updated March, 2008 

Upon their return to New Orleans from Wisconsin in mid January, 2007, it was apparent to John and Dottie Clemmer that the city had begun to pull itself together. The French Quarter was exceptionally pleasant with clean streets and sidewalks, and the Louisiana Philharmonic sounded magnificent at a concert in the old St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square. With the streetcars on St. Charles Avenue still out of commission, the revelers on Mardi Gras day set up impromptu camps on the entire “neutral ground” with grills, coolers, tents and miscellaneous furniture and took full advantage of a beautiful day as the traditional parades passed by.

On April 21st the Clemmers flew to France to participate in a Tulane University Alumni tour of Provence followed by a week in Paris with sons Jonathan and David. The first days of the tour were spent in Avignon where the Clemmers visited a small but elegant museum, the Collection Lambert. They were charmed by an installation piece by Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Ozawa titled “Sainte Victoire in Aix en Provence.” A skylit gallery was heaped with white futons which rose in one corner to a sloping pile about eight feet high. Children in their stocking feet were ecstatically jumping, climbing and sliding down the “mountain” of futons. The piece was commissioned for the Cezanne exhibit then on view at the Collection Lambert and evoked the famous mountain which Cezanne painted many times in the later years of his career.

Day trips to neighboring towns included a tour of a winery in the Chauteau Neuf du Pape region. The Clemmers were intrigued with mounds of rounded stones piled beneath the grape vines as they resembled the glacial debris common near their home in Wisconsin. The vintner explained that the stones were indeed left over from glaciation and that they conserved heat from sunlight so that the ground remained warm during the night, giving the grapes and wine some of their unique character. The visit concluded with a beautifully presented buffet lunch of delicious cold meats, salads and stuffed vegetables accompanied, of course, by a selection of wines.

For the Clemmers, the high point of the Tulane trip was a visit to the Foundation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence. The site had been a farm where the Maeght family took refuge during World War II. Tall trees and a beautifully manicured lawn complemented the sculpture garden and its selection of Legers, Miros and stately Takis mobiles. There was an open terrace with striding and standing Giacometti sculptures and one of his lean sniffing dogs. Many of the artists in the Maeght collection, including Matisse, Bonnard, Giacometti, and Braque, had been close personal friends of the Maeght family. A book titled “The Maeght Family: A Passion for Modern Art” proved irresistible but too heavy to carry. The Clemmers had a copy sent to New Orleans where it has given them endless pleasure.

The tour ended in Nice where the Clemmers visited former Orleanians Jamie and Christine Allen at their elegant condo overlooking the Mediterranean in Juan les Pins. Christine cooked a magnificent lunch of oxtail stew, salad, cheeses and fresh strawberries and raspberries with mint leaves which the foursome enjoyed on the Allens’ terrace, taking in the spectacular view of the town and the sea.

From Nice, John and Dottie took the high-speed TGV to Paris where they stayed at their favorite Hotel le Clos Medici in the sixth arrondissement. David and Jonathan arrived the next day. Before they arrived, John and Dottie took in a large and dazzling show of exquisite Lalique jewels at the nearby Musee Luxembourg. Thereafter, the four Clemmers proceeded to do their favorite things separately and together. Jonathan paid homage to the Barthélémey cheese shop and returned to the hotel with several very fragrant cheeses which were shared in the breakfast room. David went shopping at Agnes B and Paraboot came back with a selection of his favorite brands of shoes and shirts. The Louvre was mass confusion as usual, but still well worth the effort. The more manageable Musee D’Orsay was a delight—particularly Galleries 70-72 which house a magnificent selection of paintings by les Fauves. After a few highly enjoyable hours amongst the masterpieces, the Clemmers enjoyed a very nice lunch in the museum’s elegant dining room. The Centre Pompidou was supremely annoying because of the impracticality of its design, the crowds, and the noise. The beautiful (and quiet!) Maillol Museum had a major show of work by Jules Pascin, a fascinating and under appreciated artist who spent time in New Orleans early in the 20th century. The Clemmers’ most enjoyable dinner was at Chez Denise, a classic Parisian bistro near the former site of the old Les Halles market. Chez Denise serves enormous portions in a noisy, informal atmosphere where patrons crowd into small tables set against the walls of the long main room. At the end of a very enjoyable week, the family went their separate ways, David to Amsterdam to visit a high school friend from New Orleans, Jonathan to San Francisco, and Dottie and John home to New Orleans.

Three weeks prior to their departure for France, a defining event occurred which was to have a profound effect on the lives of both John and Dottie. On March 30th, while hanging a large canvas in his studio, John sustained a complete tear of the rotator cuff of his right shoulder—his painting arm. Despite the discomfort and disability, John opted to postpone surgical repair until after the trip to France. The repair was done at the end of May in New Orleans by shoulder specialist Dr. Buddy Savoie, newly arrived to head the Tulane Institute of Sports Medicine. While the surgery was successful, John had postoperative complications which resulted in multiple hospitalizations during the next six weeks. It was a very difficult period for everyone and after John’s final discharge in early July he required several additional weeks of recuperation before the Clemmers could leave for Wisconsin. Once settled in their Sheboygan home, John started physical therapy and the long process of recovering use of his arm. By the end of September his shoulder had healed sufficiently for him to begin painting again and with great relief he set to work in his studio.

The loss of five months of studio time is apparent in the “New Work” section of the “Images” gallery of the website. A major accomplishment, however, was the completion of “Belle Grove,” a painting on which John had been working since 2003. The painting was the result of a suggestion by a close friend, author John Ed Bradley, that John paint a subject that he had never previously addressed—a classic antebellum plantation house. The resulting work, based on a photograph of the ruined mansion by the great Clarence John Laughlin, captures both the majesty and the tragedy of a vanished society. John completed one other work already in progress in addition to several new paintings and numerous drawings (he was able to draw on a horizontal surface well before his arm had strengthened sufficiently to lift a paint brush).

The summer and fall went quickly for John and Dottie with visits from friends and family, particularly son Jonathan who remained with them for six weeks during August and September. Bill Fagaly, NOMA Curator for African Art, arrived in Sheboygan for an international conference on vernacular art hosted by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. The JMKAC had mounted a spectacular show titled “Sublime Spaces & Visionary Worlds” accompanied by a beautiful catalogue—a must for anyone with a serious interest in vernacular environment builders or naive/outsider art. Bill and the Clemmers had dinner at their longtime favorite restaurant Trattoria Stefano, where a large Clemmer painting of Cortona, Italy, hangs in the main dining room. A major exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum of paintings by Camille Pissarro was another art highlight of the summer, along with an exhibition of haunting photographs by Jeff Wall at the Art Institute of Chicago.

By the time the family assembled for Thanksgiving dinner, cold weather had necessitated closing down John’s studio despite the installation of a new and improved heating system. It began to snow in early December and stopped snowing only for rain, ice and then more snow. By the end of December, Dottie and John were grateful to return to the milder temperatures of New Orleans. The city continues to show progress thanks in large part to the work of private citizens—both residents and visitors—who continue their volunteer efforts to restore housing, playgrounds and parks, all of which make the city more livable. From New Orleans, the Clemmers wish their friends a happy and healthy 2008.

Catalogue/Video

Exhibition catalogues for “John Clemmer: Exploring the Medium, 1940-1999” are $25 (plus $4.50 for domestic shipping) and may be obtained by calling the New Orleans Museum of Art's Museum Shop (504/488-2631, Ext. 680), or by sending a check or money order to NOMA, PO Box 19123, NOLA 70179-0123. A limited number of copies of "John Clemmer: Sculpture," an 11.5 minute film documenting the artist's work in three-dimensional media, are also available through the Museum Shop for $10.95 (plus $2.50 for domestic shipping). You may also visit NOMA's web site.