1 00:00:00,967 --> 00:00:02,235 - [Announcer] This is a production 2 00:00:02,235 --> 00:00:06,639 of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota. 3 00:00:06,639 --> 00:00:10,577 (uplifting instrumental music) 4 00:00:10,577 --> 00:00:13,446 - [Dalia] In this edition of "WEDU Arts Plus," 5 00:00:13,446 --> 00:00:18,084 uncover the multifaceted mind of Sarasota artist Jack Dowd. 6 00:00:18,084 --> 00:00:21,488 - My work reflects the world I live in 7 00:00:21,488 --> 00:00:23,790 and the people that surround me, 8 00:00:23,790 --> 00:00:28,862 and I use that as my inspiration. 9 00:00:29,662 --> 00:00:30,830 - [Dalia] A quartet's mission. 10 00:00:30,830 --> 00:00:33,400 - Basically what we do in concert, 11 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:35,502 and when we work with students 12 00:00:35,502 --> 00:00:38,271 is we have a conversation on stage. 13 00:00:38,271 --> 00:00:40,673 (sings melody) 14 00:00:40,673 --> 00:00:44,277 - [Dalia] An author's foray into the world of nonfiction. 15 00:00:44,277 --> 00:00:47,280 - I'm fascinated by untold histories, 16 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:49,049 and this book is full of that. 17 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:51,317 My first phase of research was kind of trying 18 00:00:51,317 --> 00:00:54,954 to like fact check family stories like that. 19 00:00:54,954 --> 00:00:58,224 - [Dalia] And mixed media abstraction. 20 00:00:58,224 --> 00:01:00,794 - [Susan] Can't really say, well, that's a treat. 21 00:01:00,794 --> 00:01:03,797 You kind of say, oh, it almost looks like this. 22 00:01:03,797 --> 00:01:06,433 But no, it's not. 23 00:01:06,433 --> 00:01:10,236 - It's all coming up next on "WEDU Arts Plus." 24 00:01:10,236 --> 00:01:13,406 (bright jazzy music) 25 00:01:25,418 --> 00:01:30,256 Hello, I'm Dalia Colon, and this is "WEDU Arts Plus." 26 00:01:30,256 --> 00:01:33,693 Jack Dowd is a connoisseur of American types, 27 00:01:33,693 --> 00:01:37,730 the boisterous, eccentric, innocently hilarious individuals 28 00:01:37,730 --> 00:01:40,233 who rarely become the subject of art. 29 00:01:40,233 --> 00:01:43,603 Dowd celebrates America's idiosyncratic extended family 30 00:01:43,603 --> 00:01:46,606 in his ongoing series of full-size figures 31 00:01:46,606 --> 00:01:49,242 with affectionate humor and satiric wit. 32 00:01:50,677 --> 00:01:53,980 (light harmonica music) 33 00:02:11,097 --> 00:02:14,968 - I'm Jack Dowd and I consider myself a visual artist, 34 00:02:14,968 --> 00:02:17,337 of course, for the past 50 years. 35 00:02:17,337 --> 00:02:21,741 I enjoy the most doing life-sized sculptures of people, 36 00:02:22,876 --> 00:02:25,145 and on the side I do a lot of painting myself. 37 00:02:26,379 --> 00:02:31,351 This is my Mad Max character inspired by the movies. 38 00:02:32,952 --> 00:02:38,024 This guy's missing a pin in his ear. (laughs) 39 00:02:38,424 --> 00:02:39,292 Mad Max. 40 00:02:39,292 --> 00:02:41,961 Mad Max. 41 00:02:41,961 --> 00:02:46,566 Well, I got serious doing during the 50 years, 42 00:02:46,566 --> 00:02:49,903 but it started well before that in my youth, 43 00:02:49,903 --> 00:02:53,106 8, 9, 10 years old when the family would come over 44 00:02:53,106 --> 00:02:54,774 on the weekends and play cards 45 00:02:54,774 --> 00:02:57,977 and I would walk around the table and sketch their faces 46 00:02:57,977 --> 00:03:01,781 and I would get all kinds of great vibrations from them. 47 00:03:01,781 --> 00:03:04,484 So they kind of got me started. 48 00:03:04,484 --> 00:03:06,519 This was a maquette. 49 00:03:06,519 --> 00:03:11,591 The idea of doing him 18-inches tall and without a base, 50 00:03:12,392 --> 00:03:13,493 it was just gonna be a sample 51 00:03:13,493 --> 00:03:15,328 for the larger one I was gonna do. 52 00:03:15,328 --> 00:03:18,097 But when people came into my studio and liked it so much, 53 00:03:18,097 --> 00:03:20,266 they wanted this size for their home, 54 00:03:20,266 --> 00:03:22,902 not something so big that it would dominate. 55 00:03:22,902 --> 00:03:27,407 So I never really got around to doing the life-size Lenon. 56 00:03:28,841 --> 00:03:33,012 And I pursued this and had a mold made and refined it. 57 00:03:33,012 --> 00:03:35,048 And then I build the bases 58 00:03:35,048 --> 00:03:37,150 and do the music and the pictures. 59 00:03:37,150 --> 00:03:39,619 The pictures come from a book of a friend 60 00:03:39,619 --> 00:03:40,853 that I met in New York City 61 00:03:40,853 --> 00:03:43,256 who was a very good friend of John Lennon's 62 00:03:43,256 --> 00:03:45,024 and followed him around and photographed him. 63 00:03:45,024 --> 00:03:47,694 So all these pictures are from that particular book 64 00:03:47,694 --> 00:03:49,395 that I was able to put 65 00:03:49,395 --> 00:03:54,467 plus the music of his famous song "Imagine" on his base. 66 00:03:58,871 --> 00:04:02,008 So, as I said, I'm touching it up for a show 67 00:04:02,809 --> 00:04:04,777 and it will be there. 68 00:04:06,679 --> 00:04:08,881 - Jack Dowd is an amazing sculpturer. 69 00:04:08,881 --> 00:04:12,518 In fact, we've sold dozens of his Andy pieces, 70 00:04:12,518 --> 00:04:14,654 lots of his lithographs and pastels. 71 00:04:14,654 --> 00:04:18,758 He's just an amazing, a quite different sculpturer. 72 00:04:18,758 --> 00:04:20,226 In fact, I'll be honest with you, 73 00:04:20,226 --> 00:04:24,964 I only sell one sculpture to maybe every 100 paintings. 74 00:04:24,964 --> 00:04:26,866 So I'm really very limited 75 00:04:26,866 --> 00:04:30,603 as to who I choose to represent the sculptures in my galley 76 00:04:30,603 --> 00:04:33,506 and Jack Dowd is certainly the number one fellow 77 00:04:33,506 --> 00:04:34,474 that we represent. 78 00:04:35,742 --> 00:04:38,411 (upbeat music) 79 00:04:42,315 --> 00:04:45,618 - [Jack] In the '60s, when I was a school teacher, 80 00:04:45,618 --> 00:04:47,620 an art teacher, I met a guy 81 00:04:47,620 --> 00:04:50,189 who was doing chainsaw sculptures on the street, 82 00:04:50,189 --> 00:04:52,859 and I was very interested in what he was doing. 83 00:04:52,859 --> 00:04:55,395 He was taking large pieces of wood 84 00:04:55,395 --> 00:04:56,963 and cutting them down with a chainsaw. 85 00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:59,599 So as the years progressed, 86 00:04:59,599 --> 00:05:02,502 I got into doing what they call chainsaw art, 87 00:05:02,502 --> 00:05:06,639 and I would go out on the street with a big log 88 00:05:06,639 --> 00:05:10,743 and take my chainsaw and do a figure out of that. 89 00:05:10,743 --> 00:05:15,048 So that got me started with the life size figurative work 90 00:05:15,048 --> 00:05:16,416 that I now do, 91 00:05:16,416 --> 00:05:19,552 but much more detailed and much more incredible. 92 00:05:23,189 --> 00:05:25,992 - I think that Jack Dowd is so hot in the art market 93 00:05:25,992 --> 00:05:27,894 for one simple reason. 94 00:05:27,894 --> 00:05:30,830 He represents true Americana. 95 00:05:30,830 --> 00:05:34,267 From Andy Warhol to the badass motorcycles, 96 00:05:34,267 --> 00:05:36,536 to the old fellas standing outside their camper. 97 00:05:36,536 --> 00:05:38,971 Jack Dowd is the quintessential essence 98 00:05:38,971 --> 00:05:41,774 of the artists of America today. 99 00:05:41,774 --> 00:05:43,409 (upbeat music) 100 00:05:43,409 --> 00:05:45,545 - These I love 101 00:05:45,545 --> 00:05:48,114 because I was able to incorporate my sketches, 102 00:05:48,114 --> 00:05:51,084 my prior sketches, as you can see, 103 00:05:51,084 --> 00:05:53,953 of the different butlers that I've done. 104 00:05:53,953 --> 00:05:59,025 These are the maquettes and they also are sellable, 105 00:06:00,293 --> 00:06:04,597 so I decided to have them cast, my very favorite. 106 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,904 This was another one I like, 107 00:06:11,904 --> 00:06:16,976 but this is the wine steward and he's been very popular. 108 00:06:18,244 --> 00:06:19,979 - One of the other interesting things about Jack Dowd 109 00:06:19,979 --> 00:06:23,516 is the reaction we get when people see his works. 110 00:06:23,516 --> 00:06:25,752 A good example is when they see Andy Warhol, 111 00:06:25,752 --> 00:06:28,788 life-size Andy, yellow or blue. 112 00:06:28,788 --> 00:06:31,357 What's amazing is that the people first think 113 00:06:31,357 --> 00:06:33,359 that they were done by Andy Warhol, 114 00:06:33,359 --> 00:06:37,230 but no, it's Jack Dowd who made these wonderful sculptures, 115 00:06:37,230 --> 00:06:38,564 and so we have to correct them on that. 116 00:06:38,564 --> 00:06:40,433 But it's wonderful because it just shows you 117 00:06:40,433 --> 00:06:44,070 that he can convey many other famous artists' 118 00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:46,472 feelings in his works. 119 00:06:46,472 --> 00:06:49,942 - My work reflects the world I live in 120 00:06:49,942 --> 00:06:52,111 and the people that surround me, 121 00:06:52,111 --> 00:06:57,049 and I use that as my inspiration. 122 00:06:57,049 --> 00:07:01,721 I walk around Walmart or the streets of Sarasota, 123 00:07:01,721 --> 00:07:05,858 or when I'm up in Vermont and I meet people and I see things 124 00:07:05,858 --> 00:07:08,694 and boom, there's an idea. 125 00:07:08,694 --> 00:07:10,396 So it's out there 126 00:07:10,396 --> 00:07:15,101 and I have nothing better to do than to recreate 127 00:07:15,101 --> 00:07:17,403 what I see and the life I live. 128 00:07:18,771 --> 00:07:20,907 I encourage any artist who's getting started 129 00:07:20,907 --> 00:07:23,509 to get out on the street with their work. 130 00:07:23,509 --> 00:07:27,880 What a lot of my success stem from doing sidewalk art shows, 131 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:32,819 Coconut Grove, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, 132 00:07:32,819 --> 00:07:34,754 New York City, Central Park. 133 00:07:34,754 --> 00:07:36,222 I did all those shows. 134 00:07:36,222 --> 00:07:37,757 I met so many wonderful people, 135 00:07:37,757 --> 00:07:39,091 made so many great contacts, 136 00:07:39,091 --> 00:07:41,994 sold a lot of work on the street. 137 00:07:41,994 --> 00:07:44,697 This is back in the chains between the chainsaw days 138 00:07:44,697 --> 00:07:47,500 and when I was coming to the more realistic work, 139 00:07:48,568 --> 00:07:51,304 and it was just so much fun. 140 00:07:52,438 --> 00:07:56,676 You meet other artists, you meet people that buy 141 00:07:56,676 --> 00:07:58,778 and at some point they're gonna say, 142 00:07:58,778 --> 00:08:00,012 "You need to be in a gallery. 143 00:08:00,012 --> 00:08:02,215 We need to represent you," and so on. 144 00:08:02,215 --> 00:08:04,016 So you have to start at the bottom. 145 00:08:04,016 --> 00:08:04,917 And I did. 146 00:08:05,885 --> 00:08:06,819 Good luck. 147 00:08:08,254 --> 00:08:10,957 - To learn more, visit jackdowd.com 148 00:08:10,957 --> 00:08:13,526 and artavenueflorida.com. 149 00:08:14,527 --> 00:08:16,729 Through performance and education, 150 00:08:16,729 --> 00:08:19,765 Harlem Quartet expresses their strong admiration 151 00:08:19,765 --> 00:08:21,367 for classical music. 152 00:08:21,367 --> 00:08:23,202 Up next, hear from its members 153 00:08:23,202 --> 00:08:25,671 and sit in on one of their masterclasses 154 00:08:25,671 --> 00:08:28,908 at Highland High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 155 00:08:33,646 --> 00:08:37,049 (light orchestra music) 156 00:08:53,266 --> 00:08:57,036 - I feel music has so many influence from math, 157 00:08:57,036 --> 00:09:00,806 from history, from all sorts of things 158 00:09:00,806 --> 00:09:02,942 that it's just a little excuse 159 00:09:02,942 --> 00:09:06,946 to dig deeper into many other aspects of life. 160 00:09:06,946 --> 00:09:10,349 (light orchestra music) 161 00:09:12,451 --> 00:09:14,887 - We play the greatest composers 162 00:09:14,887 --> 00:09:16,789 because they already had something to say 163 00:09:16,789 --> 00:09:18,891 that transcends nationalities. 164 00:09:23,129 --> 00:09:24,330 - A professional orchestra 165 00:09:24,330 --> 00:09:26,699 is coming to engage us and to teach us. 166 00:09:26,699 --> 00:09:28,467 Of course, I wanna take the class. 167 00:09:29,402 --> 00:09:33,639 (light orchestra music continues) 168 00:09:37,476 --> 00:09:39,278 - I remember being that kid that, 169 00:09:39,278 --> 00:09:42,281 for the first time heard Beethoven, 170 00:09:42,281 --> 00:09:43,716 for the first time heard Mozart, 171 00:09:43,716 --> 00:09:46,018 for the first time heard any kind of music, 172 00:09:47,987 --> 00:09:51,390 and I will be amazed and always had that curiosity 173 00:09:51,390 --> 00:09:54,226 to know how is this all about. 174 00:09:56,495 --> 00:10:01,434 How you actually are able to make that music possible. 175 00:10:01,434 --> 00:10:02,635 - They have a lot of expression 176 00:10:02,635 --> 00:10:04,103 and they're really fun people. 177 00:10:04,103 --> 00:10:07,106 They're just like outgoing and like loud and obnoxious. 178 00:10:07,106 --> 00:10:10,443 And so like, people think that if you play classical music, 179 00:10:10,443 --> 00:10:12,144 you're just kind of serious 180 00:10:12,144 --> 00:10:14,413 and like uptight and they weren't. 181 00:10:14,413 --> 00:10:17,216 It was like just hanging out with your friends, 182 00:10:17,216 --> 00:10:18,751 but playing instruments. 183 00:10:20,953 --> 00:10:22,455 - [Speaker] We're excited to hear you. 184 00:10:22,455 --> 00:10:23,456 - [Speaker] You're ready? 185 00:10:23,456 --> 00:10:24,890 - Whenever you're ready. - Yep. 186 00:10:27,393 --> 00:10:30,796 (light orchestra music) 187 00:10:55,688 --> 00:10:57,289 - Starting out as a musician, 188 00:10:57,289 --> 00:11:00,559 I don't think it's a totally rational decision. 189 00:11:04,430 --> 00:11:07,400 - I think you need to have a certain level of obsession. 190 00:11:11,003 --> 00:11:14,640 - I believe music and the arts are so incredibly important 191 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:18,744 because they express something that honestly, 192 00:11:18,744 --> 00:11:22,348 sometimes we as humans have difficulty 193 00:11:22,348 --> 00:11:24,984 coming up with the words to express, 194 00:11:24,984 --> 00:11:29,755 whether it's a feeling, yeah, an emotion, a character. 195 00:11:29,755 --> 00:11:34,827 And also with our specific medium, the string quartet, 196 00:11:35,695 --> 00:11:38,230 basically what we do in concert 197 00:11:38,230 --> 00:11:40,566 and when we work with students 198 00:11:40,566 --> 00:11:43,069 is we have a conversation on stage. 199 00:11:43,069 --> 00:11:45,638 (sings melody) 200 00:11:48,674 --> 00:11:50,876 And then occasionally one person, 201 00:11:50,876 --> 00:11:52,545 you, for instance, would have (sings melody). 202 00:11:55,481 --> 00:11:58,184 It's a dialogue, right, back and forth. 203 00:11:58,184 --> 00:12:02,154 - And for us to translate that into actual playing, 204 00:12:02,154 --> 00:12:03,656 you want make sure your bow 205 00:12:03,656 --> 00:12:06,459 always has more on the main beat. 206 00:12:06,459 --> 00:12:10,129 So every time you see a bar line, just play with more bow. 207 00:12:10,129 --> 00:12:12,798 And right after that, play with a little bit less bow 208 00:12:12,798 --> 00:12:15,034 and a little bit less weight. 209 00:12:15,034 --> 00:12:16,469 - Okay, so before we get started, 210 00:12:16,469 --> 00:12:18,971 if we're gonna try this without a conductor, 211 00:12:18,971 --> 00:12:22,742 who becomes our initiator of, yes. 212 00:12:22,742 --> 00:12:24,143 Have you practiced this already? 213 00:12:24,143 --> 00:12:25,044 - Yeah. 214 00:12:25,978 --> 00:12:27,346 - Yeah. (laughs) - Sorry. 215 00:12:29,215 --> 00:12:32,618 (light orchestra music) 216 00:12:37,623 --> 00:12:41,961 - Music really has a way of like making me express myself 217 00:12:41,961 --> 00:12:44,864 because I'm not so good at expressing feelings 218 00:12:44,864 --> 00:12:46,532 or anything or talking to people. 219 00:12:46,532 --> 00:12:49,568 And that's how I like communicate 220 00:12:49,568 --> 00:12:52,438 and socialize with other people through music. 221 00:12:52,438 --> 00:12:56,575 (light orchestra music continues) 222 00:12:57,810 --> 00:12:59,111 - Okay. - Very nice. 223 00:12:59,111 --> 00:13:01,914 - Where we stop, that's the end of the phrase 224 00:13:01,914 --> 00:13:03,082 from where you start. 225 00:13:03,082 --> 00:13:05,718 So (sings melody) 226 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:09,889 it's like you're reading a paragraph. 227 00:13:09,889 --> 00:13:13,292 - So even if I was with my ears closed, 228 00:13:13,292 --> 00:13:15,795 the bow is describing the hierarchy. 229 00:13:15,795 --> 00:13:20,132 So more bow, less, less, and more, less, less. 230 00:13:20,132 --> 00:13:21,634 Can you try that? - So the down bow. 231 00:13:21,634 --> 00:13:23,335 Can we try just the violas once? 232 00:13:23,335 --> 00:13:25,838 - Okay, so one, two, one. 233 00:13:25,838 --> 00:13:27,940 (light orchestra music) 234 00:13:27,940 --> 00:13:30,176 And more, less, less, and more, less, less. 235 00:13:32,545 --> 00:13:34,480 And less than. 236 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,015 That's it, you got it. - Nice! 237 00:13:36,015 --> 00:13:37,383 - That's what I wanted. 238 00:13:37,383 --> 00:13:38,651 That's what I wanted. - Also, the cue was great. 239 00:13:38,651 --> 00:13:41,654 - I learned that since I'm the first violin, 240 00:13:41,654 --> 00:13:43,789 I kind of have to be the leader of the group. 241 00:13:43,789 --> 00:13:48,160 And so in the piece that we worked with the Harlem Quartet, 242 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:49,195 like whenever I count off, 243 00:13:49,195 --> 00:13:50,596 it's like a nod and then- 244 00:13:50,596 --> 00:13:53,165 (light violin music) 245 00:13:53,165 --> 00:13:54,500 And you do that. 246 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:56,335 And then in another one of our songs, 247 00:13:56,335 --> 00:13:57,603 we have a long note, 248 00:13:57,603 --> 00:14:00,005 then it's the same thing with like a nod. 249 00:14:00,005 --> 00:14:00,873 You play the note and- 250 00:14:00,873 --> 00:14:02,908 (light violin music) 251 00:14:02,908 --> 00:14:04,944 - So when you have to go more, 252 00:14:06,278 --> 00:14:09,181 you actually need to play with the same amount of bow, 253 00:14:09,181 --> 00:14:10,683 the same amount, 254 00:14:10,683 --> 00:14:11,951 because you need to come back to the same place, right? 255 00:14:11,951 --> 00:14:14,286 So weight, less. 256 00:14:14,286 --> 00:14:16,188 (light violin music) 257 00:14:16,188 --> 00:14:17,523 You almost come down to that, 258 00:14:17,523 --> 00:14:19,158 but if you come back with the same weight, 259 00:14:19,158 --> 00:14:20,125 this is the result. 260 00:14:20,125 --> 00:14:23,762 (light violin music) 261 00:14:23,762 --> 00:14:26,765 So I don't really understand which one is more important. 262 00:14:26,765 --> 00:14:28,267 And for them it's always like that. 263 00:14:28,267 --> 00:14:30,369 (light violin music) 264 00:14:30,369 --> 00:14:32,404 No, sorry, less, more. 265 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,844 You see, I do the same amount of bow, but a lot lighter. 266 00:14:38,844 --> 00:14:40,045 - I never really worked 267 00:14:40,045 --> 00:14:42,014 with a professional orchestra before, 268 00:14:42,014 --> 00:14:43,282 not even in middle school. 269 00:14:43,282 --> 00:14:47,486 So it was really like understandable 270 00:14:47,486 --> 00:14:50,789 and more learning and more having experience with them too. 271 00:14:50,789 --> 00:14:52,691 - Remember, music is mathematics. 272 00:14:52,691 --> 00:14:53,959 So two, one. 273 00:14:53,959 --> 00:14:56,862 (sings melody) 274 00:14:56,862 --> 00:14:58,697 So divide with, listen to them 275 00:14:58,697 --> 00:15:01,700 and then you play the music or your part with the line. 276 00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:02,768 Okay, one more time. 277 00:15:04,203 --> 00:15:07,606 (light orchestra music) 278 00:15:12,344 --> 00:15:13,779 - I love working with students 279 00:15:13,779 --> 00:15:16,682 because now that I am a little bit older, 280 00:15:16,682 --> 00:15:20,252 I recognize that they really are the future 281 00:15:20,252 --> 00:15:24,056 and it's fun to know that we're getting to sculpt a way 282 00:15:24,056 --> 00:15:27,226 that they can identify themselves, 283 00:15:27,226 --> 00:15:29,428 perhaps as a musician if it's going to be, 284 00:15:29,428 --> 00:15:31,897 or just one day being a leader, 285 00:15:31,897 --> 00:15:33,365 but embracing their voice 286 00:15:33,365 --> 00:15:35,834 and being confident in what their voice is 287 00:15:35,834 --> 00:15:39,705 and knowing that they have the power to influence people 288 00:15:39,705 --> 00:15:43,208 and affect people, which is what we do as musicians. 289 00:15:43,208 --> 00:15:47,446 (light orchestra music continues) 290 00:15:51,850 --> 00:15:53,118 - Smile. 291 00:15:53,118 --> 00:15:54,853 (all laughing) 292 00:15:54,853 --> 00:15:55,888 (teachers applauding) 293 00:15:55,888 --> 00:15:56,989 Nice job, everybody. 294 00:15:56,989 --> 00:15:58,557 Okay, stand up and take a bow. 295 00:15:58,557 --> 00:16:00,693 - I love getting together with a bunch of other people 296 00:16:00,693 --> 00:16:04,563 that also love music and then creating music altogether. 297 00:16:04,563 --> 00:16:06,498 Because when you're with a bunch of people 298 00:16:06,498 --> 00:16:09,568 that also love music, you can create something beautiful. 299 00:16:10,769 --> 00:16:14,807 - Head to harlemquartet.com to find out more. 300 00:16:16,408 --> 00:16:18,844 In this segment, meet Arlo Haskell, 301 00:16:18,844 --> 00:16:21,680 author of the book, "The Jews of Key West." 302 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,516 Learn about his experience as a writer and historian 303 00:16:24,516 --> 00:16:26,952 and listen to stories about the Jewish community 304 00:16:26,952 --> 00:16:28,020 in the Florida Keys. 305 00:16:29,221 --> 00:16:31,724 (soft music) 306 00:16:34,727 --> 00:16:38,197 - Jews headed many of the smuggling networks that emerged. 307 00:16:38,197 --> 00:16:40,032 To the migrants whose lives were saved 308 00:16:40,032 --> 00:16:42,101 and families restored, 309 00:16:42,101 --> 00:16:45,938 these criminal organizations served a humanitarian purpose. 310 00:16:45,938 --> 00:16:48,474 A migrant who followed this route later told his story 311 00:16:48,474 --> 00:16:51,143 under the fictitious name, Lewis Kirland. 312 00:16:51,143 --> 00:16:56,081 "We lay in the boat like herring in a barrel," Kirland said. 313 00:16:56,081 --> 00:16:57,783 "It was very hot 314 00:16:57,783 --> 00:17:00,686 and the heat from our bodies made it hotter. 315 00:17:00,686 --> 00:17:03,822 I am ready to go to hell if I have to. 316 00:17:03,822 --> 00:17:06,425 It cannot be any worse than that day in the boat." 317 00:17:08,093 --> 00:17:10,562 (light music) 318 00:17:10,562 --> 00:17:13,599 - We're here in Key West with the author Arlo Haskell. 319 00:17:13,599 --> 00:17:17,736 So tell us a little bit about how you evolved as a writer. 320 00:17:17,736 --> 00:17:19,671 - I really came up as a poet, 321 00:17:19,671 --> 00:17:22,775 and then about 10 years ago I had started 322 00:17:22,775 --> 00:17:25,077 to do a little bit of historical research 323 00:17:25,077 --> 00:17:28,313 looking into the kind of literary histories of writers 324 00:17:28,313 --> 00:17:29,848 who had spent time in Key West 325 00:17:29,848 --> 00:17:33,485 and learned that I kind of loved getting into archives. 326 00:17:33,485 --> 00:17:36,622 In addition to being a writer, historian, 327 00:17:36,622 --> 00:17:39,091 I'm the Executive Director of the Key West Literary Seminar. 328 00:17:39,091 --> 00:17:41,226 I get to make sure that literary Key West 329 00:17:41,226 --> 00:17:43,028 is not just part of the past. 330 00:17:43,028 --> 00:17:46,265 I also, I run a small press, Sand Taper Press, 331 00:17:46,265 --> 00:17:49,568 and we publish poetry, a little bit of fiction. 332 00:17:49,568 --> 00:17:53,639 I'm sort of always working on one book or another. 333 00:17:53,639 --> 00:17:54,573 - [Interviewer] Your latest book 334 00:17:54,573 --> 00:17:55,841 is called "The Jews of Key West: 335 00:17:55,841 --> 00:17:59,244 Smugglers, Cigar Makers, and Revolutionaries." 336 00:17:59,244 --> 00:18:02,181 - Jews have thrived in this climate since the 1820s, 337 00:18:02,181 --> 00:18:04,049 even where they have been forgotten 338 00:18:04,049 --> 00:18:07,786 or where anonymity was essential to their survival. 339 00:18:07,786 --> 00:18:10,789 Jews have shaped the island we know today. 340 00:18:10,789 --> 00:18:13,725 Their history is the history of Key West. 341 00:18:14,693 --> 00:18:17,429 I'm fascinated by untold histories 342 00:18:17,429 --> 00:18:19,231 and this book is full of that. 343 00:18:19,231 --> 00:18:21,500 My first phase of research was kind of trying 344 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:25,037 to like fact check family stories like that. 345 00:18:25,037 --> 00:18:26,472 - One of the things I found surprising 346 00:18:26,472 --> 00:18:28,640 and had no idea about was that Jews 347 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,742 were part of the industry of cigars down here. 348 00:18:30,742 --> 00:18:32,244 - The cigar industry 349 00:18:32,244 --> 00:18:36,115 is one of the more popular components of Key West history, 350 00:18:36,115 --> 00:18:38,917 and it's always told as a Cuban story. 351 00:18:38,917 --> 00:18:41,019 You know, it's certainly a big Cuban story, 352 00:18:41,019 --> 00:18:45,224 but actually, in fact, the cigar industry in Key West 353 00:18:45,224 --> 00:18:47,559 was pioneered by Jewish manufacturers, 354 00:18:47,559 --> 00:18:50,262 particularly a guy named Samuel Seidenberg, 355 00:18:50,262 --> 00:18:53,899 who capitalized on a tariff structure 356 00:18:53,899 --> 00:18:55,968 that made it financially advantageous 357 00:18:55,968 --> 00:18:58,904 to produce cigars domestically in the United States 358 00:18:58,904 --> 00:19:01,607 rather than on the island of Cuba. 359 00:19:01,607 --> 00:19:02,975 - So one of the main characters 360 00:19:02,975 --> 00:19:04,510 that features in your book is named Louis Fine. 361 00:19:04,510 --> 00:19:08,313 - Louis Fine was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant, 362 00:19:08,313 --> 00:19:12,217 and he was a real, was a catalyst for the community. 363 00:19:12,217 --> 00:19:15,387 He was not an ordained rabbi, 364 00:19:15,387 --> 00:19:18,690 but he was the defacto rabbi for the community. 365 00:19:18,690 --> 00:19:20,292 - So we're here in the Jewish section 366 00:19:20,292 --> 00:19:21,693 of the cemetery at Key West, 367 00:19:21,693 --> 00:19:25,998 and this place sort of is one of the beginnings 368 00:19:25,998 --> 00:19:27,633 of organized Jewish life down here. 369 00:19:27,633 --> 00:19:28,867 - [Arlo] This is the place 370 00:19:28,867 --> 00:19:30,736 that brings you the furthest back in time 371 00:19:30,736 --> 00:19:32,804 as far as a physical place you can visit. 372 00:19:32,804 --> 00:19:34,039 - [Interviewer] And in your research, 373 00:19:34,039 --> 00:19:35,641 did you see a lot of these names popping up? 374 00:19:35,641 --> 00:19:37,142 - Yeah, absolutely. 375 00:19:37,142 --> 00:19:41,747 I mean, I would sometimes come here as a research visit, 376 00:19:42,548 --> 00:19:43,882 I found that it would help me 377 00:19:43,882 --> 00:19:46,418 thinking about the people I was writing about. 378 00:19:46,418 --> 00:19:48,554 - So around the same time as this was established 379 00:19:48,554 --> 00:19:52,224 was around when the first synagogue was established, right? 380 00:19:52,224 --> 00:19:53,358 - That's right, yeah. 381 00:19:53,358 --> 00:19:55,961 The cemetery was established in the 1890s 382 00:19:55,961 --> 00:19:58,330 and then in the first decade of the 1900s, 383 00:19:58,330 --> 00:20:02,434 Lewis Fine and others purchased a wood frame building 384 00:20:02,434 --> 00:20:05,270 and established the first formal synagogue. 385 00:20:05,270 --> 00:20:06,538 There's a restaurant there today 386 00:20:06,538 --> 00:20:08,907 called Sarah Beth's and B'Nai Zion is the temple 387 00:20:08,907 --> 00:20:11,310 that continues in Key West today on United Street. 388 00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:12,244 - [Interviewer] And that's the one 389 00:20:12,244 --> 00:20:13,645 that opened in the late '60s. 390 00:20:14,613 --> 00:20:17,049 (bright music) 391 00:20:17,049 --> 00:20:18,917 - Into this thriving, 392 00:20:18,917 --> 00:20:23,021 multicultural multilingual community of Key West, 393 00:20:23,021 --> 00:20:24,790 in the late 19th century 394 00:20:24,790 --> 00:20:28,160 comes a very pivotal figure in Cuban history, 395 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,562 Jose Marti, who was the one 396 00:20:30,562 --> 00:20:33,699 to kind of successfully crystallize 397 00:20:33,699 --> 00:20:38,170 the decades-long struggle for Cuban independence. 398 00:20:38,170 --> 00:20:42,140 Jews like Louis Fine, they lent their support to the cause. 399 00:20:42,140 --> 00:20:46,111 He carried this family legacy of having been, 400 00:20:46,111 --> 00:20:48,747 his family having been persecuted by the Spanish 401 00:20:48,747 --> 00:20:50,282 during the Inquisition. 402 00:20:50,282 --> 00:20:52,985 What surprised me is how much that story 403 00:20:52,985 --> 00:20:55,387 and others had disappeared, 404 00:20:55,387 --> 00:20:58,323 even from oral history in Key West. 405 00:20:58,323 --> 00:20:59,791 - Where can people find out more 406 00:20:59,791 --> 00:21:01,093 about "The Jews of Key West"? 407 00:21:01,093 --> 00:21:03,629 - There's a website, jewsofkeywest.com 408 00:21:03,629 --> 00:21:05,464 and if you're interested in this history 409 00:21:05,464 --> 00:21:06,665 and interested in the book, 410 00:21:06,665 --> 00:21:08,333 I would say go to your local bookstore 411 00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:11,436 or your local library and ask for a copy. 412 00:21:11,436 --> 00:21:14,773 (bright vibrant music) 413 00:21:15,974 --> 00:21:19,378 - Visit jewsofkeywest.com to learn more. 414 00:21:20,479 --> 00:21:23,548 Reno, Nevada artist Susan Handau's canvases 415 00:21:23,548 --> 00:21:25,884 are of a minimalistic nature. 416 00:21:25,884 --> 00:21:27,452 With color and texture, 417 00:21:27,452 --> 00:21:29,688 she creates abstract, organic shapes 418 00:21:29,688 --> 00:21:31,390 surrounded by neutral hues. 419 00:21:33,392 --> 00:21:36,061 (light music) 420 00:21:40,499 --> 00:21:44,569 - My name is Susan Handau and I'm an abstract artist. 421 00:21:44,569 --> 00:21:47,005 I work in mixed media. 422 00:21:47,005 --> 00:21:51,610 I do acrylic, oil, sometimes wax, 423 00:21:51,610 --> 00:21:55,480 I put gypsum, mix it with glue for texture, 424 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,518 and sometimes I cut up paintings and sew 'em back together. 425 00:22:02,254 --> 00:22:04,589 I do color blocking. 426 00:22:04,589 --> 00:22:07,993 It's just blocks of color that are scratched away. 427 00:22:07,993 --> 00:22:09,795 It's an organic kind of shape. 428 00:22:09,795 --> 00:22:11,730 It's not like a square anymore. 429 00:22:11,730 --> 00:22:15,334 I've been chipping away at it, scratching away at it, 430 00:22:15,334 --> 00:22:17,069 and then I'll do the border 431 00:22:17,069 --> 00:22:19,237 or the background in a neutral color. 432 00:22:21,273 --> 00:22:24,643 I can't really say, well, that's a tree or something, 433 00:22:24,643 --> 00:22:27,412 or that's like even like a box or something. 434 00:22:27,412 --> 00:22:30,415 You kind of say, "Oh, it almost looks like this," 435 00:22:30,415 --> 00:22:32,984 but no, it's not. 436 00:22:36,321 --> 00:22:39,558 (light upbeat music) 437 00:22:43,628 --> 00:22:45,030 When I start a painting, 438 00:22:45,030 --> 00:22:48,200 all I know is that I'm going to do color blocking 439 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,703 and really, I do a layer of colors upon colors 440 00:22:53,905 --> 00:22:55,841 and then I put the gypsum in. 441 00:22:55,841 --> 00:22:58,110 I call it mud, you know, it's not really mud, 442 00:22:58,110 --> 00:23:01,747 but I just put the mud down there to build the texture up. 443 00:23:01,747 --> 00:23:06,251 And then you can see that it cracks a lot, it dries. 444 00:23:06,251 --> 00:23:08,887 And then I start putting a different color on there 445 00:23:08,887 --> 00:23:11,857 and push the color around in the cracks. 446 00:23:12,991 --> 00:23:14,760 Then I'll paint another color over top of it, 447 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,262 and then the one color will stay in the crack. 448 00:23:17,262 --> 00:23:18,663 And then I really scrape it. 449 00:23:18,663 --> 00:23:20,465 I start scraping and marking. 450 00:23:20,465 --> 00:23:22,267 And that's where the fun comes in, 451 00:23:22,267 --> 00:23:25,404 because then you get different layers that pop out. 452 00:23:32,644 --> 00:23:34,079 So that's my canvases. 453 00:23:34,079 --> 00:23:35,380 So with my paper, 454 00:23:35,380 --> 00:23:37,082 that's a whole different story. 455 00:23:37,082 --> 00:23:39,618 With my paper, I'll put a little texture on there, 456 00:23:39,618 --> 00:23:42,954 and then I'll do the same kind of thing with the paint, 457 00:23:42,954 --> 00:23:45,590 the color blocking, and then when I get it just so, 458 00:23:45,590 --> 00:23:46,858 just how I like it, 459 00:23:46,858 --> 00:23:49,494 then I cut it up, I actually cut the paper, 460 00:23:49,494 --> 00:23:52,130 and then I sew it onto another piece of paper. 461 00:23:53,865 --> 00:23:55,333 And then I'll just see how it goes 462 00:23:55,333 --> 00:23:58,003 and I don't really ever have anything planned. 463 00:24:00,939 --> 00:24:02,908 Color to me is pretty important. 464 00:24:02,908 --> 00:24:05,911 When I'm mixing colors to find an unusual color, 465 00:24:05,911 --> 00:24:07,712 bizarre color combinations 466 00:24:07,712 --> 00:24:11,216 or ones that really you don't expect to see together. 467 00:24:14,052 --> 00:24:16,021 And then of course, shape. 468 00:24:16,021 --> 00:24:18,523 I really like to cut away at an image 469 00:24:18,523 --> 00:24:20,158 to make it really more organic. 470 00:24:22,794 --> 00:24:27,332 If it's not right in my mind, I can't show it. 471 00:24:28,567 --> 00:24:31,470 Just keep working on it till it's right for me. 472 00:24:31,470 --> 00:24:33,271 Even then, after a show, 473 00:24:33,271 --> 00:24:36,041 if a painting doesn't feel right, I'll change it. 474 00:24:36,041 --> 00:24:37,309 I'll paint over it. 475 00:24:37,309 --> 00:24:39,244 I've painted over so many paintings. 476 00:24:39,244 --> 00:24:41,880 This one behind me, 477 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,616 that's like, there might be two or three paintings 478 00:24:44,616 --> 00:24:45,517 under that one. 479 00:24:48,420 --> 00:24:50,155 I really like beautiful things. 480 00:24:50,155 --> 00:24:52,591 And that's like my goal is to, 481 00:24:52,591 --> 00:24:54,726 for myself, to really like it. 482 00:24:54,726 --> 00:24:57,729 Then I'm so proud of it because I love it so much. 483 00:24:58,630 --> 00:25:01,099 When somebody buys my painting, 484 00:25:01,099 --> 00:25:05,170 I'm like, "Oh my gosh, they feel the same way I fell." 485 00:25:06,371 --> 00:25:07,472 It's not the money thing, 486 00:25:07,472 --> 00:25:09,474 it's the fact that, 487 00:25:09,474 --> 00:25:12,277 "Wow, somebody really likes what I like." 488 00:25:12,277 --> 00:25:14,446 That's what makes me feel good. 489 00:25:14,446 --> 00:25:16,781 It's always been that way. 490 00:25:16,781 --> 00:25:19,417 (light music) 491 00:25:24,623 --> 00:25:29,694 - See more of her work at saatchiart.com/susanhandau. 492 00:25:31,062 --> 00:25:34,432 And that wraps it up for this episode of "WEDU Arts Plus." 493 00:25:34,432 --> 00:25:38,436 To view more, visit wedu.org/artsplus, 494 00:25:38,436 --> 00:25:40,238 or follow us on social. 495 00:25:40,238 --> 00:25:42,307 I'm Dalia Colon, thanks for watching. 496 00:25:43,275 --> 00:25:46,344 (light jazzy music) 497 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:04,029 (light music)