Photos by Tim Van Schmidt, Soundtracks by Opposite of Blink
“Napa Street Art (California)”
“Boulder Street Art 2024 (Colorado)”
“SLO Street Art (San Luis Obispo, California)”
“Street Art in Silver City (New Mexico)”
“Street Art/The Lincoln in Cheyenne (Wyoming)”
“The Walls of Avalon (California)”
“Wall Scrawl (Street Art in Spain)”
“Lovin’ Street Art in Loveland (Colorado)”
“Isla Mujeres Street Art (Quintana Roo, Mexico)”
“Isla Mujeres Mural Art (Quintana Roo, Mexico)”
Photos by Tim Van Schmidt, Soundtracks by Opposite of Blink
“Museum of Fine Art, Houston”
“Grounds for Sculpture (Seward Johnson)”
“Windows Framed (Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena)”
“Other Worlds: Selections from Denver Art Museum”
“Fundacio Joan Miro Barcelona”
“Teatre-Museu Dali (Dali Theatre and Museum)”
“Salvador Dali in Catalonia”
Where Dali Was Baptized- Organ Music Esglesia de Sant Pere Figueres, Spain
“Art by Paul Klee at Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona”
“Edvard Munch: Major Graphics (Oslo, Norway)”
“Goya’s War Still Rages”
“Impression/ists (Art from Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California)”
Tim Van Schmidt
My recent trip to Spain was an art feast. From the solemnity of the Goya Museum in Zaragoza to the dramatic whimsy of street graffiti, I saw art everywhere.
In Barcelona, the must-do list included visiting the Fundacio Miro — an entire museum dedicated to the work of Joan Miro. Well, almost — there was a special exhibition of Paul Klee’s work too.
Some of Miro’s artwork is giant-sized and even included a wall-sized tapestry. Big or small, his primitive forms are often emblazoned with bright swathes of color that stand out from across the room.
But what I also discovered was that Miro was an accomplished surrealist sculptor. Metal, wood and mixed assemblages apparently went places Miro’s canvas work couldn’t go. It was trippy stuff.
The main art event for me was in Figueres. There I visited the Dali Theatre-Museum and was drawn completely into this odd, strange world created by Salvador Dali himself. It’s all dedicated to Dali’s work, but this is not a cut and dried exhibition so much as an immersive experience.
One particular room said a lot about Dali as a conceptual artist. If you stood at the top of a ladder and looked through a spy glass, you would see Mae West’s face come to life when many of the elements in the room become aligned. He thought big, he thought brave, even a little nutty, and made art that defied explanation — and he’s interred in the museum itself.
Despite room after room of mind-bending art pieces, assemblages, concept pieces and just plain weirdness, my favorite discovery was the display of Dali’s jewelry. Sketches accompanied each piece, but the exacting arrangements of shining metal and jewels dazzled the eye like nothing else he did — not without some Dali twist in them, of course.
I visited the Theatre-Museum, the Gala Dali Castle in Pubol, decorated by Dali for his wife, as well as the seaside town of Cadaques, where Dali once lived.
In Zaragoza, I also visited the Francisco Goya museum dedicated to the work of one of Spain’s most revered artists of the 18th and 19th century.
There were full sized paintings here, many with religious themes, but the main draw was a room that contains all of Goya’s prints, including his bull fight series, the “Disasters of War”, and much more. It’s actually kind of tough viewing because Goya’s images are often dark, angry, and violent, with strange fever dream images thrown in for an even spookier effect.
Also interesting were the two floors of galleries dedicated to artists who inspired Goya and artists who were inspired by Goya. Both floors exhibited excellent collections, not just for the fine artwork itself, but also for the ability of the work to convey different times and places. These paintings were like opening windows to the Spain that was.
But some of the most vibrant art I saw in Spain was on the street. Yes, that included public artworks — like the “Monument to the Heroes of 1811” in Tarragona. It’s a sobering sculpture.
But mostly I am talking about street art. That included graffiti, of course — ranging from just artist names to fantasy imagery to political messages.
But another element of Spanish street art that I enjoyed was the colorful work on the grated doorways of shops that were closed. They were eye-catching, advertising the business or just displaying cool art, turning a walk down a deserted street in the mid-afternoon into an adventure of discovery.
View “Time Capsules by Tim Van Schmidt” on YouTube.
Tim Van Schmidt
On a recent trip to California, I went out to visit Catalina Island, about an hour and a half ferry ride off of the southern coast.
On that excursion — besides taking a tour of the island, sauntering along the harbor front checking out the tile art, and having a delicious taco lunch and a cold beer at a relaxed local restaurant — I also visited the Catalina Museum for Art and History.
The visit to this fine facility tucked back on a side street off of the harbor was inspiring in a way I did not expect.
The featured exhibit was a collection of artist Norman Rockwell’s 1940s magazine covers for The Saturday Evening Post. These are the World War II years and mirror the times with a positive attitude that today, some 80 years later, is a rare commodity.
Rockwell’s art is perhaps a little cartoonish — maybe a lot on the commercial side of art. You might say that it’s not fine art like a Rembrandt painting might be.
But inherent in all of his works at the Catalina Museum is a palpable amount of heart, warmth, humor, love, and sincerity. The specter of World War II added some other things to the mix too, like cooperation, collective pride, and duty.
What Rockwell’s art did not have is the anger, hate, selfishness, flippancy, shallowness, and suspicion that dominates a lot of our contemporary society.
As I viewed the dozens of Rockwell covers, it occurred to me that this is just the kind of thing we really need in the 21st Century. I need it, anyway, like a soothing balm on the soul.
I’m talking about being inspired to believe that good still has a place in the world — and it is not old-fashioned. Go ahead and scroll any of the major news sites out there today — are they inspiring in that way?
Rockwell’s art shows people coming together — it’s a refreshing idea. People are caring for each other and working together despite — and maybe because of — a world full of uncertainty.
For me, one of the most reassuring pieces in the exhibit was titled “The Homecoming”, published in The Post on May 26, 1945. It shows a young man returning from the war to the joy of who must be his family — everybody has the same red hair — and a diversity of neighbors.
There’s laundry on the line, a guy is fixing a porch roof, boys are hanging from the trees and people have their heads poking out of windows and doorways — and absolutely everybody has a look of loving delight. It’s a precious moment and everybody is engaged — not one person is hunched over looking at their cell phone or texting.
Rockwell honored the women of the war as well. He published “Rosie the Riveter” in 1943. Even more striking is “Liberty Girl”, also from 1943.
The exhibit had a photo of the original model who posed for the artwork, and Rockwell adds plenty to that. In all, a willowy young woman dressed in red, white and blue threads, is striding purposefully ahead, her sleeves rolled up and ready for action.
She’s ready even though she is weighted down by an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink assortment of tools and gear — from a compass to an oil can to a dust pan, watering can and much more — that symbolize the many roles women had taken on, especially on the American Homefront.
Most of all, “Liberty Girl” has a firm look of determination and resolve — there’s absolutely no monkey business here. She doesn’t have time to spare — this isn’t virtual reality — because there is real work to do.
The true center piece of the exhibit, though, was a famous series Rockwell created called “The Four Freedoms”. These were pieces of meaning and hope that were made to support the war effort, specifically in the selling of government bonds.
The four pieces were titled “Freedom of Speech”, “Freedom of Worship”, “Freedom from Want”, and “Freedom from Fear”.
In “Freedom of Speech”, a “lone dissenter” is shone voicing his opinion at a community meeting — and the people around him are listening to what he has to say, rather than hurtling insults.
In “Freedom of Worship” a diverse cross-section of people are praying, the words “each according to the dictates of his own conscience” displayed across the top — and it is a solemn and graceful moment, not torn by jagged violence.
“Freedom from Want” shows the patriarch and matriarch of an extended family delivering a Thanksgiving turkey to a table full of happy, smiling people of all ages — and the joy of being together as a family is apparently not marred by conflicting politics or differences of opinion.
But “Freedom from Fear” is the one that really struck home for me. In it, a couple tucks their kids into bed, who are already sleeping soundly.
In the father’s hand is a newspaper that includes two key words in the headline — “bombings” and “horror” — but the newspaper is folded and the kids are safe for another night. Are the kids in Ukraine safe tonight?
These are all idealized views of the world. But what is wrong with considering ideals? In fact, I would say that reaching for ideals will get us a lot further than throwing mud — and bombs — at each other.
Where is Norman Rockwell’s America? Is it in the rearview mirror and all we have to look forward to is more anger and division and reckless selfishness? That question makes me want to roll up my sleeves and say “C’mon people, let’s turn this thing around”.
Visit “Time Capsules by Tim Van Schmidt” on YouTube.
Tim Van Schmidt
My first article for the North Forty News/New Weekly Scene was about a project I had started right before the onset of the CO-VID-19 pandemic — January 2020 — editing recordings of talks I had with great musicians and posting them on YouTube.
The interviews were originally for articles in the Fort Collins press and I connected with musicians of all kinds, from international stars to local heroes, on the phone, usually in advance of an upcoming concert date.
I didn’t just take notes during these interviews, but I recorded them all on cassette tape. It took years for me to organize these tapes and start digitizing them — but all along, I knew I had some good stuff in there.
Once I had amassed a respectable number of interview posts, I sent out a press release, which resulted in an invitation to tell my own story in the North Forty News. That’s how this whole writing thing got started.
Since then I didn’t just post interviews on YouTube, but all kinds of projects — art projects, time capsule projects, my own music, rock and roll slide shows, travel photos, and pop history. But by far the posts people are most interested in are the interview recordings.
My number one post “of all time”, is a 1985 interview with California singer-songwriter Kate Wolf. It was recorded live in the living room of Wolf’s private studio — a quiet, serene little house. She was so kind. We used her tape recorder when mine wouldn’t function and she told me everything.
The post is titled “Love Letter: An Hour with Kate Wolf” and it has been accessed by thousands of Wolf fans, happy for a full, heart-felt interview experience with this influential artist.
My next top post is an interview with Joseph Shabalala, the founder and leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the South African vocal group. He tells me of Mambazo’s international stardom, in large part thanks to Paul Simon, and of the inspirational origins of his music.
Some other good interviews include a feisty Henry Rollins, Dr. John on New Orleans music, and Charles Neville of The Neville Brothers on the same subject.
But now, let’s just say that I got slightly sidetracked from the interview project by a little writing I’ve been doing for The New Scene Weekly — 64 articles and counting, with original photos.
Despite all that fun, though, I’ve managed to come full circle back again, posting a new interview on YouTube — and this one is a good one. The interview is with Robert Hunter, the lyricist for the Grateful Dead, from 1998.
The story is that I got a call one day from Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally, still active in Dead affairs after the passing of guitarist Jerry Garcia, offering me the chance to interview Hunter.
He was coming to Fort Collins with a solo show and since he didn’t do many interviews, this was a rare opportunity if I wanted it, Dennis explained. Well, duh.
I connected with Hunter on the first day of his tour and I think he was pretty energized. It sounded like he was bumping around in his kitchen as I was talking to him and I’m not really sure why he was even doing the interview.
But I found him to be very talkative and he balanced a gregarious sense of humor with a sincere effort to answer my questions with true heart — a legendary songwriter talking about his process, about the legacy of a band he helped define with his words and about his excitement to play new stuff.
My interview to-do list for future YouTube projects is long and the subjects are interesting. My upcoming workload includes a wide-ranging talk with Paul Kantner, from the Jefferson Airplane/Starship. We talked about everything from The Grateful Dead to science fiction.
The list also includes interviews with Colorado’s own “Zen Cowboy” Chuck Pyle, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn, The Indigo Girls’ Emily Saliers, jazz bass legend Ron Carter, and Earl King with the subdudes.
I’m also stocked with two interviews with the late Texas singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker and three talks with the great South African musician Johnny Clegg. Also on the list: Victor Wooten, Joan Osborne, Patty Larkin, Buddy Miles, Mick Fleetwood, and, for something different, artist Peter Max. That all is just a start — there are many more preserved on those tapes.
I have a lot of work to do.
Here’s the thing — these people have a lot to say if you are interested in the creative world of music. Some of it is minutia, maybe a lot of it, but for the most part, it is all about the love of music.
Why not let these musicians speak for themselves? I share the recordings freely because I think it’s cool listening to the artists talk — these are quite literally “direct quotes”.
Three Minutes with Merl Saunders 1992 Interview by Tim Van Schmidt
Three Minutes with Johnny Clegg 1990 Interview by Tim Van Schmidt
Three Minutes with Jerry Jeff Walker 1993 Interview by Tim Van Schmidt
Three Minutes with Earl King and the subdudes 1989 Interview by Tim Van Schmidt
Three Minutes with Buddy Miles 1998 Interview by Tim Van Schmidt
Three Minutes with Chuck Pyle 1997 Interview by Tim Van Schmidt
Tim Van Schmidt
I’m on my way to one of American rock’s most famous cities. I’m not talking about Memphis or New Orleans. I’m talking about Asbury Park, New Jersey.
My wife originally comes from West Long Branch, a town near Asbury, so I’ve visited the Jersey Shore many times — and we’ve got another trip coming.
One of my destinations this time is going to be the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music. It’s located on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch. I’ll be reporting on that experience in an upcoming article.
Springsteen, of course, is mostly responsible for making Asbury Park famous — worldwide — ever since his 1973 album release, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.”, announced his arrival on the rock scene.
But it wasn’t just Asbury Park that spawned Springsteen, it was the whole rocking New Jersey Shore. Maybe you’ve heard of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, another great New Jersey product?
If there is a specific Asbury Park rock and roll landmark it has to be the Stone Pony, which was made famous by storied surprise club gigs — on his home turf — by Springsteen.
I haven’t seen Springsteen there, but I have been to the venue. One night was a packed nightclub experience with reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff. Another time was to see Who bassist John Entwistle play with his own band. Only about 100 lucky fans and I got to hear “The Ox” thunder.
In recent years, the Stone Pony has added a huge outdoor stage and I enjoyed a sound check by Southside Johnny one afternoon while visiting the boardwalk area — and one by G Love on another occasion.
My most memorable visit to the Stone Pony was when the news broke that longtime E Street sax player Clarence Clemons had passed away. I happened to be in the area and went to the Stone Pony on a hunch. Bunches of flowers, candles, homemade memorials, and posters were lining the sidewalk that was buzzing with television crews outside the venue.
I’ve seen some other top notch concerts on the Jersey Shore. That includes a feisty set by Blondie at an oceanside nightclub.
Just a few exits up the New Jersey Turnpike from Asbury is the big outdoor venue, the Garden State Arts Center. I saw a warm reunion show there by Peter, Paul, and Mary, a rare and raw evening with Frank Zappa, and an excellent solo show by Paul Simon — just his voice and his guitar.
But some of my best rocking New Jersey discoveries have come from checking out the local news for cool events. Thanks to area listings, I had a great afternoon in the park at the Asbury Park Jazzfest one year — featuring a memorable band called the Voodudes.
At the park in West End, West Long Branch, I saw a scorching set by top notch rocker Matt O’Ree one night and some rough and ready blues by Chuck Lambert on another.
But let’s get back to Springsteen. You’ve maybe heard one of his great early tracks, “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”? Well, I’ve been there on the Fourth of July. During the day, I saw bands and sand castle competitions and at night it was fireworks on the beach.
Fireworks, indeed. The Jersey Shore was rocking.
See “Time Capsules by Tim Van Schmidt” on YouTube.
Tim Van Schmidt
Nestled into a shady corner of a bustling New Jersey university campus is a little white house, seemingly quiet from the outside. But on the inside, it is bursting with rock and roll.
To be more precise, rock and roll history. And to be even more precise, the rock and roll history of Bruce Springsteen.
This is the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music on the Monmouth University campus in West Long Branch, New Jersey. And it is a project that is on the move.
That’s “on the move” quite literally. When I visited the archives recently, I was able to speak with Director Eileen Chapman and Assistant Curator Connor Rupp in between trips to Los Angeles where they were opening a new Springsteen exhibit at the Grammy Museum.
Check out the home page of the museum at grammymuseum.org and that exhibit is one of the newest things there — “Bruce Springsteen Live!”
But “on the move” also describes the ambitious trajectory of this effort to immortalize the career of one of rock’s biggest stars.
It started with a fan collection of memorabilia that eventually was donated to the Asbury Park Public Library. When it became too big for the library, it was moved to Monmouth University to become its own entity.
Chapman has been a key player in organizing this archive and the work has paid off. Monmouth now has a working, breathing facility that serves the research needs of rock and roll fans from all over the world — and they had better hang on to it because it is not only cool, but academically important.
I know how great the archive is because I used it. The Bruce Springsteen Archives have some 35,000 pieces and I was able to search through the holdings online — at springsteenarchives.org — and then see the real stuff when I got there in October.
Among other historical chestnuts, I found two reviews of the very first Springsteen concert I attended — in November 1975 at Grady Gammage Auditorium on the Arizona State campus.
I also got to see things I didn’t know I could like the red hat that conspicuously appears on the cover of the “Born in the USA” album, the crumbling Springsteen family bible that a donor picked up at an estate sale for $5, handwritten lyrics to an unrecorded song, and the personal scrapbooks Springsteen’s mother created as her son’s career grew.
As a researcher, the Bruce Springsteen Archives was a delightful opportunity.
The little white house was bursting at the seams with material — there were even boxes of stuff stored in the bathroom tub. And wherever there weren’t boxes of stuff, there were student workers and volunteers hunkered down in every corner, indexing the contents.
It’s obvious — this snowballing effort needs more room.
But also pay attention to that second slug in the facility’s name — “Center for American Music”. As great as Springsteen is to his fans, expanding the vision of the archives to encompass so much more gives them a mission of far reaching possibilities to help keep the history of American music alive.
Now, there do seem to be bigger plans afoot for the archives — like maybe their own building, expanded services, and a wider vision. So I can only advise music fans to keep an eye on New Jersey — it’s where the legacy of Springsteen lives and where the future of American music history may soon have a home.
Explore “Time Capsules by Tim Van Schmidt” on YouTube.