“Art is a universal language. The more you give, the more you get back.” By Stacey Donovan
Una Escuelita, the Little School in Limon Dos, Nicaragua
age of eight years old — once he held that ecause no other artistic medium can Brownie Hawkeye in his hands. focus – or blur – the difference between “I would take pictures, roll after roll, realism and abstraction, photography of little Italian ladies with gold teeth, buns exists in its own realm. As fast as 1/8000th of in their hair, sitting on stoops, their nylons a second, a photograph can capture a moment, rolled down below their knees and tied in create a memory that mirrors an actual event, a knot. Then I’d drop the film off at the and through the drugstore and stay vision of Frank awake every night Roccanova, becounting the days come an inimiuntil it came table work of art. back.” Roccanova’s Just a few Nicarauga series, years later, Roccahis most recent nova had begun body of phowoodworking tographic work, and drawing as depicts images working with any viewer would his hands was most likely perhis natural inclin ceive as abstract ation. His burgeonLittle old lady, 1952 painting. This ing business sense seeming paraalso found a solid dox demonstrates the evolution of Roccaniche in the neighborhood when during nova’s artistic psyche, for he is at once a realist Christmas-time he approached some local and an idealist. He creates another level of shops and offered to embellish their windows complexity by taking these bold colored and for about ten dollars each. He would trace textured photographs and printing them on drawings with crayon, “staying in the lines, canvas and watercolor paper, as if they were of course,” and then paint the windows with paintings. watercolors. While Roccanova says “I received my “There was Santa Claus coming out of education in life on the streets of Brooklyn the chimney at the beauty shop, or playing and my education in art at New York pool at the bar across the street, or the whole City’s School of Visual Arts” (where as an nativity scene — that one cost $25 I think, advertising major he graduated in 1964), the a lot of money for a 10-year-old. After I artist’s photography career truly began at the painted a wreath with Santa winking inside
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it for the pizzeria, I went over the next day to admire my handiwork. The owner came running at me with a knife because his place was right under the El and the condensation from the pizza ovens had caused the paint to run down the windows. That ‘work of art’ lasted around 11 hours.” There is no doubt that every artist has
On the Rocks
Nica #5249
his or her ups and downs, yet at the tender age of 10, Roccanova was already developing valuable business and entrepreneurial skills: creating a portfolio, negotiating prices, selling and promoting himself – all of these would be essential to his later career, which began in advertising at Trahey/Wolf in 1965. Partner Henry Wolf was a fan of surrealism, and introduced Roccanova to the work of Rene Magritte. Magritte’s witty, mindtwisting images influenced Roccanova’s campaigns from the start and then later, during his art directing years at Saks Fifth Avenue in the 70s – and continue to do so to this day. Not coincidentally, perhaps, Magritte himself worked in graphic design and advertising. While Magritte had this to say about his own work: My painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they evoke mystery and, indeed, when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this simple question, “What does that mean?” It does not mean anything, because mystery means nothing either, it is unknowable, Roccanova’s work speaks to the opposite of what is seemingly unknowable: “In ’On the Rocks’, the image of this guy, me, finally able to pull himself out of a glass of scotch, only to find there are sharks in the water, really sings home to me. And the piece called ‘Life’, again it was really life that influenced the work, always trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I tried to do this my whole life. I think all my work is a reflection of my life and experience.” That experience includes leaving
Saks to establish his own prestigious photo retouching firm, Spano-Roccanova, whose central focus was to “correct the imperfections” on photographs ranging from the worlds of fashion modeling to food products. Roccanova eventually retired from the company and moved to his Hamptons, New York home full-time 10 years ago. The word “perfectionist” might well be Roccanova’s middle name. It’s an appropriate word to describe his inarguable realistic work as well. In a recent series entitled ‘Glasses,’ Roccanova creates a powerful narrative by combining color, shape, form, lighting, and title in a context that might make one swoon. “Spirited” is one way to describe the glasses and their various paraphernalia, as some images depict romantic, inviting visages related to alcohol, whereas others are disturbing – caveats as to what might happen after drinking one too many, perhaps. For an artist fluent in the various mediums of photography, painting, sculpting, graphic design, art direction, and even documentary filmmaking, one might wonder what Roccanova could possibly do next. The fact is, he’s already done it. After buying land in Costa Rica with the idea of developing a resort, Roccanova found himself in nearby Nicaragua where the beauty of the land and the simplicity of the people moved him to want to “give back” to the community rather than merely use its land. With the help of his business partner, Livingston Pope Noell III, a former East End artist resident, the two have built a
Life
school for children in a small town called Limon Dos. The school, Una Escuelita (“One Small School”) sits on six acres about a mile from the Pacific coast, and was borne from the concept that through art the lives of the children will not only be enhanced but that they will become better human beings. Roccanova’s initial vision of a day care center grew into a larger endeavor: that of a learning center, offering language, learning and social skills, sports, and, of course, art. “Since Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,” Roccanova says, “we could see how these kids had nothing to play with, just maybe twigs and branches. When we showed them art supplies, and even toys like dolls and truck, it was magical. It just made us feel good inside.” As of this writing Una Escuelita has gained non-profit status and has just had its second-year anniversary. What started as fewer than 30 kids coming for the free meal the school offers every day has grown into dozens more with an entire community embracing the idea of hope, knowledge, growth, and creativity. Frank Roccanova will have a solo exhibition at East Hampton Books in East Hampton, New York in May, 2009. It will feature the Homage to Magritte and Glasses series, as well as special book editions of all the work mentioned in this article. www.frankroccanova.com, www.unaescuelita.com Stacey Donovan is a freelance art writer, novelist, and writing coach.
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