Date: Fri 18-Sep-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: LAURAB

Quick Words:

Amish

Full Text:

Amish Arts Of Lancaster County

w/cuts

By Patricia T. Herr

LANCASTER, PENN. -- Through January 2, the Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster

is exhibiting more than 150 objects made by and for the Lancaster County Amish

community between 1790 and 1970.

Including textiles, furniture, boxes, fraktur, ceramics, glass, toys and

whimsies, "Amish Arts of Lancaster County" is probably the largest exhibit of

Lancaster County Amish material ever seen publicly.

The visitor enters the exhibit through an introductory area that asks the

question, "What is Amish Art?" Over the years this question has caused a great

deal of controversy among scholars. The viewer is confronted by a Center

Diamond pattern quilt of the type regarded by many collectors as an icon of

American folk art. Flanking the quilt are two small watercolors, both by an

Amish woman. One, "The Old Home Place," is a view of her farm. The other is a

self-portrait entitled "Quilting." Neither painting has been exhibited before.

The viewer is left to contemplate the question of whether a functional

bedcovering like the quilt is art, or whether its decoration is secondary to

its function. In a society where objects are first functional and only

secondarily decorated, the appearance of watercolors by an Amish artist is

more difficult to explain.

This area of the gallery also contains several other pieces, including

furniture, needlework, and lighting. A decorated Plexiglas wall plaque lists

commonly used zip codes, which fall into varying classifications of function

and art.

Throughout the exhibit are examples of how this conservative sect has managed

to find unusual ways of recycling materials. All of the objects in this

section, as in the rest of the exhibit, were collected by George Lyster, an

artist born in Philadelphia and living in the Lancaster area. With his

artist's eye and eclectic, open-minded view of collecting, Lyster has gathered

objects that delight us with their color and surprise us with their variety

and ingenuity.

Also in the introductory area is a brief history of the Amish settlements, as

well as an overview of the organizational structure of the Amish Church in

America. The Amish are part of a larger group of Swiss and South Germans known

as "Anabaptists," or rebaptizers, who separated from the Protestant

Reformation in 1525. They believed in adult baptism, obedience to the

teachings of Jesus, separation from the world, and the rejection of violence.

For their beliefs they were severely persecuted. In the late 1600s the group

had disagreements over the practice of shunning. Those who became known as the

Amish were followers of Jakob Ammann, who took a stricter position on

shunning. The rest of the group took the name Mennonite after Menno Simons, a

prominent Anabaptist leader of the 1500s.

Arriving from Switzerland in 1737, the Amish first settled in Berks County.

Small settlements also were made in Lancaster County at that time, but the

first permanent settlement in the Lancaster area was in the 1790s. Today the

Amish have almost 250 settlements in 22 states. The Lancaster settlement, with

110 church districts, is second only to Holmes County, Ohio, in size.

Exhibited in this section are two women's flat hats. The felt hat is the

oldest artifact on display, dating from about 1790. The straw hat, of almost

exactly the same dimensions and serving the same purpose, is one of the most

recently made objects included in the exhibit.

This example of continuity through time within the close-knit community is

found in many other aspects of Amish life besides clothing styles. The

maintenance of close family ties, the continued practice of age-old religious

traditions, farming and transportation using mules and horses, fraktur writing

and hand towel and sampler making well into the Twentieth Century, are but a

few examples. Further along in the exhibit, the viewer is made aware of the

subtle changes that have occurred and are occurring within the continuity of

Amish life.

As the visitor passes through the next gallery space, objects are exhibited in

chronological order to highlight the growth and settlement of the Amish in

Lancaster County. From 1800 to 1850, the Amish would not have stood out among

their rural Pennsylvania German neighbors of the region in dress or home

settings.

Between 1850 to 1900, the Amish became more aware of the changes in technology

and what effect these might have on their community. As their "English"

(non-Amish) neighbors embraced electricity and photographic imagery, the Amish

dealt with the upheaval and schisms among themselves, and made decisions on

how to adapt and maintain a cohesive group.

Between 1910 and the 1930s, the Amish society took decisive steps to separate

itself from the technologically advancing society that surrounded them. They

chose to embrace some innovations, such as synthetic fabrics, while continuing

to avoid other worldly choices, such as patterned fabrics.

By the 1940s the Amish were adapting to modernity with the use of gas-powered

refrigerators and stoves and farm equipment. Many modern scholars predicted

that the Amish culture would soon be lost. The Amish, however, managed to pick

and choose which aspects of modern culture they would adopt and which would

adversely affect their society. And so, along with the traditional pincushion

form, now being made with synthetic fabrics, the home might also be decorated

with home-made refrigerator magnets.

By the 1970s the Amish were losing farmland to encroaching developments, and

families became involved in small home-businesses. Women were becoming

entrepreneurial quilt makers and farm-stand operators, while men worked in

local building industries and manufactured craft items such as furniture and

toys.

Another area of the gallery features the work of such artists as Henry L. Lapp

and Mary Stoltzfus Lapp, who are well known to the general collecting

community. Also represented are the lesser-known artists "Black" Sammy

Stoltzfoos and Mary S. Lapp Bawell. Other newly discovered artists and

decorators are on exhibit for the first time.

On the second floor of the museum, the viewer is challenged with questions

about "Cultural Compromise." How do the Amish deal with electricity,

automobiles, and telephones? A large part of the gallery also exhibits and

discusses the "Stages of Life."

The "Birth" section includes a variety of objects ranging from a fraktur birth

record to a diaper basket. Included in the "Childhood" area are Amish-made

toys, dolls, quilts and clothing. The awards of merit and photographs seen in

"Amish Schools and Education" acquaint the visitor with the Amish school

system, which caused so much controversy that the Supreme Court officially

permitted private Amish schools in 1972.

"Marriage" and "Housekeeping" are two more topics highlighted in the exhibit.

Preparation for marriage and dowry items for both young men and young women

are still important traditions within the Amish culture. Room settings, with

traditional Amish paint colors, allow the viewer to visualize how objects are

used and placed within the Amish home.

Rites of passage continue in displays devoted to discussions of

"Grandparenthood" and "Death." The continued use of fraktur to create family

records and create gifts from grandparents to grandchildren emphasizes the

importance of family within the Amish community.

The exhibit brings together many of the objects collected by George Lyster in

a vibrant and colorful way to allow the viewer to better comprehend the Amish

culture and understand how the Amish people are different and yet like their

"English" neighbors. There are surprises to be noted, some questions that are

answered, and perhaps more that are posed. The mood of the exhibit is at times

amusing and occasionally somber.

The staff members primarily involved in the preparation of the exhibit were

Peter S. Seibert, executive director; Kim Fortney, curator of education;

Wendell Zercher, museum curator; and Mike Middleton, curatorial assistant.

George Lyster and Eleanor Wiedner, by their generous loans, made the exhibit

possible.

Their future planned gift of objects to the Heritage Center Museum's permanent

collection will allow this material to be accessible to the public in the

years to come.

Amish Arts of Lancaster County by Patricia T. Herr is a 160-page book

illustrated with 329 color photographs. It was produced by the museum to

accompany the exhibit and was published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. It is

available from the museum store of the Heritage Center Museum, 5 West King

Street, Lancaster, Pa. 17603, for $29.95 plus $3 postage and handling.

Pennsylvania residents add 6 percent state sales tax.

Concurrently on view is an exhibit about the pioneering collector Henry

Kauffman. The gallery contains recently donated objects from the his

collection.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.

Sidebar To AA Lead:

Amish Arts Symposium September 19

LANCASTER, PENN. -- A symposium is planned for Saturday, September 19, in

conjunction with the book and exhibition, "Amish Arts of Lancaster County."

Russell and Corrine Earnest will lecture on "Amish Fraktur in Context"; Dr

Patricia T. Herr will speak about "The Lyster Collection of Amish Arts"; Dr

Donald Kraybill has prepared a lecture on "Perspectives on the Lancaster

Amish"; and "Amish Quilts" is the title of a talk to be given by Rachel

Pellman. A round-table discussion on the subject of Amish arts will follow the

lectures.

The fee, including lectures and luncheon, is $50. The luncheon and keynote

lecture only is $35. The program will be at the Heritage Center Museum, 13

West King Street, telephone 717/393-3364.