Questions and Answers

Up until now, the only time that Gertrude Stein was ever a presence at the White House, as far as I know, was on December 30, 1934 when she and Alice were invited to tea by Eleanor Roosevelt.  From what I’ve read, a good time was had by all.

Teatime with Eleanor, 1933

Not sure if Barack or Michelle are aware of Gertrude in recent days, but someone on the presidential staff  may have taken a major step backwards into the era of the Salem witch trials or more recently Joseph McCarthy’s un-American  activities committee, when they felt the necessity to re-issue the May 1^st proclamation announcing  the 7^th annual Jewish Heritage Month.

Once upon a time in Salem...

Joe Mc and friend, 1954

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One Stein year has ended and in the best tradition of Steinian repetition a new one has begun.

The SEEING GERTRUDE STEIN exhibition will close at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC on January 22^nd and anyone who lives nearby or has a few frequent flier miles to burn and hasn’t seen it should still make an effort to go.

National Portrait Gallery aglow with Gertrude a few more weeks!

I had seen it more than 10 times in San Francisco and was still blown away by the installation in DC which gave the show a totally different feel. The various rooms in the NPG lent themselves perfectly to telling Stein’s five stories and the decision to hang some of the paintings salon style was genius as it transported viewers back to the rooms in rue de Fleurus, where art was hung floor to ceiling.

The other Stein exhibition in DC at Stanford University’s art gallery INSIGHT AND IDENTITY: CONTEMPORAY ARTISTS AND GERTRUDE STEIN has been extended until March 18th because of the excellent response. That exhibition features works by Australian artists Gisela Züchner-Mogall and Suzanne Bellamy; U.S. artists Laura Davidson, Tom Hachtman, Sally Schuh, and Katrina Rodabaugh; and German artist  Anne Büssow. First editions of the books that inspired the artists are also displayed.  Stop by the NPG and then the Stanford gallery and you’ll have a most satisfying day of Gertrude overload!

Installation shot: Katrina Rodabaugh "Dress Project" and Gisela Züchner-Mogall's hand-written MAKING OF AMERICANS!

There will also be a one-day Stein writers’ workshop in the gallery on February 4^th, one day after Gertrude’s 137^th birthday conducted by Karren Alenier.The 10 am to 5 pm session will take place at the Stanford in Washington Art Gallery,2661 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC. The program, which includes an overview of Stein and her work, a tour of the exhibition INSIGHT AND IDENTITY  by me, writing time, and an opportunity to share newly created work inspired by the exhibition.

The program is open to writers of all levels and genres. The cost is $50. Participants will  be able to buy Tom Hachtman and my book GERTRUDE AND ALICE AND FRITZ AND TOM for 25% off —what a deal! Visit http://wordworksbooks.org.

Also check out Karren’s promo video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqj-DZwWO6g

KARREN LaLONDE ALENIER, poet, librettist and innovator of educational programs, specializes in creative work related to Gertrude Stein. Since 2003, she has been writing The Steiny Road to Operadom, a monthly column on Gertrude Stein and opera for Scene4.com. She is author of five volumes of poetry, with a sixth—On a Bed of Gardenias: Jane & Paul Bowles—forthcoming January 2012. Her opera Gertrude Stein Invents a Jump Early On premiered in New York in 2005 with a good review from the New York Times.

PS

And if that’s not enough of a sprint into the new Stein year, THE STEINS COLLECT exhibition returns from its journey to Paris and will be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY from February 28th till June 3rd.

With all due respect to the musical The Sound of Music, one of whose songs contained lyrics bastardized in the title of this post, we must bid adieu to the Summer of Steins in San Francisco. Both exhibitions SEEING GERTRUDE STEIN: FIVE STORIES  at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and THE STEINS COLLECT: MATTISE,  PICASSO AND THE PARISIAN AVANT-GARDE at SFMOMA end tomorrow, September 6th.  And though both of them will be travelling, the first to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC from October 14th – January 22nd, 2012 and the other one to both Paris at the Grand Palais from October 3rd  –  January 16, 2012  and  then the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York  from February 21 through June 3, 2012, the Summer of Steins in San Francisco will not be able to be replicated as the Fall, Winter or Spring of Steins in any of the other cities – this summer was just too special!

the movie Von Trapps bid their adieus!

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One of the purposes of a blog is commenting on happenings in a timely manner.

Well, this morning before my GoogleAlert for Gertrude Stein even had a chance to send me any alerts, I got an e mail from a friend on the East Coast with this heading:

“Lesbians Booted from Gertrude Stein Exhibit – San Francisco…”

And why did a security guard try to get them to leave the Contemporary Jewish Museum…for defacing a painting? Pressing their noses against one of the Plexiglas vitrines?  Relishing an Alice B. Toklas treat while touring the show?

No, no, no…for holding hands!!!

"Semper fidelis," (detail) by Bruce Kellner, 1982

Word about this incident is apparently spreading like wildfire within the community of Stein fans, as well as in newspapers across the country. (One of my friends has proposed a “Hand-Holding, Sit-In” type of day at the museum.)

How can I not comment on this in a timely manner considering that many items from my collection are featured in the exhibition, which I hope this couple was able to view before they were so unconscionably treated!

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Last week I attended the two openings for the Seeing Gertrude Stein exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco and this week will attend the opening celebration at SFMOMA’s The Steins Collect (see the previous post for all the details on the shows.)

Seeing Gertrude Stein is a must-see, not only for GertrudeandAlice fans, but also for anyone who wants to get to know them better. As is usually the case at openings, the crowds were too dense to really see the exhibition (600 people had RSVP’d for the 2nd opening), so in the next few weeks I’ll be going back from time to time to get a better look.

During the openings I selected two favorite pieces and I’m sure that on future visits additional items will be joining this list. One of the pieces is a small, framed,  poodle made by Picasso out of what looks like either cotton balls or actual bolls of raw cotton. The small figure was to be a “companion” for GertrudeandAlice’s poodle, Basket. The other is a small passport photo of Alice from 1907, the year she traveled to Paris and met Gertrude.  I had never seen the photo before.  In it Alice is wearing a jaunty black hat proofing once again that Alice really was a “hat person!”

And that brings me to GertrudeandAlice and fashion,  One of the themes of the exhibition centers on their sense of sartorial style. Alice was more interested in the fashions of the day than Gertrude, but Gertrude knew how she wanted to present herself when it came to her dress and she did.  Once Alice entered her world, she assumed the role of Gertrude’s stylist and many of the photographs in the exhibition show Alice’s touches as a member of the “Fashion Police!”

Dressed for literary success, photo by Cecil Beaton (London, 1936)

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“When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars…”

Now you’re saying “He really has had too much of Alice’s special treat !” But no, really,  Summer 2011 in San Francisco is the Summer of Steins – I’ll bet my fringed suede vest and bell-bottomed jeans with the floral-fabric inserts at the bottom that it’s a fact!

The exhibition Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories will be at The Contemporary Jewish Museum from  May 12 – September 6, while The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde will be at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from May 21 – September 6.

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