Distinguished Author - Jack Loeffler

Jack Loeffler Jr.

A man with a lifetime of adventures, Jack Loeffler has been a professional jazz trumpeter and classical recorder artist, an environmental activist, “aural historian,” accomplished author, folklorist,  practical anthropologist, sound engineer, and radio producer.

Jack Loeffler lives and loves what he does.  As an “a-u-r-a-l historian” he devotes his life to working with indigenous cultures and recording their relationship to the land. He  believes that the knowledge and wisdom of people who live on the land close to the earth--such as the Hopis, Navajos, Pueblo Indians as well as tribes from Mexico--can help our species survive. Jack records the nature sounds, the music, the stories of these groups to develop an environmental consciousness for the world.  As his Navajo friend Shonto Begay wrote, “by documenting the voices and stories of the land Jack, moves us and helps us to rediscover our own voices”

From his rich recordings, Jack creates sound collages for CDs and radio programs we hear on National Public Radio, such as the Turquoise Trail, the Lore of the Land, and a special production on Aldo Leopold.   Jack has also recorded the largest collection of New Mexican Hispanic folklore and folk music. La Musica de los Viejitos is one  collection of this music. His recordings are housed in the Smithsonian and will be available at the New Mexico History Museum as well.  Jack has also published five critically acclaimed books.

In 2008 Jack received the Governor’s Award for Excellence for his writing and his ethnomusicology work. This year he received the Edgar Lee Hewett Award for Outstanding Public Service from the New Mexico Historical Society.

Jack ‘s daughter Celestia writes about her Dad and “best pal.”  “He makes friends everywhere he goes, because he cares.  He empathizes and connects with every living being he encounters.  From the child sitting across from him at a restaurant to the Navajo elder, and the great horned owl to the spiny cholla cactus, he cares about it all.”  A good friend wrote about Jack: he lives every day “in the moment, while creating a legacy for posterity that will have resonance in Santa Fe and far

Jack Loeffler is a true Renaissance man 

During the 1950s and early 1960s, Loeffler was a jazz trumpeter who performed throughout the United States. He has written numerous books, including "Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey," which was published in 2002 and recounts his experiences with writer and pioneering environmentalist Ed Abbey.

Loeffler moved to New Mexico in 1962 and has spent the last 40 years devoted to preserving and sharing the arts and stories of the people of his adopted state. He has interviewed and recorded writers, visual artists, traditional indigenous people, musicians and ordinary people who live in every region of the state. As a master artist in ethnomusicology, Loeffler has set extremely high standards for sound quality and editing. Through his artistic recordings, he has exposed the world to traditional Hispano and Native American music and culture.

Loeffler's personal archive of interviews, music and environmental sounds has been fully digitized onto archival gold CDs and hard drives to be saved for future generations. The collection is already being used in current exhibitions and programs at the Palace of the Governors which will share this outstanding ethnographic collection in the new State History Museum, which is set for a public opening on Memorial Day weekend 2009. Loeffler's radio shows, which include the ongoing "Lore of the Land" and "Moving Waters - the Colorado River and the West," are legendary, not only for the information they impart but for the inspiration they engender.

"Loeffler is a National Treasure who is revered in his field from the Folklore Center at the Library of Congress to small villages in rural New Mexico," said nominator Sue Sturtevant. "While very few people deserve the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, Jack Loeffler is one who does!"

Museum Day 2019

The Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame on the campus of New Mexico Junior College is participating in Smithsonianmagazine’s Museum Day, this Saturday.  Smithsonian magazine has designated Saturday, September 21, 2019 as the 15^thannual Museum Day, an initiative in which participating museums across the United States open their doors for free to those who download a branded ticket.  The annual event allows museums, zoos and cultural centers from all 50 states to emulate the spirit of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, which offer free admission every day.  Museum Day represents a national commitment to access, equity and inclusion.

“We have participated in Museum Day for 8 years now,” says Erin Anderson, Interim Executive Director of the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame.  “It is important to offer opportunities like this for patrons to experience cultural and historical activities without worrying about cost.”

This year, Museum Day will celebrate the Smithsonian Year of Music, an institution-wide initiative celebrating the Smithsonian’s vast musical collections and resources.  Music is not only a reflection of human creativity and innovation, but also a key method of communication and cross-cultural exchange and understanding.  

“Our most recent event, Staked Plains Roundup on campus, tied into the Smithsonian’s Year of Music,” explains Anderson.  “The Native American dancers performed traditional dances, Maciolek School of Dance dancers taught patrons to line dance, and Gary Nix and West Texas performed a wonderful concert on the patio.  If, by chance, you missed this event, don’t worry, you can see musical instruments from our permanent collection on display, and you can see how music has touched many lives in our traveling exhibits, National Geographic’s Greatest Photographs of the American Westand E Pluribus Unum.”

Museums in all 50 states have signed up to participate in Smithsonianmagazine’s 2019 Museum Day, the largest event of its kind.  More than 1,500 museums are expected to participate this year.  Those wishing to attend any of the participating museums can visit Smithsonian.com/museumday to learn more and download a Museum Day ticket.  Each ticket grants the holder and one guest free access to any participating museum on September 21, 2019.  One ticket is permitted per email address.  A list of participating museums can be found on the website as well.

Moon Landing

It is hard to believe that it has been fifty years since Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Many of us have vivid memories of where we were and how we felt watching the event. We heard Neil Armstrong utter the now famous words, “That’s one small step for man-one giant leap for mankind” and we knew that our world had changed forever. 

Eight years earlier, President John F. Kennedy threw down the gauntlet in an address to Congress when he said, “I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” The United States needed to take this bold step because the Russians were accelerating their space program and America had to keep pace.  The “Cold War” had begun to simmer, which is why President Kennedy set space exploration as one of his top priorities. 

Although he would never live to see a man walk on the moon, President Kennedy’s goal was achieved as he predicted, “before this decade is out” on July 20, 1969. The ambitious program required the backing of the nation. Congress was asked to appropriate an unprecedented amount of money. Kennedy explained: “it will not be one man going to the moon--if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.” 

The Congress backed the plan and the adventure began. Ironically, the mission was achieved during the presidency of Kennedy’s rival, Richard M. Nixon. There is a plaque on the moon to commemorate the landing. It says: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."

The Western Heritage Museum is commemorating this historic anniversary in a couple of ways. We are showing four films about the United States Space Programs every Sunday at 2 pm: The Right Stuff,July 14; Apollo 13, July 21; First Man, July 28; and October Sky,August 4. Our Second Annual Chalk Art Contest will be held on Saturday, July 20^thand the theme is “To the Moon and Beyond.” Please join us!

For more information visit the National Archives website,https://www.archives.gov, where you will find pictures and articles. 

Distinguished Author Series

The Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame is proud to announce their inaugural Distinguished Author Seriesfeaturing award winning author Anne Hillerman, on July 25, at 6:30 pm. Director of Education, Mary Lyle said “We are delighted to present Anne Hillerman as our first Distinguished Author.”   

Anne Hillerman, the daughter of the late Southwest mystery writer Tony Hillerman, grew up in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the eldest of the family’s six children. She received a journalism degree from the University of New Mexico and worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and columnist before becoming a full-time author.

She is honored and delighted to continue the mystery series Tony Hillerman created featuring Navajo detective Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Anne’s debut novel, Spider Woman’s Daughter, follows the further adventures of the aforementioned characters, and it places one of Tony’s supporting characters, officer Bernadette Manuelito, in the spotlight to make the series her own. Released by HarperCollins, the book received the Spur Award from Western Writers of America for the Best First Novel of 2013. 

Hillerman’s fifth novel, The Tale Teller,wasreleased in April of this year. Once again, the Legendary Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is back as a crime solver. Joining him are Bernadette Manuelito and Sergeant Jim Chee who both use their knowledge of the criminal mind and their well-honed skills of observation and persuasion. 

“Anne will be discussing her own work and talking about the legacy of her father,” said Lyle. “We have a number of her titles available at the Museum, including her newest novel.” “If we have a good response to this event, the Museum will endeavor to invite other notable authors.” 

The event is freeof charge. Attendees are welcome to visit Rodin: Truth, Form, Lifeafter the lecture. For more information call 575-492-2678. 

D'Jean Jawrunner

The Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame is proud to host internationally recognized artist, D’Jean Jawrunner on Thursday, June 27 from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm. Jawrunner will give a gallery talk and instruction in Rodin’s drawing technique, “Blind Contour Drawing.” In addition, members of Llano Estacado Art Association will be holding their monthly “drink and draw” evening. “It should be a very interesting evening for all of us,” said Mary Lyle, Director of Education. 

“We are so lucky to have such an experienced artist like D’Jean for this event,” Lyle noted. “She is so enthusiastic and has a wealth of knowledge about Rodin and the techniques he used in creating his sculptures.”  

Since 1997, D’Jean Jawrunner has been the Foundry Director and Art Professor at Mesalands Community College in New Mexico. Jawrunner, who just retired as the chair of the art department at Mesalands Community College, taught art history, design, sculpture, printmaking, painting, and drawing. She has been in group, solo and museum shows nationally and internationally exhibiting alongside artists such as Edgar Degas, Kiki Smith, and Andy Warhol. She has also been featured in several publications including Sculpture Magazine and New Mexico Magazine. * Her work is in the permanent collections of the International Folk Art Museum, the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area in Santa Fe, the National Sculpture Trail in Yellow Springs, Ohio and the Greenville Museum in Greenville, North Carolina as well as­­­­­­­­ many private collections. 

The public is welcome to join this special Evening with Rodinevent. This presentation is for adults and not appropriate for children under the age of 12.  

*D’Jean Jawrunner was featured in the March 2018 issue of New Mexico Magazine. You can read “Molten Beauty” by Kate Nelson by cutting and pasting this website: “https://www.newmexico.org/nmmagazine/articles/post/big-pour/

Evenings with Rodin

Unless otherwise noted, activities on Thursday evenings are FREE and have no participant limitations.

May 30 - Film: Camille Claudel (1988)
Introduced by Mary Lyle, Director of Education.
Isabelle Adjani (Best Actress nominee) and Gerard Depardieu star as Camille and Auguste Rodin. The film traces the development of the couple’s intense romance, the rise of Claudel’s career from her start as Rodin’s model, then assistant, and finally as an artist in her own right. Claudel must overcome prejudices against female artists, and the tempestuous relationship with her mentor, Rodin. The film is in French with English subtitles and is rated R for nudity and sexually explicit content.

June 6 - Family Art Fun
Families can participate in an art activity, inspired by the work of Rodin. This week join us for a foil sculpture activity. Create sculptures out of tin foil and try to mimic Rodin’s use of movement and emotion.

June 13 - Film: Rodin (2017)
Introduced by Mary Lyle, Director of Education.
This film is the most recent attempt to capture the life and loves of one of the world’s most famous sculptor, Auguste Rodin. The film takes place around 1880 when Rodin received his first state commission for “The Gates of Hell,” which included two of his most famous sculptures, “The Kiss” and “The Thinker.”  The film is in French with English subtitles. This film is not rated but has nudity and sexually explicit content that is not appropriate for anyone under the age of 18.

June 20 - TBA

June 27 - Llano Estacado's Drink and Draw
Artists are welcome to join their friends in the Rodin exhibit for an evening of sketching. Rodin’s technique of “Blind Contour Drawing” will be demonstrated. Bring your sketch pads and we will supply the “drinks.”

July 11 - Sculpture Workshop
Art instructor Nancy Powell will teach a beginning sculpture workshop. $10/person (covers all of the materials); limited to the first 15 people; must be 10+ years old.

July 18 - TBA

July 25 - Llano Estacado’s Drink and Draw 
Artists are welcome to join their friends in the Rodin exhibit for an evening of sketching. Bring your sketch pads and we will supply the “drinks.”

August 1 – TBA

For more information, please call the Museum at 575-492-2678 or visit our website at www.nmjc.edu/museum.

Rodin: Father of Modern Sculpture

FATHER OF MODERN SCULPTURE

Rodin covered in plaster wearing his iconic beret

Auguste Rodin is widely regarded as the “father of modern sculpture,” and by some, as the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo. Throughout the nineteenth century, artists found new ways of expressing themselves on canvas and print. The many innovative art movements included the Impressionists, Post Impressionists, Symbolists, and Expressionists. Sculpture during that same time remained tethered to the French academy. Rodin, was a contemporary of Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, and Gaugin. Just as they had done in painting, Rodin would transform the medium of sculpture and bring it into the modern era in art.

Born in Paris in 1840, to a modest middle-class family, Rodin showed an innate talent for art from an early age. In his teens, he attended the government school for art and craft design. There, he learned the traditional practice of observational drawing from plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. He also learned how to model in clay, a technique that he would continue to use throughout his career. He applied to the École des Beaux-Arts, an influential French art school, but was rejected three times. 

For almost a decade, Rodin worked as an anonymous member of a workshop and produced decorative sculpture for another well-known artist named Albert Carrier-Belleuse. Rodin continued to want to exhibit his work under his own name, and in the 1860s he submitted his sculpture to annual juried Paris Salon exhibitions. However, he again suffered a series of rejections.  

Rodin’s father had written his son an encouraging letter. His words of wisdom sustained the artist through the rough patches in his career. His father advised him: “You must not construct your future on sand so that the smallest storm will bring it down. Build on a solid, durable foundation [so that] the day will come when one can say of you as of truly great men – the artist Auguste Rodin is dead but he lives for posterity, for the future.”

Rodin finally received the recognition he sought in his 40’s when he was commissioned to create a sculpture for the entrance of a new museum. Rodin’s concept was inspired by Dante’s literary masterpiece, The Divine Comedy. His Gates of Hell were conceived to rival the great doors of the Baptistry in Florence known as The Gates of Paradise. The museum was not built, however, and the commission was canceled. Rodin decided to use some of the figurative reliefs from the door and he turned them into independent sculptures, also reusing some of the parts to create new sculptures. 

Later, Rodin was commissioned to create other monuments, portraits of famous people at the time, as well as noncommissioned works. During the 1890s, Rodin created many artworks, and by the year 1900 he was the most famous sculptor in Europe. The Paris World Exposition dedicated an entire pavilion to a retrospective exhibition of his work. In 1908, Rodin moved his studio and gallery to the Hôtel Biron, a large mansion in Paris, where he worked until his death in 1917. 

Before he died, Rodin donated the contents of his studio and his home to the people of France in exchange for an agreement that a Rodin museum would be established. Today, the Musée Rodin is made up of two sites: the Hôtel Biron and the structures and land in Meudon, the suburb of Paris where Rodin’s home was located.

If you would like to learn more about Rodin please visit the museum’s website www.nmjc.edu/museum and click on the Educator Guide for Rodin: Truth, Life, Form – Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collections.