Art in Taos - The Early Years
A few days ago long-time supporter of the Artful Painter podcast, Richard Husband, sent me an email with a link to a remarkable YouTube video I had not seen before. It was a copy of the film Art in Taos – The Early Years. The video was posted several years ago by Alaric Balibrera. His parents – Mario and Dana Evans Balibrera – had produced this color 16mm film documentary. The film was evidently published in 1979.
Dana Evans Balibrera was credited as the writer, director, and co-producer, while Mario Balibrera was the cinematographer, editor, and also co-producer. Unfortunately, there is precious little information about the film. I did find one brief entry on the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s website. There the film is credited with having won an award in 1980 in the category of Film/Television, Western Documentary.
Of course, there have been other documentaries produced more recently covering the Taos art scene such as the 2019 film Awakening in Taos. I don’t intend to downplay this film. However, the technology that’s available today makes producing documentaries and films so much easier than when the Balibrera’s made their film. To put it into perspective, in the late 1970s I was a budding filmmaker. The only way to make a movie then was with a mechanical camera rapidly exposing 24 frames a second on a chemical film strip. Exposing film and then sending it off for development was hugely expensive. And, it was not easy! If you wanted synchronized sound the task became even more expensive and tedious. You recorded sound on a separate magnetic tape recorder. It was extremely tedious to sync up the sound to the film. Editing the film involved physically cutting the film and taping the ends of the film together. There was no undo button. You had to get that cut right the first time. So, when I see a film like Art in Taos that was filmed in 16mm, I can fully appreciate the challenge and expense that went into this project and have much respect for the filmmakers.
The film opens with a scene in a museum or gallery. You catch a glimpse of comedian and actor Jonathan Withers admiring the paintings by the early Taos artists. Voice actor John Mench opens the film by performing the voice of the artist and founding member of the Taos Society of Artists, E. L. Blumenschein. As the film continues, you see and hear interviews with Helen Blumenschein, Lady Dorothy Brett, Andrew Dashburg, Kit and Ted Egri, Saki Karavas, and author Frank Waters. Interspersed within the interviews are fascinating photos and film clips of several of the early Taos artists. Seeing them paint the Native Americans of Taos is fascinating and at times a bit cringeworthy.
It was also fascinating to see Saki Karavas talk about his acquisition of a D. H. Lawrence painting collection that had previously been banned by Scotland Yard. Seeing and hearing author Frank Waters was a pleasant surprise - a few months ago I read his book, Colorado. That book is illustrated by artist Nicolai Fechin – one of the early painters that found their way to Taos. Even Robert Henri’s influence on the Taos art scene is noted. Of course, there is so much more in this 28 minutes long documentary - I’ll leave it to you to discover and enjoy them for yourself.
