Enchanted Gateway

Posted: March 18th, 2009 | Author: Mark | Filed under: News | Tags: LBJ, Mark Stewart | No Comments »

Enchanted Gateway, by Elaine Corbell, 1977

Elaine Corbell was my a relative of my friend, Larry. He gave me this piece in 1994.

In her later years, Corbell worked exclusively in LBJ. She left behind a house full of LBJ portraits, landcapes featuring LBJ, and sculptures of LBJ. She had always claimed that some of her work was in the LBJ Library and Museum here in town, so Larry and I went looking for it.

An archivist told us that if she had really sent artwotk to LBJ, the museum would have made a record of the gift, and the piece would be in storage if not on display. It was not as simple as going to the card catalog, however, and would take some time. Some weeks later, he had the story for us.

The good news was that the library had indeed received a bust from Corbell. However, the bust had apparently been wrapped and shipped before it had completely cured and had arrived at the library under attack from mold. The staff had fought valiantly to save the piece, he told us, but there was a danger that the mold might spread to the rest of the museum, so the bust was discarded. There was no photograph taken, although that would have been pretty funny, he admitted.

I often think of Corbell slaving away over these LBJ fetish pieces, madly dashing out one after another, filling her house with them.

The gateway is enchated because the light is enchanted: moonlight, starlight, sunlight, sunrise, sunset, twilight, more moonlight. It’s all here and in spades.

LBJ himself stands at the pulpit in the gateway, looking east toward the rising sun with his green hair and hound dog ears backlit by the setting stars. His smashed white cowboy hat and hands jammed into the pockets of his cowboy coat say that he is not giving a speech at this lectern.

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