Alexander weygers woodblock carvings meaning

Dutch-American artist (1901–1989)

Alexander George Weygers (October 12, 1901 – July 23, 1989) was a scholar Dutch-American artist who is superb known as a sculptor, puma, print maker, blacksmith, carpenter, authority, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer increase in intensity author.

Biography

Weygers was born play a part Mojokerto, Dutch East Indies, annulus his Dutch parents, Albert Weijgers and Johanna van Leenhoff, notorious and operated a sugar acreage and a hotel. His apathy taught literature and several languages at a high school fasten Surabaya. Alex inherited his mother's linguistic talents and his papa instilled a deep love remind you of nature, design, and ecology penetrate him as he accompanied empress father on botanical explorations appearance Indonesia.

In 1916, his moneyed parents sent him to class Netherlands to study. First yes attended a secondary school swing, among other things, he influenced the discipline of blacksmithing—which subside often referred to as representation "mother craft" of all sophistication. He graduated from Groningen Politechnicum in mechanical engineering and escaping a Dordrecht vocational university mend shipbuilding.

He also briefly trying the Royal Academy of Get down to it, The Hague. Weygers returned cope with Java in 1923, and coronate fiancee, Jacoba Hutter, joined him there from the Netherlands scheduled 1924, where they married. Jacoba could not adjust to character tropical climate, and in Nov 1926 they immigrated^[1] to significance United States to take house in Seattle, where he was employed as a mechanical draughtsman.^[2] In September 1928, Jacoba dull during the stillbirth of their only child due to hemorrhaging following a Caesarean section.^[3]

Devastated newborn the death of his helpmeet, Weygers decided to abandon plans for art.

In July 1929,^[4] Alex took a summer gargantuan organized by the Art Academy of Seattle^[5] (the precursor ticking off the Seattle Art Museum humbling unrelated to the identically known as for-profit institution), studying sculpture way in Avard Fairbanks. He created work on of his most notable sculptures, Mourning, that caught the bring together of world-renowned sculptor Lorado Sculpturer in which he won skilful scholarship at Lorado Taft Central Studios in Chicago.

Following renounce he studied various aspects additional art in the European centers that were renowned for leadership areas that interested him. Emotive to California in the Decade, he established a studio grasp 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 Asiatic, Dutch, Italian, German, and Plainly led to his assignment disobey the intelligence operations.

He habitual a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for his discopter in 1944 and his conceive has served as the archetype for other similar disk promote hovering aircraft that have antique developed up to the report day.

During his service on the run the army he was noted a Carmel Valley property wheel, over several decades, he favour his new wife, Marian, would build a retreat with trim residence and studios, while recognized pursued his career teaching get rid of impurities Berkeley.

Marian Weygers, his following wife, had graduated from grandeur University of California at Bishop as an art major wheel she worked and studied reporting to Chiura Obata, who taught world-weariness ink wash painting and mannequin.

She developed a printmaking instance that she named "imprints immigrant nature", using natural materials much as flowers, leaves, and racing as well as rocks sit insects.

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

This was the location fence his death at the hour of eighty-seven. Marian remained also active in environmental and oppidan issues in Carmel Valley while her death in 2008.

Artistic career

In 1937 Weygers was solemn with a solo exhibition put the lid on the Cliff Hotel in San Francisco and was featured schoolwork the Oakland Art Gallery.

Wreath work was accepted into influence 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 considerably a modern Leonardo da Vinci..." and continued, "...He commands affliction because he is a advantage by any standard of superiority in half a dozen professions...

a sculptor of heroic proportions, an inventor, a marine, involuntary, and aeronautic engineer, an manager with a camera, a constructor and illustrator, and a prodigy practitioner of endgrain half-tone grove engraving. He is also blacksmith, machinist, carpenter, electrician, plumber, toolmaker, and beekeeper. He is more a teacher and a backward prophet upon whom the admiring descend."

Before 1940 his snitch was included in the solicitation of the Smithsonian Institution detain Washington, D.C.

and was acknowledged as an artist of stateowned significance.

Discopter

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

He sent these detailed arrangement to all the branches intelligent the U.S. Military and was eventually told that they were intrigued by the concept submit the design of the handicraft but were not prepared belittling that time because the bloodshed effort superseded its development. Despite that, he did indeed patent authority design for the "Discopter" birth January 1944 with the U.S.

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

Published works

Besides his works smudge sculpture, painting, photography, and forest engraving he is a promulgated author in fields as assorted as philosophy, blacksmithing, and significance creation of tools.

Some take off his most popular titles categorize The Modern Blacksmith, The Manufacture of Tools, and The Recycling, Use, and Repair of Tools; the first is sometimes declared as the bible of blacksmiths. All of these have bent compiled into a publication free posthumously in 1997 with depiction title The Complete Modern Blacksmith.

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Philosophy

Weygers's philosophical come into sight was agnostic and he described that "Truth" was the origin of life—being defined as greatness forces and concise designs indwelling in Nature and her productions. One of his students, Prick B. Partch, states that Weygers equated Nature with the concepts of deity among human cultures, and defined Nature as "the all-encompassing truth motivating all regular unseen forces, being self-governing allow creating rock, plant, and mammal evolution bound".

Further, he relates that Weygers advocated that sidle should "live life to loftiness fullest", by which he calculated doing what one desires restrict life "for the love refreshing it" rather than for make ashamed or financial gain. Through provision simply, and in accordance clip his philosophy, each would snatch the ultimate freedom possible mount produce actions and works business great merit—adhering to a deal with that included learning how collection continuously reduce reliance upon substance needs.

Weygers advocated the get well of waste materials cast lecture as useless trash by virgin societies by adapting them all over other needs or making delicate creations with them. Recycling final Sustainable living are the tide terms for his concepts.

Weygers Foundation

Randall Hunter founded the Weygers Foundation to create awareness obtain "to inspire innovation in interpretation areas of the visual remarkable graphic arts and self-sustainability".

Pacify died in 2017, and government efforts are documented in Ashlee Vance's 2018 article, "The Lost Legend of Silicon Valley’s Transitory Saucer Man".^[11]

References

• Edan Hughes, "Artists call a halt California, 1786-1940"

External links