Culturally Speaking
By CORNELIA SECKEL
ART TIMES June 2009
Well, we made it. 25 years of publishing ART TIMES with never an advertorial, never selling ads with promises of editorial coverage or bending to the coercion of groups or individuals to write what they would like us to write in any of our 273 issues. So that is why after 25 years our pages have not grown exponentially but they do remain true to our vision, our beliefs and standards and our readers and advertisers truly understand and appreciate our ethical stance. Now as we begin year 26 there are some changes that many of you are already aware of. We will continue publishing in print, only now 6 times a year: Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec, Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun. Deadlines for calendar and opportunity listings will remain on the 12th of Aug, Oct, Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun and advertising on the 15th of Aug, Oct, Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun. I have an extensive list of advertisers and potential advertisers that I email our exact deadlines to each month and if you would like to join that list just send an email to me. Speaking of Advertisers, without their support there would be no ART TIMES. We have never received grants or other funding other than for advertising and we truly appreciate those advertisers who make our publishing possible. Of course without readers there would be no point to publish (If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it did it fall?) We are most appreciative of Catskill Art and Office of Kingston, Woodstock and Poughkeepsie who have been advertising with us every month since we began publishing in 1984 and other early and continuous advertisers including Barrett House in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess Community College and their Annual November Arts Fair, Reginato Restorante in Lake Katrine (just outside of Kingston, NY), Woodstock Artists Association Museum, Woodstock, NY; Woodstock School of Art, Woodstock, NY; The Salmagundi Club, NYC, Pastel Society of America, Bethlehem Art Gallery in Windsor and Paul Gould in Cornwall on Hudson; Crafts People, West Hurley; Garrison Art Center in Garrison, Joan Rudman and the Hudson Valley Art Association; Women’s Studio Workshop, Binnewater, NY; Pleiades Gallery, NYC, Ward-Nasse Gallery, NYC, Westchester Arts, Peekskill and White Plains, American Watercolor Society, Art Society of Old Greenwich, The Schoolhouse, Croton Falls; Putnam Arts Council, Mahopac; Mt St Mary Artists on Campus, Newburgh; Old Songs Festival, Voorheesville; Elena Zang Gallery, Shady (Woodstock), NY, Catharine Lorillard Wolf Art Club, NYC; National Association of Women Artists, NYC; The New Rochelle Art Association, New Rochelle; Allied Artists of America, NYC; Audubon Artists, NYC; American Artists Professional League, NYC; Hudson Valley Writers Center, Sleepy Hollow; Kent Art Association, Kent, CT; and The Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, CT. These advertisers have been with us many issues each year for well over the past 15+ years. We are truly grateful for their decisions to advertise with the foremost and unique Literary Journal and Resource for the Fine and Performing Arts. And then there are the advertisers that are with us every month (till forever): Omega, Wet Paint, New Century Artists, Hudson Valley Writers Center, Catskill Art and Office, New York Artists (newyorkartists.net), Heights Real Estate (YOHO Center for the Arts), Hudson River Valley Workshop, National Association of Women Artists, Pen & Brush, Pastel of America, Salmagundi, Woodstock School of Art, Digital Arts Space, Grey Printing, The Highland Studio, The Arts at Hotchkiss.
As we move on to the next years we will continue to build our online presence (www.arttimesjournal.com) adding opportunities for readers to share their thoughts on various cultural happenings among many other possibilities. When I began publishing ART TIMES I did not know anything about graphic design, typography, in short, how one gets their ideas from their mind’s eye to printed page. Now I’m back there again reading about html, the internet, going to a web support group, taking on a private tutor (not having the luxury of time for a 10-week course). What I do know is what I like, what I think works well visually and what makes sense for clarity and interest.
There is nothing like a crisis on the home front to stop one from getting out and about. A fire in one of our outbuildings left no one hurt but now a building with all its contents are gone (tractor, tiller, mower, tools, hardware) and so much energy is being spent with the insurance company and the aftermath of cleaning that I just couldn’t do my usual out and about routine and so missed the annual lunch of The Catharine Lorillard Wolf Art Club and the National Association of Women Artists. There must have been a half-dozen dozen press openings I didn’t get to including ARTSBASH, a fundraising event for Arts Westchester (formerly Westchester Arts Council) which is always a huge success with a lot of music, food from area restaurants, and of course open artists’ studios. Oh well, there will surely be more events to get to. I was however able to get to a press conference at the Italian Consulate in NYC for “America’s Rome: Artists in the Eternal City, 1800-1900” and after that (always doing more than one thing in a given day) delivered the May issue in Manhattan. Stephano Acunto , Vice Consul of Italy, exhibit Curator Dr. Paul D’Ambrosio, and D. Stephen Elliott, President of the New York State Historical Association all spoke during the conference. Each spoke about their own connection to the exhibit expressing appreciation and support. According to Paul D’Ambrosio, the exhibit was inspired by Dr. William Vance’s book America’s Rome published in 1989. Dr. D’Ambrosio, a student of Dr Vance, has had for some time the idea of mounting this exhibition that has over 100 depictions of Rome by 19th Century American Artists including Thomas Cole, George Inness, Childe Hassam, Washington Allston and Sanford Robinson Gifford. Circumstances came together along with much hard work and perseverance and this show will be at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown through December 31, 2009. Historians John and Mary McGuigan were contributors to the scholorship of the exhibit and to the Catalogue. From what I can see this appears to be an important and excellent show that may travel to other venues, but there is nothing set as yet. Cooperstown is rich in history and other venues for culture including The Baseball Hall of Fame, The Farmers Museum, Glimmerglass Opera, Hyde Hall, The Smithy Art Center, Cooperstown Art Association, and Cooperstown Music Festival. www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
I received a press release from a group called Musician’s for Charity, Inc (www.MusiciansForCharity.Org). This is a free website where musicians can describe their music, upload samples of songs and provide links to their own web sites. Charity groups can then go to the site and find a good match for their event. The payment is giving back to the community and making connections to what hopefully will be a lot of paying gigs • The Renaissance Reader, a Tapestry of Arts was published by George Lane Nitti, former co-owner of Baby Grand Books of Warwick, NY. According to Nitti, The Renaissance Reader will express the cultural values of the present time and contains poetry, essays and fiction. We wish them success with what we surely know is a difficult pursuit.
I do hope to hear from you and see you as we continue on. Enjoy the Spring as we move into Summer and the time of growth for us all.