A Glimpse into the Mind of Holly Trostle Brigham

Before the opening of Holly Trostle Brighman’s exhibition Holly Trostle Brigham: Dis/ Guise, I had the opportunity to discuss the works in the show with her and delve into her artistic thought process:

The artist in the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery.  Photo: William Atkins

When questioned about which piece from the exhibit Brigham identifies with the most, she immediately turned to Artemesia: Blood for Blood. She commented that the work was a turning point for her. She created the work as a defense for Artemesia Gentileschi during her rape trial and depicts what she imagined the post-rape scene to be from reading the documents detailing the rape and the trial. Brigham includes a pendant, which displays Gentileschi’s work, Susanna and the Elders, which was her first painting completed after the rape.  In the work by Brigham, Gentileschi is shown clutching a lock of her rapist’s hair and a knife that is capped by a figure of Artemis of Ephesus, a symbol of motherhood and fertility. A key with Artemesia’s initials – A.G. – inscribed in it, hangs from a ribbon around her neck, showing that she could not have given it to her rapist as he alleged during the trial.

The piece, Hildegard’s Box, is unlike the other works in the exhibit, it is a sculptural work that incorporates Hildegard von Bingen’s songs. The work is a wooden box painted with scenes in oil and features two portraits: Hildegard von Bingen and Dead Hildegard. The door to the box is decorated with a sacred heart and remains ajar, inviting viewers to peek inside. The interior of the box is covered in a lush red fabric and contains two mysterious objects encased in jeweled gold bags. I was eager to discover what the objects were, and during our discussion I was intrigued to hear that it contains two organs – a heart and a tongue – made of wax of course! Brigham expanded on this, explaining Hildegard’s heart and tongue are rumored to be buried beneath the church of Eibingerstrasse in Rüdesheim, Germany.

Two other works in the exhibit are accompanied by relics, which Brigham integrated to provide a more authentic atmosphere. A wedding ring is hung beside the portrait, Henriette DeLille, to reinforce the concept of nuns being married to God. The ring dates back to the early nineteenth century, the time period that the Creole nun lived. Brigham explained that it was common for convents to have a doll to represent baby Jesus, which is why she portrays the figure representative of DeLille holding a doll. The doll, which is depicted as an African-American highlights the nun’s major accomplishment, founding the first African-American religious order – Sisters of the Holy Family. She commented that she felt pity for nuns, because they cared for the doll as if it were a real child, having no children of their own. Santa Caterina’s Trinity, another religious portrait, is complemented by a framed lock of hair. The lock of hair belongs to Brigham, which she decided to use to demonstrate women having to cut their hair to show humility if they wanted to become a nun.   

            During our conversation, Brigham had mentioned her fascination with flight and how she often dreams of flying, which has led to her interest in aviation and her works exploring flight.  Her work, WASP Bea. I. Wolf, was created for a group exhibition that focused on women in World War II, which includes two authentic World War II medals and the badge of the WomenAirforce Service Pilots (WASP). WASP was an organization of civilian women pilots employed to fly military aircrafts in World War II. Bea. I. Wolf., is a play on words that incorporates the bee wolf, a predatory wasp, and Beowulf, a mythical hero, who Brigham links to feminism. The epic poem, thought to be written in 700 A.D., explores the expected gender roles for women. Brigham’s piece shows this woman aviator transcending beyond her traditional roles. The “I” in the title is representative of Isis, an Egyptian goddess of motherhood, nature and magic. Brigham also commented that her choice to use black and white in this portrait was a way to replicate a black and white photograph from the 1940s and then she touched upon her choice of frame for this work, chosen because the frame appears to look like insect wings. She matched most of the frames to the time period of the work she was investigating.

Brigham places herself in the images of female figures of the past in the hope of continuing their message and keeping them alive. She is currently expanding her Seven Sisters II series with other creative images of nuns. She hopes that when she enters the afterlife her works will continue to spread not only her message, but also the messages of the women she has depicted.

Frank Wright, Painting the Civil War

Gen'l Lee Over Yonder, 1994, oil on canvas, 8" x 10"

Our exhibition After Melville and Whitman, April 9 - July 5, 2013, MPA 2nd floor cases is on view in collaboration with the GW English Department and their hosting of the Ninth International Melville Conference, June 4-7, 2013.  The exhibit gives a contemporary view of how Herman Melville and Walt Whitman have influenced American Art.  Did you know one of GW's Fine Arts Professors is also a Civil War expert?

Frank Wright prefers to express rather than reflect. This may seem quite odd, due to the fact that most of his paintings are historical representations of DC. How exactly can one express the past without reflecting? Wright does this by masterfully blending facets of his life with historical reconstructions of Washington resulting in painstakingly detailed works of art.

This DC native, whose family has been in the area for six generations, paints images of Washington ranging from the old Analostan Island (now Roosevelt) to the original Willard Hotel and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is hard not to notice the incredible amount of detail in every brushstroke, but what one may not notice is just how Wright personalizes his paintings. He explains that you can find many a face of his friends, students, or literary figures (such as Walt Whitman) amongst the various crowds he paints. Such details add a particular touch to the impersonality of history. One thing is certain – Wright is incredibly talented.

He attended American University where he then won the Paul J. Sachs Fellowship in Graphic Arts. This led him to Paris, where he studied prints and woodcuts in depth at Atelier 17.  Gallery Assistant Hannah Spector, recently sat down with Professor Wright to discuss his work, the history of Washington, DC, and where the two intersect:


Hannah Spector: Do you mainly get inspiration for your historical paintings from photographs?

Frank Wright: Well, not exactly. There's no photograph of most of these, I made them up. Mainly
pictures of Civil War reenactments and I saw a guy there that looked like Robert E. Lee, so I turned him, into Robert E. Lee.

HS: I like how you do the perspective of old DC. Have you gotten that mainly from piecing together different sources?

FW: I have a large collection of old photographs of old Washington and my family has also been here for six generations. My grandfather and my family on my mother's side have also been here for six generations. The first one who came here was Washington S. Wright and he came here in 1826 from Alexandria, from old town Alexandria. His father was a hatter and his father before him was as well. They were on Navy Yard Hill, where of course the river traffic was very important in those days. He had a business there during and before the Civil War.

Frank Wright, The Grand Review, 1990-91, oil on canvas, 48" x 96".

HS: Is that why you have such an interest in DC's history?

FW: Well yeah, but I have a general interest in it. Of course being in an early office building just one block from Ford's Theater always meant I had a great interest in that area and I was there for 26 years, across from the Portrait Gallery.

HS: That's a pretty area.

FW: It is now, but it's been through its ups-and-downs.

HS: What's your favorite painting you've done?

FW: This is my favorite image, The Grand Review, 1990-91.  It took place on Pennsylvania Avenue on May 25, 1865 shortly after the President [Abraham Lincoln] was killed and it's based on a reenactment I saw in the early 90's.  The whole cast of Glory, the movie, marched in that parade.  So I ran in front of the parade all the way from 7th street to 14th street to get this image.  It took me well over a year to do.

detail from The Grand Review

HS: Is that Walt Whitman there?

FW: Yes, Walt Whitman.

HS: The detail is incredible, how do you have the patience for this?

FW: Time, time. Well, you know when you do a major project like this it's like doing embroidery where you think it will take its time and it will be finished when it's finished. But yes, this is Walt Whitman and this other man is his friend Pete Doyle and at the time of this parade they didn't know each other, but I decided to put Pete Doyle in it. He was the closest friend Walt Whitman had, very close relationship. These here are the contrabands. You know Washington after the war, they freed the contrabands. They were people owned by other people and they kept them on Mason's Island, which is now Roosevelt's Island. During the war they stayed there.

HS: Where's the Willard in this panting?

FW: Here. It's where Julia Ward Howe wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Now, sometime after this, the present Willard was built around 1900. This is the former building that was there. When I was a child, it was quite a wonderful place filled with World War II activities. People would go down there, and it was "smokeville", everybody smoked and you could hardly see yourself through the smoke. Later on, the Willard went into disarray for a number of years it just sat there without being occupied. Then an enterprising group of businessmen brought it back.

HS: So are your paintings interspersed around different parts of DC?

FW: Yes, and Vienna. But this [The Grand Review] was one of the most ambitious paintings I ever did. Some of my friends were in the reenactment here, so they're in here. I have several of my students and friends in here. And everything is absolutely accurate because I was able to get access at the Library of Congress to pictures that were not generally known. Everybody knows the [Matthew] Brady ones, but they weren't as interesting as the ones I found that showed the streets and the stores. So, all of this is very accurate. Of course there was a welcome home sign in the parade from Washington school children. This is the second day of the parade. The first day was May the 23rd when Meade's army marched down. The second day was Sherman's army, they walked up from South Carolina... Sherman's army had suffered a great deal, but they were excellent in the parade. They marched very well and I have books about the parade.

HS: It's crazy how much history is behind each painting.

FW: I've done some paintings of the encampments along the Potomac.  This one, Watchfires in the Evening Dews and Damps, 1993, was at the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee.  It was a crucial battle in 1864 because Hood's army could never reorganize after that Battle.  It's a compilation of photographs and my imagination. 

HS: Did you ever go to art school or did you just study in Paris?

FW: I went to art school.  I went to American University, which had a great art department.  I also taught at the Corcoran for 4 years.

HS: They just partnered with Maryland.

FW: Yes.  Originally the Corocan School was the art department at The George Washington University.  When I was teaching there, there were GW students in the department.  We had a small department, just about 2 or 3 students at GW.  Then they sent all of them to the Corcoran, especially for painting, sculpture, and ceramics.  When I came in 1970, they lifted me from the Corcoran.  While I was there, they started to soar. 

HS: Do you teach painting?

FW: I am a painter, but I've always taught drawing.  Mainly because there was an opening and I took that person's place.  One of my best friends came a year earlier and taught painting, but we had our studio together, a man named [William] Woodward.  They whole time I was at the Corcoran, he was teaching painting and I was teaching drawing.  Then we both moved to GW and he taught for 32 years and I've been teaching drawing for 42 years.

HS: Can you tell me about your time in Paris?

FW: Well, I had a fellowship to Paris.  It was given to me by the founder of the printed collection of the National Gallery, named Lessing Rosenwald.  He wanted to establish a fellowship in honor of his best friend who got him started as a collector, who was Paul J. Sachs.  I was the first Paul J. Sachs fellow at the National Gallery and from there I went to Harvard and from there I went to Paris.  I didn't realize 'til much later that Paul's mother was Goldman and his father was Sachs.  So, I went to Paris at that time.

HS: Your prints are amazing.  What type are they?

A Man and His Dog, 1970, engraving, 6-3/8" x 4-3/8"

FW: They are engravings and etchings.  There's one around the corner called An Old Man and His Dog.  This fellow was a vagrant who used to go through the trashcans in front of the National Portrait Gallery.  He was an interesting looking character and I though I might be taking a chance but I invited him up to pose.  He lived in one of the boarding houses around, but he wasn't a derelict.  He was sort of an old man that used to ride the railroad.  He was from New Orleans, but I found him very interesting and bright and intelligent.

  

 

***

It is evident that Wright knows an incredible amount of Washington history. By injecting history into his paintings, he is able to create pieces which are more than just an image – they are a story, an account, and a depiction of moments in time. His experience and natural ease with the brush make his works important for both the George Washington University, and Washington itself. A number of paintings by Frank Wright are currently on view on the 3rd floor of Gelman Library. For more of Wright's work, go to his website: http://www.gwu.edu/~fwright.

“Once you put your hand in the paint you must do something, create something” - Jules Olitski

 It has been quite a while since our last post here at the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery, but we are excited to say that we have almost finished our installation for Jules Olitski On An Intimate Scale. Jules Olitski, an American painter known mostly for his abstract works was born in the 1920’s and died just a short time ago in 2007.  We are thrilled to display pieces from the Olitski collection yet again, as this will be the Gallery’s third exhibition featuring the artist.

The exhibition will open Friday, September 21^st with a reception with the artist’s family, and will run through December 14^th. Along the same time span, the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center will be hosting their show Revelation: Major Paintings by Jules Olitski.  The Brady Art Gallery’s exhibition of smaller scale works is a fitting comparison to the monumental works that will be on view at American University.  Come get to know Olitski’s style with a close view to his admired paintings. 

Along with the show, there will be a panel discussion at the Phillips Collection on Jules Olitski’s work as a segment of the Creative Voices DC series.  Do not hesitate to come by The Phillips Collection on September 20^th at 6:00 PM for more information on Olitski’s collected works.  

Shaker, 1961, acrylic on canvas, 25"x16". Image courtesy of the Olitski Family Estate.