Klaus Ebeling:
COME DANCE WITH US
DANCE TAKES MORE TIME THAN A SNAPSHOT. BE PREPARED FOR SOME MINUTES AND FIND A COMFORTABLE SEAT 😉
SUMMER SOLSTICE 2018 I, KLAUS, TURNED 88. SINCE THEN I TURNED BLIND AND BLINDER. I WALK NOW ON 4 LEGS WITH THE HELP OF MY SKI POLES. I SEE JUST ENOUGH IN THE FOCUS AREA OF MY REMAINING VISION TO SEE WHERE I AM GOING. BUT WHEN I LOOK ELSEWHERE I LOOSE MY BALANCE.
THANK THE LORD I AM LIVING WITH BARBARA, NOW 94 AND WHEELCHAIR-BOUND, MY WIFE OF 63 YEARS, PAIN-FREE IN OUR HOUSE OF 59 YEARS. WE ARE WELL TAKEN CARE OFF BY OUR CHILDREN.
IN 1953 I WAS A STUDENT OF ARCHITECTURE IN GERMANY. ONCE WHEN THE SCULPTURE PROFESSOR WAS ABSENT, HIS ASSISTANT SUGGESTED THAT, INSTEAD OF MORE BORING ANCIENT TEMPLE DETAILS WE USUALLY COPIED IN CLAY, WE SHOULD ASSIGN OURSELVES AN INTERESTING TOPIC.
I HAD UNTIL 1948 THOUGHT THAT PICASSO WAS A CON-ARTIST FOR LACK OF REALISM [MY STYLE AT THE TIME] UNTIL I VISITED A LARGE PICASSO EXHIBIT. THAT CONVERTED MY VIEW OF THE GREAT ARTIST AS AN ENDLESSLY CREATIVE ABSTRACTIONIST GENIUS.
BACK IN CLASS I CHOSE THEN TO DISCOVER “ABSTRACTION” FOR MY OWN ART. ELISABETH SANDER, THE ASSISTANT, TWICE MY AGE, SUGGESTED TO LOOK FOR WHAT IS COMMON IN MANY EXAMPLES OF ONE THEME, ALSO WHAT MIGHT BE INVISIBLE YET ESSENTIAL. SO I LOOKED FOR “DANCE” IN “DANCERS”.
FIRST I MODELED TWO FOLK DANCERS [DANCE 1],
THEN A SECOND PAIR MINUS ALL THEIR INDIVIDUAL FEATURES. SINCE THE CLAY WAS NOT PERMANENT WITHOUT CERAMIC FIRING [NOT AVAILABLE], ELISABETH TAUGHT ME HOW TO BUILD A “LOST MOLD” OF PLASTER TO CAST A PLASTER COPY [DANCE 2].
PHOTOGRAPHING BOTH VERSIONS MADE ME HUNGRY TO SEE EVEN THE CONTOURS BEHIND THE PLASTER CAST, SO I BUILT A WIRE SCULPTURE [DANCE 3].
ITS SHADOWS, CREATED BY THE PHOTO FLASH, WERE NOT PLANNED BUT MUCH APPRECIATED AS ABSTRACT GRAPHICS
WHEN IN MY EXCITEMENT I FAILED TO FORWARD THE FILM IN MY CAMERA AS REQUIRED, [DANCE 4] TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST ABSTRACTION AND PUREST SERENDIPITY [LOOK UP THIS BEAUTIFUL WORD IF UNFAMILIAR TO YOU].
THE SERIES [DANCE 5] WON A SPECIAL PRIZE IN THE 1954 STUDENT ART SHOW. IT WAS MY FIRST EVER ART SHOW PRIZE, 10 DEUTSCCHE MARK. I TURNED IT INTO A PURCHASE TOWARD MY “ART COLLECTION”: A DESIGNER VASE, A GRAY CYLINDER. (IT’S STILL IN MY POSSESSION IN 2019, ALTHOUGH IT LEAKS NOW.)
FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS ELISABETH AND I ENJOYED A SWEET FRIENDSHIP. THEN I STARTED A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD, WITH A DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE [ANOTHER STORY].
I MET BARBARA, A PHYS-ED TEACHER FROM WATERTOWN, ON A SKIING TRIP TO TURIN NY. WE ACQUIRED AND REFINISHED AN OLD SAILBOAT AND GOT MARRIED THE FOLLOWING SUMMER.
DANCE 2 AND 3 ARE TO THIS DAY ON DISPLAY IN OUR SITTING ROOM, AND SO ARE THE PHOTOS OF DANCE 1-5. DANCE 2 WAS ALSO BUILT, 10′ TALL, AT NY STATE AND US NATIONAL SNOW SCULPTURE CHAMPIONSHIPS THREE MORE TIMES IN THE 1990S.
THANK YOU FOR DANCING WITH US VICARIOUSLY OR ABSTRACTLY. WE’LL TRY TO STAY PAIN-FREE AND AT HOME UNTIL THE END OF OUR LIFE.
OOOOOMMMM!
KLAUS AND BARBARA
