Glen Kaufman
2007: Kaunakes & Kraut
December 2007
Big Canoe, GA
“New York, New York it’s a wonderful town.” It is still true long after “On The Town”, the Broadway hit by Bernstein, Comden & Green has faded from memory. This wonder was rediscovered this month on a jam-packed 5-day trip back to the City after an absence of nearly 10 years. The visit was part pilgrimage, part re-discovery and a huge part of finding all that is new since I was last there. I found places that Char and I knew during that glorious year that we were New Yorkers 47 years ago — Nectar at 82nd, the coffee shop where we breakfasted before going to The Met just up 82nd; Nom Wah, the dim sum shop in Chinatown that has not changed one whit; 767 Lexington, where I worked in the Dorothy Liebes studio; and 201 East 19th Street, the location of our studio apartment with the fabulous uptown view. Museums were high on my list, and I was not disappointed: MAD (stitchery), MoMA (Martin Puryear), the Met (The Age of Rembrandt, Baroque Tapestries, Abstract Expressionism), the Whitney (Kara Walker), Guggenheim (Richard Prince), and The New Museum, in its new building on the Bowery. The Chelsea galleries, a new adventure for me, kept me busy for the better part of a day: Bridget Riley, Cy Twombly, and Do-Ho Suh provided highlights. Soho emporiums were a must-do on Monday when the galleries and museums were closed: Uniqlo, my own favorite Japanese clothing store with a huge presence on Broadway; Prada, without the devil; H & M, discovered this summer in Prague; Bloomingdale’s in Soho; Moss Gallery, with a focus on contemporary design — and on and on. I had great meetings with former students now NYC designers, saw a few plays, delighted in Christmas lights and windows, walked miles each day and night and returned to GA fired up and ready to face my last semester of teaching at UGA. Yes, retirement is finally looming this summer.
My house in the GA mountains provides me the refuge that my life requires with each season offering new delights. April is a special time with the first peek of green at the beginning of the month, and then in subsequent weekends, the leaves open a bit more very gradually. Since I have a week between visits the change is more evident and by the end of the month the forests are in full fresh April green apparel. Summer is green all around with the shade provided very welcomed. Fall was super again this year despite the severe drought we are experiencing in GA. I am in a tunnel of brilliant colors driving on the narrow roads here. The small island in the middle of Lake Petit was picture-perfect with a reflection in the calm waters. The reds on the maples hang on the longest, often well into November. In winter the view out of my window wall is completely linear with the treetops stark against the clear blue sky. Then, lower, a jumble of trunks against the grays of the distant forest and, finally, the strong black horizontal shadows across the leaf-covered ground.
I was on my usual schedule in Japan this year with an early trip in March over our Spring Break to finalize details for the study abroad program. It was cold as it often is in March but that does not stop me from doing all the things that draw me back time and again to Kyoto. I had a very small but enthusiastic group of fabric design students in the program from mid-May to mid-June. I am fortunate to have the same Japanese friends teach the studio courses while I stay busy planning and conducting many visits and field trips throughout the session. I remained in Kyoto for a couple more weeks before returning to GA and a short stay in the mountains. My final trip to Kyoto was over fall break in late October where I have celebrated by birthday for many, many years. Friends, exhibitions, walks along the rivers, good food, planning for the 2008 program and relaxation filled my tight agenda. On the flight back to the US I took cakes for the crew on my birthday and was escorted to a seat in business class!
Early in July I set my compass for Europe and flew KLM from ATL to Amsterdam and the on to Warsaw and, finally, to Lodz. I had been selected as one of 5 Americans to exhibit my work in The 12th International Triennial of Tapestry. The title of the work is “Kaunakes: The Ghosts of Mesopotamia”. Kaunakes is a Greek term that signifies a fleecy Mesopotamian garment either made from or inspired by a sheepskin. My interpretation of this garment is being executed in the red polyethylene bags that protect the Athens Banner Herald newspaper in Athens, GA for home delivery. I constructed a group of 8 garments in various sizes, from adults’ to children’s, floating them in space creating a ghost-like appearance. Fast forward to present day Mesopotamia – Iraq. These ghosts, for me, are symbolic of the great numbers of civilian deaths resulting from the present conflict in that war-torn country. The exhibition was mounted in an old textile mill, The Central Museum of Textiles. My work was well located and looked great. I was unable to attend the opening in May as that occurred while I was in Japan but in July I had the place to myself.
Lodz, the 2nd largest city in Poland, is not a common tourist stop and it was a great place to start this European jaunt. The main avenue is pedestrian only and filled with a mix of architectural styles in a wide range of pastel colors — yellows, pinks, mauves, tans. Museums of contemporary art and history gave me a feeling for both the old and the new. At the opposite side of town from the Central Museum there is Manufactura, a huge former textile mill complex. The red brick buildings have been renovated and now are part of a shopping, relaxing, park-like enclave anchored by a very large, well-designed shopping mall. It and the Museum are great examples of rescuing older structures and turning them into excellent uses. Europeans do have a great sense of respect for the past. Next, I was on to the historic city of Krakow by bus through the Polish countryside.
Krakow is a beautiful medieval city with the largest Market Square in Europe that was teeming with activity during my time there. An Elvis puppeteer, break dancers, mimes, street musicians plus an international street theatre confab kept me entertained day and night. In addition, attending concerts of classical music in several churches, touring Wawel Castle with its famed collection of medieval, renaissance, and baroque tapestries, enjoying the many sidewalk cafes and wandering around this historic city of Polish kings was a moving experience that is, perhaps, special to Eastern Europe. One must-see attraction near Krakow is the Wieliczka Salt Mine with its chapel carved out of rock salt, including an elaborate chandelier. I arrived just in time to join the English tour with a delightful guide who shared many details of the history and use of the mine.
My next destination was Prague in the Czech Republic to immerse myself in my mother’s Bohemian roots. Both sides of her family emigrated from Bohemia in the 1800’s and I had as my goals discovering something of the culture and trying to trace her roots, armed with my great grandfather’s passport issued in 1870. But first I wanted to explore as much of Prague as possible in 6 days. Old Town is the ideal place to experience the true character of Prague with its mix of architectural styles and its deep sense of history. Prague is a city of towers, each unique, offering views over the city dominated by red tile roofs — Powder Tower, Old Town Hall Tower with the famous astronomical clock that performs on the hour, Old Town Bridge Tower leading to Charles Bridge, Lesser Town Bridge Towers plus several church towers. Prague Castle, approached via the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River and sitting on a hill overlooking the city, is the largest castle complex in the world with its palaces, churches, towers, and residences in a range of styles. Museums there have rich collections of European baroque and Bohemian art. Other museums I enjoyed were the Mucha Museum, National Gallery, several historic buildings housing collections of City Gallery Prague and the Decorative Arts Museum.
I had an excellent contact in Prague through a former student who hosted me my first night there to a traditional Bohemian dinner of roast pork and duck, sauerkraut, dumplings, and rich gravy. (I abandoned my vegetarian mode in order to enjoy typical Bohemian cuisine.) My host was helpful in getting me started on my genealogical research with his assistant locating an English-speaking professional who gave me free advice on how the process would work. The best I could do before leaving Prague was to have a note in Czech asking for help in finding my family — naivety in the extreme!
On to Tabor, an historic city south of Prague, where the Josef Jensik family passport was issued in 1870, armed with hope that I could make some kind of progress in this quest. Lady Luck was on my side. The saga of my search is detailed so I will have to condense the narrative. After settling into the hotel, I headed for the town square where a local festival was in progress — a nice welcome. Wandering the town later I happened upon a gallery/shop owned by Andrea, a fiber artist, who welcomed me with great enthusiasm. We arranged a meeting the next day and were joined by Klara who spoke excellent English. We talked and talked about our creative work with photos and examples, turned to the subject of my family search, they both got on phones and called all the Jensiks they could locate. Klara found one woman who was the mayor of a small town of Kamberk who was married to a Josef Jensik and had a museum we were welcomed to visit. Andrea had an aunt whose profession was genealogical research for Czech Americans and who was due to visit that evening! Klara’s family joined us for lunch, Andrea toured me around town, and I met with her aunt that evening with passport copy in hand. She had arrangements to work in the local archives the next day, found the family records going back a generation, noted that the family were “freemen” beholding only to the king and may, many centuries before, have been knights!
Andrea took over my life and planned two days of trips with Daniel as driver and Josef as translator on day one when we visited a famous tapestry artist in his 80s and a weaving mill, and Tomas the second day when we went to Kamberk to meet Mayor Jensik and her husband. We toured her four separate museum spaces with a wide range of artifacts, documents, photos, etc. with lots of Josef Jensik noted. She took us home for cakes, brandy, and tea on the finest China, and we talked and took lots of photos. That night Klara had us all for Bohemian dinner — potato pancakes, “drowned men” sausages, fresh sauerkraut and more. All of these friends are teachers and, fortunate for me, had free time in the summer — they have become my Bohemian fan club.
A new colleague and former undergraduate student, Clay McLaurin, who filled the slot of Ed Lambert who retired in 2005, joined me in the School of Art this year. Clay has the perfect background for the 21st Century with work as a print designer in Atlanta, an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and work at a high-end woven upholstery firm in NYC for 3 years. We have a great working relationship, and he has the energy and a vision of what the program needs to be for the future. He will take over as area char of fabric design when I retire, and we have recently received approval to search for a visiting position to take over my teaching responsibilities. The School of Art will be moving into our new building this summer and the fabric design facilities are impressive. I leave the program in good hands and at significant juncture in its history.
The holiday season was spent here at Big Canoe solo and with guests. I was in Atlanta for Christmas with Page, Jeanne and Lee. He is a freshman in high school this year and did very well in academics, went out for cross country, was on the varsity team and earned his letter jacket which he wore all Christmas day. Both Page and Lee are very active in Boy Scouts, Page as Troop leader and Lee getting a focus on his project for Eagle. The whole family is involved in their on-line book business with something close to 9,000 books in stock. Google “scouterpage” and you will find his website and many links. If you order tell him you are “father recommended”. His Ichiban success story: A book on an investment scheme purchased at Goodwill for $2.50 sold on Amazon for $1,750.00!
I send my best wishes for good health, happiness, success in work and life + PEACE in the NEW YEAR OF
THE RAT.