What Gets Your Attention
I always look forward to visiting art museums. It is exciting to encounter both familiar and unfamiliar works of art. At the same time, reflecting on art slows me down and has a calming and centering effect on me. In that frame of mind, I visited the Minnesota Marine Art Museum on January 18, 2019. In addition to enjoying all the art in the museum, I was looking for a piece of art that would make a special connection with me and stimulate my thinking about Winona and its environs.
About halfway through my tour I encountered The Villa on The Cliffs of Sainte-Adresse by Alfred Stevens. Stevens was a new artist to me, but I immediately connected with his style and artistry. The characters in this painting are so alive and expressive that it draws me into the setting. Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo on May 5, 1885 , “It all comes down to the degree of life and passion that an artist manages to put into his figure. So long as they really live, a figure of a lady by Alfred Stevens, say, or some Tissots are also really magnificent.” High praise indeed! I think that sort of life is realized in this painting.
I think it is fair to say that the patio in the painting existed so that people at the villa could enjoy and appreciate the sea near it. The sea and the sky extending to the horizon give a sense of expansiveness to the viewer and to those that are on the patio. The smell of the salt air and the murmur of the waves can have a calming effect on those near enough to sense them. But of the 12 people (and 2 dogs) in the painting, only one man seems to be focused on the view, smells, and sounds of the sea. The artist, in the composition of this painting is demonstrating, either consciously or unconsciously, a tendency that I think is shown by most people in most cultures. Remarkable features of the landscape around us tend to quickly fade into the background for us as we focus our attention on people and things near at hand.
The residents of the City of Winona live next to one of the most remarkable geographic features in the world; the Mississippi River. I won’t take the time to list remarkable features of the River, as descriptions of those features are widely available. The Minnesota Marine Art Museum sits on the bank of the River and exists because of the River. You could say the same thing about the City of Winona and Winona State University. Even though the residents of Winona live next to this remarkable river, my experience suggests (I have lived here since 1975) that most of them spend very little time focusing on it. They are focused on the things at hand almost all the time. But just like in the painting, this does not apply to everyone. There are people in Winona who do regularly focus on the River. They are like the man in the painting looking thoughtfully over the railing and out to sea.
My dad was a man that lived his entire life (except for his service in WWII) on or near the River. He worked on the River for the Corp of Engineers most of his adult life. During those 30+ years, when he would get home (Trempealeau) from work, weather allowing, he would hook up his boat and go out on the river fishing. I think he felt more comfortable on the River than he did on shore. The River provided for him, nurtured him, and restored him. There are people like him around today. There aren’t many of them, but there are some. But, for most people, the River and the valley it created are just the backdrop for their lives; it is always there but rarely their focus. When I look again at the painting, I see us in it.
This doesn’t mean that the River is not in the consciousness of the people of Winona. In the painting most of the people are not focused on the sea but, I think it is fair to assume that, the sea was in their consciousness. Look at the woman sitting on the chair and knitting. The murmur of the waves is the soundtrack for her knitting. The same is true of the River and the residents of this City. If a visitor does not appreciate this aspect of Winona life, it is unlikely that they will understand the people who live here. The River is very much in the consciousness of the people who live here. To many, this is just stating the obvious. The signs of it are everywhere. The City is spatially oriented to the River. The City runs along the River as the River runs to the sea. It is a barrier that must be crossed to reach anyone in Wisconsin, or for that matter anyone east of here. It divides our nation in half and puts Winona in the West. Look at the names that are assigned organizations and events. Steamboat Days is the annual City celebration. The Theatre du Mississippi is a local theater company. The Great River Road (Highway 61) runs right through the City. Mississippi Welding Supply, Island City Brewery, River Hills Dental, Muddy River Photography, River City Concrete Products, and the Riverport Inn are just a few of the businesses in Winona that allude to the River. Sugar Loaf is the symbol of the City. It is a bluff that got its present shape by being quarried for limestone which was used, in part, to form the wing dams that made this stretch of the River navigable for commercial river traffic. The dike that borders the River was built to prevent the River from invading the City, as it was wont to do, during many Springs before the permanent dike was built. Dig down 15 or 20 feet most places in the valley and you will find the River under us. It is not just beside us, but it surrounds us on three sides; the main channel on one side, Lake Winona (which used to be a channel) on the other side, and the river aquafer underneath us. They are all organically connected and rise and fall together.
I believe the River should be more of a focus of the people who live here. When we are out of tune with what is around us, we tend to neglect those things. We tend to underappreciate the value of the River and do not give it the full respect and care it deserves. The consequences of that neglect can be significant. In the first half of my life the Mississippi River was largely neglected by those living near it. The River existed in the consciousness of those that dwelled here but, because it was not given adequate attention (or focus), it experienced considerable degradation and declined as a key component of the environment and social systems in the central United States. In the second half of my life the situation has changed considerably. All up and down the River there are more people that are focused on the health of the River and the effect can be seen in the condition of the River and its environs. In 1973 the Congress passed the Clean Water Act and as a result of the implementation of that Act the water quality continues to improve. All levels of government have focused on the River. The Federal government through the Clean Water Act, the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the City of Winona through construction of a new wastewater treatment plant and implementation of the Pretreatment Program, have all focused on the River and made significant contributions to improving its state. But the job is not done. In fact, the job will never be completely done. In each generation the people living along the River must renew their focus on and care for the River.
As people living along this River, it is only natural and right that we spend most of our time engaged in the things at hand; cultivating relationships, starting families, caring for and supporting those families, building community, and living gracefully till the end of our days. But if we don’t spend some of our time focused on, respecting and caring for this Great River, which is also right at hand, we do not serve ourselves, and the generations to come, very well. People will travel to the ends of the earth, perhaps even to a patio at The Villa on the Cliffs of Sainte-Adresse, in search of beauty, meaning, and satisfaction in life. At the same time, they may be overlooking a resource that supports those values, that has been right under their noses all along. It is my intention to avoid that mistake.
