Now what the heck does any of this have to do with art, you ask and well you might, because the connection between pumpkins and Fine art does not come naturally?
Pumpkins are everywhere this time of year and all of the artists lurking there in the tall grass ought to be taking advantage of this feast of yellow and orange. You ought to be out here pumpkining away.
Charles Shultz, creator of Peanuts, which by all rights should have been called Charlie Brown or at least Snoopy, was right on the mark when he had his alter ego Linus Van Pelt confuse Christmas with Halloween. Truth be told in the years between Linus’s first encounter with The Great Pumpkin, Halloween has become America's second favorite holiday.
But that isn't why you should be a pumpkining. No, You should be out there taking a look at all of the various ways the super squash participated in the arrival of fall for so many of us.
The weather isn't a good herald. Sometimes it is hot in the fall and no one knows if it is time for Halloween or Spring Break. Sometimes it is light and sometimes it is dark depending on the status of Daylight Squandering Time, but again that is no real harbinger of fall. No, for me it has always been the arrival of the golden squash and all of the many uses we have found for it and it's innards. Ever celebrate Thanksgiving with a Key Lime pie? You can, you know but somehow it just isn't right, no it's got to be pumpkin.
What about carving an apple? Takes a lot of skill when with a pumpkin almost any poor over-worked pa can manage something which will satisfy the kids and let him get back to the ballgame. Okay, so most of the time dad is passed out on the sofa and mom is doing the carving, but the necessary gourd is still the same, a pumpkin.
In Dallas, we get ninety degree days until November most years and while it is true, you can tell it's fall by the football games, (Texas/O.U. Weekend marks the second week in October as officially football season), the girls still wear booty shorts and they guys are pealing out of their shirts for that last bit of tan. No the pumpkin is the real seasonal telltale.
So why aren't artists interested?
Sure, the fall leaves are much more colorful and the changing seasons make for dramatic sunsets, the costumes at Halloween more eye-catching and the merchants gearing up for Christmas are all compelling, so the lowly squash gets forgotten.
Not this year, artists have always done still life and what more vibrant a still than an orange pumpkin sitting in the evening sun? Even before they get carved for the Witches Walk the pumpkin offers so many opportunities for art work.
The skin of the mighty gourd has ridges, yeah as a matter of fact, just like Ruffles, but without the publicist to make a big deal out of it. Light catches and reflects along those ridges and makes every pumpkin unique. Try stalking the super squash at sunset and watch the golden glow of the evening turn to deep purple as twilight time makes even a squash a celebrity.
And when All Hallow's Eve comes the pumpkins come out to play with their party faces all aglow. No two alike and every child in wonder as they stare at the inner light from outside the patch.
Small wonder then that Sparky, Mr. Shultz, made The Great Pumpkin Santa's chief rival. It wasn't until the late seventies when Elvira: Mistress of the Dark made vegetables of that mighty fruit, or maybe it's the other way 'round. Who knew, a pretty girl in a cut-a-way dress could steal a whole holiday from a squash.
So don't be caught napping, take advantage of this time of the year and go, pick up your easel and walk or drive to your nearest patch and wait, with heart atwitter for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin.
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