Here's a Monterey County Herald article that combines the music of Mike Beck with an exciting new art exhibit of unseen works by Jo Mora...
More Mora: Exhibition in Monterey to reveal unseen works by 'the Renaissance man of the West'
Exhibition in Monterey to reveal unseen works by 'the Renaissance man of the West'
By LISA CRAWFORD WATSON
Herald Correspondent
Updated: 02/27/2009 01:45:57 AM PST
That he was born in Uruguay made him authentic. That he was raised and formally educated on the East Coast added some kind of pedigree to his bearing and perhaps a legitimacy, for those who needed it, to his work.
Yet that first journey in 1898 to the far west, which wandered into a rambling road trip throughout the Southwest, and that period when he worked as a cattle rancher in Texas, and his determination to sketch his way along the same route Father Junipero Serra traveled when establishing the California missions, and his delight in the dangers of the Mexican border, the dynamics of the Indian villages, the drama of the desert landscape, the direction of artist Frederic Remington, are what foster our true appreciation of Jo Mora and, most certainly, informed the substance of his work.
Mora returned to the West in 1903 and made his first trip to California, eventually settling in Carmel in 1920 to commence what he regarded as "the supreme professional effort of his life," a memorial cenotaph of Father Serra. From then on, the artist, sculptor, historian, photographer, illustrator, muralist and author entrenched himself in the heritage of the Monterey Peninsula and began to establish a legacy through his work that would experience a renaissance some 60 years later.
His life, both anchored by family and freed by adventure, reads like a Louis L'Amour novel. And the stories have, indeed, been written and illustrated, sometimes by Mora himself. In addition to "Trail Dust & Saddle Leather" and "Californios," books just as likely stashed in a saddle bag as shelved in libraries both public and private, Mora left behind a wealth of art and illustrated manuscripts, much of which never has reached an audience. Until now.
The Monterey History and Art Association, in association with Peter Hiller, curator of the Jo Mora TrustCollection , will host "From the Archives of Jo Mora," a special exhibition at the Monterey Maritime and History Museum. On display Saturday through May 25, the exhibition will feature largely unseen work from the Mora family collection, primarily pieces that belonged to his children, Joey and Patti.
An artist and writer himself, Hiller first encountered Mora when he moved to the Peninsula 28 years ago and began teaching art at All Saints Episcopal Day School in Carmel.
"Slowly but surely," he said, "I ran into his work; the marble reliefs at the Monterey County Courthouse, the 6-foot statue of Father Serra in Carmel Woods, the white marble bust of a "Navajo Girl" at Casa Serrano in Monterey and the bronze-and-travertine cenotaph, his sculptural monument to Father Serra. But I realized there must be a whole segment of his life, his work, inaccessible to the public. I knew it existed, but I didn't know how to get to it."
Until he met Joey Mora, who lived in Pebble Beach until his passing two years ago, at age 98. The relationship became social, trusted, bound by an affinity for a man Joey had loved and Hiller had never met except through the artistry both admired.
Hiller is not alone in his fascination with Mora. Musician Mike Beck,who divides his time between his bands in Montana (Monterey Rose) and in Monterey (Mike Beck and the Bohemian Saints) wrote "In Old California" with Ian Tyson, a tribute to Mora.
Jo Mora told the story, the color and the glory, and the
Californios who rode through dappled green and gold,
aye-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi, in old Californ' ... In the missions out
"The first time I got turned on to Jo Mora," said Beck, "I found 'Trail Dust & Saddle Leather' in the library. I checked it out, and it led me to the life I've lived. I've played music and cowboyed for a living since high school. It was a challenge to write a song about a guy who did so many things. He was fascinating; a really handsome guy who hand-rolled his cigarettes and rode horseback when the last of the vaqueros were still here. California has this incredible history, and Jo Mora touched on it in the best way he could. Thank God for people like Peter Hiller, who make known this cultural claim to fame."
More than a dozen years ago, Hiller began organizing a major retrospective of Mora's work, which was exhibited in 1998 at the Monterey Museum of Art. Two years ago, he curated an exhibit in the Mora Chapel Museum at Carmel's Mission San Carlos de Borromeo, where Father Serra's cenotaph resides. And this past December, Hiller released "When I Get Wound Up Writing, I'm a Bad Article to Squelch; the Written words of Jo Mora," a collection of previously unpublished writings by Mora, now published through Carpe Diem Fine Books in Monterey.
"Jo would write two or three chapters of something, illustrate it, and then move on to something else," said Hiller. "Most were never finished. Although he did publish two books, he also wrote and illustrated 'Budgee Budgee Cottontail,' a children's book that was published some 40 years later. I find it so fascinating that someone so skilled, who left us such a legacy of his work, has largely flown under the radar. I see this new book as one chapter in the coffeetable book or the movie of Jo Mora."
After Joey's passing, Hiller was named curator of the Jo Mora Trust Collection, an expansive body of work he both cherishes and champions on behalf of public access and appreciation.
"I have spent so much time and interest on Jo Mora's life and his work," he said, "both of which were fascinating and inextricably linked. I keep asking myself if I'm done yet. But I am mindful of two more chapters I could start tomorrow. One, already under way, is about Jo's time on Hopi and Navajo reservations. The one I would start next is about his 1903 experience on the Mission Trail blazed by Father Serra. Jo left a meticulous journal that corresponds to certain paintings and sketchbooks. It's all there."
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If you go ·What: "From the Archives of Jo Mora," a special exhibition of unseen works ·Where: Monterey Maritime and History Museum, 5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey ·When: Opens Saturday through May 25; museum hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (closed Monday) ·Cost: Free ·Contact: 372-2608 ext. 17
