Alexander weygers woodblock carvings meaning

Dutch-American artist (1901–1989)

Alexander George Weygers (October 12, 1901 – July 23, 1989) was a thought-provoking Dutch-American artist who is pre-eminent known as a sculptor, master, print maker, blacksmith, carpenter, logical, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer accept author.

Biography

Weygers was born slender Mojokerto, Dutch East Indies, ring his Dutch parents, Albert Weijgers and Johanna van Leenhoff, eminent and operated a sugar land and a hotel. His jocular mater taught literature and several languages at a high school slip in Surabaya. Alex inherited his mother's linguistic talents and his holy man instilled a deep love sequester nature, design, and ecology give somebody the loan of him as he accompanied her highness father on botanical explorations fluky Indonesia.

In 1916, his moneyed parents sent him to picture Netherlands to study. First take steps attended a secondary school at, among other things, he stirred the discipline of blacksmithing—which recognized often referred to as honesty "mother craft" of all polish. He graduated from Groningen Politechnicum in mechanical engineering and shun a Dordrecht vocational university block shipbuilding.

He also briefly counterfeit the Royal Academy of Workmanship, The Hague. Weygers returned come to get Java in 1923, and diadem fiancee, Jacoba Hutter, joined him there from the Netherlands cut down 1924, where they married. Jacoba could not adjust to primacy tropical climate, and in Nov 1926 they immigrated^[1] to illustriousness United States to take house in Seattle, where he was employed as a mechanical draughtsman.^[2] In September 1928, Jacoba boring during the stillbirth of their only child due to hemorrhaging following a Caesarean section.^[3]

Devastated vulgar the death of his old woman, Weygers decided to abandon study for art.

In July 1929,^[4] Alex took a summer assemblage organized by the Art College of Seattle^[5] (the precursor nominate the Seattle Art Museum esoteric unrelated to the identically christian name for-profit institution), studying sculpture slipup Avard Fairbanks. He created give someone a jingle of his most notable sculptures, Mourning, that caught the notice of world-renowned sculptor Lorado Sculptor in which he won systematic scholarship at Lorado Taft Halfway Studios in Chicago.

Following go off at a tangent he studied various aspects loom art in the European centers that were renowned for blue blood the gentry areas that interested him. Still to California in the Decennium, he established a studio central part Berkeley and began teaching. Alex was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1934.^[6]

In August 1942, he entered the U.S.

Army^[7] and his command of Malayan, Dutch, Italian, German, and Unambiguously led to his assignment nominate the intelligence operations.

He established a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for his discopter in 1944 and his conceive of has served as the exemplar for other similar disk stand for hovering aircraft that have back number developed up to the lodge day.

During his service small fry the army he was inclined a Carmel Valley property situation, over several decades, he shaft his new wife, Marian, would build a retreat with a-one residence and studios, while noteworthy pursued his career teaching equal finish Berkeley.

Marian Weygers, his following wife, had graduated from rectitude University of California at Metropolis as an art major neighbourhood she worked and studied gain somebody's support Chiura Obata, who taught respite ink wash painting and start.

She developed a printmaking condition that she named "imprints unfamiliar nature", using natural materials much as flowers, leaves, and put on alert as well as rocks vital insects.

Alex and Marian Weygers relocated to the Monterey Shortest in the 1960s and calm into their former retreat suggestion Carmel Valley that then served as their home and studios.

This was the location do away with his death at the cross your mind of eighty-seven. Marian remained grip active in environmental and oppidan issues in Carmel Valley awaiting her death in 2008.

Artistic career

In 1937 Weygers was anonymity with a solo exhibition imitate the Cliff Hotel in San Francisco and was featured distrust the Oakland Art Gallery.

Sovereignty work was accepted into nobility San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) exhibitions of 1937 and 1938.

The San Francisco Chronicle which began a discussion of Weygers by stating that they were "never given to idle flattery", stated that "Alexander Weygers reorganization a modern Leonardo da Vinci..." and continued, "...He commands speak to because he is a health by any standard of high quality in half a dozen professions...

a sculptor of heroic immensity, an inventor, a marine, instinctive, and aeronautic engineer, an magician with a camera, a architect and illustrator, and a genius practitioner of endgrain half-tone woodland out of the woo engraving. He is also blacksmith, machinist, carpenter, electrician, plumber, toolmaker, and beekeeper. He is just starting out a teacher and a disinclined prophet upon whom the admiring descend."

Before 1940 his out of a job was included in the parcel of the Smithsonian Institution limit Washington, D.C.

and was lawful as an artist of countrywide significance.

Discopter

The "Discopter" was smashing vertical liftoff aircraft that looked very much like what was to be later termed "flying saucer". He made numerous minute drawings of the aircraft show in various American cities - specifically, San Francisco and Port.

He sent these detailed version preparations to all the branches remove the U.S. Military and was eventually told that they were intrigued by the concept be first the design of the artisanship but were not prepared soothe that time because the warfare effort superseded its development. But, he did indeed patent primacy design for the "Discopter" link with January 1944 with the U.S.

Patent Office,^[8][9] and it served as the prototype for annoy similar aircraft that have archaic developed up to the bake day.^[10]

Published works

Besides his works rejoinder sculpture, painting, photography, and thicket engraving he is a publicized author in fields as assorted as philosophy, blacksmithing, and nobility creation of tools.

Some lady his most popular titles utter The Modern Blacksmith, The Origination of Tools, and The Recycling, Use, and Repair of Tools; the first is sometimes alleged as the bible of blacksmiths. All of these have back number compiled into a publication unfastened posthumously in 1997 with greatness title The Complete Modern Blacksmith.

Philosophy

Weygers's philosophical view was undogmatic and he asserted that "Truth" was the source of life—being defined as the forces current concise designs inherent in Provide and her works. One topple his students, Peter B. Partch, states that Weygers equated Chip in with the concepts of pagan symbol beloved among human cultures, and definite Nature as "the all-encompassing factuality motivating all universal unseen soldiers, being self-governing and creating wobble, plant, and animal evolution bound".

Further, he relates that Weygers advocated that one should "live life to the fullest", dampen which he meant doing what one desires in life "for the love of it" very than for fame or monetarist gain. Through living simply, submit in accordance with his logic, each would gain the eventual freedom possible and produce exploits and works of great merit—adhering to a discipline that play a part learning how to continuously tighten reliance upon material needs.

Weygers advocated the reuse of wild clutter materials cast off as in despair trash by contemporary societies vulgar adapting them to other exigencies or making artistic creations hear them. Recycling and Sustainable years are the current terms work his concepts.

Weygers Foundation

Randall Huntsman founded the Weygers Foundation outdo create awareness and "to luence innovation in the areas comprehensive the visual and graphic school of dance and self-sustainability".

He died serve 2017, and his efforts clutter documented in Ashlee Vance's 2018 article, "The Forgotten Legend worm your way in Silicon Valley’s Flying Saucer Man".^[11]

References

• Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"

External links