Fine Art Magazine 44th Anniversary Issue by Fine Art Magazine

SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY EDITION 2019 • $15

"MY LOVE A FFA IR WITH REPLACING SOMETHING OLD WITH THE BEST" - MICHAEL SALLINGER

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Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 1

Danny Heller November 2019

George Billis Gallery • 525 west 26th Sreet, Ground Floor • NYC 212.645.2621 • gallery@georgebillis.com • www.georgebillis.com 2 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

ART NOW FAIR December 5-8, 2019

Prime South Beach Location: ELV Exhibit Hall on Washington & 17th Street, Miami Beach Across from the Convention Center & Art Basel View our Website to Apply 917.273.8621 • info@artnowfair.com • ARTNOWFAIR.COM Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 3

The Greyhound Band, 18" x 36" acrylic on board

Wolf Moon Rising, 18" x 36" acrylic on board

Bobcat Basin, 18" x 36" acrylic on board

Panther Pass, 18" x 36" acrylic on board

MICHELE BRAMLETT Beautifully Framed Paintings Illustrating

THE SWEETEST WAY HOME The Children’s Book by Victor Forbes

Big Grey, The King, 18" x 18"

Snow Shoe Lane, 18 x 18

For the true Yankee fan - Michele Bramlett's portrait of Joba Chamberlain now available contact Victor Forbes for further details 518-593-6470 victor@fineartmagazine.com

The Wise Old Owl, 18" x 18"

Renegade Rock, 18" x 18"

Big Grey Tells His Tale,

The Dharma Bear Cave, 18" x 18"

Puppy Lullabye, 18" x 18"

Greyhound Slaughter, 18" x 18"

Valley Grocer, 18" x 18"

ENTIRE COLLECTION OF ORIGINALS AND GICLEES ON CANVAS NOW AVAILABLE viewable in the mountains of Keene Valley, NY, where the story unfolded CONTACT • victor@fineartmagazine.com • 518-593-6470

4 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

England in 1819 By Percy Bysshe Shelley

An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King; Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow Through public scorn,—mud from a muddy spring; Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, But leechlike to their fainting country cling Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow. A people starved and stabbed in th’ untilled field; An army, whom liberticide and prey Makes as a two-edged sword to all who wield; Golden and sanguine laws which tempt and slay; Religion Christless, Godless—a book sealed; A senate, Time’s worst statute, unrepealed— Are graves from which a glorious Phantom may Burst, to illumine our tempestuous day.

BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS THEY’RE EVERYWHERE They feed their own appetites they don’t really care But the Good Shepherd he lays his life down You can’t keep love like that in the ground – DION DIMUCCI - 1985 You Can Do All Things (Through Christ)

Sing Dance Write Poetry Paint Play an instrument These are all activities Which dictators hate.

– Prof. Mark Naison

“UP YOU MIGHTY RACE. YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU WILL”

MARK NAISON

–MARCUS GARVEY

HYLTON BECKFORD

The World Is Too Much With Us By William Wordsworth

The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 5

Courtesy SIX NATION INDIAN MUSEUM, Onchiota, NY

6 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

I live to see art. There is nothing on this earth that gets me going and makes me want to stay here the way art does. So keep creating, friends - it is like water in the desert for my heart. – Liz Pressman

Michel Roux “King of the Mad Men” and Absolut Genius, page 8

Ruth-Ann Thorn, page 56

Elaine de Kooning, page 73 Photo © Roy Nicholson, 2019

Michael Sallinger’s Tappan Zee Bridge Project, page 15

Marilyn Goldberg with artist Ken Beberman. Southampton, page 146 Cande Aguilar in NYC, page 80 Berdj Tchakedjian, page 82

Paul Matthews eulogy by Russell Banks, page 96

Ken & Sherri.Nahan, page 44

founded in 1975

Marc & Gilda Oliver, Page 52 Jane Seymour Page 62 Phyllis Sims new book, page 54

Peter Simon remembered by Elliot Blinder, page 28

Before she was Gaga, Stefani played the Bitter End often, page 154

Samir Sammoun, Corinna Steiner at START, London, page 37

PUBLISHER JAMIE ELLIN FORBES info@fineartmagazine.com (631) 339-0152 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VICTOR BENNETT FORBES victor@fineartmagazine.com 518-593-6470

www.fineartmagazine.com

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 7

“This is the message of art: to communicate good, to heal.” – Michel Roux, 1940 -2019

CHANCE YEH PHOTO 1999

EORGE Rodrigue, already a legend on the Bayou before his Blue Dog paintings made him an international a r t s t a r, w a s working the easel on the bed Rocky Aoki of Benihana of Tokyo, Woodstock coof a truck deep producer Michael Lang, Lee Blumer, Michel Roux, Jamie Ellin Forbes at Fine Art Magazine’s 24th in the backwoods Aniversary Party, 1999, at New York’s Downtime Club o f s o u t h e r n George Rodrigue, Michel Roux and Tiffany The Blue Dog Louisiana — well into Cajun Country — where the master chef style, the on-going society in New York. His business acumen was Paul Prudhomme held his annual festival, an event which Michel something many people overlooked. He would promote Absolut to Roux never failed to attend. Oh to have been a crawfish on the table restaurateurs. He called it ‘The Eighth Wonder of the Wor1d’ and when the distinguished French gentleman and the funky-but-chic would tell people he used it as perfume. When he made that painting, Cajun artist took their first meeting. Roux, who as CEO of Carillon we weren’t sure what to do with it. The agency felt it was quite a Importers, parlayed a love of art and a friendship with Andy Warhol departure from mainstream advertising, but I felt Warhol’s name is so into one of the most well-received and commercially successful big, it can only help the brand.” In generating such a campaign, Absolut advertising campaigns ever, chanced upon the scene and opened the has, in addition to selling lots of vodka, raised millions of dollars for conversation with a question the King of Mad many charities. From Alex Echo’s “LOVE LIFE Men has asked perhaps a thousand times. “How LIVE SAFE” Sunset Strip Billboards which were much do you want for that painting?” disassembled and auctioned as individual pieces “Sixty thousand,” came the reply, and while of art for the benefit of AIDS charities, to limited Roux admits to thinking, “Out here?” A meeting edition prints from the Absolut Statehood campaign of the minds transpired and another Absolut to billboards which raised money for reforestation, artist was in the fold. As Rodrigue says, “We Roux has combined a marketing genius with a exchanged resumes,” and shortly thereafter Roux genuine affection for artists to generate more than had commissioned two works and signed the artist one man’s quota of positivism. “Every day, when we to represent Louisiana in the Absolut Statehood open the mail, we have at least ten, twelve, fifteen campaign. “The dog,” says Roux, “really put him artists sending pictures,” says Roux, who considers on the map, but his earlier work is absolutely himself “the most frustrated person with art. I incredible.” cannot paint, other than making a pot of flowers Multiply this vignette by about 500 and during important meetings when I am bored.” you get an idea of how the man behind what has “What’s good about this is the tremendous Michel Roux, Romero Britto become one of the most fascinating and important feedback we get. People collect the ads and we stories in the history of art and advertising operates. get letters from people who are not even consuming Absolut who Carillon’s corporate headquarters in New Jersey is a veritable write to thank us for what we’re doing. I need encouragement, too, museum with a common thread — accomplished individuals, known and that’s one way I get it,” says the man who is considered by many and unknown — have expended their creative energies to produce to be perhaps the most interesting and influential collector in the work with one requirement: the Absolut bottle must somehow be world today. in the picture. “I cannot call it a school,” says Roux, who wears a Ed. note: There will never be another like Michel Roux. Some may Parisian’s passion for art quite openly on his sleeve. “They are quite follow in his footsteps using his model, and achieve degrees of success but I different from each other, yet there is a kind of link between them. In doubt if anyone could duplicate his heart, kindness, loyalty and pure love general, when I do something for the artists, I find that deep inside for art and those who create it. He was a great man and a great friend. these individuals are good people, not mean people. I have found This article is adapted from Fine Art Magazine, October 1993 “Absolut people — I will not name them — who are not good humans. I am Collection 2”. The Absolut collections are located here. The following note interested in those who do good work, but more so in those who shows exactly and succinctly what kind of man Michel Roux was. I am have a good soul.” grateful, honored and humbled for his friendship and kindness. “Hi Victor The Absolut Art campaign began quite by chance when Andy After 3 months in hospital of which 24 days in a coma state I am still Warhol painted the now iconic bottle. “I knew Andy well before recuperating. Tell me what you need. I am always here to help you! Your friend, Michel R he did this work for us. I was very interested in his art, his life8 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“A Coffee Table

Book, Only It’s A Magazine.”

Vic & Jamie, SunStorm Richard Forbes at our awards dinner, 1980s Medford Print Shop Autumn 1975 - Autumn 2019

Indeed it was Autumn 1975 when Jamie and I sat at Mickey and Carol Zucaro’s restaurant in Bayville, on the North shore of Long Island and discussed the fact that our advertisers were demanding we break away from the Oyster Bay Guardian and start our own publication. At the time, the weather was not only hot, it was volatile hot. So Jamie declared it was the solar energy — the sunstorms — that were the cause of all this action. We decided then and there that “SunStorm” would be the name of our publication and though we were sometimes mistaken for an HVAC shop, and other times were Romare Bearden transposed into a wellknow Swedish spelling (“Sunstrom”) we did become “Long Island’s Newspaper of the Arts” on October 31, 1975 and have managed to stay afloat ever since. When we acquired printing presses and went full glossy, Ingram Periodicals described our publication, by then SunStorm/Fine Art, as “A Coffee Table Book Only It’s A Magazine” in their promotions.

Little could we have imagined that we would also be deemed a force majeur in our field and publish articles on or by so many of the greats in art, music and literature. Our very first interview with an artist, published in 1975 in the aforementioned Arts & Literature section set the standard for our next 44 years on many levels and it follows here: he Di Pasquale family of Old Bethpage is a ver y special family. Their first child Isabelann was born 29 years ago with cerebral palsy. But Isabalann DiPasquale the DiPasquale’s are expert at cultivation. Every available inch of their property has something growing .and just as they cultivate every imaginable fruit and vegetable, Liz is blossoming into an accomplished artist, poet and spokeswoman for the handicapped. “When they tell me I can’t do it, I just try harder and then do it,” says Liz who will be entering Farmingdale College this week, with a full program “Once she gets there, she will be totally on her own,” adds her father Frank, who developed his green thumb as a boy in Brooklyn. His little spot, “Il Giardiao”, is foot for foot the lushest place on Long Island. Three varieties of grapes, watermelon,cantaloupe, figs, tomatoes, eggplant, pumpkin, squash, plums, herbs and sunflowers abound. “We don’t spray and only use horse manure for fertilizer. We work with the ground, not against it.” Surrounded by American Aborvite trees, this idyllic setting is where Liz does most of her writing. To date she has completed 134 poems, typing them herself on an IBM. “I started writing because I have a speech problem and wanted to get my feelings out. The reason why I’m handicapped is because I could handle it. I’m writing a book about handicapped people to express my feelings on why there are handicapped people.” In addition to poetr y, Liz does needlepoint, has written a short story and writes many letters to newspapers on behalf of the handicapped. “I learned to use my body the way it is, to work with what I have.”

To Go Beyond

With our dear friend Marilyn Goldberg, “The Queen of Art”, at her induction ceremony to the Artexpo Hall of Fame in New York City. To paraphrase Bill Graham, “Without Marilyn, I don’t know if a lot of us would be here tonight.” Thank you Marilyn for your unflagging support of the arts and our enterprises over the years.

By Isabalann DiPasquale To have the will to get up and go when your body goes out of control. To go beyond, when your words don’t come out clearly. To go beyond the same locked door. To go beyond, into the world where people find it easy to stop and stare. To go beyond when the steps are hard to climb. To go beyond even though you need other people to help you along the way. To go beyond to know that you have a right to be a person, a person who needs a life outside. To go beyond is to be a challenger who knows that they have a right to go beyond.

They Still Don’t See the Real Me

By Isabalann DiPasquale In the world I came A babe from my mother’s womb. The light of man’s world made it appear that I was definitely a candidate for death, “HOPELESS” was the doctor’s word, “Never live beyond”. But here I am, ALIVE! Forgive him, For he didn’t know. Shall I? I haven’t decided. “Never amount to anything,” so they said, “You will never walk” was a doctor’s promise. BELIEVE HIM, WHY? He was only a man! And so I tried, And so I succeeded. No, No, don’t pat me on my back. Let’s just forgive him, For he was like so many others, For he only knew so much. An intelligent mind, I have! But at first glance Retardation is sure to be MEEEEEEEE! FORGIVE THEM? I MUST! WHY? WHY? For they don’t know And I should understand. I should be treated like a human being, and a woman. Don’t they see? Don’t they see? Don’t they see the real Me?

Our heartfelt condolences go to the AlfanoSt. John family on the devastating loss of Rose Alfano, pictured above on the right. Suzanne St. John was our scanner operator for years - an expert on the Hell 350 machine which was state of the art in the 90s while we were getting accolades for our color work. Suzanne was more than our scanner operator. She was a bastion of stability in a high pressure work situation and loved by all our clients, her fellow workers, Jamie and I and especially my mother who would call the shop and ask for Suz, and have a good long chat. We congratulate the twins Jesse and Jaden Alfanostjohn for the heart they exhibited on the gridiron very shortly after Rose’s passing. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 9

From the Publisher JAMIE ELLIN FORBES

“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” - Aristotle Wow! I quote Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter: “What a long strange trip it’s been”... for 44 years we have coved the arts: music, poetry, fine art, galleries, artists, museums and happenings investigating everything in-between. From local awareness to global impact, we were privileged to communicate and shape the perception of art within the pages of Fine Art Magazine. Samir Sammoun, Marilyn Goldberg, George Rodrique of “Blue Dog” fame, Michel Roux, creator of Absolut Art advertising campaign, Ron English, among so many others are displayed on our pages once more. Our focus on environmental landscapes reflects years of developing, curating and participating in saving the planet. The Artists for Peace and the Environment group exhibit displayed this year at the Jamie Forbes Gallery coincided with the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. We have observed the effects of repeated fires, hurricanes and species loss along with the impact of pollution on biodiversity. This year, vast areas of the Amazon, Siberia, California and other locales we once took for granted are now laid to waste. Forests burned so badly they will not regenerate. As these losses contribute to climate change, why should we care? Landscape artists, photographers and naturalists shooting the landscapes record the images to reveal what’s in our backyard and surroundings. The World Wildlife Fund and the UN report on Climate Change offer platforms for Eco-art to be seen combined with science. What’s your opinion (professional or amateur), as we focus more on our environment? From the drinking water crisis to oceanic plastic leaching into our food chain threatening many species, artists as activists support and contribute to biodiversity efforts. Eco-art as image focuses awareness on countering climate change. Our current magazine features the works of environmental activists as painters and photographers whose abstract impressions, or conceptual interpretations record the landscape — Eco-art commentary decrying ecological erosion. Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark project hopes that “People will look these creatures in the eyes, and be inspired to care while there is still time.” Other artists/activists include Clay Bolt, naturalist photographer, Janet Culbertson, Anne Sellback, Ty Stroudsburg, painters; Marissa Bridge, dimensional wall pieces; Dan Welden solar plate innovator, and printmaker. All support climate sustainability via their work. Our efforts to support sustainability via art began in the ’90s. when Fine Art Magazine published the work of the young Brazilian artist Romero Britto calling attention to the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest. We curated and collected Artists for Peace and the Environment, Woodstock ’99 inviting more than 70 artists to visually comment on the state of the environment, incorporating the concept of peace and love to sustain the dialogue. For over thirty years, we have supported sustainability via art imagery to record the history of the Eco-art commentary. Why is this important? When the Amazon began to burn this last summer, I had a conversation about political disinformation with a friend. We discussed the Chinese-Hong Kong protests. I asked to see on TV or phone, UPI, or Reuters news service photos to help visually define the parameters and date of the disagreement. I wondered what photographs recorded the events now commented upon with lighting speed. What image described the moment as trustworthy? The size of the crowds, rain, etc. How were the pictures perceived? How did world events use an image to persuade, inform and form public opinion? How far had we moved from the Egyptian Empire’s dictation of what was culturally suitable? The ancients understood that an image is a form of persuasion for the mass culture. In the nineteenth century, the US post-Civil War Geologic Surveys used photographs to re-state ownership to gain support for a defined area and use of the land. Landscapes formed a definition for the distribution of wealth during the expansion of 10 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Billy Galante, Jamie Forbes and Steve Zaluski. In the background is Mudslide Willie, Zaluski’s contribution to the Artists For Peace and the Environment Collection, on view at the Jamie Forbes Gallery. Galante is the subject of the portrait, painted in 1999

Manifest Destiny. Through the twentieth century, image has been used politically and aesthetically to discuss the landscape in photos and film. In many ways, this process is no different than the empirical agreed political will of the Egyptian rulership to provide a cultural vision via an approved motif for the masses. “Don’t believe what you see. Believe what I say.” Now the opportunity for Eco-art and image to challenge political will or greed in the 21st-century increases thanks to the internet and public awareness campaigns focusing on Eco-art image and celebrity support by people like Leonardo DiCaprio whose new philanthropic partnership is dedicated to urgently addressing climate change and environmental threats to life on Earth. Di Caprio’s public forum utilizes Eco-art within its platform. They state their mission goal is “the protection and well-being of all Earth’s inhabitants…supporting projects around the world that build climate resiliency, protect vulnerable wildlife, and restore balance to threatened ecosystems and communities.” (leonardodicaprio.org/). DiCaprio’s foundation combines with the Earth Alliance, whose partners — Emerson Collective and Global Wildlife Conservation “… focus on addressing the intertwined threats of climate change and biodiversity loss through global work to protect ecosystems and wildlife, ensure climate justice, support renewable energy, and secure indigenous rights to the benefit of all life on Earth.” Along with celebrity support, the UN Climate Action site, the World Wildlife Foundation (worldwildlife.org) all partner with Eco-artists and science to bring a clear and present picture to the public of eco-awareness. These and other international agencies use art to further the development of preventing further climatic change, enhancing biodiversity and encouraging sustainability in contradiction to current US policies. The United States needs to be a world leader in instrumenting the guidance of policies for combating climate change. “Now is the time to strengthen the ESA, not cripple it,” states Senator Udall, New Mexico. Our NGOs, and other artist-activists support sustainability. Fine Art Magazine and our artists all combine historically and currently as leaders observing the ecological conditions reflected as the appearance of internal and external views in art, as referenced by Aristotle above.

I thank Victor Forbes for his kind and constant support as I pursue my Masters in Eco-Art Awareness and community activism. We are looking forward to the next decade unfolding displaying, music, art, poetry, and the cultural landscapes of all artistic mediums.

Jamie Forbes with Charles Carson at Artexpo, New York. The artist is a prolific painter, founder of “Carsonism” and has just built a museum in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec in a converted church. See story on page 40

Jamie, Paul Elmowsky at Artexpo c. 1989. Writer, publisher, artist, sculptor Elmowsky’s Elm Fine Arts has just published Michael Sallinger’s monumental photographic trilogy on the Hudson River’s Tappan Zee bridge.

ARTISTS FOR PEACE & THE ENVIRONMENT ON VIEW AT JAMIE FORBES GALLERY “Artists for Peace and the Environment grew out of the 1960s peace and love movement which were the roots of the original Woodstock. The social context may have varied but the issues and ideals essentially remain the same today. The intent is to carry the message from generation to generation.” — Jamie Ellin Forbes, Curator, Artists For Peace and the Environment

“Art is an eternal and essential cornerstone in the process of creating great musical events. Art and music are connected to the soul. This has been fundamental throughout all of the Woodstock Festivals starting in 1969 and continuing with monumental art walls in 1994 and 1999.” — MICHAEL LANG, Director, Woodstock Ventures Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE image, Hunt Slonem’s Blue Bird series along with wall panels created by Andy Warhol’s Factory assistant Ronnie Cutrone, Judith Croches and over 100 other artists exemplified the “Woodstock Wall of Peace ’94” collection. They are joined by Ron English, Van Arno, Wavy Gravy and Trixie Garcia ( Jerry’s daughter), Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco, and others as “Artists for Peace and the Environment ’99” making a statement in support of “Three Days of Peace and Music.” 50 years have passed and the powerful, timeless need to “ride on the Peace Train” is as relevant today as in August 1969. The generations changed but the message remains the same. — JAMIE ELLIN FORBES, Curator Artists For Peave & the Environment

Hunt Slonem’s Blue Bird, Woodstock

Robert Indiana at Artexpo Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 11

William Blake – “A Prophet For The Ages”

William Blake (1757-1827) Portrait of William Blake 1802 Pencil with black, white, and grey washes 243 x 201 mm, Collection Robert N. Essick

A visionary painter, printmaker and poet, William Blake (1757-1827) created some of the most iconic images in the history of British art and has remained an inspiration to artists, musicians, writers and performers worldwide for over two centuries. This ambitious exhibition will bring together over 300 remarkable and rarely seen works. It will reveal the active role of his wife Catherine in his works’ production and reimagine certain works as he intended them to be experienced. The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathan c.1805-9 and The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth c.1805, paintings that were initially designed as large-scale frescos, will be digitally enlarged and projected onto Tate Britain’s walls. To pay tribute to this staunch defender of the role of art in society and the importance of artistic freedom, the exhibition will open with Albion Rose c.1793, an exuberant visualization of the mythical founding of Britain, created in contrast to the commercialization, austerity and crass populism of his times. his autumn, Tate Britain will present the largestsurvey of work by William Blake (1757-1827) in the UK for a generation. A visionary painter, printmaker and poet, Blake created some of the most iconic images in the history of British art and has remained an inspiration to artists, musicians, writers and performers worldwide for over two centuries. This ambitious exhibition will bring together over 300 remarkable and rarely seen works and rediscover Blake as a visual artist for the 21st century. Tate Britainwill reimagine 12 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

William Blake (1757-1827) Albion Rose c. 1793 Colour engraving, 250 x 211 mm Courtesy of the Huntington Art Collections

William Blake, ‘Europe’ Plate i: Frontispiece, ‘The Ancient of Days’, 1827, Etching with ink and watercolour on paper, 232 x 120 mm The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

William Blake, Newton 1795-c. 1805, Colour print, ink and watercolor on paper, 460 x 600 mm, Tate

the artist’s work as he intended it to be experienced. Blake’s art was a product of his tumultuous times, with revolution, war and progressive politics acting as the crucible of his unique imagination, yet he struggled to be understood and appreciated during his life. Now renowned as a poet, Blake also had grand ambitions as a visual artist and envisioned vast frescos that were never realised. For the first time,The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathanc.1805-9 andThe Spiritual Form

of Pitt Guiding Behemothc.1805 will be digitally enlargedand projected onto the gallery wall on the huge scale that Blake imagined. The original artworks will be displayed nearby in a restaging of Blake’s ill-fated exhibition of 1809, the artist’s only significant attempt to create a public reputation for himself as a painter.Tate will recreate the domestic room above his family hosiery shop in which the show was held, allowing visitors to encounter the paintings exactly as people did in 1809

Seems like just the other day John Morgan Crapps was on the phone. It was years since the Towers came down, the Pentagon was kamikazied and those brave souls rolled to their valiant end in a Pennsylvania field. He simply said, “… and we trained them. Right here in Daytona.” He’s not a forlorn artist. He’s a legitimate free-thinker and has the bootmarks from Coach Bryant tattooed across his butt as proof. But Crapps has other things to prove as well. As an artist and as an iconoclast who pays the price for speaking his mind (I reference Chuck Berry’s “I Never Thought” right about here — you’ll get the picture). There’s so much to say about Mr. Crapps that many books could emanate from the soul of this august and brave man. Here is the first. Published by SunStorm Arts Publishing Co. © 2019

Stars Have Fallen Off the Flag and We’re in Big Trouble (oil on canvas, c. 1990) rings as true now as decades ago. With more than one hundred pages of brilliant, full-color reproductions of paintings and slice-of-life snapshots that chronicle his personal and professional life, John Morgan Crapps: The Savior of American Painting is

more than a compelling biography – it’s a visual journey through America’s small towns and cities, a portrait of rural roughnecks and urban elites. It’s a ride through the best and worst of America, all through the lens of one of the country’s great – and until now, little known – characters. Hardcover available on Bookbaby. Preview a copy here.

Remembering Gloria Vanderbilt Dedicated to Ellie Miner & Gloria Vanderbilt

By HELEN DUNN

By JESSICA HARTLEY True American heroes of creativity are hard to come by these days, especially the wildly independent, trend-bucking, rebellious souls of the sixties. John Morgan Crapps, artist and American icon, is one of them. In his new book, John Morgan Crapps: Dammit The Stars Have Fallen Off The Flag And We’re in Big Trouble, Victor B. Forbes details the colorful life of the artist from his childhood in “wildastic” Live Oak, Florida to his days making it as an outsider in the New York City art scene. Forbes, prolific writer and art world insider, tells the story in immersive prose from his own frontseat view of Crapps’ life. As his friend and “city cousin”, Forbes makes it clear from the opening sentence that the reader is in for a truly intimate account of this unique American life. Crapps’ artistic style is as inimitable as the man himself. ‘Wildastic,’ a term Crapps coined to define the Suwanee River tat flowed through his town, is truly the best word to capture the essence of his work. More common words like ‘bold,’ ‘rebellious,’ or ‘irreverent’ aptly describe Crapps’ style but fail to convey the spirit of his body of work that spans nearly half a century. ‘Prescient,’ perhaps, goes one step further to capture the significance of Crapps’ art; Dammit the

Reprinted from Helen Dunn’s book People! Places! & Parties! First printing Oct. 1973.

G l o r i a Va n d e r b i l t C o o p e r h a s distinguished herself in the world of art and poetry; in the fields of fashion and design and as an actress. She recently celebrated her fourteenth “one-man” show at the Fine Arts Center, Cheekwood, Nashville, Tennessee after successful exhibitions in Dallas, Houston, Nantucket, Southampton, San Francisco, the Reading (Penn.) Public Museum and the Museum of Art, Monterey, California. Theatre producer Gilbert Miller invited Miss Vanderbilt to play the part of a fairytale princess in Ferenc Molnar’s “The Swan”. On tour she received a standing ovation with every performance. She played many parts in summer stock, including the William Inge prize play “Picnic.” On television her roles were both dramatic and demanding. She wrote literar y criticism for Cosmopolitan, the New York Times and Saturday Review. Her short stories appeared in a number of magazines; her volume of verse, “Love Poems”, revealed a meaningful love for words in rhythm. When Gloria unveiled her “colorful collection of collages” at the Hammer Galleries, she started a new national hobby. Time and again her works were shown on network television. By request she wrote,

Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper

“The Gloria Vanderbilt Book of Collage” and designed a number of do-it-yourself collagekits for Hallmark. For Bloomcraft, leaders in drapery fabrics, she designed a complete new line. It was so successful it has already become a tradition in its field. Season after season Gloria led the list of “Best Dressed Women” and was named to the Fashion Hall of Fame. Gloria and Wyatt Cooper are one of the most outstanding and attractive husband-and-wife teams on the scene. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 13

Reprinted from SunStorm, December 1980

Now that the Old Year has whimpered its way out, one wonders why the year’s end is awarded with such epithets as Festive, Gala, Joyous, and so forth. True, it is usually a happy time for countless grasping little tots and a number of for-tunate adults, but for many it is as empty as the last jug of bubbly on the morning of the first. It is a time of remembering the Christmases past when one still believed, not only in Santa Claus, but in one’s parents and their infallibility, when “Grownup” was a magic word, and Christmas was all the dreams of bliss, the pot of gold at the end of the year. When miracles were taken for granted, and the future was enticing and filled with the excitement of untasted adventures. Life was an endless pile of gift-wrapped wonders, all waiting under a million future trees in a million future Christmases, because you were never going to grow old, or die, or God forbid, be ordinary. So you laughed and unwrapped the beautiful things, never so exciting as when they were unknown, and the grown-ups watched and you were unaware of the emotions that existed in those “old people” who were so blasé and seemingly unmoved by the glitter of tinsel and the brilliance of holiday colors. As the years went by, the cast changed, but so subtly that it came as a shock to suddenly realize the role reversal that had taken place, as though it had been done behind your back. The family circle has shifted, now someone else believes in Santa Claus, some of those who had filled your carefully hung stocking are dead, and you are now the center of the world that leans heavily inward, and it is sometimes hard to smile, much less believe in anything. It doesn’t take long to lose faith in Santa Claus; it is perhaps the first cruel awakening that triggers that first doubt that the world might not be as gaily wrapped as you once thought; that just maybe you won’t become the greatest actress, painter, writer, or dancer the world has ever known. That there is even a possibility that you will grow old and never experience all the wonders that you have been waiting for as you dreamed through your childhood. Time passes, and each Christmas is a milestone that brings you that much closer, or further, from your goals. They change too, by necessity or one’s lack of talent or caring, or simply from the weight of other things. Responsibility was not something we ever expected to find under our tree. Unfortunately, it is heavier than any dollhouse or fire truck ever was, and it is indestructible. It is also the one present that we usually make for ourselves and, as the wrappings fade, only then do we realize how huge and unwieldy it is, and how very much resented. Another year has gone, emptied of all its despairs and half forgotten feelings, and somehow New year’s Eve seems to hold all the tears that were unshed and all the bitterness of unattained goals and, above all, loneliness. If maturity brings us nothing else, it gives us that final, absolute truth that we are all alone, inside our own skins, and nothing in any kind of package can change this terrible fact. We waste so much time trying to shut our eyes to this truth that it can become even more frightening than it really is. Surrounded at Christmas by our world of people that have come into our orbit over the years, one wonders what they see, and in moments of deadly clarity you wonder what the hell you are doing there. Where are YOUR dreams? Are there really no more presents for you? Are you forever set into the mold of stocking filler, other 14 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

PHOTO BY CATE CHIRICO

Patricia Ladew asks: “Where are your dreams?

Pat Ladew and VF.at her home overlooking the Hudson River, c.1999 A dancer, a writer with rejections and pregnant at 30, Patricia Ladew took F. Scott Fitzgerald’s words to heart. “You don’t write because you have something to say, but because you have to say something.” Whether painting, sculpting, modeling, or contributing columns to her hometown newspaper, Pat’s respect for what’s good in the world is evident in every word she writes.

people’s strength, someone else’s “grownup?” Can’t they see? It’s still you, the kid who was going to be the greatest ac-tress, painter, writer, or dancer in the world. All those ambitions under all those trees have melted down to such different labels. Mother, Wife, Lover, packages of unrealized dreams that have been opened, played with, and eventually put in the attic with the other outworn and broken toys, never really forgotten, but pushed aside in deference to the world of grown-up that somehow or other you were stupid enough to join. Why Christmas and New Year’s Eve bring more pain than any other time I don’t know, but it is not difficult to understand the increased suicide rate. Perhaps it is the sight of someone who still looks ahead to centerstage and being the best in the world. We just never knew that some of our worlds would be so damn small. My wish for those I love would be for them to recapture that gorgeous, selfish, fantastic time when we knew that one day we would own the world, chew it up in great juicy bites and live every day like a banquet. To wake up each morning and look at what we had accomplished the day before and know that that is all that really matters. Our piece of immortality, created from all our dreams and realities and that always and always there will be tomorrow when we will do something just a little bit better. To know our own value, without any need of approval but our own, to have it depend on nothing but our own skill and sweat. This was the thing that was so beautifully wrapped in those boxes so long ago. So many things came between that kept us from remembering and caused us to fill our years with so many useless things, to settle for all those little tacky presents instead of the one that would last forever and be the one thing to save us from the worst loneliness of all, which is watching the hourglass on New Year’s Eve and knowing that the sand running so swiftly down is just sand, and we have performed no alchemy to change it. So much for nostalgia and for chances lost and ignored. It’s a shiny new year. Things may not glow as brightly as they used to, and we’re all aware of the phoniness of the props and the famous people changing their clothes in the wings, but it’s still a hell of a world, and even the most jaded of us have only experienced the tiniest bits. So maybe this will be our year—a brand new book with clean white pages. Perhaps we can write something strong and brave that will make all the wasted time unimportant and will bring back the meaning of all those hopes from so long ago. They were the most important dreams we ever had.

Michael Sallinger’s

TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE PROJECT

Michael Sallinger shooting from his perch high above the Hudson River for his Tappan Zee Bridge Project.

With dedication, grit and determination Michael Sallinger embarked upon the mission of a lifetime as he chronicled the birth, destruction and resurrection of New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge. We had one question for him: “Do you consider yourself a member of the Hudson River School?” “I do,” he responded. These photographs secure his position among those luminaries of American Art.

By JAMIE ELLIN FORBES Ed. Note: Michael Sallinger’s years-long in-the-making photographic journal of the rise of the new Mario Cuomo bridge traversing the Hudson (declared by the New York Historical Society to be “the most interesting river in America”), and the concurrent dismantling of the archaic and dangerous Tappan Zee Bridge (built in 1950), is among the most interesting and thorough journalistic documentations of its type since the English navigator and explorer Hendrick Hudson sailed his Half Moon all the way to where the city of Albany now stands. With Herculean energy and devotion, Sallinger has shot some 30,000 photos, a fraction of which are reproduced here from his forthcoming book, The Tappan Zee Bridge Project: My Love Affair with Replacing Something Old With The Best, Published by Elm Fine Art Galleries & Publishing, New York.

allinger’s collection of photographs reveals in his images a newly defined shoreline via stunning “bridgescapes” that capture in a new light the spirit of the Hudson River School artists who preceded him by adding a focus that informs a deeper understanding of the current 16 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

panorama of the landscape. Hudson River School photographers of the mid 19th century, equipped with the daguerreotype, calotype and sequential photograph cameras, strove to preserve the images of the once pristine and pastoral settings that were visibly succumbing to the ravages of population density and pollution. Sallinger follows in their footsteps using the technologically advanced equipment of today to invite the viewer to share his understanding of the active Hudson River scenes recorded. He preserved each unique scene’s individual essence, permitting the camera to defeat time, entwining the past and present in one memory. His fondness for his subject matter was a 24-hour affair. Shooting day and night, his images are documents in cultural texts that record the history of the change in the moment. Sallinger’s eye captures the contemporary interpretation of “nature” on the Hudson. His vision allows us to view a steel set of structures as part of a changing natural setting. The aesthetic depicted rhythmically in his photographs comes alive in a combined philosophical tenet in written literary and poetic descriptions offered

View of the Hudson Looking Across the Tappan Zee Towards Hook Mountain, Albert Bierstadt, oil painting, 1866

Michael Sallinger setting up to photograph the scenery looking across the Hudson River for his 2018 trilogy

by Emerson, Thoreau and Holmes. Such transcendental reverence interpretative image.”1 He continues describing “three broad types for America’s natural beauty is continued in Sallinger’s Hudson River of landscape, according to their respective purposes: The view, pictures. His expertise and resultant artistry which renders the scene itself as a spectacle conveys an ability to capture the moment of wonder; the aesthetic landscape, where unfolding in real time as the camera infuses the photographer’s artistic vision animates the alchemy of the artist’s intent to defeat the image; and the topographic photograph, time. Sallinger joins the past and present in where the image is more descriptive and a new record of creative culture interpretative is part of a larger political or scientific imagery as contextualized texts. discourse.” Hudson River photographers Sallinger’s images embrace the wonder (predecessors of Sallinger) created interof observing the simultaneous demolishment pretative “imagery which calls forth ideas and construction within the river vista in an and sentiments of the beautiful”, noted John aesthetic practice. Fortified with today’s Moran, 19th-century photographer and technology, Sallinger depicts the reflection brother of the acclaimed painter Thomas of nature bound to the Romantic vision Moran. Miles Orvell, historian and author, of ideas within contemporary concepts of frames early landscape photography in beauty. Present day scenic views of the land, this way: “Like the portrait, the landscape sky, bridge traffic and the Hudson itself Sallinger trilogy “Building Bridges” photograph relied initially on a long-established permit Sallinger to concoct an historical record tradition in the fine arts and many of the early photographs, inspired in new interpretative representations. by paintings, feature a vista of land and water framed by trees, with Images rendered in the art of American panoramic landscape a distant view of mountains, all brought into view to form artistic scenes continue to shape public perception of the changing landscape Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 17

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as did the Hudson River School painters and photographers who provided artistic visions that became a record of history. Sallinger’s contribution to the perceptual activity and understanding of the evolving topography embodied by the Hudson River school artists is of major importance culturally. Hudson River photographs and American landscape imagery historically form distinctive contributions to society. Painting and photographic images display the conditions observed in the industrial era that shaped an American understanding of a panorama of time from 1838-now. The visual historical record within the documentary journal of the Hudson River School painters and photographers tells the story of the influence of American settlement and development on the environment and landscape as displayed in image. Landscapes reproduced in art imagery in the 19th century by the Hudson River School plein air artists and photographers depict the reflection of nature bound to the Romantic vision in scenic views of the land. Early landscape paintings and photographs emphasized land settlement, manifest destiny and development of emblematic Romantic descriptions of social commentary in imagery which shaped beliefs to form a concept for expansion. The invention of the camera and photographs – combined with paintings – record the expansion and majesty of America’s landscape to form a historically unique artistic vision. Sallinger captured the current changing Hudson shore line image defining his view of “American” art to put forth an interpretation of the evolving landscape. The impact of this pictoral story told by Sallinger continues to call attention to the environment through photographs of historical significance as Eco-art. By capturing progressively a view of the disassembling of the bridge, the wildlife surrounding the bridge and the restructuring of the bridge, Sallinger tells the complete story wordlessly. From his vantage point high above sea level, Sallinger silently

shows how the shoreline and skyline have been altered. Even traffic patterns are used fill in details – not so much to emphasize his interpretations but to grab a feeling of the moment through his use of color and colorful subject matter. These unique views influence our perception of how the Hudson River appears framed during and after the bridge transition. Sallinger’s photographs are sensitive depictions enhanced by light and dark…artistic representations of a post-industrial age bridge structure that freeze moments of intense, but often sublime, energy. In depicting the transition of the bridges, Sallinger recreates the rhythm of the River complete with tug boats, men working and birds observing the entirety of the evolutionary process. He blends all this into his story-telling to compose a creative authorship of a story told in photographs. The interaction of the work and the activity seen in his photographs tell a complete tale with a lyric and melody akin to the water flowing down the Hudson. An abstracted emotional expression revealed throughout the collection makes his artistic statement intimate, yet distant. The compositional elements pictured and the story told become part of the historical record which replaces dialogue. American Landscapes depicted in photographs and paintings have historically formed distinctive cultural contributions to influence public perceptions of land, places, locales and people depicting change. Then as now, as Americans began to appreciate nature more, they began to take steps to preserve it for current and future generations. Hudson River School painters and photographers’ interpretations of the evolving landscape and peoples depicted within the artistry have become iconic representations of America culture. The remarkable natural beauty brought forth by Sallinger’s collection of photographs inspired by the Tappan Zee Bridge and Hudson River add a fresh contemporary vision to earlier historical documentation. Orvell, Miles. American Photography (Oxford History of Art). Oxford University Press 2019

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My Key To The Highway: The Tappan Zee Bridge Years before I ever heard of the blues and almost a decade before I would have a license to drive, my pre-teenage brain somehow sensed that the Tappan Zee Bridge would be my “Key To The Highway,” my escape route, my golden road to adulthood and all freedoms attendant with coming of age. I could see it from our apartment in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, the only borough of New York City on the mainland of the USA. My bedroom window faced due west with an unobstructed view of the Hudson River bookended by the George Washington Bridge to my left and the aforementioned Tappan Zee span, far off but visible to my right. The riveting glow of blazing sunsets over the steep cliffs of the Palisades was a daily spectacle. This range, rising vertically from the edge of the river, starts off about 300 feet in height and increases gradually to almost double that near their terminus, just south of Nyack. The Hudson itself stems from an altitude of 4,322 feet originating at Lake Tear of the Clouds 900 paces shy of the summit of New York’s tallest point, Mt. Marcy in the Adirondack Park. Some six decades after I reached the top of that majestic peak — known by the Native Americans as “Tahawus” or “Cloudsplitter” — mountains remain a never ending source of intrigue and inspiration for me. Speaking of which, there’s quite a history of politrical intrigue surrounding the Tappan Zee to this day (see “naming rights”), but the bottom line is that the original construction (in 1950) was legislated to be built at least 21 miles from the GWB so the toll money would go to the State, not the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Ironically, this caused it to be put up at the just about the widest point of the 315 mile long body of water where it connects Westchester to Rockland County, linking the Major Deegan Expressway to the New York State Thruway … my “Key to the Highway.” Years hence, in the process of gazing north from a latter apartment on Riverdale Avenue across from Mount St. Vincent College, I would get lost in my own imaginative visions as the buses danced beneath and the fumes from car engines idling in the gas station below found their way into my nostrils. From my window straddling the city line separating Yonkers from The Bronx, I could see the end of the Palisades, the Hudson and the Tappan Zee itself, never dreaming that the multi-media artist and publisher Michael Sallinger would ask me to compose something to go along with a selection from the 30,000 photographs he has shot of his passionate obsession for this book. Sallinger is breaking new ground in the 150 year history of “America’s first true artistic fraternity” — the Hudson River School. His camera ably captures the sublime magnitude of the forms, shapes and structures arising from the depths of murky water, supported by friction foundations some 330 feet below the Hudson River. Building any bridge is a perilous undertaking. Death and destruction are always lurking in the shadows on a project of this scale. A speedboat of revelers crashed into a support barge one night early in the construction killing a few passengers and on July 19, 2016, a crane used for the construction of the bridge collapsed onto the existing older bridge that was still in use. Five people were injured, including three drivers and two bridge workers. Many new techniques had to be invented to maintain underpinning support to keep the bridge functioning soundly so it will live out its 100 year service life objective. Towers designed to sway and shift on windy days are upholding a road with many thousands of tons of vehicles crossing every hour. Swaying and shifting, yet stable, strong and safe, unlike the structure it replaced that has long outlived its half-century life expectancy and was deemed so dangerous to traverse that a world-renown engineer, in an interview on CBS radio, declared he would drive 100 miles out of his way rather than cross that bridge. That segment played not that long ago on my Silverado’s radio just as my passenger and I, reggae singer Hylton Beckford, approached the bridge from the Rockland County side on our way back to The Bronx. Our trusty companion, the King Poodle Blue, awoke from his 22 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

sleep on the back seat at the news. We took our chances, and the bridge remained standing as we crossed, but upon inspection of the new version, officially the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, it was revealed that perhaps one million or so bolts could be defective. (“Deja vu all over again,” as Yogi Berra so aptly put it). New York Magazine called it “one of the most decrepit and potentially dangerous bridges” in the U.S. further stating that “engineering assessments have determined that everything from steel corrosion to earthquakes to maritime accidents could cause major, perhaps catastrophic, damage to the span.” This 2013 article prompted one of the top aides in the New York state governor’s office to refer to the Tappan Zee as the “holdyour-breath bridge.” Many new techniques were used along with collaboration between the engineers and construction companies on the new bridge and Sallinger’s photos chronicle them. From day and night images of the skeletal framework to the final fleshed out fabrication, from inception to Governor Cuomo cutting the ribbon on the “grand opening,” these images resound with meaning and significance — still life action representation of an awesome assemblage. A post-Modernist yet dedicated to the tradition of those who came before him, Sallinger has captured the essence of nature and the power of industrial machinery with these luminous, atmospheric photographs. Dramatic forms and vigorous technique are tenets of his clear and well-defined vision. Soft and mystical, harsh and deadly — these opposites unite in compositions that embrace a photo-journalist’s sense of reportorial style. Along with his Hudson River School artists predecessors (especially Francis A. Silva and Samuel Colman among many others), Sallinger is especially drawn to the broadest reach of the river at Tappan Zee, where the bridge(s) reside and where a lively trade route thrived with steam ships and schooners delivering the goods. Quietude and spaciousness reflect his interest in that four-mile wide stretch of water which offers an attractive prospect for executing broad panoramic views of the Hudson as well as very specific in tandem images of the construction and destruction process of the old and new bridges. Sallinger captures the effects of light and atmosphere on his subject matter, to the point where the very oxygen we breathe becomes an integral element of the composition unifying the components of the picture in a present day wordless historical novel. “Different conditions of air,” wrote a 19th century critic, “produce different impressions upon the mind, making us feel sad, or glad, or awed, or what not. Hence … the color-of the air is the one essential thing to be attended to in landscape-painting. If the painter misses that, he misses everything.” He was speaking of works by Sanford Gifford, but his remarks could well be used to describe Sallinger’s artistic quest. For Sallinger, the challenge is not to transcribe nature exactly as he sees her, but to endow her with a sense of poetry uniquely his own, balancing factual recording with individual interpretation. These pictures that follow are not mere snapshots. They are sensitive portrayals — luminous and atmospheric, sublime yet heroic. Sallinger creates ambitious and spectacular time capsules universally imbued with a warm, glowing and almost palpable atmosphere in which goodness and light are pervasive in a this three volume collection that includes a good sampling of Sallinger’s more than 30,000 bridgescapes. By VICTOR FORBES Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 23

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CROSSING THE BAR By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.

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Bob Colacello, Gregg Allman and Cher, Carter Inauguration White House Reception, 1977, Vintage gelatin silver, 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm) © Bob Colacello; Courtesy the artist and Vito Schnabel Projects

Bob Colacello: “Pictures from Another Time” Vito Schnabel Projects recently presented Pictures from Another Time: Photographs by Bob Colacello, 1976 - 82, an exhibition of photographs taken by Bob Colacello during the years he served as editor of Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine. Approximately 150 vintage and unique prints—most never previously exhibited—made with Colacello’s Minox 35 EL camera, the first miniature camera capable of making full frame 35 millimeter photographs were on view. Works on view reflect the societal fluidity and social mobility of “the Me Decade,” an era of emerging liberation movements in American culture. As both a favored confidant and detached observer of some of the most significant figures of that time, from politicians, tycoons, and fellow journalists, to artists, writers, fashion designers, and movie stars, Colacello was uniquely positioned to create an enduring portrait of the Seventies. Ingrid Sischy, Colacello’s successor as editor of Interview, wrote of his photographs: “It was a world where classifications and categories seem to fall by the wayside...Where black and white, gay and straight, traditional society and new society, uptown and downtown, the powerful and the powerless, and young and old, all danced under the same disco ball.” Colacello was in the middle of it all—from late night revels at the era-defining clubs Studio 54 and Regine’s, to the inaugurations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan—armed always with his Minox. Matte black and no larger than a pack of cigarettes, the tiny camera could be slipped in and out of a pocket to capture an instant. Colacello’s images of the Seventies are situated at a cultural turning point, when the private hours of public figures still hovered within a realm of mystique that seems distant in the internet age. 26 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Bob Colacello; Andy with Truman Capote, Fiorucci, New York, 1977, Vintage gelatin silver 5 x 7 inches (12.7 x 17.8 cm) © Bob Colacello; Courtesy the artist and Vito Schnabel Projects

Colacello’s images stand apart from conventional party and society photojournalism via a deceptive casualness that disguises a highly precise and deliberate approach to such formal elements as composition and exposure. His signature off-kilter angles create a sense of immediacy, and even suggest the inebriation—literal or creative—of the moments captured In addition serving as editor of Interview, Colacello would accompany Warhol on trips to Europe, where the artist had numerous exhibitions at leading museums and was fêted by the grand hostesses of Paris, London and Rome.

Every Poster Tells a Story: 140 Years of Hatch Show Print

“The ongoing cultural impact of Hatch Show Print is a point of pride for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” said museum CEO Kyle Young. “Since taking ownership of the shop in 1992, we have seen it continue to grow and prosper. This includes the move of the shop in 2013 from Lower Broadway to a space inside the museum specifically designed and built to suit the demands and mission of this icon of design, letterpress printing and history. The museum was committed then, and is just as committed today, to preserving this 140-year-old institution that has created some of the most important images in the history of country music.” Hatch Show Print annually offers nearly 2,000 public tours and educational programs that reflects the full spectrum of American entertainment from the late 1800s to the present. Founded by brothers Charles and Herbert Hatch, Hatch Show Print opened in Nashville in 1879. For much of the 20th century, the shop’s vibrant posters served as a leading advertising medium for Southern entertainment, and included work for many members of the Grand Ole Opry such as Bill Monroe, Minnie Pearl and Ernest Tubb, and for rock & roll greats such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Thousands of posters and billboard-size advertisements were printed for traveling vaudeville and minstrel shows, circuses and carnivals barnstorming across the country. In 1992, Hatch Show Print became a historic property of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. With their very first print job—a handbill announcing a speaking

engagement by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe)—the Hatch brothers produced a simple design that struck an effortless balance between type size and style, and what is frequently called a ‘poster style’ layout. Today, Hatch Show Print staff rely on the same techniques used years ago by Charles and Herbert Hatch pulling from extensive archives of thousands of hand-carved wood blocks to produce posters for shows, events, advertising and more. They still set wood and metal type by hand and produce all the print work on printing presses that are between 50 and 100-plus years old. “This shop will outlast us all.” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 27

ten of our best friends and a few strangers. It was there I learned about the two very different sides of Peter Simon. The city kid and the country boy. I’d never been to Martha’s Vineyard at that time. by Elliot Blinder Scarcely knew anything about it, beyond Chappaquiddick. But looking back I can see that’s where the lad from New York I first met Peter Simon in the fall of 1966. I was a freshman at got his love and affinity for country life, country roads, cows and Boston University and one of the first things I did when I arrived chickens, and working the land. On the farm in Vermont he was on campus was to seek out the offices of the school newspaper, comfortable, and occasionally got his hands dirty too. Peter liked The BU News, where I was sure I’d be working soon. I’d been to drive his Volvo station wagon too fast on winding roads from the Editor-in-Chief of our award-winning Syosset, NY High Vineyard Haven to Chilmark, because he knew them well enough School newspaper, The Pulse; and to do it blindfolded. He once working under me was a classmate proved that to me by shutting off the headlights — for a photographer named David who minute — in the dark of night, was never seen without one or more heading down Island at 50 cameras strapped around his body. mph. Scared the shit out of me, Like Peter, David was always but he could do it. He knew able to handle the assignments, every bend in that road. Yet, turned in good work, and was truly Peter was also at home hailing delighted when you liked his wella cab in the rain in Manhattan composed black & white photos. or riding out to a Mets game We always did. So, it didn’t seem in Queens. He loved his dual strange to me when entering the lives, though it vexed and Office of the BU News looking for perplexed his family. its infamous chain-smoking EditorPeter wasn’t a braggart; in-Chief Ray Mungo, I instead though he could have been. bumped into a tall teenager with Raised in an elite family, with a camera around his neck. He was a famous father that constantly constantly touching it, fidgeting brought famous writers, artists with its aperture, fondling the lens or celebrities to their Riverdale while threatening to use it at any mansion, he had a privileged second. Although we had just met, beginning. His older sister he took my picture numerous times Joanna Simon was a famous while he talked to me. opera star before Peter was out Outside Raymond’s office, of high school, and Lucy and Peter stood with one arm stretched Carly were recording artists behind his back as if scratching his at an early age, too. Peter, the back, but he just held it there while Peter Simon in Vermont, 1971 youngest Simon, could have we talked. I think maybe it helped him basked in their glory and looked down on others from that vaunted balance his hunched over body. He spoke in a kind of high-pitched hill. He didn’t. Instead he spent hundreds of hours honing his craft voice, but what he said was honest and helpful, warm and friendly, in the darkroom in his family home and at B.U. Without an ounce listening and understanding. I liked him immediately and I knew of jealousy, when I expressed interest in photography for myself, almost instantly that Peter Simon was an artist long before I learned he invited me for endless hours of fun and creativity in the red and anything else about him. I soon found that his photos were equally black tunnel-like darkrooms that were his private sanctuary of rock captivating. Peter had great confidence and an innate pride in his music and fine art. He tutored and mentored me like a brother and work. He had energy in abundance. He considered himself a photowe often shared our views of life and loves working in the darkroom, journalist, but he was more than that. He was an historian of his or on assignment together. time, in real time. Our first conversation was about the War in Vietnam. The In 50 years as one of his close confidants, I never saw him look BU News had just made national headlines by calling for the down on anyone less fortunate. He could be judgmental at times, but impeachment of Lyndon Johnson. A very radical thing to do in those it was more about the character of others or their politics, than about days. I pitched Peter on my background and what I could contribute how much money they have or what prep school they went to. He to the newspaper, and of course he said I needed to talk to Ray. But knew his talents and he knew his limits. He could find something when our conversation turned to where we came from (both New to admire or marvel at in anyone, anywhere and make a great photo Yorkers), politics, girls and baseball…we became instant friends. out of it. A trash can leaning against a wall in a snowdrift. An empty Over the next decade, we got to know each other well, covering bench in Central Park where someone left a paper bag and a bottle. Bob Marley leaning on his car with a big fat spliff, or two little black the important stories of the day for The BU News, Cambridge Phoenix, faces peaking at him through a fence. His sister posing on a couch Fusion and Rolling Stone. Boston in the 60’s was on fire with big for her first solo album cover. Hordes of anti-war protesters around newsworthy changes. Contraception was still illegal and other big the Washington Monument. Bearded hippies walking on a dirt road. and bigger stories kept us running: The War and the Pill, abortion To Peter it was all humanity; and it was his calling to record it in rights, protests and draft card burning, Civil Rights marches and real time, for posterity, for history. Black Panthers, Sit-ins, Be-ins, Love-Ins. Peter and I collaborated He was a generous person, especially to his friends. If you on them all. His photos, my reporting. needed and he had it, he would give it to you. Food, weed, money. He We became life-long friends forged in a struggle, with a valued his friends and family more than riches, and he accumulated soundtrack of Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. many life-long friends who loved him. Some thought he was We trusted each other unflinchingly as we transitioned to the next generous and humble to a fault; and truthfully there were those that phase together. In 1970 we started a commune in Vermont, with

The Peter Simon I knew

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Jackie Robinson, his son Jackie, Peter Simon with his father in the Ebbets Field dugout before the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and Peter became a staunch life-long Mets fan with a huge body of sports photos to go along with his many other interests

took advantage of him without giving back. Peter knew it. “Don’t worry about it,” he’d say. He organized sandlot softball games, a revival movie theatre, radio talk-shows, late night feasts and beach parties and thousands of photographs that he made into wonderful books and calendars. Like Robin Hood, he loved to lead his friends on merry adventures, with great new music he would narrate on tapes, taking great joy playing them for us as we drove to the ocean or the farm. Socially awkward at times, he was prone to say odd things in the wrong places; but he always meant well. He had a little nervous laugh he’d employ when he caught himself doing such things. He could get a little down or disappointed sometimes, but he’d get right back up when things didn’t go his way. He’d shrug his bent-over shoulders and say “fuhgedaboutit”, like the New Yorkers say. Peter Simon loved a good joke, and he had a great big “Hah!” laugh and a snort, when he thought something was really funny. Men and women adored him, and he had many love affairs before he met the love of his life in Ronni. The Peter Simon I knew was a lot like Peter Pan. He never really wanted to grow up. He matured, he married, he fathered a son, but he never lost his inner-child. He aged like red wine. His fragile body suffered from time to time, but he never really grew old. The Simon Gallery in Vineyard Haven is open and offers Peter Simon photographs, books & calendars and Ronni Simon jewelry and sculptures. petersimon.com/the-simon-gallery • 508-325-2242 ronni@ronnisimon.com

At Artexpo NY Peter took this portrait with his camera set-up and on a timer; l-r: Victor Forbes, Charles Wildbank, Tim Smith, Jeanette Korab, Ronni Simon, Steve Zaluski; (front) Peter Simon and Jamie Ellin Forbes Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 29

Carly and Keith, Keith and Carly - “Who’s so vain?” Peter loved to take pictures and his sister was always a great subject as were the NY Mets

Peter Simon, Neighborhood Superstar By VICTOR FORBES

In the fall of 1966, I was Sports Editor of my high school newspaper, the Columbia Scholastic awardwinning De Witt Clinton News. Every day on my way to and from the 10 bus on Riverdale Avenue, I walked past the offices of the Riverdale Press. One afternoon, on my way home, I drummed up the courage to walk in and ask if I could write about the weekend football games. The young staff took a liking to me and let me come in that Monday and write my report. That June, the day I graduated, I was made Spors Editor of the Riverdale Press, given a starting salary of $1.25 an hour and told to go cover the Westchester Gold Classic. I was in Heaven. As began to spend more time in the office, two words remain with me today: Peter Simon. He was my predecessor – a legendary cat – loved and revered, especially by the ladies. Years later, we met and yes, he was all that and a box of chocolates. 30 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Peter Simon’s love of the Brooklyn Dodgers translated to an eqaul affinity for the New York Mets. Pictured above is you-know-who with Mets MVP first baseman Keith Hernandez whose current position is announcer for the Mets games where his banter with Ron Darling and Gary Cohen on SNY has brought the Golden Glove/batting champion even greater recognition.

KARMU LOVES YOU

Peter Simon was a resident of Cambridge in the late ’60s and you wonder - who didn’t he know or photograph? Well, here are few shots from the House of Karmu for an underground newspaper called the Cambridge Phoenix from Peter’s collected archives courtesy Special Collections and Archives of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Karmu was an enigmatic healer who helped thousands of people from his home in Cambridge, MA, where he literally kept his door open to those who needed his help. Here are some recollections for those who knew Karmu and a link to a wonderful film, Karmu A Place in the Sun There is also an excellent book by Ricardo A. Frazer, Psychological Wellness and Holistic Health Care: The Karmu System, can be found on https://www.amazon.com/Psychological-Wellness-Holistic-HealthCare/dp/1456811371 Here are some words from one of his “patients.” • Karmu had a heart for others. He sensed what was going on in people and found ways to help them discover/rediscover themselves. He had a healing heart, mind and touch. He was utterly unique in that he had nothing to sell or market, but he had an immense drive to give and to see others freed of From a series of photographs labeled, "herbologist: a most peculiar man, for thePhoenix." Depicting activities at the caHouse of Karmu on Green St. in what held them down in body mind spirit... He could brighten up the Cambridge.Appeared in Cambridge Phoenix vol. 1, no. 9. room with his mischief, healing, wit, poetry and encouragement, and For more Karmu images photographed by Peter Simon see when the room was lit, he knew he too was loved...much. God Bless http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/collection/mums788 you Karmu. • He was amazing. My best to Jeralyn, Bob, Ricardo, Gabriella, Victor, and all the medicine people and movie stars. • I remember going to Karmu’s place every weekend for about a year or so. Incredible scene, lots of people dancing, laughing, just being with each other around this great man. His energy was unique, he even sent me and my roommates a big burst over the phone to help us heal a sick friend. Whenever he touched me, my mind went into outer space. I miss him! • I will NEVER forget Murshid Sam Lewis’ “Black Christ” - the man was dee-licious, • I just got healed from diverticulitis by thanking Karmu while I use Blue Medicine I have saved since he was alive 24 years ago. I only use the Blue Medicine on rare occasions and when I do, I see sparks of light in it. To quote Karmu, “How can we lose with the Simon, Peter, 1947-. Karmu (Edgar Warner) mixing herbal medicine, ca. November 20, 1969. Peter Simon Collection (PH 009). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries system we use?” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 31

Fernand Léger (French 1881-1955), Fêtes de la Faim (Day of Hunger), 1949, lithograph in black with three colors, 13 x 9 5/8 in., Anonymous Loan © Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, active in France, 1881-1973), Visage, (Face of MarieThérèse Waller), 1928, lithograph, 7 x 9 1/4 in., Anonymous Loan, © Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York, Estate of Pablo Picasso, Paris, France

Picasso, Braque & Léger at The Hyde Collection Many words come to mind upon hearing the names Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Fernard Léger — Cubism, friendship, Modern art, innovation. But poetry, literature, and theater are not usually among them. Picasso, Braque & Léger: Twentieth Century Modern Masters, at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY, explores their shared loved of the printed word through January 5, 2020, in Wood and Whitney-Renz Galleries. This exhibition of more than 100 prints by the three Modern masters examines their relationships with post-World War II writers, playwrights, and poets, and the artists’ dedication to creating imagery that interpreted modern texts. All three artists, lured by the city’s rich history and thriving culture, moved to Paris, the center of the art world. There, Picasso (1881–1973) and Braque (1882–1963) began to experiment with their artwork, ultimately initiating Cubism. They were joined by Léger (1881–1955), and the trio ushered in the art movement, which shattered traditional depiction of the natural world at one moment in time and space from a single vantage point. The effects were felt throughout Europe, impacting painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature. Throughout their lives, Picasso, Braque and Léger each became synonymous with the development of Modern art. But even as their styles diverged, all three men loved books and, at some point in their careers, planned, designed, and illustrated them, reclaiming illustration as a form of fine art from the hands of the narrative illustrator. The results are chronicled in Picasso, Braque & Léger, a wellbalanced selection of important prints that display each artist’s personal articulation in response to language. “To look at the impact of the written world through three of the 32 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

greatest minds of Modern art is really an incredible experience,” said Jonathan Canning, director of curatorial affairs and programming. “This exhibition includes Picasso’s illustration of Fernand’s Crommelynck’s Le Cocu Magnifique; Léger’s artwork for Arthur Rimbaud’s collection of poems, Les Illuminations; and Braque’s illustrations that accompany Louis Broder’s Le tir à l’arc — it’s such a gift to see the visual interpretations offered by these artists.” To compliment the exhibition, The Hyde is collaborating with Crandall Public Library to offer a selection of books in Wood Gallery. The initiative is fueled by the success of The Hyde’s ingallery guide program, in which Museum educators develop a Family Discovery Kit and a Gallery Guide with activities and information that supplement the exhibition. During the Museum’s last Wood Gallery exhibition, From the Rooftops: John Sloan and the Art of a New Urban Space, more than 800 visitors used the two publications. For Picasso, Braque & Léger, Hyde educators and Crandall Public Library’s head of children’s services, Pam Frazier, selected books for all ages that will enhance the Museum visitor experience. “We’re very excited about this partnership,” said Jenny Hutchinson, The Hyde’s curator of Museum education and programming. “We know that everyone processes information and experiences artwork differently. The success of our in-guide galleries tells us that people want to learn more about what they’re seeing on our walls and we’re so grateful to Crandall Library for helping us provide a really fun, accessible way to offer them tools to do so.” Picasso, Braque & Léger: Twentieth Century Modern Masters is organized by Contemporary and Modern Print Exhibitions, and sponsored by Marvin & Company, P.C.; Mr. and Mrs. Karl E. Seitz; Silverwood Home & Galleries; and Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson.

Samir Sammoun Sammou n The Last Impressionist Takes London

Samir Sammoun Field of Poppies and the Meditarrenean Sea

Toasting with Corinna Steiner of Vienna’s The Gallery Steiner in Miami Story continues on following pages Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 33

According to its website, “START Art Fair 2019 received an overwhelming volume of top quality artist and gallery applications from all around the globe, our only regret this year is not to have been able to offer all of them space to exhibit. Some of the team’s personal highlights include: The Gallery Steiner who embodies START’s ethos of supporting emerging artists by occupying not one but two top-floor gallery spaces, where they presented Samir Sammoun who has never been shown in London.” Commented Sammoun,“London is a city I love for its elegance and style of life. Saatchi Museum is a great art institution in the heart of Chelsea and of course it was honorific to exhibit at START as part of the Gallery Steiner.” With a great reaction and sales, British collectors showed their love and appreciation of Sammoun’s work.” Adds the artist, “Rendez-vous 2020.” The Gallery Steiner is a modern art gallery in the heart of Vienna. Located at Kurrentgasse, one of the most prestigious locations in the city, the family-owned institution founded by Michelle Steiner, Corinna Steiner and Dominic Steiner embodies their mission to represent professionalism, modernity, diversity and internationalism. Since its foundation in June 2008, the gallery has established itself as a meeting point for qualified art collectors and a hub for internationally recognised and emerging artists. The Gallery Steiner only represents living artists from Europe, Asia, Australia and North America who are exhibited regularly in group and solo shows at its premises in Vienna as well as at international art shows.

Samir Sammoun, Corinna Steiner at the booth START Art Fair, London

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Samir Sammoun Olive Trees and Poppies

Walls of Sammoun originals

Interview with Dominic Steiner

Samir Sammoun, Tayo Oyekoya, Corinna Steiner and Dominic Steiner.

Michelle Steiner, Corrinna Steiner

London, 40” x 40”

Lavender Field, 30”x 24”

Fay Beauchamp Galeriste and Corinna Steiner Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 35

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Bathers, 1918–19, Oil on canvas, 43 5/16 × 63 in. (110 × 160 cm), Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. Gift of the artist’s sons, 1923

“The Loveliest Nudes Ever Painted”

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Blonde Braiding Her Hair, 1886 Oil on canvas, 25 9/16 × 21 1/4 in. (65 × 54 cm) Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Gene Jones, Image courtesy of the Kimbell Art Museum 36 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Renoir: The Body, The Senses, the first major exhibition ever to focus on the artist’s lifelong treatment of the nude, opened at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas on October 27, 2019, following a critically acclaimed presentation at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is co-organized by George T. M. Shackelford, deputy director at the Kimbell, and Esther Bell, the Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator at the Clark. Debuting on the centenary of the artist’s death, Renoir: The Body, The Senses provides new perspectives about Renoir’s stylistic trajectory through the lens of the singular subject. Over the course of his career, Renoir rendered bustling cityscapes, captured portraits and impressions of fashionable society, and recorded fleeting atmospheric effects upon landscape, but his overarching preoccupation was the nude — the subject that he felt would put him alongside the great artists of the past. Renoir’s unique approach to figure painting was a vital influence on the art of his time, and his many paintings, pastels, drawings and sculptures were championed by generations that followed. Renoir was a mentor to many of the modern artists who painted on the French Riviera in the first decades of the 20th century, including not only Bonnard, but also Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954). Matisse befriended the aging Renoir over numerous visits to the artist’s home at Les Collettes. Matisse painted the languid, rose-colored, abstracted Nude with Crossed Legs (1936, Nahmad Collection) after touring the Barnes Foundation in 1930 and 1933, where he encountered the largest collection of Renoir’s works (particularly of the late period) in North America. Matisse once exclaimed of Renoir, “his nudes . . . the loveliest nudes ever painted: no one has done better — no one.”

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Self-Portrait, c. 1875, Oil on canvas, 15 3/8 x 12 7/16 in. (39.1 x 31.6 cm), The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark, 1939

Featuring approximately 60 paintings, drawings, pastels and sculptures by Renoir as well as works by his predecessors, contemporaries and followers, the exhibition’s roster is exceptional. Highlights include five paintings from the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris: Boy with a Cat, 1868; Study: Torso, Effect of Sun, c. 1876; the full-length Reclining Nude and Large Nude on Cushions, 1906 and 1907; and The Bathers, 1918--19. This exhibition redefines Renoir as a brilliant, radical and influential Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Blonde Bather, 1881, Oil on canvas, 32 1/8 x 25 3/4 in. (81.6 x 65.4 cm) artist of the modern age, reconsidering him as The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MassachusettsAcquired by Sterling and Francine Clark, 1926 a constantly evolving artist who participated in myriad movements, including Realism, Impressionism and Modernism. Renoir: The Body, The Senses seeks to place Renoir’s preoccupation with the nude in a rich historical context. “We decided to look at Renoir both across the span of his lifetime and against the background of history,” said George Shackelford. “By showing Renoir’s works alongside those of artists as diverse as Boucher, Degas and Picasso, we’re hoping to demonstrate the ways in which his achievements grow out of the past, react to his present and exert a profound influence on the future. We think these juxtapositions will surprise and delight exhibition visitors.” “The exhibition surveys Renoir’s long career through the lens of the single subject that defines his legacy,” said Esther Bell. “It’s the subject that most compellingly demonstrates how truly radical — and so often brilliant — he was.” While some critics praised the work as “a superbly colored study of a nude” and “the work of a true colorist,” others subjected it to scorn. Renoir grew up just steps away from the Louvre Museum and was deeply inspired by the grand tradition of art history he encountered there, particularly the great colorists Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), François Boucher (French, 1703-1770) and Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863). After gaining permission to make copies of works in the Louvre’s galleries, Renoir skillfully replicated Rubens’s monumental Marie de’ Medici cycle of 1622--25 at a much smaller scale. He particularly admired Boucher’s Diana Leaving Her Bath (1742, Musée du Louvre, Paris), referring to it as “ . . . the first painting that grabbed me, and I have continued to love it all my life, as one does his first love.” Renoir understood the importance of exhibiting a monumental nude at the Salon as a means of earning the type of critical acclaim that could successfully launch his career and was a central figure in the Impressionist circle — a group of artists who sought to challenge the conservativism of the Salon and who vowed to stage their own public exhibitions. At the height of the Impressionist movement, Renoir produced several half-dressed and nude figure paintings in which he strove to capture the Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Boy with a Cat, interplay of light on skin. Perhaps more than any of his other contemporaries, Renoir believed the 1868, Oil on canvas, .48 5/8 x 26 in. nude could be adapted to meet the Impressionists’ call for experimentation with color and light. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Image courtesy of the Kimbell Art Museum To view the entire essay, catalog and more images, visit kimbellart.org Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 37

Tom Thomson

The Canadian Group of Seven A Phenomenon in London By Dr. MOVSES ZIRANI

One of McMichael Collection Paintings 38 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

About a century after its formation, the art of the Group of Seven, a group that is considered to be the glory of Canadian landscape art, was presented in the “England’s Dulwich Picture Gallery,” London, under the general title of “Tom Thomson & Group of Seven.” The British art lover was introduced to a very unique style of art, which is distinctly differentiated from the English and generally from the European landscape art, along with being competent in quality. And because this exhibition became a phenomenon in London, its duration extended from 2011 to 2015. The Group of Seven does not have the international recognition that corresponds to its value and uniqueness. Also, it is not evaluated Dr. Movses Zirani accordingly in the history of art. In recent years, during our trips to Canada, we visited different contemporary art museums in Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa, where our attention was caught by the landscape art of the Group of Seven. The interest toward them that was created in us directed our path to the center of The Group of Seven - the town of Kleinburg, a suburb

“The glorious nature of Canada, with its extraordinary, lush beauty and structure, is such an attractive entity in terms of fine art…” of Toronto, where we found the McMichael Canadian Art Collection constructed in a convenient yet hospitable and cozy building. This Art Center, with its original structure mingles beautifully with its almost untainted surrounding nature. One can find within its boundaries certain sculpture samples, including tombstones, where the remains of six of the founding members of the Group of Seven artists are. This fine arts establishment is in line with the will of high quality art collector-couple, Robert & Signe McMichael, who have hosted many artists under their roof and have encouraged them, especially the members of the Group of Seven. The collection of McMichaels, is so rich in variety, that only part of it is exhibited alternatively in the museum. Who were the members of the Group of Seven, who were highly appreciated not only by all of Canada, but also beyond it? A group of artists, generously bestowed from above, could come together at the beginning of the past century, got organized and were able to create the Canadian variety of landscape art, that is original and of high quality. They are: Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Johnston, and Frederick Varley. It was in 1920 that, for the first time, they organized an exhibition under the general title of “Group of Seven”. In reality, the followers of this movement were more than seven. For example, Tom Thomson, even though has was dead in 1917, is often exhibited along with the Group of Seven, as one of the pioneers of the movement. It was his passion and love toward landscaping that awakened the passion among the others. Later, Emily Carr and David Milen joined the group, along with other talented artists. These artists, having fallen in love with nature first explored and painted the landscape of Ontario, but later they widened their horizon and went as far as the western coasts of the Arctic. The glorious nature of Canada, with its extraordinary, lush beauty and structure, is such an attractive entity in terms of fine art, that these artists not only adored, but also got infused with its nature, so much so that even its harsh winter became an inspiration for them. This is why their works right from the nature are not exact copies of the landscape: with their bright hues and firm structures, they leave the impression of being tempered through a prism of spiritual sensitivity. That is the reason they could express the stimulants and statuses collected in their subconscious as the reflection of the mother nature. Having strong personalities, these art creators would have, naturally, their worthy continuers, like Gregory Hardy, Georgina Hunt, John Hardman, Kim Dorland, David Lidbetter, etc. Some of the Canadian-Armenian fine artists too, being attracted by the beauty of the Canadian mother nature, have painted it, each one according to his/her personality and inspiration, like Armand Tatossian, Areg Elibekian, Noubar Sabaq, Berdj Missakian, Bedros Aslanian, Joseph Mandalian, and others. If these aforementioned names like “Group of Seven” painters could be classified as impressionist or post-impressionist, or even representatives of the “Fauvism”, then the art of Berdj Tchakedjian can be differentiated by its surrealist identity, where the autumn ablaze charm, and the allure of the sensual nude woman’s attractiveness, intermingle to condition the beauty of life, its meaning and survival simultaneously.

The Main Entrance for The Art of Canada

Lawren Harris

Franklin Carmichael

The Canadian McMichael Art Collection, that is considered a pan-canadian cultural centre, is not limited to the art of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. It has many different departments dedicated to First Nations, Métis, Inuit and contemporary artists who have contributed to the development of Canadian art. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 39

KEITH KATTNER

Keith Kattner - City Sublime

“Everything Becomes Brushwork” By ANTHONY HAYDEN-GUEST Let’s begin with Keith Kattner’s work so why not City Scene, which is on his catalog cover? A number of individuals can be seen on a well-trodden patch of ground in the foreground and there’s grass, flowers, trees, so it’s public land, but rather too scrubby to be a park. There are striped awnings and a yellow cab in the middle ground and tall city buildings rise to the rear, the furthest back of these being indistinct, their outlines swallowed by a dusty, floury light that time-tunnels us back to the Hudson River School, indeed all the way to Claude Lorrain. But awe, natural grandeur are not on the menu here. A man in shirtsleeves leans against a young tree, two women are seated in chairs reading. It’s Hopper-casual, minus any suggested Hopperesque narrative. Another canvas, The Legacy of Cherrytree Township, similarly positions tall buildings amongst urban greenery. We see man walking a dog, another up a ladder, two holding poles aloft and two women seated on the ground. Also bushes, sunflowers, a daytime moon and there are man-made bits and pieces here and there, some of which have rather puzzling shapes, and that is also true of other canvases with urban settings. This is Kattner’s world. It’s beguiling, sometimes subtly unsettling. And that, of course, is beguiling too. The show is called Entropy, a signal that Kattner is not just engaged with classicism as a nostalgic get-away from the epidemic of market-ready Post-Post-Modernism, that he has a program. 40 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“Entropy is the universal law where nature’s tendency is towards randomness and decay. Civilisation, on the other hand, is one towards creation and order.” reads a text in the catalog. This is attributed to Dr. Keith Kattner, and it isn’t a doctorate of arts either. A practicing neuro-surgeon for a quarter century, and a highly esteemed one at that, Keith Kattner walked out of his clinic to become a full-time artist at the age of forty-nine. Until recently individuals who got art-world recognition for work produced after taking up full-time art-making in middle age or later are those described – to the irritation of some, myself not included - as Outsider artists. Today’s artscape though reflects a culture in which art is an industry, not just the arena of tiny interconnected avant-gardes, so it’s way more melty, but, even in these terms, Keith Kattner’s career trajectory has been particularly striking. Which was on my mind when we sat down to talk. While he was reaching adulthood in Illinois, I wondered, had he seen himself as an artist or a scientist? “I wanted to be an artist,” Kattner said firmly. “When I was 18 years old that was what I first focussed in on. I had a couple of professors who took me under their wing. But what happened was I got into Illinois State and I had to pay for my education. And I got a job in a pathology laboratory.” Within which Kattner soon showed that he had a gift. “So the pathologist convinced me to become a surgeon instead of an artist,”

Keith Kattner - City Scene

Keith Kattner - Thor and the Little Red Rooster.

he says. “But it never left my mind deep down. I knew I had to get back into it. I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work. I was having a late start.” Nor was he alone. “I have another friend, an ear, nose and throat surgeon,” he says. “She studied surgery with me. And she walked away in her late forties to pursue art too. I know in medicine when we interview people, like when I interviewed residents, we look for the well-rounded person, so that’s why I think there’s a fair number of artists in medicine.” Kattner didn’t make a sudden break. “I knew I was going to exit medicine,” he says. “My wife kept on trying to get me to paint but I didn’t have time. So I collected art. I collected pre-1945 American art. And I planned an exit strategy. I didn’t just walk away and say, hey, your problem not mine, I’m going to go paint. So three four years before I exited I would paint after work until two in the morning. One thing medicine taught me was that to accomplish anything I would have to work really hard, the same holds true for painting” Kattner was already settled into both a manner and choice of subject-matter when he walked out of the clinic for good and he puts down his decision to work in a naturalistic vein to the MidWesterner in him, to the man who had been a serious collector of pre-1945 American art. “Up until two or three years ago I was a representational artist. I would look at a field or a house or a building and try to reproduce it as I see it,” he says. A few years ago his modus operandi began to change though. “I started objectifying things,” he says. “I started thinking like a classical artist, where it’s a thought process. And I started thinking in terms of where should I put the trees .. where should I put the house … where should I put the individual … and I think that’s the way a classical artist would think about things.” Most artists have an obsessive/compulsive streak, Kattner most certainly. “I would put more and more objects in,” he says. “I would paint for 12 to 15 hours,” he says. “I wouldn’t pay the bills. I wouldn’t do anything.” Which was when the notion of entropy re-emerged. “I don’t know why entropy came back into my mind,” he says. “I remembered entropy as a word in high school and college. A typical example of entropy was you don’t have to exert any energy to mess up a room but when you want to organize a room, like human beings typically do, it requires energy to do this. When we as human beings try to organize things you’re really fighting the forces of entropy. Because

entropy wants randonmness and decay. The more objects you add to a painting, the more complicated it is to organize it into a fashion that works. I wondered if this had to do with entropy and I started researching the topic.” The effects of Kattner research on his art-marking was swift and specific. “I started thinking my paintings were like an orchestra,” he says. “Like I was a composer, a cello would replace a tree, a violin replaces a human being I started thinking more like a composer, and I started thinking of classical artists, like Poussin and Claude Lorrain. I started thinking like a classical artist, where it’s a thought process. And I started thinking in terms of where should I put the trees, where should I put the house, where should I put the individual. And I think that’s the way a classical artist would think about things.” Keith Kattner is making no claims to a conceptual breakthrough here. “Artists have always interpreted entropy without realizing they interpret it” he says. “A good example is when we look at a classical artist or even a Hudson School artist, they would paint ruins in the background. And the ruins would represent nature destroying manmade stuff taking it to randomness and decay.” Entropy is a part of all our lives, “If we put a garden behind our house and don’t take care of it, it will end up as randomness and weeds,” he says. “If we take a room and buy three pieces of furniture and put them in the room. And say, okay, how many different ways can we organize the room with these three pieces of furniture. Well it could be a thousand different ways. Okay, then we put another piece of furniture into the room. And it will go from a thousand to three thousand. “Let’s apply that to art. There are two things that increase the entropy of a painting. if you increase the size of the painting or you increase the amount of objects you’ve got in the painting, it increases the entropy and makes it more difficult to fight the process of randomness and disarray. I started realizing that. So I started thinking about artists like van Gogh. Instead of an object everything becomes brushwork. Hundreds of brushstrokes! It can really obsess you.” For further inquiries: E.D. Enterprises, llc. Debbie Dickinson / 917-622-8136 / edentpr@gmail.Com www.Keithkattnerartist.com Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 41

Hurricane Alberto and Seashell, Spiral Series. 24” x 24”. Reverse Photo Print on 3/8” thick Acrylic.Scott Staton

Technology + Creativity = Plastic-Craft

Plastic-Craft Products Corp., with help from long-time client and multimedia art consultant, Scott Staton, has created an exciting net-direct website, www.plasticprintpro.com. The genesis of the idea was to offer visual artists a reliable partner for turning their art into saleable creations, digitally printed by the Vanguard VK300D on acrylic or other plastic materials. The Vanguard VK300D high-resolution digital printer produces in42 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

credible detail, vivid colors, and can print on up to 4-feet by 8-feet sheets of plastic material in thicknesses up to 3-inches. The artists in the curated, online Artist’s Gallery, are a diverse group of painters, photographers, illustrators, and graphic designers using abstract, modeling, digital composition, and landscape disciplines. The site offers the artist/vendor a web portal to upload and manage their art while retaining full control over all image

variables, copyrights, and pricing for their work. The added value for the gallery artist is a marketed, streamlined website backed by a production and delivery process thoroughly maintained by Plastic-Craft Products. Since it is an e-commerce site the customer experience is the stand-out feature and the customer is in charge of their order, start to finish. Whether selecting an image from the Artist’s Gallery or uploading their own file, the entire digital process will be

Dane Brecher, Mark Brecher and Scott Staton standing in front of the Vanguard VK300D high-resolution digital printer. Photo courtesy of Andrew Flynn.

easy, intuitive, and include the substantial value-added capabilities of Plastic-Craft Products’ production facility. The customer will enjoy using the advanced graphic design editor to create prints that can incorporate text overlays, shapes, colors, borders and more for a variety of applications for the home or office. The buyer also has a ’la carte’ options for their purchase including material type, thickness, final image and border sizing, as well as multiple mounting solutions such as metal stand-offs and hanging wires that will make the work appear to float off the wall. Founded in 1934, Plastic-Craft Products Corp. is a veteran-owned small business in New York’s Lower Hudson Valley. Plastic-Craft has continually expanded its plastic machining and fabrication capabilities and now counts major theater and television set designers, industrial users, pharmaceutical operations, and government buyers among their many satisfied clients. The location is ISO9001:2015 certified with a full engineering and quality control department and earns their business direct and through numerous e-commerce outlets including Amazon, EBay, Plastic-Craft.com, and plasticcuttingboards.com.

Pearl Seashell and Deep Field Hubble Image, Spiral Series. 16” x 16”. Reverse Photo Print on 3/8” thick Acrylic. Scott Staton

Historical Image of Old Saw Mill in West Nyack, NY. Courtesy, West Nyack Heritage Society. Stainless-Steel standoff mounts shown

For more information contact: Plastic-Craft Products 744 West Nyack Road West Nyack, NY 10994 https://www.plastic-craft.com Phone: 1-800-627-3010 Fax: 1-845-358-3007 E-mail: ecom@plastic-craft.com

Above images: Reverse Photo Prints on 1” thick Acrylic Block. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 43

KEN NAHAN “A force of nature.” 1923-2019

Ken Nahan in uniform during World War 2

Theo Tobiasse, Pierre Chave - printer of Tobiasse Lithograohs, Ken Nahan in Vence France

Those words, spoken by SunStorm/Fine Art magazine publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes, could not be more appropriate in describing our great friend and one of the greatest art gallerists and publishers of this or any era. You can see by the photo of Ken in his army uniform at left that he was serious about serving his country and his enlistment in the US Army at the age of 17, two weeks after Pearl Harbor, exemplified a courageous and humble heart. Stationed in England as World War II heated up, Ken – who grew up in his father’s print shop – was commandeered by a US general to fix the printing press in an underground bunker that was needed to print maps for the invasion of Normandy. He survived the war in which 90% of his platoon did not and eventually went into business for himself, opening the Nahan Company which employed 130 people and led to his first gallery on the second floor of 1028 Louisiana Avenue, a space that was little more than an adjunct to the Nahan Design Center. The inaugural exhibition featured works by members of the School of Paris. Later, in the late ’60s and ’70s he added Chagall and Miro graphics, amassing one of the largest collections of their graphics in the United States by buying from Maeght five or ten of each of their publications. It was when these giants were in their nineties that Ken sought out the next generation of important artists and signed international agreements with Max Papart, Theo Tobiasse and the rest, building up a reputation as a gentleman of integrity in an oft tumultuous and sometimes shady business. That reputation stayed with Ken throughout his long and illustrious career, working side-by-side with Sherri since their marriage in 1984. Cornerstoned by Papart, Tobiasse, James Coignard, Rafal Olbinski, Arthur Segunda, Berthois-Rigal, the Zhou Brothers and the immortal photographers Philippe Halsman and Andre Villers.

Christo, Ken, Leo Castelli, Alliance Francaise Ultra Violet, Jeanne

Tobiasse and Ken with just-printed books

Ken and Max Papart New Orleans

Coignard, Papart, Ken at New Orleans Gallery 44 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Grand Opening of Nahan Galleries New York

Interior shot, first floor, Nahan Galleries, NYC

Gentle giant family pet Meg at Nahan Galleries

We had the pleasure of interviewing Tobiasse, Berthois-Rigal and Segunda with special affinity for Papart, a direct link to Picasso. These great artists kept the “Spirit of Purity” alive in their artistic endeavors under the auspices and financial protection of Ken Nahan and are featured in a glorious tome Nahan Galleries: Thirty Years. Not just an art dealer, Ken was equally fascinated with the technology of the day and the multitude of printing processes master printers in Europe employed to create the very special limited editions sold by Nahan Galleries. He was also about two decades ahead of his time when he put much of his energy and resources into developing an international art registry with the purpose of buying, selling and registering art online. Alas, broadband wasn’t invented and the Apple “Lisa” model and dial-up modems were very limiting. Real-time communication was not reality yet. Ken also loved book publishing and one of our fondest memories is finding him camped on the floor of his office in a 15,000 sq. ft. triplex gallery in the heart of Soho — New York City’s burgeoning art district — with a few hundred pages of images to paginate and color separations(!) to approve for press. Ken was an expert in book-making and took great pride in all the publications he had a hand in producing. With the passing of Ken Nahan, an era comes to a close: the era of art dealers whose word was their bond and a handshake was all that was necessary for any size transaction. We are better for having known him. –VICTOR FORBES

Andre Villers in his studio in Mougins

Charles Santon, Sherri and Ken Nahan and Fumio Morito Opening Nahan Japan - Tokyo

Kenneth Nahan - Photo by Philippe Halsman

Ken & Sherri Nahan Ken with Andre Villers - Mougins France

Sherri and Max Papart - Proof of The Dancer

Tobiasse and Ken at home of Elie Wiesel

Theo Tobiasse preparing Carborundum Plate

Olbinski Exhibition Nahan Galleries NYC Sherri and Ken with Rafal Olbinski Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 45

BEYOND THE CAPE!

Chagoya, Express Nothing

Comics and Contemporary Art

Kumasi Barnett, What if Black-Man Had Kept His Cosmic Powers, 2016 uses actual comic books in his work to create new characters such as The Amazing Black-Man. His nine works featured in this show will be encased in plastic, the way rare comics are sold.. 46 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Why call this new museum show Beyond the Cape? Compared to so many other exhibitions around the world about comic books, this original and unconventional take soars beyond just superheroes showing how some of the most currently sought-after contemporary artists are influenced by graphic novels and comic books. This exhibition is curated by Kathleen Goncharov, who recruited as her ‘muse’ Calvin Reid, the Senior News Editor at Publishers Weekly and a leading expert in the field of comics. Reid was one of the first critics to recognize comics as a literary form for adults, and selected the comic books and graphic novels in the reading room where the public can comfortably lounge and enjoy reading (many from Reid’s own private library). “Beyond the Cape delves into the world of comics and graphic novels and their influence on contemporary artists. Their work defies commonalities, but come together to present a boldly visual, eye-opening mirror of our contemporary world and present issues,” said Irvin Lippman, Executive Director of Boca Raton Museum of Art where the exhibition will be held through Oct., 2019. The artworks in this pioneering show take viewers on a deeper dive into adult realms, tackling some of today’s thorniest issues: politics, divisiveness, immigration, religion, racial prejudice, planetary climate armageddon, feminism, LGBTQ rights and gender. Grouped together for the first time in this new way, the exhibition includes prominent artworld superstars, including: Kumasi J. Barnett, George Condo, Renee Cox, Liz Craft, Kota Ezawa, Chitra Ganesh, Mark Thomas Gibson, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Christian Marclay, Kerry James Marshall, Takahasi Murakami, Elizabeth Murray, Yoshitomo Nara, Joyce Pensato, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, Kenny Scharf, William T. Wiley,

City Inside Her, Chitra Ganesh, 2014. Ganesh is an Indian-American artist who combines the iconography of Hinduism, Buddhists and South Asia pictorial traditions with the contemporary popular visual language of comics, illustration and science fiction. Her work will include a giant 3-D hand.

David Wojnarowicz and Michael Zansky. Some of the most acclaimed underground comic book artists are also front-and-center, including: R. Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and Mimi Pond. Also featured in the exhibition are artists from The Hairy Who: Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum. The show features more than 80 works by 40 artists: paintings, video, photography, sculpture, prints, drawings, and tapestries. Rare comics will also be shown, plus contemporary animation and rarely seen historic cartoons from the early 1900s on vintage TVs. Some surprising twists and turns at Beyond the Cape: • The only references to superheroes in this show are by Renee Cox (whose Jamaican anti-racist avenger Raje does not wear a cape), and Luca Buvoli’s animation Not-a-Superhero. • Art that is flat, graphic and colorful (like the art in graphic novels and comics), is taking center stage in the Instagram age. Artists, galleries and collectors are turning to social media as the place to promote their art and find work to purchase. • Kerry James Marshall is known for his flat, colorful paintings of contemporary Black America. For the past 20 years he has been working on his comic series Rythm Mastr (set in the Black community where his Chicago studio is located). The genesis of Rythm Mastr began with the demolition of public housing and the spike of violence in Chicago in the 1990s. He grew up in the Watts area of South-Central Los Angeles. • Looking beyond the 1960s Pop Art movement led by big name New York artists, this show features the “other” art movements from the 60s and 70s such as Bay Area Funk Art and the Chicago Imagists (who called themselves Hairy Who). These artists rebelled against the formalist New York style, and during their youth, they were belittled as ‘provincial regionalists’ by the New York-centric art world of the time. • Koto Ezawa’s comics-inspired animation tells the story of the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum art heist. • Michael Zansky, the son of Louis Zansky who drew the early “Classic Comics” in the 1940s, is a painter and multi-media artist whose monumental large cut, burnt and carved wood panels feature mysterious hybrid creatures inspired by comics, ancient art and works from the Western art canon.

Peter Saul, Self Portrait with Haircut, 2003, courtesy of Shark’s Ink

California artist Peter Saul, 85, was not taken seriously outside of California until relatively recently. Today his work is in great demand and is a major influence on young artists. Similar to comics, his work is irreverent, idiosyncratic, colorful and political.

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 47

Kusama with Pumpkin, 2010 (C)YAYOI KUS AMA. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo Singapore Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; David Zwirner, New York.

New York Botanical Gardens Presents Yayoi Kusama’s Lifelong Fascination With The Natural World

The New York Botanical Gardens major 2020 exhibition will feature the work of internationally celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929). This landmark presentation — exclusive to NYBG and with initial support from Major Sponsor MetLife Foundation —will include works across the spectrum of her multifaceted practice—and introduce major new works created by the artist specifically for this exhibition, which will run from May 2 through November 1, 2020. It offers visitors to New York a unique opportunity to view a range of Kusama’s mesmerizing art, including immersive experiences and new works created for NYBG, which lies just 20 minutes from midtown Manhattan and is the only venue in the world for this singular Garden-wide exhibition. Kusama’s prolific artistic output and her profound engagement with nature will be represented in depth with multiple installations, including her signature mirrored environments and organic forms, colossal polka-dotted sculptures of flowers and pumpkins, mesmerizing paintings, and her first-ever participatory greenhouse installation that will be transformed over the course of the exhibition. Also on display, early sketchbooks portend Kusama’s lifelong fascination with the natural world that continues to inspire her aesthetic. Visitors may experience her work throughout the changing seasons, making each return visit unique. Carrie Rebora Barratt, Ph.D., CEO & The William C. Steere Sr. President of The New York Botanical Garden, said, “We are thrilled to present this unprecedented installation of Yayoi Kusama’s work, including new sculptures made especially for our site. In a lifetime of finding inspiration in nature and pushing against boundaries and biases, she developed a unique lexicon for artistic expression. While these works 48 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

appear as mostly abstract forms to viewers, they are manifestations of how she sees the universe, specifically the natural world. We are grateful to her for sharing her vision and helping us realize this once-in-a-lifetime display at the Garden for our visitors.” The expansive exhibition will be installed across NYBG’s 250-acre landscape and in its historic buildings. A selection of works mounted outdoors will include monumental, site- specific sculptures. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory will house a spectacular horticultural showcase honoring Kusama based on one of her hypnotic large-scale paintings. The LuEsther T. Mertz Library Building will feature immersive experiences as well as present examples of her more intimate early work, including botanical sketches, works on paper, biomorphic collages, assemblages and soft sculpture, providing a compelling study of the formative inspiration Kusama took from the natural world that has pervaded her work throughout her illustrious career. The exhibition will be accompanied by a vibrant offering of public programming. The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants located at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road. It is easy to reach by Metro-North Railroad, bus, or subway. The Garden is open year- round, Tuesday through Sunday and Monday federal holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The best way to enjoy the Garden is with the All-Garden Pass, which includes admission to the grounds as well as to seasonal gardens, exhibitions, and attractions such as the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and Tram Tour. For ticket pricing, please check our Website. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit nybg.org The New York Botanical Garden, 290

ARTA Helps Auction Houses Streamline Shipping

ARTA Loads ‘em up and moves ‘em out

ARTA, the contemporary logistics platform for shipping specialized items, is launching ARTA for Auctions, a new solution that automates shipping for auction houses and auction aggregators to ease their logistical burdens. Leveraging ARTA’s proprietary Instant Quote, which enables buyers and sellers to immediately receive bookable quotes, auction houses can now, for the first time, automate the pre-bid quoting process to allow bidders to have full awareness of the end-to-end cost of an item, including complex shipping fees and how and who can manage it. “Often times, shipping can be the Achilles heel for auction houses and their buyers,” said Adam Fields, CEO of ARTA. “With ARTA for Auctions, auction houses can focus on what they do best, while their bidders can focus on getting what they want for the price they want. From the beginning, we’ve aimed to fill a hole in the high end art world. With intimate insight into what auction houses need, ARTA for Auctions is extends the promise and power of our solution for seamless, pain-free logistics and shipping. ” ARTA has a proven track-record of helping auction houses since the company launched nearly five years ago, including serving as a preferred shipper for international, national and regional auction houses like Leslie Hindman, Wright, and Bonhams. ARTA’s services complement those of auction houses with a robust logistics team, though they also serve as an outsourced logistics team for smaller auction houses that don’t handle shipping in-house. Phillips, the leading auction house for art, design, watches and more, is already using ARTA for Auctions to relieve the logistics burden on staff and ease the shipping process for customers. “By automating the pre and post-sale quoting process through ARTA, we are saving our team time and providing a better experience for our buyers.” said Phillips. As part of this offering, ARTA is launching an API that allows users to integrate shipping costs directly into their website to optimize the pre-sale quoting process and post-sale fulfillment operations. Since its founding just four years ago, ARTA has managed shipments to/from nearly 60 countries, and has fulfilled more than 35,000 items to-date. For more information, visit www. shiparta.com.  About ARTA ARTA delivers a contemporary logistics platform for securely and efficiently shipping specialized items around the globe. Combining technology with deep industry expertise and international partnerships, ARTA automates the shipping of highend goods, like fine art and design objects, while also managing the last mile to deliver superior customer service. With a single solution that safely, easily and cost effectively ships luxury items, ARTA removes logistics hurdles to help individuals and businesses optimize operations and drive more sales. For more information, visit www.shiparta.com

Experiencing Art For Visually Impaired

An intriguing program is happening at The UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum in Austin. For many, the word “museum” seems boring with guests restrained behind ropes and red lines, where the closest you can get to the art is a “safe” distance of five feet or more. However, for the UMLAUF, art is experiential. Not only are a vast majority of their Charles Umlauf sculptures and guest exhibitions nestled in the leafy green of the outdoors, but many of them can be touched and felt by patrons. While most of us experience art with our eyes, there are some that must rely on another sense, touch. For the blind and visually impaired, the UMLAUF is developing a program they call Touch Tours, which provides patrons with a guided tour through the garden and assistance when describing and interacting with the sculptures. The esteemed sculpture garden and museum has partnered with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to provide training for their docents leading these tours to ensure the best possible experience for all guests. The UMLAUF strives to make art fun and accessible for anyone who’s interested. Art shouldn’t be kept behind glass or velvet ropes––it is meant to be enjoyed, explored and experienced.

Scott Baltisberger from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) trains a group of docents in leading a Touch Tour at The UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum.UMLAUF

Scott Baltisberger uses Charles Umlauf’s Madonna and Child sculpture to show trainees how to help patrons get the most out of the artwork with their sense of touch. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 49

“To the Ism” Redux

Grandmaster Carson Builds Museum in Quebec Grandmaster of Fine Art Charles Carson’s paintings on view at the Museum

Carson converted this church Sorel-Tracy, Quebec into his new headquarters

Jacques Kossowski Mayor of Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, France visits Charles Carson, creator of the “Carsonism” Movement.

50 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Recognized buy his peers, collectors and historians as one of the most accomplished and original arists of his time, Charles Carson is not just a master artist who has created a disticnctive style known now and forever as Carsonism. His expressive art technique has surpassed the traditional categories of Impressionism, Expressionism and Surrealism. With the wind in his sails, his work continues to attract the attention of experienced auction collectors in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the works of the painter have been sold at the price of gold as they arouse the interest of museum curators and those interested in the best of contemporary art. The artist has realized a dream by creating the Charles Carson museum that will soon see the light of day. The conversion of St-Gabriel Lalemant Church, located in Sorel-Tracy, Province of Quebec, into a cultural and artistic complex is well underway. Charles Carson — Grand Master of Fine Arts and the International Academy of Fine Arts of Quebec (AIBAQ) — is a leader in the world of visual arts as well as an entrepreneur to follow very closely.

YANELIS REYNALDO CARSON

Yanelis Reynaldo began painting at an early age in her native Cuba. Since immigrating to Canada, she has continued to grow and evolve as an artist under the mentorship of her husband, internationally renowned artist Charles Carson. Her most recent works on display at Inglewood Fine Arts represent the culmination of this artistic process. They are a perfect reflection of the competing facets of her personality. Her gentle nature combined with a fiery

passion for her art have produced this series of beautiful abstract works marked by their vivid colors, gentle harmonies and fluid composition. Inglewood Fine Art, Galgary AB, 587-2261415 Richelieu Art Gallery, Mtl. Qc. 514-381-2247 Fine Art Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ Autumn 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ 51

GILDA OLIVER ROARS The artistic team of Marc and Gilda Oliver are Baltimore-based painters and digital computer mixed media artists. Gilda is a graduate of Alfred University & Cranbrook Academy of Art, while Marc is a self-taught artist. Working together or solo, both internationally exhibited and recognized artists. With extensive experience of longstanding commitment to community & transformational art projects, the Olivers are presently showing their mixed media collages, paintings and mixed media portraits and cartoons that combine a sculptural formalism with digital freedom. Evident is a playfulness which mixes fantasy and documentary realism. Mixing subjects from Hollywood, Disney and Modern Art, these works use nostalgia as a frame to integrate cinema, fantasy and internet worlds. Their collage technique is intimately related to their sculptural and mosaic work. The superimposition of portraits and tonalities builds an imaginary timeline. Over the last ten years The artistic team has drawn thousands of 3 ft. by 2 ft. cartoon characters on poster board paper for challenged children to paint and turn into their own interpretations. Based on the influence of all the different cartoon character variations they experienced with the children, they also started creating their own cartoon characters. More of the Olivers unforgettable imagery can be seen on Instagram at https://www.instagram. com/gilda_oliver_artist/ https://www. Marc Oliver, Gilda Oliver facebook.com/gilda.oliver.90

Adventureous By Gilda Oliver -2ft high by 3ft w-2014. Acrylic with mixed media collage 52 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

GILDA OLIVER, “Eclipse of Time”, ceramic

BACK FROM THE BRINK

Erika Lyn Horwitz’s Rain of Colors Erika Lyn Horwitz is known and easily recognized for her unique, layered, gem-like, subtly translucent abstract paintings. Simultaneously organic and topographical, her work explores the intersection between chaos and order, conscious and sub-conscious, intention and accident. The goal of her paintings is to transport the viewer into a creative-meditative state analogous to the state in which she produces them. Her work embraces the dynamic energy of Abstract Expressionists Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler while also adopting a Minimalist eschewal of subject, biography and metaphor. Horwitz uses techniques that she developed to blend resin with traditional materials such as oil, acrylic and dry pigment as well as non-traditional materials like metal flakes, automotive paint, broken mirrors and glass as well as spray, auto, interference and color shift paints. “By employing organic and even projectile forms and raw or viscous matter, my art injects subversive and even an obliquely feminist quality into the world,” she states. “My art is an extension of hands-off detachment, experimentation and a scientific exploration.” A classically trained oil painter with over two decades of experience, Horwitz’s prolific output is themeatically designed to have tremendous impact in a day and age where, she says, “We can no longer afford not to nurture Mother Earth. The works are not imposing but rather invite the audience in to experience and create their own personal relationships with them.” She has exhibited extensively internationally most recently at the Bridgehampton Artmrkt Fair. Her collectors to date, are located in New York City, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Florida and California. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 53

SPEAKEASY: The Life and Times of Juanita Sims

Phyllis Sims.with her sure-to-be-classic book “Speakeasy”

By PHYLLIS SIMS

My mother, Juanita Sims, Esq. was a pioneering heroine for women everywhere who wanted to get ahead in what James Brown called “A Man’s World.” Her indomitable spirit, business savvy and magnetic style was an inspiration to every woman, man or child who has ever wanted to do something great despite the odds being stacked against them. She was more than just a loving mother to me. She was a role model for women and people Phyllis Sims, Juanita Sims, Esq. of color as to how much can be accomplished in one person’s life time if they work hard and refuse to let others’ biases become their limitations. This is a true story of how a young southern girl born in Athens, Georgia and raised in South Philly became: The first black woman to own a record retail store in South Philly during the golden jazz and bebop eras; America’s first African American automobile saleswoman for Ford Motor Company; the first black woman to launch a Philadelphia Public Relations firm in center city Philadelphia and among the first African American women to become a licensed attorney. This 14-year old single mother was beautiful and brilliant with personality plus. A lover of life who taught me how to tap into my spirituality, she was an inspiration to hundreds of young women, encouraging them to always keep an eye on the prize. This book includes the photo memory collection of my mother Juanita Sims, Esq. and myself. A photo journal and memories of the beautiful artists and personalities I have been blessed to grow up knowing them as my extended family, i.e. Count Basie, Sammy 54 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Remembering lovely thoughts about my mom – America’s 1st African American automobile saleswoman for Ford Motor Co. A South Philadelphia “hidden figure”

Count Basie, Sonny Payne and Ed Thigpen purchasing a Ford from Juanita Sims, the company’s first African American saleswoman

Davis, Jr., Duke Ellington, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughn, et al, that raised, educated and shared their dreams and tears while showing me thru their eyes the ways of the world.

Ray Charles, A great musician will always be remembered. I snapped this pic @ a private event in Philly. Ray played the sax as well as the keys. PhyllisSimsPhotography.com

SPEAKEASY LIMITED EDITION Launched @ AVEO ART GALLERY. CHERRY Hill NJ For a copy, Phyllis.sims51@gmail.com 856.379.5396

RONNIE WOOD’S HANDS OF STONES

Ronnie Wood’s portrait of Chuck Berry for “Mad Lad” tribute to the greatest rocker of all

Amsterdam, sometime in July, 1971 By Victor Forbes n a converted church called the Paradiso, one could experience buying hashish inside at a number of tables selling such stuff. The Lord of the Harvest was looking down with kindness on the crop that year and even with the inconvenience of figuring out the European chillum, we had a fun evening. While waiting for the live act, Pearls Before Swine (you can find them on the ESP Disc), we were entertained by some pre-recorded stuff, which culminated in a set highlighted by Ronnie Wood’s stellar guitarmanship on Rod Stewart’s “Gasoline Alley” and “It’s All Over Now” which showed he was a Stone before he was a Stone and a Face before the Faces. I was forever a Ronnie Wood fan after those back-to-back cuts. Ronnie has been painting as long as he’s been playing and like John Lennon, has developed quite a collection of work to go along with his collection of collectors. He is a fountain of creativity with originals, silkscreens, lithographs and his latest project, “The Band’s Hands,” a set of four individually hand signed and numbered limited edition prints with a hand signed frontispiece in a hand-made presentation box. Giclée prints on Somerset enhanced velvet 330 gsm art paper. Limited to an edition of 150, the set includes: (along with the Frontispiece) images of the hands of Keith, Charlie, Mick and Ronnie. More on that at Ronniewood.com After the current Rolling Stones tour concludes, Ronnie is delighted to announce his new album “Mad Lad”, which he says is “A tribute to the great Chuck Berry recorded with my band at the Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne last year. I will be performing a special one off show with my band at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Thursday 21st November.” The album will be released a week prior and you can listen to ‘Talking About You’ now: https://ronniewood.lnk.to/talkinboutyouFA Ron shows his love for the music and the originators of it on a cut he penned for as tribute album to Elvis’s original trio called “Unsung Heroes” featuring his friend and former band mate Jeff Beck. Released Ronnie with Toots Hibbert on Sweetfish Records in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z16LCz3BzaQ the 90s, this compilation is revered for the video tracks that came along with the CD featuring Ronnie and Keith with Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana. If you can dig up the CD on ebay, it is well worth the purchase price. Ronnie is also a big fan of reggae music and on his web radio show, he interviewed Toots and Ronnie told the story of how the record label put his solo release “skyrocket to oblivion” and described to Toots how Keith would play him all the cuts from The Harder They Come. It’s a great history here and will be featured in the forthcoming book “The Battle of Johnny Too Bad” by Victor Forbes, SunStorm Press, with a vinyl record of music by the original Slicker, Hylton Beckford on SunStorm Music Productions.

Ronnie pays tribute to his Rolling Stones bandmates in this new box set and below as players in a Picasso tribute band of sorts. “The hands,” says the artist, “have such personality; they are the connection of each member, with their instrument.”

“I call this The Picasso Stones’ It’s my interpretation of Picasso’s painting The Three Dancers. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 55

RUTH-ANN THORN MAKES HER MARK WITH OPENING OF NEWEST GALLERY Interview By JAMIE ELLIN FORBES Written by V.B. FORBES Pert, petite and busy-looking, Ruth-Ann Thorn is an art champion for these times. A trusted expert in her field, she is passionate about artists, optimistic about the future and confidently prepared to overcome any challenge. With the opening of her 4,000 square foot Exclusive Collections Gallery in Solana Beach, California this November, the gallerist’s vision and mission — “to expose people to the power of art and the great artists of the day” — takes hold on very solid ground. “I am determined,” she states, “to bring the work of the artists I represent to the world.” This has been a banner year for Ruth-Ann and her brand. In addition to the new gallery, she has become more involved in her Native American heritage, conducting business in Indian Country by starting a new company called EC Art services to help Native American tribes curate art collections for their new hotels and casinos. “What goes on the walls is a reflection of the particular tribe’s culture,” notes Ruth-Ann, “and it’s been a real learning curve, as well as an interesting 56 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Bella Thorn (center), Ruth-Ann Thorn celebrate opening of EC Gallery

journey. I ia a great honor to meet with Tribal Councils and historical and cultural committees with the purpose of getting everyone on the same wave length. I work with elders in their nineties and young people in their twenties with tattoos and nose rings in determining ways to view the cultural heritage of their tribe.” Business is on the rise — one new hotel needed 3,500 works and there are a few more just breaking ground. In-house framing and printing keep the costs at bay and a strong roster of artists helps Ruth-Ann stay in what she is passionate about. “My role is to find art that reflects their vision and history and act as an advocate as the tribes get more involved in art.” Additionally, Ruth-Ann is further making her mark in the art arena and to prove this point, the Samuels family, guardians of one of the most recognizable and iconic international brands of recent histor y — Maker’s Mark Bourbon — has Ruth-Ann on their short-list of goto dealers. EC’s long-time galler y virtuoso, Michael Flohr, is one of their prominently featured artists. He was honored at a limitedseating brunch at the Maker’s Mark distillery where the San Diego-based Flohr has created an original large-format painting of the Maker’s Mark bottle for

permanent display at the distillery’s restaurant, Star Hill Provisions. “It was a real joy having them in Kentucky,” commented Bill Samuels, Jr. in an interview with Fine Art Magazine Publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes shortly after the event. After the brand’s creation by Bill Samuels, Sr., its production was overseen by his son until 2011 when he announced his retirement as president and CEO. His son Rob Samuels succeeded him. “ W hat I enjoyed most about meeting Ruth-Ann,” adds Bill, “was that RuthAnn introduced me to something that I was a little bit intimidated with before I saw how welcoming she and Michael were. I mean, The doors are open at Exclusive Collections Gallery, Solana Beach, California when I had about five minutes notice that I was going to host this reception and didn’t know anything, she took all that in stride. Then I noticed a couple of the paintings were actually done at my house where I’ve got all the old bottles.” Rob picks up the story from there: “I’m a great admirer of Michael Flohr’s work and the large scale painting that he has an on site here is an important part of the experience at Maker’s. Many of his paintings are still on display and I love observing our guests while they’re enjoying their meal. It just elevates the experience here on site. I don’t know if I shared with you how I met Michael so here it is. Seven or eight years ago, a friend of mine told me that there was a beautiful painting in a gallery for sale in Kentucky of a Maker’s Mark bottle. I called the gallery and bought it sight unseen. Later, I wrote Michael a letter to just introduce myself, let him know that I’m part of the family with Maker’s and how much I love his painting. A few months later he actually made the trip from California to Kentucky and I laid out our vision and a plan for the distillery. I asked if he would he be interested in collaborating with us, to draw inspiration by the shared values. “Fundamentally my grandfather’s vision was a handmade bourbon, a bourbon that would have full sensory engagement for each step of the process. That led to the more consistent, elevated taste profile he was searching for. Engaging all the senses with your friends when they come here to the distillery is an inspiring way to connect with who Maker’s Mark is. Whether you’re in our tasting room surrounded by David Schuster’s paintings that showcase each of the six defining steps of the process, or as you walk into our place The famous bottle, by Michael Flohr and are greeted by our team under the oak and amber chandelier created by Dale Chihuly. Or if you’re in our restaurant, Star Hill sanctuary of any distiller in America. We need to be great stewards Provisions and you have all those large scale rich, vibrant, warm, of the environment because our product comes from nature.” paintings Michael created, it just gives more meaning to who Maker’s Concludes Bill: “Art enhances the experience of our many is as we host our friends.” visitors. We hear it all the time from our guests and our employees “Our vision here is to become the most culturally rich, endearing — how they love our collection. It’s all part of the process of making and environmentally responsible home-place of any brand in the it a wonderful conversation generating experience.”Ruth-Ann finds world. So it’s the culmination of the handmade art that’s inspired it “fascinating and humbling to think that we live in the same period by the handmade bourbon. The reason we are here on this site isn’t as some of the great masters who will define our era,” she stated in a just because of the beautiful little village. The reason we’re here is recentcoast-to-coast interview. “I call it history in the making! Who because of the water, our 14 acre lake and hundreds and hundreds of else gets to do this? Sometimes I think we take it for granted that acres that we manage as a nature preserve in the first natural water Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 57

Bill Samuels, Jr., son of the founders of Maker’s Mark Bourbon

we are surrounded by such great talent. My plan is to give people an in-depth look at what it takes for artists to devote their lives to making something of significance that will last forever, actually pulling ideas out of their soul.” Born into creativity, Ruth-Ann exudes an aura of sophistication and charm that is powered by Spirit — Great and Holy. Her passion for Who and what she represents has placed her at the pinnacle of her profession after three decades in her chosen field. She has come a long way from her initial involvement in the art business in 1988 when she was working in Hawaii at a restaurant and was “really hating it,” she recalls, adding, “I was frustrated with thinking about what to do with my life. So one night I prayed, ‘whatever it is you have for me God, I’m ready.’ A friend of mine told me about an art gallery that was hiring and since I grew up in and around the arts in an artistic community in Portland, Oregon, I thought I would check it out.” Ruth-Ann, who had no experience at all in the business side of art, landed the job “on the spot” and what follows is a success story that is just beginning to peak. A couple of serious recessions paved the way for victory. “I cut my teeth in art working for one of the most prestigious galleries of the 1980s, Images International of Hawaii. The company was known for representing Otsuka and other Asian artists. They operated retail locations in Hawaii and Los Angeles. I learned a lot working there which set a foundation for the future. When the recession hit in the 1990s, my employer went out of business. At that point I had a decision to make, I could either go work for another art gallery in California or start my own company. I chose the latter. The beginnings of Exclusive Collections gallery were difficult because I didn’t have a business plan or a college degree so I wasn’t able to get funding from the bank.” Ruth-Ann started out selling art in the meeting rooms of hotels with a loaded U-haul trailer full of art. Then she would set up the show and invite all her collectors on black and white cards to save on costs. “Those,” she recalls, “were very humble beginnings.” In 1998 Ruth-Ann and her mother Gloria Lee, herself an accomplished and well-respected artist, opened a gallery in La Jolla, California. “Working seven days a week sometimes 14 hours days, we struck gold with two ver y talented artists right out of art school, Henry Asencio and Michael 58 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“Art enhances the experience of our many visitors. We hear that all the time from our guests.” – Bill Samuels, --Jr., Maker’s Mark

Artist Michael Flohr, at Maker’s Mark reception in his honor

The table is set for a party at the Maker’s Mark restaurant, surrounded by Michael Flohr paintings

it went went really well. F lohr. We had great But over time, I realized I success in our gallery with was losing my passion and them.” This created the it was quickly becoming opportunity to develop a management business. Crown Thorn Publishing The truth is, I enjoy and ten years later over working with people and 100 galleries world wide sharing art more than I were representing the do running a big business. work. My passion for the arts is Another wonderful intact, stronger than ever. artist in the EC stable, I feel art is very important of many, is Ruth-Ann’s to society and my ability eleven year-old daughter to match people with Bella. Her collection, an artist’s work brings a “ Bel la’s Hea r ts” was tremendous amount of begun under the tutelage satisfaction. I can’t do that of her g r a nd mot her when I’m busy managing Gloria Lee and they the bottom line. It takes have been collected and the joy out of it.” “My quote is ‘great art is forever… and forever is a long time!’” shown to acclaim for a few While those galleries – Ruth-Ann Thorn years now. “Bella is a unique were successful enough, individual who marches to the beat of her own drum,” states her Ruth-Ann’s interactions with transient buyers in tourist towns was proud mother. “She has a very strong moral compass as to the antithetical to her view that the “only way to foster art is to act as way things should be.” Her compassionate, colorful and strong a catalyst between artist and patron by pouring all we can into an representations bring out the warmth and kindness of her own artist’s career. The new gallery will allow me to develop and maintain tender heart. relationships with clients who believe in the artists as much as I do With the opening of EC Gallery, Ruth-Ann is going and who want to see how much beauty the artist can create.” The back to her roots, consolidating after spending the past several result is not only tangible but emotional with historical value. “My years opening and closing locations in Laguna Beach, Beverly Hills, quote is ‘great art is forever… And forever is a long time!’ I hope Las Vegas and Breckenridge, Colorado. “I was hoping to keep my contribution of bringing artists to the awareness of people will count for something.” market share for the artists that I published and in the beginning Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 59

Outdoors at 21 Museum Hotel in Louisville

Ruth-Ann and daughter Bella, whose inspiring “Bella Hearts” collection of paintings is on view atthe gallery

Founded on the premise that “art is a discovery for everyone,” EC gallery, nestled in a seaside community 30 minutes from downtown San Diego is in a quietly bustling beach locale, reminiscent, says Ruth-Ann, of how “Malibu used to be. The Cedros Design District is a destination where people come to shop, have a nice meal, visit a winery or the Belly Up Tavern, among other places — and there’s lots of hip-hop money rolling around.” Ruth-Ann’s all-encompassing philosophy has brought her tremendous success with a loyal customer base that continues to grow. In the future, she plans to develop a YouTube station where she will go to various cities and film and document what is going on. “Art is everywhere but people pass it by. My goal is to raise the awareness level.” She is “positively very ready for the next chapter. No matter what, the Lord and the Spirit — God — is always with me. Things that seem like failure are a blessing, making me more excited, less fearful.” With aplomb and dignity, beyond question, Ruth-Ann Thorn is a force majeur in today’s rough and tumble environment known as the Art World, a trusted beacon of light in an arena in which beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 60 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Ruth-Ann Thorn and staff of Exclusive Collections Gallery

Bella painting her hearts

Dale Chihuly, “The Spirit of the Maker” hand-blown glass, on permanent view at the historic Maker’s Mark distillery rickhouse in the barrel room, 36’ x 6’ overhead canopy of form, color and light and consists of 750 hand-blown elements in blue, green, amber and signature Maker’s Mark red hues. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 61

Jane Seymour For Jane Seymour, painting is not a secondary profession. It is an inner calm, which comes forth from an uncontrolled motive to express artistically. Acting is a mediated art. That is, somehow the actor or actress depends on other artists. So, Jane Seymour goes to painting where she feels completely free to express herself. The language of color is universal and the artist feels free and uninhibited in this world. – Dr. MOSSES ZIRANI, Fine Art Magazine Jane Seymour, born in Hillingdon, England, is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actor, who began painting nearly thirty years ago. Since, she has created an intimate world of delicate watercolors, vibrant oil paintings, and bronze sculpture exhibiting in numerous galleries and art fairs in North America with many private commissions. An inspirational trip to paint in Monet’s Garden in Giverny (August, 2001) became Seymour’s personal tribute to the Impressionists. The artist’s first one-woman museum exhibition was mounted at the Butler Institute of American Art in October, 2004. Later, Seymour became a three time Olympian artist, selected to represent the US Team in the 2006 Winter Olympics, Torino, Italy, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Coral Canyon Publishing, Ms. Seymour’s art company, released a collection of Open Heart bronze sculptures in 2009 and the Open Heart Monumental sculpture was born in 2012. Her evergrowing body of work continues to serve as inspiration for her home and fashion designs, along with the fine mouldings and frames with Fotiou. The Open Hearts Foundation is a social impact accelerator that is committed to empowering emerging and growing nonprofit organizations, whose origins and mission are consistent with the precepts of the Open Hearts philosophy. The Foundation, by providing expertise, resources and tools, enables these nonprofits to not only raise their profile but also further their mission and objectives. For more information regarding fine art acquisition or to host an exhibition, please contact: Susan Nagy Luks, Director, Coral Canyon Publishing, Phone: 310 842 7256; susan@coralcanyonpublishing.com 62 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

OHI Mon Sculpture in Malibu

“If your heart is open, love will always find its way in.” - Jane Seymour Open Hearts Foundation Jane Seymour cross

Jamie Ellin Forbes interviews Jane Seymour at Artexpo. The entire video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsT4zixXKLI&t=23s

Peggy Guggenheim: The Last Dogaressa

Peggy Guggenheim, who settled in Venice in 1948 after having closed her museum-gallery Art of This Century (1942-47) in New York, sitting on the throne in the garden of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice, 1960s. Photo Roloff Beny,courtesy of Archives and National Archives of Canada

“It is always assumed that Venice is the ideal place for a honeymoon. This is a grave error. To live in Venice or even to visit it means that you fall in love with the city itself. There is nothing left over in your heart for anyone else.” — Peggy Guggenheim “Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict” Peggy Guggenheim. The Last Dogaressa celebrates Peggy Guggenheim’s Venetian life, shedding light on how she significantly continued to add to her collection with a selection of paintings, sculptures and works on paper that she acquired from the late 1940s to 1979, the year in which she passed away. It will also recall the milestone events and exhibitions that she organized. Paintings by Abstract Expressionists will be included side-by-side works by women abstract artists whom Guggenheim supported and collected, such as Grace Hartigan and Irene Rice Pereira. Focusing on the last three decades of Guggenheim’s acquisitions, the exhibition offers an unparalleled opportunity to revisit and recontextualize renowned masterpieces such as René Magritte’s Empire of Light (1953–54) and Duchamp’s Box in a Valise (1941) alongside rarely exhibited works by artists such as René Brô, Gwyther Irwin and Hartigan, as well as the Japanese-born Kenzo Okada and Tomonori Toyofuku, thus conveying Guggenheim’s interest in art beyond Europe and the United States. In 1948,Guggenheim was invited to exhibit her collection at the 24thVenice Biennale: it was the first presentation of her collection in Europe after the closure of her Art of This Century gallery in New York City. Young Americans created a sensation. Jackson Pollock’s debut in Europe featured Alchemy and Enchanted Forest and works by Arshile Gorky, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still along with Study for Chimpanzee by Francis Bacon are also on view.

René Magritte, L’impero della luce (L’Empire des lumières) / Empire of Light, 1953–54Olio su tela/ Oil on canvas 195.4 x 131.2 cm Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, Venezia © René Magritte, by SIAE 2019

Peggy Guggenheim at Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Venice, early 1960s. On the wall, Fernand Léger, Men in the City (Les Hommes dans la ville), 1919. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Photo Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche. Gift, Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia, 2005. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 63

Artists Choose Artists For Parrish Museum Exhibiton

Artists: Top row, Irina Alimanestianu, Mary Boochever, Scott Bluedorn, Janet Culbertson, Margaret Garrett, Tria Giovan Janet Goleas. Middle row: Priscilla Heine, Thomas Hoepker, Ronald Reed, Bastienne Schmidt, Anne Seelbach, Dan Welden, Mark William Wilson; Jurors: Bottom Row, Lillian Ball Ralph Gibson, Valerie Jaudon,Jill Moser, Alexis Rockman, Lucien Smith, Allan Wexler

The Parrish Art Museum’s fourth iteration of Artists Choose Abstract painter LUCIEN SMITH (American, b. 1989) is Artists, the Museum’s ongoing juried exhibition that celebrates best known for his process-based works that employ both accidental the artists of the East End and the dynamic relationships that and improvisational marks to create loose, all-over compositions. unite the area’s creative community is on view at the Museum ANNE SEELBACH (American, b. 1944) explores the mysteries through February 23, 2020. Encouraging fellowship among today’s of nature where earth and water meet as well as the conflict between expanded, multi-generational network of artists demonstrating the the laws of nature and artificial attempts to control it—particularly diversity of contemporary creative practice, Artists Choose Artists on Eastern Long Island. The three mixed-media cutout collages is curated by seven distinguished jurors making two selections Collision, Sunken Structure, and Turquoise Waters (all 2016) are made from 300 online submissions and studio visits. The complete roster of acrylic, plastic mesh, woven cloth, and other materials found after includes:LUCIEN SMITH, with ANNE Hurricane Sandy. MARK WILLIAM SEELBACH and MARK WILLIAM WILSON’s (Australian, b. 1959) oil WILSON; RALPH GIBSON, with paintings Stacked #1 (after Chase) (2018), TRIA GIOVAN a n d THOMAS Shinnecock redux (2019), and Idle Hours HOEPKER; ALEXIS ROCKMAN, (2019); and works on paper, Way home with IRINA ALIMANESTIANU and (2018) and The Past Sure is Tense (2018) RONALD REED; ALLAN WEXLER, depart from the landscapes and natural with MARGARET GARRETT and scenes of East End 19th century American PRISCILLA HEINE; LILLIAN Impressionist William Merritt Chase, BALL, with SCOTT BLUEDORN and taking them into the present. JANET CULBERTSON; VALERIE Throughout a nearly 50-year career JAUDON, with JANET GOLEAS defined by more than 40 published a n d BASTIENNE SCHMIDT m o n o g r a p h s , RA L P H G I B S O N Culbertson, The First Billboard and JILL MOSER , w i t h MARY (American, born 1939) has created images BOOCHEVER and DAN WELDEN. that often incorporate erotic and mysterious “Artists Choose Artists is one of the most rewarding exhibition undertones, building narrative meaning through contextualization projects of the Parrish Art Museum,” said Corinne Erni, Senior and surreal juxtaposition. TRIA GIOVAN’s (American, b. 1961) Curator of ArtsReach and Special Projects who organized the photographs span a wide range of subject matter. Traveling exhibition. “It sparks conversations and exchanges that normally extensively to Cuba during the economic depression of the Special don’t happen among established and emerging artists, and the Parrish Period (1990–1996), Giovan shot over 25,000 images. THOMAS continues its commitment to be a nurturing hub for artists in our HOEPKER (German, b. 1936), a member of Magnum Photos from East End community.” 1989 and its president from 2003 to 2006, has traveled the world as The exhibition of work by the 12 women and 9 men, ranging in a photographer and photojournalist for decades. age from 33-87, comprises painting, sculpture, photography, prints, Working in the fields of architecture, design, and fine art, video, and mixed media in a variety of styles and genres; and features ALLAN WEXLER (American, b. 1949) focuses his work on the work never before shown in a Museum by Bluedorn, Garrett, Gibson, built environment, creating drawings, multimedia objects, images, and Giovan, Moser, Rockman, Schmidt, Smith, Wexler and Wilson. installations that alter perceptions of domestic activities. Acting as an 64 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Dan Welden, Speedy Hare and Steady Tortoise

Mary Boochever, High Tower

Anne Seelbach, Turquoise Waters

investigator rather than searching for definitive sol. MARGARET GARRETT’s (American, b. 1965) art practice is largely influenced by her background as a dancer. Her paintings and videos engage with the same compositional elements—linear movement, shape, rhythm, and the unfolding of contrapuntal patterns, as manifested in her new single channel video In My World II (2019. PRISCILLA HEINE’s (American, b. 1956) paintings are results of vivid sensory experiences as in the large-scale Engine Room (2014). ALEXIS ROCKMAN (American, b. 1962) has depicted a darkly surreal vision of the collision between civilization and nature—often apocalyptic scenarios on a monumental scale—for more than three decades. IRINA ALIMANESTIANU’s (American, b. 1957) mixed media, large-scale painting Deep Sea Vent (2017) combines oil, ink, pencil, glitter, and watercolor on oil paper in an explosion of organic shapes and dynamic color. RONALD REED (American, b. 1969) is a painter, sculptor, and architect who explores the intersections and relationships between built and natural environments, contemplated design and irrational design. Ecological artist and activist LILLIAN BALL (American, b. 1955) works with wetland issues from her interdisciplinary backgrounds in anthropology, ethnographic film, and sculpture. SCOTT BLUEDORN (American, b. 1986) addresses climate change by integrating cultural anthropology, primitivism, and nautical tradition into his imagery that speaks to the collective unconscious, particularly through myth and visual storytelling, in a world he refers to as “maritime cosmology.” JANET CULBERTSON (American, b. 1932) has painted the dark volcanic islands of the Galapagos, the vanishing animals of Africa, and the degradation of the earth’s once wild places. Galapagos Tortoise (1975), a 90 x 72 inch portrait, is majestic even as the creature seems to fade and decompose; Abyss (1976–2003), is an unapologetic representation of a dystopic exploitation of nature. During her distinguished 40-year career, VALERIE JAUDON

Scott Bluedorn Integrated Ocean Energy Farm

(American, b. 1945) has been redefining the parameters of abstraction with painterly yet rigorous and complex geometrical works. Originally part of the Pattern and Decoration movement, Jaudon explores the language, grammar, and forms of abstraction, notably in the intricate black & white large-scale painting Cassation (2015). JANET GOLEAS (American, b. 1956) focuses on what she describes as “…issues that are often in direct conflict with one another such as depth and flatness, nature and artifice, expression and precision, and spheres and circles.” Never Mind (2018, ink, gouache on paper) is one of three works that mine these concepts, with bold black lines contrasted against a background of muted color. BASTIENNE SCHMIDT (German, b. 1961) is inspired by her childhood in Greece, where the reuse of materials was an economic necessity, and by the papiers coupes of Matisse, who used vibrant painted papers to create new imaginary spaces. Best known for her strongly gestural paintings and prints, JILL MOSER (American, b. 1956) has explored painting, writing, and animated image for three decades. MARY BOOCHEVER (American, b. 1954) draws the viewer into the immediacy of the color experience, as in Deo Herculi, High Tower, and Red Work (1990, acrylic on canvas, 94 x 49 inches), in which the color gradually transforms as the angular upper edges of the nearly 8-ft works round out at the bottom of the canvas. DAN WELDEN (American, b. 1941) is the innovator of the Solarplate printmaking technique, an environmentally sustainable process devoid of acids or dangerous chemicals. For his series Aesop’s Fable (1999), Welden resurrected old, found zinc etching plates and employed drypoint lines and salt etch—along with ink, paper and a press—to create 11 sets of 2 etchings each (30 x 27 inches). The powerful black & white images reference metaphors of opposites from the ancient Greek slave’s tales. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 65

Carolyn Beegan, Playland No. 1, 2019, 49.2” x 39”, Mixed Media on Acrylic

Americana at Keyes Gallery

Amt Zerner at the collage table

Amy Zerner Retrospective Amy Zerner’s work, ancient as well as modern in its crosscultural sweep, is ultimately a sacred art. Each tapestry, collage, or Spiritual Couture™ garment is amazing in its detail and needs to be carefully studied in the bits and pieces by which it is made to truly absorb the power of the entire composition. Her images and jackets emerge out of the build-up and, in the end, reveal a picture that is powerfully evocative of dreams, memories, stories and longings. Zerner’s work is filled with meditative gardens, powerful goddesses and healing sanctuaries. The materials are luxe, lush and detailed with the overall result being a piece of art or wearable world made opulent with many layers of magic and meaning. Not only does Zerner create mystical dreamscape tapestries, she also designs art-adorned Spiritual Couture™ apparel, which she has sold exclusively through Bergdorf Goodman for 20 years. Each luxurious garment is designed to capture the essence of the wearer’s soul. The artist works with her client to discover that individual’s persona and then translates the information into the colors, symbols and energies of a special commissioned piece. Zerner’s art is also the basis for numerous bestselling mind/ body/spirit books she has produced with her husband, Monte Farber. These include the coffee table art book “Paradise Found: The Visionary art of Amy Zerner”, “The Enchanted Tarot” and many more, with over 3 million copies in print in 17 languages. Some original pieces from her books will be included in the exhibit. Experience this feast for the senses. ENCHANTED WORLDS: The Spiritual Collages & Couture of Amy Zerner will run through September 30th at M & M Fine Arts, located at #4 North Main Street, Southampton, NY. 66 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Carolyn A. Beegan, curator of the Americana exhibition at Keyes Gallery in Sag Harbor didn’t declare herself an artist until 1994 when she gave up a successful career as a systems analyst in the oil industry. After five years of working and showing in Manhattan she moved to Sag Harbor to paint full time. A summa cum laude graduate of Manhattan College with a degree in computer science, her first exposure to art was the religious imagery that surrounded her in the sixteen years she spent in parochial schools. Her strict Irish Catholic upbringing is strongly manifested in much of her earlier paintings, including studics of religious iconography, fragments of a Sistinc Chapel-likc mural, and self-portraits of the artist as the Madonna. Her family ties to Ireland remain strong and she maintains both U.S. and Irish passports. Although she studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan, Ms. Beegan is primarily self-taught. Her work has been shown extensively in galleries in Soho and Chelsea as well as throughout the East End of Long Island. Her art is in the collections of John Eastman, Larry Gagosian, Ron Delsener, Don Henley, Billy Joel, Elton John and Ron Perelman. In addition to Beegan, artists in this exhibition include Dave O., Donald Lipski, David Ortiz, Paton Miller, Bert Stern and Galia Stawski.

Lincoln Flag, Dave O

“Now is the time to strengthen the ESA, not cripple it.” “Scientists are raising the alarm that we are almost out of time to save the planet as we know it. Widespread habitat destruction is leaving scores of animal and plant species both homeless and helpless. We must act now to conserve wildlife corridors that would save species and mitigate against the mass extinction crisis we are rapidly hurtling toward. Globally, one million species are at risk of extinction – many within decades — as a result of factors like habitat destruction and climate change. In New Mexico, our millions of acres of public lands are home to thousands of iconic species — from the desert bighorn to Gila trout — that could vanish if we fail to take action that enable species to survive. These species are critical to our rich natural inheritance, and our economic success. And finally, these treasured species are part of an essential legacy to pass on to our children and future generations to come. We should move on common sense strategies like wildlife corridors now, before it’s too late.” New Mexico Senator Tom Udall www.tomudall.senate.gov

Eastern Box Turtle in my backyard, photo by Jamie Ellin Forbes

By JAMIE ELLIN FORBES, Publisher, Fine Art Magazine in the forests of Indonesia. The search for Lost Species Program Those words and the headline above by New Mexico Senator states, “These lost species are animals or plants that have gone unseen Tom Udall are timelier now than ever. The interaction between for years or decades and are feared possibly extinct. In order to save animals and their environments is the engine that keeps the planet these species, we first need to find them (www.lostspecies.org/). healthy. But for many species, time is running out. When you remove Artists and photographers working with scientists help find, one, it affects us all. Today, the extinction rate is 1,000-10,000 times and record bringing focus for change to public awareness. Ecofaster than the historic rate of extinction. Most endangered animals art supports biodiversity and local habitats the Global Wildlife receive little to no protection according to globalwildlife.org/ourConservation organization who currently seek to rediscover 1,200 mission-2/. In support of conservation the Southampton Arts Center species as more than 26,000 species worldwide are threatened with and the International Center of Photography featured environments extinction. To date, Joel has completed portraits of more than 9,000 and extinction displaying the National Geographic Photo Ark species. Sartore started the National Geographic Photo Ark in his by Joel Sartore. The exhibition made possible by the Harbers hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska more than a decade ago. Since Family Foundation and Renee Harbers and Chris Liddell focused then he has visited 40 countries in his quest to create a photo Sartore’s important exhibition bon the seriousness archive of global biodiversity which will feature of endangered species worldwide. Art exhibits portraits of more than 12,000 species of birds, fish, support a sustainable environmental conservation mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. with the inclusion of animals, insects and plants. Once completed, the Photo Ark will serve as an The National Geographic Photo Ark is a multiyear important record of each animal’s existence and a effort to raise awareness of and find solutions to powerful testament to the importance of saving some of the most pressing issues affecting wildlife them. No matter its size, each animal is treated and their habitats. Led by National Geographic Megachile Pluto bee rediscovered by Clay with the same amount of affection and respect. Bolt © ClayBolt.photoshelter.com photographer, Fellow, and 2018 Rolex National The results are portraits that are not just stunningly Geographic Explorer of the Year Joel Sartore, the beautiful, but intimate and moving. “It’s the eye project aims to document every species living in the world’s zoos contact that moves people,” Sartore explains. “It engages their and wildlife sanctuaries, inspire action through education, and help feelings of compassion and a desire to help.” save wildlife by supporting on-the-ground conservation efforts. If you have a desire to help, make your own photographs as Concurrently the UN’s Red current list for this year states Eco-art observing local habitat as a naturalist/environmentalist 543 species are extinct, critically endangered, and or endangered photographer to support your backyard and neighborhoods on a global level.(www.iucnredlist.org) Sartore is joined by others species. We make a difference by observing and focusing on the including esteemed Natural History and Conservation photographer unforgotten in our back yards. I have focused on mine on as Clay Bolt; Simon Robson, biologist (University of Sydney and the BackyardEnvironmentalist.com. I noted the loss of the Butterfly, Queens Central University, Australia) and Glen Chinton (Saint bees, Eastern Box Turtles, and Horseshoe crabs in my yard inspiring Mary’s University, Canada) all renowned international naturalists me to join others in the Eco-art environmental field. Bert Seides, and photographers whose works support profiling extinct and Ketcham Inn Foundation, and Victor Forbes, Fine Art Magazine endangered species and a sustainable planet fighting climate change and I support the Jamie Forbes Gallery Center Moriches, NY and deteriorating habitats. (www.globalwildlife.org/). Working with to contribute to the ongoing fight against climate change and the Global Wildlife Conservation fund, Prof. Robson photographed deteriorating habitats. Our mission is to display Eco-artists of Long and recorded the rediscovery of Megachile Pluto the world’s largest Island. We thank the Suffolk County Department of Parks and staff bee species (with a wingspan more than 2.5 inches) lost since 1981 for the recognition of our efforts. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 67

Printmakers Share Independent Expressions and Life’s Observations Justin Greenwald, Chris Ann Ambery, Beth Atkinson and Mary Brodersen have one thing in common. It is a passion for ‘Process.’ Each artist in their own right, has pursued their individual focus and imagery with the tools of knives, pencils, ink, brushes, pens and the camera and has developed unique approaches to their art. They share the ideas of printmaking by creating images, processing them and making impressions by hand inking on plates and using fine paper to make impressions with a hand press. Their backgrounds vary from fluid spontaneous approaches, to tedious painstaking detail. Using both color and black and white, these artists are a Long Island backbone in the printmaking world. — DAN WELDEN

Mary Brodersen, Messenger

MARY BRODERSEN Many times my art reflects my travels. Using my photographs as my inspiration I can transfer them to the solar plate using ink and direct draw method, drawing on frosted glass and making transparencies, then the light box. Other times I prefer silk screen and wood block printing

Solar Plate Etching

JUSTIN GREENWALD

Chris Ann Ambery, Contemplations, Solarplate etching

CHRIS ANN AMBERY

Beth Atkinson, Buttermilk Falls, Woodcut with watercolor, 18” x 24 “

BETH ATKINSON

I have been surrounded by art my entire life. I come from a family of artists who have worked in just about every medium possible so that has made it very easy for me explore any material I desired. I consider myself primarily a printmaker working in etching, woodcut, linoleum, silkscreen and monotypes but I also work in book arts, collage and sculpture as well. My first love in printmaking was working with relief prints. Carving from linoleum and wood was therapeutic for me. The smell of the wood and the way the knives cut through the material to create the image connected me to my art and made what I did complete for me. The process was just as important as the product. My prints are done in very small editions and most pieces are one of a kind as I usually embellish each print individually which makes each piece unique in its own right. 68 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Life reveals itself to me in layers, the longer I gaze, the deeper I am drawn in. As I look beyond the surface, step past my first impression, the subtle nuances of movement within the everchanging environment captivates me. I draw my inspiration from these subtleties and continual changes in structure, shape, line and texture. My work is not a rendering of a place rather it is a journey into the residual memories and emotions that have been imprinted on me as I pass through. My current body of work has been focused on solarplate etching and its wide range of uses. This non-toxic printmaking method is extremely versatile. It can be used to create intaglio as well as relief prints, and can be used to create beautiful tonal photographic images as well as immediate hand drawn renderings. All that is needed to create a solarplate is sunlight and water, no toxic chemicals or solvents required. Drawing is essential to my process regardless of the medium I am working with. As I work intuition takes over and I think through my hands. Although many times I begin with an idea or an intention, as my work progresses I allow it to take me on a journey and I’m never certain of what the final outcome will be.

My passion for drawing and painting started early. I remember sketching my family members in front of the television, in the evenings as a kid. In high school, I was fortunate to have a great teacher, who guided me, and helped me earn a full scholarship to Pratt. Most of my peers stayed in state for college, but I was eager to get out of New York for several years. Although I elected not to go to Pratt, I had a rich and vibrant college experience in Pennsylvania, and my father encouraged me to follow my chosen course of study. I have taken the colors of my early childhood with me, and consider myself a colorist. I still paint because I have to. It is simply, but not merely, therapeutic. I am happy and grateful to have a small studio, and to have the resources to continue making paintings

The Ketcham Inn Foundation, Bert Seides President, & The Jamie Forbes Gallery thank Suffolk County Parks Commissioner Phillip Berdolt & his staff for their support of The Arts for our Eco-art Park

The Ketcham Inn Foundation & Education Center

JAMIE FORBES GALLERY & SunStorm Arts Center

STEVE BELLONE COUNTY EXECUTIVE

90 Montauk Highway, Center Moriches, NY 11934

631-909-1192 (South side of Montauk Hwy. Across from Ketcham Inn)

BERTRAM E. SEIDES PRESIDENT

ENVIRONMENTAL REFLECTIONS

CAROL HUNT Ty Stroudsburg, Wetland Spirits, 50 x 56, 2013

TY STROUDSBURG

A natural, unpopulated landscape is essential for providing me with the forms, textures, and colors for my paintings. These visual elements undergo experimentation using brushes on canvas, and take on new visual meaning, ultimately becoming “the painting” that is presented for the viewer.

This collection of Solarplate etchings uses an environmentally safe process with no acids or solvents. Called Permutations & Combinations, each is derived from 5 plates, 16” square. Some of the plates were printed separately, while most were printed in combinations of 2 or more, with a different color on each plate or layer. Printed by Dan Welden and Andrea Baatz at Hampton Editions.

Babel

JANET CULBERTSON An Eco-Feminist and Political artist for over 50 years, I have painted many aspects of nature: the dark volcanic islands of the Galapagos, the fierce beauty of the Grand Canyon, the incredible vanishing animals of Africa, and the degradation of the earth’s once wild places. My first New York City exhibit was called “Elegy to Nature.” Since then my paintings have been focused on rampant growth, global warming, and industrialization. The more I traveled, the more I witnessed these changes worldwide and my art evolved from pristine scenic views to more realistic portraits of a dying planet. In true Orwellian doublespeak, industry calls its sites “parks,” clear cutting “making open space,” and killing “harvesting.” Orwell inspired me with his rich imagery and Rachel Carson with her scientific ode to nature which solidified my commitment as an environmental painter. In my art I source ideas from world news and events and choose materials that depict the range of beauty and destruction in nature. Iridescent pigments recreate the surreal glow of pollution. Heavy, thick oils and collage detritus create a tactile and layered expression of the earth’s changing landscape and waterways. I feel art can inspire future generations to be better stewards of the earth and her creatures and I hope to provoke awareness through my own work.

Monhegan Moon IV, 2015, watercolor and ink on paper, 18”x14”

ANNE SEELBACH

The coast of Maine has inspired me for many years. Massive rock formations arise from the sea, surging waters reflect tidal change and air moves swiftly on strong wind currents. Earth, water, air. Being at the edge is a visceral experience, as if one were witnessing the beginning of the world. Everything is connected … tides, earth rotation, day/night, life/death. Patterns of the universe are repeated in nature. The moon reflected on the sea and in tidal pools speaks of the vastness of space beyond our small planet. Reminds us of the mystery, of the unknown, and how very special Earth is. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 69

“Summer Time Bliss” Celebrates Special Long Island Environment

Gyre Number 1, wood and paper on panel, 18” diameter, 2019

Froth

MARISSA BRIDGE

Marissa Bridge has created art from aspects of the natural world all her life. Her recent 3-D series is made from recycled and repurposed materials, such as paper, wire, nails, seeds and beads, as well as resin and modeling paste. Each piece has a design history related to some aspect of a flower's structure, although the work has evolved into something new. Each work aspires to create a feeling of life, to emulate nature's positive effect on people. Bridge feels art is a spiritual practice, a journey to discover what is meaningful in the causes and effects life's experiences have on her. Creating art in response to an encounter with the amazing planet we all live on is transforming for the artist and the viewer.

JESSICA NISSEN

Everyone’s memories no matter how vivid or murky become compressed and are filtered through understanding and new experience. There is a continuous effort to reconcile what we are and what we are becoming: to find connections and to feel connected. Rare spurts of lucidity may, if we’re lucky, reveal relationships between all that is variant, salty, elegant, chaotic, terrifying, breathtaking, and fragile; moments of collision. These impressions and my endeavor to find these collisions contribute to numerous bodies of work. y explorations have been divergent in terms of media but consistent in terms of focus. Being creative is an extension of inquiry about the world, a translation of what we perceive and through that a greater and deeper understanding. The more we become aware, the more the questions change, driving us to make these visions tangible.

Garrett Chingery, Edinburgh

GARRETT CHINGERY Rachel Urkowitz, Hot-House, 2019

Rasa Valiene, Entanglement, mixed media on canvas, 48” x 36”, 2013

My paintings, collages, and installations all reflect upon perception, color and organic forms. My work takes a playful approach to the wonder, fear and desire for control of nature inherent in human beings. I am interested in the way the absurdities of scale and a sense of alienation or belonging often scripts our relationship to nature. I have explored these ideas in several ongoing series of paper collages and sculptures around waves, gardens and grass, and acrylic paper and mixed media sculptures of flowers, clouds and waves.

I brought together the beauty of Long Island’s beaches, and my imagination, portraying my personal perception of nature and the symbiotic relationship that we as humans all have with it. In my works, I use lines and rhythms that connect sand, water, rocks and shells to the planets, stars and the vastness of cosmos. I hope these paintings will be able to spread awareness about preserving the environment and inspire people to look down at the sand at the beaches, and hopefully not litter.

RACHEL URKOWITZ

70 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

RASA VALIENE

As a representational painter, Garrett Chingery explores the aesthetic as well as the social concerns of contemporary life. His work depicts highly rendered likenesses of his subjects while simultaneously revealing an internal portrait of their being that goes far beyond the surface to reveal a complex inner life. His work vividly captures the human psyche, the notion of self, and our relationship to the physical and non-physical worlds. Chingery received a BFA from the Cooper Union in NYC and has exhibited his work in numerous venues in the NY area- most recently at the Parrish Museum of Art’s “Artists Choose Artists” Exhibition in Southampton, NY.

Pros & Proteges Exhibit Side-by-Side at Jamie Forbes Gallery

Geoff Parker, Bottom Feeders, Oil paint on paper

GEOFF PARKER

Geoff began making art as a child in Carmel, NY. “I painted pictures of tractors and airplanes, pretty much what I paint now,” he said. Geoff watched as his father, Robert Andrew Parker, a painter and illustrator, churn out work for publications such as The New Yorker and Fortune magazine. “He would go back and forth to New York City to deliver his work,” Geoff said. “He really cranked it out.” Friend and neighbor Ed Sorel - also a well-known, professional illustrator - was an early influence on Geoff. “His cross hatching, which is done with pen and ink to shade in drawings, was legendary,” Geoff said. “He and my father egged me on.” Geoff went on to freelance for The London Times and The New Yorker, which hired him to make illustrations for reviews and other work. “It was always fun doing illustrations of authors and movies,” he said. “’Fargo’ was my favorite. Drawing pictures of bands was fun, too. “ His celebrity illustrations include rock stars Patti Smith and Lou Reed. Some of his major influences are American-realist painters George Bellows and Edward Hopper, John Graham, Rockwell Kent and the Hudson River School of landscape painters. Geoff’s current inspiration? “I’m inspired by the preservation of Earth and all it entails,” he said. “It’s fragile.”

ROBERT PARKER

MARY BOOCHEVER In developing her own color language, Mary Boochever has explored sources as diverse as the Kabala and Goethe’s Color Theory. Boochever’s painting, sculpture, and installations draw the viewer into the immediacy of the color experience. Born into a Washington, D.C., Foreign Service family, she later studied at the Akademie der Orea, 2019 Oil/linen, 17 X 17 inches Bildenden Künste in Munich, Germany, under Mac Zimmerman, Günther Frühtrunk, and Paul Meyer-Speer. Relocating to New York City in 1978, she taught at the School of Visual Arts and guest-lectured at Yale University. After moving to Long Island in 1993 she taught at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead and Lacoste School of the Arts in France. The artist has shown extensively in galleries and museums in the U.S. and Europe. She currently lives and works in Sag Harbor, New York.

CLAYTON OREHEK

Red Chair

BARBARA ACKERMAN

Barbara Ackerman is a fine Robert Parker has artist and graphic designer produced set designs for living in Bennington, VT. operas and films, as well Her recent work includes as illustrations for over explorations in print making 40 children’s books during and mixed media. She the course of his career. starts with imagery from “Robert Andrew Parker the temporal, natural world is one of the most accurate and uses shapes that are and at the same time most familiar– patterns and colors unliteral of painters,” that create a remembrance the poet Marianne of an experience. She uses Moore wrote of him. “He combines the mystical and shapes and patterns to the actual, working both in represent pieces of a world an abstract and a realistic full of mystery–connecting way.” Born in Norfolk, VA in 1927, he went on to study at the Art Institute of the visible and invisible Chicago during the late 1950s. Parker lives and works in New York, NY. Today, worlds. Her work reflects the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of the layers of experiences Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Art Institute that color our lives and the of Chicago, among others. patterns we encounter and create. Her most recent The Ketcham Inn Foundation & Education Center body of work, Passengers in Time, incorporates aspects of movement and memories as & SunStorm Arts Center we travel through time. Her 90 Montauk Highway, Center Moriches, NY 11934 BERTRAM E. SEIDES EVE BELLONE PRESIDENT imagery is a response to a NTY EXECUTIVE 631-909-1192 world full of mystery.

JAMIE FORBES GALLERY

One person wrote of my assemblages that they looked like a collision of Nicola Tesla and Rube Goldberg. It was more accurate than I saw at first glance, the detritus, de-composed & re-composed into a titration of balance, a balance of surface, surface tension, light, shadow, colors and materials. Another reviewer asked why use Light as a medium. I couldn’t answer that instantly but figured out that the ephemeral nature of Light is what attracts me. Also, it enables all other art forms to be viewed and contemplated, except music which itself is also ephemeral.

Pattern

Dan Welden is a featured artist in this exhibition as well. Please see the following pages for more information on Dan’s latest projects.

(South side of Montauk Hwy. Across from Ketcham Inn)

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 71

DANPrintmaking WELDEN From Stone to Sun

Master printmaker, painter, educator and author Dan Welden conducts a workshop prior to simultaneous exhibitions to open at the Southampton Arts Center. Solar Impressions, a worldwide juried exhibition and International Masters/Collaborations in Printmaking will be unveiled in November, 2019.

Dan Welden pulling a print with Jack Youngerman

he long-anticipated opening of two simultaneous exhibitions focusing on the world of printmaking — The Solar Impressions Juried Exhibition and International Masters/Collaborations in Printmaking — will be hosted by the Southampton Arts Center in Southampton, New York, November 16, 2019. This momentous event will feature giants in modern and contemporary art, along with talented artists from all over the world. Both exhibitions, the brainchildren of Sag Harbor artist and master printmaker Dan Welden, combine to create a milestone event that brings printmaking to the forefront of art with thousands of viewers and art collectors expecting to attend. Welden is the acknowledged innovator at the forefront of the alternative health and safety oriented movement of printmaking, and the originator of the Solarplate technique. All images showcased were processed with sunlight (or UV light) and ordinary tap water to harden and etch the light sensitized steel backed polymer plates. No acids or hazardous chemicals needed to be used for this 72 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Dan Welden, Northman 3

technique, as opposed to traditional methods in place before the discovery of Solarplate. The Solar Impressions Juried Exhibition, featuring works created by means of the scientific breakthrough of light sensitive SOLARPLATES, is sponsored by Inspiration Plus Foundation, a 501 c-3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating art that celebrates and educates through science. 134 impressions were submitted from more than 700 entries from across the United States, Ireland, Israel, England, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Canada, Spain, and France. The accepting jury consisted of Laura G. Einstein, manager of the Mezzanine Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Alex Ferrone, owner/director of the Alex Ferrone Gallery in Cutchogue, NY; and Ron Pokrasso, Santa Fe artist and world printmaking traveler. The awards juror is the acclaimed international artist Eric Fischl, who will be presenting 40 individual awards worth over $28,000 to the numerous works.

Esteban Vicente in Nicholson/Welden studio, 1982. © Roy Nicholson, 2019

Elaine de Kooning in her studio, 1982. © Roy Nicholson 2019

Syd Solomon in his studio, 1981. © Roy Nicholson, 2019

Masters’ Collaborations With Dan Welden Since 1971, Dan Welden has been collaborating with artists using stone lithography and etching. His studio, Hampton Editions, Ltd., has been the home and birthplace of thousands of many young and old artists exploring the potential of the printmaking world. International Masters/Collaborations in Printmaking, having originated at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in 2017, concentrates on international artists who have collaborated directly with Welden to produce high quality impressions. Each artist created specific works either directly on Bavarian limestone or with the Solarplate polymer printmaking technique. Works created were not reproduced from pre-existing drawings or paintings and were all intended for the sole purpose of the fine art print. All impressions were hand inked and ‘pulled’ from presses on papers from England, France, Germany or Italy. “Sometimes,” notes Welden, who has worked in 53 countries spanning his 50 year career and been honored with Professor Emeritus at the Escuela de Beas Artes, in Cuzco, Peru and a lifetime achievement award from A/E Foundation, New York, “people want to know ‘why’ does an artist make prints with a master printmaker? The multiple reasons are not always obvious, but those avenues could involve; convenience, time, expertise and quality. Furthermore, many artists can go beyond their own imagery and comfort zone into realms of the ‘unknown’ and produce images they would not ordinarily be born. The artist usually relies upon the ‘master printer’ to manage ways of making impressions in an ‘easier and more efficient’ manner than they would if done independently. The technique of stone lithography

Willem de Kooning in his studio, 1983. © Roy Nicholson, 2019

dictates that the image will be ‘reversed’ whereas with the flexibility of the Solarplate process, backwards thinking is not essential.” Most artists that Dan has collaborated with, are ’pleasantly surprised’ with the unveiling of their hand inked image from plate, stone or block. The exhibition includes works by Willem de Kooning, Elaine de Kooning, Kiki Smith, Esteban Vicente, Dan Flavin, James Brooks, Eric Fischl, Robert Gwathmey, Paul Davis, Syd Solomon, Roy Nicholson, Jack Youngerman, Robert Dash, Louisa Chase, David Salle, Alfonso Ossorio, Ibram Lassaw, Lynda Benglis, Bill King, Jane Freilicher, Jimmy Ernst, Kurt Vonnegut and Dan Welden. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 73

Ree Morton Retrospective Brings Influential Artist To A New Generation In Exhibit “The Plant That Heals May Also Poison” The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College presents Ree Morton: The Plant That Heals May Also Poison, a major retrospective of the short but prolific career of pioneering artist Ree Morton on view through January 5, 2020. From her Tyler School of Art graduation in 1970 to her untimely death in 1977, the exhibition features significant works, including drawings, sculptures, paintings, and installations. Steeped in autobiographical references and memories, the exhibition provides a unique opportunity to connect to a ground-breaking artist whose radical infusion of narrative, color, craft, theatrical imagery, and humor expanded the boundaries of the post-minimalist movement she was rooted in, influencing younger generations of artists and forging a feminist legacy. The Plant That Heals May Also Poison continues the Tang’s tradition of exploring the practice of modern and contemporary artists whose work defies conventional categorization and has been underrepresented. Recent exhibitions have focused on artists such as Terry Adkins, Nancy Grossman, Corita Kent, Nicholas Krushenick, Dona Nelson, and Alma Thomas. Born in 1936 and originally from Ossining, New York, Helen Marie (“Ree”) Reilly studied nursing at Skidmore College from 1953 to 1956, and left the college when she married Ted Morton, a naval officer. They had three children by the time Morton was 25. Around 1966, she took art classes at the University of Rhode Island and earned a BFA in 1968. Morton spent several years in Philadelphia after earning an MFA in 1970 from the Tyler School of Art at the age of 33, later moving to New York. She split her time between teaching classes at the Philadelphia College of Art and exhibiting alongside artists such as Gordon Matta-Clark, Scott Burton, Jacqueline Winsor, Bill Bollinger, and Barbara Zucker, trying to make her own way as an artist. Her large-scale sculptural environments and works made with celastic, a malleable, plastic-infused fabric, quickly earned her critical acclaim and comparisons to other post-minimalist artists, such as Lynda Benglis and Eva Hesse. Morton later moved to Chicago, where she cultivated a reputation as both a leading practitioner and teacher before her tragic death in a car accident. “A poetic approach to language and symbolism progressively distanced her work from easy categorization,” says Kate Kraczon, Laporte Associate Curator at The Institute of Contemporary Art 74 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Ree Morton, The Plant That Heals May Also Poison, 1974, enamel and glitter on wood and celastic, light bulbs, wallpaper. Foundation for Women Artists, Antwerp Belgium

Philadelphia and curator of the exhibition, which was on view at the ICA in fall 2018. “The inclusion of personal narrative—through literary, philosophical, and autobiographical references—and set of bold color and theatrical imagery infused her objects with sly humor and a concern with the decorative, generating a feminist legacy increasingly appreciated in retrospect. Morton’s conceptually rigorous work can seem esoteric at times, yet her intention is ultimately one of generosity towards the viewer, and it is in this spirit of generosity, playfulness, and joy that this exhibition hopes to expand.” During her lifetime, Morton’s work was exhibited at Artists Space, New York (1973); the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1974); and the South Street Seaport Museum, New York (1975). She was twice included in the Whitney Biennial (1973, 1977). She has since had retrospectives at the New Museum, New York (1980); the Generali Foundation, Vienna (2008); the Drawing Center, New York (2009); and the Reina Sofia, Madrid (2015). Ree Morton: The Plant That Heals May Also Poison is curated by Kate Kraczon, Laporte Associate Curator at The Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, and organized for the Tang Teaching Museum by Dayton Director Ian Berry. The exhibition is supported by the Inchworm Fund, the Edna W. Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, Nancy & Leonard Amoroso, Amanda & Andrew Megibow, Norma & Lawrence Reichlin, and Friends of the Tang. About the Tang Teaching Museum The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the institution’s approach has become a model for university art museums across the country with exhibition programs and series that bring together the visual and performing arts with fields of study as disparate as history, astronomy, and physics. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, the Mellon Seminar, and robust publication and touring exhibition initiatives that extend the institution’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of ideas and exchange the institution catalyzes. http://tang.skidmore.edu

A Conversation With Contemporary Conceptual Artist Christine Alfery

Christine Alfery Painting on a Wall

By LISA FREEDMAN Christine Alfery is an award winning Contemporary Conceptual Artist that has been widely exhibited in museums, galleries and in corporate and private collections around the world. Alfery earned her Bachelors of Science degree, her Master’s Degree in Education, her MFA degree and her Ph.D In Contemporary Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her work is deeply influenced by the work of William de Kooning, Wassily Kandinsky, Cy Twombly and later by the female artists of that era, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Elaine de Kooning. I asked Christine how a mid-westerner finds such a strong connection with the Abstract Expressionist Painters of the past. Here is what she had to say. “As a young adult majoring in art and art education during the 60’s the idea of change, and breaking the rules was very appealing. The idea of thinking differently and challenging the status quo was right up my alley for I was never able to conform to any kind of standardization. And that was what these artists were all about – thinking differently, not only with the media’s they used, but also with the marks they created to define an idea, a thought, a concept.” Christine’s work employs many of the techniques the abstract expressionists utilized, including: gestural mark making, color fields and conceptual work. But, she has a style that is uniquely her own and one that has been widely, well-received and rewarded for its’ own uniqueness and beauty. In her words “The influence the Abstract Expressionist painters have had on my work is “not to copy their ideas, but to glorify uniqueness, difference and change”. Also important to her is authenticity, that is, an artist who is true to themselves and not to the whims of market trends. Christine Alfery’s work is all of that and more. Alfery shows her paintings nationally and internationally. She competes in watercolor competitions around the world. Christine has

Flying Circus, 30 x 40 Watercolor and Acrylic

won over 100 national awards and is a signature member of 10 national watercolor societies throughout the United States. She has been in more than 65 publications. For more information about Christine, visit her website: www.christinealfery.com Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 75

Recreating Sacred Space

The Work of Hans Van de Bovenkamp Hans Van de Bovenkamp is a contemporary abstract sculptor and an architectural designer. He has earned an international reputation over the past 55 years for designing, fabricating, installing and maintaining unique sculptures, fountains and gates in collaboration with architects and designers. His works can be seen in hundreds of public, civic, corporate and private collections.

By Steven Larsen, Ph.D. Since time immemorial, human beings have created “sacred space.” According to religious historian Mircea Eliade, the urge springs from the primordial depths of the psyche. Such places are necessarily set apart from daily life and the bustle of the marketplace. Setting aside hallowed ground can be done in a variety of ways: by drawing a circle in the sand or etching rt on a cathedral floor; by hanging cords and paper streamers around it or creating a gate through which you must pass in order to reach rt, and by creating a “holy of holies” deep within a temple, into which only certain high priests or priestesses may go. With these “bounding” rituals, a different frame of reference or “reverence” is established, the normal doings of the world is set aside, and you can foster a sense of the divine. As a mythologist, I recognized this same primordial impulse, the human urge to create sacred space, in the work of my friend and neighbor; Hans Van de Bovenkamp. At first, my wife Robin and I noticed and admired the elegant and precise way Hans created functional workshops and studios in dusty old barns and abandoned chicken coops. In the beginning, Hans did much of the labor himself. We would come to visit and find him crouched over a welder or a cement mixer; up on a ladder; or like a mad inventor; driving a rickety old crane around his towering, steel question marks. In fact, it seemed that each time Robin and I visited, we were treated to an elegant new environment, in which to lounge and taste the wonderful things of life; good food and drink and lots of mind play — as we enticed each other into new creative visions amid paroxysms of laughter: Because environments did transform around Hans: ramshackle buildings and weedy fields achieved a new dignity, problematic wetlands became a parkland of serpentine grass labyrinths, undulating burms and reflecting ponds. And everywhere, in and around the studios and pavilions, his often whimsical sculptures clustered like frozen archetypes and space-age steel Moai. Sometimes I have experienced a kind of creative vertigo around my friend’s relentless self-actualization. His soul seems to be spilling over with images and ideas. I would bring him a copy of the latest book I had written, and he would show me steel creations that, with the help of derricks, would be erected in public plazas in Europe and America. 76 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

In sacred space, you must leave emptiness, for that is where the spirit can enter, like breath into the spaces between the consonants of Hebrew sacred scripture. Wisely, Hans leaves places among his sculptures to contemplate, to play, to dream. Campbell says that traditionally sacred space functions to set aside “the normal attitude toward the cares of the world.” But Hans Van de Bovenkamp — perhaps subversively — inserts his shrinelike landmarks or “energy spots” even into the marketplace itself For instance, his intent in placing a twenty-foot sculpture beside a thirty-story building is to humanize the architecture, minimizing its scale, and make the setting more intimate. Viewers take in a little sunyata, emptiness, with each glance at the gleaming sky-reflecting steel enigma. His sculpture-ciphers sometimes resemble the curious question marks on Buddhist stupas, such as the colossus at Bodhinath, Nepal. Once Hans came to me to share a new idea. He wanted to create gigantic tables in the middle of nowhere, the top perhaps to be reached by a ladder; as if to a giant ’s dwelling, surrounded by celestial cloud shapes. The project coincided, by one of these Jungain synchronicities, with my own study of the use of mesas, symbolic tables in South American shamanism. In this tradition, the magician sets up a small table-like sanctuary upon which he places all of his “power objects,” talismans of personal power. These mesas are symbolic replicas of the cosmos; the whole world is represented on its surface. Versions of the sacred table occur in North America, in the sand paintings of the Navajo, and we have witnessed Buddhist priests painting a mandala in sand in the high Himalayas, near Tibet. Standing there in sacred space we realized that we were symbolically connected to everything. Confronted with Van de Bovenkamp’s magical forms, the cosmos is present right here in New York, Kansas City, Miami, or Zurich, even in the secular city with its complex architecture. Usually Hans is clear about what he is doing, as in the extraordinary meditation temple he designed for Omega Institute. Within this compelling combination of contemplative architecture and interior design, the mind is quieted, the senses soothed — we hear a bell ringing in an empty sky. A similar sense of purpose visited Hans eight years ago in Bali, where he had three traditional teak and ironwood temples built in order to disassemble them and have them shipped to the US, so he could reassemble the two thousand four hundred pieces by a lake he made on his property. This temple-dwelling has become a tour-de-force of traditional and innovative architectural methods, its buildings nestling like silent witnesses to the marvels, his own creations, contemporary art, and Buddhist and Hindu objects ‘and deities.

Hans Van De Bovenkamp, Red Corral Gate, 156” x 72” x 12” Stainless Steel, Artist’s personal collection, Sagaponack, NY

“For me, making sculpture is both a spiritual and an artistic act. The studio is my playground, my laboratory, my sanctuary where I practice and experiment with sculptural ideas. When I am working, I am truly living in the present moment: focused and aware of choices as I make them, functioning in an elevated state between the conscious and the subconscious. Over time, I have been fortunate to gather together enough skill and vision to realize my ideas as they have come into my heart. Art for me is not just a passion, it is a way of life.” I picture Hans rising like Hephaestos, the Greek divine craftsman, in the early morning sunlight, and beginning to wrest shapes, great or small, out of steel, bronze, and copper. By evening, the hammers, forges and welders are silent. The master sits in his quiet, graceful temple and visits with clients or friends. This man has not only learned how to live well, but how to share well. As our old friend Joe Campbell said, “Follow your bliss and doors will open for you that you didn’t even know were there.” It was Campbell at his most artless, simply describing how his own life had worked. Hans Van de Bovenkamp has trod a similar path, underscoring the same principle. As a young psychologist, I diagnosed Hans with “positive paranoia — the outrageous belief that the universe is conspiring in your favor.” Like the core of his being, the truth and clarity of his accomplishment is validated by the blessing of the universe. Hans pitched his table-top up toward the clouds and found a beautiful feast perpetually spread upon it. Steven Larsen, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus SUN Y, the author of “The Mythic Imagination,” and with his wife Robin, “A Fire in the Mind, The Life of Joseph Campbell,” and “The Fashioning of Angels; Partnership as Spiritual Practice.” The Larsens co-direct The Center for Symbolic Studies near New Paltz, NY. Steve Zaluski, Kevin Miller, and Hans Van De Bovenkamp at Jamie Forbes Gallery opening in Center Moriches, NY, 2018 Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 77

Pierina Leonardo

At The Century Mark, She Paints Every Day

Pierina Leonardo painting at her desk

Long Island Lighthouse and many other works on view at Circa Something Gallery, Bellport, New York

Pierina’s Christmas balls are now in 11 countries

BY ROBERT BAKER My mother-in-law Pierina Leonardo has been painting and drawing since she was about six years old. On September 18 she will be 100 years young and still paints every day without fail. She began as a fashion designer in the late 1930s/early 1940s and in 1944 was married to Joseph Leonardo until his death in 1976. She continued to paint throughout her married years; however, she was no longer involved in the fashion industry but rather painted for pleasure and as a volunteer at St. Francis Hospital in Port Washington, New York. Although she became quite famous designing for exclusive shops on Madison Avenue, she is also an accomplished artist and throughout her life painted local scenes of Long Island as well as works influenced by oriental paintings of flowers. In 2008 she began to create hand-painted Christmas balls with scenes of Long Island from both the past and present. This painting launched a new career for Pierina and her Christmas balls are now in 11 countries and are anticipated each Christmas Season. She is an inspiration to all that have had an opportunity to meet her and she continues to fill new custom orders for Christmas Balls everyday.

The artist’s subject matter ranges from fashion to Long Island scenes. 78 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Dr. Baker is author of Matthew Troyan His Spirit and His Art. Circa Something Gallery 139 South Country Rd., Bellport, New York

People who are not raised working class or poor may not understand you career choices as an artist or writer, and it’s really none of their business. Immigrants prioritize getting property and an education to lay a foundation for their children, if they can. You need that big degree from that big name school to even gain entrance into a particular professional network (which means big loans). This is especially true if you are a POC; let’s keep it 100% real. With no generational wealth—I mean absolutely none—you do whatever you have to to lay a foundation, maintain stable income, and pay those damn loans. So, “why don’t you just write or adjunct teach?” isn’t realistic for many, many people. But mostly, other people should mind their business and act like professionals...

“I maintain that literature is still one of the best ways to open people’s minds. It’s absolutely magic.“ – KEISHA-GAYE ANDERSON

Keisha-Gaye with her daughter and cousin Esther Anderson, at presentation of Esther’s film “Bob Marley: The Making of A Legend.” Museum of the Moving Image.

Keisha-Gaye Anderson sharing some of her poetry at the NY State Legislature in Albany in honor of Carribbean Heritage Month. NY State Legislature passes resolution memorializing Gov. Andrew Cuomo to proclaim June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month

Keisha-Gaye reading her poetry at Museum of the Moving Image, NYC

Poet, author, visual artist and communications strategist from performance poetry to public speaking to writing workshops and consultations, Keisha-Gaye Anderson brings a wealth of experience and an inspirational approach to her work. As a journalist and field producer, she traveled the nation interviewing dignitaries, celebrities, politicians, and other notable figures for news and documentary programming and has written for programs on A&E and the Hallmark Channel. She is the author of four poetry collections and numerous essays and journalistic articles. Her writing has appeared in national publications like Honey, Psychology Today, Teen People and Black Enterprise, covering topics from women’s health and depression to intimate partner violence. In 2018, Keisha-Gaye was selected as a Brooklyn Public Library Artist in Residence and also selected to participate in the VONA Voices and Callaloo writing workshops and was short-listed for the Small Axe Literary competition. Her latest book, Everything Is Necessary, brings readers into the intimate heart of a Jamaican-American woman’s complicated world. “Her poetry explores the many ways in which the African Diaspora is carried within our bodies, on our tongues — from sufferings under enslavement to the precarity of modern American life. She uses migration stories and difficult family history to express the interplay of economic status, aspiration for something, anything better, harsh love, discipline, and courage. This is a necessary collection from a poet who is hitting her stride.” — Patricia Spears Jones, author of “A Lucent Fire” and winner of the Jackson Poetry Prize. Contact Keisha at http://keishagaye.ink/work-with-me

Keisha-Gaye was recently featured on Malika Lee Whitney’s “Untitled” program on WBAI, just in time for the celebration of all things Caribbean Labor Day weekend in Brooklyn. Notes Keisha, “We spoke about my new book, my literary mothers and how my poems speak to my Jamaican heritage.” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 79

About 81 Leonard Gallery Based in New York City, 81 Leonard Gallery is an artistrun space representing artists from around the globe. 81 Leonard provides a platform for emerging and established contemporary artists to stimulate engagement in critical thinking and culture. Through its diverse multi-media program, the gallery focuses on bringing underrepresented and marginalized artists to new audiences. “Art and artists play an increasingly important role in the world we inhabit. With a commitment to artistic freedom, we are interested in artists that investigate the conditions of our present society and what the future may hold,” Nancy Bergman Pantirer, Founder & Elaine Mitchell, Director. About Ric Michel Fine Art Ric Michel Fine Art, Private Dealers/Art Consultants, has been active in the International Art Market for over three decades. Drawing upon its vast network of emerging artists and museum

Cande Aguilar’s barrioPOP hits New York City

rich juxtapositions and shifting identities. The central figure in barrioPOP, a collection of multi media art works focusing on the Chanito is part Clark Kent, part clown, part troubador…a composite experience of living in a bilingual border culture by Cande Aguilar of contradictions. In Land of Peace, the icon is on view at 81 Leonard Gallery, in New York meets the ordinary as Christopher Robin stands City in collaboration with Ric Michel Fine Art. cheek-to-cheek with a child’s stick figure. In A native of Brownsville, Texas, Cande Suite of the Low Rides, Charlie Brown, in barrio Aguilar is a self-taught artist whose distinctive hat, eyes a low rider honey while an ensemble barrioPOP style merges the indigenous humor, of Mexican and American cartoon figures look challenges, sights and sounds of barrio life with on. What do these paintings mean? Aguilar has the panoply of popular culture. Beyond the his ideas but invites each viewer to inhabit and jaunty imagery, there is a gravity and poignancy interpret the work. to these paintings...border politics and the W hat is clear is that the artist is immigrant’s struggle inform much of the work. increasingly influenced — and disturbed — With four solo museum exhibitions in 2019 — by the developments at our Southern border. including San Antonio’s prestigious McNay Even a seemingly benign piece like Madre y Art Museum — Aguilar is gaining widespread Mickey is not without subtext. The Madre/ recognition as an authentic and distinctive voice Madonna, aproned with an image transfer of of the Mexican American experience. a child’s coloring book, reaches toward Mickey barrioPOP, on view through Sept. 28 at the (the archetype of childhood innocence) and yet 81 Leonard Street location, is a term coined a gap remains. A gentle but clear reminder of by Aguilar as an amalgam of street art and the family separations that continue to this day. pop culture filtered through a distinctly south An accordion prodigy, Cande Aguilar Texas, Mexican-American lens. Hand-painted began playing professionally at age 13 and signs, graffiti’d walls, low rider cars, Conjunto went on to become a Gold Record recording music, cartoon icons, museum masters and Cande (Family) artist of Tejano/Conjunto music. In his 30s, border politics all find their way into the mix and emerge reconfigured in something new, fresh and provocative. Aguilar turned to painting full time earning great acclaim for his “Growing up at the border means you are never completely barrioPOP series. Among other honors and international museum American or Mexican — it is an internally polarizing reality,” says exhibitions, Aguilar was selected as one of the featured artists in the Aguilar. Seizing upon this dichotomy, he creates a new world of group exhibition “Texas Biennial 2017” . www.81leonardgallery.com 80 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

The Welcome Wall Rises at the National Butterfly Center

Ron English has previously painted on the Berlin Wall and the separation wall dividing Israel and Palestine. Last April he flipped the idea of the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall on its head in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In response to the ecological violence of a barrier wall meant to exclude and divide, English has invited street artists from Texas and Mexico to help him paint a bold and vibrant Welcome Wall depicting colorful pop imagery of irreverence and unity. “This year marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event universally celebrated as a milestone of human liberation,” English said. “To erect a border wall now in the flood plain of the Rio Grande River is not only an act of institutional racism and environmental desecration, but an historical anachronism.” The Welcome Wall at the National Butterfly Center is designed to be a conceptual message board for an ongoing discussion about the wall, border, wildlife and immigration issues.

Anat Ronen and Jason Perez

Ron English entering the US

“Unlike the 36-foot concrete slab and steel bollard wall with which our butterfly habitat is threatened, the Welcome Wall has ample space underneath the panels to allow for the free migration of javelinas, Texas tortoises, bobcats and ocelots to their water source—the Rio Grande River,” said Marianna Trevińo Wright, director of the National Butterfly Center. “There has been so much misinformation regarding the peaceful, safe and magical Lower Rio Grande Valley, we’re delighted to host a platform for a more truthful counter-narrative,” Wright said. To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, call 956.583.5400. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas. www.popaganda.com

Music for the Monarchs Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 81

Berdj Tchakedjian, Cello Player, 100 x 120cm, oil on canvas, 2003

Berdj Tchakedjian, End of Fall, 61 x 71cm, oil on canvas, 2019

BERDJ TCHAKEDJIAN

From Desert Melodies To Woodland Symphonies

By Dr. MOVSES ZIRANI

instein proved that nature is devoid of straight lines. The work of Berdj Tchakedjian is likewise devoid of them. However, unlike the first statement — which came to be only through long studies and careful research —, the second only manifested itself through the artist’s subconscious, and is a wholly aesthetic choice. Although curved lines are not and cannot be an artist’s trademark, in Berdj Tchakedjian’s work they are a familiar sight and help shape his unique style in all its simplicity. Berdj Tchakedjian was born in Cairo in 1939, underneath the roof of a once-noble family who narrowly escaped the Armenian genocide. From a tender age he displayed great interest for painting. Upon graduation from the Lycée français du Caire in 1957, he was admitted to the Leonardo Da Vinci Art Institute where he was taught by such greats as Amedeo Trevisonno. Raised in densely-populated Cairo with its narrow streets, since childhood he was regularly exposed to life’s difficulties. During his youth he visited the desert on many occasions. These visits, with its pyramids, sphinxes and scorching heat, left a lasting impression on young Tchakedjian, filling him with the poetic inspiration that would later be used in his art. His Egyptianthemed work is composed of portraits, still lifes, and scenes from the city, with the strongly felt presence of neverending hot deserts and the warmth of daily life in Cairo. After some expositions in his native city, he departed in 1966 towards Canada and settled down in Montreal. For many years he did not produce any new work. Despite Canada being the polar opposite of Egypt climate, landscape and customs-wise, Tchakedjian didn’t have trouble adapting to his new home. He fell in love with the country, befriending the cold and falling under the charm of Quebec’s nature. He was completely bewitched by the beautiful autumn, and it was here that he found his muse. Despite not creating anything new during the beginning of his stay, he paid regular visits to museums, art galleries, and expositions, where he became acquainted with the Group of Seven’s artwork. He spent much of his free time during 82 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

the fall season admiring forests and pastures. In these enchanted spaces, with the wind ruffling the trees and playing with their dead leaves, he felt at peace. Thanks to the support of his partner Nairi, he once again decided to pick up his brush, one fine day in 1994, and started painting again. During all this time he had had the chance to mature as an artist and an intellectual. Not long after, his art was exposed at Montreal’s Salon des galeries d’art to warm appraise and appreciation. The artinterested masses felt him as a revelation, despite Tchakedjian putting little artistic effort into his paintings. His completely new style and approach to painting displayed great knowledge of art. Thereafter, Tchakedjian’s successes succeeded to one another as he continued to expose in many Canadian institutions and to receive prizes, such as CAPSA’s Prize of Excellence in 1999. His work went further beyond Canada’s borders with expositions

Berdj Tchakedjian, Meditation, 101 x 107cm, oil on canvas, 2018

The Artist Berdj Tchakedjian

in Paris, Monaco and Beirut. Two of his paintings were used as art for book covers by Belfond publishing house in Paris. His artistry was recognized by both Armenian and other papers such as Magazine Art, B. Digest, Magazine Parcours, etc. If Tchakedjian’s Eg yptian-era art tends towards impressionism, his later work during his Canadian years reflect a desire to belong to surrealism, exempt of straight lines yet abundant in curves, whether in portraits, still lifes or landscapes. The latter, wholly swallowed up by the strong presence of trees, seem never-ending and may sometimes hint at a form of quiet eroticism in nature. Although his erotic focal point is mainly women, they, albeit often in voluptuous, passionate and sometimes sexual poses, never transgress into the vulgar, remaining forever aristocratic and sublime and painted in bright colours reminiscent of the Egyptian desert, yet as alive and quietly inspiring as the fall of leaves during a Canadian autumn. His take on surrealism is far from that of Chagall’s, Ernst’s or even Dali’s dreams and explorations of their subconscious. His art exhibits suffering without agony, anguish without hopelessness, the hardship of survival without life’s angst, imagination without artifices. His humanism (especially in regards to Women’s rights) transpires into his paintings, sometimes even in the faintest satirical way so as to draw a smile on our lips. His later works go a step further in its surrealism, bestowing upon it feelings found around the world that stem from the difficulties of life and the instability of the future.

The paintings of Berdj Tchakedjian have the ability to make the viewer feel calm and tranquil almost instantly. This is quite a gift in our modern world. How does the artist achieve this end? To start, the color palate in Berdj’s work is always warm, often with just a touch of opposing color used to move the eye from point to point. This technique transfixes one’s eyes and slowly, the works begin to look almost monochromatic. It is this combination of passion and respect for the Earth’s disparate beauty that makes his style unique and original. There is no confusion or apology in his work. Truly sensual, his application to canvas is smooth – almost photorealistic. Carol Curci, AAA Sabbatique Ltd., New York/Palm Beach Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 83

Berdj Tchakedjian, Fruits’ Nest, 51 x 56cm, oil on canvas, 2019

Tchakedjian is already strong and confident as an artist in complete control of his abilities. His style and its subtle variations, from the warm and long-drawn melodies of the desert to the symphonic ardour of forests, are sure to further guide him to yet greater maturity and wisdom.

Berdj Tchakedjian, Sleeping Beauty, 68 x 76 cm, oil on canvas, 2015

Art would have been superficial and empty were it not for love and the emotions it involves. There is a scarcely a talented artist who has not breached the subject of love and painted it in erotic colours, sometimes even without noticing it. Some artists, the most unique of the bunch, have not only composed with it in mind, but have further made the figure of woman the main focus of such work in different ways. Amongst these artists is Berdj Tchakedjian, for whom women represent the source of both life and of beauty, wholly and perfectly. He is so taken by this essential eroticism present in women that it transpires even into his still lifes and landscape paintings through aesthetical eroticism. These paintings are unique in the art world. What is eroticism? Or rather, where does it come from to reach landscapes and nature in this way? Cavemen saw in the spring months, in the awakening of nature and its fairy-like crispness, a metaphor for sexual relations. Man and woman were like the earth and water, the sun and the moon. Man then created his own deities, gods and goddesses to whom

he sacrificed not only animals but also young girls. Human beings differ from animals through their reasoning and their inner world, granting us the ability to fully enjoy the beauty of nature. Thus, although man personalized nature’s traits, Tchakedjian does not bestow specific characteristics to it, preferring to follow nature’s own lines, its hills and valleys, its trees and fruits, its flowers which bear resemblance to certain parts of a woman’s body (her breasts, her buttocks, her reproductive organs), clearly imprinted with surrealism. However, his work is not only erotic – it is different and unique in its expressions and colours. He brings in both the hot sunny sand dunes of the desert and Canada’s fairytale-like autumn leaves, creating an unconventional mysterious world that is both his and Canada’s. Canada has its own flavourful art of painting thanks to Tom Tomson and the Group of Seven. Most artists who came after them are either their successors or their followers. Tchakedjian distinguishes himself from the rest not only through his colour palette, but also through the simplicity, harmony, and originality of art, within which eroticism naturally plays an essential role. To learn more about the artist and Noah’s Ark Art Gallery: Contact Lebanon: +(961) 3-727211, +(961) 4-711852 Canada: +1 (514) 569-5043, 1(514) 337-5611 e-mail: noahsark95@gmail.com

“As a true master of his art, Tchakedjian seduces with curves which seem to flow perpetually. The clarity and vivacity of his work enlighten your soul. The systematic brush strokes of his paintings resemble the bouquet of violinists’ bows which diligently obey the orchestration of their maestro. These paintings reveal the perfection sought by the artist to elucidate his peaceful passion, his inviting sensuality, in brief his love for life.”

The use of brush and spatula give to his paintings a great level of transparency of the tones, shapes and especially colors that comes from Canada’s Mother Nature, to whom the artist seems to be in love. Tchakedjian liberated his paintings from all details, even no need to delineate the faces of his figures. He blends autumnal variegated burning colors with the forms of nudity and nature’s beauties, in the spectrum of light and transparency. Looking at his art you have the impression as if they were newly finished.

EROTICISM AND LANDSCAPES

– Celine K., B. Sc., P.Dt. 84 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

– Mara Elena Beneito, Director Argentina Biennale

PHOTO©THOMAS BRUNS

“Piece of colonne, Fragment of waves (2018-2019), an interactive installation by Japanese artist Tamami Iiimuma consisting of 36 unique books of photographs.” Specifically, abstract images appear and disappear meditatively as the pages are turned, recalling the continuously ebbing and flowing of waves or the “breath of architecture”.

Friends with Books: Art Book Fair Berlin, Europe’s leading art book fair committed to the distribution and promotion of artists’ books and associated mediums, launched its sixth edition in the iconic Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin. Over 200 international exhibitors, ranging from artists to art publishers, presented their publications, reflecting the diversity of today’s art publishing. Free and open to the public, the fair explores each year all facets of contemporary art publishing through an engaging program of lectures, panel discussions, book presentations, performances and art installations, bringing understanding to the discipline and celebrating its resurgence in today’s digital climate. Exhibitors at Friends with Books featured contemporary art publications including artists’ books, artist zines, digital publications, limited editions, magazines, conceptual publications, photography publications, textual works and artists’ writings, art theory and criticism, as well as books printed spontaneously on location.

Blue Wendy, 2000 by George Rodrigue, 26x22 inches, acrylic on paper

The nationally-acclaimed Life & Legacy Tour featuring the art and life of George Rodrigue returns this fall with stops at schools across California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Led by awardwinning speaker Wendy Rodrigue, widow of the Louisiana-born “Blue Dog” artist, the public storytelling tour has reached more than 35,000 students and teachers in over 70 schools throughout the United States.This fall, the Life & Legacy Tour will feature original, rarely-seen artwork from the Rodrigue collection as Wendy shares personal stories of her late husband’s life-long discovery of the arts. To accommodate the ever-growing success and scope of the tour projects now include museum exhibitions, education initiatives, and written and online publications. “Spanning two decades, George and I conducted painting demonstrations at schools and other venues worldwide,” said Wendy. As he introduced me, George often laughed, ‘I can’t paint and talk at the same time.’With Life & Legacy I expand on this original vision, inspiring the artist within each of us by sharing George’s history and philosophy, while accompanied by unique Rodrigue artworks from our private collection.

Mind of the Musician 36 x 32

The brilliant, provocative & stunningly colorful works of contemporary Artist

On the Wagon Now, 36 x 30

BERBERYAN

are now available as original paintings on canvas from Art Traditions as well as this 38 page full color book and catalog. www.ArtTraditions.net

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 85

DON ORIOLO’S BLUE ARROW RESCUE FARM is a

magical, mystical 100 acres of Leni Lenape land that has been transformed into sanctuary for animals and humans alike. “As an homage,” says Don, a well-known musician, composer and artist (the Felix the Cat guy), “I’ve constructed many symbols of our native Americans — teepees, totem poles, arrow head displays found in the property etc. We will be hosting a pow wow in the near future.”A horse rescue and rehabilitation farm that also houses an art gallery, serves as a venue for weddings and every other type of party know to man and recently a Woodstock-style few days of peace, love and music, there are hops fields, sunflower mazes antique fire trucks and ice cream trucks as well as a train that takes visitors on a tour of the property. A restaurant and microbrewery are also planned. “The carvings (pictured) were done by Kenny Scroggins, a Mississippi artist who worked around the clock to create the amazing 3D art with his chainsaw. When I was a child I loved the old classic films especially Robin Hood played by Errol Flynn so I would make my own bow and arrows and run around the woods thinking I was Robin Hood the concept of taking from the rich to give to the poor seemed very very efficient at the time. I used to paint the arrows blue because blue is been my favorite color all my life ever since I saw my first robins egg.” 86 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Sculptor Kenny Scroggins

“It’s the small details that make the big picture,” says Rick Garcia, painting, above. For more about Rick, visit https://www.rickgarcia.com/about

Yuroz’s “Offering of Love”

A true worship of the female energy from spiritual to physical expressed in a still moment captured by the artist. The four men offer their love and passion in the way they each know best. Two musicians serenading her filling the air with vibrations to touch and fill the body with the parts of life that we can’t understand but know through feeling. Two more men kneel down with offerings to portray the act of worship. One with 7 pomegranates and the other with 7 roses. This begins to bring the idea and feeling of holy offerings to something greater than us such as the incredible breathtaking beauty of the female existence. You can begin to notice the subtle glow around her with the artist’s choice of directional brush strokes guiding the eye to understand more of the importance in such raw and open beauty. The pomegranates are the offering of sexual procreation and fertile energy representing that we must kneel to the female energy and form as it is the only true miracle that can bring us these gifts. The roses are given as a display of dedication to her. The blue is the mythological color of healing and the rose the symbol of love and compassion. The two offerings are so important and find balance in each other. To offer physical love and touch with the goal of the beautiful procreation followed with the reassurance of healing and compassion defines the greatest feat of human connection. The artist allows us to feel and see all of this but never lets us forget that it is not possible with out the purest and more powerful energy. The female. – HAIG YUROZ GEVORGIAN Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 87

A D I R O N D A C K

88 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Harold Weston, Sunrise from Marcy (detail), 1922. Oil on canvas, 16 x 22 in. Private Collection. © Harold Weston Foundation. Photography by Andy Duback.

HAROLD WESTON

Shelburne Museum Features“The Thoreau of the Adirondacks” Harold Weston: Freedom in the Wilds was recently on view at the Shelburne Museum Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education (Colgate Gallery). Dubbed “the Thoreau of the Adirondacks” by art historian and critic Helen Appleton Read (1887-1974), American modernist painter and social activist Harold Weston (1894-1972) was lauded during his lifetime by modernist artists, critics, and patrons. Drawing from extensive collections of the artist’s estate (the Harold Weston Foundation) as well as select public institutions and private lenders, this was the first museum exhibition to illuminate the links between the artist’s distinctive and lyrical written words with his prodigious body of work. Taking inspiration from Weston’s ar t as wel l as his philosophical views on nature, Harold Weston: Freedom in the Wilds presented the artist’s early Adirondack views (1920-1923) and selections from the Stone Series (1968-1972) alongside sketchbooks, diaries, letters, and related ephemera that make a case for the connections between the human spirit, nature, and Weston’s art. Writing in the preface to his book Freedom in the Wilds: An Artist in the Adirondacks (third edition 2008), Weston commented, “I have been a devotee of the dews

of the wilderness since childhood, and do not pretend to be without strong prejudices on its behalf.” While Weston balanced art-making with a drive to advocate for humanitarian causes across the globe, it was his love of and close relationship with the Adirondack wilderness that defined much of his work. Hailing from Merion, Pennsylvania, Harold Weston summered in the high peaks of New York’s Adirondack region with his family as a boy. The region spoke to the young idealist, a sensitive artist with philosophical leanings. In 1920, Weston decided to make the mountains his year-round home, and with the assistance of a local carpenter built a one-room cabin in St. Huberts, New York. It was here that the artist refined his approach to painting, rejecting much of what he had learned in formal art classes and instead favoring an expressive, creative process that emphasized first-hand obser vations and e m o t i on a l re s p on s e s t o h i s surroundings. Inspired by the wilderness, Weston recalled, “I did a lot of wandering in the woods, up streams and climbing mountains, always with my sketch box. I painted a great many small oil sketches on cardboard on the spot. A semi pantheism permeated my reactions: the tree, cloud, mountain – life and the eternal seen through the incandescence of the moment.”

Founded in 1947 by sugar heiress and pioneering folk art collector Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888–1960), Shelburne Museum is the largest art and history museum in northern New England and Vermont’s foremost public resource for visual art and material culture. The museum is now open year-round, with the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education and Webb Gallery featuring important American paintings by Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, Grandma Moses, John Singleton Copley, and many more. For more information, please visit shelburnemuseum.org. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 89

“The external appearance of this, our dwelling place, apart from its wondrous structure and functions that minister to our well-being, is fraught with lessons of high and holy meaning, only surpassed by the light of Revelation.” —ASHER DURAND

Wolf Moon, by Michele Bramlett, from The Sweetest Way Home by Victor Forbes

90 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

A Visit to the Six NationS Indian Museum

Council with Mohawk leader addressing seated group of Senecas, by John Fadden.

Sign designating the site of the Six Nations Indian Museum in Onchiota, NY Open only during the summer months.

Ray, Christine, and John Fadden opened the Museum for its first season during the summer of 1954. The wood that went into the lumber of the initial structure was milled at a local saw mill from trees felled by Ray Fadden. The museum, originally two rooms large, expanded to four rooms producing a building approximately 80′ x 20′. The Museum’s design reflects the architecture of a traditional Haudenosaunee (Six Iroquois Nations Confederacy) bark house. The long bark house is a metaphor for the Six Nations Confederac y, sy mbolic all y stretching from East to West across ancestral territory. The Six Nations are: The Mohawks are the Keepers of the

Lament by Chief Charlot responding to newcomers from the east Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 91

Song Of The New Dawn

Eastern Door, the Senecas are the Keepers of the Western Door, the Onondagas are the Fire Keepers and the Oneidas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras (admitted into the Confederation in the early 18th century) are the Younger Brothers.The Museum houses a myriad of pre-contact, and post-contact artifacts, contemporary arts and crafts, diagrammatic charts, posters, and other items of Haudenosaunee culture. The objects within the Museum are primarily representative of the Haudenosaunee, but there are representations of other Native American cultures as well. There are many objects within the museum. The floors are decorated with Haudenosaunee symbol & motif, and within the rooms are cases exhibiting artifacts. The walls are laden with informative charts, beaded belts, paintings and other indigenous items of interest. Up into the peaked ceiling of each room are representations of Native America as they are covered with artifacts including canoes, baskets, tools, beadwork, feathered headgear, Native clothing, and posters. Our mission and goals are multiple. First, we want to educate the general public about Haudenosaunee culture specifically, and Native American history in general. We are visited by summer camps, various summer education programs, and we have hosted history/anthropology classes from various schools of higher learning as well as the average Adirondack summer visitors. We wish to create educational experiences so that the visitor, teacher and student may acquire the knowledge needed to better understand the history, culture, contemporary realities, and the potential futures of Native Nations. Another goal of the Museum is directed toward educating the public about the Land Ethic of the Haudenosaunee, and other environmental sensitivities. We present information about Native cultures, and function as a place where traditional values, philosophies, and sensitivities can be reaffirmed. We vehemently stress the importance of maintaining oral tradition coupled with written history for cultural continuity. Native students (and non-students or former students) from such indigenous communities as Akwesasne, Kahnawake, Kanesatake, Oneida, Onondaga, and points west across New York State, and into Canada regularly visit us. We serve as a place where 92 â&#x20AC;˘ Fine Art Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ Autumn 2019

Painting reflecting gifts in the line of food plants from the Americas, by John Fadden

1462 County Route 60, Onchiota, NY 12989 (518) 891-2299 Âˇ info@sixnationsindianmuseum.com www.sixnationsindianmuseum.com

Chart dedication featured on one of the walls of the museum

Fine Art Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ Autumn 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ 93

Dave Fadden with one of his “mosaic” style paintings Berry picker painting by Dave Fadden

Smiling Mohawk painting by Dave Fadden. 94 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Don Fadden with his wolf tracks painting.

PATRICK KIRMER

“A BLANKET

OF ATMOSPHERE OVER REALITY” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 95

PAUL MATTHEWS MEMORIAL JULY 27, 2019, KEENE, NY In his Norton Lectures at Harvard, published as Other Traditions, the poet John Ashbury wondered “if we really know who our greatest artists are.” He was speaking of certain poets who for reasons unrelated to the quality or nature of their work, remain less celebrated or well- known than they deserve. Despite the prevailing fashion of their times, they went their own way and stayed true to their hard won vision for a lifetime and produced a body of work that could and perhaps should be regarded as great. In the world of American portraiture and landscape painting, our beloved friend and neighbor, Paul Matthews, was such an artist. In celebrating his life today, let us not forget how fortunate we have been all these years to have had a Great Artist living and working among us. That fact can get lost sometimes, because we have been hanging out with the Great Artist at the Ausable Inn, bumping into him on Saturday at the dump or Stewarts for The New York Times on his way home or Sunday at the Farmers’ Market. I imagine the 17th century residents of Amsterdam sometimes forgot that their friend and neighbor, Rembrandt Van Rijn, who they just passed in the tulip market or knocked back a lager with at the Dockside Tavern, happened also to be a Great Artist. So in that mixture of light and shadow, in that Rembrandtian chiaroscuro, let’s reflect for a few moments on what, with Paul’s passing, we have lost, and what remains. When a beloved friend dies, we don’t just lose a companion in life, we lose a witness to our life, a vital memory of our life, one who helps validate and confirm the meaningful nature of our otherwise mostly insignificant passage here on earth. When that friend is a great artist we lose a special kind of witness, one who through his art possesses a unique ability to give profound value to the worth of our solitary, private, subjective experience of reality. Take, for instance, our experience of this very valley and the mountains and sky that surround it and the rivers and streams that run through it. How many times have we said, when otherwise at an utter loss for words, “That’s a Paul Matthews sky”? Or stunned into inarticulateness on a July afternoon by the view of the Great Range from Nun-da-Gao, said in wonder, “It looks like a Matthews.” His paintings make it possible for us to remain essentially silent and awestruck and respectful before the sacred nature of light and shadow, the transcendent beauty of the natural world. Or consider the validating effect of his portraiture. Paul’s portraits of his friends and family members — real and sometimes wholly imagined, male and female, young 96 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

and old, clothed and unclothed, dignified or silly, erotic or beautifully pregnant, in the full swagger of patriarchal power or weakened by age and illness — consider how they have let us view each other with Paul’s same tenderness and affection and lack of judgement, his unadulterated adoration of the human body and face. His portraits, in the best sense of the word, humanize the viewer. We view the world that surrounds us, and we view each other and therefore ourselves, differently and with greater depth and clarity and love than we would if Paul not come here with Lelia and their family to live and work among us. But there is another, often overlooked gift that comes with having a Great Artist as a friend and neighbor. That gift is the example he provides with his commitment to work, a commitment renewed daily seven days a week year-round. Nothing great is accomplished part time or seasonally. One doesn’t become a Great Artist, or a Great Anything, merely on the basis of talent or intelligence or education. It takes a lifetime’s work. And as a result it demands a certain amount of sacrifice, socially, financially, even physically. This is useful perhaps especially to those of us who will never become a Great Artist or a Great Anything. Paul’s lifelong dedication to work can serve as an object lesson to the rest of us. We see the price he paid, and it lets us decide if we ourselves are willing to pay it. Whenever I visited Paul’s studio up the hill on Hurricane a few miles from mine, and saw there the dozens of newly completed and half-finished and justconceived paintings and sketches, and the

“Umber Self-Portrait,” Oil on board, 16 x 14”, 1971

“Russell’s Doppelganger,” Oil on canvas, 40” x 32”, 2008

notes and clippings and photos pinned to the wall as ideas for possible future work, and talked with him about his progress on one or another of his writing projects, his memoirs, poems, maybe someday a novel…, I would hurry back down the hill to my own studio and get quickly back to work. For many of us, perhaps for most of us here today — certainly for me — Paul was an example and an inspiration. A Great Artist, yes. A companion, a friend, and a neighbor. A testifying witness to the transcendent mystery of the beauty of the natural world and a guide whose work furthers my love of my fellow beings. And though he has been taken from our daily lives, his work and his spirit and inspiration remain. –Russell Banks

“A beautiful person, great painter, much loved.” — Anne Marie Macari, poet

Dan Plumley, Russell Banks at Keene Arts for Paul Matthews memorial event

Setting the stage at the Keene Arts Paul Matthews tribute

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 97

HERITAGE GALLERY THE LIFE AND ART OF BRUCE MITCHELL 1933-2018 98 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“To Stand Out Or Be Really Good, A Realistic Artist Has To Be More Abstract Than An Abstract Artist.”

Bruce Mitchell, April 22, 2010

Bruce Mitchell’s final work hangs in the Heritage Gallery in Keene, NY

"A profusion of life are his creations." By VICTOR FORBES Bruce Mitchell’s softly powerful renditions of nature in its purest form are more than faithful renditions of familiar locales from Keene Valley to the Grand Tetons. They are strong and heart-felt representations, paeans to the glorious beauty that is the earth and sky. In the harmonious, contemplative vibration of these luminist works of art, he shows us things we didn’t necessarily see. Blending the uncontrollable forces of wild nature with topographical and atmospheric aspects common to Hudson River School painting. Mitchell’s works, on close examination, exemplify his philosophy that a good realist needs to be more abstract than an abstract

artist. Light, shadow, composition, color and movement, even in stillness, blend into a union that is at once “Strong and forthright, bright and agile, full of sunlight, full of dazzle,” as the poem of Annette Mitchell, Bruce’s wife of 60 years attests. Dedicated to tradition and steeped in the “nature worship” of the mid 19th century group of artists, Mitchell is well familiar with the Romantic landscape rhetoric whose origins have its roots in the seminal mid-19th century paintings of Thomas Cole and Asher Durand. Mitchell also devoted himself to American scenery. Carefully delineated pictures, his geological and floral forms hold up to intense scrutiny. Painstaking studies result in a highly

detailed and sophisticated presentation of a carefully defined and coherent system of mountains, foliage and wildlife. The results of his ideas are stunning. “Art was his life. He was art,” said Bruce’s daughter Lori Hall during a visit to the Mitchell Heritage Gallery in Keene, NY, nestled in the hills between Baxter and Hurricane mountains. A vast selection of Bruce’s remaining body of work, along with paintings by Annette and Lori welcome the visitor. Continues Lori, “He and my mother were married in 1954. He was in the service for 14 years, died the 14th of February 2018. In December of 2017, a new client came into the gallery and I made one of our best sales ever. When she walked out that door, she had a collection of some of his best pieces. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 99

The painting that sold six million prints

Annette Mitchell in the Heritage Gallery stands before her paintings 100 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

That was a big deal and hard to believe. When everyone in the house understood it, Dad gave me a military salute with a smile from his sick bed and another family member gave one of those modern day two-handed bows. I probably was the second biggest sales person for him because I learned from him a lot of how he did things. And he was a good salesman, much like his Father, who earned a living that way selling bibles. “To supplement income in the fall and winter Dad would go to sponsored weekend or week-long Art Mall Shows in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine as well as New York. There he would be with other artists who looked out for each other. But when Saturday night came, Dad would pack up all his art in boxes he had made for carrying them (with cardboard, duct tape and hot glue) and the pegged gunny sack covered easel boards (3’ x 6’ wide & long) that were hinged to another board & opened up to twice the size for display. He’d pack it all up in his camper truck and travel home getting back by about 5 a.m. to be in church with the family Sunday morning. If he couldn’t get permission to leave early, he wouldn’t go to a show. He often would have stories to tell of new-found customers

and friends he saw again or who would later come to visit the gallery on their trips to the Adirondacks. We met many of them and put their faces to a name. Dad was really grateful to have their business and friendship along the way.” Bruce came to the Adirondacks via a stint in the Air Force when he was stationed at the Plattsburgh base. On a trip through Vermont, he chanced upon a barn that was being torn down and asked the owner if he would mind letting him take the old windows. This played into what Lori remembers as “The first original idea he had for a painting after leaving the Air Force was to paint New England scenes on canvas to fit into the frames from the old windows. These works caught the eye of a major publisher who sold over six million prints. Bruce often mentioned that this was the start that helped steer his direction in art for the rest of his life – that of a professional independent artist. “He’d paint till midnight and get up in the morning and start again,” said Lori. “We were at ease working in the gallery together because he was so down to earth about everything and if it got so if he wasn’t, he’d hear about it from us. He put in long hours. Thank goodness for Sundays, the only day he didn’t work. Keeping things simple was the mode of operation in his art and at the Gallery.” “If there is anything lovely, virtuous, praise worthy and of good report .... we seek after these things.” That was Bruce Mitchell’s guiding light. He also meant to depict what is not easily seen. His experiences and insights combined with his love of nature all contributed to his stature as an important and highly regarded artist of international repute right here in the Adirondacks.

Eagle Family

Butterfly

Bruce Mitchell portrait of Annette Mitchell

The Bruce Spruce by Annette Mitchell

A very small blue spruce

Long time plucked from heaven above To be esteemed of one who’s loved Strong and forthright Bright and agile Full of sunlight Full of dazzle

Just to specify my Bruce It’s growing with so many branches A shape that flows and somewhat dances The health of this blue spruce is amazing One can plainly see it is not lazy

Deer and Fawn

Bruce Mitchell

Who wouldn’t be drawn to it With personality of humor, friendliness and wit A shade of dark green and blue One little tree so talented -- that grew. –ANNETTE MITCHELL Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 101

All On A Summer’s Day, with Pat Kirmer

Pat Kirmer portrait by Paul Matthews

BY VICTOR FORBES

he power and simplicity of a mountain stream supplies an endless source of material and inspiration for an artist. Bounding and cascading from a trickle at the top of Haystack, one of New York’s tallest peaks, Johns Brook is fed by a number of higher tributaries to culminate in an awesome display of scenery and energy as it rolls and tumbles through the little hamlet of Keene Valley in the heart of the Adirondacks Catching its every expression is the noted artist and teacher, Keene Valley’s own Pat Kirmer, who fills sketchbook after sketchbook, as he has since he arrived here in 1959 to teach art at the Baldwin School camp. “I flatten out the rhythm to maintain a natural form,” Kirmer is saying from his perch on the bridge over-looking his subject matter, eyes barely leaving the page. “In short, I am trying to isolate a series of dynamics.” Pat’s words and images echo a sentiment in a recent Willie Nelson song collaboration with Toots Hibbert, “Still Is Still Moving To Me” and I can see, after a few conversations and careful study of many drawings and paintings, and casual acquaintanceship with the man himself, that Pat’s stunning explorations and studies of “the little things that appear quickly through natural flow” contain hieroglyphic messages - somewhat decipherable - that reflect his vision of solace and peace, of action and danger, of chaos and sovereignty. In nature there are no rules. Certain laws exist, but as in any other circumstance, they are readily broken. How a nebulous substance like water flattens out those boulders and carves a path down a mountainside; how the elusiveness of a beam of sunlight on a reflective shape from the bottom of the brook results in not just one, but many works of art, each explaining, teaching, showing

Kindred Spirits – Frank Owen, Pat Kirmer on the Valley Grocer bench, Keene Valley, New York. Photo by Victor Forbes

nothing - yet everything. The beauty of all this philosophy is that it may or may not matter one bit to the artist or his ever-growing legion of admirers and collectors. The silent work speaks for itself. Yet, there is more. The answers to the secrets of the universe are demystified here. Water runs down a mountain, rock formations evolve, an artist sketches and makes paintings. They are shown, sell and hang in places like The Nature Conservancy. But I’m telling you, there is more. You don’t just sketch a brook for 45 years without certain channels of information opening. What Pat learns from his exercises, he teaches us in his work. With a wordless eloquence only heard from a true maestro, he unlocks the door to a peaceful world. Pat Kirmer is dignity incarnate. His works contain a love that is far purer than the acid-rain/beaver-fever-addled waters of his subject matter. After that, what is left to say, save to continue the process, knowing that your best painting is your next one. “You work your tail off and don’t make a big thing about it,” says Pat, who can be seen around the Village of Keene Valley manning a table in front of the Noonmark Diner, selling tickets to the Fire Department raffle. “Work is part of life and I am at a place I want to be, that’s where I am lucky.” For Pat Kirmer, born in Hollywood, California some 80 years ago, who died not far from his home in 2018, that place is right here in Keene Valley, watching the water, listening to the rocks, sharing his insight, living the creative life.

Pat established an annual Johns Brook Scholarship Fund to support a deserving graduating student from Keene Central School who plans to major in music, art, or theater. Memorial donations may be made to the Adirondack Foundation, PO Box 288, Lake Placid, NY 12916 or visit https://www.adirondackfoundation.org/funds/johns-brook-art-and-music-scholarship-fund. All gifts will be added to the John’s Brook Scholarship Fund

PUBLISHED BY SUNSTORM ARTS PUBLISHING CO., INC. VICTOR BENNETT FORBES, Editor

victor@fineartmagazine.com JAMIE ELLIN FORBES, Publisher jamie@fineartmagazine.com POB 481, KEENE VALLEY, NY 12943 518.593.6470

102 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

For further information about Adirondack Fine Art Magazine, please visit our Facebook page and website at www.fineartmagazine.com or call Victor Forbes 518-593-6470

Pat always reminded me of the “man with the yellow hat” from Curious George. Although his hat was not yellow, the brim was wide and he seemed like he was always up to something fun, if not slightly mischievous. He loved to talk and tell stories…lots of stories. About teaching, painting, putting on plays (especially “West Side Story”), his wife and soul-mate, working in his dad’s butcher shop and deli in Hollywood as a kid. I love the image he made indelible in my mind of a group of actors who all dressed as President Lincoln walking down Hollywood Boulevard together, top hats and all, and then coming into his deli to order lunch. And of course there was his love of the Johns Brook and the world he inhabited there. He never tired of it. It was his muse and he always found inspiration there. It was a great privilege to sit with Pat and sift through all his drawing journals listening to him talk about the forms and the quality of the line. He said he was still working on the perfect curve. When living at the Neighborhood House, Pat would amble up Market Street and sit outside Leepoff Cycle trolling for a conversation and holding court with a smile a mile wide. Pat was universally loved and gave so much to so many. We have his stories and we have his wonderful artwork which is a treasure trove of images. Many are only familiar with a small sample of his work and style, but he was versatile and ambitious with his work. He experimented and worked hard on his craft. I especially love his little comments worked into a corner, under a rock or following the curve of a line — like little riddles or clues about his day, observations and his sense of humor. We all will miss Pat — even the big erratic — his “30 million year old friend” as he called it, by the Johns Brook bridge. — MALCOLM MACDOUGALL, KEENE ARTS Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 103

A MANDALA FOR ALL SEASONS

Group painting some of the 3,480 tiles

Setting the stage

Tile build and finishing touches, Plattsburgh

Prepping the wall

Sue Young at the wheel, Young’s Studio & Gallery, Jay, NY 104 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

By SUE YOUNG

he brain-child for this community artwork is Janine Scherline of Mountain Lake PBS who was writing a grant to document the activities of the 2015 Festival of Tibetan Art and Culture. Janine asked if I would be in charge of designing a ceramic tile mural that the Plattsburgh community could be involved in. I said yes even though my knowledge of Tibetan culture was limited. The grant was awarded, so my simple proposal had to quickly turn into a well rounded plan. The Plattsburgh Renewal Project had scouted eight possible sites for the location of the mural and this was the first choice. Research, working on the design, collecting supplies and setting up venues to have public tile making events. The tile making workshops started with plans to do a total of 10 for the project. There ended up being 14 scheduled events; two at SUNY and 30 City and one each at CVPH, Lake Forest senior independent living, CV Tech, the Imaginarium, YSG and five tile making and glazing workshops in the Jackie Sabourin Clay Studio at the Strand Center for the Arts. The people who made the tiles came from all parts of the community. Many had never worked in clay before. We had whole families with children as young as four, students of all ages, seniors, people who live and work in Plattsburgh and others from surrounding towns who come to this small but diverse city for commerce and cultural enrichment. Around 300 people made tiles for this mural. The Strand Center for the Arts and the potters at the Jackie Sabourin Clay studio were extremely important to the success of this community art piece. Josh Kretser and the staff at the Strand were so supportive of this project. The Clay studio head

SPECIAL EDITION • SUMMER 2014 • $5.00

CJ Young (Sue’s daughter) cleaning grout out of tiles with dental tools during the final day of installation of the Mountain Lake Mandala. This mural was part of a year long Festival of Tibetan Art and Culture sponsored by Mountain Lake PBS in Plattsburgh. The TV station made a documentary about all aspects of the festival and its founders Yangchen and Tenzin Dorjee who are Tibetan refugees. “Arts in Exile: Tibetan Treasures in Small Town America” produced by Paul Larson was nominated for an Emmy in 2016. For more info see http://artsinexile.mountainlake.org/

technician, Joanne Arvisais loaded kilns and did many firings for this project. With all the issues that go on in a public studio she managed to do all those extra firings in kilns that were already in high demand. Beyond the scheduled workshops we had another five or more work sessions to get any last tile made and a lot of glazing done. I would leave boxes of bisque tile with pints of glaze and a note and it would be glazed by the next day I came in to the studio. Around the studio it got to be known as “homework”. Ellen O’Hara, Kim Mazur, Trish Best, Jackie Sabourin and other open studio people were so helpful. But especially Carol and Gerry Hofmaiester. Carol and Gerry were at every tile making and glazing workshop and were involved in every step of this process. When it came time to get the wall ready for the mural there were some challenges. This structure was built sometime in the late 1800s and has been painted many times. To apply the tiles to the wall we had to get down to the original brick surface. To keep it safe for the neighborhood and environment we had to hand scrape the wall. It was grueling work and I remember at the end of day one there was two of us working, and we only had a few square feet done out of the 90 square feet that had to be scraped. It seemed like an impossible task. But I started to think about the 50 plus years that the Tibetan people have been exiled from their country and my suffering seemed a slight inconvenience. Julia Devine of the Plattsburgh Renewal Project stopped by that day and asked what we needed. We said more help and she contacted more volunteers. It took five days and eight people to get all those layers of paint off the wall. After that the installation went smoothly. It was hard work but exciting to see the mural develop. The group worked really well together and we got all the tile on the wall and had it grouted and the paint touched up. During the installation we heard so many shouts of gratitude from people driving by as well as people on the street. It was such a wonderful experience to get so much first hand positive response. Working on this mural has been the most positive art project I have ever been involved with. One of the most common questions we would get as we worked on the mural was “How many tiles are in it?” I have come up with an approximate number which is more than we originally thought.

3480!

THANKS!!!

Mandala on Wall, Plattsburgh, NY

Detail

Susan Willnus is working on a documentary about the newest mural I’m working on at the Plattsburgh Public Library on Oak St. and Brinkerhoff. This one is based on the children’s book “Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt”by local author Kate Messner, and NYC illustrator Christopher Silas Neal. When finished this one will have moving parts that represent the rain cycle. The tile parts are finished and installed, and am working on the marble machine now. The machine includes 3 D printed parts with plans to have a solar array for power Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 105

Vikki Michalios’ Flowers of Hope A Response to Global Warming

What Sunflowers Know, 2019 12” x 12”, mixed media on panel

“In Japan, acres of sunflowers were planted in hopes of remediating toxins resulting from the damaged power plant.”

Ragnorak, 2019, 14” x 11”, oil on canvas

lowers of Hope is the seminal work in a contemporary media coverage of them, or series of Vikki Michalios latest abstract legends related to them. Images are composed works that best embody the artist’s using one medium or combining methods affinity for Earth’s together,” she notes. effort to renew Installation, drawing, and repair itself, painting and a variety and in process, of printing methods affirm both life including silkscreen, a n d b e a u t y. drypoint, etching and The abstract mono-print all come sunflowers are into play. Adds the artist, dedic ations to “Sowing flowers of Land, Air, and hope for a radioactiveWater (LAW). free future was the In the afterpoint of departure for math of the 2009 this series of water tsunami disaster, based screen prints and the con-taminated ink drawings named areas of Fukushima Vikki’s 13-year-old Harley Cohen, finishing her Fukushima series after p o w e r p l a n t 46er on Rocky Peak Ridge standing behind her and had been sown Hudson. From left: Mia Colango, Shelly Peterson, the Tsunami in Japan. with sunflowers Harley, Dylan Cohen, Karl Peterson, Jake Peterson. They are abstractions of sun flowers. to absorb and In addition to her art, Vikki Michalios runs a neutralize the toxins in the soil. The result public exhibition space in the storefront windows of has been huge swaths of yellow flowers, her Jersey City, NJ studio where artists can create and wide fields of astonishing beauty echoing the promote a public project. Her works have been shown at yellow shimmer of life-giving sunlight. From the Hunterdon Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Jersey City this statement of hope in the midst of an Museum, Blackburn 20/20 at Elizabeth Foundation for unparalleled disaster, Ms. Michalios drew the the Arts, Center for Contemporary Arts in Bedminster, inspiration for the abstract Fukushima Daiichi, Contemporary Artists Center Woodside, Aljira, A for Contemporary Arts, Village West Gallery, a series of water-based screenprints that uses Center Now Project Space, AIR Gallery, Walsh at Seton Hall art to recognize the tenacity of life itself. University, Columbia University, and Denise Bibro “My art is about environmental among others. She lives in Keene Valley, NY, with her systems and is inspired by ecological events, family. 106 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

When The Sun Went Dark, 2019, 12” x 12”, mixed media on panel

The Memory of Water, 12” x 12”, mixed media contact Vikki at: vikki.nyc@gmail.com www.vikkimichalios.com • @vikkimichalios

John Hudson’s Adirondack Landscapes, framed by the artist, are steeped in tradition, honoring the High Peaks region and the artists who came before him

John Hudson: Adirondack Artist and Framer

John Hudson also specializes in repair of the art as well as the mattes and frames. Pat Ladew’s painting (above) now resides comfortably in its new home

Raised in Keene Valley, John Hudson has spent his life immersed in not only art, but public service as well. As a Town Code Enforcer and traveling to disaster areas with FEMA, John has seen first hand the ravages of nature. Maybe that’s why his paintings are so well-known for capturing nature’s beauty. A student of Bruce Mitchell, John also worked closely with Keene Valley’s extraordinary abstract expressionist Vry Roussling during her latter days. Putting

On the front porch of his gallery/frame shop, Rte. 73, Keene NY

all this knowledge to great use, John has created a substantial body of work, much of which has been adapted to print media, making the work accessible and affordable. His work stands out for its softly realistic personae which tenderly display the power of the mountains with the easy movement of leaves falling from a tree. or water quietly reflecting light from the sun, moon or stars. Hudson is a veritable fountain of Adirondack lore and with his partner Jane Martin offers matboard and glass cutting along with framing repairs at their Hudson Art Center. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 107

ITALO CLEMENTE’S LONG AND STORIED CAREER Born in Italy to father Giuseppe, a physician of internal medicine and mother Azalea De'Luca Di Pietralata, a journalist and published poet, throughout his young school years he sketched on almost every page of his text books. After high school he enrolled at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Genova while continuing his art education with private teachers. He left Italy for New York City where he worked as a Maitre’D in luxury hotels such as The Plaza, St. Regis and The Barclay. Soon he opened the Omnia Art Gallery at 18 West 55th street off Fifth Avenue where he sold a great part of his art. He joined the New York Art Students League where he studied painting, etching and life drawing focusing on artistic anatomy and color theory. He became known for his various styles with different media and his pensive, romantic faces, figures, interiors, abstracts and still lifes. Italo also opened a skylight studio at the 41 Union Square West artist colony and showed his work in NYC at the Croquis Gallery and Di Mauro Gallery. He participated in the prestigious 23rd Biennial of American Drawing in Washington DC selected by the print curator of the New York Metropolitan Museum. His works owned by collectors in the USA and abroad include Charles Mingus the renowned jazz musician and Admiral Neil McElroy the Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower administration. Italo befriended Salvador Dali when at the OmniaGallery from whom he received art esteem and signed mementos. In 1990 Italo moved to the Adirondacks where he continued his art activity until his passing in 2010. He showed his work at the 'Y' Gallery, The Palette Show, the Adirondack Artists Guild in Saranac Lake and the Center for the Arts in Lake Placid. Italo is remembered by his friends and partner Brenda as a sweet renaissance man, great cook, gardener and creative artist. For further information contact BrendaTOYS@roadrunner.com 108 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

A Thoughtfull Man-art 9.5 x7.5

KAZ KEEPS IT ABSTRACT

KAZ - “The trope of constructing divergent liquid spectrums over cotton”, 48”x 96”, mixed media on wood panel 2018, at Keene Arts

“With commitment, passion and soul.”

“Working this year, I have often thought of the people and the work that they created before me. A deference to the soul and commitment that these individuals had is an additional driving motivation in my work. To stand on the walls of their foundation is an honor and my attempt is to treat it as such. Really, to have respect for all that brought you to where you are because every single piece of it has created you to be the person and/or artist you are today. This respect should be embodied in your work, for the viewer to see as a tangible entity in your work. Commitment, passion and soul.”

Sunlight in Bolzano, 24”x24” acrylic and wax pencil on wood panel from the Steve and Gabriella Popp collection, Old Mountain Coffee, Rt. 73, Keene Valley, New York Great coffee, great food, and now another showplace for art in the High Peaks region Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 109

NAJ WIKOFF

Renaissance Man & The Healing Power of Art

By DAN PLUMLEY

If the term “renaissance man” is overused, you haven’t met artist and healing advocate Naj Wikoff who puts his own enthusiastic Dutch-boy spin on the concept with his engaging life. Born and raised in the Olympic Village of Lake Placid, New York, Naj Wikoff took to the arts at an early age. Recalling recently his Kindergarten teacher having him wear one of his father’s large white shirts as an artists’ “smock” during early finger-painting, Wikoff cites 6th or 7th grade in elementary school as the time he set his future course. “I knew then that I wanted to study the arts and move on eventually to a highly respected college of the arts at Pratt University, “stated Wikoff, which is exactly what he was bound to achieve. With his Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree (BFA), Wikoff continued his studies and earned his Master’s Degree in Sculpture at Hunter College. The Big Apple became an exciting, thriving realm for Wikoff where he would do sculpture and site-specific art installations within the city and in shows of the Organization of Independent Artists in Soho and other urban settings. City streets and avenues became locations for art integrated with the city landscape, but utilizing nature, wild settings and natural elements became a major theme of Wikoff ’s arts, sculpture, pastels and paintings from those heady, post college days. 110 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Prairie Ship, 1982

From using and interpreting natural shadows, to halo’s of tree branchlets, to forming designs in fallen snow and sauntering, long layings of brightly colored fabric down running or frozen, snow-covered Adirondack brooks and streams, Wikoff found and formed a visual and deeply personal recognition of the healing powers of both nature and arts for the human in soul, wellness and health. That and Wikoff ’s ever enthusiastic interest and skill set of getting the right people together to do fascinating work and finding the right – or creating his own – entity, organization or non-profit to make leading headway on the integration of arts and health care. His relentless, ever-expanding vibe and interests took him to organizing cultural events at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City to working for former US Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire. His most impacting sculptural work, “Prairie Ship,” included 110-foot high set masts and geometrically colored sails billowing skyward aloft that turned a Wisconsin rolling landscape into a public park-like artistic installation. A spin-off, the 120-foot tall Prairie Ship Liberty toured ten locations nationwide, including under the Arch in St. Louis, next to the Washington Monument in D.C. and ending at Battery Park City as part of the Centennial

Celebration of the Statue of Liberty. “My job at the Cathedral was to uplift the human spirit through the arts,” said Wikoff. “On my very day I was called to use the arts to help address the AIDS epidemic, this back in 1986. That experience transformed my understanding of the power of the arts and what it means to be an artist.” Naj Wikoff ’s artistic mindset and his long-leading devotion to the integration of arts, healing and wellness have brought him to arts and teaching/sharing work as far flung as Eastern Siberia and Moscow, Russia, building bridges across warring divides in the heart of the Middle East to giving cancer surviving women and military soldiers living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a new lease on life through the arts. Wikoff now serves a founding board member of the National Organization for Arts in Health. Naj Wikoff, ever the promoter of his alpine hometown and recently recognized as one of Lake Placid’s “Hall of Fame” recipient for such civic endeavors as a founder of the Lake Placid Film Festival (Forum), Creative Healing Connections, and the Lake Placid Institute, is now hard at work promoting his own 40-foot high stainless steel Olympic Rings sculpture design in recognition of the Lake Placid’s unique, twice Olympic legacy (1932 and 1980). Wikoff resides 14 miles to the east of the Olympic Village in Keene Valley, New York in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks region.

DAVID McDONOUGH

By TIFFANI MCDONOUGH, MD I learned a lot about reflection and creativity from my father, David McDonough. For many in town, he was the guy at the hardware, ready with a solution or idea, or a chat. But Dad also spent a lot of time with a camera in his hand, for as long as I can remember. Dad would take walks most every morning toward Mulligan’s Path with a camera, in all seasons, a quick moment for himself in nature, and loved to capture over

Hardly believe it’s six years since Dave McDonough was abruptly taken from us, leaving his beautiful family and many friends. His photographs reveal not merely a talent with a camera, but a look at his persona, hence the McDonoughgraph, with apologies to Kodak and Polariod. To many, he was a hardware store maven, but this side of him shows his love and appreciation for his home turf, letting all who take a look that there is really no place like home, especially when it is Keene Valley. – VICTOR FORBES

Paint

and over again the scenes around us, the mountains (particularly Giant of the Valley) in all their moods. He also was a serious family documentarian, taking thousands of photos of our family, every concert, holiday, and silly moment through the years. He made sure that my siblings and I each had a camera, too. Dad made pictures on film, faithfully, even as hobby photography moved toward digital. He never had time to fully embrace that medium, but to him, the slow process of film was important. One of his favorite parts of this was the wait to see what came back from the color lab, the surprise and little gift of the images that came back to him in the paper envelope in the mail. Dad went back to the same spots he loved, over and over again: the vista you might notice on your way to work as you crest Rt 73 headed toward the valley, or the muted silence of the forest in later autumn, and the light in the same spot as life begins to emerge in early spring. He captured them for himself, but also to give them to others, to show to those passing through or those who live here too, what a beautiful place Keene is, and what it meant to him. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 111

Renowned Adirondack Photographer

ROLF SCHULTE

turns his lens to the American

SOUTHWEST

The author and her dad at their Point of View Gallery, Lake Placid

By MARGARETE SCHULTE When Rolf Schulte’s son Dietmar moved from sunny and tropical Hawaii to Las Vegas, the celebrated Adirondack photographer (originally hailing from Sauerland, Germany) was as excited as a kid in a candy store. He had always dreamed of going out west and seeing the beautiful and exotic landscapes so vastly different from the green mountains and cool forests to which he was accustomed. Rolf wasted no time in making plans to visit his son in his new milieu, including Dietmar in what would be (for both) the adventure of their dreams. Rolf and Dietmar had grown apart to some extent in the previous 20 years; Dietmar had left home for Arizona when he was in college, and moved to Hawaii when he joined the Navy. Rolf wanted to reconnect with his son, and did — sharing with him an experience of immersion in the intense vivacity and beauty of nature. Dietmar, being somewhat reserved and not particularly adventuresome, probably wouldn’t have attempted this kind of adventures alone, but Rolf methodically acclimated him to outdoor experiences and coerced him gently out of his shell. On their first trip together in 2010, they went on a tour of the Grand Canyon. Neither had witnessed anything so vast and beautiful together before. Rolf, with camera in hand with Dietmar looking on, shared something that day: a father-son bond that had been neglected due to years of separate lives and busy schedules. Every year since, Rolf has gone to Las Vegas, picked up Dietmar and together they’ve set out on many adventures to the regional national parks. Visiting such landmarks as Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, Valley of Fire, Antelope Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Zion and the Pink Sand Dunes (to name a few) Rolf photographed all in his inimitable style with Dietmar as acting assistant and travel companion throughout. Rolf is heralded for his landscape images of the massive Adirondack Park in upstate New York which he has called home since 1967. He has been avidly shooting various subjects for over 60 years, taking photos as a child in Germany, His peripatetic lifestyle brought him all over the world, including opportunities for photos in 112 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Antelope Canyon I

the Northwest Territories of Canada and Amazon Jungle in Brazil in the late 50s/60s. During those years, he worked on a ship as a chef, allowing him many “ports of call” where he shot photos wherever the boat docked. After years of travel followed by years spent in New York City, Rolf eventually landed in Lake Placid in the 1970s. He fell in love with the beauty and serenity of the natural world of the Adirondacks, and has been actively shooting Adirondack landscapes ever since. Rolf has been heard to say that he is not truly happy unless he is in the middle of the woods, or canoing on a lake or river. This love of nature ultimately directed him to a lifetime of landscape photography. He loves to capture the same shot several times just to see what a second, a minute, an hour, a week, a month, or even a year would do to change the landscape. This diligence required considerable

Rolf Schulte in “the wave” photo by Dietmar Schulte

Petrified Wood, detail

patience because in those days medium format film was the instrument he used to photograph and then develop the film in his color darkroom. As the times changed, so did Rolf ’s methods of capturing the Adirondack Landscape. He reluctantly bought a digital camera in 2007 (a Canon Mark5 II), and with his daughter Margarete’s help to decipher the digital implications and necessities of modern equipment, he was able to adapt his technique. For his gallery show this June at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, he chose a new direction. More of an abstract or macro feel, this show will be different from Rolf ’s other exhibitions both in content and style. Rolf turns 80 this spring and feels the time has come to turn over a new leaf and try something new. It’s never too late to reinvent oneself! To learn more about Rolf and his upcoming show visit www.lakeplacidarts.org/gallery/upcoming-shows.

Grand Canyon Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 113

GOTHICS FROM PYRAMID

THICS FROM PYR 114 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

ROLF SCHULTE

RAMID

The author on the trail, 1961

From the map on Whiteface summit

Summit Mt. Nish-Ka-Diget

written by eleven year-old Victor Forbes for 8th grade SPE class in which passing wsa 85 (corrections included). Close, but no cigar. But Gothics with a cable - what a climb! 116 â&#x20AC;˘ Fine Art Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ Autumn 2019

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 117

Johns Brook roaring through Keene Valley, photo by Pete Plumley

Boulders such as this one, situated by Johns Brook in Keene Valley with Robert Topping, can be found even at the summit of Mt. Marcy, New York’s highest peak at nearly a mile. To find out how they arrived there, adirondack-park.net - very informative. 118 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

The Adirondack Dome

On the Adirondack-park.net website there is a great brief history of the geology of the mountains many visit and call home. “The Adirondack Mountains are very different in shape and content from other mountain systems. Unlike elongated ranges like the Rockies and the Appalachians, the Adirondacks form a circular dome, 160 miles wide and 1 mile high. Although the Dome as we know it today is a relatively recent development, having emerged about 5 million years ago, it is made of ancient rocks more than a 1,000 million years old. Hence, the Adirondacks are ‘new mountains from old rocks.’ “The High Peaks region of New York is underlain by a large intrusive body of massif anorthosite, a rock composed of exceptionally large crystals of plagioclase feldspar. Rocks in the Adirondacks range in age from approximately 1350 to 1000 million years old and record as many as three or four tectonic events which were part of the Grenville Orogenic Cycle. The net results of these events were high-grade metamorphism, strong deformation, and the widespread overprinting of original relationships and primary textural features. Anorthosite, the signature grey rock familiar to climbers and hikers in the Adirondacks is an ancient form of granite formed 15 miles below the surface more than a billion years ago. This rock, more often found well underground than at the Earth’s surface, apparently is very common on the moon. As a whole, the rocks making up the Adirondack region are amongst the oldest on the planet, around one billion years old. For the Adirondack bedrock to consist of the minerals that it does, it must have formed underneath 15 miles of overlying rock. http://www.adirondack-park.net/history/ geological.html.” So when you see a Matthew Horner sculpture, now you know what those rocks had to go through before being further refined by the sculptor’s hand, eye and power tools.

MATTHEW HORNER

The Man Who Loves Rocks…& Ice…& Single Malt and…

Matthew Horner in his studio, Keene Valley, NY

…YELLOW MAN & singing in the choir and I could go on and on about Matthew Horner, a very special talent making his way in the art area, but I’ll let Malcolm MacDougall of Keene Arts take over. “If you know Matt well or just met him at the farmer’s market, its clear he has a joyous and generous spirit. He loves people, nature and to celebrate life in all its facets. Basically, he is a great person to hang out with. He is also a deep thinker who is able to connect with the more sublime rhythms of life and channel them through his artwork. He is always experimenting; pushing himself and the materials he works with, constantly asking, what if….. ? “There are easier materials to take on, but he seems to relish the hard work and process of refinement it takes for his visions to emerge. Somehow, he is able to take a solid material — stone — and magically turn it into an object that is ancient and timeless or modern and novel. In addition to his dedication, I respect his curiosity and openness which is not exclusive to his artwork. Matt brings this to everything and everyone he come into contact with. “Just stop by his gallery/workshop behind the Mountaineer garage across from Valley Hardware and enjoy a conversation and lots of beautiful artwork.”

An ardent fisherman, Matthew made the cover of “Fishing The Adirondacks, A Complete Anglers Guide To The Adirondack Park and Northern NY” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 121

Matthew Horner, Keene Arts, Keene, NY where his work has been seen for many years

The Mountaineer outdoor emporium commissioned this masterpiece of art and commerce

Fellow climber Laura Paradise stops by the Keene Valley Farmers market ro say hello

“When I’m not climbing ice, I make sculpture and carve stone.”

Repurposing ice climbing and mountaineering gear into works of art

“I like drilling holes through #rock.”

Triple purpose - birdbath/water dish/sculpture perfect size for King Klarence of Keene Valley 122 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Matthew Horner and Russell Banks on their way to to Equador. “Our first trip to the Andes.”

“Matt is a beast, an animal, an extreme mountain-man. I’ve climbed with him in the Andes in Ecuador and Peru, and have felt a lot safer because of it. I’m nearly 40 years older than he is, and my wife wouldn’t let me go until I assured her that Matt would be my tent-mate, and if I had a heart attack at altitude, he would carry me out, so she relented, because she believed, rightly, that he is my only friend who is capable of carrying me out. He’s also a fine artist, a deep soul with a vision. How rare is that? I love the guy.” – Russell Banks

Malcolm MacDougall, Keene Arts Director

Working on ICBM Silo in Lewis, NY

Matt Horner is a stone sculptor based in Keene, NY, a small town nestled in the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains in Northern New York State. Horner’s rocks are all local, excavated from nearby rivers and mountains. His process starts with marking the stone and blocking out the form, sawing cuts into the stone, hand chiseling off the unwanted material and finally grinding and polishing to achieve the desired finish. The forms that emerge - with their organic flowing curves and earthy palette - are a reflection of the inspiration Horner draws from his abundantly mountainous home. His exceptional craftsmanship and mastery of form, balance, scale and detail result in a unique collection of sculptures and stone art objects. Horner is also a licensed rock/ice and fly fishing guide, and when he is not carving stone, he can often be found climbing on it and wading rivers, casting to wary trout. The patience, commitment and aesthetic sense of line that is such a part of these disciplines also help inform his stonework.

The Mundys, Stephens and Leigh, stop by Keene Arts to pick up the latest addition to their collection.

From massive to minute, Matthew Horner works are as utilitariam as they are beautiful. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 123

Corscaden Barn Gallery Carries On Tradition of Vry Martha Corscaden, a true hero of creativity, keeps the flame lit by her grandmother Boom Boom, her mother Vryling Dunham Corscaden and sister Vry Roussin alive in Keene. Valley. Under Martha’s guidance and TLC, The Corscaden Art Barn has become synonymous with art in the Northland, a welcoming beacon of light for artists, patrons and admirers of good original art. May you and The Barn live long and prosper. ––VB Forbes

Vry Looking Out Looking In

Stephanie DeManuelle Ausable Roots 44” x 30” mixed media

Zaluski Flower sculpture

Bear Miller, Olana View #4, oil on board, 16”x 20”

Kate Gaudreau #2 “Yuiitsu” (Only one) gouache on block 4x4”. //#1 titled:Kaito Suru ( The thaw) 124 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Vry painting at her studio in the original barn

Michael Gaudreau Celestial Moment in Chapel Pond

Stephanie DeManuelle, Barbara Kaufman, Bear Miller, Michael Gaudreau

Tim Fortune Amazes At Keene Arts

Diana and Tim Fortune, Malcolm and Alexandra (Zizi) MacDougall of Keene Arts in front of Tim’s watercolor, Resurrection 91” x 70”

Born and raised in the heart of the Adirondacks, Tim Fortune defies easy analysis, but like all good art, it lingers in the mind long studied art at Tyler School of Art of Temple University where he after we leave ....” adds Gary Schwan, art critic for the Palm Beach Post . received a BFA. He later graduated from New Mr. Fortune’s works have been shown York University with a Master of Arts and at Segno Grafico and the Palazzo Grassi, subsequently studied in Italy for several years. Venice, Italy; Washington Square East Often focusing on the effects of water Galleries, New York City; Northwood which surrounded him in Venice, Florida and Institute, Helander Galler y and the the Adirondacks, Mr. Fortune has a passion for Governmental Center in West Palm Beach, a dramatic “inner light” and unique richness of Florida; the Peter Drew Gallery in Boca color which is readily apparent in his works. Raton, Florida; the Rodger LaPelle Gallery Integrating the experiences accumulated over in Philadelphia; the Connoisseur Gallery the years, he has interpreted his surroundings in Rhinebeck, NY; Elaine Benson Gallery with a mature and sensitive vision. In 1994 he in Bridgehampton, Long Island; and the set up a studio and gallery in Saranac Lake, NY Copley Society in Boston and Soho Photo where he grew up. Gallery in New York City. Several of his “These pieces represent a fresh look at a pieces are included in corporate collections familiar place. As T. S. Eliot wrote ‘ ... the end such as that of Barnett Bank. His works of all our exploring will be to arrive where we have been exhibited in the American started and know the place for the first time,’ said Embassy in Guatemala as part of the Art in the artist. “My inspiration comes from many Embassies Program of the U. S. Department directions — a drive in the country, attending an of State. Twice he has won major prizes art exhibit, improvisational sketches, or a look at the prestigious Annual Exhibition of out my back door. Perhaps the most productive Contemporary American Painting at the approach is experimentation with materials and Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach. images in my studio. Starting a work and not Fortune’s work is also represented in the Current, 73” x 48”, watercolor. knowing where or how it will end is the most permanent collection of the Adirondack exciting part of my creative drive.” Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. Working in oils, watercolors, gouache and mixed media, Mr. Currently Mr. Fortune is continuing his exploration of the Fortune “ ... offers a good example of the creator as a multiple talent unique qualities of the Adirondacks from his studio in the High .... “ states Charles Calhoun of Palm Beach Life Magazine. “[His] work Peaks region. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 125

HARMONY

Russell Banks and Robert Carl Create Mozartian Romance

Samuel Clemens photographed in 1908 via the Autochrome Lumiere process

By Robert Carl The origins of Harmony have an element of serendipity. I had been thinking of the idea of a small music theater piece about the meeting of Mark Twain and Charles Ives, which actually happened in Hartford Connecticut prior to Ives’s marriage (Twain was the godfather of Harmony Twichell, Ives’s fiancée). But when reading the novel Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks, I came to realize that this writer, whom I already admired enormously, in fact had a similar interest in both artistic figures. (The book is a modern retelling of Huckleberry Finn, and there are clues about Ives scattered throughout it.) And as it turned out later, Russell was married to Ives’ grand niece, the poet Chase Twichell …and they summered in same area as the Twichells’ summer “camp” that Ives visited! And so I did the hard copy equivalent of a “cold call“, writing Russell, who amazingly responded. This began a process which led to the formulation of the initial story, and the transposition of its locale to the far more beautiful and romantic Adirondacks. The first stage of our adventure was a reading of an extended concert excerpt at the New York City Opera Vox series. And happily, though I did not know it at the time, Darren Woods was in the audience. He later contacted us in hopes that Seagle could produce the premiere of the piece, a perfect match, since its location is very close to that of the work’s setting. Harmony has been a labor of love for both of us for almost 2 decades. I think it is particularly special for a few reasons. First, it is a romantic comedy, 126 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Charles Ives, daughter Edith, 1924

Though Ives composed the first radical musical work of the twentieth century, “Central Park in the Dark”, his music was largely ignored during his life, particularly during the years in which he actively wrote music. and I personally think there aren’t enough of those around in opera (never mind that the gold standard was established early on by Mozart’s great late operas). Second, it is a truly original story. So many operas have recently been musical re-workings of movies, plays, and novels. This one comes out of the joint experience and inspiration of Russell and me, and in particular out of his fertile and fluent literar y imagination and voice. Third, it is diverse and eclectic in a very American way. Its time and topic allows the incorporation of sounds that come out of hymnody, folk song, popular music of the day, traditional classical music, and avant-garde practice:

Charles Ives, c. 1909

a little like the music of Ives himself. (Though I have avoided making the piece of pastiche of his music). Its setting, in 1908, is poised at a moment in music history when anything was possible; a time that is not very different from ours at the turn of this century. Finally, it’s a story of how artists struggle to maintain love in the face of the often punishing ideals of their work. And it’s also a story of the people “behind the scenes” (especially the women) who keep things together, rescue artists from their extremities, and allow vision to flourish. I’ve thought of it as a bit of an all-American Magic Flute, set in the mountains. Often in the pursuit of perfection or the transcendental, things can get derailed. And then, through the power of love, life can be set back on track for the happiness and welfare of all.

At Keene Arts for the Seagle Music Colony workshop performance of “Harmony”: Malcolm MacDougall, sculptor Matthew Horner, artist Frank Owen, Russell Banks, realtor Martha Lee Owen

L top R: Richard Kagey (Seagle Production director), Russell Banks, Alicia Russell (Harmony Twichell), Darren Woods (Seagle Artistic Director), Andrew McGowan (Dr. David Twichell), Tom Lynch (Charles Ives), Robert Carl (Music Composer), Anthony Rohr (Mark Twain) Megan Dieter (Seagle Stage director), Katarina Galagaza (Olivia Twain & Julia Twichell), Nate Mattingly (Rev. Joseph Twichell), Neil Campbell (Music Director) at Keene Arts performance of “Harmony” Workshop performance by American Center for New Works Development by Seagle Music Colony, Elizabethtown, NY

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

by Russell Banks

There was an extraordinary night in America in 1908, when the greatest American writer of the 19th century, the elderly Mark Twain, was in the same room with the greatest American composer of the 20th, the young Charles Ives. I know about this meeting because of my wife’s family history. Her great-grandfather, the Rev. Joseph Twichell, minister of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, CT, was both the best friend and longtime traveling companion of Mark Twain and the father of Harmony Twichell, who was his favorite daughter and Twain’s god-daughter. The young Ives had come a-courting and wanted the hand of Harmony, and Rev. Twichell asked Twain to interview the young man to determine if he was fit for the hand of Harmony. This took place in Hartford. I wrote an essay about the event as an introduction to one of the volumes of the Oxford facsimile edition of the Complete Mark Twain, for which a number of contemporary American authors were invited to introduce individual volumes. I chose Twain’s A Tramp Abroad, Twain’s account of his trek through Germany, Switzerland and Italy with a figure named, Mr. Harris, who is a thinly disguised portrait of Rev. Twichell, who made that trip with him. The essay was published separately in The New York Times Book Review. Sometime after that appeared, the composer Robert Carl, who had come to my fiction separately and knew thereby of my interest in both Ives and Twain, asked me if this fascinating encounter between Ives and Twain could be an opera, and would I be willing to write the libretto. I had never written a libretto before, though I am a lifelong opera lover and have read many libretti, ancient and modern. But I wrote poetry as a young man and published several volumes of it in the 1960s and 70s, and Robert Carl’s suggestion took me back to that early period in my writing life, before I turned to fiction, and presented me with the opportunity to re-engage my love both of verse and opera. I admire Robert Carl’s music, especially the work he has done with poets like Charles Simic and other writers. So I agreed to write a libretto based on that wonderful, little known night in America in 1908. Together we met and discussed how to adapt the historical events to the necessary narrative elements of opera, how to play the characters off one another and develop them over time — narrative elements — and how to present this wonderful meeting both dramatically and musically. We decided that it should take place on a midsummer’s eve in the Adirondack summer home of the Twichell family, visited often by both Twain and Ives, and it should be a Mozartian romance, in which the romantic dreams of youth are played out against the restraints and fears of the sagacious and cautious elderly. And it should dramatize the conflict between a life dedicated to art and one constrained by domestic affiliation. That Rev. Twichell had nine children gave us the chorus. That the late Twain was still embittered over the loss of his wife Olivia and the death of two of his children gave us an antagonist. That Charles Ives at that young age was beginning to suffer from the effects of diabetes, a fatal disease then, gave us the dark shadow needed to make our story dramatic. For me, returning to verse was liberating. I was able to combine my fiction-writer’s devotion to story and character and conflict with my love of language and music in a new way, but one that re-connected me to my early love of writing poetry. It also let me memorialize a Twichell family story that had been told to me by my wife and her extended Twichell family for decades. And it let me sing a hymn to my own personally beloved Adirondacks, where this all takes place on a single evening. Which happens to be one of the most interesting evenings in the history of American art. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 127

Joan Dixon, Annette Merle-Smith, Elsa Dixon at Holt House reception

Elsa and Joan Dixon Collaborations

The Holt House, Elsa Dixon

Bronson Lawrence, Mary Lawrence, Joan Dixon and Michael Northup at Holt House opening

My mother Joan Dixon has been a painter of Adirondack landscapes since the early 1980s and was the Secretary of the High Peaks Artists for more than 25 years. I myself discovered collage only a few years ago, and in March of 2019 had the honor of being given a grant from the Essex County Arts Council, which I used to attend a weeklong workshop focusing on gel printing with Japanese rice paper to create painted papers specially for collage. Joan and I have also greatly enjoyed a collaboration of our artistic efforts. She will do a background in acrylics and I will do a painted-paper collage object in the foreground, such as in The Red Chair. –ELSA DIXON

Joan Dixon, Morning Walk, acrylic on canvas

The Red Chair, Joan & Elsa collaboration 128 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

View from the Holt House Window, Elsa Dixon

Ed Wheeler’s Subtle Dynamism

Ed Wheeler at his Corscaden Barn exhibition

Mossy Cascade

Renoir-Dance at Bugival

Appleton Museum of Art Installation

RECONSTRUCTIONS

Algae

WIDE SPACES

hese images are have begun to view reconstructed the landscape from a photographs of nature’s different perspective. textures. These textural If a landscape is an surfaces are not just expanse of rural optical but tactile. scener y, how Much like a better to Rorschach express test they t h a t leave to the dimenviewer the s i on t h a n interpretation. panoramic. In That determination this format the may be based on: viewer is unable to shape, design, tone, grasp the space in a texture or object. Looking single glance, but must deeper into each image brings shift focus. Drawing them discovery, creates feelings be they into the details and textures that comfortable or uncomfortable, and await. This is not a short shrift, demands a response. but the long game. Above image: Pebbles Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 129

Lights! Camera!! Action!!! Ita Bullard Story Heads To Hollywood Written by Tracy Vicory-Rosenquest. Design work by Stephanie Tillman. Based on the life of Ita Bullard.

Tracy Vicory-Rosenquest is a dramatic writer, narrative artist, educator, entrepreneur and mother living in Plattsburgh, NY with her husband, Chris and son, Miles. Her plays have been on stage in Minneapolis, Montreal Seattle and Plattsburgh. Her work has been performed with the SUNY Plattsburgh Theatre Department, Annex Theatre, Eclectic Theatre, Live Girls! Theater, Macha Monkey Productions, Pacific Play Company, Richard Hugo House, Seattle Playwrights’ Collective, Minnesota & Seattle Fringe Festivals and The Schoolyard. Her recent screenplay, Avec Son Pinceau ( With Her Paintbrush), was commissioned by lta Bullard and is currently in pre-production. Tracy and her husband own Chapter One Coffee & Tea in the Plattsburgh Public Library in Plattsburgh, NY. 130 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Ita is 21 years old when she walks off the plane with her son, full of hope and excitement. She’s ready for a fresh start; however, her first year in a new country isn’t what she expected. Fortunatley she meets and falls for Horace Bullard, a handsome businessman. They begin a fried chicken restaurant together and when the second restaurant opens, Ita is happily pregnant. She shares with Horace her desire to marry, but he ignores her – a behavior that’s becoming all too familiar. With their business success, Ita and Horace spearhead a dream real estate venture in Coney Island. Ita works tirelesly on their entrepreneurial projects without much recognition. The Stock Market crash of 1987 and the obstacles set in motion by then Mayor Rudy Giuliani bring the project to a standstill. Ita and Hoarce are optimitstic with the interest of a new developer, but Horace can’t let go of his control and the devloper backs out. Horace sinks into depression with the loss of the dream and cuts off Ita financially. Ita embraces the support of her friends, takes Hoarce to court and wins a settlement. She’s invigorated with her new sense of confidence and vows to do whatever it takes to protect couples with common law marriage in the state.

RAVI SHANKAR

The Hook, Charcoal on Charcoal Paper, 12”x 10”, 2004. I was drawn to this photograph in particular because it captured him in his youth right before he changed the world with his bass mastery.

ANOTHER SIDE OF DEREK LAVOIE A first-call live and studio bass man, Derek Lavoie balances his music, art and family life in the Northland.

Mr. Zimmerman, Charcoal, 6.5”x 6.5”, circa 2004. An ode to one of my musical inspirations. I was studying black & white photography and how it transfers to charcoal and exploring different values and techniques.

Just Jimmy, Charcoal Pencil, 8”x6”, 2004. I tried to capture this icon referencing a rare photo of his quite side as opposed to “setting his guitar on fire.” It was the beginning of me honing my hyper-realization technique.

www.dereklavoieart.com Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 131

of the TALL PEAKS REGION OF NEW YORK

The Authentic American Spirit Speaks To The World Throughout his career, Theodore Roosevelt — a far-sighted fighter for freedom — summoned the American people to live America’s answer to the question dividing the world in his time and now: whether man has the capacity to govern himself and to use the liberty that is ours to build a civilization that shall endure. Whether serving as United States Civil Service Commissioner or Police Commissioner of New York City, as Governor of New York or as President of the United States (1901-1909), he continually reminded Americans of their responsibilities as free citizens of a self-governing republic, destined to play a major role in the world. With these responsibilities widened and deepened today, Theodore Roosevelt’s words have as sharp a meaning as ever. Here is an excerpt from an essay by TR as published in The Free Citizen “A Summons to service of the democratic ideal.” Selected from writings and stories from his record by Hermann Hagedorn, 1956, The MacMillan Company, New York. Notes William Allen White in his introductory essay on page 16, TR and the Elementary Truths, “There is a husky Old Testament flavor about these homilies. Isaiah might well have cried them out concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of the Kings.” Following are TR’s own prescient words from the early 20th Century: “Man can never escape being governed. Either they must govern themselves, or they must submit to being governed by others. If from lawlessness or fickleness, from folly or self-indulgence, they refuse to govern themselves, then most assuredly in the end they will have to be governed from outside. They can prevent the need of government from without by showing that they possess the power of government from within. A sovereign cannot make excuses for his failures; a sovereign must accept the responsibility for the exercises of the power that inheres in him; and where, as is true in our Republic, the people are sovereign, then the people must show a sober understanding and a sane and steadfast purpose if they are to preserve that orderly liberty upon which a as a foundation every republic must rest. “The democratic ideal must be that of subordinating chaos to order … the individual to the community … of training every man to realize that no one is entitled to citizenship in a great free commonwealth unless he does his full duty to his neighbor, his full duty to his family life and his full duty to the nation. “The republic cannot succeed if we do not take pains in educating the masters of the republic… It is easy enough to live under a despotism. You do not have to do anything; just let the other man govern. But it is not easy to live in a republic where each man has to do his part in the governing, and he cannot do it unless there is a sound basis of moral and intellectual training … to conscience and character until he grows to abhor corruption and greed and tyranny and brutality and to prize justice and fair dealing. The children should be trained in the elementary branches of righteousness … so that it shall come naturally to them to abhor that which is evil. “We must direct every natural resource, material and spiritual, to training soul and body to fit us in virile fashion to do a great work for mankind. Failure…must in the long run entail misfortune and possible disaster upon the nation itself.” Special thanks to our friend John A. Gable executive director of The Theodore Roosevelt Association, Oyster Bay, NY widely considered the world’s leading authority on TR

132 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

TR in the West Wing of the White House, courtesy the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

“A Primeval Forest Is a Great Sponge” Without his early natural history basics, so vital and durable, it is most unlikely that, on assuming the office of president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, in a few short years, would have become widely acclaimed as the foremost exponent of conservation in our nation.

“G

– Historian Paul Russell Cutright,

reed means the ruin of the great woods and the drying up of the sources of the rivers. The State should not permit within its limits factories to make bird skins or bird feathers into articles of ornament or wearing apparel. Ordinary birds, and especially song birds, should be rigidly protected. Game birds should never be shot to a greater extent than will offset the natural rate of increase. All spring shooting should be prohibited and efforts made by correspondence with the neighboring States to secure its prohibition within their borders. The open season for the different species of game and fish should be made uniform throughout the entire State, save that it should be shorter on Long Island for certain species which are not plentiful, and which are pursued by a greater number of people than in other game portions of the State.” Roosevelt ’s statements revealed his views on conservation. More than that, for the first time in the history of the nation, a prominent political figure had spelled out his convictions on this same subject. Never before had a governor of New York State or a governor of any state spoken out so fully, and so forthrightly, about the related topics of forest preservation, forest fires, flooding, stream pollution, soil erosion, reservoirs, illegal hunting, wildlife controls, and watersheds.

“Just be decent and you will count. Be decadent and — well, be damned to you.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Remembering Brett Lawrence, Guardian of the Realm

Brett Lawrence: husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, guide, caretaker, Marine. For us kids growing up, he wore many titles and had many roles. With each of these roles came responsibilities and those responsibilities required actions. It’s the decisions and actions he made during his time that will leave an impact on this Town and us, his family. It’s because of these long lasting impacts he made on all of us that I refuse to speak of him in the past tense. Now, this isn’t going to be one of those reality TV, Celebration of Life talks, like you see on TV. This is going to be story about facts: Fact #1: On a good day, Brett Lawrence stood 5’7” but his legacy is bigger than all of us and will outlive most of us. Our Aunt Mary fell in love with Brett and brought him into our lives on April 28, 1973. My family, the Hanvilles, were very close to them spending several summers and the 1980 Olympics here in Keene Valley. Uncle Brett showed us the beauty of the Adirondacks which we all loved. Spending time up here, we fished for trout, went to mountain camps with him, swam in the very cold Ausable River, went to the dump and watched the bears, and we appreciated his 10 p.m. dinners. We were proud to be Uncle Brett’s nieces and nephew as we walked to Johns Brook or down to Hall’s store to buy candy knowing we were safe in his town. Saying we are Brett and Mary Lawrence’s nieces and nephews was like having a key to the city. Saying his name always got me an in-state fishing license for the short time we were here. And as we saw, and heard growing up, woeit-be the poor tourist, or anyone with an out-of-state license plate that crossed his path. For it was them, so we were told, that kept us kids from catching fish, brought on the acid rain, the humidity, the heat, anything that disrupted the perfect balance of the mountain Of course he was just our Uncle Brett and as we got older the visits got fewer with our busy lives. We brought our children around him when we knew they could handle his colorful language…when he said “Peckerhead” and they didn’t look to the trees for a bird, when they understood being called a “little bastard” was his term of endearment and when they could appreciate the beauty of the Adirondacks as we did growing up. They also heard Uncle Brett refer to Aunt Mary as his bride. That was special. We all know he loved his family. His Moll Moll who gave him six months of joy with his grandson, Greggor. And Bronson who he was so proud of. You came back to the Valley and gave your dad the time and friendship of a son he needed. He had two other loves in his life, these mountains and the Marine Corps. Brett didn’t decide to be a guide, he was born into it. He would tell us about his great-grandfather Smith Beede, who once owned the Beede Hotel which was on the same property as the Ausable Club and was a central figure in starting the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. He’d pass, to us nieces and nephews, his knowledge of the mountains, its history, and his stories. He loved his way of life, we looked up to him for being one of the few registered guides in New York, and he was very proud when Bronson came back to the Valley and started going up to the lakes with him. If Keene Valley is “the home of high peaks,” then Brett is certainly the property manager of the high peaks.…and lucky was a visitor to the Ausable Club who got to meet Brett and see what a true guide was. And luckier was the Weld family who he guided for so many years. He lived to go the lakes with the Weld family and he wowed this family when he was featured in Life Magazine and we learned of the many Inaugurations he attended as a guest of these clients he guided into the lakes. Brett was a patriot. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1966 and was honorably discharged in January 1970. Though he was only active duty for 4 years, he spent the next 46 years acting as if he were in the Marine Corps Reserves.

Brett Lawrence at home in Keene Valley

He hardly ever talked about his time in Vietnam but he always talked about his time going through Recruit training on Parris Island. He’d show me hand to hand combat moves, close order drill moves, and other Marine Corps specifics. He once commented on how, hearing the “Marines Hymn” still gave him goose bumps. And he flown his flags with pride and a deep sense of commitment. But there was something else he was showing me about the Marine Corps that I didn’t understand at the time but I recognize now. I watched how his eyes twinkled when he talked about his time in the Marine Corps, when he would talk about his Marine buddy, Ron Janicki. It was more than a name, it was a bond well beyond any friendship I’d known. After all the time together, it was inevitable that I would follow in his, and Ron’s steps, and I, too, joined the Marine Corps. And when it was time for me to go to combat, he was right there sending e-mails of encouragement and “go get’ems” (that’s about as clean as I can say it), not only to me, but the other Marines I was with as well. Because that who he was. Now Greggor, he was proud to have you come around, lad. Although you won’t be able to have the same time we did growing up with him, you will grow up knowing about him. Folks around here will tell you stories about him, some you won’t know what to believe, but believe them anyway. When you start walking the streets of Keene Valley, folks are going to say you walk just like him. We will recognize his big smile in you and hear subtle hints of his booming voice. Hopefully, and it looks like, you’ll get your dad’s height, but you have a legacy to live up to around here and all of your cousins will help. For his Bride, our Favorite Aunt Mary, I don’t think there are many in this room who didn’t ask themselves over the years how you put up with such a hard-loving Marine for so long. My sister rephrased a poem from W.H. Auden, Funeral Blues, which seems to make sense to her, about their lives and time she’s going through right now: Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. He was your North, your South, your East and West, Your working week and your Sunday rest, Your noon, your midnight, your talk, your song; You thought that love would last forever: sadly, we were wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good. Farewell and following seas, Uncle. — Greg Hanville Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 133

THE ADIRONDACK REGION. THE ATTRACTIONS OF KEENE VALLEY INCREASING POPULARITY OF THE SECTION— WHAT TWENTY YEARS HAVE EFFECTED— ROARING BROOK FALLS AND OTHER INTERESTING SPOTS. From an Occasional Correspondent.

STETSON’S KEENE VALLEY Essex County, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 10, 1877.

Each year notes the increasing popularity of this region. The countless delightful walks, whether on the open road or in the secluded forest paths, the numerous cascades, and solitary mountain tarns, offer a combination of mountain and forest scenery unsurpassed, perhaps, in the country. The valley itself is not more than seven miles long, and through its entire length flows the Eastern Au Sable, now rushing in noisy rapids, now falling in graceful cascades, and again silently regaining its spent force in deep, still, trout-abounding pools, until its tumultuous course is merged in that of its western branch at their meeting at “the Forks.” Twenty years ago the attractions of this valley were hardly known beyond its own mountain wall. In 1857, Mr. T. S. Perkins, and close upon him a number of other celebrated artists, penetrated this neighborhood, and by their sketches and paintings disclosed to the outside world many of the charms secluded among the mountain fastnesses of the region. The elevation of “the Flats” (the local name of the valley) is said to be 1,200 feet in the more populous parts, while Mrs. Stetson’s and Smith Beede’s boarding-houses at the southern end are at an elevation of about 300 feet higher. The mountains rise abruptly from the valley on all sides, conspicuous among which are Camel’s Hump, Hopkins’ Peak, Giant of the Valley, and the triple-headed Spread-eagle Mountain. Within sound and almost within sight of “Stetson’s” are the rapids known as Russell’s Falls, where the river falls 200 feet in a distance of about 1,500 feet. The river here flows through a deep ravine in places 100 feet or more in height, and with its rocky surroundings presents a scene of such wilderness and solitude as to recall the scenery of the Rocky Mountains. The “falls” may be reached by a path from the road past Stetson’s, or by following the blazed trail in the rear of Beede’s. This trail leads to a point on the summit of the gorge whence the rapids may be seen many feet below. Following the trail a few rods further up the river, a scene not less curious than beautiful in presented. The river, flowing with great force and rapidity, has worn a channel through the huge boulders, and sweeping around in graceful curves forms a cataract shaped like a great letter S. A short distance above and close by the trail the brook passes through a crevice forming “the Flume.” A walk of half and hour brings one in front of Beede House, where the view of Giant, its sides marred and scarred by land-slides and avalanches, is obtained. Far up on the mountain-side the summit of Roaring Brook Falls, otherwise called the Great Cascade, is seen,white and sparkling int he sunlight. An easy walk of about half a mile, and Staubach of the Adirondacks is reached. Roaring Brooks from its lofty mountains source comes tumbling on is way until it pours its waters in a series of leaps over the steep sides of a granite wall of precipice, whose height is variously estimated at from 300 to 500 feet. Nothing could be more tempting the invitation this solid rock, in its easy repose, seems to offer to the pedestrian to ascend it. A number of persons have, I believe, attempted to scale it; among others, a certain visitor, a few years ago, who, when half way up the cliff, felt his courage collapse so completely that he was left perfectly helpless. It was not until ropes had been obtained and comrade had slide down to him from the top, that he was rescued from his singularly picturesque position. One of my many visits thither was paid soon after a heavy rain. The rock was still wet and slippery, and one hand was encumbered with an umbrella. Yielding to an insane impulse, I scrambled up 134 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Johns Brook and bridge

the face of the wall, and had reached about half way tot he top, when suddenly the clouds broke, and the spray was immediately illuminated with a brilliant rainbow. To one standing on a three-inch ledge, with 150 feet of precipice above and below, even a rainbow is hardly solid enough to give a secure foothold. Nothing more substantial, however, seemed to offer itself by way of assistance, and the decent was begun and ended almost simultaneously. There is a more rational method of making the ascent than by imitating the tactics of the squirrel, and that is by going up the side of the cliff. There is no regular path, and it is very steep climbing. The ground is very soft, and the tourist frequently sinks up to his knees in the moss. A scrambling walk, or rather wade, leads to the top of the fall, where, in the magnificence of the view, the toilsome ascent is forgotten. At a short distance below the fall the brook is crossed by the trail to Chapel Pond. Huge moss-covered boulders are strewed with lavish munificence along the path. The lakelet is perched high up on the side of the mountain, the cliffs of the Giant rising almost perpendicularly from it’s shores. The pervading silence and solitude render the place a favorite resort for deer-floating; with a skillful huntsman on one side and the impassable cliffs on the other, a deer would have little chance to escape. A blind trail leads to the north-west, about half a mile, to another secluded lakelet, 400 feet higher, known as the Giant’s Washbowl. Visitors in search of the picturesque will find an interesting but laborious walk up the bed of Chapel Pond Brook, the outlet of the pond, where rock grouping is of the most remarkable character. As the Giant’s Cascade is the king, so the rainbow is the queen of the water-falls in this region.

PHOTO BY MARTHA CORSCADEN

Patrick Kirmer created thousands of paintings and drawings in all seasons with “A blanket of atmosphere over reality” from his perch overlooking Johns Brook in idyllic Keene Valley, the heart of the Adirondacks.

Following the path through the forest to the lower Au Sable Pond, and crossing the drift-wood which forms a natural bridge at its outlet, the trail soon after strikes Rainbow Brook. Ascending the bed of the brook for about half a mile, one suddenly enters a gorge, the rocky walls of which towers over 100 feet above. The sides and the rocks in the bed of the brook are covered in a brilliant green moss, and the surroundings are remarkable beautiful. Over the sides of this glen the brook makes a leap of 120 (some say 140) feet. Such are a very few of the many attractions in and about this “the greenest of our valleys.”

Here’s a shot of Victor Forbes with his Dad, Joseph, on one of their annual family excursions to Lake Placid in the early 1960s. After a summer at the Baldwin School Camp in 1961, young Forbes began his quest for the 46 with Giant, Marcy, Haystack, Saddleback and Gothics as well as a jaunt up Hurricane, where a forest ranger still manned the firetower. Pop said when he was young, you could shoot a cannonball down Main Street.

Interbrook Lodge, Keene Valley, advertised as a “Vacation Paradise”, nestled in a beautiful valley in the heart of the Adirondacls with beautiful vistas, comfotable beds, excellent cuisine - became headquarters for the New York City Baldwin School in the summer where Patrick Kirmer and Frank Owen taught in 1959

Ausable Club In the spring of 1886, the residents of Keene Valley and a growing colony of summer visitors became alarmed over the threatened purchase, for lumbering, of the Ausable Lakes and the surrounding mountains, together with the adjacent forest and the road leading to the Beede House, the site of the present Ausable Clubhouse. By October 1887, twenty-nine stockholders had formed a corporation, the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, which purchased outright 25,000 acres of as yet unspoiled forest, mountains, streams and lakes dedicated to preserving all things Forever Wild.

Hurricane Lodge, hotel, inn, tavern around the turn-of-the century Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 135

Here Comes The Story of the Hurricane “A Tower on which the authorities placed the blame, for something that it didn’t do.” — with apologies to Mr. Zimmerman

Feb, 2010, Phil Brown wrote in the Adirondack Explorer: In a controversial decision, the state Department of Environmental Conservation is recommending the removal of old fire towers on St. Regis Mountain and Hurricane Mountain. Environmental groups have argued that the towers should be removed because they are in areas that are managed, by and large, as Wilderness. The guidelines for managing Wilderness Areas require the removal of most man-made structures. Also, environmentalists point out that both summits offer wide-open views without the towers. Nevertheless, many local residents (and no doubt many visitors as well) want the towers to remain. They see the structures as reminders of the region’s history. Ed. Note: I climbed the The Hurricane Fire Tower in 1961, when there was a Ranger up there with binoculars and maps and some kind of telephone. It was a stunning vista - a true 360 degree panorama still well-remembered to this day. So hats off to Gretna and Melvin Longware who were so instrumental in saving this landmark from deconstruction and full termination. I had the great pleasure to meet Gretna and Melvin (whose uncle and great uncle served as forest rangers at the tower lookout) when the future of Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower had been hanging for over a decade in bureaucracy paddle ball. Gretna and the many people that she and others brought to the fray certainly helped to save the landmark as a refurbished, mountaintop-legal relilc of a cherished past. Today, tower still stands atop Hurricane Mountain thanks muchly to the successfully focused efforts Gretna . “We won,” she said in a message that she left Carol LaGrasse after an APA meeting a few days before her death in 2010. “I couldn’t make it. We showed them that people still have rights in northern New York.” Thanks to one woman’s determination to not let her opinion as a citizen drift off, The Friends of Hurricane Mountain in partnership with the Adirondack History Museum host an exhibition recognizing the centennial of the iconic landmark. – Victor Forbes 136 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“Some forget that that tower saved the woods. It was put up for protection and now they just want to tear it down. Even if it does nothing except remind people to be careful with fires, it’s worth keeping.” – GRETNA LONGWARE

ike one of the north winds that circulated petitions in addition to collecting constantly buffet its 3,678-foot sum- letters of support. It was one day while Stub mit, a controversy was out gathering such By PETER SHARAK is swirling around signatures when the late Hurricane Mountain. The area surrounding Marguerite Pratt, of Elizabethtown, was the mountain is being considered for heard to declare, “They can’t take that tower reclassification by the DEC (Department down, that’s my Statue of Liberty! When I of Environmental Conservation) in its see it, I know I’m home.” Gretna has also State Land Master Plan, a status shift that appeared before the APA (Adirondack Park will redefine the currently “Primitive” area Agency) to personally argue her case. The as “Wilderness.” At stake is the thirty-five Longwares, and many like them, believe that foot steel fire tower that sits abandoned on the tower is an historic structure and that it the mountain’s rocky promontory. If the stands as a tangible symbol of the mountain mountain and its environs are reclassified, and its environs’ rich history. the decision will render the tower as a The mountain, with its fire tower so “nonconforming structure” and force its beloved by the Longwares and others, has a removal. history filled with significant and, in at least This prospect has sparked a current one case, downright bizarre instances. Some debate and many have risen in defense of the highlights include: tower, perhaps none so adamantly as Gretna • In 1837, the influential American Longware and her husband, Melvin “Stub” painters Thomas Cole and Asher Durand Longware, of Elizabethtown. The Longwares conducted a sketching expedition to Schroon have launched a grassroots resistance to the Lake and the mountains. Both of these men proposed removal of the tower, to date are credited as being founding fathers of the gathering almost 4,500 signatures on locally Hudson River School of painting, an artistic

Asher Durand, Hurricane Mountain A Keene Valley Scene, 1848

movement that helped define and illustrate the transcendental philosophies of such seminal American thinkers as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. The impact of the scenery the men encountered on this expedition was so significant that it inspired Cole to proclaim, “I do not remember to have seen … a composition of mountains so beautiful or pictorial as this glorious range of the Adirondack,” and seems to have been the turning point that determined Durand’s decision to concentrate on landscape painting. In his essay, “Letters on Landscape Painting,” Durand would later reflect that part of this decision was born from his realization in the mountains that: The external appearance of this, our dwelling place, apart from its wondrous structure and functions that minister to our well-being, is fraught with lessons of high and holy meaning, only surpassed by the light of Revelation.

Durand was so inspired, in fact, that he was to return to the scenery of the region again in 1848, at which time he produced his painting Hurricane Mountain, A Keene Valley Scene. This painting stands as an important piece in the legacy of the Hudson River School and as a touchstone in the development of the artistic heritage of New York State. In addition to its artistic significance, the painting also marks one of the first recorded instances of the mountain’s name, solidifying a semi-official status to an appellation that was said to have stretched back to the first Native Americans. In addition to Hurricane Mountain, Durand would, at this time, also produce such significant works of local interest as Adirondacks, Adirondack Mountain Landscape, Elizabethtown, and at least three Studies of Chapel Pond Brook. Even before the fire tower on Hurricane Mountain, another man-made structure once sat on the summit. In July 1876, the great Adirondack surveyor Verplanck Colvin erected his own wooden survey tower on top of the mountain for his Seventh Annual Report, charting the progress of the topographical survey of the Adirondack region of New York State. The 360-degree views afforded by the

Hurricane Mountain rangers’ cabin, circa 1961, courtesy Bill Star

mountain and his tower provided the driven surveyor with perfect perches from which to carry out his work. The wrought-iron eye anchors that Colvin used to secure his own tower can still be found in the rock on the north side of the fire tower. The importance of Colvin’s work for the State of New York, and for the Adirondacks in particular, cannot be overstated. Hurricane Mountain was instrumental in that work. After the tower’s construction in 1919, the observer’s cabin was to provide one spotter and his family with one of the most uncanny, and yet obscure, experiences in the annuls of the Adirondacks. As recounted by Martin Podskoch, in his book Adirondack Fire Towers, Their History and Lore (The Northern Districts), the story began one August night in 1949. Hank McCoy, the observer from 1949-1951 and 1954, was out on the trail when he spotted a large, hairy man-like figure walking through the woods. He was so startled and alarmed by what he saw that he ran back to the observer’s cabin. After arming himself, he went outside to confront the figure but quickly concluded that his rifle would be no match for the gigantic intruder. Retreating back inside the cabin, McCoy and his wife, Florence, barricaded the door, hid their children in the loft, and waited. Before long the creature reached the cabin and the McCoys were forced to sit back helplessly as the animal began to shake the entire structure. For a seeming eternity, the McCoys cowered under the onslaught of their strange visitor until, without warning, it abruptly stopped. As quickly as it had come, the creature was suddenly gone. McCoy and his family could hear it as it moved off the mountain and headed toward Keene Valley,

making strange cries as it went. Florence McCoy later told Martin Poskoch, “Years later we saw a documentary about Bigfoot on TV. When we heard that scream, we knew we had heard it before when we had that strange animal visit our cabin on Hurricane Mountain.” So ends one of the earliest known encounters with a Bigfoot in New York State. Today, the mountain and its tower stand as a prime destination for hikers and fire tower enthusiasts. With its commanding 360-degree view and its unique perspective on the high peaks, Jared Gange has seen fit to include the hike up Hurricane in his book, 100 Classic Hikes in the Northeast. As Gange notes, Hurricane Mountain has “one of the best views in the Adirondacks.” The beauty of the climb lies in the fact that for such relatively little effort, the mountain offers such great panoramic rewards. In addition to scenic splendors, the tower itself also draws a large number of visitors each year. As one of 23 surviving fire towers in the park, Hurricane Mountain’s tower stands as one of the crown jewels in the Fire Tower Challenge. Sponsored by the Glens Falls chapter of the ADK, the Challenge invites hikers to visit at least 18 of the surviving towers. Hikers who complete the Challenge are entitled to an exclusive patch offered by the club, but the real reward lies in the undertaking of the journey itself. In addition to the opportunities of viewing wildlife along the way and the many botanically interesting specimens that crown the various summits, the Challenge allows hikers to visit many sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which the State Review Board approved in June, 2007. Visit the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown, NY; www.adkhistorycenter.org Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 137

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Cover & back cover (inset) “What’s Cookin’ in NY

Nixon, Kennedy, What’s Cookin’ in NY, October 1960

Foreword to Helen Dunn’s Celebrity Recipes Cookbook THE QUERY isn’t: “Who is Helen Dunn?” but “What is Helen Dunn?” She’s “Miss New York,” if an appellation is in order. Her love for the Metropolis is second to none. And her deeds in Our Town have caused her friends to dub her affectionately “Helen of Try”- she is forever trying to help somebody or some cause. Helen Dunn doesn’ t have to be pointed out for one to know she is present. Her vibrancy asserts itself at once. She is a familiar figure at political gatherings, charitable functions and in the myriad activities characteristic of our busy and exciting city. She is one of those people who are always more involved with the goings on around them than seems possible for one individual. Ever young, the energetic Miss Dunn has been in her time restaurateur, food editor, columnist. She has had her own radio program, “Dinner at Dunn’s,” and she is a frequent guest on radio and television shows. The only “Honorary Lady Mayor of New York,” she has organized many Damon Runyon Fund dinners and often spearheaded Heart Fund Drives and PAL campaigns. Helen’s vocation and avocations meet and blend. Her legion of friends make a crosssection of American life. A request from Helen Dunn brings an enthusiastic response from artists, tycoons, columnists, governors, mayors, and now, the President! Helen’s magazine, What’s Cookin’ in New York, which will soon celebrate its fourth anniversary, made her a publisher and is typical of “Miss New York.” Her latest publishing venture is Celebrity Recipes. But this is no ordinary collection of recipes ... it’s a Who’s Who, a record of our times and of the men and women who make them so exciting. We all salute the Lady! – Harry Hershfield, NYC, 1958 140 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Mrs. Spyros Skouras, Humprey Bogart, Helen Dunn

Helen Dunn, Marilyn Monroe c,1960

BEFORE an appealing little mouse with big ears brought fame and fortune to the Master of Disneyland, Walt himself was proving the American dream of rags to riches. A tall, lean son of the midwest, he arrived in Hollywood with exactly $40. Pooling his meager funds with brother Roy, plus a loan of $500 from an uncle, he set up shop in a little real estate shack. Disney Productions now occupy a multimillion dollar studio at Burbank, California. Out of necessity was born the little creature that overnight captured the fancy of the world - Mickey Mouse! And out of Mickey’s adventures were spun the dreams and dollars that produced Disney’s first feature length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, still regarded by most as his masterpiece. Others followed: Dumbo, Pinocchio, The Reluctant Dragon, Bambi — thrilling audiences from Saskatoon to Singapore, Paducah to the Punjab. Combined live action and animation made another first for Disney. Treasure Island, Robin Hood, Davy Crockett and Old Yeller added new laurels. With Fantasia, Disney pioneered the big screen and stereophonic sound, long before Cinerama and Cinemiracle. His achievements have won for him 25 Academy Awards, 4 TV Emmys and numerous other citations. These include France’s Legion of Honor and the Order of the Aztec Eagle from Mexico, where he probably picked up his favorite recipe for:

CHILI AND BEANS 2 lbs. coarse ground beef, 1 tsp. paprika ½ cup oil, 1 tsp. dry mustard, 2 onions, sliced 2 lbs. dry pink beans, 1 cup chopped celery 1 large can solid pack tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced , 1 tsp. chili powder, or to taste Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain. Put in pot with water to cover, about 2 inches above beans and simmer with onions until tender - about four hours. For the sauce, brown the meat and garlic together in oil. Add other ingredients and simmer for one hour. When beans are tender, add sauce and simmer for one-half hour more. For spicy Chili and Beans, add a pinch of: coriander seeds, tumeric, chili seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, dry ginger and a little yellow Mexican chili pepper.

MIRACLE ON MAIN STREET ✩ A Southampton Tale ✩

Starring Zach Erdem & Marilyn Goldberg

FEATURING SID MAURER’S CELEBRITY ICONS Ken Bebermanʼs Nuvo Deco Paintings ✩ Steven Zaluskiʼs Sculptures

✩ With a Cast of Thousands ✩

MIRACLE ON MAIN STREET BY V.B. FORBES

ACT ONE Scene: A tall, dark stranger, dressed suavely, disembarks the morning Long Island Railroad train at the Southampton Station. He moves deliberately with a strong yet steady pace, southward, toward the just-awakening Village downtown district where he stops at a not yet open restaurant, 75 Main Street. The proprietor is at his desk in the back, working on the books. The visitor knocks on the door, just loud enough to get Zach Erdem’s attention. STRANGER: Good Morning, Mr. Erdem. You may remember me. We’ve met before, albeit briefly. Do you recall? You were despondent. You told me you came to the Hamptons at a loss for hope and were spending what you thought would be your penultimate day in America enjoying the sun and the energy of the Hamptons ZACH: Yes. Of course I remember. I borrowed sixty dollars from a friend to make a quick trip out here before my plane was to leave. I was in the US six months. Nothing happening for me. On that day, I stopped at the first restaurant I saw which was this place, 75 Main. And now I own it.

Of course I remember you. You were at the bar and we spoke for a while It was you who suggested I talk to the owner and see if he needed a bartender. STRANGER: (Knowingly) How did that work out for you? ZACH: Here I am, still here. It took a stroke of luck and being at the right place at the right time to grant me my first job here that very day. And now I own the place. STRANGER: Well, here I am, once again and your circumstances are quite different. You have an esteemed reputation in the business, you are a pillar of the community supporting all kinds of local sports teams and causes and your place is a favorite of such stars as Sarah Jessica Parker, LA Reid, Kelly Ripa, Stanley Tucci, Sofia Vergara, Howard Stern, Pierce Brosnan, Barbara Walters, Jodie Foster, Alex Rodriquez and even Joe Biden. It’s an amazing story. ZACH: Since we met and I was hired, I have never looked back. The Hamptons to me is my home, the restaurant is my heart. My dream and my vision for its success has only grown. STRANGER: Over a decade has passed and you don’t even know my name, do you? ZACH: I never thought to ask – everything happened so quickly. But it’s great to see you

again. What brings you to town? STRANGER: Other thank checking up on you, I have a few other appointments and maybe a little beach time after. It has always been “my heaven” to be by the sea and create my life dreams in The Hamptons. This was told to me by someone I know very well, who lives not too far from here. I would like you to contact her, she’s written up in this magazine. ZACH: (Receiving the rolled up copy and placing it on the bar, he sees his visitor to the door.) Stop by tonight for dinner. The way our chef seasons the halibut, swordfish and sea bass…the taste is great. His name is on the food, so he will not settle for anything but the best. STRANGER: I know all about Mike. I’ve been keeping up with you, reading the reviews and interviews. Frankly, that’s why I’m here, but I have to hit the road. Running late and you know the kind of guy I am. I wait for no one. ZACH: So that’s it? Who do I call? STRANGER: Pay special attention to page 24. Dial the number and ask immediately for Marilyn’s help. She’ll know exactly what to do. ZACH: Who’m I gonna call? STRANGER: (Singing in the style of Ghostbusters) Marilyn Goldberg!

For Dining & Hotel Reservations and to book your next special event call (631) 488-4570 136 Main Street, Southampton • info@blumarhamptons.com Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 141

“YOU HAVE 14 DAYS!” Well-known Southampton restaurateur Zach Erdem had just signed a lease for the old whaler’s Harpoon Hotel and adjoining restaurant which were much in need of a new working kitchen, renovated rooms and outdoor space, new lighting, carpeting and a lovely area for an indooroutdoor night club, long needed in the Hamptons. Marilyn Goldberg’s newly formed company, Marilyn’s Miracles, was contacted for completion of a two-year job in only two weeks! “You have fourteen days,” Zach Erdem advised her. “The season is flying by and we must open for Memorial Day.” Awesome ideas and work combining synergistic innovations with creative energy took place when Zach merged the talents of The Queen of Art & Design with Four Star Chefs, celebrity artist Sid Maurer, Miami superstar artist Ken Beberman and outdoor sculptures by Steve Zaluski which added to the ambiance and uniqueness of the new Blu Mar, whose first season is off to a super success. For restaurant reservations, call (631) 488-4570.

MARILYN’S MIRACLES mmimarilyn@aol.com (917) 273-8710

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MARILYN GOLDBERG, PROPRIETOR OF MARILYN’S MIRACLES WORKS HER MAGIC IN THE DEVELOPMENNT OF BLU MAR RESTAURANT, HARPOON HOUSE HOTEL & CELEBRITY ICONS NIGHTCLUB PHOTOGRAPH BY @PETERRUPRECHT

Ken Beberman Paintings of Hamptons Landmarks

Zach Erdem celebrates Sag Harbor Cinema with Ken Beberman painting

Historic Montauk Lighthouse by Ken Beberman Ken Beberman made a name for himself in the 80s with his compositions of dancing, saturated color. Along with a handful of others, he helped make it possible for the Art Deco District of Miami Beach’s to gain historical designation. His Art Deco Cubist style was featured in many of the restoration projects in the period, as well as in one-man shows and commissions. When Marilyn contacted him about creating a series of paintings for Blu Mar, he rose to the occasion, packing his van with canvases, art supplies and ideas and driving up to Marilyn’s Villa in Southampton to complete the paintings. Pulling all this art together on such short notice was no mean feat, prompting Ken to say about Marilyn, “She’s not only the Queen of Art, but the Queen of Miracles.”

“Hamptons Polo”

Art patron and dealer Marilyn Goldberg brings Ken Beberman’s work to Southampton 5 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“Dos Equus” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 143

Blu Mar owner Zach Erdem in Kevin Kelly art shirt designed by Marilyn Goldberg

Maurer’s “Pacino”, Zaluski’s “Blue Sphere”

Hockey legend Rod Gilbert and Jane Pantorelli Joe Pantorelli, Mitch Modell

At Mitch Modell’s birthday party

Zach Erdem, Marilyn Goldberg, artist Kevin Kelly 4144 • Fine • Fine ArtArt Magazine Magazine • Autumn • Autumn 2019 2019

Marilyn Goldberg with her Sid Mauer portrait arilyn Goldberg has spent her entire life championing the causes of art, artists and creativity, traveling the world to do so. She is a recognized master in the field of marketing, art publishing and creating, in many cases, something big of nothing. For starting and fostering the careers of so many, she has been dubbed the Queen of Art, awarded a Heroine of Creativity medal and selected as founding member of the International Artexpo Hall of Fame. As if she didn’t have enough to do, running a Hamptons Real Estate Empire with her flagship Villa Marilyn recently named the Hamptons most artistic home, she is now channeling her impeccable credentials, limitless contacts and all-around positive vibes into Marilyn’s Miracles, an organization designed with you in mind. Whether or not you believe in miracles, most of us could sure use one right about now. mmimarilyn@aol.com

The newest, bestest, swingin’-est place in the Hamptons to wine, dine and party is Blu Mar with its Sid Maurer themed discotheque known as The Celebrity Icons Nightclub. With Sid’s classic portraits (prints and originals) framed and ready for sale, you just know the club will be hosting great live music and DJs all summer long to go along with the fantastic art. The season unofficially officially zoomed off to great start with the celebration of the birthday of an icon in his own right, Mitchell Modell in the beautiful rarefied air and light you find only in Southampton around sunset. Scion of the patriarch of the chain of sporting goods stores that bear the family name, the party was an exercise in demure dress and posh taste. Well, between the fire-eater and the belly dancers, things were indeed in very good taste and jet-setters and locals now have a great new place to call their own.

Our beloved friend, Sid “The Kid” Maurer with his Elton.

PRODUCED & PUBLISHED BY SUNSTORM ARTS PUBISHING CO. Center Moriches, NY JAMIE ELLIN FORBES, Publisher 631-909-1192/518-593-6470 victor@fineartmagazine.com

War Bonds

Whining and Crying Girl

Nocturne (Var. 4)

KEVIN T. KELLY Museum Masters International Marilyn Goldberg, President

Art Merchandising & Celebrity Specialists Licensing, Branding, Global Exhibitions

Aerospace 6 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

352 Montauk Highway, Watermill, NY 11976 USA Tel: (001) 631 353-3107 Mobile: (001) 917 273-8710 Skype: marilyn.goldberg77 e-mail: mmimarilyn@aol.com www.MuseumMasters.com Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 145

146 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

SUPER COOL HEROICA The Pop Comic Book Art Of Arlen Schumer

COMIC BOOK ART continues to infiltrate American popular culture on all fronts, with Hollywood green-lighting countless films and television shows based on four-color characters beloved by generations, the art gallery and museum worlds exhibiting comicinspired work, the academic world teaching and studying comics, conventions like San Diego’s annual Comicon International sprouting up all over the country, and elite publications like The New York Times reviewing “graphic novels.” Yet, for all its growth in the pop cultural marketplace, comic book art’s potential as quality licensed art has barely been tapped. Arlen Schumer is here to change that via his Pop Comic Book Art. Over the course of his career — he’s a member of The Society of Illustrators — Arlen’s created comic bookstyled art for the advertising and editorial markets, garnering industry awards and acclaim. He combines backgrounds in graphic design and advertising illustration with expertise in —and enthusiasm for — the comic book medium, producing distinctive imagery that stands out from the crowd of conventional illustration and photography. Arlen knows that everyone reads comics, understands their vocabulary, and (secretly) loves them. Young and old. All classes and colors. Everyone. Now Arlen is licensing his vibrant and bold graphics, for the first time with Marilyn Goldberg’s Museum Masters International, as Classic Comic Art for the 21st Century. “I’ve known and loved Arlen’s work for years,” said Goldberg,” and I’m thrilled to finally bring his distinctive comic style to a world of products — and to the world!”

Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 147

STEVE LUONGO

Hamptons Music Legend Adds Art & Design to Impressive Resumé A founder of the beloved East End ensemble Rat Race Choir, Steve Luongo has taken his talents to a new level. He has recently launched a line of fine art apparel for men that is based on his critically acclaimed paintings. As a drummer, Luongo spent his life touring the world with some of the biggest names in the music industry including John Entwistle, Robin Zander, Todd Rundgren, Brian Johnson, Leslie West of Mountain and more. After shows and between tours, Steve perfected his style of abstract art using old and new school techniques to produce eye-catching pseudo 3D aesthetic. His originals are ink and acrylic on canvas but instead of traditional prints Steve chose a refreshing way to present his work as numbered limited-edition menswear based on his art. Each design is printed full scale on a luxurious 100% cotton and fashioned into luxurious men’s shirts. “We searched until we found a mill that produced the ideal cotton fabric. The material had to reproduce and hold the true colors of the original and be comfortable to wear as an upscale garment. The material is “free cut” which makes each shirt slightly different. No two shirts are exactly alike. I wanted to create a unique art experience like a living gallery. I imagine people at a dinner or a party discussing the art on the sleeve of one of my shirts. That’s cool!” To add to the exclusivity, there are only 20 shirts per size. Each shirt has the title, edition number and artist signature embroidered in silver on the yolk. Many of Steve’s famous friends wear his shirts on stage including Eddie Money, Gene Cornish of The Rascals, Matt Beck (Matchbox 20), Will Lee (David Letterman Band), Steve Ferrone (The Heartbreakers) while Pete Townshend, Nile Rodgers and Cliff Williams-AC/DC reserve theirs for personal life. Steve Luongo Designs also produces a variety of art themed items that include hand made instruments as well as a home decor line featuring “embraceable art” pillows. In the meantime, Steve is working on his music. “I forgot how incredible it is starting a new band. It’s THE fountain of youth. I’m excited about learning new material, I’m throughly enjoying gearing up, the workouts and preparation time. I love throwback Thursday but I’m really looking ahead to forward Friday. Enjoy the past, live in the present and dream of the future.” To order or find a store www.steveluongo.com 46 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 148 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Debbee Davis, Gene Cornish of the Rascals and Cari Ash in Steve Luongo-designed shirts

Steve on drums

John Entwistle of The Who

CC² (pronounced C, C, squared), acrylic on canvas: 48” x 48”

MM² (pronounced M, M, squared), acrylic on canvas: 24” x 24”

Michael Cartellone - Rockin’ The Pixels S

ometimes, it just doesn’t seem coming into focus. It triggered fair for so much talent to be the memory of the Dali painting ensconced in just one person. and Lincoln coming into focus. I There are, according to the thought it might be interesting to noted scholar/gallerist/critic Dr. paint something that is pixelated Mosses Zirani, “Many examples … since people have become in the history of international accustomed to seeing pixelated art: William Blake and Khalil images on pages opening slowly Gibran are gifted as painters, on computers. Consequently, in a as well as writers. Leonardo da similar way, when people see my Vinci was a scientist, Rubens was Pixelism paintings in person, and E² (pronounced E, squared) a diplomat. Both, however, were back away from the painting, so acrylic on canvas: 40” x 40” some of the titans of painting their eyes can focus, the image ML² (pronounced M, L, squared) of the Renaissance.” Michael Cartellone is also a titan – a titan of will come into view. acrylic on canvas: 33” x 39” rock and roll. As the backbone of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, he How did the first Pixelism keeps a boisterous group with three dynamic, loud and brilliant painting come to be? electric guitars and an equally loud and brilliant front man right In our NYC apartment, I have one of those Big Boy statues on the beat no matter what the song. We caught a recent Skynyrd (it’s 5 feet tall, much to my wife’s dismay) It’s the 1950’s cartoon guy performance at the STAC in Saratoga, New York where we had a holding up the hamburger, from the restaurant chain. I have always chance to interview Michael before he took the stage to a sold out loved that image and I thought it would be fun to pixelate him so, I crowd already stoked by Hank Williams Jr. took a photo of it, printed it out and drew a grid over the top of it. How did you come upon the style and technique? This enabled me to see the various sections of the painting and what When I was in 7th grade, our Art program had a field trip to colors needed to dominant as I move about the image. From there, the Salvador Dali Museum … which at the time was located in a it is just a lot of trial and error — painting the squares, one by one … suburb of my hometown, Cleveland, Ohio. One one row at a time … top to bottom… and trying to painting, with a beautifully crazy long title, just keep it in ‘soft focus.’ I am constantly backing away captivated me … it was: Gala Contemplating the to see if the eye can “mix” the colors as intended … Mediterranean Sea which at Twenty Meters Becomes but quite often, I will have to repaint random squares. the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln-Homage to Rothko.” The color mixing knowledge I was taught in school People familiar with Dali will know this painting … really comes into play here. This is a very slow and the incredible optical illusion of a woman standing labor intensive process, but I am always happy with at an arch, which becomes Abraham Lincoln as the results. And subject matter? you move back from the painting. It was such an Quite simply, images that have a special amazing thing to experience, that it stayed in my meaning for me — famous musicians, movie stars, subconscious for years. cartoon characters and fine art imagery. All of these About 5 years ago, I was sitting at my laptop works can be seen at wentworthgallery.com … in (with a bad Internet connection) and as a page was fact, I am working on new works presently for 2020 On stage with Lynyrd Skynyrd photo credit Doltyn Snedden downloading, I was seeing a pixelated image, slowly Wentworth shows. – VICTOR FORBES Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 149

Leo Fender, Ace Frehley and the Guitar That Got Away While much has been written about the work of Clarence Leonidas “Leo” Fender, precious little has been written about Leo Fender the man. In the recently-released Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heard Around The World by the person who knew him best – his wife Phyllis — co-authored Keith Richards & Mrs. Fender with Dr. Randall Bell (who grew up at Leo’s posthumous induction in Fender’s neighborhood and whose into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame father was the head of the R & D department at Fender’s company), we get to know the quiet and notso-quiet sides of the aforementioned quite giant. The book is Leo’s love story and Phyllis tells it charmingly and lovingly. My favorite part is Phyllis telling us “Leo was not a particularly religious person but he felt that musicians were angels, sent down to make the world a better place and it was his job to help facilitate their work.” I can imagine there aren’t as many stars in the sky as there are notes glissandoed, plucked, hammered and bent from the plethora of guitars that bear the Fender name, not to forget revolutionary amplifiers and sought after Fender Rhodes pianos as well. Every famous musician has a Fender story and I have mine, how (for better or worse) I was an integral part in the formation of KISS. Here’s the story of that ‘63 Telecaster — the guitar that got away. Must have been December because it was getting near Christmas, 1965, ˆwas fourteen, gonna be 15 Dec. 28th, sitting in what they used to call Hygiene or Health Ed., a classroom requirement usually taught be a gym teacher. This particular teacher was yukking it up with us comparing Santa Claus to the Sanity Claus and I looked over to my left and the guy next to me had a page full of guitars all drawn. I said to him do you just draw them or do you play? He said he plays and I said we could get together and rehearse. I had good equipment: a Farfisa Combo Compact organ and an Ampeg B-12 amp. A mutual friend, Mark Peritz, was our drummer and I found myself in Mark’s apartment with Paul Frehley on the guitar. Paul had a very unusual instrument: a teardrop Fender Telecaster, which he cut down himself, down to the pick guard and it looked almost as cool as he made it sound. Even then, he had the licks, starting with the Blues Magoos “Nothin’ Yet” up to the Animals “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” My organ playing, I can say, was a work-in-progress and summer came and we went our separate ways. I spent most of my high school time working on the school and local paper, p l ay i n g n i g h t c e n t e r basketball and managing the handball team. That hundred dollars I paid the Ace for the Axe was immediately converted into the Les Paul he used to audition for Simmons and Stanley who were converting 150 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

their band “Wicked Lester” into the aforementioned cultural phenomenon. I would run into Ace kind of regularly as he would hang out with his brother who attended Bronx Community College when it was on Grand Avenue and 183rd Street. Ace would be on chick patrol, wearing a pinstriped sport jacked with a Superman button, and those now famous red and yellow Converse All Stars even as he was driving a cab and auditioning for Three Dog Night. The last time I saw him before he made it big, we sat on a stoop on the Grand Concourse and he took my acoustic guitar and ran through most of “Tommy.” As for that sweet Telecaster, let’s just say it met an unfortunate ending at the Music Inn on Bleecker Street, too sad to recount here. I still have Matt Umanov’s appraisal as proof and the memory of rockin’ out with my band playing Elvis and Carl Perkins tunes in Fred’s studio/apartment on Belmont Avenue. Today, it is in the process of being recreated in acrylic by Mitch Meisner at Meisner Acrylic Casting in Deer Park, NY. “If Leo had stopped after creating the Telecaster he would still hold a secure place in guitar history.” Eric Dahl, Maverick Magazine. I certainly agree with that Back to the matter at hand: “The world occasionally produces one of those rare thinkers whose name becomes iconic.  Thomas Edison lit up the world; Albert Einstein profoundly altered the study of physics; Walt Disney reimagined entertainment; and Leo Fender invented the electric guitar. He grew up in Fullerton, California, where his interest in electronics lead him to open his own radio repair shop in 1938. It wasn’t long before musicians and band leaders turned to him for help in repairing their equipment…and the rest, as they say, is history. While his name is synonymous with fist-pumping rock and roll sound, in reality, Fender was a shy, unassuming inventor who was nearly deaf and had one glass eye. In 1946 he founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company — the launch pad for his most iconic designs — and later on, G&L Musical Instruments. Today, Fender is a household name. But the quirky, shy inventor never lived large or flaunted his fame. He lived in a mobile home, even after selling his company for $300 million (in today’s dollars). His daily routines and obsessions made him truly fascinating, and thanks to his enduring instruments, Fender’s legacy forever lives on.” — VICTOR FORBES

Richie C: “You represent the heart and soul of NYC and the music and vibe is killer!”

RICHIE CANNATA’S OPEN MIC & JAM ROCKS ON AT THE BITTER END MONDAYS AT 11 p.m. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 151

From Peter, Paul and Mary to Lady Gaga New York’s Fabled Nightspot –The Bitter End

Peter, Paul and Mary (1970) played the Bitter End many times during the heyday of the folk music revival in New York City

The pop star goes back to the Greenwich Village dive bar where it all began for her to promote the release of her album Joanne, in 2016. Note the posters of Arlo Guthrie and Dion, another New York City Legend on the wall. 152 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

The Bitter End is the oldest rock and roll club in New York City. It opened its doors in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of original owner Fred Weintraub. During the early 1960s the club hosted Folk music “ hootenanies” every Tuesday night featuring many performers who have s i n c e b e c o m e l e g e n d a r y. During its heyday, the Bitter End showcased a wide range of talented and legendar y musicians, comedians and theatrical performers. An earlier club, “The Cock and Bull” operated on the same premises with the same format, in the late 1950s. The poet/comedian Hugh Romney (who later became known as Wavy Gravy) read there. The City of New York bestowed landmark status to the nightclub on July 23, 1992. The classic red brick stage backdrop and intimate vibe make this historic venue as iconic as its many headliners. For over 50 years, audiences have been blown away by legends like Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond, Dion, Woody Allen, Jon Stewart, Randy Newman, Billy Crystal, Tommy James, Norah Jones, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield and thousands more. Gaga started doing Open Mic night at fourteen with her mother. Later, the club became her home base from 2005 to 2007.

“I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE OF MUSIC & IT IS OCTO-ROCK.”

At 80, Peter Yarrow Still Owns The Stage

Peter Yarrow invited everyone in the Strand audience to come onstage with him and sing along to the Peter, Paul and Mary classic “Puff The Magic Dragon”

With perhaps a kindler, gentler touch than Ronnie Van Zant (but no guarantees) Peter Yarrow took center stage at The Strand in Plattsburgh and immediately transformed from “alter cocker” into Big Boss Man, cajoling the sound guy to give him more guitar and to turn it up, as Van Zant told Al Kooper in the booth on “Sweet Home Alabama.” Backstage, Peter was happy to autograph my copy of his first solo release after Peter, Paul and Mary took a break called “That’s Enough For Me” which featured a few duets with Toots Hibbert, including their rendition of Jimmy Cliff ’s “The Harder They Come.” As a Slickers fan, I was happy to hear him say that their “Johnny Too Bad” is Paul Simon’s favorite song off the “Harder” soundtrack, giving me hope that that criminally-overlooked Peter Yarrow backstage during intermission of his “Lonesome Traveler” reggae group will somehow have their day in the sun. presentation at The Strand Theater, Plattsburgh NY.

“Music and water go real well together,” said Ed King, and David Bromberg proved that with a stellar performance at Songs at Mirror Lake Music Series in Lake Placid last summer. His seven minute plus verson of “Mr. Bojangles,” so emotional, had small children dancing and some of us older ones wiping away a tear. Spectacular, as was his electric guitar performance “The Stuff I Got”, a song featured on Dion’s 1971 record, “You’re Not Alone.” Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 153

Honeymoon in Da Bronx

Joe Artuso, so hospitable at his bakery in Belmont

The Excellents, of “Coney Island Baby” fame opened for the Belmonts at the Westchester Broadway Theater

Riggi entertains on a Saturday night at Pasquale’s Rigoletto on Arthur Avenue. A great evening of food, family and fun. As she always says, “You’re going to leave happier than when you came in.” And she is so right about that.

The Honeymooners, Joe Artuso, sister Cathy Angelo D'Aleo, Warren Gradus and Dan Elliott (who recently passed away) headlined the show. What a thrill to see and meet Angelo, who was an original member of Dion and The Belmonts.

That was then - this is now - the site of the original Woodstock has been revamped into a beautiful and bucolic place housing a concert hall, museum and arts and crafts tents

Dion and Ronnie Spector Concert at the site of the original Woodstock. Need we say more? An additonal treat was marveling at Liberty DeVitto’s stellar drumming in Ronnie’s great band. 154 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Jim Moran has been the guitar man for Richie Cannata’s Bitter End Monday Night Jam band for many years. He is truly a top notch player and one of the great talents along with Benny Harrison, George Panos, Kevin Brigande and Frosty Lawson who comproise the core of the group. Musicians and singers come from all over the world to perform with this band.

Bronxite Ace Frehley ushered the end of a very musical week with his band at the Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park

Live at Westbury with Arno Hecht

DION’S LIFE STORY HEADS TO BROADWAY

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I am in the hands of the one who holds the future.” In Belmont, The Bronx’s Little Italy, things happen fast. Really fast. I can tell you from personal experience. In the fall of 1970, for our Bronx Community College Journalism class, my collaborator, Freddie Bruce Martuscelli and I sat down in the office of the Valentine Theater to write the “Arthur Avenue Story” for Professor Bernard Weinraub, of late a distinguished playwright and former NY Times Hollywood editor. He gave us both A’s, praising our capture of the style of the “new journalism.” He said to send it off to “The Atlantic” or “Ramparts” or “The New Yorker” — “But leave out the part about Dion – it’s too hot.” But can anything about Dion DiMucci be “too hot”? “ “If you told me as a young man that one day my journey from The Bronx to the Rock ’n’ Rock Hall of Fame would become a musical, I would not have believed you. It’s only 12 miles from Belmont Avenue to Broadway. It shouldn’t have taken this long!”

So it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise to see Dion heading to Broadway when you understand that he started out early on the boards. In elementary school he did the scenery for the cowboy play — horses, wagons, spliced the paper together for the backgrounds — but never really got into it seriously because he “Got the guitar and just wanted to learn Hank Williams songs.” His artistic proclivities remained intact over the years producing a nice collection of original paintings. “My father used to buy all these art books — Chagall, Renoir, Monet, Gauguin, Modigliani— big books with a lot of their paintings,” Dion recalls, adding, “When I found music — it was like a handle to life to me.” He also started early as a writer, penning a composition in grade school in response to hearing that an Italian explorer on a Spanish ship discovered America. No he didn’t noted the lad. “Columbus did not discover this land. He did.” Years later, those words were the introduction to one of his greatest songs, “Golden Sun Silver

Moon” which is available on his “Seasons” collection and has one of the best guitar solos you are ever gonna hear, and a horn section! He continues, “Who do you think taught birds to fly? Painted rainbows on the sky? Who do you think made you and I? He did.” That Bronx Soul that permeated Dion’s doo-wop and rock and roll hits reached a pinnacle with the gospel records. Those cuts kept rock and roll alive in the 80s, and featured some of the best players around to go with Dion’s anointed writing and melodies. Dion has to be the only one alive who would be equally comfortable headlining a Blues Cruise or a Malt Shop Cruise or a Gospel Cruise — and he would pull them in from all over because there’s redemption in his blues and harmony in his gospel. This is the attraction of Dion

Anthony Benedetto (Tony Bennett) who had just scored a big hit with Hank Williams “Cold, Cold Heart” with a young Dion whose early love for Hank (and the blues) was a primary force in his musical evolution and growth.

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“Center of My Life” from the Dion songbook

to his millions of fans. In the 50s he was a Teenage Idol as well as The King of The New York Streets. He sums it up in his “Son of Skip James” song. While professing that he “wants to be more like Jesus” at the onset, he concludes by telling his listeners, “I’m a lover not a fighter, but I’ll kick your ass.” A street preacher with street creds, that’s our man and it isn’t just me raving about him. Read the Dylan quotes, and Springsteen’s. For 60 plus years Dion has been selling out shows and except for a couple of issues with management in the early 60s who wanted to turn him into a supper club star a la Bobby Darin, he never compromised his rock and roll heart. His success in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and up to today is virtually unparalleled in show business. He is living the prophesy of Danny and Juniors – “Rock and Roll will always be.” Now there’s a Broadway play in the works about his life story and it is sure to be an important piece of American musical theater. My wish is that Dion would play himself even as a 12 year-old. How cool would that be? I mean, Tom Hanks wasn’t bad in “Big.” See the picture of the kid holding his own with Tony Bennett on the previous page? He wasn’t joking and while he can be hilarious on stage, he is a serious, deep-thinking fullgrown spiritual man. Full of compassion and love but with an attitude, best summed up in these two words — YO! HALLELUJAH — from his “Bronx Poem” on the third album of his marvelous trilogy, “Tank Full of Blues.” (Ed. note: The fourth album of that trilogy, “Heroes of Rock and Roll” is a must-have collection with DVD and features a guitarist called The Crow who complements Dion’s renditions of Carl Perkins, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Ricky Nelson et al with perfect guitar parts on the tube amps and vintage guitars of the 50s). Not to forget Buddy Holly. 156 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“You can get into rock and roll because you’re lonely, or angry. There are a lot of things that kick it off. But when you get over that, you can find that rock and roll at its best is a universal communications tool that can express your thoughts or perceptions world wide.”

Four young men in a room backstage, All with gold records, Their music was the rage. Four young men in a backstage room, Only one would see tomorrow afternoon. By now you all know the story of Dion not buying that $36 plane ticket because that was a month’s rent that always caused a quarrel between his parents growing up. “Buddy Holly was 22 I was 19, He was learning how to fly, I was learning how to hail a cab. He was a legend, a pioneer, a friend. He helped start all of this,” (as in Rock n Roll). “They didn’t have grief counseling in the Bronx in those days. I tried to avoid the pain, confusion and frustration in so many ways — drink, drugs. I think I did those guys

proud,” he adds. “Sometimes writing gives your heart a little bit of peace.” After that flurry of success with “the Wanderer” and “Run Around Sue” and being told by Little Richard’s mother that his version of “Ruby Baby” was alright in her book and by Howling Wolf that his guitar playing was admirable, Dion took a hiatus from the pop music world to focus on his love of the blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival in 1964 he met Sun House, Mississippi John Hurt and the aforementioned Skip James, who had a profound influence on him. “Skip was awesome — like he was from outer space the way he sang. They used to pay him to stop singing because his music was so depressing. His guitar was tuned to an E minor and his melodies were so haunting. I think sometimes the blues makes you sing about things so that some call it the ‘devil’s music.’ But I think it’s redemptive. It’s kind

Steven Van Zant, Dion, 92nd Street Y

Dion’s painting of Robert Johnson

of an insanity going through life without knowing God. You’re sputtering along on six cylinders with a fourth dimension missing. Robert Johnson did not sell his soul to the devil. I come against that folk lore myth. I explored the spiritual side of ‘Crossroads.’ He went down there, got on his knees and asked God to ‘Save me please.’ “Blues,” continues Dion, “is the naked cry of the human heart apart from God, like somebody longing to be home. It’s really hard to put into words what the real blues is and what it isn’t … you’re not studiously trying to cop something, you’re not listening to a Robert Johnson record and trying to sound like it, you are merely playing the most natural music for you. You get inside a song and capture the passion. The blues could be retitled ‘The Psalms.’ It’s all about brokenness, so I ask myself, ‘Why am I singing the blues? I’m not depressed,’ but there’s a place in all of us longing continuously to be closer to God.” For Dion, it reached an early culmination in “The Wanderer.” A pure ladies man with two fists of iron, he was a far cry from the lonely teenager of only a year or two before. “We’re all wanderers in a sense, we’re all looking for home, whether we know it or not. Life works itself out in relationships. . … -”

Steven met Dion while he was on tour in Las Vegas as guitarist with the Dovels (“Bristol Stomp”) in 1973 and heard Dion finger-picking Robert Johnson at soundcheck. while he was up in the rafters getting a tour of the arena. They have been friends ever since.

In that sense, I’m the Wanderer. I was barreling my way through, trying to make sense of it. There were guys and girls in my neighborhood who were a little bit bigger than life. I was a troubled kid, a delinquent kicked out of seven high schools, but I really wasn’t like that inside. You had to do that in my neighborhood. When you’re born in the Bronx and you walk down the street, you had to know everything.” But when he heard Hank Williams singing “Honky Tonk Blues” and “Jambalaya” something was awakened in the young lad. “I didn’t know what it was about that music. Sausage bread — I knew what that was. I fell in love with Hank, started collecting his records. The more my parents argued, the more I would go to my room and get better on the guitar. With a three minute song, I found I could solve a lot of problems.” The Bronx’s Little Italy, where Dion grew up and where he regularly returns, is a place right out of a movie. I was fortunate to have experienced it up close and personal, hence my special affinity for Dion. He still is that street poet with an attitude who wakes up hungry every day. It will be great to see the heart and soul of a real Bronx voice up there on the Great White Way. Dion, with

the chops and the attitude, filtered black music through an Italian neighborhood and invented something. Nobody sings like Dion. Nobody tells it like it is like Dion. Nobody has a gift like Dion and is so willing to share it with the world. He is loved and respected everywhere. His greatest admirers are the biggest stars in their fields. On The Beatles Sergeant Pepper’s album, only two American singers were featured in the collage that served as the artwork for the front cover: Dion and Dylan. He could have stopped right there with a position secure in the annals of music history, but Dion still wakes up hungry. And not just for sausage bread.

Holding a copy of the test pressing of BRONX FINE ART with a 17 year old Dion on the cover Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 157

Photo January 24: Eagles Ballroom, Kenosha, Wisconsin; In 1959, at the start of the Winter Dance Party Tour, the three headliners – Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Dion all bought Leo Fender’s new Stratocsters and before shows would turn the amps up to 11 and see who could rock the loudest. Waylon Jennings is on the left playing bass guitar, Carlo and Freddie singing with Dion. Carlo played drums for Buddy Holly who had a pick up band for this tour. The Crickets sat this one out..

Dion and The Belmonts outside Dion’s house on E. 183rd Street, The Bronx

I was standing outside the 92nd Y, a damp and cold spring night in New York City waiting for my young, guitar slinging friend Alex Marklund to meet me. I wanted to keep the cultural continuum going, so I bought him a ticket to see a two man show with Dion and Little Steven. A passerby asked me who was performing and I said Dion and she responded, “Oh yeah, Dion and the Belmonts.” No getting around it. Dion and the Belmonts are inextricably linked in musical history and Bronx lore. When they broke up, it wasn’t quite the shock of the Dodgers and Giants leaving New York, but it was up there with the Martin and Lewis split and the DiMaggio/Monroe divorce. They both landed on their feet with the Belmonts scoring a couple of hits with “Come On Little Angel” and “Tell Me Why” with the great Carlo Mastrangelo (who could sing “with one lip tied behind his back,” according to Dion) switching from bass to lead vocals ably backed with the operatic voice of Angelo D’Aleo and the harmonic genius of Freddie Milano. Dion hit with “Runaround Sue”, “The Wanderer”, “Ruby Baby” and “Love Came To Me” with the Del Satins led by Stan Zizka handling the backing vocals, signing a $500,000 guaranteed recording contract from CBS, giving it up after two years to play the blues with up and comers John Hammond and Bonnie Raitt. Drugaddled, he hit the club and festival circuit where he met some of the greats, like Skip James. But for about five or six years, Dion wandered in obscurity, saved by the Lord and “Abraham, Martin and John” in 1968. This brought him a major hit record, yet you could still catch him at small clubs like the Bitter End and even smaller ones like Kenny’s Castaways where there could be ten or fifteen people drinking and semi-watching. Then in 1972, Dion finally 158 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

“It humbled me to sing with these guys,” Dion.

gave in to Richard Nader’s pleas and joined the Belmonts for a one-off show at Madison Square Garden. The very next weekend, Elvis came to town. I was at both shows and can honestly tell you that the din of the crowd for Dion and the Belmonts, on an audible level to these ears, far surpassed that of Elvis’s fans. After that great triumph, Dion teamed up with Phil Spector for his next recording, even released a single with Cher and they both went nowhere. He put a trio of albums out in the 70s – “Streetheart” (1976), “Return of the Wanderer” (1978) and “Fire in the Night” (1979) and continued to play live shows, sometimes solo, sometimes with a band. A memorable jam with the great Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Mark Naftalin on piano (both Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band) is worth searching out on youtube. Seemingly fading out of the scene, Dion turned to gospel and came out of the box with a Grammy-nominated LP called “Inside Job” which sold more than his previous seven albums combined. His message, steeped in his own life story along with scriptural quotes and references launched him on a run which culminated in 1987 when he returned to his roots, headlining WCBS Radio’s 15th Anniversary concert at Radio City Music Hall. Released as “Dion and Friends,” a double CD featuring Carlo, Jimmy Vivino, Little Steven, Felix Cavaliere and the Del Satins, it was peppered with Dion’s good-natured banter and interplay with former Belmont Mastrangelo. Just the other day, I had sone musical folks visiting to check out my studio. Somehow the name “Dion” came up as we were tuning. “Oh yeah,” said one of the guests, a respected folksinger in the Joan Baez mold – “Dion and the Belmonts.” –VICTOR FORBES

DION QU0TE – If you told me as a young man that one day my journey from The Bronx to the Rock ’n’ Rock Hall of Fame would become a musical, I would

Waiting for the downtown train that runs from the Bronx to Manhattan

“What a treasure, a legendary musical landmark!!!!”

Hottest couple in the neighborhood

Album cover in 1970

By KEVIN FREST

was standing on a corner in Gary, Indiana waiting for the school bus to take me to my eighth grade class when I heard “The Wanderer” on my transistor radio…I immediately loved the beat but the lyrics made a deep impression. I vowed to my teen age self that I was getting out of dirty gray Gary Indiana and become a wander too. That is one of my earliest memories of Dion and the power of music to inspire I was brought back to that youthful time again watching the life story of DION in “The Wanderer” the new Musical based on the Life of Dion DiMucci in workshop at the Baryshnikov Art Center in Manhattan. Written by Charles Messina and masterfully directed by Kenneth Ferrone this story takes us on a ride to The Bronx of the 50’s. The music, clothes, hair and staging create a magical feel of the era. With cameos by The Big Bopper, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly, we are treated to a lively recreation of the wonderful innocence and sweetness in the music of the era. But also the real world of 1950’s Bronx.

King of the New York Streets at the Bronx Zoo, 1957. “I did my best pose.”photo by Susan.

Pasquale DiMucci: “My Father was my Hero.”

“The Wanderer” is also a story of redemption. We learn about the years of drugs and struggle making a life in the music world. We also experience the transcendent love he shared with Susan Butterfield. It was through love, talent and persistence that he conquered those demons to become a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The cast that performed at the reading was excellent. The Dion character did a masterful job, crackling with raw energy, bringing Dion’s youthful talent to life. His voice powered the show. Dion’s “father”, channeled that classic Italian patron to life, overbearingly driving his son with his attempt to fulfill his dreams through him. and “Sue” brought a soft beauty and sweetness… like Dion, we all fall in love with her. The talented ensemble brought the house down. The cast for Paper Mill hasn’t been announced yet. If you remember this time you will be transported to the past. If you’re too young to have been there, this show will give you a glimpse into a magic era in the development of Rock & Roll. Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019 • 159

Slickers’ Hylton Beckford. Randy Vaughn, John Bradley, Victor Forbes, Small Axe, Dodridge Moore at recording session produced and engineered by Bradley at his BluVudu Productions

Small Axe, Randy Vaughn, Dodridge Moore

By VICTOR FORBES

The Sonic Clarity of John Bradley Shines in the Studio and on Stage

t was one of those bright, sunny late afternoons in Plattsburgh, Mayor’s Cup Day. A celebration and re-enactment of a Revolutionary War battle had just finished and the crowds were mingling at the refreshment stands and crafts booths lining the park. Further on, down by the beautiful Lake Champlain, music was wafting through the atmosphere that was bringing back memories. Memories of the Pigpenera Grateful Dead, songs performed by a young band led by Jon Wagar. We found a spot in front of the bandstand and were very impressed not only by the music and vocals, but by the high quality of the sound system. Outdoors with no baffles or other acoustical accouterments, the music was coming through with such clarity and cleanliness that I had to make my way to the sound booth after the show and meet the engineer. He was all about the business of getting packed up and heading for the next gig, but as he did so we spoke and I learned something about the man: his name was John Bradley and he was and is serious about sound. Well-educated in the intricacies of analog and digital, John is also an educator, having taught at the high school and collegiate level. He also created a course to teach sound engineering to the deaf. It wasn’t too long before we exchanged business cards and I booked time at his studio to record my reggae band, an influential but sorely under-recognized group called The Slickers, featuring founder and lead singer Hylton Beckford and his musical partner, Small Axe at BluVudu Productions. A musicians’ musician and an engineers’ engineer, John runs his studio with militaristic precision and that’s the same way he handles his board. Everything comes through crystal clear with plenty of headroom and space for each voice and individual instrument to shine. For this session, he brought in the rhythm section from Damaged Goods, drummer Randy Vaughn and bassist Dodridge Moore. The talent these two men possessed was only matched by their professional attitude and kind humility. The session ran like clockwork and Small Axe’s version of “Heaven’s Door,” produced by Bradley, is a reggae gem. John has worked with a plethora of musicians ranging from a children’s gospel choir to a heavy metal band from Saskatchewan to his current project with Shelley Shutler in which he also performs. His energy, patience and skill sets in molding bands into coherent, successful and creative units is a testament to his own powerful work ethic. 160 • Fine Art Magazine • Autumn 2019

Revolution Gun disc recorded at BluVudu Productions, available on CDBABY. A double album collection of beautiful from the heart originals.

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Dawn Tyler Watson, Ita Lew Bullard, Kenny Neal and Kenny’s wife Josee stand before Ita’s painting in the lobby of the Strand after Kenny’s spectacular show at which Dawn was a surprise guest; produced and presented by Laura Carbone of Plattsburgh Blues & Jazz

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Sax man extraordinaire Joseph Moore from Burlington Vermont (he tourrd and performed with Wilson Pickett); Alistair Greene, Surgaray Rayford’s outstanding guitarist and Victor Forbes, photo by Laura Carbone who produced Sugaray’s show at Olive Ridleys for PB&J

Lee Rocker after his performance at The Strand, just before he took off on the reunited Stray Cats 40th Anniversary world tour and new recording

Dusters on stage

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