MARGARETVILLE — On April 10, there was a three-photographer opening at the Artup Gallery in Margaretville. The works are by photographers, though this extends the definitional assumptions in the word photograph more than a bit. Most of the work is painterly and some even abstract. They are produced by both still camera and video captures. I am writing about the event and its place in our community, as nothing I can say would be more than my subjective take on the work. If the artist wanted it described in words, they would have written poems.
Many local readers may react to the announcement of this show with a nod and a page turn. Certainly fifty people coming to a small gallery opening is a good turn out. But, I hope we can build more interest among those born and bred in the mountain communities who have never considered themselves within the "art crowd." To these neighbors, I urge you to go and look, and talk to the gallery people. Change is happening in the Catskills and the best way to guide that change to our benefit, is to get to know the agents of change. There is a phrase I often heard while working with the traditional Romani "Gypsy" community, on matters of civil rights. Being a practical people, they'd often start the conversation with "what part of these rights can I eat?" In other words, how does this positively affect my life?
Coming from a family of artists, I should say, the production of art is the introduction to a conversation which enriches your life. Yes. And I'll speak to that. But, Joe Papp, the founder of The Public Theatre, tells us what part of this art movement can the neighbors eat. He carried out a study which showed that every play for which an audience member pays (and for that matter every piece of visual art sold) brings money into the community banks. The sellers of art and the artists buy food, and other commodities from local stores, people come from far and wide to see the growing art community in the Catskills and rent B&B rooms, hotel rooms, and spend money here. It creates jobs far from the studio and gallery.
Much of the art shown at the opening creates an understanding by others of the importance of preserving and empowering the Catskills as a place with intrinsic value. These mountains are more than a place to plant solar farms. This place is an environment to lose one's self in natural wonder and find joy in seeing the work of artists pushed out of cities. Though there is an art world in the cities that appreciates them, runaway inflation raises the cost beyond what the art world can sustain. When the consumers of art find that the cutting edge art scene has left the city and moved to the mountains, they do bring their money here.
Alan Powell's work revolves around the moving image. His work in video tape began before any of us ever dreamed we would own a video camera, let alone have one embedded in our phones.
He came to live in the Catskills in 2013. He and his late wife, Connie Coleman had been artists in residence at the Experimental Television Center in Oswego, NY. They were in residence from the 1980s to the late 1990s so he lived and worked in rural Upstate NY for decades. After his wife's passing, he decided he wanted to live in the mountains. He also still lives in Philadelphia, having taught there and having strong lasting ties to the city. "The Catskills are the right combination of an art community and an outdoor community"
At the opening, you see the truth in Alan's reflection. About fifty people drifted back and forth from the gallery to the outdoor deck. There were many people I'd met at other gatherings which concerned artists in the Catskills. Local artists from Ken Hiratsuka to Barbara Alyn were there to support and enjoy the work of their community. The community is more than people who live here. There are artists who are tied to the Catskills by friendships with artists who have become local.
Alan was an early pioneer of video as art, and by the age of 19 was having shows at The Kitchen, a venue owned by Steina and Woody Vasulka and Andy Mannik.
"I'm not an artist who works in the studio, I have to be out in the real world." I see this the next day when he makes art live at an event in Fleischmanns, his home. With video, he captures the moment, "drawing takes too long." And from his capturing time and space, he can select moments for the work he is presenting this week at ArtUp.
Full disclosure, Robert Brune, showing work at this opening, is my Bureau Chief on the Mountain Eagle. The other two photographers came to their art through schooling. Robert's life through a lens began when he lived in Maryland and began to photograph the demonstrations in Washington, DC. Journalists should be comfortable at the places where society breaks apart to reveal those dysfunctions which may define us or reveal what we must address to survive and grow. Looking at his photos which capture the balm which is nature in the Catskills, I recall the words of Jose Marti:
verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmín encendido
Mi verso es un ciervo herido
Que busca en el monte amparo
My verses are light green,
But they are also flaming red.
My verses are like a wounded fawn,
Seeking refuge in the mountain.
Give us bread, yes, but also give us roses.
"I'm one of the most published photographers" Chris Moore says " If you've ever seen an A&S Catalogue or a Bloomingdales' Catalogue, you've seen my work." We find we have a lot in common, as we both shot for different journals at Fairchild Publications. The commercial photographers' stories flow between us, "I made the biggest mistake of my career," Chris says. "I photographed Sid Caesar with a glass of water and ice." I didn't know he was an alcoholic and could not be seen in a photo with a glass.
Then we discovered the root of our connections. In the 1970s, there was this brash 19 year old kid, and this driven 22 year old darkroom tech and assistant to the chair of the photography department at Pratt Institute. We had been in school together, and I tried to resolve the dim memories of him from 50 years ago. Happy to see that he is still producing art, as we both had sold our souls to the commercial photography world. There is life after commercial photography.
Run and see this exhibit. The last day is the Friday this piece hits the newsstands. Of course it will be on my Substack a few days before that. I usually post after print, but it is important that you see this show. I think the future of our economy will be tied to artists and their far flung connections.
Alan Powell - Credit Lorcan Otway
ArtUp Gallery - Credit Lorcan Otway
Chris Moore Photo Credit Robert Brune
Credit Robert Brune
Robert Brune - Credit Lorcan Otway
