CARL ROTERS AND THE RENDEZVOUS MURALS By Robert Jones by David M. Burwen and Susan Jo Burwen Available at www.carlroters.com or Pathway Book Services/800-345-6665 Price: $95.00**/hardcover/fully illustrated Publication Date: August 2004 ISBN: 0-9748030-0-6 THE SISTINE CHAPEL HAD MICHELANGELO THE GRAND TETONS HAD CARL ROTERS In CARL ROTERS AND THE RENDEZVOUS MURALS, The Incredible, Behind-the-Scenes Story Of An American Masterpiece Is Told For The First Time For two years, beginning in 1957, American artist Carl Roters (1898-1989) devoted himself to one of the most important mural commissions granted in the Western United States -- the nearly eighty-foot-long Rendezvous Murals installed at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. In the beautifully illustrated book, CARL ROTERS AND THE RENDEZVOUS MURALS, David M. Burwen and his wife Susan Jo Burwen tell the incredible, behind-the-scenes story of the creation of this masterpiece. The Burwens, who enjoyed a twenty-year friendship with the artist, were granted access to his private papers and letters as sources for the book. Commissioned by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the Rendezvous Murals pay homage to the colorful era in the early 1800s when trappers combed the river valleys of the Rocky Mountains, hunting beaver to supply pelts for hats worn by the wealthy and fashionable. Each year at a gathering called a "Rendezvous," these rugged mountain men met with representatives from Eastern fur trading companies to sell their pelts in return for the supplies and manufactured goods they needed to survive. The Rendezvous, often lasting an entire month, was also a time of social interaction, drinking, gambling, storytelling, fighting matches, and other competitions. Roters' superb murals, which cover two walls of the dining room of the Jackson Lake Lodge, depict four scenes leading up to and including the 1837 Rendezvous organized by the American Fur Company on the banks of the Green River in Wyoming. These luminous panoramas capture the grandeur of the Western terrain as well as the daily activities of the trappers and the treacherous journey of the supply caravan that traveled thousands of miles to meet them. In addition to these scenes, the murals also consist of six larger-than-life portraits of key Rendezvous participants executed in Roters' signature duotone style. How these amazing murals came to be is a story of resourcefulness, single-mindedness, and artistic genius. According to CARL ROTERS AND THE RENDEZVOUS MURALS, the artist spent a year making preliminary sketches before visiting the installation site in 1955. Once there, he realized that five other artists were competing for the commission which would take two more years to win. But Roters was not concerned about the other artists. It was the majestic view from the Lodge's windows that he believed was his biggest competitor. "Once I saw the tremendous view of the mountains from the dining room I thought, ŒWhat do these people want with murals when they have mountains like this?' . . . I knew I couldn't compete with realistic art against the mountains -- I knew I'd have to go beyond realism. But I also realized that any art which incorporated the natural grain and design of beautiful wood walls would be effective. And I knew that anything done with wood on wood would be distinctly different from anything ever done before." It is for these reasons that Roters painted the Rendezvous Murals on wood panels using different techniques for the Western scenes and the portraits. For the scenic panels, he applied a fast-drying polymer paint in thin transparent layers to opaque gesso-covered wood, creating an effect like looking through layers of tinted glass. This luminosity fascinated him and resulted in images of great depth. For the portrait panels, he worked with transparent oil stains on dark wood, allowing the grain to show through and become part of the composition. The juxtaposition of the two different types of panels created a fascinating mixture of light, colorful scenes and intense, contemplative portraits. "The physical and technical challenges of producing the Rendezvous Murals were immense," explain the Burwens. Roters, whose studio was in the basement of a two-family house in Syracuse, New York, had to cut away part of the floor above to create an eighteen-foot-high space to accommodate the murals. He also needed to build a ground-level entrance to his studio to move materials in and out. This meant commandeering his eight-year-old son to remove hundreds of wheelbarrow loads of dirt. He insisted his children help in other ways as well. They undertook the tedious tasks of grinding pigment; preparing, applying, and sanding the gesso on the scenic panels; and cleaning the studio each night so that the mountains of gesso dust didn't stick to the works in progress. Roters total dedication to this project is made abundantly clear in CARL ROTERS AND THE RENDEZVOUS MURALS. In addition to color-perfect reproductions of the murals, the book contains many of Roters preliminary sketches, plus pages from his notebook that reveal the attention he paid to every detail of the project. The book also features examples of Roters other paintings, plus an essay about the Western fur-trapping era as well as biographies of important trappers and traders written by historians Fred R. Gowans, Professor Emeritus, Brigham Young University and Brenda D. Francis. For anyone interested in the making of an American masterpiece or in the history of the American West, CARL ROTERS AND THE RENDEZVOUS MURALS is a book to be treasured for a lifetime. # # # ABOUT THE AUTHORS Susan and David Burwen, part-time residents of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for nearly thirty years, are avid hikers and skiers who love the area for its magnificent mountains and abundant wildlife. Married since 1968, the Burwens often partner on a variety of projects. When at their primary residence in Mountain View, California, they promote start-up companies through venture capital and consulting. They also manage the Burwen Education Foundation, which they founded to provide college scholarships to high-potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, David produces videos of their global adventure travels and Susan spends time with her horses.
close window