Dan Katz, an ardent collector from Connecticut, beautifully articulates his (and our) passion for collecting   

 

By Dan Katz, Collector         

 

Not everyone is a collector of anything. Though sometimes difficult for me to understand, the affliction which we label collecting, in fact, affects very few of us and a fair question arises as to what motivates the few who do enter the fray of the collector scene.

Two motivations for collecting stand out, I think. One is an interest in a general, broad area (art, antiques, western memorabilia) for the purpose of buying low and selling dear as a chosen way of making a living. The second, is an interest in a narrower area of the same category types but with no (or little) interest in resale. This is the more puzzling kind of collecting, the more peculiar kind of collector and, sadly for my family, the category into which I fall. For me, the chase is for lawman guns and badges, cowgirl guns from wild west shows, cowgirl trophy buckles and photographs.

Sure seems a useless way to spend time; a bunch of guns I don't shoot and won't sell, a pile of outdated badges, dozens of frilly buckles I can wear only in Palm Beach or Provincetown, MA, where they have no rodeos, and hundreds of photos I have little room to display. What the hell am I doing?

I am surrounding myself and my family with our uniquely American Heritage.

The guns and badges say that our constitutional respect for law was constant even during the lawless days of westward expansion; the cowgirl trophy buckles and wild west guns say that women were an integral (though under-appreciated) part of the country's growth and the western mystique with which we are so enamored; and the cowgirl photos remind me that, even in the tumultuous, unimaginably tough times of westward expansion, beauty and calm were present.

Collecting like that described above is more than acquisition. Even if pieces are sold off in order to make room for other items, such collecting becomes part of the person doing the collecting and, happily, becomes part of the self you take with you wherever you go.

_________________

Dan Katz is one of our Smoke Signals readers who kindly shared his story with us. We encourage you to share yours!

You can email Dan at: [email protected]

 

 

Frontier Project: 

John Moyers

    

The Frontier Project is a Colorado-based publishing and multimedia venture launched in 2010 by a team headed by award-winning magazine journalist A.J. Mangum. The company produces a short-subject documentary series on the horsemen, artists and craftsmen defining the contemporary North American cowboy culture.

 

 "I saw a need for a new approach to journalism about the real West, an approach not driven by marketing or advertising, but by the need to share the stories of influential westerners, as well as the West's unsung heroes and heroines," Mangum says. "The Frontier Project will use an 'up close and personal' storytelling approach that puts its subjects front and center and allows them to tell their stories in their own words. Viewers can expect no fluff, no fads, no gimmicks, no bull." 

 

In Episode 5, John Moyers shares his inspirations in an interview at his Santa Fe, New Mexico, studio.

 

 

The Frontier Project: John Moyers

The Frontier Project is an independent documentary series celebrating North America's cowboy culture. Learn more at www.thefrontierproject.net

He'll Fly Below the Radar
No More   

 

 

Sometimes Smoke Signals stumbles into stories so captivating we just have to share. We immerse ourselves in historic artifacts created by the many unsung heroes from decades and centuries past. Today, as before, there is still a world of unsung heroes out there creating, and every so often one of those individuals captures the attention of the most unlikely kind - the kind of person who is compelled to reveal an artist's worth to the world.

His name is Chris Liles and her name is Leslie Gelb. Chris is the artist and Leslie has become his biggest advocate determined to take his work to the world. Perhaps this short story is about never giving up on your dream because you just never know when someone will enter your life. Someone who sees what could be and is determined to make it happen.

Chris Liles has been sculpting and painting for years. His background is half Irish and half Lakota Sioux. His Native American heritage goes back to his great-grandfather who was hung by the 7th Calvary in South Dakota, an event witnessed by his grandfather who at the time knew, if he didn't escape, he would be next. His grandfather began to run and didn't stop running until he reached New York. And here's where the story begins. Here's why Chris Liles has lived below the radar, painting and sculpting and living in East Hampton (NY), the fourth generation of a family whose struggles and strife are not unfamiliar to many Native American individuals and families. His life was a troubled one but Chris always found his salvation in his art - art he taught himself to create.

His life took a change one day at a yard sale in East Hampton. He was just hanging out in his front yard one Sunday afternoon and began chatting with his neighbor Leslie Gelb while she hosted a yard sale. She didn't know him at the time, but their visit soon revealed to her the man behind the quiet demeanor. He was waiting for two customers to come by and pick up a pencil portrait he had done for them. The portrait was of a horse named Cricket and the owners were none other than Linda and Paul McCartney. Indeed they came by and left contentedly with their new Chris Liles' original.

Leslie just had to know - who was her neighbor, a man so unassuming and unexpectedly captivating? And so the relationship began. It took some time but Leslie and Chris became close friends. Chris, whose life was one of struggle and strife, didn't trust people easily. Leslie saw in him an individual so rich in character and talent, she knew his story had to be told and his work revealed to the world. A screenwriter by profession, little did Chris know that his life was about to change.

Today, Leslie is almost finished writing his memoir, which has already gained attention from publishing companies. After that, Leslie sees a screenplay in the works. "His story and the person behind it just have to be told. His art is amazing, the man is genuine."

And that's how it happens. It could be at a yard sale, it could be anywhere. You just never know when that person you were destined to meet will enter your life and propel your creativity out to the world.

While High Noon is founded on the richness of the past, the past does not stop evolving. What is being created today, will indeed, be the riches of the past for generations to come.

For information about the works of Chris Liles, please contact Leslie Gelb at [email protected]

Photos Above:
1. Artist Chris Liles
2. Cricket. It was this pencil portrait of Linda McCartney's horse "Cricket" that would eventually change Chris Liles' life.
3. Alabaster Sculpture: Still a work in progress, Chris Liles has named this sculpted alabaster relief Mitakuye Oyasin-We Are All Related.

Smoke Signals has a chat
with the Curator of the new
Buffalo Bill Museum and gets a sneak peek...

Buffalo Bill Museum


As the day draws near when the Buffalo Bill Museum, core of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody (WY), will close, it was time for Smoke Signals to have a chat with the man at the helm of this massive project - to develop, design and implement the new Buffalo Bill Museum scheduled to re-open June 2012.

Dr John C Rumm, Curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum, was charged with just two simple tasks: re-do the Museum from top to bottom and make Buffalo Bill relevant to the 21st century. No problem, not for Dr Rumm, who has embraced this project with passion surpassed by none. Rumm spent the majority of his professional career on the East Coast with major institutions such as the Smithsonian, The Civil War & Underground Railroad Museum and the National Constitution Center. When he joined the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in 2008, he came on board as the first Editor-in Chief of the Papers of the William F. Cody project. Little did he know at the time into what role he would really be stepping. "If anyone had told me 4 years ago that I would be living in Cody (WY), own two horses and a pickup truck, I would have told them they were crazy. I remember several years ago driving in Delaware and listening to the PBR talk show Face-Off. Senators Ted Kennedy and Alan Simpson were having a debate on the show and Ted Kennedy had wittingly accused Senator Simpson of 'Buffalo-ing every bill that came on the floor.' I remember laughing so hard at the comment I almost drove off the road. Little did I know at the time, that years later, I would be able to share this story with Senator Simpson himself, sitting in his office in Cody, Wyoming."

"It's been a journey and an experience that was supposed to happen. I really didn't know anything about Buffalo Bill when I joined the BBHC which, in the end, has worked to my advantage. I have been able to get to know the real man, the visionary he was, without any pre-conceived notions or opinions. This is what I hope to be able to bring to the amazing new installation and museum we are creating. We're taking it down to the studs and when it re-opens, the world will know why William F. Cody was and is today, the Man of the West, The Man of the World."

Most of us are familiar with Buffalo Bill to some extent but who really was this visionary man filled with undying optimism in the light of his many personal failures and tragedies? The new Buffalo Bill Museum will trace William F. Cody from his birth through his evolution to the worldwide, iconic image of freedom that he became. The new installation is being designed to engage and captivate visitors of all ages. Through authentic exhibits, new interactive and multi-media presentations, the new Buffalo Bill Museum will truly become a museum for the 21st century. The new Museum will tell his story - a great American story - in the most befitting and compelling way.

Just two tasks - re-do the Museum from top to bottom and make Buffalo Bill relevant to the 21st century. Done. Accomplished through the passion and vision of those at the helm of this project and the generous support of the funds necessary to do it. No small task but the new Buffalo Bill Museum will take the West to the World - A world that will be able to encounter a great American icon again... for the very first time.

And, the beautiful town of Cody is making some changes too. Five star hotels are moving in with one already open, The Cody, and a second one has broken ground, scheduled to be open in time for the grand opening of the new Museum.

So, when can we expect to visit Man of the West, Man of the World? "It's going to be an intense project once we close the doors on October 1st but we will be ready for our grand opening scheduled for June 30th, 2012."

For more information and to support this amazing project, visit www.bbhc.org


Photos:
1. William F. Cody
2. Dr John C Rumm, The Ernest J. Goppert Curator of Western American History

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame goes to the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

 

Representing the Hall are (left to right, back to front):  Joseph Sherwood, Emmy Lou Prescott, Wanda Waters, Pat Riley, Diana Vela, Linda Kohn Sherwood, Lora Sandroni, Robin Gaul, Bob Sandroni. Congratulations to all the winners of the Western Design Conference and to Mary Schmitt for all her passionate and generous effort!