Tuesday, December 30

Mary Becker Weiss : "Still Tilting at Windmills" and "Exploration" : Homage to Roger Majorowicz

"Still Tilting at Windmills"
"Tilting at Windmills" © Mary Becker Weiss

From "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, wherein protagonist Don Quixote fights windmills that he imagines to be giants:

Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, "Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless."

"What giants?" asked Sancho Panza.

"Those you see over there," replied his master, "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length."

"Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone."

"Exploration"
"Exploration" © Mary Becker Weiss
© Mary Becker Weiss

"Exploration" and "Still Tilting at Windmills" were inspired by Roger Majorowicz' breathtaking welded steel sculptures and created as an homage to his beautiful and exhilarating work.

In a recent tribute to Mr. Majorowicz, a family member said, "Roger brought passion to every thing he did, whether it was building floats for the 4th of July parade, retracing the steps of an 18th century explorer through Central America, raising geese or day lilies, collecting antique axes or tending his huge vegetable garden.


His wish was that he would be remembered by his family and friends when they make or buy a piece of art, visit a gallery or a museum, or give a word of encouragement to an artist. At his core, Roger was an artist. He believed that art captured the meaning of life and made the world a better place."