14 minute read
Make His Point
Odd Objects
San Antonio museums share fascinating (and creepy) finds from deep in their collections
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BY KELLY MERKA NELSON
In addition to the greatest hits of culture and history, museums house tons of hidden gems that often go unnoticed. Inspired by a recent Twier challenge from the Yorkshire Museum — which requested that institutions share the creepiest objects in their possession — we asked four local museums to show off the strangest and compelling pieces from their collections.
Cat Mummy, San Antonio Museum of Art
Egyptian, Roman period, 30 B.C.–395 A.D., Cat remains, linen, pigment, 20 x 7 in. (50.8 × 17.8 cm), San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., 91.80.206
Many people know that Ancient Egyptians mummified animals, but the San Antonio Museum of Art has a particularly interesting feline mummy in its collection.
“Ancient Egyptians not only mummified people, but also animals, especially during later periods of Egyptian history. Although many mummies of mammals, birds, and reptiles were mass produced, new research suggests that some of the animals were mummified with the same elaborate care given to humans,” says Jessica Powers, SAMA’s curator for ancient Mediterranean art.
“With restoration, we discovered that the mummified cat in our collection has a red wrapping over its head, which is very unusual for an animal. Red wrappings were typically found on mummies of priests. The museum’s cat mummy had a rough 2,000 years, but with restoration, it is now looking more like it did when it was entombed. We also determined that the cat was an orange tabby because some of his fur remained!”
Castroville’s Horse-Drawn Hearse, Institute of Texan Cultures Made in 1898 by the Sayer & Scovill Co. of Cincinnati, OH.
The Institute of Texan Cultures has a fascinating artifact from Texas’ funerary history: a horse-drawn hearse that was used in the town of Castroville from 1919 until around 1930. The secondhand hearse was driven by August L. Tschirhart, who would charge $5 per funeral.
That’s interesting enough on its own, but it turns out the hearse may also be haunted. James Benavides, the institute’s senior communications specialist, shared one spooky story with the Current.
“So, one night, a guard was on duty, making his regular rounds. When he gets to the exhibit floor, he finds the hearse doors open,” Benavides said. “He thought some of the senior officers were playing a joke on him, so he closes the doors and goes about his business.
“Coming up on the end of his night shift, he’s making his last sweep of the exhibit floor and he finds the hearse doors open again. He laughs to himself, then realizes, he was the only person in the building.”
Benavides continued: “The doors don’t open easily; they take two hands to work a latch and pull open. But stories persist, that from time to time, the guards will find the hearse doors open.”
Jean Tinguely and Eva Aeppli’s Kerzenstock mit Maske (Candlestick with Mask) (ca. 1991), McNay Art Museum
Iron and bronze, wax candle, with gouache on papier mâché and ribbon. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Jeanne and Irving Mathews Collection.
The McNay’s collection features a lot of challenging modern art, but staff say this piece by Jean Tinguely and Eva Aeppli, which recently went on display, is capable of startling in a more visceral way.
The sculpture was fabricated as part of a series by Surrealist artists Jean Tinguely and Eva Aeppli, shortly before Tinguely’s death in 1991, according to the McNay. Peggy Tenison Courtesy Photo / Briscoe Western Art Museum Courtesy Photo / McNay Art Museum
Courtesy Photo / Institute of Texan Cultures
“It is a refl ection of the artist’s later preoccupation with mortality and combines both artist’s styles and preferred media (Tinguely typically worked with metals and kinetic materials; Eva frequently implemented fi ber, masks, and other tactile media in her work),” the museum wrote.
“The sculpture only recently went on view upstairs in the McNay mansion and is the fi rst 3D object by the artist in the Collection. Nonetheless, it can still make you jump upon entering the gallery!”
Andy Warhol’s Geronimo (ca. 1986), Briscoe Western Art Museum
Screen-print on Lenox museum board, Briscoe Western Art Museum Collection, Gift of the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation.
You know who in town has an Andy Warhol on hand? Bet your fi rst guess wasn’t the Briscoe Western Art Museum, whose collection includes a screenprint by the pop artist based on an iconic image of Geronimo.
The print is part of Warhol’s larger “Cowboys and Indians” series.
“Warhol includes celebrities such as John Wayne and Annie Oakley as well as historical fi gures like George Armstrong Custer and this image of Geronimo,” the museum told the Current.
“Warhol’s pu ing these fi gures in conversation with each other is quite interesting, especially when you notice that it is only the image of Geronimo (taken from an original photograph by Ben Wi ick) that looks back, directly at the viewer.”
PURO PUZZLES
SAN ANTONIO FLORIST DAVID GARCIA JOINS THE JIGSAW GAME
Googling the words “puzzle” and “pandemic” these days returns headlines such as “People are Curbing Their Stay-at-Home Anxiety the Analog Way: With Puzzles” from CNN. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal posted “Coronavirus Means Everyone Wants Jigsaw Puzzles. Good Luck Buying One.”
An odd example of collective consciousness in the e-tail era, the puzzle boom has resulted in unmeetable demand. Puzzle giant Ravensburger has been unable to fulfi ll orders and “puzzles for adults” jumped from the 1,435th most-searched item on Amazon into the top 10 alongside cleaning supplies and toilet paper. Sought-after puzzles are being resold at premiums and small businesses are stepping in to fi ll gaps in the market.
No. 9 — a Beacon Hill boutique specializing in fl oral design, gifts and chocolates — is one such example.
“We were, and still are, ge ing calls from people who want fl oral product from us, [but] we just haven’t been in the position to do it,” owner David Garcia said. “That’s how the puzzle thing came along. … I was reading about puzzles selling out — and people selling them for ridiculous prices on eBay — and I was like, ‘Wow, this is kind of shi y. And this is maybe a good way for us to jump in the game.’”
After connecting with a fabricator, Garcia ordered several designs reproducing artwork he’d commissioned. Priced at $35, his puzzles all ring in at 500 pieces, with the diffi culty level of each depending largely on imagery. The puzzles are available online at no9fl oralandgifts.com.
Arcoiris
Named after the Spanish word for rainbow, Arcoiris depicts a grid of color-coded skulls Garcia assembled for a Día de los Muertos ofrenda honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre. “We had that image in front of the altar, [and] people signed well wishes to Pulse on it,” Garcia explained. Repeated pa ern aside, Arcoiris is perhaps the easiest puzzle in the bunch.
Comida Por Vida
A graphic homage to the Alamo City’s culinary inclinations, Comida Por Vida is a no-brainer for foodies in quarantine. The work of graphic designer Enzo Fiorello, the design celebrates barbacoa, Big Red, tacos and paletas in a playful melange of fonts and illustrations. Since it was commissioned as a silkscreen for baby onesies, it’s completely black and white — which makes for tricky puzzling.
Dulces Sueños
Candy-colored conchas, rainbow sprinkle cookies and pig-shaped maranitos fi ll this pan dulce extravaganza. Photographed by Feliz Modern proprietor Ginger Diaz and originally printed on beach towels and cell phone clutches, the vibrant design is like a virtual trip to the panadería that’s simultaneously uplifting and hunger-inducing.
Rebirth
A testament to Garcia’s fascination with New Orleans and legendary voodoo queen Marie Laveau, this dark still-life features a painterly fl oral arrangement sprouting from an ominous skull vase. Ideal for Goths in self-isolation, it’s captivating to ponder — perhaps extensively as its black background makes it the most challenging puzzle in the lot.
— Bryan Rindfuss
arts
Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com
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Virtual Vitality Gyms shifted online during the pandemic, and fi tness instructors say it may be the wave of the future
BY KATIE HENNESSEY
When the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of nonessential businesses, local gyms and fi tness instructors were forced to ramp up their online presence to maintain memberships and make sure their bills get paid.
San Antonio fi tness leaders say it’s been a challenge to quickly create online classes and keep clients on task in quarantine. But they add that the abrupt change is helping them prepare for industry changes. Plus, the past couple of months have helped them create opportunities for the local community to engage with the gym in a whole new way.
Keeping Them Engaged
When Joe Kreidel opened the indoor climbing gym Armadillo Boulders in 2018, he knew the business would face obstacles, but a global pandemic was hard to see coming. Temporarily closing its doors was a scary step.
“There was so much unknown then, and even now there’s a lot we don’t understand, like when it will be safe to open,” Kreidel told the Current.
Fortunately, the gym had already been expanding its online presence to give members a sense of community. So, when COVID-19 forced it strictly online, some of the work was already done.
“Now, we have a YouTube ab-andcore class, I hosted a route-se ing informational video, we are going to be doing a Zoom book club,” Kreidel said. “We’re trying to keep people engaged with the gym so people are excited to return once we get the chance to open.”
Armadillo Boulders’ Instagram account has been active, publishing content on staff ’s climbing experiences. It’s also hosted a youth photo challenge to recreate famous climbing photos at home, and members are sharing athome workouts by climbing structures such as door frames and stairways.
“It’s a challenge trying to come up with engaging content,” Kreidel said. “But, so far, our online programs have been pre y successful.”
Beyond the virtual participation, members are also kicking in cash. So far, a quarter of members have contributed fi nancially, including paying their April and May membership fees.
“It showed that a lot of things we are trying to do, as far as being a close community for people, have really connected with our members,” Kreidel said.
Maintaining Community
CrossFit San Antonio owner Mario Barajas has kept his business going by hosting group classes on Zoom. His biggest challenge is keeping the workouts interesting on an online platform.
He holds four classes a day, two in the morning and two in the evening, off ering a weighted workout for those who have equipment, plus a variation of the workout using only body-weight exercises.
“I am doing everything that is possible to keep people engaged,” said Barajas, who’s owned the gym since 2015. “The workouts are ge ing pre y tough, because we’ve been going at it for so long. There are only so many squats and pushups you can do.”
Knowing most members have limited equipment at home, Barajas has been forced to come up with creative solutions.
“We’ve started incorporating odd-object bags into our workouts,” he said. “People will stuff a backpack with books, water jugs, anything they can fi nd. It doesn’t have to be heavy, but it can add weight to some of the movements like chair dips, stairs and squats.”
Before the gym closed, Barajas had 175 paying members. Since then, the number has dwindled to 120. While most are logging in and joining the workouts, others continue to pay their fees even though they aren’t regular online participants.
Instagram / @armadilloboulders
Barajas said the social media presence has a value beyond helping members keep up with their workouts, though. He’s initiated challenges to stir comradery, such as a Facebook Live cooking challenge and a team-based nutritional competition.
“The CrossFit community is so much about community itself,” Barajas said. “Community-wise, I think this will make us stronger in the end.”
Personal Training
Personal trainer Alex Lungien has worked for Gold’s Gym on Culebra and 1604 since 2015, specializing in oneon-one training and cross-functional workouts. When he was furloughed due to the pandemic, he transitioned to freelance training by off ering Skype sessions.
“It’s a natural evolution for the fi tness industry to off er online training,” Lungien told the Current. “This just sped the process up by a couple of decades.”
Luckily, Lungien had existing clients to call on. But other aspects of building an online business presented challenges — such as monitoring participants’ safety, eff ort level and tempo during workouts.
“I can’t be there to catch my client, or catch a weight if it falls, or literally support them through a movement,” he said. “And even if it’s not physical touch, it’s so much easier in person to modify someone’s technique, gauge if they are doing the movements correctly, or listen to someone’s breathing.”
When a client’s video has poor lighting, a delay or is only shot from one angle the task becomes even tougher.
Lungien’s ready to get back to business at Gold’s Gym, adding that it’s hard to stay positive without knowing the timeline for his return.
“I’ve heard it said that if you go to prison, it could be the nicest prison in the world, but it still could be considered cruel and unusual punishment if you don’t have an estimated release date,” he added.
But despite the challenges, he sees the work he’s pu ing into online coaching as part of his professional growth.
“There is a huge market for distance clients,” Lungien said. “The cliché excuse about not having enough time to exercise, well, if there is no commute, you can get right to your workout. It makes me wonder if clients will want to stick to online workouts and not return to training in person.”
SOCIAL DISTANCING? WE CAN MAKE BEING ALONE WITH YOURSELF MUCH MORE PLEASURABLE!
