Who doesn’t love the guitar?
In 1912, ready for an artistic breakthrough, Pablo Picasso developed an unusual preoccupation with the guitar as a subject making an instrument from found materials in his Paris studio. Looking west 3,500 miles across the Atlantic to New York, luthiers (craftsmen) emigrating from Italy were forming a tight community from which three modern-day masters would emerge as rainmakers to the most influential guitarists of the last hundred years.
Two exhibitions: “Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and “Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914” at the Museum of Modern Art examine the romance of the guitar from two perspectives: a tool for radical experimentation; and an instrument in transition as trends in American music from country and western, folk, R&B, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll were sweeping across the twentieth century.
“Picasso: Guitars” takes its point of departure from two “Guitar” constructions, a gift from the artist to MoMA in the early 1970s symbolize bookends to a remarkable two-year experimental phase leading to the momentous breakthrough in Cubism.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) Guitar. Céret, March 31, 1913, or later Cut-and-pasted newspaper, wallpaper, paper, ink, chalk, charcoal, and pencil on colored paper 26 1/8 x 19 1/2″ (66.4 x 49.6 cm) The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Nelson A. Rockefeller Bequest © 2011 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Exploring Picasso’s technique – a pulling together, pulling apart he used on found objects -wood, string, newspaper, dirt, enamel, lead to a series of much talked about out-of-the-box artworks. His iconic “Guitars,” the first assembled in 1912, were constructed from cardboard, string, and wire material, and the second version from sheet metal in 1914. He cut, folded, threaded and glued what was to become collages the type of which were never before seen. Picasso and Cubist painter Georges Braque coined the term “collages” (i.e. glue in French) a technique originally referred to as a novelty, but later became a distinct part of the modern art movement.
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) Photographic composition with Construction with Guitar Player and Violin. Paris, on or after January 25 and before March 10, 1913 Gelatin silver print 4 5/8 x 3 7/16″ (11.8 x 8.7 cm) Private collection © 2011 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The sixty-five artworks displayed look as cutting-edge today as they did in 1912-14. Many are on view for the first time, chief among them “Violin Hanging on the Wall” (1912-13) from the Kunstmuseum in Bern. Through June 6, 2011. For information on concerts and lectures go to http://www.moma.org, or 212-708-9431
Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York
Moving north from MoMA to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is an unprecedented exhibition; a sure fire hit to attract musicians of all genres and musicologists alike. “Guitar Heroes” features the extraordinary guitars of three New York master luthiers renowned for their hand-carved stringed instruments, particularly the “archtop guitar” coveted by enthusiasts and sought after by many of the most influential musicians of the day – Chet Atkins, Les Paul, George Benson, Grant Green, among others.
bowlback mandolins. Two exquisite examples, decorated with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and tortoiseshell, were made by the craftsman Angelo Mannello, an immigrant to New York City from Morcone, Italy, who had a large workshop in the Bronx.
Of the 80 on view, 30 masterpieces of Italian and Italian-American construction from the Met’s collection (including one of four existing Stravidari ca. 1700) are a backdrop to the rich history surrounding a 400 hundred year-old tradition of instrument building.
Focusing on the top luthiers since the 1030s – John D’Angelico, James D’Aquisto, and John Monteleone – the sizable collection displayed provides a comprehensive look at the guitar’s evolution as master luthiers become masters of reinvention to accommodate changing musical styles and tastes when long-standing acoustic models disappeared in a market dominated by electric guitar.
John D’Angelico (1905–1964) Excel model archtop guitar (serial number 1871), 1951 New York Private collection
John D’Angelico for one, known for an Art Deco style experimented on an existing archtop guitar using elements from the violin to shape a stronger, louder sound percussive instrument that proved ideal for jazz ensembles. Jeffrey Mironov, one musician who rasped poetic “…you played…it was so alive and vibrant and so filled with musical promise.”
Breaking away from the past, D’Angelico’s student and heir, James D’Aguisto introduced radical ideas in construction stripping down all of the synthetic materials, no inlays and offering radical color choices for varnish to build his reputation as a forward thinking innovator.
James D’Aquisto Archtop mandolin (serial number 101) Huntington, New York, 1971 The Metropolitan Museum of Art Purchase, Amati Gifts, 2008 (2008.70)
John Montelone too switched gears to become active in the folk music revival building archtop mandolins refining it along the way settling into a niche as a well-known craftsman in the mandolin world.
John Monteleone (born 1947) The Four Seasons guitars, 2002-2006 Islip, New York Private collection © Archtop History, Inc., from the book Archtop Guitars: The Journey from Cremona to New York, by Rudy Pensa, photographs by Vincent J. Ricardel (New York: Graphis Inc., 2011)
Making its first foray into developing an app, the Met’s effort is an astounding success. A dynamic multi-media guide with rarely seen archival video footage, commissioned performances that include podcast interviews with the Met’s curator Jayson Kerr Dobney in conversation with the likes of Django Reinhardt, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mark Knoepfler, and Jeffrey Mironov to name only a few, can be downloaded free from iTunes. The Met has organized lectures, performances and panel discussions with some of these renowned guitarists. Through July 4, 2011. For information on schedules http://www.metmuseum.org or 212-535-7710
Not to be outdone, guitars were hardly a lost art in rural areas in the first half of the twentieth century. VandM.com dealer Guild offers an inventory of notable American musical instruments. Two examples of indigenous Southern Folk Art shown below are made from local found materials. Primitive, yet handsomely carved into beautiful, simple shapes, these collector’s items and other superb examples can be checked out on http://www.vandm.com.
A Make-Do Folk Mandolin ca.1915 Tennesse Highlands 23”H 58.4cm $550.00
Hand-carved and re-purposed from found parts, the body, neck, fret board, and tuning pegs are hewn from cherry and pine timber. Mother of pearl shirt buttons serve as fret markers, and a piece of tin is from a Universal harmonica forms an improvised saddle. Note the detail – above the resonator a naïve leaf and vine decoration. http://www.vandm.com/guild, 504-301-0767 or 310-592-2593
Original Folk Art Fiddle/ One-Of-A-Kind ca. 1930 Ozark Hills 22”H 55.9cmH $575.00
A make-do-fiddle. Improvised by a hand-hewn craftsman from a softwood trunk, the tuning pegs were borrowed from another instrument and a black resonator panel is fashioned from a tin pan drilled with holes. http://www.vandm.com/guild, 504-301-0767 or 310-592-2593
