Top Court 
Disciplines 
2 Attorneys

Matilda Arcola 
Nov. 25, 1992 
Matilda (tillie Dente) Arcola, Of Luzerne Avenue, West Pittston, Died 
Wednesday Evening At Home.

Friday, November 27, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B/6B QUICK WORDS: ART 





Journey to a Proud Past &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 'Virgin Landscapes' reveals the New World through eyes of its first
European pioneers &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *********************** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FILE PHOTOS &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At top, 'Chippewa Mode of Travelling in the Spring and Summer,' circa 1830,
by Peter Rindisbacher. Right, 'Peheriska-Ruhpa; Moennitarri Warrior in the
costume of the Dog Danse,' no date, by Kari Bodmer, 1809-1893. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 *********************** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By CHARLES H. BOGINO &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When some of the early European settlers in the Western Hemisphere set out
to explore what for them was undiscovered land, they set out with the usual
complement of officers and enlisted soldiers that included among them scouts,
surveyors, a cook and an artist. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An artist? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The artist was the mapmaker, and the cartographers often received training
in drawing, watercolors and other techniques that gave them an appreciation
for the aesthetic and not just the utilitarian purpose of their work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As a result, while they gave their generals the tool that showed the best
route of attack or withdrawal and the explorers who followed them the guide
they needed to push across the continent, they left for posterity a record of
what they saw along the way. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 What is most noteworthy about the exhibition at Wilkes University's Sordoni
Art Gallery, titled "Virgin Landscapes, Native Cultures: The Artist-Explorer
in North America," is the historical value of that record, unveiled by the
show's 35 works . The show continues through this weekend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The record is what's important here. The quality of the art is secondary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 From the first work, a watercolor of Niagara Falls done around 1766, to the
last, a late 19th century Western landscape, the artists have attempted to
capture the scene as they saw it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The show put together works only by artists who actually took their sketch
pads and canvases to the field to take down a visual image of what it is they
saw there. These artists also were art pioneers as well. The idea of an artist
moving a canvas to the outdoors really didn't take hold until the late 19th
century impressionists, who wanted to capture in the natural light what the
eye sees at a glance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the "artist-explorers," as they have been dubbed, weren't seeking some
higher ideal of aesthetics. They wanted to capture a moment that nobody of
their kind had seen before. Indeed, some of the work, especially the earlier
watercolors of American Indians, can be classified as primitive. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 These artist-explorers did what the photograph does for us today. They
captured the image as they saw it. They added the vibrant hues of a sunset on
the canvas. They painted in by hand the colors on a lithographic print as they
remembered them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But with the camera, the image goes through an apparatus. In these records,
the image first ran through the mind. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The gallery director wisely decided to hang the show chronologically, as it
is more a record than a display. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The pieces help outline "manifest destiny," as was dubbed the drive that
pushed European settlers across the New World and the native peoples nearly
off the face of the earth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By their mere presence, the artist-explorer, mainly white, male and
European, changed forever how the virgin landscapes and the native cultures
would be seen by others who had never seen the native American lands or
cultures. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But these artists were insensitive toward their subjects. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Indeed, one of the most moving pieces in the show, a small Karl Bodmer
lithograph, depicts three Sioux mourning the death of loved one and captures
the stillness and serenity of the funereal scene without idealizing it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some of the later works in the show, by 19th century landscape artists,
represent some of the worst of the reporters. They painted idyllic versions of
the landscape, with wagon trains heading off toward bright hues of a setting
sun behind mountains, which in some cases look more like the Alps than the
Rockies. Still, as realism of the kind hung over mantles, these works are
bound to be popular. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, one work in this category, Frederic Edwin Church's piece In the
Andes, is notable simply because it is a departure from the North American
depictions that dominate. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In all, the show is pretty evenly divided among three main topics: American
Indians, wildlife and landscapes. Watercolors and drawings dominate in the
earlier years with lithographs -- popular for reproduction in mid-19th century
books -- then oils taking over later. The artists include the famous, such as
John James Audubon and Wilkes-Barre's native son George Catlin, to the
comparatively obscure Samuel Seymour and Alfred Jacob Miller. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If there is one weakness in the show, it is that its record is incomplete.
Although the Sordoni Gallery is small, as galleries go, it could have had the
room for about a half-dozen more works. The show simply ends. Its build up is
almost a let down, with the landscapes telling us little about what happened
to the people whom the earlier artists depicted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 There is so much more to the American trek from pioneering early colonists
from Europe to the exploitative arrogance of the Gilded Age. Still, that by no
means is a reason to shun the show. Virgin Landscapes, Native Cultures is
worth a look. Maybe even a second.

Journey To A Proud Past 
'virgin Landscapes' Reveals 
The New World Through Eyes 
Of Its First European Pioneers 
*********************** 
File Photos 
At Top, 'chippewa Mode Of Travelling In The Spring And Summer,' Circa 1830, By

Journey To A Proud Past 'virgin Landscapes' Reveals The New World Through Eyes Of Its First European Pioneers *********************** File Photos At Top, 'chippewa Mode Of Travelling In The Spring And Summer,' Circa 1830, By