The Tivoli; return to the past from the future in the present

The Tivoli (and how it was)

I began painting the Tivoli after running across a very old photo from 1929, just after the Tivoli was wired for sound and air conditioning was installed.  It was one of the first air conditioned buildings in the United States, and I can imagine the large crowds that would show up to cool off in the summer.

The beauty of this “Jewel of The South,” created by Richard Hunt and Rapp and Rapp architects, must have been astonishing to anyone who was able to see it.  It would have elevated Chattanooga’s clout to those of much larger cities like Chicago.  Rapp and Rapp also designed the famed Chicago Theater of which I’m sure you have either seen in person or in photos.  I also painted a scene of the Chicago Theater from the 1940’s in Chicago Nights which you can see here.  

So many images of Chattanooga have been painted by artists far more talented than myself, and those images have inundated the Chattanooga art scene.  So, when I want to paint a landmark in Chattanooga, I feel that I need to have a unique take on it.  This photo, which I cannot find anywhere on the internet again after downloading it, struck me as that unique piece I wanted to put in my portfolio.

When I first saw it, the ludicrous images from Dr. Fu Manchu and the notion that we took a highly xenophobic attitude towards a certain group and perpetuated a stereotype through movies, struck me as almost alien to our culture today.  That we could culturally misappropriate asian culture for the purpose of creating bizarre super villains is hard to believe in our modern era, though the 1980’s did it pretty convincingly with Russians and Asians as well; I’m thinking of Rocky (I, II, III, IV, etc.), DieHard, Bloodsport, etc.  I could easily list off ten more.

I recall an interview I saw on CBS Sunday Morning with John Hong, where he talks about the racist treatment he endured at the hand of an American actor J. Carol Naish (playing an Asian character) for being Chinese in a TV Series named The Adventures of Charlie Chan.

While, you can obviously blame J. Carol Naish for his bigoted attitude, I believe it’s wrong to blame the general population for frequenting movies like this in 1929. Having the foresight we have today, and the popularity of tolerance that is present in our world, we can’t pretend that we’d be some sacrosanct version of ourselves in that same era. That’s where the marquee offers a pretty easy solution to balance the two eras; seeing the past through the present  

Hope you enjoy this fresh, old take on the Tivoli here in Chattanooga. Also, if you haven’t visited Area 61 Gallery, it’s right beside the Tivoli, and an amazing space for great art.