Culturally Speaking
By Cornelia Seckel
ART TIMES July/ August 2011
 Opening Reception for the 81st Annual Juried Open Exhibition at the National Art League in Douglaston, NY. |
I like jurying and judging Art Shows. It gives me an opportunity, at the opening, to meet many new artists who are happy to meet me since I accepted their work. Earlier this year I judged and juried the 81st Annual Juried Open Exhibition that ran May 2-28, 2011 at the National Art League (NAL) in Douglaston, NY. The League was founded as the Douglaston Art League in 1930 by Alice Chase Sullivan and Helen Chase, daughters of William Merritt Chase. Today, the original membership of 13 students has grown to 300 artist members. The major activities of the NAL are: art instruction; member and non-member exhibitions; providing monthly lectures and demonstrations by leading metropolitan artists; and providing space in which artists can work. My hometown, Little Neck, is the next town just East of Douglaston. So early on when we began publishing ART TIMES I was aware of the NAL and we have been sending papers to the gallery for many years.Choosing work for the show is difficult as there was a lot of very competent work and then I had to decide on the top 3 as well as several other prizes and Honorable Mentions. First prize went to Howard Rose who, unknown to me, is an instructor at the NAL School, Liz Jorg Masi 2nd Place and John Varriano — 3rd Place.
 Reception of the Art League of Long Island and Crafts Guild of LI. Cornelia Seckel far left; Thomas L. Stacy ALLI Exec. Dir addresses the group |
Soon after, I was asked to judge and jury the exhibit Reclaiming Eden, a collaborative show of The Crafts Guild of Long Island (www.licg.org) and the Art League of Long Island (ALLI www.artleagueli.org). Again, I juried (chose) the show from images on a CD and then before the opening went out to the ALLI gallery in Dix Hills, LI to judge what work would get prizes. The Art League is the oldest and largest visual arts organization of its kind on LI. They serve 155 towns and villages each and since 1955 the Art League has offered a wide selection of classes, workshops, exhibits, lectures, museum tours, fine art and craft shows to children, young adults and adults from beginners to very accomplished artists and crafts people. There are numerous collaborative events such as this one with the Crafts Guild of LI. I was quite impressed with the extensive classrooms for ceramics, computer graphics, drawing, decorative arts, jewelry, glass, painting, and sculpture, as well as the beautiful new Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery. Since 1956, the Crafts Guild has provided educational and informational services, regular meetings and workshops, and a sense of community among crafts people. Awards of Merit went to: Hap Bowditch, John Fink, Sally Shore, and Karen Strauss.
 Attendees to the Woodstock Artists Association Museum's Salon |
I was asked to be part of the 1st Artist Salon at the Woodstock Artist Association Museum — not as an artist but because the first topic they would toss around was the Business of Art. Over 50 artists came and most seemed very supportive of the idea of a monthly Salon to meet, discuss topics of general interest and generally create an environment for the exchange of ideas. The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce sponsored the Salon and they are supporting the arts community more so then ever before.
I was at the Salmagundi Club in early June and was pleased to see the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic’s 57th Anniversary Annual. (www.nationalsocietyofpaintersincaseinandacrylic.org). It was in the early Fifties that a group of artists formed an organization to exhibit paintings done in Casein, an opaque, water-based medium, an ancient art material dating back to the Egyptian culture and possibly to cave days. Casein, using a milk-related base, has proved its permanence by the fact that Egyptian decorations are to be seen today, thousands of years later. This Society gave artists who preferred an opaque aqua-based medium a chance to exhibit, while transparent watercolors were commonly accepted in other exhibitions that frowned upon the opaque use of watercolor. Years later, another art product called Acrylic was introduced to artists commercially. This synthetic version of casein was quickly accepted by the art community and became a popular opaque, fast-drying medium. The Casein Society recognized its potential and welcomed artists who used acrylic in their entries. Each year there is an annual exhibit and The Robert Sanstrom Prize - $5000 and Gold Medal went to Steve Wilda; The Louise C. Nemeth Memorial Award - $3000 went to Gerard Huber.
The Arts & Business Council of New York, a division of Americans for the arts, was holding a function at the Salmagundi while I was there. They invited business people to hear from 10 or more not-for-profit organizations so that they could become familiar with these groups — the idea/ hope was that these business people might join a board or volunteer. The Arts & Business Council was created in 1965 by a group of business leaders from the New York Board of Trade, with the purpose of creating closer ties between business and the arts. Arts membership was started in 1970, and incorporated in 1973. The Business Volunteers for the Arts program was launched in 1975 and, with assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation, replicated across the country. The council’s mission is to join the creative forces of the arts and business. According to the Council: “The arts offer creativity, both onstage/ in exhibition and in problem-solving. They change lives: delighting the general public, celebrating and communicating cultural diversity, engaging audiences and artists in life-long enrichment. Business offers financial and in-kind support, through strategic philanthropy that advances corporate missions and through sponsorships that enhance marketing efforts”. Programs include management and marketing workshops, leadership training, board services, volunteerism and many other programs. Contact them at www.artsandbusiness-ny.org.
 (L to R) Susan G. Hammond, Pat Adams, Susan Phillips, Sonia Stark at the Annual luncheon of the National Association of Women Artists |
I have been an Honorary Vice President and just recently the National Association of Women Artists (www.thenawa.org) has just elected me as a member of their Board. After 27 years of publishing ART TIMES I surely have a broad vision of the arts in our region. In January of 1889, five innovative women, Grace Fitz-Randolph, Edith Mitchell Prellwitz, Adele Frances Bedell, Anita C Ashley, and Elizabeth S. Cheever, barred from full participation in the male-dominated National Academy of Design and The Society of American Artists, founded the Women's Art Club. The organization flourished and in 1913 was renamed the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, reflecting its national influence and the increasing number of women sculptors. Through the 1920s the organization was sponsoring exhibitions nationally and abroad. In the 1930s membership grew to over 1,000 and the organization opened its Argent Galleries on 57th Street in New York City. In 1941 the organization changed its name again to the National Association of Women Artists. Early exhibitions included works by the artists Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Suzanne Valadon, and Cecelia Beaux. Later, members included Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Louise Nevelson, Cleo Hartwig, Malvina Hoffman, Minna Citron, Alice Neel, Theresa Bernstein, Nell Blaine, and Dorothy Dehner. The NAWA archive contains a wealth of information about American Women artists through the ranks of its membership. The Annual luncheon/ meeting was held at the National Arts Club, NYC. Pat Adams, painter, teacher and lecturer, was the featured speaker and an exhibition of her work was at the N.A.W.A. gallery at 80, Fifth Ave., NYC. I remember one particular comment she made during her talk: “Art lets us look into our own lives” and “Painting is the way to make sense of the world”. Susan G. Hammond is the Executive Director and Sonia Stark is the new President. The mission has been and continues to be getting women artists visible to the art world. There are still many fewer women artists represented in galleries and in Museums. The luncheon was a chance for me to meet new artists, renew acquaintances and ultimately for me to support the organization.
 (L to R) Stacey Flint, Laura Gurton and Susan Phillips at the Opening Reception at the NAWA show at the Doghouse Gallery |
Here in the Hudson Valley and very close to my home is The Doghouse Gallery (Phillips Road in Saugerties) where upstate members of NAWA had an exhibit. Too many family obligations kept me from the show and then of course my trip to Germany (more of that later). Fay Wood, a N.A.W.A. member and participant in that show, will be at the Doghouse Gallery in August.
Having visitors from out of town always gives me a push to do “New York” things and so there I was at the American Museum of Natural History (www.amnh.org) with grandchildren Leah (15) and Jj Jonason (13). We spent the entire day exploring the museum’s permanent installations and then the special exhibits of:
• The World’s Largest Dinosaurs (April 16, 2011-January 2, 2012), a new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History reveals how dinosaurs actually lived by taking visitors into the amazing anatomy of a uniquely super-sized group of dinosaurs: the long-necked and long-tailed sauropods, which ranged in size from 15 to 150 feet long.
• Brain: The Inside Story utilizes two creative and innovative ways to present scientific information: artistic interpretations and interactive exhibits. In addition to the Canogar installation, the work of Woodstock NY visual artist Devorah Sperber plays with visitors' senses and memory by turning spools of thread into a work of art. Finally, the Museum's exhibition team has developed a wide range of exciting games, videos, and interactive educational exhibits to enhance and deepen visitors' understanding of the brain and its functions.
 A visitor looking at Woodstock NY artist Devorah Sperber's installation in The Brain Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. |
• Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World is an Imax movie showing the larger-than-life creatures that ruled the seas 20 million years before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The audience is led by Julie, an imaginative young woman, on a journey from a modern-day aquarium to the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, and explores an amazing underwater universe inhabited by, among other animals, the powerful Liopleurodon, the long-necked Elasmosaurus, Ophthalmosaurus or “eye lizard,” the ferocious Prognathodon, and the gigantic 75-foot Shonisaurus.
• Journey to the Stars – In this all-new Space Show in the Hayden Planetarium narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, the audience travels 13 billion years into the past, when the first stars were born and visit the heart of our fiery Sun. The show features extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations.
 Part of The World’s Largest Dinosaurs Exhibit showing comparisons of Dinosaur and Human bones at the American Museum of Natural History, NYC |
The Museum was founded in 1869. Prior to construction of the present complex on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in NYC, the Museum was housed in the older Arsenal building in Central Park. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., the father of the 26th U.S. President, was one of the founders. The founding of the Museum realized the dream of naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore. In 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the Museum's first building, opened in 1877. Since 1930 little has been added to the original building. The Museum is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world and comprises 25 interconnected buildings that house 46 permanent exhibition halls, research laboratories, and its renowned library. The collections contain over 32 million specimens, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time. The Museum has a scientific staff of more than 200, and sponsors over 100 special field expeditions each year. I was fascinated with the great diversity of exhibits, the fabulous artwork of installations and displays of people/ animals/ and sea life; the cinematography; the user friendly interactive stations; and the use of social media to promote and allow people who are too far away from NYC to see many aspects of the exhibits. Youtube has millions of viewers watching the videos uploaded by the museum. What a day, what a wonderful experience, what a truly exceptional museum that brings to light our earliest history using the most modern of technology.
 Mr & Mrs. Alexander & Eve Sparkowsky cooperating after taking marriage vows in Berlin, Germany |
I went to Germany to the wedding of friends Alexander Sparkowsky and Eve, a couple I have known for a number of years and was pleased to dance at their wedding. The activities during the wedding were quite new to me and since we are a cultural publication I thought I’d share some of the “differences” I noticed. Immediately after the ceremony, which must be performed by an official from the government, the couple greeted family and friends with a champagne toast and then began a task that required cooperation. The task they chose was to saw a log (it was green and 8” wide) with a 2-handed saw. It was a difficult task as the best man gave them a metal saw to make the job even more difficult. That accomplished, the wedding cake was cut, coffee and cake were served and then the Bride and Groom disappeared with the photographer as the wedding guests enjoyed more cake and drinks. I saw some of the friends surrounding a helium tank and another friend passed around post cards. We were to write on the postcard a promise (e.g. I’ll buy dinner at your favorite restaurant; I will wash your car, etc.) attach the postcard to a helium balloon which the bride let loose after their return. When a postcard is found apparently people know to mail them – the address of the Bride and Groom is on the card. After the couple returned from the photo shoot they had to cut out a heart drawn onto a sheet (perhaps 6’ square) hanging across the pathway through which the groom was to carry the bride. Then we all went into the restaurant for dinner and afterwards lots of dancing. During the dinner several “games” were played. Cans of food were held up to the newlyweds and the labels were read and then torn off. Eventually there were 50 or more cans without labels on a table for the couple to have “surprise” meals. A list of statements were given to all of the guests (e.g.: stand if you have an Apple Computer, Stand if you work with either Alex or Eve etc, and the couple had to figure out the question. I always enjoy a wedding and the celebration afterwards and this one was particularly exciting and different. What of course is always the same: the wishes for the Bride and Groom to have a joyful and fulfilling life together.