By K.D. Norris
Every person who knew the late West Michigan artist Armand Merizon has stories to tell — stories of a complex man’s triumphs and struggles, of a brilliant painter with a sometimes struggling career, but ultimately of an artistic life well lived.
And every person who has seen one of his paintings has his or her own story to tell: the story the acclaimed artist constantly worked to convey in just about every work he created.
Muriel Zandstra — friend, repeated interviewer, and artistic advocate of Merizon for five decades — has her own stories to tell, and she has told them, accompanied by the most complete visual review of the artist’s work, in a new book, “Armand Merizon: His Life and Art”.
“The reason for producing the book, for all it involved, was more than just good friendship,” Zandstra said to WKTV. “It was an overwhelming belief in the man and his art. I think he’s not just a ‘good’ artist, but a ‘great’ artist and his legacy should live on. I strongly believe, as do all the art professionals who knew him, that Merizon is a significant 20th century American artist who needs to be elevated to his rightful position in the art world.”
The new book was not Zandstra’s first effort to shine a light on Merizon. She co-produced with Jennifer Dornbush a documentary about the artist, “ARMAND”, in 2005, when he was 85 and in ill-health with terrible arthritis in his hands and advanced macular degeneration in his eyes. He died in 2010.
“Since I had already done so much research on him for the documentary, I was the best equipped to take on the challenge of creating a book,” Zandstra said. “Though it was a natural, it was still an unexpected and unsought-after project for my retirement. I needed the help of many professionals to pull it off.”
What they pulled off — she credits the work of Jan Keessen and Randall VanderMey on the book’s dust jacket — was a 240-page, oversized hardcover “coffee table book” of such beauty, such comprehensiveness that it deserves a place of more prominence than a coffee table. It contains photographs of more than 200 of the artist’s works, beginning with an early work from 1932, “Fall Tree”, a stunningly mature pastoral work for a 12-year-old, to one of the last of his paintings, the abstract “In D Minor”, from 2009.
“After coproducing and broadcasting the documentary “ARMAND” in 2005, people wanted to see more of Merizon’s art and learn more about the genius behind them,” she said. “There was not any one gallery or museum where I could direct them to go since so many of his paintings are held in private homes. It seemed the only logical way to get his artwork out there was for someone to come up with a catalog art book. … It would be geared for the general public though also suitable for professionals and serious artists to study and learn from.”
For a short video review of Merizon’s work, and an on-air WKTV Journal interview with Zandstra, see the following video.
Author shares personal stories of artist
Zandstra tells many stories about her interactions with Merizon over the years, both in the book and sitting in the living room of the rural Reed City home she shares with her husband, Dave. Two stories tell of the depth of their relationship: one of a painting given and returned, and another of the artist and his model.
Merizon had a habit of giving paintings in exchange for others’ services rendered — just ask any of a number of local doctors who have Merizon paintings in their offices. In Zandstra’s case, it was a seascape given during the years she babysit for the family; a painting given and then returned and destroyed.
“That painting was a delightful, photographic kind of painting, I was thrilled with it,” she said. “But I could tell over the years that he was doing something deeper. … Even though everybody liked the painting, I was thinking there is something not quite right in this painting.
“One day I said, ‘Would you like to see your paintings that I have? You paint them and then they are gone and you need to see them again.’ He said, ‘Yes I would.’ … I brought them the next time and when he looked at that one he goes ‘Yuck! The horizon line is too close to the center. And the shoreline is washed out.’ He said the only redeeming thing are the clouds in the sky. He said you know, ‘Could I have it back?’ And I said, ‘Yep’. So I just gave it back to him.
“Then a couple months later, when I visited him, he said, ‘I would like to upgrade your collection. I want to give one that Dave would like, that he would relate too as well, he is a farmer, a teacher.’ And he gave me that one painting,” she said, pointing to a wall in her living room and to a ghostly, deeply moving painting titled “This Was My Land”.
Another story led to a painting of Muriel herself by Merizon, included on the book’s dust jacket’s front flap. It is called “Portrait of Muriel” from 1966; it is a delicate facial portrait of soft colors that looks unfinished by design.
“He was always trying new things, as I have said, always experimenting,” she said. “He was doing portraits a lot during he 1950s and ’60s, to make money. But he wanted to try something new. So, I was babysitting for him at the time and he said, ‘Would you mind coming over, I want to try a new technique. I want to just capture the eyes, nose and mouth, because everything else changes in a person — hair styles, your clothing — everything changes, but your facial features stay the same.’
“He did an ink sketch first, then he did this more soft painting. So he had these two done and he said ‘Which one do you like better?’ I looked at them both, and I like the more finished one, with the color in it. So I picked that one, and he said, ‘Well you can have it for $35 dollars’.”
Merizon, Zandstra points out, made a living off his art. And she had no problem paying for his works then, nor later in their relationship.
“What Merizon has given to me personally over the years is invaluable,” Zandstra said. “Besides gifting me several art pieces, he has taught me a real appreciation for the fine arts, a reverence for the natural world, and a deep ethical sense with which to live by. His integrity was impeccable.
“I can never give back to him what he has given to me. I collect his art because I feel it is timeless, thought provoking and a real inspiration to me. It brings joy and peace.”
Leafing through Zandstra’s book one gets the same sense: Timeless, thought provoking, inspirational.
“Armand Merizon: His Life and Art” can purchased the book off E-bay and Amazon, as well as in person at Merizon Studio, Baker Book House, Meijer Gardens, the Grand Rapid Art Museum, Mercury Head Gallery, Perceptions Gallery, Calvin College and Kendall College. For more information on Zandstra and the book visit merizonbook.strikingly.com .
