From the Norton Simon to hippos
Posted on 05. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in art, food
My son needed to visit a museum today to complete a report for his high school photography class. He insisted that we visit the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and two of his friends chose to tag along.
I love the Norton Simon. It has a very high quality collection that reflects a wide array of periods and styles. My son especially enjoyed the “Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art” exhibition. What teenage boy wouldn’t? I was very impressed with how thoughtfully each of the boys examined all the art, and they had many good insights. I got a kick out of how they noted that some of the Renaissance paintings reminded them of scenes from video games.
My favorite exhibition was “Gaze: Portraiture after Ingres.” It showcased several centuries of fine portraits in a wide variety of styles. One of my favorites was this caricature that Wolo Trutzschler drew of Galka Sheyer. It captured so much in one drawing, and I think that if I were to see her walking down the street, not only would I recognize her, but I’d have an idea of what makes her tick.
I was intrigued enough to look up Wolo Truzschler when I got home. It turns out his full name was “Baron Wolff Erhardt Anton George Trutzschler von Falkenstein” and he loved living in San Francisco. His son’s website says that he drew the original design for Edgar Bergen’s Mortimer Snerd, was a caricaturist for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote and illustrated five children’s books, painted murals and gave puppet shows.
I discovered that I’ve appreciated his art before, as he was the artist behind the now-defunct Hippopotamus Hamburgers in San Francisco. I think I first ate at Hippo Hamburgers when I visited California on a high school church handbell tour, and raved about it to my hippo-crazed sister and friend back in NJ. The place was themed so well that the toilets were even open hippo mouths! This place is legendary in our family.
But further Googling found this gem of a Wolo von Truzschler drawing, which accompanied a recipe for the Stanfordburger in the Hippopotamus Hamburgers cookbook. Right-click on the picture and choose “view image” to see a larger version, where you can read the complete recipe. Note that olive on top. That’s supposed to reflect the top of the “Freudian” Hoover Tower.
Maybe I should serve it at my next pre-reunion party…
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