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Michael Scott: Farny Fables
September 29 - December 31, 2006
Imagine Dutch old
masters meeting up with Native Americans to hit the Strip in Las Vegas,
then stopping by the county fair for the Best of Show judging. Contemporary
artist Michael Scott conjures this rich world in a new series of paintings,
Michael Scott: Farny Fables in which the four Queens --Truth, Beauty,
Goodness, and Faith -- help guide the participants toward true value and
worth.
Like his previous series, Penny's Grand Vision (1999)
and The Diaries of Little Red Hen (2002), Scott's eye-popping canvases
are linked to a witty and philosophically subversive narrative.
- "Tonight, a full moon is shining. Tomorrow is
the county fair. In town, folks are placing bets on who will win the grand
prize: will it be Farny, the painter of western scenes, or Grandma, baker
of extraordinary cakes? While the roosters warn Grandma that someone has
erased her recipe, the Dutch cowboys and Indian chiefs spring into action.
At the end of the day, the judges make an unexpected decision about the
prize . . ."
Throughout the story, the old masters rub shoulders with
painter Henry Farny's vanishing Indians. Rembrandt's Polish Rider joins
Farny's braves on a nighttime raiding party that turns into a carousel ride
to Las Vegas riches. Scott's ever-present roosters search for Grandma's
missing recipe, while Dutch burghers, now transformed into cowboys, bargain
for the artist's soul.
This sequence of 30 vividly colored and imagined pictures
offers one surprise after another. Using a realistic technique that entices
the eye, Scott offers an original meditation on problems of luck, originality,
value, and worth. Along the way, he pays tribute to those old masters by
borrowing and recasting motifs from great works of art, including two paintings
from the Taft Museum of Art -- The Song of the Talking Wire by Farny
and Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair by Rembrandt van Rijn.
Many of the paintings in Michael Scott: Farny Fables
refer to works by Farny, one of the most important painter-illustrators
of Native Americans during the late 19th century. Farny worked in Cincinnati
as a freelance draftsman, then studied painting in Europe. In August 1881,
he made his first trip to the Dakota Territory. The photographs, watercolor
portrait sketches, and Sioux clothing and artifacts he brought back with
him from this initial trip to the West influenced his work throughout his
career.
Michael Scott received his MFA from the University of Cincinnati
in 1978. His paintings are included in a number of permanent collections,
including the Cincinnati Art Museum; the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY;
and the Southern Ohio Museum, Portsmouth. Though he now makes his home in
Santa Fe, N.M., Scott still has ties to Greater Cincinnati, even creating
four pieces for the 2000 public art program, the Big Pig Gig, one of which
is installed at Rookwood Commons.
The exhibition is organized by the Gerald Peters Gallery,
Santa Fe, N.M. A companion catalogue, featuring Scott's narrative and an
introduction by Ben Mitchell, is available for this exhibition.
(above: Michael Scott: Chattanooga's Moon Pie Melodies,
2004-2006, oil on panel, 51 x 39 1/2 inches)
(above: Michael Scott: Farny Flowers, 2002-2003,
oil on panel, 44 x 36 inches)
(above: Michael Scott: The Golden Goose, 2003-2006,
oil on canvas, 68 1/2 x 62 1/2 inches)
(above: Michael Scott: Sterling Vander Dough, 2003-2006,
oil on panel, 56 3/4 x 46 1/2 inches)
(above: Michael Scott: Telegraphing Two Bit, 2003-2005,
oil on panel, 41 x 58 inches)
Podcast
A podcast accompanying the exhibition may be heard here.
Checklist for the exhibition
-
- 1. The Admiral, 2004-2006, oil on panel, 49 x
40 _ inches
-
- 2. Chief Blueberry Blue Plate, 2004-2006, oil
on panel, 56 _ x 45 _ inches
-
- 3. The Bookie, 2005-2006, oil on panel, 53 _ x
41 _ inches
-
- 4. Chief Shortbread, 2004-2006, oil on panel,
56 _ x 43 _ inches
-
- 5. The Queen of Diamonds (Beauty), 2003-2006,
oil on panel, 26 _ x 22 _ inches
-
- 6. The Queen of Clubs (Faith), 2003-2006, oil
on panel, 26 _ x 22 _ inches
-
- 7. The Queen of Hearts (Goodness), 2003-2006,
oil on panel, 26 _ x 22 _ inches
-
- 8. The Queen of Spades (Truth), 2003-2006, oil
on panel, 26 _ x 22 _ inches
-
- 9. Chattanooga's Moon Pie Melodies, 2004-2006,
oil on panel, 51 x 39 _ inches
-
- 10. Chimayo Chicken in the Kitchen, 2002-2004,
oil on panel, 42 x 34 inches
-
- 11. Bubble Gum and Then Sum, 2004-2006, oil on
panel, 46 _ x 57 _ inches
-
- 12. Farny Flowers, 2002-2003, oil on panel, 44
x 36 inches
-
- 13. Grandma's Cake -- Farny's Fate, 2003-2006,
oil on panel, 40 _ x 31 _ inches
-
- 14. The Golden Goose, 2003-2006, oil on canvas,
68 _ x 62 _ inches
-
- 15. The Night Rider's Horse of Money, 2004-2006,
oil on canvas, 58 x 103 _ inches
-
- 16. The Missing Recipe, 2003-2005, oil on panel,
25 x 20 inches
-
- 17. The Horseshoe of Money, 2004-2006, oil on
panel, 26 _ x 18 _ inches
-
- 18. Telegraphing Two Bit, 2003-2005, oil on panel,
41 x 58 inches
-
- 19. Cash Von Gilding, 2003-2006, oil on panel,
60 x 45 _ inches
-
- 20. Sterling Vander Dough, 2003-2006, oil on panel,
56 _ x 46 _ inches
-
- 21. Lady Luck, 2003-2006, oil on canvas, 71 x
63 _ inches
-
- 22. Rough Rider Artist Buyer, 2004-2006, oil on
panel, 56 _ x 43 _ inches
-
- 23. Best of Show, Dutchmen Crow, 2003-2006, oil
on canvas, 63 _ x 89 inches
-
- 24. Chief Crisco, 2004-2006, oil on panel, 54
_ x 44 _ inches
-
- 25. Randy's Nobility Assumes Probability, 2003-2006,
oil on panel, 35 x 42 inches
-
- 26. Chief Sourdough, 2004-2006, oil on panel,
55 x 47 inches
-
- 27. Two Bit Von Tender, 2003-2006, oil on panel,
54 x 42 inches
-
- 28. Lemon Cake No Fake, 2004-2006, oil on panel,
56 _ x 45 inches
-
- 29. The Wall of Recipes, 2003-2004, oil on panel,
46 x 60 inches
-
- 30. Pull Back the Drape, Farny's on the Make,
2004-2006, oil on panel, 25 x 20 inches
-
- 31. He Had Lost His Head, 2005-2006, oil on panel,
32 x 28 _ inches
-
-
Selected wall and label text for the exhibition
-
- Michael Scott doesn't just paint the West. It
is part of him. His great-grandmother Mourning Star was a full Cherokee.
Both sets of grandparents had farms in the Ozark Mountains, and as a child
Scott heard entrancing stories of Indians and arrowheads. The artist himself
was born in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1952 and grew up in the Midwest. There,
he earned his bachelor's degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1976
and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1978.
-
- In the late 1970s, Scott began to show his works throughout
the United States. They have since entered public collections, including
the Cincinnati Art Museum; New Orleans Museum of Art; Butler Institute
of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga,
Tennessee; Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky; and Arkansas Art Center
in Little Rock. In 2003, Michael and his wife, Ellen, designed a home and
studio in Santa Fe, where they currently reside, denizens of the West not
only in spirit but in flesh.
-
- The Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, organized
this exhibition with the artist. The curator was Gayle Maxon-Edgerton.
-
- Michael Scott's West is an intensely imaginary and personal
place. It does have cowboys, but they incarnate mercenary Dutch gamblers
and art racketeers trying to turn a greedy profit from sell-ing paintings.
It has Indians, but they are expert chefs named Blue Plate, Shortbread,
Crisco, and Sourdough, who work cosmic transformations in the kitchen.
It has the requisite tough, wise old matriarch, Grandma, who narrates the
tale of the temptation of Henry Farny (the real 19th-century painter of
western scenes, who makes an appearance in this invented tale) by the Dutch
cowboys, who urge him to sell out and paint for money, big money. It has
a county fair, where Farny's paintings will compete against Grandma's famous
MoonPie cake recipe, which has always won the Best of Show ribbon-until
now, perhaps?
-
- Finally, it has a larger-than-life Indian chief puffing
smoke bubbles. But in Scott's zany world, this personage, El Bubble, is
channeling the artist Vincent van Gogh. Vincent aka El Bubble confers wisdom
in the shape of four playing cards-queens who teach four values that help
to further and resolve the drama. Fittingly, the tale concludes at the
Santa Fe County Fairgrounds at night. To invite viewers into this wonderfully
wacko universe, Scott has written down the narrative, which is available
in the form of a book in the galleries.
-
-
-
- The Night Rider's Horse of Money, 2004-6
- Oil on canvas
- Collection of Jeffrey and Darlene Anderson
-
- This is the horseshoe of currency . . . It has power;
- if you can harness its power, you will harness money.
-
-
- The Bookie, 20056
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
- It will all boil down to who will win-
- Farny's paintings or [Grandma's] cake.
-
-
- Wall of Recipes, 2003-4
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Frank and Janis Waller
-
-
- The Horseshoe of Money, 20046
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
- John Frederick Peto (American, 1854-1907), The Poor
Man's Store, 1885, oil on canvas and panel. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
-
-
- Telegraphing Two Bit, 2003-5
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Charles and Betsy Townsend
-
- The title of this painting used to be "Song of
the Talking Wire." Since [Farny's] joined forces with us and our scheme
for making big money, it is now called "The Song of the Talking Liar."
-
- Henry Farny (American, 1847-1916), The Song of the
Talking Wire, 1904, oil on canvas. Taft Museum of Art, bequest of Mr.
and Mrs. Charles Phelps Taft
-
-
- Farny Flowers, 20023
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
- Balthasar van der Ast (Dutch, 1593/4-1657), Still
Life with Tilted Basket of Fruit, Vase of Flowers, and Shells, about
1640-45, oil on panel. Taft Museum of Art, gift of Luther and Josephine
P. Tucker
-
-
- He Had Lost His Head, 2005-6
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Frank and Janis Waller
-
- Farny paints another green bill. He begins laughing
uncontrollably, boasting and saying, "I may have lost my head, but
I am painting
- for money now and I can't stop; I tell you, I just
can't stop."
-
-
- Lemon Cake No Fake, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Randall and Lynn G. Scott
-
-
- The Missing Recipe, 2003-5
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- Bubble Gum and Then Sum, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery
-
- [Vincent van Gogh] has channeled his energies into
. . . the mythic figure, El Bubble. He waits for his name to be spoken
and leaps
- out for golden opportunities to teach those in need
some lessons.
-
-
- Chimayo Chicken in the Kitchen, 2002-4
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- Two Bit Von Tender, 2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
- I am Two Bit Von Tender . . . Join me and place
- your bets in my market scheme and we will all get
rich.
-
-
- Chief Shortbread, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery
-
- My name is Chief Shortbread . . . I am here to tell
you that
- in order to be a man that divines water, you must
first have heart.
-
-
- The Queen of Hearts (Goodness),
2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- Chattanooga's MoonPie Melodies, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
-
- The Queen of Clubs (Faith), 2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- The Golden Goose, 2003-6
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery
- Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 16061669), The Polish
Rider, about 1655, oil on canvas. Copyright The Frick Collection, New
York
-
-
- Chief Blueberry Blue Plate, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Keith and Michele Schneider
-
-
- Cash Von Gilding, 2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery
-
-
- Pull Back the Drape, Farny's on the Make, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- The Admiral, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Tyson Foods, Inc.
-
-
- Sterling VanderDough, 20036
- Oil on panel
- Collection of the artist
-
- I am Sterling VanderDough . . . I am throwing the
dice
- heavily in Farny's favor . . . You see, the art world
and the
- gaming world are the same. They are both based on
illusions.
- Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 16061669), Portrait
of a Man Rising from His Chair, 1633, oil on canvas. Taft Museum of
Art, bequest of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Phelps Taft
-
-
- How does Scott work? The paintings on view here were
con-ceived as a cohesive group. Each work not only stands on its own artistically
but also communicates part of the story. (The artist has created two former
series in this way: Farny Fables is the third and final tale in
the trilogy.) Scott worked on these paintings at once, going back and forth
among the paintings over four years as he developed the sequence and its
meaning.
-
- On one level, these works tell a simple tale that a child
could enjoy. On another, they represent a philosophical meditation on such
values as goodness and truth. And on yet another, they are a witty satire
about the commodification of art. Playing in the vast field of visual culture
available in the 21st century, Scott appropriates imagery from both past
art and popular culture to make his points. Among the images he borrows
and reinterprets are three from the Taft Museum of Art collection, which
Scott has admired for decades.
-
- Like many of the artists represented in the Taft collections,
Scott works in oil paint, a technique descended from traditional Northern
European painting, and utilizes glazing (transparent, oil-rich layers)
to enhance the luminosity of his colors. In the end, his vibrantly hued,
fantastical scenes teach us about what is worthwhile in life: baking, art-making,
and all other creative endeavors that bring joy-the true wealth.
-
-
- The Queen of Spades (Truth), 2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- Randy's Nobility Assumes Probability, 2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- Chief Crisco, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Frank and Janis Waller
-
- My name is Chief Crisco . . . If you follow me, you
will learn the true techniques for kneading dough that justifies the means
and not the end.
-
-
- Rough Rider Artist Buyer,
2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Collection of Charles and Betsy Townsend
-
- Howdy. I'm Rough Rider . . . inventor of the Belgian
- Rough Rider sewing machine. With my brains and Farny's
Indians,
- I will get rich promoting my own line of Farny Doodles
on Doilies.
-
-
- Chief Sourdough, 2004-6
- Oil on panel
- Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery
-
-
- The Queen of Diamonds (Beauty), 2003-6
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
- Remember, as you adorn your cake you actually adorn
your life.
- And there your soul is awakened to the spiritual gifts
of the MoonPie.
-
-
- Lady Luck, 2003-6
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of Gerald Peters Gallery
-
- Do you know who or what Lady Luck really is? . . .
- She is beauty, faith, truth,, and most of all, goodness.
- These are virtues that money can't buy.
-
-
- Best of Show, Dutchmen Crow,
20036
- Oil on canvas
- Collection of Mary Onstead
-
- This year we have the extraordinary pleasure to award
- two entries with this honor. Grandma's cupcakes
- and Henry Farny's painting tie for Best of Show.
- Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 16061669) The Sampling
Officials (Syndics of the Cloth Guild), 1662, oil on canvas. Collection
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
-
-
- Studio Props
- Mixed media
- Collection of the artist
-
-
- If your work is made from these four ingredients,
goodness,
- faith, truth, and beauty, then you will have a winning
recipe.
-
-
- Study for Admiral, 2003-6
- Oil on canvas on panel
- Mr. and Mrs. Charles Townsend
-
-
- Study for Moon, 2006
- Oil on panel
- Private collection
-
-
- Study, Ride 'Em Cowgirl, 2006
- Oil on canvas on panel
- Lynn Carlisle and Craig Jarvis
-
-
- Farny Indian Study, 2003-6
- Oil on canvas on panel
- Collection of Ron and Florence Koetters
-
-
- Study for Sourdough, 2004-6
- Oil on canvas on panel
- Private collection
-