Ethel Kvalheim: Rosemaler; Her Mother Before Her

Using the slide dissolve format of her earlier productions, producer Jocelyn Riley's Ethel Kvalheim: Rosemaler looks at the life and work of nationally known rosemaler ("rose painter") Ethel Kvalheim. Kvalheim describes her introduction to the art (she had no formal art training), talks about the use of various brushes, and compares her work to the traditional Norwegian style of rosemaling. Unfortunately, there is no strong narrative thread (unlike that found in other Her Own Words prodcutions based on the writings of pioneer women), and no sense of careful selection of the interview sound bites (in one section Kvalheim describes, in detail, what her scheduled hours were for a former job she held). The major redeeming element of the program is the generous number of shots offering a representative sample of Kvalheim's work. The pieces themselves are truly lovely. Her Mother Before Her: Winnebago Women's Stories of Their Mothers & Grandmothers is a follow-up program to Winnebago Women: Songs & Stories (reviewed in our November 1992 issue). Stories from the five contemporary Winnebago Indian women profiled on the earlier program (Rebecca Greendeer, Arvina Lowe Thayer, Ruth Cloud, Irene Thundercloud, and Naomi Russell) and one newcomer Karen Martin, revolve around memories of the storyteller's mother and grandmothers. Rebecca Greendeer's mother made fried bread, Arvina Lowe Thayer's mother set traps for partridge for dinner, Ruth Cloud's mother rode a horse. There's an air of exasperating pointlessness to these "stories" which are little more than day-to-day mundane details. Only Irene Thundercloud, who tells a wonderful story about her mother's ideas for making beadwork, offers what could be called a real story. Ethel Kvalheim: Rosemaler is an optional purchase. Her Mother Before is not a necessary purchase. (Available from: Her Own Words, P.O. Box 5264, Madison, WI 53705; (608) 271-7083.)