Roger Chaput: Fine Art & Jazz

Musicians are inherently creative, and many engage in other forms of creation as a means of exercising these impulses. When they are not in the studio or on stage many musicians through out time have devoted themselves to writing poetry and prose and some have even turned to the visual arts to express their unique artistic voice. It often seems that artists aspire to be rock stars and rock stars aspire to be artists but only some of these musical geniuses have successfully bridged the gap between the two forms and have been successful in both arenas. Musicians such as Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Paul Simonon of the Clash have found a second front of fame through the visual arts, a stunning achievement and a tribute to their talent.

These multi-talented artists are not confined to the boundaries of rock and roll as is proven by the exciting career of Roger Chaput. Born in 1909, Chaput and his parents moved to Paris while he was young and the budding musician soon came to identify the city as his own. Learning the guitar as a child, Chaput eventually found his calling playing the jazz and swing music of the day. His most successful venture into the Parisian music scene came when he joined Django Reinhardt, Reinhardt’s brother and even a jazz violinist to form the Quintette du Hot Club de France. This group, active in the 1930’s, was inspired by American jazz and swing music but borrowed heavily from the gypsy guitar roots of Reinhardt’s childhood. Playing rhythm guitar for Reinhardt for nearly a decade, Chaput eventually shifted gears towards the visual arts, creating caricatures and eventually moving on to oil paints. Capturing still lives, portraits and landscape pieces, the artist funneled his vibrant artistic bravado into his unique and raw paintings.

The piece that MIR has in its collection shows off many of the key characteristics of Chaput’s work. Painted in a naive and two-dimensional style, the painting of a lace maker is nonetheless infused with a deep sense of energy. Derived from the almost uncontrollable tone of red that fills the background, the energy seems to be everywhere but on the face of the subject. Oblivious to the enlivened atmosphere the worker plugs away at her chore, her thoughts lost even to herself. Much of Chaput’s portraiture features profile views of subjects that seem almost overwhelmed by their backdrop, perhaps his way of expressing an atmospheric rhythm he discovered in interwar Paris.

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc. is different from other fine art appraisers because of the time and effort they devote to researching the hidden stories behind our clients’ artwork. With a large staff of researchers devoted to supporting MIR’s appraisal efforts the company puts a premium on unearthing the hidden stories behind works of art and educating their clients. This dedication is the icing on the cake of a solid service that aims to give clients appraisals tailored to their needs and pointing them in the right direction should they wish to sell their piece of art. We encourage you to call and make an appointment to visit our office on Michigan Avenue and talk to our experienced staff.

Written and Researched by Justin Bergquist

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.
Principal Appraiser and Director: Farhad Radfar, ISA, AM
307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 814-8510

Works Cited:
James, Donald. “Reinhardt, Django,” in Jazz.com.

Images:
http://www.djangostation.com/IMG/jpg/024-SteI_phane-Graeuro_haput_-1936.jpg
http://www009.upp.so-net.ne.jp/JAZZ-78rpm/masa153.JPG
http://www.chicagoartappraisers.com/invchaput1.html

Kiyoshi Saito’s Sosaku Hanga

Kiyoshi Saito with art critic Oliver Statler

“I scheme and work and sweat over my prints.

Making a woodcut is much too strenuous to let accidents determine results.”

— Kiyoshi Saito, from Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc., boasts in its collection three woodblock prints by Kiyoshi Saito.

Kiyoshi Saito Shoji Sanpo in Kyoto, MIR Gallery

Saito, a modern Japanese printmaker, was one of the foremost printmakers working in the genre of sosaku hanga, “the creative prints of one-man works” (Stearns Oxford).

Born in Aizu, Saito later lived on the outskirts of Tokyo, and traveled to the United States in the 1950’s. A self-taught artist, he cited Munch and Gauguin as influences, declaring, “From the moment I first saw their work…I’ve been attracted by their romanticism, their exoticism, and their mysticism. I feel that my own work interprets this same mysticism in today’s idiom’” (Statler 54).

The sosaku hanga (“creative prints”) movement in Japan was ushered in by Kanae Yamamoto’s print Fisherman.

All aspects of the printmaking process—drawing, carving and printing—were executed solely by the artist. Departing from traditional ukiyo-e, production which involved multiple participants—artist, carver, printer, and publisher—sosaku hanga prints are fundamentally “self-drawn (自画, jiga), self-carved (自刻, jikoku) and self-printed (自刷, jizuri)” (Stearns Oxford).

Kiyoshi Saito’s prints are even more dramatically individualist; in earlier works, he demonstrated his distinct methods—using a single block to make a color print, cutting his block freehand using the kiri, a Japanese carpenter’s tool, to “scratch or dig at the wood” (Statler 56). Later, Saito made use of multiple plywood blocks prepared with flat chisels (57). At times, he would use methods of lithography, painting directly onto a smooth, uncut block, usually printing upon kizuki hosho, strong, quality paper.

Kiyoshi Saito, MIR Gallery

Described by Oliver Statler as a “modern realist,” Saito’ s distilled forms and “textural effects” were carefully executed. As he remarked, “I’m amused—and a little annoyed—by people who talk about some of my efforts as though they were happy accidents. These people seem to think we modern artists let our medium control us” (54).

Kiyoshi Saito, MIR Gallery

To view works by this printmaking master at MIR Appraisal Services, Inc., please do call (312) 814-8510 or email mirappraisal@aol.com.

Written and researched by Jessica Savitz

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.

Principal Appraiser & Director: Farhad Radfar, ISA, AM

307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308

Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: (312) 814-8510

Works Cited:

Stearns, Peter N. "Art." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Modern World. Oxford University Press, 2008. University of Chicago. 3 January 2010.

Statler, Oliver. Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn. Rutland: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1956.

Karl Brandner’s Anatomical Sketches

While digging through MIR’s extensive collection of artist sketchbooks,the staff recently unearthed a peculiar set of anatomical drawings executed by Karl Brandner. The drawings include internal views of arms, legs and hips and highlight the human body’s complexity by capturing the innumerable amount of tendons, muscles, bones, arteries and veins that make movement possible. Executed in an aged rectangular sketchbook, the drawings are rendered in pencil, employing a skillful use of shading that aides the stunning three-dimensional drawings that were never meant to be seen by the public.

Relatively little is known about the private life of Karl Brandner, but many of his artworks are housed in public and private collections throughout the United States. Brandner was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1898 and is best remembered for his landscapes and architectural drawings. The trees in his artwork are particularly stunning and share many of the organic forms captured in his depictions of veins and muscle matter. Brandner was trained as an artist at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Chicago Fine Art Academy and worked in the Chicagoland area for the majority of his life, exhibiting often until his death in 1961.

The tradition of studying the body’s hidden structure is quite old and would have been an imperative part of the artistic training even in Brandner’s day. History notes that the European Old Masters were and still are widely respected for their commitment to drawing the internal structures of the body in order to better understand and depict the human form in art. Interest in anatomy was fostered during the Renaissance and artists often kept up on the scientific developments of the day, creating interdisciplinary links between the arts and the human sciences. Much of this information was gained through dissection (fortunes of questionable merit were amassed by suppliers of corpses) and often écorché figures were created capturing the human body void of skin and fat for the artist’s education. The term, écorché, literally means ‘flayed’ in French, and the practice of creating such pieces was developed during the 16th century.

These models and anatomical representations have fascinated the public of past and present. One of the most noteworthy examples of this form of art is Rembrandt’s “Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp,” which depicts a group of 17th century physicians carefully dissecting the right arm of a recently executed criminal. Recently in the news is a statue of a flayed former criminal executed in England in the 18th century. With a menacing title of “Smugglerius,” the cast is posed like the ancient sculpture known as "The Dying Gaul." Originally cast by Agostino Carlini, the piece has since been lost, but a copy created in the 19th century by William Pink remains at the Edinburgh College of Art. A more contemporary interest in such imagery can be seen in the traveling exhibition known as "Body Worlds."

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc. houses a great deal of exciting artwork but is most interested in appraising yours. With a staff of researchers and appraisers from a variety of backgrounds, MIR is best suited to help you discover the stories behind your family’s heirlooms and undiscovered treasures. We encourage you to call and find out about our appraisal options.

Written and Researched by Justin Bergquist

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.
Principal Appraiser and Director: Farhad Radfar, ISA, AM
307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 814-8510

Works Cited:
“Edinburgh College of Art Reveals Mystery Behind Cast of an Unknown Criminal,” on Artdaily.org

Images:
http://artdaily.com/imagenes/2010/01/19/Edinburgh-2ch.jpg

The Kinetic, Vital World of Yaacov Agam

“The infinite does not exist except in the complete form.”

—Yaacov Agam

MIR Gallery, an online division of MIR Appraisal Services, is proud to showcase in its collection a Yaacov Agam print, colored lithograph on paper.

Yaacov Agam, MIR Gallery

Yaacov Agam, an Israeli-born painter, sculptor, and experimental artist, incorporates rhythmic, geometric forms to produce kinetic effects.

Primarily concerned with the philosophical and spiritual implications of his artistic expression, Agam’s credo centers about unified form as a means of expressing the reality of the universe. In the words of Agam, he seeks to give “plastic and artistic expression to the ancient Hebrew concept of reality.” In his fascinating treatise on personal artistic practice, Agam treats his works as “more reality than abstraction, for the observer is revealed a world that is ‘One, yet unique in unity’” (Davidson 7).

Thomas Messer, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, explains further. Messer identifies Agam’s works as “multi-faceted reality projects,” which stem from the belief that while Divinity perceives reality in its entirety, we can see only fragments of reality. Furthermore, these reality fragments can be “harmonic or contrapuntal evidence.” Perhaps most important in reading meaning and purpose through Agam’s aesthetic choices, Messer explains that Agam’s work embodies the belief that one must perceive reality as kinetic, shifting material (8).

His relief paintings can be viewed as various paintings compacted into one piece, and as the viewer changes position, Agam’s colorful grids appear to shift (Arnason 568). In this sense, Agam’s work can be categorized as Op art and Kinetic art; the optical effects of his work suggest multiple layers of images, and movement by the spectator affects an illusion of movement in the work itself.

Indeed, his work, along with the work of Bury, Calder, and Tinguely, was included in Le Mouvement, the seminal exhibition of kinetic art in 1955 (Chilvers Kinetic Art). While the visual effects are stunning, the philosophical impetus is “reconstruction of the universe through image,” as noted by Guilo Carlo Argan (Davidson 17).

Agam’s reputation continues to grow; the artist primarily works in Paris, and the design of a square in the city’s Defense quarter is only one of several major public commissions. To schedule a visit to view this intriguing, technically adept print at MIR Appraisal Services, please do call (312) 814-8510 or email mirappraisal@aol.com.

Written and researched by Jessica Savitz

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.

Principal Appraiser & Director: Farhad Radfar, ISA, AM

307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308

Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: (312) 814-8510

Works Cited:

Chilvers, Ian. "Agam, Yaacov." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Chicago. 3 January 2010.

Chilvers, Ian. "Kinetic art." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Chicago. 3 January 2010.

Davidson, Joan Marie Weiss, translator. Homage to Agam. New York: Leon Amiel Publisher, Inc., 1980.

Wave of Forgeries in the Art World

Art forgery is an increasing source of fascination and fear, generating popular tales of fact and fiction that inevitably upset investors and collectors alike. Its most intriguing elements feature dodgy characters, nighttime rendezvous and misunderstood artists fooling everyone with their canny skill for reproduction. Art forgery has been an engaging topic of film, but is nowhere more engaging and interesting than in Orson Welles’s last major movie F for Fake released in 1974. The film features the stories of Elmyr de Hory, a famous Hungarian-born painter who sold forgeries purported to be painted by a wide range of master artists for half a century before being incarcerated. There is no doubt that the topic of art forgery is fascinating, but for art lovers and collectors alike it is an unfortunate threat to the value of their pieces and the understanding of artists themselves.

Forgeries through Time
The Oxford Art Dictionary explains that forgery is “an object that departs from transiently agreed canons of authenticity and is intended to deceive” (Phillips). This strain of deception is old indeed but it became more prevalent with 19th century art and its slow separation from traditional technical artistry in favor of rougher and more subjective forms of representation. Another factor enabling this increase in forgery was the prolific output of many of the 19th and 20th century’s artists and the impossible task of tracking every item created. While forgeries were not a problem in ancient times, modern collectors of ancient items have to navigate a difficult world of items roughly created and intentionally aged in order to pass off as an original ancient piece of pottery or statuary.

Recent Cases Involving Art Forgery
Given our fascination with art and the prevalence of forgeries it is no wonder the topic rarely leaves the news. Recently a Los Angeles antique dealer has been charged with paying an artist $1,000 to recreate a Picasso drawing and than selling it to an unsuspecting collector for $2 million.
Questionable art of another 20th century art icon, Frida Kahlo, has been reported by The Independent newspaper to be flooding the art market in Mexico. This development comes during a court battle challenging the person who recently claims to have unearthed “undiscovered” works by the artist in a trunk and is further muddying the market there. In fact, forgeries have become such an appealing a subject that museums are even beginning to collect famous examples of the phenomenon and an English art museum even launched an exhibition on the subject in December 2009.

Solutions to the Issue
There are thousands of reputable art sellers online that clearly mark that their paintings, prints and posters are copies, but there are thousands more art sellers who intentionally deceive and do not clearly mark their products. Ignoring and avoiding expert opinions, these sellers navigate a legal grey area and often fall back on the excuse that it was signed with the name of a famous artist and therefore they sold it as such. The prevalence of such schemes necessitates the expert opinion of an art appraiser. A reputable art appraiser who prizes research can help you ferret out the forgery from the original and can direct you towards galleries and sellers with sound reputations. MIR Appraisal Services, Inc. encourages you to contact us for information on our consultation services and would be happy to share our experiences with fakes with you. Our staff of appraisers and researchers will work hard to insure that your money is well spent and your investment sound.

Written and Researched by Justin Bergquist

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.
Principal Appraiser & Director: Farhad Radfar, ISA, AM
307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 814-8510

Works Cited:
Phillips, David. “Forgery,” in Oxford Art Online.
“California Dealer Tatiana Khan Charged with Selling Phony Picasso,” on Artdaily.org
Johnson, Andrew. “Kahlo ‘fakes’ flood into Mexico,” in The Independent

Bernard Buffet’s Hermetic Studio

“You shouldn’t talk too much in front of a painting. It’s alive and, like a child,

the slightest slip might wound it!”

–Bernard Buffet

MIR Gallery, an online division of MIR Appraisal Services, boasts in its collection a limited edition print, etching on paper, by renowned artist Bernard Buffet.

Bernard Buffet Robert Bonne, Annee '51, MIR Gallery

Here we witness vital characteristics of Buffet’s work: Expressionist manner; the darkly outlined, solitary, elongated figure; deep, earthy colors.

Buffet, an etcher, painter, lithographer, designer and sculptor, focused his attention primarily upon portraits, still lifes, landscapes and religious scenes.

Maurice Druon comments upon Buffet’s artistic practice and attitude; ““Excess marks all his enterprises; it is as if the tour de force was a habit with him, work the necessity of every instant, and immoderation his dimension.”

Annabel and Bernard Buffet

It is a delight to behold the images of an artist at work in his studio; Buffet’s late wife, Annabel, co-authored a book entitled Bernard Buffet: The Secret Studio. Here we witness, in the words of Druon, “His colors… distributed in heaped fascines of new paint-brushes, while the used accumulate in a corner like bayonets recovered from a victorious battlefield; the cigarette-ends fill copper pails; and the rags form variegated mounds.

These signs of work, these accessories and offals bear witness to the importance of the work itself” (Druon 27). Here in his studio we view gigantic, rather macabre, grasshoppers, chrysalis, and butterflies—his sculptural works from the show Le Museum de Bernard Buffet (“Bernard Buffet’s History Museum”), the lean, brutal, heavily outlined matadors, for which Annabel modeled (Buffet: “I view the Torero as a noble, hard-fighting animal—the king of beasts”), and an enormous crucifix he fashioned for the chapel at Chateau l’Arc (46-59, 66-88).

Buffet’s art, too, can be read through the lens of the art socio-historical; “It [his work] seemed to express the existential alienation and spiritual solitude of the post-war generation” (Chilvers Oxford). Indeed, Buffet joined L’Homme Temoin (Group of Social Realist Painters), founded by his cohort Bernard Lorjou, which “attempted to preserve something of a great and humane tradition in a world of shifting values” (Morand 187). The members celebrated figurative painting and despised the abstract in art, yet Buffet perhaps remained rather apolitical compared to his fellow members, and tended to have a more hermetic approach to art practice.

While Lorjou produced a grand work entitled The Atomic Age, Buffet remarked later, “The atomic age, the trip to the moon, and abstract art will never make a jot of difference to what I call ‘Painting’” (Buffet 100).

To schedule a visit to view the striking Buffet print, and to view Lorjou's L’Offrande, the masterpiece of fellow L’Homme Temoin member Bernard Lorjou, please do call (312) 814-8510 or email mirappraisal@aol.com.

Written and researched by Jessica Savitz

MIR Appraisal Services, Inc.

Principal Appraiser & Director: Farhad Radfar, ISA, AM

307 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 308

Chicago, IL 60601

Phone: (312) 814-8510

Works Cited:

Buffet, Annabel and Lamy, Jean-Claude. Bernard Buffet: The Secret Studio. Paris: Flammarion, 2004.

Chiver, Ian. "Buffet, Bernard" The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. Oxford University Press 2009. Oxford Reference Online. University of Chicago. 3 January 2010.

Druon, Maurice. Bernard Buffet. New York: October House, 1966.

Morand, Kathleen. French Painting in the Time of Jean De Berry. “Post-War Trends in the ‘Ecole de Paris.’” New York: Pahidon, 1991.