Historian, folk artist and experimental geographer Hank Meals has discovered an unbelievably rich story of our neighborhood’s ongoing engagement in the arts. He will share the wealth by presenting, Rowdy & Reverent: A History of Arts and Entertainment in the Sierra Foothills. a spirited slideshow with cultural commentary at the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center, no stranger to art itself, on Friday, November 7.
Before the gold rush, which made the Yuba and Bear rivers international destinations overnight, the indigenous Nisenan and their predecessors were creating what we now call art. Obviously, a rich vein of art and entertainment is still present here.
Among the arts and entertainment addressed are sketching, dancing, photography, recitations, painting, cartooning and caricature, writing, drama/theater, trapeze and acrobatics, sculpture, fandangos, stand-up comedy, magicians, circuses and music, ranging from a cappella, chorales, fiddles, banjos, accordions, hurdy-gurdies, guitars, ukeleles, classical music, trumpets, tubas, operas, Chinese operas, songs in many languages, and more.
“Research has never been so invigorating for me! I waded into a world populated by talented, audacious, innovative, daring, sensitive, funny and intelligent artists (widely defined). Immediately it becomes obvious that the real wealth of California is in the intermingling of cultures from all over the world. This was, and is, exhilarating, especially for artists. We live in one of those fortunate places with rare beauty and stimulating people. In this presentation I’m offering a rare mix of scarce and unusual art and historical photos,” says Meals.
Hank Meals was a photojournalist before moving to Nevada County in 1973. In 1975 he was hired as an archaeologist for the Tahoe National Forest where he worked for 13 years. That was the beginning of his immersion in the landscape and culture of the Yuba-Bear River watersheds. His subsequent writings, photographs, slideshows, interpretive hikes and his enthusiasm for this region are well-known and popular. Passionately provincial, he maintains that there are still layers of learning to experience in this, his chosen habitat. Hank creates at the nexus of natural history, human history, geography and art.
“A living scholar-worker-poet of overview and underbrush, he’s creating a new way of getting to know nature from inside.” — Gary Snyder, 2019.
WHAT: Rowdy & Reverent: A History of Arts and Entertainment in the Sierra Foothills
WHO: Historian, folk artist and experimental geographer Hank Meals
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 7 | Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m.
WHERE: North Columbia Schoolhouse, 17894 Tyler Foote Rd, Nevada City
