By Yvonne Wright • The Current Contributing Writer
Debatably, a desire for surrounding oneself with the finer things in life is universal, but when manifested in collecting art, or appreciating gourmet meals, it becomes a connoisseurship. As such, it is a soul enriching activity not exclusively limited to one’s social status, gender, or level of education – but rather, largely depending on the individual’s intuitive relationship with artistic subtleties and her/his ability to discern value in evocative aesthetics. Collecting practices are most enjoyable when shared, preferably with those of similar tastes, elevating sometimes accidental finds to a higher purpose.
There are some formidable art collectors currently living in Jim Thorpe, whose lifetime practice of acquiring art objects have propelled them to a level of local connoisseur. Margaret White, the Stone Row Pub and Eatery proprietor and her husband Charlie Sproule are actively working at establishing themselves as art collectors, and share an equally sharp eye for spotting interesting finds. Cultivating a hobby that started back in 1992 in Ligonier, PA with the purchase of a farmhouse drawing on their first date, Margaret and Charlie delight in routinely visiting charity shops, student art exhibitions, art festivals and fundraising events where unexpected gems can be found.
Once meeting their required criteria for being an original as well as expressive work of art, many paintings that reflect Margaret’s light-hearted fondness for bright colors and Charlie’s often dark and ominous picks end up decorating the walls of their restaurant, contributing to customers’ memorable experiences by combining the enjoyment of fine foods with fine art.
“Charlie is into abstract art, and I like realism” Margaret points out, but when it came to acquiring a painting by the highly regarded Jim Thorpe artist Shozo Nagano, who passed in 2007, they were both on board. Having met the artist several times in the past, Charlie couldn’t pass up on the opportunity of bidding on one of the artist’s works suddenly being auctioned online. He won the bid and ended up having a work of art that exceeded his expectations. Instead of an average sized painting, presumed to be on canvas, the couple bought a 5×6 feet, 250 lb acrylic painting on drywall which “needed a 100 lb specially forged brace to safely attach to the [restaurant’s] wall.”
Believed to have been executed in the late 1980s, or early 1990s, according to Edward Moran, Shozo’s long time partner and biographer, the untitled painting depicts a young male wrapped in a loosely flowing white sheet, resting on the ground with a discarded red rose nearby.
The composition, however more austere, brings to mind Shozo’s 1987 work titled At the Gate, in the Arabic/Orientalist theme (he was exploring at the time), intuitively evoking “the imagery in John William Burton’s 1845 poem Petra”, although without Shozo’s usual architectural framework, and centered primarily on a mysterious, masculine figure with a defiant gaze. Is he an apparition, a fata morgana in the sun-scorched desert? Or, is he Aladdin from the Arabian Nights, or perhaps a Persian king from Scheherazade’s Tale.
This classically inspired figurative composition depicts human vulnerability through a prism of the glorified male body, where a carefully clothed physical beauty is juxtaposed against a subtly hinted, emotional vulnerability and sense of danger. The artistic genius of Shozo Nagano will always keep us guessing, as we celebrate life, love and redemption in a world so desperately needing comfort in times of adversity. Edward has suggested that another long time friend of Shozo’s, Jim Thorpe artist David Price, used to quote with fondness the final lines from the Burton’s Petra poem, and perhaps they inspired the artist to create this magnificent mural:
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
which Man deemed old two thousand years ago,
Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
a rose-red city half as old as time.
When visiting Jim Thorpe, drop in to the Stone Row Pub and Eatery at 45-47 Race Street, for a meal or a drink, and enjoy the restaurant’s artistic atmosphere in the heart of our town’s much coveted historic district, run by a couple with discriminating tastes in food and art. You won’t be disappointed.
Visit their website here: www.stoneroweatery.com/wp
Yvonne Wright is the owner of STUDIO YNW at 100 West Broadway in Jim Thorpe.
She can be reached at studio.ynw@gmail.com
Add Comment