Mountain Xpress reviews Cullowhee Masa exhibit
An excerpt:
Masa, a Japanese immigrant who died on June 21, 1933, blazed a singular path through the North Carolina mountains. He was, among a number of things, a photographer of rare skill and sensitivity, a dogged advocate for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a key figure in the identification and naming of the park’s natural features, and a chief engineer of the North Carolina portion of Appalachian Trail.
This year, the celebration surrounding the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has stirred to life what might be described as the year of George Masa. Earlier this summer, Masa’s landscapes were featured in an exhibit at the Asheville Art Museum; another exhibit of Masa’s work is ongoing at Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee. The late photographer has been the subject of recent features in the regional and national press, including WNC Magazine and National Parks magazine. And next month, Masa’s life and achievements will reach their widest audience yet, as part of Ken Burns’ new documentary on PBS, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.
Another:
Despite all the attention, Masa remains an elusive figure. He is a knot of contradictions: a socialite of scant means, a stranger with a thousand friends. He was an intensely private man who nevertheless managed to leave behind stacks of correspondence and handwritten records. As a businessman, he was shrewd but constantly in need of money. Trusted by many of the region’s most powerful men and women, he was once suspected of being nothing less than an international spy.
A quote from museum director Martin DeWitt:
“People think of our mountains and the words ‘divine inspiration’ come to mind,” says Martin DeWitt, director and curator of Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum. “Well, Masa achieved that feeling by capturing a precise atmospheric moment. You can imagine him out there waiting for a sunrise, having left Asheville at probably three in the morning, sitting out in the cold and rain and finally, here it comes—the moment that he’s been waiting for. There’s more than just an artistic vision at work in his photographs; there’s a tremendous sacrifice there as well.”
Tags: Appalachia, asheville art museum, Cullowhee, George Masa, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mountain Xpress, Western Carolina University
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