The West Philly Wyeths

When the Tiberinos hit a wall, they paint it.

by A.D. Amorosi

THE FAMOUS TIBERINOS: (L-R) daughter Ellen, dad Joseph and sons Gabriel, Latif and Raphael. Photo By: Kass Mencher (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

For all its dedication to pop, the Andy Warhol Museum has never shown Clash of the Titans.

For all its daring design, the Salvador Dali Museum does not have a tree house.

For all its dedication to lineage, the Wyeth museum at the Brandywine Conservancy has never allowed its buds to jump into broken glass or breathe fire.

Nope. The only museum does all that is The Ellen.

The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum in Powelton Village is where the work of the late, great African-American painter hangs next to that of her thriving, adoring survivors: husband Joseph, daughter Ellen, sons Gabriel, Latif and Raphael.

How thriving?

New and old Tiberino family works line every hallway, gazebo, kitchen, bathroom, living room, library, grotto and knoll of their home and garden habitat (five buildings, three privately owned by the museum, two leased from neighbors; nine yards for the sculpture garden, with the possibility of adding five more). And the West Philly Wyeths are mounting a family show at Sande Webster Gallery this weekend that's retrospective, introspective and prospective. "Anyone that thinks they're well-acquainted with all the works of all the Tiberinos are wrong because new work is always being created," says Raphael. "Even with my mother's work, there're always hidden treasures put on display that haven't been seen in decades."

The Ellen is appropriately unshackled, too, with everything from once-a-week screenings in The Flicker Garden � showing West Philly filmmaker fare, kitsch flicks like Titans, and the rarely seen Tiberino-fest The Mural � to hosting the Second-Friday Carnivolutions starring Mothers-of-Invention-like ensemble Hydrogen Jukebox and their sword-swallowing, fire-spitting associates.

"The museum's growing under its own momentum," says father Joe of The Ellen's sudden burst of activity after having been open with quiet dignity since October 1999. "It's working at a pace that only accelerates and leaves us moving at a level that we can only hope to keep up with."

Whether looking forward or backward, the most important thing about the Tiberino aesthetic is the mural. Not just images of Mario Lanza in South Philly or John Coltrane in West Philly, portraits that please the eye, but ones that stir the consciousness and the conscience, like the relief sculpture that Ellen and Joseph did together in 1986 dedicated to the MOVE bombing in their neighborhood. Or Joe's own "March of America," which sarcastically looks at counter-cultural activism. Or "Wall of Black Heroes" by Joseph, Gabe and Raph � the recently wrapped mural featuring Frederick Douglass, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and DJ Joey Blanco.

"The mural's earliest recording is the French cave paintings where a man is formulating the hunt; goes up through the Renaissance where it becomes the personal statement of the most accomplished artists in the world; and jumps the ocean to Mexico where Siqueiros Orosczo and Diego Rivera transcend European culture and bring the art of the mural into the dynamics of the 20th century," says Joe, an Italian-born Philadelphian educated at University of the Arts. "The mural � historically � forced the viewer to become a part of the composition; something where he is not just looking at it, but becoming a part of it."

Son Gabriele has been doing it citywide since he was a kid; so has Raphael, who has taught mural painting through Jane Golden's Mural Arts Program (MAP) and currently teaches at Moore College of Art and Design. Young Ellen Tiberino � often found hand-forging haunting ceramic death masks and broken torsos � is currently negotiating for a job with MAP.

It's no surprise, then, that the Tiberino crew filmed The Mural in 1985. It's a gorgeous, glowing black-and-white biographical mockumentary that co-stars the likes of rocker Ben Vaughn, poet Paul Grillo and lots of painters, punks and fellow bohemians who filled Joe's aptly named South Street perf-art saloon Bacchanal back then.

Other than a few weeks ago, at The Flicker Garden's ribbon cutting at the Tiberino's home, The Mural has been screened only a handful of times, including at the Museum of Modern Art. "Showing it, seeing it [now], is a step backward and a step forward," says Joe, who watched it amongst a group of old Bacchanal regulars and new West Philly artists. Watching such scenes with Joe and his wife, Ellen, promenading down South Street during a wild Easter party in 1985 as well as the images of ribald revelry and (literally) bare-assed artistic freedom brought back personal memories, of course. But those same scenes showed how vibrant an art scene Philadelphia had and how it connected easily and breezily to Philly's punk, jazz and poetry movements. He says the Flicker Garden might encourage such interactions these days.

Not to mention Carnivolution Second Fridays with Hydrogen Jukebox and their carny pals making merry in a fashion that combines Burning Man's physical fervor and the Blue Man Group's body paint with lots of noisy, skronky jazz and people hanging in treehouses?

"How can people not like crazy clowns, singing, dancing, juggling fire, glass walking and just being, well, clowny?" asks Raph.

"The clowns tend to entertain and scare the audience at the same time with the realities of life," adds Joe the Patrone.

These events serve the taste of the artistic community at large while being dedicated to the residents of Powelton Village. This large wooded complex's common courtyard, rife with sculptures, permanent murals and constant new sketches and etchings, is a delightful neighborhood anomaly. Yes, they are a respite of calm in what was once a war zone. And they are a testament to world renowned painter, mother and wife Ellen Powell Tiberino's ongoing legacy. Her work spoke of protest and peace. The rest of the Tiberino clan still does.

"I think spending a lot of time studying the Barnes, I realized that he had started a collection of art that related to his own viewpoint and wanted to educate people on his point of view," says Joe of the reasons why � beyond tribute to his missus � he opened The Ellen. "I thought we could take the idea of a private museum to a higher level."

With the addition of film and live performance into its usual exhibition stages, Joseph Tiberino believes The Ellen has lived up to its goals aesthetically, financially and communally as it is a world-class museum at the finest level.

They have the complete involvement of neighborhood people, the artistic community, Penn and Drexel students.

But for Raphael, his goal and the goal of the museum is ultimately to take the art of his mother and the family to a worldwide level. Whether her family's work speaks of social congress or social unrest, Ellen Powell Tiberino's power permeates every bit of their collective spirit, whether it's molded, painted, screened or danced around.

"I always felt the museum was set up as a tribute to my mother and thus far it has lived up to all expectations," says Raph. "But the most wonderful thing about the place is the fact that she worked here, had kids here, and died here. Her spirit permeates every inch."

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

The Family Tiberino: A Legacy of Art, Opens Fri., July 13, 6-9 p.m., runs through Aug. 31, Sande Webster Gallery, 2006 Walnut St., 215-636-9003, artswg@aol.com. Flicker Garden Wednesdays and Carnivolution Second Fridays, The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum 3819 Hamilton St., 215-386-3784, www.tiberinomuseum.com.