Baren Digest Monday, 25 August 2003 Volume 24 : Number 2352 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Charles Morgan Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 08:51:49 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22617] Darwin's Ape is Rheinhold's Monkey Last year I sent out an enquiry seeking information about a statue of a monkey sitting on a stack of books, contemplating a human skull held in its hand. I want to do a print in a series I have in mind, which would be similar. I thought you might be interested in this message I just received. Cheers ... Charles >in the internet (barenforum) I read some fragments of your correspondence >from March 2002 with Sharen Slinders about the sculpture of the thinking >ape contemplating a human skull. Because I share your evaluation that it >is a great piece of work and of astonishing high endurance, I send you >this e-mail with a correction of your view, that the Spanish artist >Francisco Ramo would be the author of this sculpture. > >The real author is the German Jewish sculptor Hugo Rheinhold (1853-1900), >who created the sculpture 1892 at the end of his studies in the Berlin >Academy of (Fine) Arts. The original plaster version you can see in the >attached tif-file of an additional letter, which I will send later (I was >enforced to interupt the previous e-mail with attachment, because it >needed to much time. I will try to reduce the file from 10 MB to some KB. >Until now I only don't have any idea how to make it!). The original is >missing, but a lot of original bronce copies - produced between 1894 and >and the twenties of the XX. century by the Berlin foundry Gladenbeck & >Sons are spread wide over the world. I know them from Moscow, Edinburgh, >Aberdeen, Boston, and is not so far from Ottawa: in the Medical Library of >Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario! > >And now the market is full of more or less good copies and remakes of that >figure. One you know apparently from Toscano Design, from where the rumour >seems to have its orign, that Fr. Ramo had created this sculpture. >(Another seller in Great Britain - olikat - attributes it to a certain O. >Tupton, who changed some small details, cancelled p. e. the important >inscription ERITIS SICUT DEUS and signed the copies with his own name.) > >I am just doing research in history of art on Rheinhold's biography and on >the impact of his ouvre, especially the philosophical and historical >meaning of his thinking ape including its iconography. Your opinion that >it is a citation of Rodin's Thinker from 1880 is indeed obvious, but until >now I couldn't find any evidence, that Rheinhold really knew it. (The >Thinker is part of an unfinished Hell-Gate and has been made public as a >solitaire sculpture only after Rheinhold's death in 1905.) More probable >is the direct line to Michelangelo's "Il Pensiero" from 1520: the pose of >a thinking person was often cited by his followers. Another line leads to >Renaissance Bible prints, where an ape is the shorthand symbol for Adam's >and Eve's sin to eat an apple from the tree of discovery - the step from >an apple to the skull in the one hand of the ape is only short! > >I am a historian of science and of medicine and published especially on >the history of brain research. My last book deals with Lenin's >pathobiography and the investigation of Lenin's brain by Oskar Vogt and >has Rheinhold's monkey on the cover (see my website >http://www.csw-berlin.de/JochenRichter/ >) >The book was published in 2000, when I had no idea, who could have created >the sculpture of the thinking ape. > >Recently I'm collecting all traces of Rheinhold's piece of work including >all modern remakes. I would be interested to know from you, which of such >remakes you know and to make acquaintance with your sources. > >I beg your pardon for causing you inconvenience with my long letter, but >perhaps my results are of interest also for you as an artist. I would like >to hear from you and remain with best wishes and warm regards > >Jochen Richter, Ph. D. (Berlin/Germany) ------------------------------ From: Sharri LaPierre Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:39:06 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22618] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2351 Mike, Re/ the masochist who invented Hanga - If I meet this torturer in the afterlife he will regret it, so he isn't safe just because he isn't here :-). Today I will try again, being a glutton for punishment. I think what I learned yesterday was that I was making way to much work out it and didn't need to press nearly as hard as I was doing. Toward the end of the session I learned I was getting the same results with a tenth of the pressure. That should make today a cakewalk. HA! I don't believe that's a word that belongs in the same sentence with this process - With all my bitching I hope you can tell I'm really enjoying this adventure and thanks to all who helped fire my enthusiasm (such as it is) in KC. I'm trying to use the Akua colors (my water color supply is practically non-existent & I forgot to replenish when I was in town) and I think that may be making it a little tricky, too, since they are not the same consistency as the other. My motto: Never do anything the easy way if there is an alternative. Yesterday I forgot to congratulate you and April on your auspicious accomplishments. You've both worked very, do amazing work, and deserve all the accolades we can send your way. Please, if anyone has ever heard of, or run across this Henri Fromm, please let me know. Cheers, Sharri ------------------------------ From: "April Vollmer" Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 19:00:04 -0400 Subject: [Baren 22619] the West Coast Dear Baren Forum: I just got back from a great trip to California, where I taught a hanga woodcut class at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, and one at the Santa Cruz Art League. (We missed you, Gilda!) My parents live in Santa Cruz, so I am always looking for opportunities to teach or show out on the west coast, if anyone has any ideas. Kala has a deservedly great reputation and a great space in the old Heinz ketchup factory. They have grown and prospered by incorporating digital technology with traditional printmaking. They give classes, have exhibitions, and provide many artists with workspace. They offer intaglio, woodcut, silkscreen and lithography upstairs, with a bevy of computers on the floor below. I must thank Baren for helping me connect with at least three of my students at Kala, and most of them in Santa Cruz, including the redoubtable Frank Trueba. Frank was his usual helpful self, and made a print of Mt. Fuji. He said: "The wise man climbs Mt. Fuji once, the fool twice." I also had the pleasure of meeting Paul Ritscher. After taking my class in Santa Cruz he invited me for a tour of his astonishing studio full of 19th century presses, with two walls full of his old style advertising posters. I took photos, but haven't had time to post them yet. I am trying to focus on getting ready for the shows I have coming up next month! April www.aprivollmer.com ------------------------------ From: Aqua4tis#aol.com Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 19:19:00 EDT Subject: [Baren 22620] Re: Darwin's Ape is Rheinhold's Monkey we can make such fantastic and interesting connections through the internet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ------------------------------ From: Aqua4tis#aol.com Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 19:41:56 EDT Subject: [Baren 22621] Re: the West Coast april maybe contact self help graphics in east los angeles to see if you could teach a workshop there??? georga -- ------------------------------ From: "carol wagner" Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 21:40:32 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22622] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2351 Hey Sharrie, Have you tried the joys of sizing paper for printing yet? Boy do I feel like a knucklehead or what!- One more edition of 40 to print, not enough of the paper I ordered from Baren for this edition, so says I, I says "I'll just size this beautiful Korean Kozo I've had sitting in the studio, and all my paper worries will be solved. After All, How difficult could this be ? "I've got a doso kit and instructions from McClain's, a copy of Rebecca Salter's Book, and for extra support, A copy of Keiko Hiratsuka Moore's "Moku Hanga: How to make Japanese wood block prints, and they all have instructions for making and applying size.Of course we've never done this before, but how difficult could it be?" Well. this is not easy, and I should have practiced and done it at least 6 months ago. Oh well, 'live and learn'. Having a hair-tearing time! Carol in Sacramento ------------------------------ From: "Jeanne N. Chase" Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 07:55:25 -0400 Subject: [Baren 22623] Hanga Dear Sharri and Carol in Sacramento Perhaps the 3 of us should gang up on all of the Hanga printmakers out there! They, surely must have a magic solution for their printing. It certainly eludes me!!! I have wasted many $ worth of paper trying to print Hanga. My hair is thinner, my pocket book is thinner and my patience is even thinner. Now I have great appreciation for the technique , I just cannot seem to do it.=20 David, Mike, April, etc. I admire you for your expertise=20 I am going to use my rice paste for chine colle and hand color my etchings with the water colors. Back to oils for this one!!! Carol, I have all the books you mentioned, printed out David's instructions for hanga, followed all of them to the letter. AAARRRGGGHHHH. Jeanne N. ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V24 #2352 *****************************