Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 1998)
artist By Bret Schulte Senior Reporter Always underestimated when it comes to cynical modernist poetry, abstract oil paintings or WWII propa ganda films, Nebraska is the home and alma mater to American renaissance artist Weldon Kees, whose paint ings and poetry earned him fame in New York and San Francisco during the era of beatniks, bohemians and unprecedented subculture activity. . The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery is exhibiting the abstract artistry and collages of the Beatrice born Kees through April 12. The Sheldon will also play host to poetry readings of the artist, two film screenings, a conference of art professors from around the Midwest and an interpretive perfor mance by Lincoln exper imental group Howlooseanation of Kees’ music. Bordering on an all outjfestival, the exhibit celebrates a Nebraskan whose diverse artistic achievements are final ly being recognized with in cultural circles as among the most significant of the early American 20* century. University of Nebraska Lincoln Assistant Professor of English Nicholas Spencer, host of the Rees’ poetry reading on Feb. 5, said Rees’ accomplishments have long been overlooked. “Rees is one of the most important writes to come from Nebraska,” Spencer said. “I think we mistakenly associate Nebraskan art and liter ature with ruralism, and I think what Rees reminds us is sophisticated and complex litera ture and art is part ofNebraska’s heritage, too.” Like most intellectuals of the day, Rees was more concerned with areas of per sonal interest such as current issues, society and the arts than his personal past, which is sel dom discussed in his writing. “The interesting thing about Rees is there are only one or two refer ences to Nebraska in his poet ry,” Spencer said Rees is most notorious for his refresh authentic depictions of an era when most artists and writ ers were consumed with high-brow cultural elitism and pretentious artistic endeavors. Despite the fact that Kees was close friends with many members of the avant-garde and was influenced by them, his artistic output remained decidedly personal. “He was interested in popular culture inas much as he wasn’t com pletely turned off by it,” Sheldon curator Dan Seidell said. “Most of his peers were com pletely turned off by it” ^ Bom in 1914, Kees ~ I graduated from the ~ University of Nebraska (now the University of * ■ Nebraska-Lincoln) with a degree in literature. He wait on to write for the Midwest s premier literary maga zine, The Prairie Schooner, and study library science at the University of Denver. ' * After his move to New York in 1944, Kees rapidly fell into the emerging avant garde movement, a group of American and international artists and writers interested in pushing theboundaries of artistic expression. Although first and foremost a poet and writer, Kees also exper imented with abstract painting, collages and film, for which hd won awards for his editing of World War II footage for newsreel clips. The artist is most famous for his associa tion with the beatnik movement in post World War II San Francisco, where he was active in poetry readings organized by the infamous Kenneth Rexroth and Allen Ginsberg. Kees allegedly ended his life by jump ing off the Golden Gate Bridge in 1955. His body was never found. More than 40 years later, Kees has returned .m - ^ . . ^ . _ . Photos (Courtesy op Sheldon Memorial Abt Gallery PHOTOS: (TOP) SEES, who was a poet, anther, painter, playwright, composer and filmmaker, also worked with collages. This untitled piece from 1946 is on display at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. (ABOVE) “RAFFLE #2,” an oU painting from the collection of Gertrude Stein, is Just one of WetdeeKees’paintings on exhibit at the Sheldee llnmnfinl Aw# lfc»iinnt ffliffilPilill to iNewasKa -at least m memory -and the variety ol the Sheldon events spanning the next two months are a trib ute to a Nebraskan whose diverse artistic achievements are long overdue for serious recognition. Planned events include a poetry reading by Professor Nicholas Spencer Feb. 5 followed immediately by a show ing of two short films by Kees, titled “The Apex” and “The Bridge.” The evening’s presentations will begin at 7 pan. On March 4, die Sheldon’s Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater will play host to a conference titled “The Subjects and Methods of the Study of American Art” The conference will feature art professors from the University of Iowa, Kansas and the State University of New York-Purchase. A panel for public discussion will follow the conference for continued dialogue on Kees and topics of modem art The musical group Howlooseanation, characterized by frontman Mark Baldridge as a “jazz-noise group,” will give aperformanceofKees’ragtime music on March 13. Although Kees rarely cites his Nebraska background in his work, its influences are obvious and, according to Seidell, made the writer remarkable. “He made fun of his hometown, I think,” Seidell said, “Not in a vicious way, but of a small-town perspective. “But he also made fun of the big town, that the New Yorker could be just as colloquial as a waitress in a Beatrice caf6.” ■•Mm Ims mi Am MsatWtMtnv Jan. 9-April 12 Present-April 12 An exhibraon of 34 of Kees’ paintings and collages. Feb. 5 Poetry reading by Nicholas Spencer, an assistant professor of English at UNL, followed by a presentation of two of Kees’short films, The Apex" and The Bridge * March 4 The Subjects and Methods of the Study of American Art,’a colloquium featuring art professors from the ■ University of Iowa, the University of Kansas and SUNY-Purchase, followed by a public forum on Kees and modem art March 13 Local group Howtooseanation will perform several of Kees’ musical compositions. 1