Friday, March 10, 2006

The Studebaker Phenomenon

Working on the David Smith BioGem this week, I was struck by his connection with the Studebaker. I wrote an opening paragraph on Wednesday and continued to do some research. Last night, it occured to me that this might be one of the most obtuse connections I have made when writing about an artist and I thought I would start over.

This morning, Robert Genn's newsletter appeared in my inbox. On the clickback page, there is an original collage with a yellow Studebaker and the Parthenon. I took that as a good sign and finished the BioGem. Smith was a determined artist with a unique vision. Some people collect his work; some people collect Studebakers. He died in1965 in a car crash. There was no mention of a Studebaker at the scene.

Genn's clickback: Photo is with letter from Peter William Brown at bottom of page
http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/economy-means.asp

The Studebaker Museum: http://www.studebakermuseum.org/history.asp

2 comments:

Joyce said...

It is so sad when an artist dies in his prime. He died at the age I was when I started doing art!!

I love the beautiful stacked sculptures that he made.

Annette Bush said...

Joyce, I guess it's important to go for it and believe in yourself at whatever age you discover what you love. Apparently, Smith was fairly focused in the years he had. I didn't know a lot about his work and enjoyed checking him out. A.