ANNOUNCER: On this episode of Showcase with Barbara Kellar we're joined by bassist Barry Green and artist Brett Harper, son of the legendary wildlife artist Charley and Edie Harper.

Together, they share stories about creativity, legacy, and the connection between music and visual art.

Plus, stay tuned for a special performance by Barry Green on upright bass, set to stunning visuals inspired by Charley Harper's iconic work.

Stay with us.

Showcase starts right now.

[music] KELLAR: Hi, I'm Barbara Kellar.

Welcome to Showcase.

Today we have two really interesting guys for you to talk to and and learn about what they're doing, which is really fascinating.

We have Barry Green and Brett Harper, and we're going to tell you all about what they're doing, what they're up to.

And I'm going to start with Barry.

He's going to describe to you a little bit about what they're doing, what he has done.

Start with what you have done.

GREEN: Well, I came to Cincinnati in 1967 as the principal bass of the Cincinnati Symphony and served in that capacity for 28 years.

While I was also serving with the symphony, I taught at the College Conservatory of Music.

And as a bass teacher and as a soloist I began a music series in 1977 at the height of the Big Red Machine from our wonderful baseball team.

But I wanted to do a program for the public with the same theme and call it The Big Green Machine.

And the very first concert that I did in 1977 included this piece of music dedicated to six paintings of Charley Harper by Carmen de Leon, called The Harper Set.

And this was the very beginning of my experience with Charley Harper's art, and integrating art and music as a teacher, as a performer, and to the public at that time.

KELLAR: Yeah.

And you started with Max Rudolf.

That's what I -- I think that's a little trivia thing that is very, very interesting.

You must have been, what, 10, 11 years old at that time?

GREEN: Well, actually, I was the youngest member of the orchestra when I was engaged as a principal.

I was 21 when I was hired.

KELLAR: Wow.

GREEN: So that was a challenge and I enjoyed that.

I learned on the job, and I was advised by Max Rudolf to just keep my mouth shut and watch what everybody else is doing and learn from your experience, and that's what I did.

KELLAR: Did you go to CCM?

GREEN: Actually, I did a master's degree while I was beginning with the orchestra.

Only at that time, for a couple of years.

But that was kind of a challenge because I was the bass teacher and I was taking a master's degree in bass.

So it was kind of hard to study with myself at the same time.

But I did work with our wonderful principal cellist, Roy Christensen at that time to complete the master's there.

And that was my last degree.

I initially went to school at Indiana University.

KELLAR: Okay.

And Brett, tell us a little bit about you.

It's all about you.

HARPER: Yeah.

Well, I'm director of the Harper Arts Studios And I learned Art Silkscreening way back in the day from my dad, Charley.

And really have been in this 60 years.

And Edie, my mother is an artist, too, and I am.

And so, you know, we perpetuate that legacy, I guess.

KELLAR: How -- what was it like as the son of an incredibly famous artist, Charley Harper?

HARPER: Well, to me, he was just dad.

You know, I never did the modern thing of calling him Charley.

KELLAR: Yeah.

HARPER: But, yeah, we were close.

And when we were signed by the Frame House Gallery in Louisville and Edie and myself, we would travel around the country to dealers and demonstrate silkscreening and talk about our art.

So that was a great experience.

KELLAR: Yeah.

Well, you know, you mentioned Edie.

That's your mother.

HARPER: Yes.

KELLAR: Yeah.

And she's an artist too.

HARPER: She is an artist too.

And a great thing that's coming up for us is that the Art Museum is going to have a retrospective in October of 2026 of Charley's work.

And then the Taft Museum at the same time, the same day of opening, they're going to have a retrospective of Edie's work.

KELLAR: Wow.

Wow.

Did they collaborate on that, or was that just a coincidence?

HARPER: Oh, it was a relationship, I think, that Julie Aronson, curator at the Art Museum, had with the Taft.

And so they're going to publish exhibition catalogs about each exhibit, and it may tour.

We don't know.

KELLAR: Well, and in the meantime, you guys have gotten together.

Barry, tell us about that.

GREEN: Well, it's an interesting, wonderful recent collaboration because last year, in the summer, I was invited back for the eighth time, actually, to Australia over a period of 30, 40 years.

And I was bringing the Harper set on that program as a concert program and touring all seven state capitals, a big five week tour.

That initial Harper set concluded with a koala bear.

And the only thing missing from that program in Australia was the kangaroo.

And so we asked Carmen de Leon to write a special kangaroo piece to add to the original Harper set for that tour.

And that's what he did.

It turned out to be the hit of our whole program.

And Brett came to the send off tour concert last summer, a year ago, of that program, and enjoyed the program very much.

After the tour, then he invited me to do some more appearances with him.

Ultimately, this wonderful opening of the Harper art at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum.

And I started to expand the program from the initial seven segments to what is today now 23 segments and over an hour and ten minutes of videos and music and narration, bringing the art of Charley Harper to life.

And Brett has been my partner in this collaboration, and we've been appearing in events together and in different places ever since then.

So it's all happened within this last year from that collaboration, from adding the repertoire and going forward.

KELLAR: And so you, the two of you have this, you are invited to organizations or clubs or whatever, and you have this program.

And am I correct that you can form the program based on the audience?

GREEN: Exactly.

The beautiful thing about our program is that theoretically, it's not about music.

It's not about a concert.

It's really about the message and the art and the experience, the worldwide experience of this art.

And so the appeal is universal, if you care -- Our program is called Earth, Art and Animals.

So it's about the planet.

And this is something that you might talk about also, where in Charley Harper's end of his life, he became more of a naturalist in compassion to the world and the parks and the habitats.

And so the program goes for nature centers.

It goes for art galleries, it goes for children, it goes for senior citizens.

It goes to -- appeals to all kinds of people that care about the earth and our existence on the earth, and celebrating the art.

KELLAR: Wow.

Lengthwise, you can..?

GREEN: Right, the program could be from 20-70 minutes long, depending on the audience and their interests.

And so it's like a kitchen with lots of recipes.

And I could decide what animals to show.

We're actually going to the Columbus Audubon Society next month.

And so I'm doing just all of the bird segments, but not the animals and not the underwater segments.

And so I customize each performance depending on the interest and the time commitment that they have for the program.

KELLAR: Yeah.

I was going to ask you something else, but first, Carmen de Leon composed the music for part of your thing.

GREEN: He composed the original six segments, plus the -- plus the kangaroo.

KELLAR: Kangaroo.

GREEN: But now we have 23 segments.

And so these music for the rest of the program includes music from Disney, from the Beatles, from Broadway, from popular and classical music.

Whatever fits the theme of that particular program, whether it's animals or whether it's fish.

With fish, it's music from Little Mermaid.

And when it's the sun, when it's the desert, it's Here Comes the Sun.

When it's the birds, it's Blackbird from the Beatles.

So the music all fits, whatever that is.

But Carmen was -- his music was the original music for a good portion of it.

And now we've augmented that so it's still an integral part.

KELLAR: Yeah.

Because, Brett, tell us a little bit about your part in this.

HARPER: Well, Barry and I are really a team.

We, as they say, we met each other and we sort of had intersecting goals of teaching really people from really 3 to 103, I'd say.

But it's a particularly compelling presentation for children, so school groups are quite taken with it.

And they learn a lot about animals and I think to care about animals is always important.

KELLAR: Yeah.

I'm very much, I'm an animal rights person.

HARPER: Good.

KELLAR: Yes.

I don't want to harm anybody.

Yeah, especially the furry ones.

HARPER: Yes.

Right.

So, we Mary, Barry's wife often collaborates with him and reads the captions, the descriptions that Charley wrote about certain images.

And Charley wrote, I think, as as well as he did create art.

And E.B.

White, Elements of Style, was writing the first captions of Charley's prints before he went to New York and then Charley took over writing his own captions.

KELLAR: So Carmen did the first six and then the last.

But the in between ones were not compositions that you -- That you got, you use music that's appropriate to the animal.

GREEN: Precisely, and all that's happened within the last year.

KELLAR: Really?

Since last summer.

Since you came on board.

GREEN: Exactly.

Well, since we collaborated.

He's inspired me to do that.

HARPER: Barry will ask me, you know, to take a deep dive into Charley's archives.

And that's a pretty deep dive, because he did -- When I did his eulogy, I figured there were close to 5500 images.

KELLAR: Wow.

HARPER: And so, you know, if Barry says, "Well, can you find a platypus or a koala bear?"

Chances are Charley did it at one time for the textbooks that he illustrated for the Golden Press.

And so, you know, we go through all that and find something that will work for him.

KELLAR: As you grew up, did you have a lot of these animals that your dad take picture?

HARPER: I didn't.

We just owned domestic pets, cats, dogs, that kind of thing.

I never really collected turtles and stuff to keep in the house.

But Charley would go often and look for places where he could find a model.

So he went to the zoo a bit, quite a bit.

And Edie went with him when they had the cheetahs.

KELLAR: Oh, sure.

HARPER: And so the cheetah bit Edie's toe.

And you'd think that, oh, she's going to be freaked out.

And she thought that was the most wonderful thing in her life.

KELLAR: Gosh, see, that sounds like me.

So he found his subjects mostly at the zoo?

HARPER: The zoo, and actually guide books.

He would use other pictures, realistic work for inspiration that he could alter, since he did what he called minimal realism.

And he'd strip things down to their basics where you could still recognize it.

KELLAR: But it was the opposite of John Ruthven.

HARPER: He was.

They were friends, and they often did a point counterpoint at the parks and so on.

And one would say, "I count the wings," and the other would say, "I count the feathers."

And so it was fun.

KELLAR: Oh, that sounds great.

I didn't realize that.

So they did things together.

HARPER: Yeah.

KELLAR: Yeah.

Two great, great artists.

Oh my gosh, both from Cincinnati.

HARPER: And both at the Art Academy at the same time.

KELLAR: They were?

HARPER: 1946 they were there.

KELLAR: Wow, I didn't know that.

I didn't know that.

Barry, what else do you want to tell us about this project?

GREEN: Well, the focus now is to inspire people about not only our existence on the planet right now, but the fact that when we get to know these birds and these animals and these sea creatures, they've been here millions of years.

And so it's not only a horizontal experience, but it's a vertical experience of we're on this planet and we're all interconnected.

The birds are essential, the animals are essential.

Everybody feeds off everybody else.

And they've been here a long time.

And we will not be here that long either.

And so we have a role in this experience to continue for future generations, just as these animals and birds, they have short lives, but they are continuing to exist in the same planet Earth.

And so my message is about taking care of the planet and appreciating what we have around us, every bit, the scenery, the background, and preserve it for future generations and respect that as well.

KELLAR: Absolutely.

I think if children have access to animals and make them care for them and they can love them, and animals give you so much comfort and stability.

I think that what you're doing is incredibly important and helpful.

I mean, so many kids nowadays, the older ones have all these issues.

And honestly, I think a loving dog or cat can solve a lot of -- a lot of issues and provide incredible comfort.

And also caring for them is a good lesson too.

HARPER: And responsibility caring for them.

Yeah.

KELLAR: Learning, and other people's needs, not just your own.

HARPER: That's right.

He wants to eat too.

Those are, I think, those are very valuable things to teach to kids.

But it also sounds really interesting to adults.

So, your verbal part does that -- that varies, of course.

GREEN: Yes.

I mean, Mary, my wife does all of the narrations throughout all of these segments, and she's just wonderful in how she continues to bridge this gap where we start with the art, and then it gets animated and it goes to the actual animals that have inspired the art.

And then Mary weaves in the story and I provide the music.

And so we're all kind of part of this team.

KELLAR: Yeah.

Your mom, you, your mom, you, your wife.

It's very -- a lot of nepotism.

HARPER: Well there is.

KELLAR: Do you have any outsiders?

I mean, I could come and take some animals.

HARPER: Sure, I would love.

KELLAR: Yeah.

It sounds like you've got a really tight knit group there.

HARPER: Yeah, we do.

And tell us about your mom.

She's an artist also.

Edie.

Edie, she was an artist.

And Edie concentrated on three things: cats, childhood memories, and biblical adaptations of stories.

And so, in my opinion, Edie was toe to toe the level of artists the same as Charley.

And she's been sort of, you know, second fiddle in some respects.

KELLAR: Because he was so famous.

HARPER: Well, yeah.

Yeah.

And actually, his subject matter, I think, appealed to a broader swath of the public.

KELLAR: Absolutely.

HARPER: Yeah.

People like to put Cardinals up in their den.

KELLAR: And so tell us about her art.

What did she -- Was it like your dad's or?

HARPER: Well, it was similar because they did meet the first day at the Art Academy and became an item.

KELLAR: I'm telling you, this is so thick.

HARPER: I know, it is.

I know it is.

So they became an item, and they liked the same kind of modern art.

And they would kind of bounce that off of each other.

And so her work also tended to be stylized similarly, removing some extraneous elements, leaving you with a more elemental image.

But they both could paint realistically as needed.

And that to me is exceptional, that versatility.

So, you know, they could use acrylic, gouache, oils, watercolor.

KELLAR: Yeah.

And did she sell her things also?

HARPER: Yes, yes she did.

KELLAR: And where did she sell them?

HARPER: Well, there were galleries in town that sold it, museum gift shops and so on.

And we have licensees that carry on that, like stationery and jewelry, all kinds of things.

KELLAR: The most famous, would I be correct to say, the most famous of Charley's, I call it a poster of the zoo animals.

Is that -- would that be correct?

Was that the most popular?

HARPER: Yeah.

Yes.

Convivial Pursuit was very popular.

KELLAR: Was that the name of it?

Yes.

The mother cheetah was, uh, playing with her cubs, and they were trying to catch her tail and play with it.

KELLAR: Yeah.

No, that's not the one I'm thinking of.

HARPER: Oh, okay.

KELLAR: So that was the most popular?

HARPER: That's popular.

Hungry Eyes was very popular, which has the eyes of African animals.

KELLAR: No, this one was of all zoo animals and I've seen it everywhere.

HARPER: Well, there was Tree of Life, which actually is on a mural on the wall of the Federal Building downtown.

KELLAR: Okay.

HARPER: And in that Charley was asked to capture basically all of the animals in the kingdom, animal kingdom for the Golden Book of Biology.

KELLAR: That's probably the one I -- HARPER: That might have a capybara in it, too.

KELLAR: I don't think so.

HARPER: I'll look at it when I get home.

KELLAR: Yeah.

Now, are you an artist yourself?

HARPER: I am, I am.

I do I call them happy accidents, but they're stylized botanical arrangements and such.

KELLAR: With plants?

HARPER: They are.

KELLAR: Not animals.

HARPER: No, no, no.

KELLAR: So.

And would you -- How would you compare it to your father's stuff?

HARPER: Well, he said, "Brett, you've solved the whole problem of silkscreening," because I use lines that go in and out of shapes.

However, his work, he had to register it exactly where things meet.

And so if in the printing process it gets off, you can see that right away.

So he had a lot of issues with Silkscreening, and did a lot of changing and recutting of stencils and so on.

KELLAR: So all of his work was done on silkframe?

HARPER: Most of it.

He did do, as I say, murals.

So here in town, we have the spacewalk at the Duke Energy Center.

We have the Web of Life, which is at Miami's microbiology department.

And there have been Artworks or -- Yeah, the group that does, takes students and they paint murals, have painted a number of them around town on buildings, some near the library.

KELLAR: So they started out as a screen print?

HARPER: Started out as a screen print, quite often.

And Charley would make a layout and then he would enlarge that on a layout, make a painting from that.

And quite often what started as a maquette or layout, when it was extrapolated to a large, complete painting, you still say, "Oh, I can see that in the germ of the idea."

But one thing we're going to have here in October at the Art Museum, I've heard described as a national treasure, the Department of the Interior has decided to loan the ten national park posters that Charley did from the late '70s to 1990.

And I can assure you, they're like jewels or gems, acrylic on canvas.

They're four by five feet tall.

KELLAR: So they're not silkscreened.

HARPER: They're not silkscreened, but they are masterpieces, and they're basically capturing an entire ecosystem in one painting of different parks in the country.

So you have coral reefs.

You have, you know, the Rocky Mountains, Isle Royale and so on.

KELLAR: So when did your dad do those?

HARPER: He did those one a year from 1979 to 1989.

KELLAR: This is all so exciting and, oh, my gosh.

GREEN: One of my programs, we've organized the segments of the Harper program into the four elements.

So it's air, water, fire, and Earth.

And in the Earth segment, it begins with these park posters.

So we show all the posters and hear stories about them.

And then we visit the actual parks that inspired all of these posters.

And so that's a big part of the program.

KELLAR: We could talk forever.

Oh, my gosh, this is really exciting.

HARPER: It's been fun.

KELLAR: You two guys are terrific.

HARPER: Thanks.

KELLAR: And I hope you appear in many, many places where I can come and observe the product that you guys are collaborating on.

GREEN: Thank you, please do.

KELLAR: It's an incredible collaboration.

I mean music and art.

What more could you ask?

HARPER: That's what we think.

Yeah.

KELLAR: Thank you guys so much.

You are absolutely terrific.

GREEN: Thank you.

HARPER: Thank you.

It's been an honor.

GREEN: It's been an honor to be here, yes.

NARRATOR: Experience the magic of nature's winged wonders.

Be captivated by the peacock's jewel display and the woodpecker's rhythmic drumming as it builds a home among the trees.

Witness the hummingbird's dazzling dance as it sips nectar and marvel at the toucan's vibrant beak.

And the macaws striking plumage.

Be serenaded by the songs of nightingales and cardinals.

Their melodies and colors infuse every garden, forest and sky with life.

ANNOUNCER: Join us next week for another episode of Showcase with Barbara Kellar right here on CET.