A THOUSAND WORDS

STORY & PAINTING BY ROBERT BECK

LOVE ON WHEELS

MY FIRST VEHICLE WASa Triumph motorcycle. It was kept just inside the garage door behind my mother’s Valiant. I would come out in the morning, swing my leg over the seat and rock it upright, engage the choke and fuel valve under the tank, and turn on the ignition. Most often, the engine would start on the second kick. I was sixteen. Just. To this day, when I see someone use an electric starter, I chuckle to myself and stand a little straighter. The exhaust cadence of an English twin, with its cylinder arrangement different from the Harley, will still turn my head.

I don’t have a lot of bike moments on my highlight reel, but I do remember taking Cheryl Baker for a short ride after school one day. It was an out-of-body experience for me. Cheryl was as hot as they come. Way too much woman for me. Think Farrah. Not just that, but she drove a razor-clean 327 El Camino to school. There were only two motorcycles at Central Bucks High, so in retrospect I must have had some cred, but I was a dweeb and a loner. All the cool kids parked behind the grandstand, and I put my bike outside the gym.

>20

exhibitions

Chanel Chiffon Thomas, A mother who had no mother, 2018; Embroidery floss, acrylic paint, and canvas on window screen

Young, Gifted, and Black The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art Curated by Antwaun Sargent and Matt Wycoff Lehigh University Art Galleries 420 E Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA 610-758-3615 Luag.org February 1–May 27

Young, Gifted and Black showcases works in a variety of mediums by emerging artists of African descent, alongside works by established artists who have paved the way for the younger generation.

Artists include: Derrick Adams; Tunji Adeniyi-Jones; Sadie Barnette; Kevin Beasley; Jordan Casteel; Bethany Collins; LaToya Ruby Frazier; Ellen Gallagher; Cy Gavin; Alteronce Gumby; Allison Janae Hamilton; David Hammons; Kenyatta A. C. Hinkle; Lonnie Holley; Rashid Johnson; Samuel Levi Jones; Deana Lawson; Glenn Ligon; Eric N. Mack; Kerry James Marshall; Wardell Milan; Jennifer Packer; Adam Pendleton; Adrian Piper; Paul Mpagi Sepuya; Gerald Sheffield; Lorna Simpson; Sable Elyse Smith; Vaughn Spann; Tavares Strachan; Henry Taylor; Chanel Chiffon Thomas; Mickalene Thomas; William Villalongo; Kara Walker; D’Angelo Lovell Williams; Wilmer Wilson IV; Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

This exhibition is courtesy of the LumpkinBoccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art.

Dorothy Hoeschen (teaching artist), Last Light.

2022 Student Invitational and Faculty Show AOY Art Center aoyarts.org 949 Mirror Lake Road, Yardley, PA Fri., Sat., and Sun., 12–5 February 5–20, 2022

AOY Art Center presents the 2022 Student Invitational and Faculty Show intended to demonstrate the skills of our students and instructors. Faculty have invited their students to participate and showcase their creative visions. All student work was done in class during the AOY calendar sessions: Winter, Spring I & II, Fall I & II of 2021. AOY Art Center offers adult and youth six-week class sessions throughout the year. The show is curated by James Bongartz, AOY Education Director and presented in the historic Janney House on Patterson Farm.

Dorothy Hoeschen (teaching artist), Catching Light. Guy Ciarcia, Old Devil Moon.

Creative Continuum Invitational Exhibition New Hope Arts, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope, PA 215-862-9606 Newhopearts.org January 21–February 28

The Creative Continuum Invitational Exhibition celebrates the creative spark that motivates an artist throughout life and features twelve life-long art-makers and their work. New Hope Arts 20th anniversary season begins by honoring master teachers from January 21 to February 28.

Art is a tool for sharing, helping, guiding and revealing unconscious motivation in the hands of teachers who use metaphor, theme and storytelling practices as well as technique and formal elements, contributing to the “creative continuum.” The 12 participating artists in this exhibition find an anchor in art. Recent sculptural works of Guy Ciarcia, most created during the past 20 months of Covid isolation, are the centerpiece for painting, photography and assemblage works by like-minded artists.

Gallery hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday through 2/28. Masks are required and reservations are recommended. Please check newhopearts.org for updates.