MT Day 2- Cathedrals, Culture, and Community Art
I started my first full day in Montana by going to one of the funkiest coffee shops I’ve ever been to: The General Mercantile in Helena. Founded in 1971, the Merc recreates the aesthetic of a gold rush general store, but with more than a dash of winking 70’s counterculture flair. They have all vintage espresso machines and they make really delicious coffee drinks to give you the energy to walk around and explore their treasure trove of gag gifts, local arts, and kitschy souvenirs. My favorite part of the crazy layout of the place was that there was an entire koi pond inside with live fish and clever water features made to look like old leaky jugs. It was such a fun place to explore.
While the great coffee was definitely the biggest selling point, the other items I got such a kick out of were all the greeting cards by local artists that featured a wild mix of adorable cartoon animals and Rubenesque cartoon people. The art was objectively impressive, but I feel like you’d have to know someone pretty well before sending some of these guys out for as birthday cards.
I left the Merc through a shared doorway with local ceramics studio and gallery, Jmacs Pottery. It was really cool getting to poke around see all the fun and bizzare contemporary earthenware. I’m not sure how functional some of the more crazily shaped pieces are, but I sure did like looking at ‘em and all their gravity-defying glory.
After my surprisingly fun coffee outing, I made my way to my first stop of the day: the Holter Museum of Art. The Holter is a charming free museum that seeks to highlight contemporary art from Montana and the surrounding states. Things started out impressively with some insanely detailed woodcuts by an artist named James Todd. Most of the woodcuts were of jazz musicians, though one also featured a surprise guest appearance by Joe Camel as a pool hustler for seemingly no reason. I loved it.
The main special exhibit while I was at the Holter was called Either/Or by Jack Metcalf, and it was more of an interactive art space than a traditional exhibition. The installation was concerned with ideas of how us vs. them mentalities can arise from totally arbitrary distinctions. The space was filled with life sized cutouts of different characters, either humanoid figures dressed in yellow or alien figures dressed in blue. The figures were posed aggressively holding flags and weapons, but were they fighting or playing a game? Visitors could move them around and pick out little color coded flags to show who they aligned with (despite having no knowledge of the “conflict” or either side), and in the center were boxy figures which could be arranged to create hybrids of the other characters. I really liked the cartoon aesthetics, and while I was initially frustrated by how little information you given about the aliens (because they were my favorite part) but I guess that was sort of the point. It’s cool how the exhibit is sort of what you make of it, because visually there isn’t a whole ton to it, but if you choose to engage with it and examine how your brain makes knee-jerk judgments based on abstract ideas of group belonging it’s really quite cool.
An additional element of community engagement in the exhibit was a series of coloring book pages placed on the walls that guests could draw on and write down their thoughts and feelings from the exhibit. Naturally since the museum visitors who would be most excited about getting to draw are little kids, most of the engagement came in the form of wild scribbling which was very cute (and also sort of a statement about how kids are just kids and don’t inherently want to discriminate others). Also one kid just wrote “Can I please get a waffle?” which is so baffling that I've chosen to convince myself that it’s completely brilliant.
The next big exhibit was a showcase of works by school students and I was just blown away by all the talent displayed by such young folks. Hopefully these kids keep at it, because I could really picture some of them going far. Highlights for me included: dreamy landscape illustrations done on wood by 12th grader Colter Bauch; a whimsical fantasy painting of a very regal looking sleeping rock; a loving tribute to the great one, Harambe, by 7th grader Karson Stefaniak; a fashionable statement on US/Russia Relations by 12th grader Abigail Stifter; an incredible watercolor portrait by 11th grader Bella Brooke; a vibrant and detailed color pencil portrait by 11th grader Cierra Hamel; a striking look into the eyes of Father Time by a 12 grader whose name was unfortunately too blurry in my photo; and a mix-media construction of a nighttime scene by a 10th grader named Estell.
Maybe because I’d just been to a ceramics studio before or maybe just because I have no idea how anybody let alone such young kids can do make such detailed beautiful things out of fire and dirt, but I was hugely impressed by all the ceramics that were part of the school showcase. These included more representational pieces such as the clay self-portrait about dealing with depression by 12 grader Emma Brandt and the more mythical romantic piece by Emma Anderberg and Claire Petersen as well as more abstract pieces such as those by Jacob Bubb, Liz Fuller, and Evan Martin (all 12th grade).
My absolute favorite piece here was a shockingly Dali-esque pastel drawing from a 1st grader named Matthias Ahmann that is way better than anything by an 7 year old has any right to be.
Last but not least was the museum’s permanent collection, which was small but impressively diverse. Unfortunately I didn’t take good notes so I don’t have any of these talented artists’ names, but I hope you can at least admire their handiwork. My favorite pieces included: A vase with amusingly crowded cartoon business men; some fine Montana landscape paintings; some totally bizarre hanging sculptures of birdmen and skinless women; a mesmerizing web of abstract colors; a simple but elegant nude sketch; some pop-arty contemporary ceramics; an interestingly modern impressionist painting of a woman hanging laundry; an energetic woodblock of cartoon samuraisl; and a lovely and morbid knit still life of flowers and a skull.
Even the gift shop of the museum was filled with little local gems, especially these slightly abstract bird sculptures that had a weirdly soothing aesthetic to them:
After the art museum, I went to see the most famous and prominent building in Helena: The Cathedral of St. Helena. The Cathedral was designed in 1908 by architect A.O. Von Herbulis who was inspired by the Votivkirche in Austria to bring some Gothic European grandeur to the high plains. The most notable feature are the twin 230 ft. tall spires that dominate the skyline of the otherwise pretty low-to-the -ground capital city.
The insides of the cathedral are almost equally as impressive as the outside with high domed ceilings, hand carved oak pews, elaborate bronze and gold leaf lighting features, and a small stone fountain making for a pretty jaw dropping first impression.
The most incredible feature of the cathedral was the 11,693 square feet of stained glass spread out across 59 windows depicting different biblical scenes. All the glass was specially made and imported from Bavaria and the way they capture the light is just astounding.
After taking in the distinctive views, I started making my way to get lunch but I had to stop to admire a local bar that did not look like it belonged on Sesame Street.
For lunch, I went to a nice Greek restaurant called the Mediterranean Grill and got a Egyptian Chicken Breast Sandwich, which was filled with Marinated chicken breast that had been marinated in yogurt, cardamom, curry & turmeric seasoning, broiled & served on pita bread with baby greens & tomato slices with lemon garlic dressing on the side. It was so fresh and flavorful, and not at all what I was expecting to find in the middle of western Montana.
Right next door to the restaurant was the Park Avenue Bakery. I wasn’t planning on getting anything, but looking inside I was struck by how much every single thing there looked like a work of art. And it’s all made from scratch!
I went with the flourless chocolate decadence which was a dense rich chocolate cake made with dark chocolate and coffee drizzled in chocolate ganache with a delicious homemade vanilla bean whip cream on top and an artfully colored piece of milk chocolate for an accent. It was just magnificent.
The next stop of my day was the Montana Historical Society Museum, another free museum with a wide array of historical artifacts, art, and cultural items from the Treasure State. Things started off with an impressive and creepy outdoor sculpture called Herd Bull made out of two and half tons of recycled steel by Sioux artist Benji Daniels.
The first exhibit inside I saw was about the history of fishing in Montana beginning with an incredibly well preserved Native American canoe made from a single hollowed out log. It’s an impressive mix of natural beauty and amazing craftsmanship.
The rest of the exhibit was antique fishing implements, paintings, posters, and historic photos. For a topic I can’t say I had much interest in or knowledge about beforehand, I was impressed by how interesting and visually surprising every item was. I particularly liked seeing the different kinds of fishing spears that had been developed so that some fishermen could drive fish in one direction while other fishermen picked them off.
My favorite historical footnote I discovered from this display though was several old timey photographs of ladies fishing but still all decked out in full formal attire so that nobody might catch a glimpse of some angler’s ankle. It’s just so silly.
The next string of galleries were about Montana history, starting with the first immigrants to the territory. I was impressed with the museum’s ability to pull off the delicate balancing act of celebrating the cultural contributions of the wide array of European-Americans who moved there, including a beautiful embroidered Italian tapestry, while also acknowledging that all that manifest destiny came at the cost of mass displacement of Native Americans. Even if weren’t just inherently cruel to displace a peoples, the museum even calls this out as being somehow worse since the land that was allotted to settlers had been reservation land that had previously been promised to Native peoples for the peaceful surrender of earlier lands. It was a massively dirty business on the part of the Government, and I’m glad the museum called it for what it was as opposed to dancing around it.
The next historical exhibit was a special gallery all about Montana during WWI, the world war we don’t talk about as much. Montana was actually a very important state during the misnamed War to End All Wars, partially because as a source of mining and farming it was invaluable for providing raw materials and provisions for a war effort we weren’t really prepared for and also partly because due to a miscalculation of the state’s total population a much greater percent of Montanans fought in the war relative to any other state. It’s insane to think that nearly twenty percent of all the men in a state can just leave practically overnight. Statistics like that really brought home the gravity of how the war could affect communities at home as well as abroad in ways that I haven’t felt as connected to with this particular war. As well as capturing the bravery of anyone enduring the horrors of trench warfare, I was happy to see that museum took the time to particularly single out the Native Americans from Montana who fought in the war (despite not being considered full citizens but rather “dependent wards” in the eyes of the government. The amount of patriotism needed to fight for a country that doesn’t fully respect you as a person is beyond heroic to me) and the women at home who took over jobs here and also contributed valuable supplies for the soldiers. My personal favorite part of the exhibition though was all the vintage posters for the Red Cross and for Liberty Bonds, because they were frequently as artistically impressive as they were batshit terrifying.
Alas a stronger man than I may have been able to see this info-graphic about struggles for fair labor practices leading to a tragic mining accident and just processed the intersection of the military industrial complex and the suppression of the American working class without laughing at the fact the Butte Explodes looks like Butt Explodes, but I am not that man.
The next exhibit was a tonal 180 focusing just on the beautiful artwork of one of Montana’s most famous native sons, Charles M. Russell. Russell was an influential painter, sculptor, and illustrator who made a name for himself as “The Cowboy Artist” depicting both fantastic and fantastically realistic portrayals of of Western life. Notably because he had lived on reservations with Native Americans, he was one of the first popular white artists to (for the most part) portray Native Americans in accurate attire and settings as opposed to just stereotypes. While he saw beauty there, Russell was not an idealist about how the west was won, and he was very critical of the encroachment on Native lands, even serving as an advocate for landless Chippewa appealing Congress to to set aside territory for them leading to them development of the Rocky Boy Reservation. He was an interesting complicated figure, but the one thing the museum makes perfectly clear is that he was a preternaturally talented artist in whatever medium he was working in, be it the ridiculous depth he could get out of simple pen and ink drawings, the lushness he could bring to landscapes with oils, or the tactile sense of motion in his sculptures.
I was pretty blown away by all of it, but my favorite pieces were: a blend of oil paint backdrops and wax sculptures in a dynamic diorama called Six Reins to Kingdom Come; a painting called No Ketchum of a young cowpoke chasing down a baby bison, because it captures both a playful innocence as the boy is outsmarted by the goofy calf and also a grim sense of reality in the form of his glinting knife; an illustrated letter that Russell had sent a friend about hiking in Glacier National Park that shows off how skilled he could be even when he was just doodling for fun as well as his knack for storytelling; and an almost impressionistic cinematic painting of two hunters shooting bighorn sheep on an thin, snowy, treacherous mountain pass.
The things I were most surprised to see in the gallery were the pieces that showed the softer side of the grizzled old cowboy: an illustration he made, likely for a Valentine’s Day Church Fundrasier, and a rich oil painting of his first teenage love Lollie. It was such a different side of him than the more traditional Western stuff, but nonetheless impressive.
The next couple of galleries were dedicated to the Native heritage of Montana, which began with a breakdown of the 9 major tribes that had traditionally lived in the region. It’s a small, but really great curatorial gesture that the intro posters about each group began with the tribal name first, a translation of the name, and then anglicized name we might be more familiar with. It just sets a nice tone of at least symbolically letting the people speak for themselves as opposed to just letting the museum decide what’s important to say as is often the case. The posters than broke down the traditional tribal alliances and and conflicts, which I thought was fascinating because it really hits home that there were whole civilizations with complex intertwined histories in this country that the majority of us know absolutely nothing about because that history has either been outright destroyed or just sort of ignored. Because Lewis and Clark were the first post-Louisiana Purchase Westerners to make contact with a lot of these tribes and therefore the first time point of reference for most Eastern Americans, the posters also gave breakdowns of what each tribe was doing around that time and how they interacted with the two explorers, before concluding with where each tribe is largely living today. It was a really great way to orient visitors for all the Native American galleries to come so that you had some knowledge about the diversity of the different cultures in the region, because I feel like often enought many museums just lump all Native American artifacts together. One of the most frustrating but telling facts I learned that really sums up Western-Indian interactions throughout history, is that the the Flathead tribe initially welcomed Catholic missionaries and invited them to live on their land in the hopes that they could share knowledge with one another and incorporate the new things they learned into their way of life. Unsurprisingly the Catholics then said, “No. You have to stop using all your tribal language and culture and only use catholicism. Never mind the fact that you’ve known how to live on this land for millennia and we just got here”. When the Flatheads refused to totally abandon their entire way of life (selfish really), what had started with them extending a kind gesture devolved into warfare.
In terms of Lewis and Clark factoids, I just sort of enjoyed how much they were totally out of their depths (as anyone probably would have been) and how much they would have been lost without Sacagawea and the other Native people who helped them along the way. My favorite little tidbit though was that in regarding a grizzly bear lewis once said “I must confess that I do not like the gentleman”
The next galleries were dedicated to artifacts from daily life among the tribes. I’m never not impressed by how ingenious and resourceful the use of animal products was among different native groups. That fact that anyone can look at a bit of a buffalo hide and think, “I can strategically use this to make clothes, shelter, and armor” is wild to me, especially the idea of figuring out how to tan flesh to make it so resilient. The first person to figure that out must have been either a genius or just crazy lucky, because I wouldn’t think it’s as intuitive leap as saying using the wool for warmth. Other highlights included: different tools and utensils made from bones; Blackfoot charms called iniskims made of fossilized shellfish thought to resemble Buffalo, that were placed in highly ornate pouches and used in pre-hunt ceremonies to bring good luck; a necklace decorated with Grizzly bear claws; incredibly designed ceremonial pipes; and bizarre looking but very clever lightweight cedar-wood baskets used by the Salish and Kootenai peoples.
My favorite part of the exhibit though was the sheer diversity of moccasin (or mockerson if you’re Meriwether Lewis) designs. Apparently, most non-Native people never figured out that different tribes favored different patterns, so most tribal groups could tell somebody’s affiliation just from looking at their footprints which I thought was super neat. The moccasins ranged from very traditional to a sweet pair of modified Chuck Taylors, and what some artists are able to do with just leather, string, and beads absolutely blows my mind.
Throughout the galleries was art either by Native artists or about Native life (or both!) that were really astounding. There were whimsical sculptures of stories from folklore, bucolic scenes of daily life, sweeping vistas, original sketches from the first European artists to visit the west, and gorgeous historical painting such as the one on the lower left of a traditional Buffalo run both brutal and elegant. Maybe it’s a touch cliche, but it’s powerful how great art can recreate the feelings and emotions of different times in a way more anthropological items don’t always capture. I only wish I’d done a better job getting all of these artists’ names.
The coolest art to me though was the preserved petroglyphs of the earliest people living in the area some of which date back over 2000 years. The exact intention of the art is unclear, though it’s likely either ceremonial, for the purpose of passing down down stories, or perhaps purely aesthetic. I just love knowing that all people in all cultures since the dawn of time have had that indescribable urge to doodle, make marks, and just say “I was here”.
In another neat bit of pre-history, the museum had some preserved mammoth bones and teeth. Judging by the unusual shapes of the teeth, paleontologists were able to determine that this particular Mammoth was British. Zing!
The next string of galleries captured artifacts from Montana post-homesteading, capturing the full range of daily life back then. Items ranged from frontier gold panning contraptions to fully furnished suburban 1950s kitchens with everything in between. You get your classic Western staples like historic weapons from outlaws and sheriffs and more modern Native crafts, but they also had some more surprising items like shockingly lavish furniture from a wealthy mining magnate’s home (you always picture life being hardscrabble for everyone, but I guess the rich always live well) and artifacts from Chinese and Black settlers that capture the diversity of the West better than most westerns. What an odd, complicated, unique period of time.
My favorite piece for sheer snazziness though was this buffalo fur coat that you just want to fall asleep in on a cold winter’s day:
One of the big ticket attractions of the museum was the preserved remains of a rare white bison named Big Medicine. Because he has some pigment, Big Medicine is not albino but rather just has a spectacular coat of naturally white fur. White bison only occur once in every five million births so his birth in 1933 would have been a big deal for the Flathead Indian Reservation’s National Bison Range, even if they hadn’t been also trying to recover their regular bison. Because of their rarity, white bison are thought to be sacred animals with a great spiritual power so Big Medicine was taken special care of and when he died at the age of 26 he had lived much longer than the average bison (who’s natural lifespan is about 15 years). The museum made arrangements to have Big Medicine preserved as a tribute to both the incredible and mysterious ways of nature and as a permanent tribute to Montana’s Native peoples.
The last gallery was another bit of a tonal 180 going back to items of warfare, in this case a traveling exhibit honoring the legacy of Native Soldiers in both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. It was great tribute (even if first seeing the case of captured Nazi ephemera shocked me before I read anything about what the exhibit was), highlighting individual as well as community acts of bravery and service while also just assembling some really interesting artifacts and artwork to honor the legacies of those who fought. The idea that there were still cavalry divisions in the times of tanks is perhaps the most shocking thing to me. I knew about this intellectually but actually seeing photos is just crazy.
Lastly from the second floor, I noticed a fantastic wood carving above a doorway that I had almost completely missed which would have a been a damn shame. The fact that some people can just casually make things like this is just amazing.
After all that museum-ing about, I refueled with some good iced coffee from a local chain with great rustic stone furniture and a good sense for puns called Scenic Brew, and I hit the road to make the most of a beautiful day.
The next stop was one of my favorite surprises of the trip for sheer unexpected whimsy: The Blackfoot Pathways Sculpture in the Wild park. This free sculpture park located in the deep woods of Lincoln, Montana is secretly an incredible showcase of contemporary art from around the world and you could easily never know it was there. The co-founder and curator of the park, Irish metal artist Kevin O’Dwyer wanted to create something in the small town of Lincoln, that would bring arts and culture to the area that had not previously been there while also exposing those artists to the beauty and history of the area that they may have never known. In this way, he hopes it encourages a more global recognition of environmental concerns, while also giving local residents and tourists a beautiful blend of art and nature, which complement one another immensely. The ability to walk around and engage with these artworks adds a level of power and majesty that I’m sure these otherwise pretty abstract pieces wouldn’t have for most people in a typical museum. Highlights for me included: a sloping matrix of native pines that plays amazing tricks on your eyes as you walk through it by local Artist Casey Schachner; a community based project of hills and valleys designed by New York based artist Steven Siegel composed of mounds made of 30,000 lbs of newspapers and wooden tentpoles with the natural weathering and degradation of the (impressively sturdy paper) sort of built into the aesthetic; some impressively sleek sculptures by local artist Tyler Nansen that actually function as houses for endangered local bats and serve as an educational tool about the ecological value of a feared and misunderstood native animal; a piece by Danish artist Jorn Ronnau that features a magical looking wooden archway leading to a small village of gold painted wooden houses called Gateway to Change as the artist hopes that walking through the pathway towards the idealized little village will spark some change inside visitors for them to seek out their own dreams; and some metal works by Kevin O’Dwyer himself that use strategically rusted metals to blend in with the ponderosa pines and draw subconscious connections between Montana’s industrial and natural roots.
My absolute favorite pieces for their scope, weirdness, and they way the blended in and augmented their surroundings were: Finnish artist Jaakko Pernu’s Picture Frame which features and incredible, indefinable web of meticulously woven Spruce and Pine Branches within an enormous picture frame; British artist Chris Drury’s Ponderosa Whirlpool which just uses native Ponderosa pine that has been carefully charred, shaped, and placed to create the illusion of roaring vortex that could suck you into the earth itself despite being in reality totally stationary; a simple but elegant sculpture called House of Sky by Irish artist Alan Counihan that places a small stainless steel house on two 30 ft. tall wooden pulls to bend and distort the images of the sky and trees to create a constantly changing image on the outside of the house that morphs and shifts as you walk by; and a hauntingly lovely and seemingly impossibly built circus tent made entirely out of carefully woven branches by North Carolina artist Patrick Dougherty.
The piece to me that best exemplifies the interactive nature of the park was the wooden zig-zag cut into the ground by British artists Mark Jacobs and Sam Clayton’s piece East-West Passage. From above it’s an interesting enough bit of geometric abstraction. but when you walk through it, the slight shift in elevation all of sudden changes your entire view point of the park around you in unexpected and breathtaking ways.
Sadly around this point, my phone died so I encourage you to check out the Sculptures in the Wild website to see what I couldn’t document as well as some amazing new pieces that have gone up since my visit. Also to get a feel for this park’s wonderful commitment to creative community engagement check out this classical music recital performed inside one of the pieces, designed by Kevin O’Dwyer to look like a rusty hunk of junk from the outside but inside contains huge panels of beautiful black and white historic photos:
After my sojourn through the wilderness, I made my way back to Helena with just one quick stop in the dramatically named Gates of the Mountains Park for an impressive view out on a gentle lake in the wide Missouri. Not even gross swarms of birds can ruin the impressive vistas.
For dinner, I went to the very cozy Brewhouse Pub and Grill, an excellent local sports bar with a huge multi-floor layout and different upstairs and downstairs menus depending on what you were looking for. I opted for downstairs because they had an open seat earlier, but when I saw the menu I was immensely happy with my decision. I went with the truly decadent Mac and Cheese: Seafood Pesto which had sizable chunks of beautifully grilled Shrimp and crab mixed with fresh pesto cream sauce and topped with fresh tomatoes, green onion and bread crumbs on a bed of great cavatelli pasta. Toss in a side of liberally olive oiled garlic bread, and I was in heaven. It was such a fantastic, rich and hearty meal, I could only complement it with an equally rich and hearty beer, the Cold Smoke Scotch Ale from Missoula’s Kettle House Brewing. The very friendly bartender recommended it as a fairly unique local brew because it has the darkness and smokiness of a more traditional scotch ale as well as a hint of sweetness and roasted coffee flavor on the finish. It was a perfect meal and a happy way to end a busy day.
Favorite Random Sightings: Man Store (nuff said); Hair Hair Salon (they need to be accompanied by a gavel bang); Miller's Crossing (I have no idea if they know about the Coen Brothers’ movie); a giant billboard that said “Welcome to Prime Beef Country”
Regional Observations: I saw honest to goodness wild horses running across the plains while I was driving and it was incredible.
Albums Listened To: This Is Spinal Tap by Spinal Tap (just Big Bottom and Gimme Some Money); This Was by Jethro Tull (a great debut album); This Year’s Model by Elvis Costello (A classic); Those Were the Days by Cream (just White Room); Thrill of the Arts by Vulfpeck (a delightfully weird and funky album)
People’s Favorite Jokes: none today but here’s one from the web:
As the plane was flying low over some hills near Athens, a lady asked the stewardess: "What's that stuff on those hills?"
"Just snow," replied the stewardess.
"That's what I thought," said the lady, "but this fellow in front of me said it was Greece."
Songs of the Day:
This song never doesn’t make me laugh. Brilliant film
wild
weird video, but probably my favorite underrated Elvis song
Such fun nerds