After months of preparation, it's time to launch the documentary series! By that, I mean it's time to start writing the three half-hour episodes to be aired on PBS. With this much material, where to begin? That's my challenge. Fortunately, I created an outline of the three parts months ago and despite all that I've learned since then about Currier & Ives and 19th century America, it remains a good framework and a touchstone to which I will return time and time again.
Part 1 is called "Printmakers to the People" and will focus on the early years, turning points for the firm and personal insights into Currier & Ives.
Part 2 is titled "Cheap & Popular Pictures" and it will feature some of the most and least popular of the firm's output, as well as a closer look at the artists behind the firm and the passion of collectors today.
Part 3 is "The Surprise of Currier & Ives" and will give us the chance to examine the controversial and/or unusual lithographs that the firm produced throughout its long history.
Along the way, we'll see how the pictures made by Currier & Ives compare to what was really going on in the country, we'll contemplate whether the firm's prints reflected or projected an emerging American identity, if they can stand the test of time, and how these approximately 8,000 pictures launched the mass media that inundates us with thousands of images every day.
We do have a few shoots left, including an interview in WGBY's studios with Chris Lane of the Philadelphia Print Shop. You may recognize Chris from PBS' "Antiques Road Show". He, along with Robert Newman, is known as a top Currier & Ives expert and although the two men are competitors in the business world, they have graciously agreed to share the spotlight and spread the wealth of information for these documentaries. They've also been very generous in sharing rare images and records. We'll talk to Chris next week and later, catch him in action at the Historic Deerfield Antiques Show.
The first panel of animation for the series open is finished and it is just magical. Our appreciation to the talented folks at iMarc, who have shown so much enthusiasm for this job! They will also animate "The Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington" and "Winter in the Country - A Cold Morning" for the open. The animators are most excited about "Lexington", with all its fire, smoke, and action. "Winter in the Morning" provides more subtle animation opportunities, such as snow falling, the man and dog walking, and smoke curling from the chimney.
I'm listening to online recordings of our narrator's voice to get it solidly in my ear and in my mind - in other words, to make sure that I capture that special Scott Simon quality while writing the narration for the series. I call it writing to voice. It's important in terms of both time and effort because it means that in the end, your narrator doesn't re-write your script so that he or she can read more comfortably and naturally.
That's it for now. Check the website over the next couple of weeks if you'd like information about our Teacher Workshop coming up in November, 2007.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 7, 2007
Broaden the Impact, Deepen the Understanding
Sometimes it is tough for teachers to take on more. Many, especially in poorer cities, are pushed to their professional limits to meet the demands of the federal government, the state, parents, students and a host of others with opinions on how they might do their jobs better. I want to begin this blog by thanking the 35 Springfield teachers who enthusiastically "took on more" in our Currier & Ives Teacher Workshop at the Springfield Museum of Fine Art. In the end, we hope that by broadening the impact of the Currier and Ives collection at the Springfield Museums, we may ease teachers' workloads and deepen students' understanding of real American history.
"The Dark Side of Currier & Ives: Teacher Workshop" examined how the ideals of American democracy portrayed in Currier & Ives prints actually played out for those outside mainstream 19th century America: African Americans, Native Americans, women, and immigrants. This is an important discussion for teachers who are trying to convey the relevance of the collection to largely minority students! How can these children relate to these pictures and why should they care? What in the world do these scenes have to do with them, anyway?
Lecturers Dan Czitrom from Mount Holyoke College and James Smethurst of UMass provided context for the works and gave two views on the controversial topic of the Darktown Comic Series.
Teachers examined the works for themselves and learned about how they were made. They also enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at how the curatorial staff preserves the prints.
In addition, teachers were introduced to Visual Thinking Strategies, a simple approach to analyzing images and a way to generate discussion with students using the prints as source material. VTL asks 3 simple questions: 1) What is going on in this picture? 2) What do you see that makes you say that? 3)What more can you find?
Patricia Johnson of Salem State College showed teachers how to explore ways that prints or other primary source materials can be used in the classroom as teaching tools.
Finally, I made a presentation of WGBY's short video previewing the upcoming documentaries and talked about some of what I've learned about the firm along the way. The biggest response during the video was a collective gasp when a collector revealed that someone recently paid $76,000 for a Currier & Ives print called "The American National Game of Baseball"!
I have read the teacher reviews of the workshop and they are glowing. The only consistent complaint was that the chairs were horribly uncomfortable. We look forward to another workshop in November and perhaps by then we'll have better chairs!
On the production front, the company iMarc presented a storyboard of its first animation for our series open and it looks great. They're animating "The Road-Winter" and when I found out they planned on making the horses move across the screen, I realized the animators needed to know that they are most likely trotters, which have a particular gait. Gail Cunard of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame quickly provided iMarc with slow-motion video of a trotting champion so that they can duplicate his movements in the animation. Fascinating stuff!
The crew shot this week at the Brimfield Antique Show. We captured the passion of the Currier & Ives collector by following John Zak on his treasure hunt. Zak is probably the premier Currier & Ives collector in the country, with a collection of thousands of prints that I have seen personally. It's amazing! What's more amazing is how fast one man on a mission can move through crowded fields of antiques. We had trouble keeping up! John didn't find the special large folio he'd hoped to find but he did manage to add 7 smaller prints to his collection. Most importantly, our audience will learn so much just by listening to his dialogue with the dealers about condition, margins, impression quality, and rarity. The man is an expert and a wonderful human being, to boot. He has been extraordinarily generous with his time and expertise throughout this project. Thanks, JohnZak!
That's all for now; I'll keep you posted.
"The Dark Side of Currier & Ives: Teacher Workshop" examined how the ideals of American democracy portrayed in Currier & Ives prints actually played out for those outside mainstream 19th century America: African Americans, Native Americans, women, and immigrants. This is an important discussion for teachers who are trying to convey the relevance of the collection to largely minority students! How can these children relate to these pictures and why should they care? What in the world do these scenes have to do with them, anyway?
Lecturers Dan Czitrom from Mount Holyoke College and James Smethurst of UMass provided context for the works and gave two views on the controversial topic of the Darktown Comic Series.
Teachers examined the works for themselves and learned about how they were made. They also enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at how the curatorial staff preserves the prints.
In addition, teachers were introduced to Visual Thinking Strategies, a simple approach to analyzing images and a way to generate discussion with students using the prints as source material. VTL asks 3 simple questions: 1) What is going on in this picture? 2) What do you see that makes you say that? 3)What more can you find?
Patricia Johnson of Salem State College showed teachers how to explore ways that prints or other primary source materials can be used in the classroom as teaching tools.
Finally, I made a presentation of WGBY's short video previewing the upcoming documentaries and talked about some of what I've learned about the firm along the way. The biggest response during the video was a collective gasp when a collector revealed that someone recently paid $76,000 for a Currier & Ives print called "The American National Game of Baseball"!
I have read the teacher reviews of the workshop and they are glowing. The only consistent complaint was that the chairs were horribly uncomfortable. We look forward to another workshop in November and perhaps by then we'll have better chairs!
On the production front, the company iMarc presented a storyboard of its first animation for our series open and it looks great. They're animating "The Road-Winter" and when I found out they planned on making the horses move across the screen, I realized the animators needed to know that they are most likely trotters, which have a particular gait. Gail Cunard of the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame quickly provided iMarc with slow-motion video of a trotting champion so that they can duplicate his movements in the animation. Fascinating stuff!
The crew shot this week at the Brimfield Antique Show. We captured the passion of the Currier & Ives collector by following John Zak on his treasure hunt. Zak is probably the premier Currier & Ives collector in the country, with a collection of thousands of prints that I have seen personally. It's amazing! What's more amazing is how fast one man on a mission can move through crowded fields of antiques. We had trouble keeping up! John didn't find the special large folio he'd hoped to find but he did manage to add 7 smaller prints to his collection. Most importantly, our audience will learn so much just by listening to his dialogue with the dealers about condition, margins, impression quality, and rarity. The man is an expert and a wonderful human being, to boot. He has been extraordinarily generous with his time and expertise throughout this project. Thanks, JohnZak!
That's all for now; I'll keep you posted.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Killing Your Darlings
I had a colleague who would say during an edit session that "you must kill your darlings!". I was reminded of her last week while slicing and dicing our short video to reduce it to its best length. What she meant is that producers and writers tend to get attached to certain thoughts or soundbites when in fact a piece would be improved by their removal. So to any of our interview subjects who felt a bump! as they landed on the cutting room floor, I apologize, but hopefully we'll see you in the series.
The short video is a wonderful opportunity to see the challenges the series will present in the edit room. This is a documentary so heavily reliant upon pictures - not video - as well as documents and some photographs. That means special effects (in terms of movement on the prints) are key to keeping things interesting. Creating those effects is time consuming, particularly when you are dealing with thousands of pictures!
Music and ambient sound are also key and it has been a real treat to dig into 19th century American music. What an education!
From the 20th century, I couldn't resist using the famous "Sleigh Ride" lyric*:
There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy,
When they pass around the chocolate and the pumpkin pie
It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives!
*I apologize for putting a Christmas song in your head in August!
Viewers can also listen for music from 1935's Currier and Ives Suite from composer Bernard Hermann, who was inspired by the lithographs to conceive the Suite as a ballet at Radio City Music Hall. It was performed several times in concerts but slipped into limbo during World War II.
The crew shot last weekend at Northeast Auctions and it was like catching the action at a sporting event! Bidding is fast, furious, and sometimes so discreet that it's nearly invisible to the untrained eye. The Curriers proved popular, with bidding on a couple of large folios coming in at over ten thousand dollars. Owner and auctioneer Ron Borgeault was a great sport, taking time out from one of the busiest days of his year to sit for an interesting interview. One thing I'll share: although a huge fan of the prints, Ron says Currier & Ives lithos are not art. Them's fightin' words for some fans and at the very least, a good topic for debate.
We're shooting tomorrow in lovely Amesbury, Massachusetts, where we'll get video of Nat Currier's summer home and talk with a family member who will share little-seen photos, letters, and other documents.
I'll keep you posted.
The short video is a wonderful opportunity to see the challenges the series will present in the edit room. This is a documentary so heavily reliant upon pictures - not video - as well as documents and some photographs. That means special effects (in terms of movement on the prints) are key to keeping things interesting. Creating those effects is time consuming, particularly when you are dealing with thousands of pictures!
Music and ambient sound are also key and it has been a real treat to dig into 19th century American music. What an education!
From the 20th century, I couldn't resist using the famous "Sleigh Ride" lyric*:
There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy,
When they pass around the chocolate and the pumpkin pie
It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives!
*I apologize for putting a Christmas song in your head in August!
Viewers can also listen for music from 1935's Currier and Ives Suite from composer Bernard Hermann, who was inspired by the lithographs to conceive the Suite as a ballet at Radio City Music Hall. It was performed several times in concerts but slipped into limbo during World War II.
The crew shot last weekend at Northeast Auctions and it was like catching the action at a sporting event! Bidding is fast, furious, and sometimes so discreet that it's nearly invisible to the untrained eye. The Curriers proved popular, with bidding on a couple of large folios coming in at over ten thousand dollars. Owner and auctioneer Ron Borgeault was a great sport, taking time out from one of the busiest days of his year to sit for an interesting interview. One thing I'll share: although a huge fan of the prints, Ron says Currier & Ives lithos are not art. Them's fightin' words for some fans and at the very least, a good topic for debate.
We're shooting tomorrow in lovely Amesbury, Massachusetts, where we'll get video of Nat Currier's summer home and talk with a family member who will share little-seen photos, letters, and other documents.
I'll keep you posted.
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Dark Side of Currier & Ives
A key piece of this project is education and the last couple of weeks have been devoted largely to producing a short video for a Teacher's Workshop at the end of August! The "Currier & Ives Teacher Workshop" is for public schoolteachers in Springfield, Massachusetts. It gives teachers a chance to use the unique collection of Currier & Ives prints at the Springfield Museums as a window into 19th century American life.
How can teachers include these popular lithographs as a primary visual resource into their lesson plans? How can they teach students to "read" a print to discern crucial information? What can children learn by noticing what's not included in the works? These are some of the questions the Springfield Museums, WGBY and area colleges will explore in the 2-day workshop.
Teachers will also hear from some of the experts interviewed for our PBS documentary series about Currier & Ives. Interestingly, a frank discussion about the firm's controversial Darktown Comics spawned the focus of this year's workshop, which is entitled "The Dark Side of Currier & Ives". Instructors will examine the Darktown series to explore how the ideals of American democracy and opportunity were experienced by all groups of people, including African Americans, Native Americans, and women. The workshop is part of the overall partnership project about Currier & Ives funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I've been picking prints, transcribing and reviewing multiple tapes, writing, and finding 19th century music for the 12 minute video that will be featured at the workshop. The finished product will give a glimpse of the documentaries to come and prove useful for educational and promotional purposes. Because we've shot so much already and because there are so many wonderful prints to choose from, this has been an exercise in paring down: choices, choices, choices! We'll be editing the piece this week.
Also this week, the crew will be heading to a summer auction in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to tape with a man you may recognize from "Antiques Roadshow": auctioneer Ron Bourgeault of Northeast Auctions. He is a powerhouse in the art world and he'll give us his unique perspective as an appraiser and auctioneer who often deals with Currier & Ives prints.
Work is underway on the animations of certain C&I prints for the series open and the creative design team behind this effort has some very exciting ideas! The website design is updated and you can check that out at http://www.currierandives.org/.
That's it for now.
How can teachers include these popular lithographs as a primary visual resource into their lesson plans? How can they teach students to "read" a print to discern crucial information? What can children learn by noticing what's not included in the works? These are some of the questions the Springfield Museums, WGBY and area colleges will explore in the 2-day workshop.
Teachers will also hear from some of the experts interviewed for our PBS documentary series about Currier & Ives. Interestingly, a frank discussion about the firm's controversial Darktown Comics spawned the focus of this year's workshop, which is entitled "The Dark Side of Currier & Ives". Instructors will examine the Darktown series to explore how the ideals of American democracy and opportunity were experienced by all groups of people, including African Americans, Native Americans, and women. The workshop is part of the overall partnership project about Currier & Ives funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I've been picking prints, transcribing and reviewing multiple tapes, writing, and finding 19th century music for the 12 minute video that will be featured at the workshop. The finished product will give a glimpse of the documentaries to come and prove useful for educational and promotional purposes. Because we've shot so much already and because there are so many wonderful prints to choose from, this has been an exercise in paring down: choices, choices, choices! We'll be editing the piece this week.
Also this week, the crew will be heading to a summer auction in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to tape with a man you may recognize from "Antiques Roadshow": auctioneer Ron Bourgeault of Northeast Auctions. He is a powerhouse in the art world and he'll give us his unique perspective as an appraiser and auctioneer who often deals with Currier & Ives prints.
Work is underway on the animations of certain C&I prints for the series open and the creative design team behind this effort has some very exciting ideas! The website design is updated and you can check that out at http://www.currierandives.org/.
That's it for now.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Crew Learns Oxen Would Win in a Fight
Has 2 weeks passed already? It's been a whirlwind! The crew enjoyed another urban heatwave in D.C. and Baltimore last week. We shot some great stuff, including the work of a master lithographer who shows us how Currier & Ives got it all done. We also spent time with Philip Merrill, an expert in African American memoribilia who is no-holds-barred during our conversation about the controversial Darktown comics series. It's a thorny topic and a crucial discussion.
We spent some extremely valuable time with the gracious staff at the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. The LOC claims to house the biggest Currier & Ives collection in the world! They showed us some of their unique acquisitions and provided some new information. Collectors will like this tidbit: it's long been said that the Library of Congress so little valued the Currier & Ives prints it was acquiring for copyright purposes that staffmembers actually folded them and stuffed them in files. Not so, says curator Sara Duke. Duke claims the firm sent some lithographs folded but that most are actually in fabulous shape. I can testify that I saw many that appeared pristine.
We had a lot of fun talking with collector and expert Dr. Jim Brust, who has so many stories to tell about unusual Currier & Ives finds. Sid Alpert shared his passion for the horse prints and how he came to donate his esteemed collection to the Museums of Springfield, Massachusetts. Mr. Alpert can spin a yarn with the best of them, so it was another lively interview. He and his wife were gracious hosts to a weary crew with few hours of sleep and a very long day ahead. Thanks for the sandwiches and lemonade, Sid and Lenny!
Author Charlotte Rubinstein shared some brand-new information about the solo female artist at the firm, Fanny Palmer. Rubinstein has amazing passion for her work! We also spent time together at the Smithsonian, where we researched a file on Currier & Ives and the artists working there.
This week, we spent a day getting some period shots at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. It was a very productive day and we got some of the most gorgeous video you'll ever see. Check out the YouTube video of the crew as it's nearly plowed by a team of oxen! The mayhem is clearer if you listen to the accompanying audio. This near-disaster posed the quintessential producer's dilemma: which to save --the cameraman or the very expensive camera? Just kidding, Mark!
I'm off on a marathon tape-viewing session to pick the best soundbites and video for a "short", an 8-12 minute piece that will capsulize some of our upcoming documentary series. Oh, so many choices! That edit is right around the corner, so the decisions will be quick ones.
I'll keep you posted.
We spent some extremely valuable time with the gracious staff at the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. The LOC claims to house the biggest Currier & Ives collection in the world! They showed us some of their unique acquisitions and provided some new information. Collectors will like this tidbit: it's long been said that the Library of Congress so little valued the Currier & Ives prints it was acquiring for copyright purposes that staffmembers actually folded them and stuffed them in files. Not so, says curator Sara Duke. Duke claims the firm sent some lithographs folded but that most are actually in fabulous shape. I can testify that I saw many that appeared pristine.
We had a lot of fun talking with collector and expert Dr. Jim Brust, who has so many stories to tell about unusual Currier & Ives finds. Sid Alpert shared his passion for the horse prints and how he came to donate his esteemed collection to the Museums of Springfield, Massachusetts. Mr. Alpert can spin a yarn with the best of them, so it was another lively interview. He and his wife were gracious hosts to a weary crew with few hours of sleep and a very long day ahead. Thanks for the sandwiches and lemonade, Sid and Lenny!
Author Charlotte Rubinstein shared some brand-new information about the solo female artist at the firm, Fanny Palmer. Rubinstein has amazing passion for her work! We also spent time together at the Smithsonian, where we researched a file on Currier & Ives and the artists working there.
This week, we spent a day getting some period shots at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. It was a very productive day and we got some of the most gorgeous video you'll ever see. Check out the YouTube video of the crew as it's nearly plowed by a team of oxen! The mayhem is clearer if you listen to the accompanying audio. This near-disaster posed the quintessential producer's dilemma: which to save --the cameraman or the very expensive camera? Just kidding, Mark!
I'm off on a marathon tape-viewing session to pick the best soundbites and video for a "short", an 8-12 minute piece that will capsulize some of our upcoming documentary series. Oh, so many choices! That edit is right around the corner, so the decisions will be quick ones.
I'll keep you posted.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Wild Green Parrots in the Graveyard
It's been a busy couple of weeks! The crew was treated to a Manhattan heat wave for our shoot on Currier & Ives' home turf. The temperatures hit 100 degrees and higher but fortunately, much of our shooting was indoors with air conditioning. Some highlights were shooting at the esteemed Old Print Shop on Lexington Avenue with the man many consider the top expert on Currier & Ives: Robert Newman; spotting a flock of wild green parrots at what is the most extraordinary cemetery we'd ever seen: Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where Currier & Ives are buried; and a lively interview about the controversial Darktown series with collector Ronald Washington.
My interviews are being readied for transcription and soon I'll be at work on a short trailer for educational and promotional use. In the meantime, the crew is off to Washington, D.C. this week to catch up with Dr. Jim Brust, who makes the most fascinating and surprising discoveries about the firm through his extensive research.
We'll also talk to the author of a book about Currier & Ives prolific artist, Fanny Palmer. Palmer was a woman ahead of her time!
A Master Lithographer will demonstrate how Currier & Ives made their prints in the 19th century.
We'll take a peek at what's unique about the Currier & Ives collection at the Library of Congress and interview a collector who's passionate about the firm's horse prints. He's Sid Alpert, whose pristine and comprehensive collection of Currier & Ives lithographs is now housed at the Springfield Museums in Massachusetts. It's the only museum in the country with a permanent C&I Gallery and it's a must-see if you're in the area. The themed exhibits change every few months and they are beautifully curated.
We'll try to stay cool in D.C. and as always, I'll keep you posted.
My interviews are being readied for transcription and soon I'll be at work on a short trailer for educational and promotional use. In the meantime, the crew is off to Washington, D.C. this week to catch up with Dr. Jim Brust, who makes the most fascinating and surprising discoveries about the firm through his extensive research.
We'll also talk to the author of a book about Currier & Ives prolific artist, Fanny Palmer. Palmer was a woman ahead of her time!
A Master Lithographer will demonstrate how Currier & Ives made their prints in the 19th century.
We'll take a peek at what's unique about the Currier & Ives collection at the Library of Congress and interview a collector who's passionate about the firm's horse prints. He's Sid Alpert, whose pristine and comprehensive collection of Currier & Ives lithographs is now housed at the Springfield Museums in Massachusetts. It's the only museum in the country with a permanent C&I Gallery and it's a must-see if you're in the area. The themed exhibits change every few months and they are beautifully curated.
We'll try to stay cool in D.C. and as always, I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
NPR's Scott Simon to Narrate
There is always more to learn about this fascinating firm! My research for the documentary series seems never-ending but it is never boring. The more you know about the men and the prints, the more interesting their story becomes.
Most of the in-studio interviews are done with the exception of a Fall straggler or two. After the upcoming holiday, the crew will hit the road to shoot in the New York City area and later, down in the D.C. area. We'll spend some time with the huge collection of Currier & Ives at the Library of Congress and I'll be doing some really interesting research at the Smithsonian. All this sifting of information is sure to result in more surprises about the publishers.
I'm thrilled to report that it looks like the documentary series has a narrator: NPR's Scott Simon. His voice and delivery are perfect for this project and I couldn't be happier that he's agreed to participate.
The crew went hunting for period perfection this week and found it at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts! We're planning 3 seasonal shoots there, complete with some reenactments (of the elegant variety, not the hokey kind with which we are all too familiar).
Transcription of several interviews is underway in preparation for a short trailer I will produce for the end of August. There will be a link to it on the website, so keep an eye out for that.
Most of the in-studio interviews are done with the exception of a Fall straggler or two. After the upcoming holiday, the crew will hit the road to shoot in the New York City area and later, down in the D.C. area. We'll spend some time with the huge collection of Currier & Ives at the Library of Congress and I'll be doing some really interesting research at the Smithsonian. All this sifting of information is sure to result in more surprises about the publishers.
I'm thrilled to report that it looks like the documentary series has a narrator: NPR's Scott Simon. His voice and delivery are perfect for this project and I couldn't be happier that he's agreed to participate.
The crew went hunting for period perfection this week and found it at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts! We're planning 3 seasonal shoots there, complete with some reenactments (of the elegant variety, not the hokey kind with which we are all too familiar).
Transcription of several interviews is underway in preparation for a short trailer I will produce for the end of August. There will be a link to it on the website, so keep an eye out for that.
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