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Niki de Saint Phalle, Queen Califia’s Magical Circle (serpent wall detail), Escondido, CA

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BEYOND THE BOOK

Niki de Saint Phalle, Nana (Guardian Angel), 1997, Train Station, Zurich, Switzerland,

NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE

In the first chapter of my book, The Art of Traveling Strangers, art historian Claire imagines herself as one of Niki de Saint Phalle's Nana sculptures—

". . . an imposing female figure wearing bold primary colors, lustrous metallic wings, and twirling confidently on tiptoe."

But it's not only the Nanas that capture the imagination. It's also the artist.

Niki de Saint Phalle was born in 1930, in a suburb of Paris, but with a much longer name: Catherine-Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle. Her mother, though, just called her Niki.

Her aristocratic French-American family lost their fortune in the stock market crash and moved to New York in 1933 where Niki grew up. She attended The Brearley School for girls until she was expelled for painting the fig leaves on the school’s otherwise nude sculptures red. By 18, she was working as a fashion model for Vogue and Life Magazine. (Yes, she was that striking!)

Niki de Saint Phalle Photographed by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, February 1, 1950

At twenty-three, Saint Phalle had a nervous breakdown and was treated with electric shock therapy. This was when she turned to art.

"I started painting in the madhouse,” she recalled, “where I learnt how to translate emotions, fear, violence, hope and joy into painting. It was through creation that I discovered the somber depths of depression,and how to overcome it."

In her thirties, Saint Phalle began an art series called The Shootings—paintings created by firing a gun at paint-filled objects that exploded onto white surfaces. To get the best idea of these works, check out this three-minute subtitled video Les Tirs de Niki de Saint Phalle, with actual footage of the artist creating and talking about her pieces. In this video, she explains how shooting was a way to vent her anger at the injustices in the world.

But Niki did more than vent. She actively campaigned against racial segregation, AIDS, and, most of all, the injustices done to women.

Niki de Saint Phalle, still image from Les Tirs de Niki de Saint Phalle
video via Miratudor.com,

Saint Phalle is best known, though, for her Nanas (or Chicks in French)—joyous, unstoppable, life-affirming goddesses of fertility.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Nana via Shahrazadart

Saint Phalle called her most provocative Nana, Hon, (or She in Swedish) and invited people to walk inside her . . . through her vagina.

For the artist’s own description of making this colossal work, click here.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Hon, 1966

(Still curious about Niki's “Chicks?” Check out: Niki de Saint Phalle and her Nanas.)

When Saint Phalle was sixty-three, she published a short book called Mon Secret in which she revealed that she was sexually abused by her father starting at age eleven. No wonder she had a nervous breakdown in her twenties.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Mon Secret, book cover

The same year that she published her book, Saint Phalle moved to La Jolla, California, for her health. And at seventy, she began working on a sculpture garden based on the mythology and history of California. It's called Queen Califia's Magical Circle and is located in Escondido.

Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, 2003, Escondido, CA

Unfortunately, the artist didn’t live to see the garden completed. She died in 2002 of lung disease caused by inhaling the toxic polyester dust from her sculptures. What a tragedy. Saint Phalle was a vibrant, creative woman whose art saved her but also killed her.

Niki de Saint Phalle, 1983. Via iconicimages.net, photographer: Norman Parkinson

GET THE KEYS. LET’S GO!

Historic Downtown, Escondido, Ca

ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA

Escondido means hidden in Spanish, but it’s also the name of a small historic town about thirty miles north of San Diego and twenty miles from the ocean.

The town boasts several restaurants in its delightful historic district. When my husband and I visited in July, we ate lunch at Esco Gelato, which offered—besides divine Italian ice cream—delicious paninis.

After lunch, we visited the Escondido Municipal Gallery and saw a small exhibition of Niki de Saint Phalle’s paintings and sculptures. The show was called Colorations and will be up through April 2022. The gallery and its gift shop were well worth the visit!

Poster for Colorations, an exhibition of works by Niki de Saint Phalle in Escondido, CA

A few blocks away from the gallery (but best to drive on a hot day) was the California Center for the Arts—a twelve-acre campus with an impressive contemporary art museum and a monumental outdoor sculpture called Grand Step Totem by Saint Phalle. The mysterious, otherworldly aura of the thirteen-foot sculpture set the stage for our next stop.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Grand Step Totem, Escondido, CA

QUEEN CALIFIA’S MAGICAL CIRCLE

Queen Califia’s Magical Circle was the primary purpose of our visit to Escondido and can be found in Kit Carson Park about fifteen minutes from downtown by car.

So, who was Queen Califia, and what does she have to do with California?

Well, here's the connection: In sixteenth-century Spain, Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo wrote a novel where he imagined a female pagan warrior named Califia as the ruler of the fictional island of California. Montalvo described the island and its inhabitants in this way:

". . . there is an island called California, very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which was inhabited by black women without a single man among them, and they lived in the manner of Amazons. They were robust of body with strong passionate hearts and great virtue."

Montalvo's invented California captured people's imaginations in the sixteenth century and so did the idea of a "Terrestrial Paradise" (often described as a land of luxury with beautiful women draped in gold and pearls).

Even the sailors in service to the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, knew of this elusive "Paradise" and Montalvo's make-believe island of California. On one of their expeditions to explore the Mexican Pacific coast, Cortés' men landed in today's Baja California and reported that they'd discovered what they thought was a large island with an abundance of pearls.

The area was referred to as California from then until the eighteenth century when the whole Spanish-controlled Pacific coast became officially known as California—a land close to a “Terrestrial Paradise” and inhabited by strong, passionate women. Yeah, that fits!

Queen Califia's Magical Circle is surrounded by an undulating wall surmounted by serpents. It opens to a black-and-white mosaic maze that winds its way into an inner courtyard with nine monumental sculptures.

Niki de Saint Phalle, entrance to Queen Califia’s Magical Circle. Photo by the author

In the middle of this courtyard, the mythical monarch stands atop a gigantic mosaic-covered eagle with five ponderous feet (four with talons, one without)—a reimagining perhaps of one of the hundreds of trained griffins Queen Califia was said to have commanded. (Griffins are legendary creatures with heads and wings of eagles, bodies of lions, and talons on their front feet.)

Niki de Saint Phalle, Queen Califia and Eagle Throne. Photo by the author

While Queen Califia presides in the center of her Magical Circle, eight totemic sculptures (including another Grand Step Totem) keep guard around her.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, detail. Photo by author

Every surface in the garden is covered in mosaics comprised of an extraordinary variety of materials including glass, ceramic tiles, and polished stone.

Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, wall mosaic detail. Photo by the author

This truly is a magical place.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Kingfisher Totem.
Photo by the author

If you know of any other magical places or have some fun travel tidbits you’d like to share, just send an email to zoe@zoedisigny.com, and I’ll add your insights to my newsletter.

ART UPDATE

Vincent van Gogh, Wheatstacks, 1888, watercolor, image provided by Christie’s

WHEATSTACKS BY VINCENT VAN GOGH

Got an extra twenty to thirty million on ya? Well, you're in luck! According to ABC News, on November 11, 2021, the auction house Christie's will be auctioning off a watercolor by Vincent van Gogh that was seized by the Nazis during World War II.

Wheatstacks, as it’s called, is expected to garner $20 million or more. Is it worth it? Well, Giovanna Bertazzoni, vice chair of 20th and 21st century art at Christie’s, described the work in this way:

"Everything is breathtaking, the iconic subject, the perfect condition of the gouache, the intensity of the ink in the trademark cross-hatchings and twirls defining the landscape, the ambitious scale of the composition."

I have to say, just from the reproduction, I agree with Bertazzoni!

Now, where did I stash those millions?

THE ART OF VISUAL LISTENING

Rabbit in a Glass by doodleguy

INTRODUCTION

So, what exactly do I mean by “visual listening?” (And for all you techies out there, I'm not taking about social media analytics here.) What I mean is the ability to pay attention to and analyze what is visually present in a work of art in order to interpret what that that work is communicating, to listen to what that work of art is saying. Once we can do that, we have a powerful tool that can help us understand and evaluate art.

But before we get into the details of learning to listen, we first need to discuss what art actually is and why it is. We need this broad framework to give us some context within which our interpretations can take place. From there, we can go on to investigate how artists manipulate the visual elements (like line, shape, and color) to communicate effectively with the viewer (assuming, that is, that the viewer is listening).

Read more . . .

ZOE’S WORLD

Zoe Disigny, The Art of Traveling Strangers, a novel. Coming February 22, 2022

BACKSTORY

Since this is my first newsletter and not everyone knows the backstory to my book, I thought this would be a good place to tell it (briefly!).

I started writing my first book, The Art of Traveling Strangers, in 2013. My girlfriend, Gretchen, planted the seed during one of our lunches. I was telling her stories about my adventures as a tour guide in Europe, and she said I should write a book. So I did. But it wasn’t exactly that simple. After seven years of writing and revising, my original fourteen-thousand-word story blossomed into an eighty-thousand-word work of fiction. Just goes to show how fertile the imagination can be!

I originally titled my book An Unintended Education. But I never really liked it. So, I brainstormed for two years until I woke up one morning with a new title running through my head—The Art of Traveling Strangers. It was perfect.

Finding the right names for some of my characters also took time. Although my main character’s name was Claire from the start (because that’s what she was seeking—clarity), her sidekick went through three identify crises. She began as Carol, switched to Diane, and ended up as Viv. When I finally landed on Viv, I knew that was it. The name Vivien has its roots in Latin and means “lively,” which describes Claire’s sidekick to a T.

In October 2020, I found a publisher (Mascot Books) and worked with them on editing and formatting the novel along with finalizing a book cover. The cover part was really fun. Don’t you just love how those postcard images pop?

In October 2021, I was told the book would officially go on sale on February 22nd, 2022. What a cool date! (Any numerologists out there want to take a stab at the significance of that number—02222022?)

Anyway, I was thrilled! Mascot also told me that preorders should begin in December. I’ll keep you posted on that.

My job now is to get the word out, and one way to do it is through reviews. If any of you are interested, I’ll send you an Advance Reader Copy of my book in PDF format in exchange for posting a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Just send me an email at zoe@zoedisigny.com, and I'll fill you in on the process. It’s not a job for everyone, and I can't take everyone, so I’ll need to be selective.

Well, there you have it—the backstory to my debut novel in a nutshell. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and I’m looking forward to what comes next!

Thanks for joining me.

Oh, and if you’d like to follow me on Facebook and/or Goodreads, please click the icons below.

Until next month, ~Zoe