HANNA CHU
Assistant A&E Editor
The artistic and literary worlds meet at a new exhibit titled “Zelda By Herself: The Art of Zelda Fitzgerald” at the Frederick Weisman museum.
Zelda Fitzgerald is better known as the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of classic American novels such as “The Great Gatsby” and “This Side of Paradise,” but few know that Zelda was also a painter, writer and an aspiring ballerina.
The exhibit, organized by International Arts and Artists in Washington, D.C., has been in locations across the United States including Texas and Louisiana, but this is the first time “Zelda” is in California.
“What makes this exhibit so special is that it’s the art of someone who played a major part in American history and culture,” said museum director Michael Zakian.
Born in 1900 in Montgomery, Ala., Zelda embodied the essence of a flapper, a term coined by her husband.
“Zelda represented the new 20th century woman,” Zakian said. “She was independent, strong-willed and opinionated with a mind of her own.”
Zelda began to paint around the age of 25, but not with the goal of impressing the art world — all her paintings had to do with her family, Zakian said.
“Her art was very domestic,” he said.
For this reason, her paintings were not known to the general public until her death. Only family and close friends viewed her artwork in her lifetime, Zakian said.
“Lampshade: Family and Staff on Carousel Animals” is one piece on display that shows how personal her artwork is. Zelda paints an image of her family members, each on different carousel animals, directly onto a lampshade. She depicts herself on a rooster, her only daughter Francis Scott, called Scottie, on a horse, and F. Scott on an elephant. She also paints in her butler and maids. The background of the lampshade depicts different places they lived.
“They would rent these mansions all over the world and be in a new place every three to six months,” Zakian said.
More than half of the paintings depict fairy tale stories such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Alice in Wonderland,” but the images are unlike the classic illustrations found in fairy tale books.
“You see her wonderful imagination,” Zakian said. “She couldn’t help but see things differently than other people.”
One piece shows the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood in two different costumes: one a full suit of armor with knives and guns and the other a cocktail party dress. Next to one depiction she wrote, “the bigger and the badder of wolves,” while the other one states, “who also has a party dress.”
“They’re small little things, just little drawings of hers,” said senior Jessica Oni. “They’re different because they’re simpler than the art that’s usually in here. It’s very cartoonish.”
Because so much of the subject matter is fairy tales, the exhibit is as much of a literary exhibition as it is a historical exhibition.
Cate Griffin, exhibitions manager for International Arts and Artists, described the exhibitions “almost like a standing autobiography” or a timeline of her life. The paper dolls in the exhibit were made for her family, particularly her daughter Scottie, and display her family life.
“The city landscapes of New York illustrated her life as a jazz-age woman, as a flapper,” Griffin said.
The fairytale scenes reflect her life as a mother.
Zelda became very religious later in her life, and some of her last paintings depict scenes from the Bible.
“After the birth of her first grandson, she decided to do a series of paintings to give him that would help him with moral and religious instructions,” Zakian said.
These paintings are also on display in the exhibit.
“After viewing her art, I was curious to know who she is,” said Michael Bedard, a Malibu resident. “I admire what she’s done and the fantasy of it.”
The exhibit offers a deep, diverse look into the life of a woman whose talent was often overshadowed by the success of her husband’s books.
The Weisman Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
10-27-2005
