aug 14 Kay Cornaby will cover "Copyright Trademark ! and Licensing" on Sept 4 "Nonprofit Organizations" is William Holyoak's topic for Oct 9 and the :1 series ends Nov 6 with a panel t "Question and Answer Clinic" Also at the Salt Lake Art Cen- ter 20 S West Temple is a lecture series devoted to "Arts and Human- - :' ities Basics: Downtown" Presented at noon one weekday a month from June to November the hour-lon- g lectures will cover the history of con- temporary American art from the late 19th century On Tuesday Robert S Olpin will : discuss "American Academic Tradition and the Armory Show" Guests are encouraged to bring a sack lunch to this free series Utah arts organizations are offering free symposiums and lecture series which begin this week: The Utah Arts Council is sponsoring a symposium for educators artists and others interested in participatory interdisciplinary learning experiences Led by New Jersey artist and teacher Don Proffit the free symposium is at Alta Lodge Thursday from 7 to 9 pm The general public is invited to attend artist teacher A and consultant Proffit is working on "Festival 2000" a multi-culturperformance series planned for October in San Francisco He is also currently serving as supervisor for fine and performing arts for the Lawrence Township Public Schools in New Jersey He has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and has been a teaching fellow for the Kennedy Center Washington al multi-disciplina- DC The symposium is being held in conjunction with the council's Arts in Education conference Law Basics a lecturediscussion series sponsored by Utah Lawyers for the Arts will be presented at 5 pm one weekday a month from June through November in the Salt Lake Art Center 20 S West Temple The lectures will cover 1 ‘ ' -- 11:1130E 1CZ7C:o 'Irma 4:0 M A By May — ' '4r -r : 16 at 2 Zt 7 & NEW cmty nitisylES? 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