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USA
Southwest
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Mountainair, NM
Rancho Bonito - Clement "Pop" Shaffer
1880-?
Home environment
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Information:
Built: 1925-1949
Clem "Pop" Shaffer was born in Harmony, Indiana on July 20th 1880 and was the 13th child. His father was a blacksmith, a common and very necessary occupation of the time, and he passed this on to his son. "Pop" was a blacksmith, but he was also many other things: a merchant, a horse trader, a land speculator, a philanthropist, a patriot... The list goes on and on, but most of all he was a dreamer and an artist. Fortunately, "Pop" was one whose main efforts were devoted toward making his dreams come true. He selected Mountainair, New Mexico in the early 1900's, as the place to achieve these dreams.
Mountainair, New Mexico at that time was a thriving community known as "The Pinto Bean Capital of the World," a beehive of activity and enterprise. It was the ideal setting for his efforts to culminate into reality. This Hotel and Rancho Bonito, one mile south on Hwy 55, are the products of these efforts.
Least we forget, "Pop" was not alone, his partner and wife, affectionately referred to as "Ma," deserves a great deal more credit than has been given her. Lena Imboden Shaffer, "Pop's" second wife, was undoubtedly the mainstay of this combo, the one who made it all work. All too often credit has neglected the man, or women as in this case, behind the scene. Lena, "Pop," and the children, two of which were from his first marriage, lived on a homestead south of Mountainair. When "Pop" wrote his memoirs, he said that Lena was the most wonderful stepmother that ever was. Jackie Hudgeons, a granddaughter said, "She must have been a saint." She was awfully tolerant of Grandpa."
Pop's ranch, Rancho Bonito, just south of town, is decorated in an equally inventive fashion. These are considered among the finest works of the Pueblo-deco period and are wonderful to see. These buildings are listed on the National Historic Landmarks registry.
The Shaffer Hotel and Rancho Bonito are listed on the National Register of Historical Places and in the nomination document this description is found:
"Like other artists The Folk Art Environmentalist seems to be driven by the need for expression, but in this case the expression often takes the form of a lifetime, single project which is guided by the desire to form an environment over which the artist has complete control. The unity of the artist's vision is readily apparent but the underlying motivation is much more difficult to discern. On the whole, works by American Folk Environmentalists seem to share no direct relationship with the art of the past or awareness of developments in the art of their contemporaries.
They work outside the mainstream, intently focusing on a inner vision, the content, scope, and style of which is the sole product of the artist. What the forces were that motivated "Pop Shaffer" to begin work on his small animals and decorated buildings are not known nor do we know what guided the creation of such a unified vision. We do know that there are no other examples of Folk Environments on this scale in New Mexico and that efforts should be made to preserve this humorous and impressive monument to one man's vision."
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Bibliography:
"Detour Art—Outsider, Folk Art, and Visionary Folk Art Environments Coast to Coast, Art and Photographs from the Collection of Kelly Ludwig" by Kelly Ludwig, Kansas City Star Books, 2007.
"Rare Visions & Roadside Revelations" (the book), by Randy Mason, Michael Murphy and Don Mayberger, Kansas City Star Publishing, 2002.
On DVD - Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations, "Prowlin' the Prairie", KCPT, Kansas City Public Television, 1996-2000.
"20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993.
"Self-Made Worlds: Visionary Environments" by Roger Manley and Mark Sloan, Aperture, New York, 1997.
"Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, McFarland & Company, 2000.
"American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003.
"Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations Coast to Coast Travel-o-Pedia" by Randy Mason, et. al., Kansas City Star Books, 2009. |
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