Dangerous Curves Ahead
My daughter recently asked me to explain why things catch my eye when I’m out thrifting. That is a hard question to answer. The simple answer is “it appeals to me” but the longer answer involves a lot of art.
My parents took me to see art exhibits in New York City when I was young. I remember a few shows quite well – Picasso, Calder’s Circus, Monet’s Waterlilies. In college I enjoyed art history classes, and began traveling to see many of the pieces I studied. As a mother, I took my children to art exhibits and outings to Chicago’s Art Institute. Around 2001 I helped create a “Famous Artists” program for our elementary school, which I gather is still being used.
What this all means is that exposure to art helps train your eye to recognize design, balance and color. It does not need to be a formal experience, but over time you will learn what appeals to you. I for one fell in love with Calder’s Circus as well as Dutch Masters’ art – especially the introspective paintings of women in homes. These works have influenced the pieces I gravitate to when I’m thrifting. As my husband noted, I have a bias towards women in art. I also have a whole room devoted to my Calder’s Circus painting.
This statue puzzled me. When I first picked it up in a thrift shop, I thought it was of East Indian or Asian origin. But the colors were beautiful, and the gold a wonderful warm tone. (I suspect it may be actual gold leaf though I have not tested it). The curves of the statue’s body are well done, and she seems so serene.
The curves made me chuckle. When we were first married, husband and I would drive between Pittsburgh and Cleveland to see my parents. Part of that drive is through the Allegheny Mountains. These are rather difficult during bad weather, and there were often signs posted along the way announcing “dangerous curves ahead”. Husband found this amusing as I was a rather curvy girl, and at some point a silly version of this made its way into our dressing room.
So back to our mystery thrift shop girl. The only markings on her are a carved name on the bottom “LOLET” and a teeny tiny sticker with numbers. A Google search for the name Lolet accomplished nothing, other than recognizing it is likely a German name, and thus the piece is likely European. Eventually I found a nearly identical statue carved in the 1930s by Josef Wilhem Soukop (Austrian, 1907-1995). It is described as being Art Deco and hand carved.
Even more of a mystery is that the pieces of his I could find were not painted and, if signed, were signed “WS”. I am left to puzzle whether Lolet is an original carving by W. Soukop that he or someone then painted (Lolet)? Or if the entire statue was made by Lolet, copying one of Soukop’s? If anyone has any insights, I’d love to hear them! In the meantime, her dangerous deco curves continue to appeal to me.