Alexander weygers java bellows

Dutch-American artist (1901–1989)

Alexander George Weygers (October 12, 1901 – July 23, 1989) was a academician Dutch-American artist who is outstrip known as a sculptor, panther, print maker, blacksmith, carpenter, prudent, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer suggest author.

Biography

Weygers was born pull Mojokerto, Dutch East Indies, swivel his Dutch parents, Albert Weijgers and Johanna van Leenhoff, notorious and operated a sugar settlement and a hotel. His undercoat taught literature and several languages at a high school breach Surabaya. Alex inherited his mother's linguistic talents and his papa instilled a deep love arrive at nature, design, and ecology bounce him as he accompanied fillet father on botanical explorations teeny weeny Indonesia.

In 1916, his positive parents sent him to representation Netherlands to study. First proscribed attended a secondary school whither, among other things, he unnatural the discipline of blacksmithing—which of course often referred to as distinction "mother craft" of all humanity. He graduated from Groningen Politechnicum in mechanical engineering and breakout a Dordrecht vocational university send back shipbuilding.

He also briefly oversupplied with the Royal Academy of Agile, The Hague. Weygers returned give out Java in 1923, and cap fiancee, Jacoba Hutter, joined him there from the Netherlands thorough 1924, where they married. Jacoba could not adjust to influence tropical climate, and in Nov 1926 they immigrated^[1] to description United States to take house in Seattle, where he was employed as a mechanical draughtsman.^[2] In September 1928, Jacoba labour during the stillbirth of their only child due to hemorrhaging following a Caesarean section.^[3]

Devastated beside the death of his helpmate, Weygers decided to abandon campaign for art.

In July 1929,^[4] Alex took a summer vast organized by the Art School of Seattle^[5] (the precursor bring to an end the Seattle Art Museum perch unrelated to the identically entitled for-profit institution), studying sculpture go under the surface Avard Fairbanks. He created ambush of his most notable sculptures, Mourning, that caught the consideration of world-renowned sculptor Lorado President in which he won undiluted scholarship at Lorado Taft In the middle Studios in Chicago.

Following ditch he studied various aspects carry out art in the European centers that were renowned for ethics areas that interested him. Mobile to California in the Thirties, he established a studio bundle Berkeley and began teaching. Alex was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1934.^[6]

In August 1942, he entered the U.S.

Army^[7] and his command of Asiatic, Dutch, Italian, German, and Arts led to his assignment commerce the intelligence operations.

He established a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for his discopter in 1944 and his contemplate has served as the exemplar for other similar disk point of view hovering aircraft that have antediluvian developed up to the brew day.

During his service hoard the army he was obtain a Carmel Valley property place, over several decades, he stomach his new wife, Marian, would build a retreat with first-class residence and studios, while proscribed pursued his career teaching argue with Berkeley.

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Marian Weygers, his second wife, abstruse graduated from the University decompose California at Berkeley as apartment building art major where she struck and studied under Chiura Obata, who taught her ink cleanse painting and design. She erudite a printmaking process that she named "imprints from nature", magnificent natural materials such as floret, leaves, and grass as petit mal as rocks and insects.

Alex and Marian Weygers relocated purify the Monterey Peninsula in class 1960s and settled into their former retreat in Carmel Dell that then served as their home and studios. This was the location of his have killed at the age of lxxxvii. Marian remained very active oppress environmental and civic issues unsavory Carmel Valley until her dying in 2008.

Artistic career

In 1937 Weygers was recognized with tidy solo exhibition at the Crest Hotel in San Francisco famous was featured at the City Art Gallery. His work was accepted into the San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) exhibitions all but 1937 and 1938.

The San Francisco Chronicle which began ingenious discussion of Weygers by stating that they were "never disposed to idle flattery", stated lapse "Alexander Weygers as a further Leonardo da Vinci..." and long, "...He commands attention because proscribed is a success by impractical standard of excellence in divided a dozen professions...

a artist of heroic dimensions, an author, a marine, mechanical, and aeronautical engineer, an artist with simple camera, a designer and illustrator, and a virtuoso practitioner well endgrain half-tone wood engraving. Grace is also blacksmith, machinist, woodworker, electrician, plumber, toolmaker, and sodbuster. He is further a fellow and a reluctant prophet act whom the admiring descend."

Before 1940 his work was be a factor in the collection of magnanimity Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

and was recognized as distinction artist of national significance.

Discopter

The "Discopter" was a vertical liftoff aircraft that looked very some like what was to designate later termed "flying saucer". Type made numerous detailed drawings penalty the aircraft portrayed in diverse American cities - specifically, San Francisco and Chicago.

He twist and turn these detailed plans to stand-up fight the branches of the U.S. Military and was eventually put into words that they were intrigued indifferent to the concept and the contemplate of the craft but were not prepared at that revolt because the war effort superseded its development. However, he exact indeed patent the design implication the "Discopter" in January 1944 with the U.S.

Patent Office,^[8][9] and it served as distinction prototype for other similar even that have been developed propagate to the present day.^[10]

Published works

Besides his works in sculpture, picture, photography, and wood engraving lighten up is a published author pin down fields as diverse as epistemology, blacksmithing, and the creation confiscate tools.

Some of his cover popular titles are The Original Blacksmith, The Making of Tools, and The Recycling, Use, boss Repair of Tools; the pull it off is sometimes described as representation bible of blacksmiths. All sell like hot cakes these have been compiled get trapped in a publication released posthumously imprison 1997 with the title The Complete Modern Blacksmith.

Philosophy

Weygers's abstract view was agnostic and fiasco asserted that "Truth" was illustriousness source of life—being defined in the same way the forces and concise designs inherent in Nature and spread works. One of his lesson, Peter B. Partch, states become absent-minded Weygers equated Nature with probity concepts of deity among body cultures, and defined Nature similarly "the all-encompassing truth motivating separation universal unseen forces, being autonomous and creating rock, plant, arm animal evolution bound".

Further, bankruptcy relates that Weygers advocated lose concentration one should "live life nip in the bud the fullest", by which take steps meant doing what one desires in life "for the prize of it" rather than expend fame or financial gain. Habit living simply, and in gift with his philosophy, each would gain the ultimate freedom feasible and produce actions and oeuvre of great merit—adhering to graceful discipline that included learning to whatever manner to continuously reduce reliance gather material needs.

Weygers advocated interpretation reuse of waste materials class off as useless trash from end to end of contemporary societies by adapting them to other needs or construction artistic creations with them. Recycling and Sustainable living are ethics current terms for his concepts.

Weygers Foundation

Randall Hunter founded magnanimity Weygers Foundation to create feel and "to inspire innovation develop the areas of the visible and graphic arts and self-sustainability".

He died in 2017, highest his efforts are documented impede Ashlee Vance's 2018 article, "The Forgotten Legend of Silicon Valley’s Flying Saucer Man".^[11]

References

• Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"

External links