NYC-ARTS

NYC-ARTS Full Episode: June 18, 2020
A selection of NYC-ARTS Greatest Hits: Philippe de Montebello in conversation with Pierre Terjanian, the curator of the exhibition “The Last Knight: The Art, Armor, and Ambition of Maximilian I"; followed by a visit to the Brooklyn studio of Samuel Zygmuntowicz, a modern violin-maker.
TRANSCRIPT
♪♪
>> Coming up on "NYC-Arts,"
we'd like to share with you
some of our favorite segments.
>> Armor is worn in combat,
but it's also the formal dress
of the powerful men
that are not part of the clergy
at the time.
It's an object that projects
an image of perfection,
like St. George is always
represented in armor.
There's something almost holy
about the armor.
♪♪
♪♪
>> Every violin I make,
I keep really exhaustive records
on every aspect about it
that I can.
If an instrument of mine comes
back -- and I really like it;
I want to make another one
like that -- I have some record
of what I did.
>> Funding for "NYC-Arts"
is made possible by...
This program is supported
in part by public funds
from the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs,
in partnership with the
City Council.
Additional funding provided by
members of Thirteen.
"NYC-Arts" is made possible in
part by First Republic Bank.
>> First Republic Bank presents
"First Things First."
At First Republic Bank,
"first" refers to our
first priority, the clients
who walk through our doors.
The first step?
Recognize that every client is
an individual with unique needs.
First decree?
Be a bank whose currency
is service in the form
of personal banking.
This was First Republic's
mission from our very first day.
It's still the first thing
on our minds.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
>> Good evening,
and welcome to "NYC-Arts."
I'm Paula Zahn, at the Tisch
WNET Studios at Lincoln Center.
It's been my pleasure,
along with my colleague,
Philippe de Montebello,
to bring you the very best
of arts and culture
in the tri-state area.
Whether it's music, dance,
film, theater, the visual arts,
classic or contemporary,
well-known or newly discovered,
"NYC-Arts" have provided
unique access to the people
and places that represent the
richness of our arts community.
In this program,
we'd like to share with you
some of our favorite segments.
We hope they are some of your
favorites, as well.
♪♪
>> Good evening,
and welcome to "NYC-Arts."
I'm Philippe de Montebello,
on location at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Now on view is the exhibition
"The Last Knight:
The Art, Armor, and Ambition
of Maximilian I."
It is the first major exhibition
to focus on the central role
that armor played in the life
and very grand ambitions
of the Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I.
A walk through the galleries
reveals how he used armor
to serve his personal
and dynastic aspirations during
the dawn of the Renaissance.
The most comprehensive loan
exhibition of European arms
and armor in decades,
it brings together more than
180 objects.
These have been selected
from 30 public
and private collections
in Europe, the Middle East,
and the United States.
The armors on view are quite
sumptuous and highlight
his patronage of the greatest
European armors of his age.
A self-promoter
of the highest order,
a ruthless leader,
and political mastermind,
he used art and armor
to forge a heroic image
and eternal legacy.
The outstanding armors are shown
together with drawings,
prints, paintings, sculpture,
stained glass, and a tapestry.
Also included is the complete
series of 18 sandstone reliefs
that Maximilian commissioned
to decorate the façade of
the celebrated Goldenes Dachl,
his official residence
in Innsbruck, known for its
distinctive golden-tiled roof.
I had the opportunity of
speaking with Pierre Terjanian,
the curator of this
truly remarkable exhibition.
♪♪
♪♪
Pierre, it's so nice of you
to welcome us in this absolutely
extraordinary exhibition.
I mean, astonishingly
beautiful and,
at the same time,
revealing of a whole world
that is really not
familiar today to most people.
So, let's set the stage.
Who exactly is Maximilian I?
>> Thank you, Philippe.
Maximilian I is one
of the European rulers
that is well-known in Europe
as a colorful
figure that ruled over
many different parts of Europe.
He started his career in today's
Netherlands and, later,
became Holy Roman Emperor
and, as such, was in charge of
composite assemblage of states,
mostly German-speaking,
but not exclusively.
Resided in Austria.
He was at the hinge of the late
Middle Ages and the beginning
of the Renaissance,
a man who lived in a period
of transition that saw
massive changes politically
but also scientifically
and artistically.
>> What exactly did armor,
great armor, mean at that time,
in the late 15th,
early 16th century?
>> So, armor is a protective
garment made
typically of steel or iron.
It's worn in combat,
but it's also the formal dress
of the powerful men
that are not part of the clergy
at the time.
It's also an object that
projects an image of perfection,
like St. George
is always represented in armor
and the Archangel Michael.
There's something almost holy
about the armor.
Wearing armor allows oneself
to accomplish things
that one might not dare to do
without it.
It is also something you see
as part of a performance,
and the performances
are important for Maximilian
because he needs to demonstrate
that he has leadership qualities
that will mobilize people
around him, around his cause.
>> I presume, if you were
Maximilian, you hired,
you commissioned absolutely
the greatest armorers in Europe.
Where were they,
and for whom did they work?
>> Armor could only be had
from very specific workshops,
and Maximilian arranged
special relationships
with these armorers, sometimes
exclusive arrangements.
So, if you wanted an armor
from those workshops,
you had to be
in Maximilian's good graces.
You need to be connected to him.
The armors are among the few
objects from the period
that are valuable
because of how they are made,
rather than because
their intrinsic value.
They're made of iron, nothing so
valuable in the first place.
But the quality of the
workmanship is everything.
And, not unlike haute couture,
armor has a sense of style
and endows a person wearing it
with a presence.
So, Maximilian was eclectic.
He had armor made
wherever he fancied,
and he happened to have access
to the best armorers of the
time.
>> Now, is this a little bit
like going to the tailor?
Did he actually go the armorer,
be measured by the armorer?
How did that work
for an emperor?
>> In general, the emperor
summoned the armorers
to come measure him at home.
But he liked visiting with them.
He also liked telling them how
the armor should be designed.
He had strong opinions
on the matter.
And maybe that's a bit
counterintuitive for a head of
state to be interested in such
things.
But he thought that his ability
to have wonderful armors
for himself, to appear in them,
but also to give them
to the people who were
in his entourage were one of the
measures of his greatness.
>> As diplomatic gifts?
>> As diplomatic gifts,
but also --
>> As bribes? As favors?
>> As tokens of appreciation,
as token of appreciation.
So, sometimes, even his usher
or his personal secretary
got armors as gifts from him,
as well as heads of states.
Henry VIII
was one of the recipients.
>> This is an opportunity
to speak about the horse
that's right next to us.
Is it frequent that the horses
themselves had armor,
the chamfron for the head
and all over, or was that
an imperial privilege?
>> It's a matter of resources.
So, let's say that the ones who
can afford it would typically
have armor for their horses.
The inexpensive kind was
boiled-leather armor.
But a solid-metal horse armor
was very expensive, very rare.
Typically, they were
smooth and simple.
This one is a complete work
in relief.
That is a statement,
a powerful statement.
And in its original state,
this horse armor was actually
completely covered in silver
and in gold.
>> I gather Maximilian was
well-known as being a great
jouster.
Tell us a little bit about those
armors and the meaning,
conceivably symbolic meaning,
of having these exhibitions,
these jousts?
>> So, Maximilian had to prove
himself to gain
the support that he needed
from the grandees of his lands,
the dukes, the counts.
That was his true audience.
And, to do so,
he could do so in battle,
but people tend to be distracted
in combat, and the tournament
provided a different arena,
where there would be
a wider range of people,
more socially diverse,
gender diverse, all of whom
could witness his capabilities.
There's a wide audience.
Tribunes are erected.
Houses are being rented
so that people could watch
the tournament.
The tournament is part
of the celebration
of anything important --
religious holidays,
civic feasts, inauguration
of somebody's reign,
a noble wedding, and so forth.
And Maximilian uses
the tournament as a way
of amplifying his message,
which is that he has qualities.
These qualities are both
physical.
He's fearsome.
He will run against somebody
holding a lance,
running the risk of actually
being struck on horse,
possibly wounded.
He was actually wounded
in a tournament
many times during his life.
This is a demonstration
of his dexterity
as a horseman --
>> And his courage.
>> And his courage.
But, ultimately, because he had
chronicles done in a
sort of autobiographical way,
telling stories of him
fighting against others
in the tournament,
he has himself depicted
as a loser, also.
I think that's very important
because then it shows
a moral character,
the ability to be resilient
in the face of adversity,
the idea that he has
the endurance
that is required for somebody
who will be facing challenges.
It's not just about
being supreme.
It's also about being combative.
>> One suspects that armors,
over time, were split apart.
Parts of it were sold.
How rare is it to have,
actually, a full armor?
>> Those things are among
the rarest,
especially in the 15th century,
when most elements
are completely independent
from another,
and it's very rare indeed
to find those 20 to 50 elements
that were originally designed
to go together
as something coherent,
to have remained
together after centuries.
>> And that's the case
for the one
that is in the show here?
>> It is.
>> Or is it somewhat made up?
>> It is not made up.
However, there was some
soul-searching because it was
kept with other armors with
similar features in the same
place, and over the centuries
those elements got mixed up.
So, our colleagues in the
Kunsthistorisches Museum in the
1950s did some test fittings,
trying to see which pieces
really stylistically
and morphologically
would connect the best.
The helmet of that armor,
however,
had been separated from the body
since the 18th century,
and this is one of
the very rare opportunities
to see what the overall armor
would have looked like
with the original helmet,
which is now in a private
collection, reunited.
That armor was made
within months after Maximilian,
for the first time,
was tried by combat.
He fought the French at
Guinegate in 1479.
He was, at the time,
20 years old.
This was his first victory
and, therefore, he commissions
this extraordinary armor
from Germany,
and it is the one in which
he rides into his lands,
visits his subjects.
It was something that was unlike
anything that had been seen
in the low countries before
because, stylistically,
it was deeply German,
and in sophistication
and articulation
and from a point of view
of style, it was
an absolutely superlative armor.
Maximilian even struggled
to pay for it.
>> It's really a spectacular
piece, as are so many objects
in this exhibition,
what would almost,
in many instances,
speak of these elements
as pieces of sculpture.
>> So, that's the very first
reason that I became
interested in arms and armor,
and in armor in particular.
It's this ability to transform
the body of the wearer.
It's the fact that
the best armorers of their day
were capable of endowing
something that weighed 60 pounds
or more with grace,
with elegance.
They were fashion elements
that dictated what the overall
architecture might look like.
But then, the way you can
protect the head,
there are many different ways,
and the armors always were drawn
for the princely patrons,
to create something
that was aesthetically pleasing
and captivating,
and we're trying here to show
the diverse options
that were available to somebody
who had the means to require the
finest armor during the period.
>> And there is one very famous
armor that has disappeared,
and it is only known through
one representation,
which is an extraordinary
painting by Cranach
in the exhibition.
>> This is the
devotional picture.
It's elements of an altar piece,
one of the wings.
It represents the Roman
legionnaire, St. Maurice,
who was a legionnaire
based in Africa.
And the armor, however,
is a portrait of an object
that really existed.
It's an armor made of solid
silver.
It was decorated with gems
and pearls, also with gilding.
>> And it was Maximilian's?
>> It was Maximilian's.
Maximilian, however,
chronically ran out of money
fighting the Venetians,
the Turks,
the French, and others,
sometimes his own subjects.
He never fully paid
for that armor,
so it stayed with the armorer,
and in 1519
Charles V redeemed it,
apparently wore it
for his coronation
as king of the Romans,
and then gave it as a gift
to a cardinal,
and that cardinal turned it into
reliquary, as a container
for bones of St. Maurice,
and it was displayed
in a church.
Lucas Cranach had the mission
to create images of the saint,
based on the armor that was
associated with it,
and the cardinal ran into
financial difficulties
and, within 20 years,
the armor was melting down,
and the jewels scattered.
>> There's an astonishing
picture
at the end of the exhibition,
which is the portrait
of Maximilian in death.
What is the significance
of this?
>> This is the first
representation, as far as I know
in Western art,
of a sovereign as a dead mortal,
as a dead person.
It must have been commissioned
by Maximilian,
who had a lot of original ideas.
It's showing him
as a humble mortal.
We know from his last will
and testament that he asked for
his body to be beaten with rods,
and for his teeth
to be knocked out.
The idea was that he was
a sinner and that,
by showing humility
in how his body had to be
treated after his death,
he was showing his contrition,
his penance, his willingness
to acknowledge his sins,
and asked to be forgiven.
>> Why is the show
called "The Last Knight"?
Why is Maximilian
called "The Last Knight"?
>> So, it's certainly not a name
he would have wanted
for himself.
Maximilian thought of himself
as the first among many,
and the premier of many kinds.
He certainly wanted to be
a knight,
and "The Last Knight" is a term
that came from the 19th century
for romantic writing,
where Maximilian was viewed
as a romantic figure.
Virtually all of Maximilian's
descendants had the more
bureaucratic approach to power
and to the rule,
and so in that sense, Maximilian
was viewed by his own kin
as the last of a kind,
as somebody who had secured
for them influence and prestige,
very much through his martial
deeds and his martial image.
>> This is an exhibition
full of great art and sculpture
in the form of armor,
of history, of pageantry.
It really has everything
for everyone,
and we're so grateful to you
for creating the exhibition for
the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
and thank you for explaining it
so cogently.
>> Thank you, Philippe.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
>> Next, "NYC-Arts" visits
the Brooklyn studio
of a modern violin maker
to discover the unique skills
and delicate process involved in
creating an outstanding violin.
Regarded as one of the greatest
contemporary makers,
Samuel Zygmuntowicz discovered
his craft as a teenager
and went on to study
at the Violin Making School
of America in Salt Lake City.
Ever since then,
he has spent his career
creating violins for some of the
world's most talented musicians.
♪♪
♪♪
>> I was interested in sculpture
and art from
as little as I can remember.
I was always doing sculpture.
I think I was good at it,
and everyone assumed that I'd be
a professional artist.
When I was 13, I read a book
about a violin maker,
and I kind of got interested
in instrument making.
It uses all the attributes
of art, but it's for a practical
purpose, and it has
a really clear metric.
It either performs well
as a violin for the musician,
or it doesn't.
It's dependent on knowledge
and skill.
If someone comes to me to have
a violin made, there is,
kind of, a process where I want
to understand, first of all,
why did they come to me?
Presumably, they've heard
instruments of mine.
I want to see their violin.
I have to understand
what they want.
Are they a soloist,
or are they a very aggressive,
strong player?
Are they someone who is
a more subtle player, softer?
Then I will go back to my shop,
and then it's up to me
to decide
what I will make for them
that will serve their needs.
All around me here,
there's my wood stock,
or some of my wood stock,
and it's kind of like a
collection of wine or something.
It comes from all over Europe,
and I've been buying wood
from the beginning in my career.
It has to sit for a long time,
but then I can go through that,
and I pick wood based
not just visually
but on its density,
its stiffness, how I think
it will behave in this model.
First, I have to make
what's called the rib structure,
which is the sides,
and those are bent out of very
thin wood around a form,
which I've designed.
From the ribs, from the sides
I've made, I will then create
the outline of the instrument.
Saw out the top and the back.
While the ribs are bent,
the top and the back,
even though they have an arch,
that's carved in because it's
a compound arching in the
direction, whereas
the woods are just bent.
The arching is critical to
the tone color.
Probably the most important part
of the violin is the front,
the top.
That's the part that vibrates
the most,
and that's made out of spruce,
which is, of the European woods,
it's the wood that is strongest
per unit of weight.
What's challenging is,
while I'm making it,
I'm relating to it in a visual
and a tactile way, but
when it's working as a violin,
it's going to be vibrating
in a way that, you know,
is not visible to the eye
but that is very real.
It's like a long chess game.
I won't know if I've made
the right calls until
the instrument's been strung up
and been played for a while.
It crosses a line from being
something that you've just made,
like the sound when you'd make
a chest of drawers
or build a house,
to being something that is
vibrating in response
to human interaction.
♪♪
It's not alive, exactly,
but it's like it's alive.
♪♪
♪♪
Every violin I make,
I keep really exhaustive records
on every aspect about it
that I can.
You know, wood choice, model,
arching, thicknesses, weights,
tap tones,
varnishes, space-bar dimensions.
If an instrument of mine comes
back -- and I really like it;
I want to make another one like
that -- I have some record of
what I did.
On the other hand, if someone
comes in and it's, like,
"Well, you know, it's just not
as open as it should be,"
or "It's not as focused,"
I can look at my notes, and I
can see well, I may have been a
little conservative on that one.
I might have a little room
to take a little wood out,
or that one might be a little
too flexible.
Maybe I should
put in a little reinforcement.
You never really understand
something until you have to
explain it to somebody else.
So, it puts me on the spot
all the time when I teach.
Most of the great shops,
historically, including
Stradivari, were studios.
They weren't a single,
lone artist.
People working collaboratively
will, ultimately,
work at a higher level
of development
than a single craftsperson
or a single artist.
You could say, on the one hand,
I'm training my competition.
On the other hand,
I feel that it's a tribute
to the system that I practice.
I'm not a magician.
I build things based on
with a method
and based on skill,
and if I can convey that,
then it's sort of
you could say proof of concept.
Art never exists in a vacuum.
What are the sources
of knowledge that go into it?
What are the quality of the
people that enter the field?
And then it's pulled forward
by the demands of the clientele
or the audience.
I've had wonderful opportunities
working with great musicians.
I got contacted by Isaac Stern
to make a copy of his
Guarneri del Gesu.
To actually meet Isaac Stern,
for me, it was, like,
I don't know,
meeting the pope or something,
and he's legendary.
When the instrument
was finally done,
I brought it to Mr. Stern,
who was incredibly gracious.
When Mr. Stern passed away,
the two instruments
that I'd made for him
were part of his estate,
and they were auctioned off.
That violin was recently sold
to Chad Hoopes,
who is a wonderful soloist
in his 20s,
and I think it's a really
fitting place for it,
and I think Mr. Stern would be
very pleased.
♪♪
It was an odd feeling
to see that my work
has now left my purview.
It has now entered the world
where it lives its own life,
and it has its own history,
and I feel like
I've seen my own work go from,
you know, a decent alternative
for a musician
to being something
that is sought after
and that has a place
in the history of violin making.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
>> I'm Paula Zahn
at the Tisch WNET
Studios at Lincoln Center.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Good night.
To enjoy more of your
favorite segments on "NYC-Arts,"
visit our website
at NYC-Arts.org.
♪♪
Leonard, what a privilege
to be able to sit down
and talk with you.
>> I love being here
with you, too, Paula.
>> Where are we?
>> We're at a moment
to take nothing for granted.
>> Well, it's a pleasure to be
with Marci Reaven,
the curator of this exhibition
full of hope.
We are in the midst of some
of the greatest sculptures
by the iconic names.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
>> Funding for "NYC-Arts"
is made possible by...
This program is supported in
part by public funds from the
New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs,
in partnership with the
City Council.
Additional funding provided
by members of Thirteen.
"NYC-Arts" is made possible
in part by First Republic Bank.
>> First Republic Bank presents
"First Things First."
At First Republic Bank,
"first" refers to our
first priority, the clients
who walk through our doors.
The first step?
Recognize that every client is
an individual with unique needs.
First decree?
Be a bank whose currency
is service in the form
of personal banking.
This was First Republic's
mission from our very first day.
It's still the first thing
on our minds.
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