Saturday, May 31, 2014

A Visual Tour of "Rowan Oak Museum" William Faulkner's Home + FOOD: Pineapple/Coconut Pecan Pie

Located in Oxford Mississippi, William Faulkner's home, "Rowan Oak", is hollowed ground for writers and lovers of great American literature.

A full collection of his books sit on the shelves of his front living room.


Museums
William Faulkner's home, "Rowan Oak".

William Faulkner 1897 - 1962
William Cuthbert Faulkner, born with the name Falkner on September 25, 1897, was an American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of written media, including novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays. He is primarily known and acclaimed for his novels and short stories, many of which are set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. 
Faulkner added a map of Yoknapatawpha County
at the end of his novel 
Absalom, Absalom!

Yoknapatawpha, pronounced "Yok'na pa TAW pha", was the original name for the actual Yocona River, a tributary of the Tallahatchie which runs through the southern part of Lafayette County Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of his life. Also the neighboring county has a similar Indian name, Yalobusha County. Yoknapatawpha is derived from two Chickasaw words—Yocona and petopha, meaning "split land." Faulkner claimed that the compound means "water flows slow through flat land."
Faulkner is one of the most important writers in both American literature generally and Southern literature specifically. Though his work was published as early as 1919, and largely during the 1920s and 1930s, Faulkner was relatively unknown until receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. Two of his works, A Fable (1954) and his last novel The Reivers (1962), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked his 1929 novel The Sound and the Fury sixth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century; also on the list were As I Lay Dying (1930) and Light in August (1932). Absalom, Absalom! (1936) is often included on similar lists.



William Faulkner.

The dresser in his bedroom.

Faulkner and his wife Estelle in 1955,
the year he won a Pulitzer Prize for A Fable.



"Read, read, read. Read everything."

Faulkner was a gentleman horseman!
Faulkner's Great Grandfather Falkner, pictured above,
was well known in and around Oxford. The man was also a published author.
One theory of why Faulkner changed the spelling of his name from Falkner to Faulkner,
was to separate himself from his Great Grandfather in order to make his own name.


Guest bedroom.

Faulkner wrote the outline for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel "A Fable"
on the walls of his writing room. 
Faulkner would sequester himself in his writing room, to write undisturbed.

A typewriter and desk in his writing room. It is said that he had three typewriters lined up, for three separate books, and when an idea hit him he would switch books, and move to that dedicated machine.

Ancient vines on the grounds of Rowan Oak.
(There are no Rowan Trees or Oak Trees on his property.)
A chair in the guest bedroom.

Faulkner with his dogs.

Stately pines on the gorgeous grounds surround the 
unadorned-yet-elegant home.

A beautiful bloom of the Magnolia Tree.


Shade trees abound on the grounds of Rowan Oak.

The front living room.

The front living room.
A print of Rockwell Kent's
Captain Ahab
from Melville's Moby Dick
is on the wall in 

Faulkner's front living room.

Estelle's (Faulkner's wife) painting 
of a magnolia flower hangs
on a wall in the front living room.

Chair in the front living room.

Faulkner photo taken on November 9, 1958.
Caption:
THE ONLY "TRULY HAPPY" EXPRESSION I ever caught
(of my little friend - off guard of course)
IN WEDDING ATTIRE at "reception" DEAN'S WEDDING".
- Photo and Comment by J.R. Cofield

A Faulkner hand lettered and illustrated book.

The front living room.

The foyer staircase.

This burned window fragment was the inspiration
for the character Cecelia Farmer in his Requiem for a Nun.



Easy chair.


"'Count No-Account' (ha) Not an act, his very graceful-poses.
He was a natural""
- J.R. Cofield

The kitchen door is shown out of a back window.

Faulkner's dining room.

Rowan Oak dining room.

Faulkner's bedroom.

Faulkner's bedroom, detail.

Upstairs back hallway.

Faulkner's bedroom.

Estelle's bedroom and studio.

Estelle's bedroom and studio.

(Left) Faulkner developed an interest in fine French wines after receiving his 1949 Nobel Prize. (Center) A notorious binge drinker, Faulkner favored the inexpensive and readily available "Four Roses Bourbon". (Right) Faulkner used Harvey's Hunting Port for cooking his game birds while a second bottle warmed in the ashes of the fire for drinking. (Far right) Faulkner's Mint Julep cup. His recipe was: whiskey, 1 tsp sugar and ice, served in a metal cup.




Rowan Oak's horse barn.

Next to the horse barn.

Rowan Oak grounds.

Rowan Oak grounds.

Rowan Oak grounds.

The famous Square Books Bookstore on "The Square",  
downtown Oxford, Mississippi.
(Source: All photos were taken with permission at the museum property by ARTSnFOOD staff. Text: Wikipedia.)


FOOD

Pineapple/Coconut
Pecan Pie

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon corn meal
1 tablespoon flour
5 eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
1 cup flaked coconut
1 stick butter, melted
1 unbaked pie shell

Instructions

Beat the sugar, corn meal, flour, eggs and salt together. Gently stir in the pecans, pineapple and coconut (don't beat it). Stir in the melted butter and mix well.

Bake at 300 degrees in an unbaked pie shell approximately 50 to 60 minutes.

Cover the crust edge with some aluminum foil to keep it from burning. Cook 15 to 30 more minutes, or until the pie is set.

For a whipped topping: mix in a little almond extract into some whipping cream and beat. 
Then sprinkled on toasted shreds of coconut.

(Source:Recipe on Facebook.)

Until later,
Jack
ARTSnFOOD, is an online publication dedicated to "The Pursuit of Happiness through the Arts and Food." ™ All rights reserved for all content. Concept, Original Art, Original Text & "Original or Assigned Photography" are © Copyright 2014 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. All photographs were taken and/or used with permission. Artworks © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.

Monday, May 19, 2014

AIPAD, Issue #2 (continued coverage) + FOOD: A Sheet Pan Pecan Pie

At AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) 2014 Art Fair. (PDNB Gallery Booth 411)

ART
MORE PHOTOS
FROM AIPAD 2014


(Source: All photographs in this issue were taken by ARTSnFOOD staff with the permission of the individual galleries and the AIPAD Fair Management. Photos are generally cropped-in some from the originals so are not exact renditions. All rights remain with the individual artist, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.)

Aaron Siskind (1903-1991) "Saguaros 10", 1949,
Gelatin silver print, c 1949, 17 x 16 in.
Bruce Silverstein Gallery

Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) "The Steerage" 1907
Vintage photogravure, Camera Work, Oct. 1911
8" x 11" (perfect condition)
Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA USA 

Andrew Moore, "School District 123, Cherry County, Nebraska" 2013
46" x 62" Archival Pigment Print, edition of 6 + 2 ap
Yancey Richardson Gallery

Flip Schulke (1930-2008)
"Ali Underwater" 1961
Gelatin Silver Print
Keith de Lellis Gallery, NY

Harry Callahan, "Eleanor, Port Huron (in the grass)"
Gelatin silver print, 1954, 8 x 10 inches

The Weston Gallery, Inc., Carmel, CA USA

Phil Bergerson
"Untitled, Martinsville, Indiana, 2006"
Chromogenic print mounted to archival board
ed. of 10
Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Canada 
Imogen Cunningham
(detail) "Frida Kahlo Rivera"
San Francisco, 1930, Gelatin silver print 
Throckmorton Fine Art, NY

Photographer Unknown
Frida Kahlo, "Me Twice", c. 1930-40
William L. Schaeffer / Photographs

J.H.Lartigue, Keith de Lellis Gallery, NY

Jan Staller, "The White Series", 2013
Archival Pigment Print, 30" x 60"
Alan Kotz Gallery

Julia Margaret Cameron, (English, born in India, 1815-1879)
"Sir J.F.W. Herschel"
Albumen print from a collodion negative, 1867
Hans P. Kraus, Jr. Gallery, NYC

Keith de Lellis Gallery

Kevin Cooley
"NROL - 65 Spy Satellite Launch"
ed. of 4, 40" x 60"
Kopeikin Gallery

Charles Schwartz, Ltd. NYC

Margaret Bourke-White
"Diamond Edge Saw" (Indiana Limestone Company 1931)
Gelatin Silver Print, Bourke-White's stamp and title mounted on back
Richard Moore Photographs

Michiko Kon, "Rabbit"
 from series, 2010
Gelatin Silver Print
Photo Gallery International

Michiko Kon, "Zebra and Japanese Socks"from series, 2010
Gelatin Silver Print
Photo Gallery International

Neal Slavin,
"15 July 1984 Channel Swimmers"
(Polaroid)
PDNB Gallery, Dallas, TX, USA

Roddy McDowell
"Alfred Hitchcock", 1964
Gelatin Silver Print
Keith de Lellis Gallery

Ruud Van Empel
"Perception" 2014
 54 x 40" Archival Pigment Print, ed. of 7
Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta USA

Stan Douglas, "Artist's Cabin" 2009
Digital C-Print mounted on Dibond Aluminum
David Zwirner Gallery, NY

FOOD 
Sheet Pan 
Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie is America's favorite "Sweetie Pie".
Here is a way to make it for a larger crowd or even more for your family.

Base
Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter, chilled and cut in small pieces
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Pinch of Salt

Base
Directions:

- With a food processor or hand mixer combine ingredients until butter is hardly visible.
- Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and press it down with the back of a measuring cup.
- Bake shortbread base for 10 minutes.  
- While this is baking, ready the filling ingredients.

Pecan Filling
Ingredients:

- 8-ounces pecans (2 cups) coarsely chopped
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 Tbls whipping cream

Pecan Filling
Directions:

- In a saucepan melt butter and stir in brown sugar, honey, and cream.  Simmer mixture, stirring for 1 minute.  
- Add pecans. Spoon mixture over HOT crust, do not try to spread
this; it will fill in the gaps when it is baking.    
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes adding another 5 minutes if the filling is not bubbly.

(Source: from the family cookbook of Elizabeth and Anna Addoms)

Until later,
Jack


ARTSnFOOD, is an online publication dedicated to "The Pursuit of Happiness through the Arts and Food." ™ All rights reserved for all content. Concept, Original Art, Original Text & "Original or Assigned Photography" are © Copyright 2014 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. All photographs were taken and/or used with permission. Artworks © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.