Beatrice Wood
Encyclopedia
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist and studio potter
Studio potter
A studio potter is one who is a modern artist, who either works alone or in a small group, producing unique items of pottery in small quantities, typically with all stages of manufacture carried out by themselves. Studio pottery includes functional wares such as tableware or cookware, and...
, who late in life was dubbed the "Mama of Dada," and served as a partial inspiration for the character of Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's 1997 film, Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
. Beatrice Wood died nine days after her 105th birthday in Ojai, California
Ojai, California
Ojai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley , surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...
.
Childhood
Beatrice Wood was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, the daughter of wealthy socialites. Despite her parents' strong opposition, Wood insisted on pursuing a career in the arts. Eventually her parents agreed to let her study painting and because she was fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, they sent her to Paris where she studied acting at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
and art at the prestigious Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
.
The onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
forced Wood to return to the United States. She continued acting with a French Repertory Company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, performing over sixty roles in two years and spent a number of years thereafter performing on the stage.
Dada and the Avant-garde
During this time period, Wood was introduced to Marcel DuchampMarcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
, who in turn introduced her to her first great love interest, Henri-Pierre Roché
Henri-Pierre Roché
Henri-Pierre Roché was a French author who was deeply involved with the artistic avant-garde in Paris and the Dada movement.- Biography :Roché was born in Paris, France. In 1898, he was an art student at the Académie Julian....
, a man fourteen years her senior. She worked with Duchamp and Roché in the 1910s to create The Blind Man
The Blind Man
The Blind Man was an art and Dada journal published by the New York Dadaists in 1917.Henri-Pierre Roche, Beatrice Wood, and Mina Loy contributed to the first, Independents' Number issue; Walter Arensberg , Gabrielle Buffet-Picabia , Robert Carlton Brown , Frank Crowninshield , Charles Demuth The...
, a magazine that was one of the earliest manifestations of the Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
art movement in New York City.
Roché, Duchamp, and Jules et Jim
Though she was involved with Roché, the two would often spend time with Duchamp, creating a love triangle. Biographies of Wood traditionally link Roché's novel (and the consequent film), Jules et Jim, with the relationship between Duchamp, Wood, and himself. Other sources link their triangle to Roché's unfinished novel, Victor, and Jules et Jim with the triangle between Roché, Franz HesselFranz Hessel
Franz Hessel was a German writer and translator.With Walter Benjamin, he produced a German translation of Marcel Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu....
, and Helen Hessel. Beatrice Wood commented on this topic in her 1985 autobiography, I Shock Myself:
Roché lived in Paris with his wife Denise, and had by now written Jules et Jim ... Because the story concerns two young men who are close friends and a woman who loves them both, people have wondered how much was based on Roché, Marcel, and me. I cannot say what memories or episodes inspired Roché, but the characters bear only passing resemblance to those of us in real life!
The Arensbergs and their circle
Wood was next introduced to the art patrons, Walter and Louise ArensbergWalter Arensberg
Walter Conrad Arensberg was an American art collector, critic and poet. His father was part owner and president of a crucible steel company. He majored in English and philosophy at Harvard University...
(who would become her lifelong friends). They held regular gatherings in which artists, writers, and poets were invited for intellectual discussion. Besides herself, Duchamp, and Roché, the group included Man Ray
Man Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
and Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
. Beatrice Wood's relationship with them and others associated with the avant-garde movement of the early 20th century, earned her the designation "Mama of Dada." Beatrice did not stay at the academy because it was too academic for her.
Ojai, California
In her early forties, after a succession of failed artistic careers (most notably as an actress) and an annulled marriage, Beatrice moved back to Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
It was at this time that she bought a pair of baroque plates with a luster glaze. She wanted to find a matching teapot to go along with it, but was unsuccessful. Deciding to make the teapot herself, she enrolled in a ceramic class at Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
. This hobby turned into a passion that would last over the next sixty years, as she developed a unique form of luster-glaze technique that proved successful.
In 1947, Beatrice felt that her career was established enough for her to build a home. She settled in Ojai, California
Ojai, California
Ojai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley , surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...
in 1948 to be near the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti or , was a renowned writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in society...
and became a lifelong member of the Theosophical Society – Adyar
Theosophical Society Adyar
The Theosophy Society - Adyar is the name of a section of the Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. Its headquarters moved with Blavatsky and president Henry Steel Olcott to Adyar, an area of Chennai in 1883...
, events which would greatly influence her artistic philosophies. She also taught and lived at the Happy Valley School
Happy Valley School
Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, formerly the Happy Valley School, is an American private, coeducational boarding school and day school in Ojai, California. The school has approximately 100 students and about 35 faculty and staff, all of whom live on or near campus...
, which is now known as Besant Hill School.
Ever the comedienne, when asked the secret to her incredible longevity, she would respond, "I owe it all to chocolate and young men."
In 1994, the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
named Wood an "Esteemed American Artist."
Her home still rests on the campus of Besant Hill School and can be visited by appointment as it is still an active art gallery called The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts.
The secondary market in Beatrice Wood art still thrives, and the largest collection can be viewed here, where major pieces such as "Good Morning America", "Madame Lola's Pleasure Palace", "Chez Fifi", "Waiting for Kennedy", and the last figurative work completed by Wood in 1997, "Men With Their Wives", can be viewed.
Works
Books:- Clark, Garth, "Gilded Vessel: The Lustrous Life and Art of Beatrice Wood". Guild Publishing, 2001.
- Wallace, Marlene, "Playing Chess With the Heart: Beatrice Wood at 100". San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1994.
- Wood, Beatrice, "I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood". 1985. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2006.
Films inspired by Wood
- Beatrice Wood: Mama of DadaBeatrice Wood: Mama of DadaBeatrice Wood: Mama of Dada is a 1993 documentary film written and directed by Tom Neff about the avant-garde artist Beatrice Wood.-Synopsis:...
: This documentary was released as a 16 mm film in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on March 3, 1993, to coincide with Wood's 100th birthday.
- TitanicTitanic (1997 film)Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
: Wood found a new audience when she was 104. She served as a partial inspiration for the 101-year-old character of "Rose" in James CameronJames CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's epic 1997 film, TitanicTitanic (1997 film)Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
. In Titanic: James Cameron's Illustrated Screenplay, Cameron notes that Bill PaxtonBill PaxtonWilliam "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
's wife loaned a copy of I Shock Myself to him. He realized upon reading it that "the first chapter describes almost literally the character I was already writing for 'Old Rose'...When I met her she was charming, creative and devastatingly funny...Of course, the film's Rose is only a refraction of Beatrice, combined with many fictional elements" (overleaf for page 7). According to her obituary in the Ojai Valley NewsOjai Valley NewsThe Ojai Valley News is a small Ojai, California, United States-based newspaper that has been in continuous publication since 1891. The California newspaper is now a link in a string of chain newspapers based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama....
, six days before her death, Wood awarded the Fifth Annual Beatrice Wood Film Award to Cameron.
Diaries
The Santa Monica Museum of ArtSanta Monica Museum of Art
The Santa Monica Museum of Art is an independent non-collecting art museum located in Santa Monica, California. It exhibits the work of local, national, and international contemporary artists....
, will exhibit diaries
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
by Beatrice Wood. She kept daily journals for 85 years. The museum's director Elsa Longhauser said: The entries are “enigmatic.” "But I think they will be revealing, going beyond the myth of Beatrice Wood to show the real artist and thinker.” The Dada expert, Francis Naumann, brought the museum’s attention to the journals. He is preparing a corresponding publication.
(It will be part of the “Pacific Standard Time” exhibitions opening in the fall of 2011 at small galleries to museums in Southern California, about different aspects of California art history from World War II to 1980, organized by the Getty.)
Obituaries
- Beatrice Wood Dies at age 105 - Craftsreport
- Obituary: Beatrice Wood - The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
- NPR: Beatrice Wood Obit - National Public Radio
- MacNeill, Bonnie. "Mama of Dada Beatrice Wood dies at 105." The Ojai Valley News. (Issue 44, Friday, March 13, 1998, p. A-1).
Quotes
- "First of all, I'd like to say here the fact that I'm not naturally a craftsman has made me work very hard."
- "And I have exposed myself to art so that my work has something beyond just the usual potter."
- "My life is full of mistakes. They're like pebbles that make a good road."
- "The second time I was there I met Marcel Duchamp, and we immediately fell for each other. Which doesn't mean a thing because I think anybody who met Marcel fell for him."
- "There's so much more to life than that, though I think that acting is fascinating because you can forget your own sorrow as you act and become somebody else."
Articles
- Letter to Beatrice Wood
- Beatrice Wood at Garth Clark - ceramics exhibition; New York, New York
- 1976 interview
- "Women's Dissatisfaction--Can It Be Beautiful?" A discussion of Beatrice Wood as woman and artist by Devorah Tarrow
External links
- Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts
- Beatrice Wood Fine Pottery & Works on Paper Gallery featuring Beatrice Wood works
Biographies: