We visited Fenimore Art Museum, in Cooperstown, over Labor Day weekend, and had lunch on the lovely terrace overlooking the even-more-lovely Otsego Lake. Depending on the day, you might now be a little late for that. But the museum itself is worth the trip.
*The driving idea of the museum is American art, American Indian art, and American folk art.
*Special exhibits come and go, and some of those that we saw have already “went.” But through December 31 you can see a delightful collection of art concerning ice skating… a collection made even more delightful by the fact that it’s on loan from Dick Button (two Olympic gold medals, five world championships, one European championship, three North American championships).
*Mr. Button has assembled an eclectic collection including Hudson River School paintings, turn-of-the-century posters, archaeological skates, trade signs, and more. The whole thing is just a delight, though perhaps those who don’t skate wouldn’t be that excited.
*Also running through December is an exhibition of Edward Curtis photos, taken among the Kwakiutl of the Pacific Northwest. While fascinating, Curtis’s “Vanishing Race” photos have also been controversial from the time they were first shown. First of all, the Native people of America are not vanishing – they’re still here. There are also questions about how much he arranged or posed his compositions, and how much they represent a truly Native culture, as opposed to creating a curated view (or even creation) of a culture.
*Still, he recognized the value and validity of Native culture in a time when other Anglos dismissed or despised it, and photographically preserved much that would otherwise have been lost.
*The Curtis exhibit complements, but is dwarfed by, the Thaw Gallery, a staggering exhibition of Native American art from cultures all across North America. Many of these artworks appear in the museum web site, but that’s nothing compared to the in-person, naked-eye experience. The Thaw Gallery is what raises the Fenimore from nice medium-sized museum to outstanding destination.
*We also spent time in the folk art gallery, “American Memories: Recalling the Past in Folk Art.” Much of this is art whose creators are unknown, or at least uncertain. They were made without much studio technique, close to ordinary people: cigar store Indians, signs for country inns, weather vanes, calligraphied baptismal certificates, carvings, primitive paintings.
*A bursting star in this gallery is the shoe shine set of Giovanni Indelicato, who also went by the name of Joe Milone. After a severe injury limited his mobility in the 1930s, Joe Milone eked out a living shining shoes at a makeshift stand on Broadway. But by night he spent years crafting a shoe shine set as it might have been if translated to glory, “Festive as a Christmas tree, jubilant as a circus wagon,” according to the director of the Museum of Modern Art.
*The several pieces, including a high stool, are festooned with “found” items, brass tacks, hammered copper sheets, ornaments bought from dime stores and push carts… sometimes covered in spray paint. It’s the work of a man tackling his limitations and transcending them… embracing the shadow and turning it into unending sparkles.
*While special exhibits and traveling exhibits rotate in and out, there are several other permanent galleries, including the Cooper Gallery, dedicated to the Coopers (and the Fenimores) of Cooperstown. James Fenimore Cooper, of course, ensures that their name is ever remembered in America.
*Fenimore Art Museum is directly across the road from The Farmer’s Museum, which is also definitely worth visiting. We’d suggest doing them on separate days, though.