I rifled through deep stacks of
original drawings, piles of paintings
and racks upon racks of highly
expressive artwork holding each
other up. I was in awe and couldn’t
stop raving. About 90 minutes later
Harry commented, “Many people
take a quick look around here
and then leave, without a word.”
I thought to myself: How was that
possible?
“So, do you want to meet the
gangsters?” he said again, rather
loudly. Gangsters? Hell yes I would!
But who were they? It seems that
Harry has a posse of fellow West
Marin artists who meet almost
weekly at the quaint Woodacre Deli
in “downtown” Woodacre. Each
gathering attracts between four and
seven artists, depending on current
health status, understandably, with
ages spanning 66-92 and most
over 75. They share coffee, bagels,
life experiences and very bad
jokes. Conversations are animated,
highly knowledgeable (these guys
have lived!) and bursting with
laughter, though usually requiring
participants to lean in to hear
what is being said. While it’s hard
to avoid talking politics with this
wizened, liberal-leaning group,
especially in today’s uneasy climate,
the conversation revolves primarily
around all things art.
For the most part, the gangsters are
hell-bent on criticizing, sometimes
constructively, museum and gallery
curators, art critics and status-
seeking collectors. A common
lament is that gallery owners
tend to intimidate most visitors,
especially younger ones, as if only
they have the secret code to the
meaning and value of a particular
artist or piece. “What do they know
about real art?” pipes in contractor/
abstract painter Peter Strindberg.
“They only look at a small fraction
of the art out there and won’t make
a move unless some museum or
art magazine says it’s good.” The
group’s consensus is that art should
be taken off the high pedestals and
just enjoyed; art’s not supposed to
be fancy.
Everyone loves a field trip and the
gangsters, especially so. A recent
outing saw the group pack into
Peter’s well-worn Chevy Venture
and head to San Francisco’s Museum
of Modern Art to see the Matisse/
Diebenkorn exhibition. What a
scene—five aging artists, and not-
so-subtle art critics, wandering the
halls and walls complaining about
too many people, not seeing the
best works of these masters, asking
where the bathroom is—you get the
picture. However, there were many
“Wow, would you look at that!”
expressions of heartfelt admiration.
As the newest and youngest
member, I am unabashedly honored
to be included in this gaggle of
gangsters. Our conversations are
like flipping yellowed, well-worn
pages of a literary classic. They take
me to places I have never been and
provide a depth of understanding,
not only of art but of the world
they have well-traveled—and I’m
lucky to be on the bus.
By the end of each gathering, one
concern inevitably rises over the
now cold cups of coffee: There are
so many good, even great artists,
most of whose work will not see the
light of day. For the gangsters it’s
more than just the desire to leave
a legacy; these guys want their art,
indeed their lives, to encourage,
mentor and inspire the next
generation. With art being critical
to the creative development of
young minds, why is it being pushed
out of our schools? Over another
cup of coffee, on another morning
in Woodacre, maybe we’ll find a
good answer. MAC
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