Thank you C.J.

From all of us who were inspired by your vision, passion and never ending commitment to social justice - thank you C.J.

"Kansas Murals" book available from the University Press of Kansas

The University Press of Kansas has a new website where it's easy to purchase copies of "Kansas Murals: A Traveler's Guide," the 2006 book I collaborated on with Lora Jost.

"As much a book on Kansas land and history as about its mural art, this is a portrait of a place and its people. From beloved clichs to unexpected innovations, Jost and Loewenstein's selections take us from a wild-eyed John Brown to the ornate box turtle capital of the world, from silos to post offices, covered wagons to rocket ships, graffiti to architectural heaven. Read this even if Kansas is not on your itinerary.” 
—Lucy R. Lippard, author of Lure of the Local

“Makes me want to jump in the car right now and go look at those marvelous murals!”
—Marci Penner, author of The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers

“An essential book for every traveler in the Kansas art-scape.”
—Charles C. Eldredge, author of Tales from the Easel

Wings of Desire - The Art of William H. Howe

(This essay was originally published in lawrence.com on February 24, 2006. Since links to many of my old lawrence.com blog essays are broken, I am republishing them here.)

In 1941 as the U.S. entered into World War II, 13-year-old William Howe was busily filling sketchbooks with remarkable renderings of butterflies, as a student at the West Coast Institute of Arts and Crafts in Berkley, California. Later that year, William's father Edwin hastily moved the family away from the coast, in order to protect them from potential bombing by the Japanese. After a brief stay in Lawrence, the family settled in Ottawa, Kansas, which - as fate would have it - was directly in the path of the annual monarch migration. 

One of Howe's teenage journals.

William's infatuation with butterflies began at an early age. As he told it, the defining event of his childhood occurred when his father, who was an entomologist working for the USDA, brought home a cage full of caterpillars and left them on the dining room table. Over the following days, William watched spellbound as the striped caterpillars metamorphosed, first forming chrysalides and then emerging as elegant black swallowtails. From this experience grew a lifetime passion for the gossamer-winged insects. Howe said, "My fascination with butterflies has been welded into a lifelong avocation that has commanded both my spirit and my labors. But it isn't a scientific interest. The scientific problems I leave up to the experts. Sitting under a microscope in an office doesn't appeal to me. It is the emotional experience of catching a butterfly and the reward of being able to use my paints to capture it on paper or canvas. I do this for one reason - it's fun. And most jobs are not fun, I have found." 

In 2006 at age 77, Howe was still painting everyday in his small apartment in Ottawa. All of his paintings were made from observing actual butterflies (he never painted from photos), many of which he collected on his eighty-three trips to Mexico. Today, he is considered one of the country's most admired butterfly artists. His paintings are in the collections of museums around the world including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. His authoritative book "Butterflies of North America" (out of print), illustrated with 2,033 watercolors, is hailed by many entomologists as the greatest volume ever published on butterflies of this continent.

Howe at work on "Butterflies of North America."

I first saw William Howe's paintings in 1991 at the old Plum Tree restaurant on Iowa Street. They may have clashed a little with the Chinese decor, but Howe always favored restaurants, offices, and other retail businesses that he frequented to show his work. The advantages of these venues over galleries were that they had a captive and frequently changing audience, and usually no commission on sales. 

 
I continued to spot Howe's curious and original paintings over the years, like "Butterflies Greeting Columbus" below, and always wondered what the artist who created them was like. Then in 2004, we met. It was in Ottawa, at the house that he'd lived in since 1941, where I interviewed him about his mural depicting monarchs migrating through Chase County that he was restoring in the old Ottawa Middle School cafeteria. That first meeting led to others where, over slices of blackberry pie and coffee at his favorite restaurant, we discussed organizing a show of his paintings in Lawrence.

That exhibition, Wings of Desire - The Art of William H. Howe, opened in March of 2006 at the Olive Gallery. At the opening, Howe gave a short talk about his work and signed copies of his first book "Our Butterflies and Moths" published in 1964. The twenty plus paintings in the show represented the wide range of approaches Howe had taken to his life-long subject. 

Part of the Olive Gallery installation.

 
There were trompe l'oeil portraits of butterflies hovering slightly above the canvas. There were carefully composed families of butterflies, rendered like Audubon, in their natural settings. There were the paintings, Howe often called 'surreals' or 'abstracts,' where his mutable subjects become vehicles for storytelling and abstract design. And exhibited for the first time, were Howe's figurative and narrative paintings which explored his personal life and political concerns.

All of these paintings reflected William Howe's devotion to craft and reverence for nature. But his paintings are about much more than studied technique and patient observation - they are deeply felt personal statements, that illuminate the fragile and quiet life of both butterflies and the man who rendered them with such affection.

William H. Howe died on August 18, 2009 in Ottawa, KS. He was 81. For more on Howe's work, go to his website here, and this 2004 article in the Pitch by Gina Kaufmann.

Mural postcards at Essential Goods in Lawrence

You can now buy postcards of most of my Lawrence murals (including the restored Seeds mural below) at Essential Goods, 825 Massachusetts Street.

Will East Lawrence become as pretty as a French Neo-Impressionist picture?

Lawrence City Commission elections are right around the corner and candidates have been pulling out all the stops to appeal to voters. This includes using all sorts of media from internet ads to yard signs and mass mailings, with one even appropriating a famous French painting to bolster their message.

For as long as there have been politics, politicians have understood and used the power of art and music to influence voters. These days it seems like every presidential candidate has a well-known and carefully chosen pop song playing at their events - just think of Bill Clinton and Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop (Thinking about Tomorrow).” And with visual art, Barack Obama got a real boost from Shepherd Fairey’s hugely popular “Hope” poster (although Fairey ran into copyright issues for the photo he based his poster on). Most candidates know not to use an artist’s work without their permission, some are uninformed, and a few figure they can get away with a little appropriation here and there and not get caught.

One of the best examples of this was Ronald Reagan’s co-opting of the Bruce Springsteen song “Born in the USA” during his 1984 campaign for president. Reagan not only didn’t have the musician’s permission, he didn’t understand the song’s meaning, which he took to be a patriotic cheer even though the lyrics clearly express the struggles of Vietnam veterans returning home to a broken system. More recently, Florida Senate candidate, Charlie Crist was sued for appropriating the Talking Heads song “Road to Nowhere” and eventually had to make a public apology.

Even when artworks or songs can be licensed, most institutions and individual artists specifically prohibit the use of their work in political campaigns. The reason is clear - associating a work of art with a particular candidate or political platform implies that the artist or institution supports them.

This is why I was surprised last week to find in my mailbox a campaign postcard that appeared to be in clear violation of those prohibitions. On the front of the card is a reproduction of Georges Seurat’s beloved 1884 painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.” Superimposed over the bottom of the image is the word ARTS, while a banner runs along the top of the card that reads “March 3 – Vote for Bob Schumm.” Turning the card over, the campaign message deals exclusively with Mr. Schumm’s support for the East 9th Street corridor project, but nowhere on the card is credit given to Seurat or the Art Institute of Chicago which owns the work.

It's hard not to come to the conclusion that the juxtaposition of Seurat’s painting with Schumm’s campaign message represents the candidate’s vision for the future of East 9th Street.

Setting aside the issues of licensing and copyright (which probably are applicable in this case), I’ve been considering what else this campaign ad is communicating to voters. Looking again at Seurat’s painting and then thinking about the neighborhood of East Lawrence, I wondered if this bucolic fantasy is really what proponents of the East 9th Street project envision, and if so, what that means for those of us who live and work there now.

In Seurat’s painting, Parisians (all of them white) lounge along a riverbank. Women hold parasols, men wear top hats, one couple has a pet monkey on a leash. They are still and apparently silent but for one trumpet player - playing the tune to “Road to Nowhere” perhaps? This may be an accurate representation of 1884 France, but East 9th Street in 2015? It’s an unusual choice. With so many great artists in Lawrence (let alone Kansas), it begs the question - why Mr. Schumm chose to appropriate this famous painting instead of using the work of a local artist for his campaign postcard.

Half Empty

For the next six weeks I'll be working with students at Washburn University on Half Empty, a campaign to inform and advocate on issues related to water in Kansas. We have a blog for the project that you can check out here.

East 9th Street and the Allure of Creative Placemaking

Over the past year, there has been lots of conversation about the Lawrence Arts Center’s proposed development for East 9th Street. At City Commission, East Lawrence neighborhood meetings, in the Journal-World and on the street, people have been discussing the potential impacts and opportunities of this ambitious and first of its kind endeavor in Lawrence.

Reflecting on the origins of this project, and studying recent evaluations of the new practice of creative placemaking, may help shed light on many of the concerns and questions that have been raised.

East 9th Street

In 2010 Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus completed “Creative Placemaking,” the National Endowment for the Arts report that introduced this practice to a wider public. It was this report that launched the creative placemaking funding initiatives Our Town and later ArtPlace, which are at the center of the proposed East 9th Street project.

But just two years after co-authoring the NEA’s paper, Markusen wrote of her unease about how ArtPlace was measuring creative placemaking success. She writes “ ArtPlace is developing “measures of value, which capture changes in rental and ownership values…” This reads like an invitation to gentrification, and contrary to the NEA’s aspirations for creative placemaking to support social cohesion and community attachment.”

This is not a surprise. Gadwa Nicodemus and Markusen alerted us to the potential of creative placemaking to spur gentrification in their original NEA paper when they wrote, “Arts-initiated revitalization can set off gentrification pressures that displace current residents and small businesses, including non-profit arts organizations.”

And they are not alone in their concern.

In his 2013 essay, “Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-Belonging,” Roberto Bedoya, Executive Director of the Tucson Pima County Arts Council, writes, “The blind love of Creative Placemaking that is tied to the allure of speculation culture and its economic thinking of “build it and they will come” is suffocating and unethical, and supports a politics of dis-belonging employed to manufacture a “place.”

These comments by respected arts leaders are clearly reflected in the dialogue that has emerged around the proposed East 9th Street project. Although East Lawrence was represented on the Cultural District Task Force, which made general recommendations for the Cultural District, the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association (ELNA) was not consulted in the development of the actual ArtPlace and Our Town grants related to East 9th Street. Concerns about this lack of agency in the process, led ELNA to initiate forums for discussion around the project’s implications, including facilitated public meetings and a three-hour “Imagine East 9th Street” event. 

Imagine East 9th Street event, November 16, 2014

Comments from many participants at these meetings expressed the need for accountability and the desire for full participation in the overall process. These ideas taken together concern social equity - the idea that fair access to livelihood, education, and resources; full participation in the political and cultural life of the community; and self-determination in meeting fundamental needs is a social good intrinsic to healthy and just communities.

In her 2014 article, “The Gentrification of Our Livelihoods: Everything must go,” about an ArtPlace funded project in San Francisco, writer Megan Wilson speaks directly to this need for equity. She writes, “To achieve these ends, we must work to put far more pressure on our city officials and hold them accountable to provide the best services, opportunities, and amenities for residents, while ensuring that existing communities are protected and supported through high functioning planning, permitting, and legislation with strong and clear avenues for oversight and accountability by their constituencies.”

This is what many East Lawrence residents have been advocating for – genuine accountability and an acknowledgment of the value that their unique experience and knowledge can bring to the process. Unfortunately, these basic measures have yet to be met while new concerns have arisen, as expressed in a letter (below) sent to Lawrence City Commissioners and signed by more than 140 residents.

June 21, 2015    

To Mayor Farmer and Lawrence City Commissioners,

We deeply appreciate the careful consideration you and city staff have given the East Ninth project process and trust that you will continue to give it the serious and thoughtful regard it deserves. The learning curve has been steep for this ambitious and first of its kind endeavor for our community.

In an effort to move toward the goals of a healthy, just, equitable and sustainable East Ninth Street project, we, the one hundred forty (140) individuals undersigned, have carefully reviewed the draft Work Plan submitted by el dorado inc to the City Commission and propose the modifications outlined below be included in the document before the plan is accepted.

1) Statement of Values

Respect and understanding of the place and people where this project is proposed are critical to its acceptance and sustainability. The Work Plan should be revised to acknowledge that the East Lawrence Neighborhood already has a statement of values that applies to the majority of the area where the project is planned. Following from this, the Design Team, City and Lawrence Arts Center should strive to respect and be guided by these values in reviewing existing plans, and as it moves forward with the East Ninth project.

2) Artist Participation Model

The culture and spirit of East Lawrence are alive and well, in part because of its organic growth and thoughtful and passionate stewardship. All public art projects in recent memory that have been carried out in East Lawrence have been presented for consideration and approval to the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association before going on to the City. This includes the mural at Hobbs Park, the forthcoming Intersection Repair, the New York School mural, the Cultural District, and Better Block event. We believe that the same process should be used for all art and culture related projects outlined in the Artist Participation Model (APM) section of the Work Plan. The Work Plan should be revised to include the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association in the review and approval process (that includes Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission, Historic Resources Commission, and City Commission), for all art and culture related projects proposed in the APM.

To ensure that the character and expression of the neighborhood is guided by those who live there, we propose that at least 50% of the projects outlined in the APM be led by Lawrence artists (with at least one Lawrence artist in each of the three sections of the APM), and at least half of those led by East Lawrence artists. To make the most of the potential creative exchange that can take place during this process, we propose that all art projects outlined in the APM include paid assistant artists from Lawrence. This will be great experience and training for our local artists and will give any lead artists who are not from Lawrence essential insights into the place they are working. 

3) Conservation Overlay

In order to ensure that development along East 9^th Street and adjacent parts of the East Lawrence Neighborhood will evolve in a way that protects and supports the cultural and economic life of its residents and the unique character of its built environment, we propose that a Conservation Overlay be designed and implemented as a part of the East Ninth project and be in place before any work described in the Artist Participation Model begins. The physical extent and specific provisions of the overlay would be determined collaboratively with the City, project Design Team, East Lawrence Neighborhood Association and other interested citizens.

Thank you again for your continued work on this issue and specific consideration of our letter.

Sincerely,

Brenda Nunez                       

Robert Baker                         

Jean Ann Pike                       

Dave Pike                              

Richard Kershenbaum           

David Crawford                    
Leslie Soden

Charlie Bryan                        

Ted Boyle                              

Dave Evans                            

Mary Kirkendall                    

Eric Kirkendall                     

Creed Shepard                    

Gotfred Beardshear            

Phil Collison                           

Susan Earle                            

Lane Eisenbart                      

Jill Ensley                              

John Hachmeister                 

Amber Hansen                     

Thad Holcombe                     

Lora Jost                                

Ashley Laird                           

Sue Ashline                            

Jim McCrary                          

Dave Loewenstein                 

Arch Naramore                      

Alison Dishinger                    

Yanice Friedman                   

Carol Klinkett                                    

Dennis Cox                             

Marilyn Brune                       

Chanette Alexander              

Lauretta Hendricks Backus  

Oswald Backus                      

Martha S. Thorp                    

Bonnie Uffman                     

Jill Allen                                 

Macy C. Smith                                  

Pat Miller                               

Dave Kingsley                        

Loring Henderson                 

Bob Garrett                            

Janet Martin                          

P. Johnson                              

Katheirne “KH” Harris         

Irene Tsuneta                                    

Don Kantorv                         

Megan Roelofs                       

Terese Cioffi                          

Katie Ashmore                      

Katie Reese                           

Marta Schwartz                     

John Huff                               

Marty Olson                           

Phil Chiley                              

Teresa Wilke                         

John P. Jervis                         

Janet A. Jackson                     

Louie Galloway                      

Saunny Scott                          

Laura Morgan                                    

Susan Munn                          

Janet Good                            

Elliot Good-DeCosta              

James C. Dunn                       

Ann Carlin Ozegovic              

Shannon Gorres                    

Sarah Wallace                        

Maya Crocker                                    

Linda Lips                              

Marvin E. Voth                       

Juliet Remmers                      

Brian Sultana                        

Ginger Chance                      

Thomas E. Peters                  

Dennis Constance                 

Daniel Bentley                       

Sarah Archiblod Busse         

Barb Michener                      

Katy Clagett                           

Bridget Chapin                      

Nancy V. Brune                      

Carol Schmitt                         

Eileen Larson                         

Don Mayberger                     

Stephanie Harsin                  

E. F. Tolbert                            

Jane W. Gibson                      

Jim Carpenter                                  

Sven Erik Alstrom                 

Frank Janzen                         

Alan Martin                            

Gregory M. Herrod                

Pam Blackburn                      

Robert W. Lepphe                 

John Swift                              

Jay M. Hester                         

Rhonda Beardshear              

Alonzo Beardshear                

Nicollete Proudfoot               

D. Byron Darby                     

Kellie Smith Herrod            

Tony Peterson                       

Dorothy Devlin                      

Kyle Garchee                         

Sonya Bonner                                    

Steve Bonner                         

Jolene Anderson                    

Brooklynne Mosley               

Jackson Sump                                    

Vicki Douglas                         

Phil Minkin                          

Dan Dimmit                           

C. D. Hall                                 

Marilyn Hall                           

Claudean McKellips              

Christopher Hayes                

Marah Melvin                                    

Ardys Ramberg                    

Sarah Rooney                                   

Odessa Shorter                    

Cindy Suenram                     

Nicholas Ward                       

KT Walsh                              

Amanda Schwegler               

Rebecca Blocksome               

Kate Meyer                            

Aaron Paden                          

Judith K. Burns McCrea        

Darron Carswell                    

Cindy Trask                           

Daniel Barkofske                  

Sam Michie                            

Ben Kimball                          

Carey Scott                             

Max Yoder                             

Johni Lacore                           
Chris Lempa