Art for Art's Sake

The mission of the Morgan County Public Library is to provide materials and services which fulfill educational, informational, cultural and recreational needs of the entire community in an atmosphere that is welcoming, respectful, professional and efficient. Today I want to focus on the cultural aspect.  One of the things we do to fulfill cultural needs is to provide a forum for local artists to exhibit their work, as well as collecting and exhibiting art.
 

We have a rotating display of local artists in the  Stairwell of the Main Library that the Martinsville Arts Council schedules for us.  Past artists have included Joni James' nature photography, paintings and sketches by Whitney Matila, student projects from Martinsville High School, and the Hoosier Salon. This month's Stairwell Artist is Frank Pauley.  Frank creates works of art in intarsia.   Intarsia is a decorative woodworking technique that involves creating a picture or pattern in wood. This is done by cutting and sanding various colored natural woods into small shapes then arranging them onto a solid wood or inlaid surface. The final result is a three-dimensional, mosaic-like picture. 

One of the Library's earliest permanent acquisitions is the painting Late November by noted Impressionist painter, T.C. Steele, which was purchased in 1916 with money collected from overdue fines.  (Librarian's note:  Purchasing art is NOT something we are allowed to do with overdue fine money nowadays!)

Our newest work is the the eager little girl with her huge stack of books that greets you as you come in the front door. This sculpture is called ...Too Little Time and was created and donated by Joe Krutulis.   We like to dress her up with the seasons, and change her stack of books to reflect a theme.  See if you can guess what her current theme is next time you come in.  A Morgan County resident for over 35 years, Mr. Krutulis holds degrees in engineering from both Penn State University and the University of Alabama.. Following 25 years with General Motors and Rolls Royce in Detroit and Indianapolis, he retired in 1999. His interest in art dates to his childhood as the son of a talented theater and commercial artist. He has done drawing and painting, but his real love is three-dimensional art. Since his retirement he has been sculpting in various mediums. 

Our most dramatic painting depicts an event in local history, The Burning of the Homelawn Sanitarium, painted by noted Dutch artist, Antonius Raemaekers.  Mr. Raemaekers studied at the Academie Royale Des Beaux Arts and was well known for his landscapes.  He moved his family to Martinsville after World War Two and lived across the street from the Homelawn Sanitarium at the time of the fire. He captures the drama of the fire perfectly as it consumed the historic landmark. 

My personal favorite painting is Girl in Red Reading a Book by George Seton Coggeshall and can be found in the video room.  Mr. Coggeshall was a commercial artist in the Chicago area for over 35 years, and his daughter, Carol DeMotte is a Martinsville resident who donated the painting.  The woman in the painting reminds me of my mother, not so much because she looks like her, but because she was always reading, and she loved the colors of red and olive green which are the primary colors of this painting.  To me, that is the most wonderful thing about art, it can evoke a feeling or memory, whether a reminder of my mother, the smell of autumn leaves, the joy of reading or the terror of a fire. There are many other treasures in our buildings, come in and see them soon.