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CULTURALLY
SPEAKING
By
Cornelia Seckel
Winter
is nearly
behind us and Spring with the reawakening of land and spirit and our creative
juices is before us. A relatively quiet down time with no traveling has
prepared us for a year that will mark the beginning of our 25th
year of publishing ART TIMES. Where has the time gone? I did get
around here and there to see some performances, visit new venues and connect
with many people I only speak with on the phone.
Part
of my time during January, I worked on preparing The Mountain,
a novel by Raymond J. Steiner which will be available later this
Spring. The Mountain tells the story of Jake Forscher and his development
as a self-taught landscape painter. The story opens with Book One:
“1913” — the year Jake attends the International Exhibition of Modern
Art at the 69th Street Armory in New York City, a famous art
exhibition that, because of its venue, has since become known in the annals
of art history as “The Armory Show”. His first encounter with “modern
art” — indeed his first visit to an art exhibit of any kind —
leaves the budding “artist” riddled with confusion, doubt, and anxiety.
The uncertainty of what “art” is — or to his mind, what it ought to be — dogs Jake throughout the novel. He is progressively
introduced to a changing artworld, one that begins (for him) in the traditionalism
of the early 19th century and will end with the growing impact
of “multi-culturalism”. Conversations with historical figures of the time,
e.g.: Hervey White, Birge Harrison, Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, are rich
additions. This factual development of American art is reflected in the
description of the Woodstock Art Colony, which serves as a microcosm of
the larger artworld of New York City — the seat of American art
that soon became the art capital of the world. The evolving changes in
attitudes and definitions toward and about “art” — and how such
changes affected individual artists — serve, in fact, as the central
structure of the book. The novel ends in the year 1979 (Book Seven), ten
years after the famous Woodstock Music Festival. Orders are being taken
at a special pre-publication price of $14 + shipping (see ad in this issue)
 1st Friday at the Albany Center Gallery |
I
went with artist Faye Wood
and her husband Skip to 1st Friday (www.1stfridayalbany.org) up in Albany. Nearly 20 locations
have exhibits and included art galleries and museums as well as several
stores, a church and an office. We started out at the Albany Center
Gallery (www.albanycentergallery.org) to see their 3rd Annual
Members Show. In 1977, Leslie Urbach opened the Albany Center
Gallery (a non-profit art space) that is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary
art of the Mohawk Hudson region. They have at least 7 major exhibits each
year, and are building a strong, knowledgeable audience for the visual
arts through their education programs, panel discussions, and artist interviews.
They participate with performing arts organizations to present an Art
in Education Program and are a community-based and community-supported
organization with nearly 300 members. Their galleries were crowded, a
sense of community and camaraderie that I often find with member shows,
the work varied and generally quite good. We were in and out of several
exhibition spaces along Lark Street and then came to Upstate Artists
Guild (UAG www.upstateartistsguild.org), a not-for-profit volunteer organization
whose mission is to promote art education and artistic endeavors throughout
the community. At 247 Lark Street they maintain a gallery and hold
regular classes and workshops. They are actively working with other organizations
in the community to stimulate and support interest in the Arts.
 Gabriella Gonzolez Dellosso and James Umphlett, Gallery Director at her exhibit at the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery |
I
met up with Laurie Spiegel (see her report this issue about the arts in Alaska) and we first
went to the Museum of Arts & Design, NYC to see “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery”. The
work, which stretched the idea of embroidery, included pieces by 48 international
artists and consisted of commentaries on life, politics and society and
will be up until April 27. From there we went downtown to see Gabriela Gonzalez
Dellosso
(profiled by Raymond J. Steiner in July 2004 and also available online in profile archive) at the
Eleanor Ettinger Gallery on Spring Street in NYC where Gabriella
was part of the 11th Annual Figure in American Art Exhibit.
What an excellent show. This gallery exhibits representational art and
it was a pleasure to see the artwork. I was particularly taken with Gabriella’s
work and with the paintings of Michael De Brito, a young man who will have a show at the
gallery later this year. Michael is a recipient of numerous prestigious
awards including Recipient of Pollack-Krasner Grant in 2006, 2005
Allied Artists of America, 92nd Annual Exhibition Gold Medal of Honor and 2004 Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition Best of Show
 Michael Nelson with a collector of his work at the Michael Nelson Gallery Opening Celebration |
From
there we went to the Joyce Theater, NYC to see Parsons Dance.
What a fabulous company and what a comfortable and attractive theater
(see Francine Trevens’ piece Happy
25th Anniversary, Joyce Theater Foundation! Thou too Sail on, Oh Ship
of Dance from ART TIMESOct. ’07 and online in our Dance Archive). Dancers were delightful
as they expressed humor and engaging connections through their movement.
They seemed to be having a good time and it was contagious in this intimate
theater. Most impressive to me was Union seeing dancers entwining, morphing into
one another and finally into a larger form. David Parson’s signature
stroboscopic tour-de-force Caught was breathtaking. This performance
showcased the 20-year evolution of a dance company. What a joyful evening.
Family,
friends and collectors all converged to celebrate the opening of the Michael
Nelson Gallery (www.MichaelDaleNelson.com) in Saugerties, NY. Michael has been photographing
in the New York City area for over 30 years, working on assignments across
the country. Every prestigious magazine that I could think of was on his
client list. Most every one of Michael’s portraits was engaging; his landscape
familiar and not familiar as the angle of the shot was quite out of the
ordinary. At the studio on Partition Street in Saugerties, Michael will
do his studio portraits, exhibit photography and hold workshops in Photoshop,
Digital Cameras and Printing.
 (R to L) Executive Director Dusica Kirjakovic, Doug Bennett (master printer), and Matthew Day Jackson (artist) |
I’ve
been first speaking to and then emailing Executive Director Dusica
Kirjakovic for over 10 years and finally got to meet
her and tour the Lower East Side PrintShop’s (new since 2005 and
5 times larger than the old space) facility now on 37th Street
between 8th & 9th Avenues. I went to the Preview
of the 2008 Benefit Auction—the revenue directly supports
residencies for artists. Dusica gave me a tour of the working studios,
an area that is 5 times larger than the old space they occupied. The Auction
is just one of many events including a retrospective exhibit and lecture
series that will celebrate their 40th Anniversary. According
to their literature, The Lower East Side Printshop, established in 1968,
is a New York City based not-for-profit print workshop that promotes excellence
in printmaking by offering opportunities for a broad and diverse range
of participants to create, learn, and collect prints. The Printshop offers
independent and collaborative residencies for artists, free and fee-based,
contract printing services for small and large publishers, educational
opportunities in all aspects of the print field and at all levels of expertise,
and affordable collecting opportunities. It is the only not-for-profit
workshop in the city that actively publishes new work. It was founded
in 1968 by artist and educator Eleanor Magid who was determined
to offer full access to prints and printmaking to all, without physical,
financial, and technical barriers. It soon became part of the alternative
space movement of the late 1960s, and it continued to be a major resource
for printmaking, with its groundbreaking 24-hour studio access and other
services. About 60 artists use the facilities each year. What a success
story! More information is available at www.printshop.org
 Ann Kalmbach (L) and Caitlin Wheeler (R) working on the new ART TIMES t-shirts. |
What
a pleasure to spend the day at the Women’s Studio Workshop in Binnewater,
NY working along side Executive Director Ann Kalmbach and studio intern Caitlin Wheeler silk-screening the new ART TIMES
t-shirts. Women's Studio Workshop is a visual arts organization
with specialized studios in printmaking, hand papermaking, ceramics, letterpress
printing, photography, and book arts. Artists are invited to work at WSW as
a part of their Fellowship
Program,
Artists' Books Grants,
Residencies, Internships>, or to learn new skills in their Summer
Arts Institute and community workshop series. Since 1974, they have operated
and maintained an artists' workspace that encourages the voice and vision
of individual women artists, provides professional opportunities for them,
and promotes programs designed to stimulate public involvement, awareness,
and support for the visual arts. Take a look at their site for additional
information www.wsworkshop.org.
 (L to R) Barbara Bachner, Curator, Artists: Elizabeth Winchester, Martha Ellen Hughes, Carol Pepper Cooper and Renee Englander at their exhibit "Engrams" at the Art Society of Kingston gallery, Kingston, NY |
According
to Barbara Bachner, a group of women came together at her workshop, "Process:
Action and Reaction" at the Woodstock School of Art in the summers
of 1999 and 2000. Barbara was encouraged by them to form a group and over
the past seven years they’ve met bimonthly during which she would critique
their work and discuss theory. The title of the show, "Engrams"
curated by Barbara Bachner and exhibited at ASK in Kingston, NY, came
out of the work, which developed according to each artist's personal history
and identity. The other artists in the show (and group) are Elizabeth
Winchester, Martha Ellen Hughes, Carol Pepper Coope and Renee Englander.
Tara
Marvel, ART TIMES contributor of the Art
Bytes, has recently sent me a copy of Muskrat Stew and Other Tales
of a Penobscot Life: The Life Story of Fred Ranco, written by Fred Ranco as told to Tara. The book was published by Occasional Publications
of the Maine Folklife Center, University of Maine, Orono, 2007. Tara said that she and Fred have been planning these
memoirs for over 20 years. Fred died soon after the book was published.
This is a personal story and an ancient story told by this full-blooded
Penobscot man who considered himself a modern man who was proud to be
part of an ancient tribe, to know and practice the old ways and to share
them. I found the telling of his story direct and clear, the content engrossing
and enlightening.
Something
Unexpected Art Gallery is a new gallery on Main Street in Nyack, NY
that features a number of young, but internationally recognized jewelry
and textile artists. The current exhibit, Art-To-Wear by Lithuanian artists and designers, will
be up through March 14. According to Gallery Director Aurelija Cepulinskaite,
the gallery will offer photographic services, framing, exhibitions and
an art-leasing program. For additional information: www.something-unexpected.com.
ARTsModerne:
A Gallery of Contemporary & Vintage Art opened in January in Housatonic, MA. Located at 151 Front
Street, it is situated in an intimate setting measuring 9.5 feet
by 11.5 feet and exhibits an eclectic assortment of both contemporary
paintings, prints, photography, text-art, box-art, collages as well as
a collection of unusual vintage art. On exhibit now are the small oil
paintings of Bob Cronin of Falls Village, CT. the abstract drawings
of Franco Pellegrino, West Stockbridge MA, the whimsical box-art-new/art
of Sherry Steiner, Housatonic MA, and the paintings
of Alex Zenger, San Francisco CA. ARTSModerne is also the world
headquarters of the Artists & Writers Alliance Internationale which is dedicated to bringing artists of all disciplines together
from around the world who are interested in collaborating. For more information:
www.artsmoderne.com.
May we all delight in creativity as we enter
the new season.