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Tara Mae

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'COVID Driveway Quince' by Bruce Lieberman. Image courtesy of Gallery North

By Tara Mae

It is an art form to recognize one’s daily surroundings as fecund food for thought despite their familiarity. Gallery North’s new exhibit, Poetic Visions: Recent Works by Bruce Lieberman, explores the eponymous artist’s appreciation and perception of his own backyard as he cultivates its curated wildness. On view from Aug. 24 to Oct. 1, the show will feature approximately 35 of Lieberman’s oil paintings. While canvas sizes vary, the world within them is universally expansive. 

‘Yellow Thirst’ by Bruce Lieberman Image courtesy of Gallery North

“The paintings are vivid, luscious, gardenscapes spanning summer through winter, when it is more bleak. Even then, he still pulls out colors and textures in the browns and other, more muted, [tones] that he paints,” said Gallery North’s Curator Kate Schwarting. 

Immersing the audience in a verdantly vivacious, incrementally abstract atmosphere, these renderings inspired by his Water Mill property are rooted in realism, yet blossom with imagination.  

“This is a presentation of paintings that blur the line between representation and abstraction. It also presents a painter who is very far along in his career trying to move into something new and push boundaries of his artistic practice. [Lieberman] revels in color and gets others excited about the interaction between color and form,” Gallery North’s Executive Director Ned Puchner said. 

Poetic Visions, Lieberman’s fifth solo show at Gallery North amid many group exhibitions, is the latest harvest of a long, fruitful relationship. Making their public debut, the paintings invite viewers to seek the serenity of soulful solitude.  

For Lieberman, these works reflect an introspection born out of necessity: they were primarily started during the COVID-19 lockdown, when he ceased teaching painting and figure drawing as an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University. 

‘Crape Myrtle Pool’ by Bruce Lieberman. Image courtesy of Gallery North

Informally referred to as the “COVID Driveway Series” by Lieberman, the paintings reference a time when circumstances encouraged him to find novelty in the known as he navigated the unprecedented pandemic.                                                                                                                                        “It has become rather a cliché to speak about how ‘COVID made me do it.’ Or how one’s COVID experience framed and affected their work.’ But…it sort of did. It gave me an excuse to cut my ties with everything. I stopped teaching, stopped going out, stopped going to openings, stopped going to New York,” Lieberman said in an email. “[My wife and I] canceled everything! It, the COVID experience, removed guilt from the decision…For us, we were lucky to have the ability—the luxury—to withdraw from the world.”

Setting up an easel at the furthest point of his property line and painting whatever he saw in all directions, Lieberman experimented with different points of view, paint techniques, and previously untapped styles of brushstrokes. 

Such interior creativity born of outside chaos is evidenced in the precise details and less defined boundaries of Lieberman’s paintings. Using the landscape as his muse results in a sort of inherent optimism; even as trees appear bare, traces of green can be found — the promise of fertile rebirth. 

“My garden has become a big giant motif — a living still life with endless variations…my Giverny,” Lieberman said. 

Almost impressionistic brushstrokes illustrate different types of foliage and lighting as well as rich bright colors for the plants, beautiful blue reflections on fencing, and similar nuances, according to Schwarting. 

“Bordering on abstraction, it is a very identifiable scene, but areas of canvas draw you in and almost become an abstract moment on the canvas. It happens very organically, a natural process of him exploring the medium through his paintings. There is an amazing juxtaposition of abstract, painterly brush marks, with drips of the paint. I love how you can have both in one place,” she added.  

A singular entity containing multitudes is a recurrent theme in the art of Lieberman, who began his career in the figurative art world of New York City. 

Traces of the genre are apparent in elements of Poetic Visions. Representative objects contrast and complement the somewhat subjective wonderland Lieberman’s paintings project, revealed to onlookers by the revelations of his paintbrush. 

“He developed a sort of a new vision of his home during [lockdown] and it came through daily examination of his surroundings. When you look at something long enough, you begin to see it differently and start to think about the larger meaning behind the growth of a flower, the changing of a season, or how light can illuminate colors,” Puchner said. 

Lieberman’s contemplative examination was a three year study that he now strives to share and shed. Like most acts of creation, the process of producing the paintings was a labor of love; Poetic Visions is a culmination of Lieberman’s efforts as he looks towards the next endeavor. 

“I worked hard, I worked for three years on these paintings. So I care about them. I look forward to getting them on the wall and looked at. An added bonus — [having] my studio clean so I can move on to the next thing. Trying to make great paintings is always the goal,” he said. 

Gallery North, 90 North Country Road, Setauket invites the community to an opening reception for Poetic Visions on Thursday, Aug. 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. and a free ArTalk with Lieberman on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 3 p.m. For more information, call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.

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Front row, from left, members of Troop 1343: Logan G., Piper G., Emily S., and Hannah U.; back row, from left, Sarah Abruzzi, LIM Co-Executive Director, Operations; Lisa Unander, LIM Director of Education; and Joshua Ruff, LIM Co-Executive Director, Collections and Programming. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Fred Ellman works on the project with members of Brownie Troop 1343. Photo from LIM
Members of Brownie Troop 1343 paint the panels of the Little Free Library. Photo by Tara Mae
Hannah U. of Brownie Troop 1343 with parts of the Little Free Library. Photo by Tara Mae
Above, members of Brownie Troop 1343: back row, from left, Katherine F., Rogue C., Allison D., Matilda P., Emily S., Sheridan C., and Beatrix H.; front row, from left, Emma T., Layla J., Lily B., Hannah U., and Charlotte G. Photo by Tara Mae
The Popcorn Wagon in the museum's collection was the inspiration for the design of the Little Free Library.
A view of the Little Free Library at the LIM from the back. Photo by Heidi Sutton
The Little Free Library at the LIM is already full of books. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Above, Brownie Troop 1343 members Emily S., Piper G. and Hannah U. at the Little Free Library. Photo by Heidi Sutton
Above, Brownie Troop 1343 members Piper G, Emily S. and Hannah U. with a sample of books found in the Little Free Library. Photo by Heidi Sutton
The Long Island Museum now has a Little Free Library. Photo by Heidi Sutton

By Tara Mae

The chaos of creation yields the quietude of reflection. 

Newly installed at the Long Island Museum of Art, History, & Carriages (LIM), the Little Free Library came from just such a process. It was assembled by Brownie Troop 1343, which consists of fourteen local 3rd graders from the Three Village School District and horticultural art therapist/mediations instructor Fred Ellman, with troop co-leaders Lisa Unander, Kaethe Cuomo, and Christine Colavito offering practical support.

Cultivated from a sort magical mayhem on a series of manic Mondays as the girls painted their projects and maybe themselves, the Little Free Library is the result of artistic exuberance and pragmatic craftsmanship. Ellman previously worked with Unander on LIM’s In the Moment programs, which are garden activities designed for people with memory loss.

“To my pure delight, he volunteered to help us design and build the project! It was Fred’s idea to use the popcorn wagon [design], inspired by the Popcorn Wagon, 1907, C. Cretors & Company, Chicago, which is prominently featured in our carriage museum collection,” Unander, who is also LIM’s Director of Education, said.

Ellman donated his time, talents, and materials, functioning as artistic advisor, serene supervisor, and pragmatic visionary. He created a digital template and used that as the blueprint for the actual pieces of wood.   

“Lisa told me about this incredible project, and I really enjoy working with her. I wanted this library to be very playful and encourage children to come use books and connect to the  collection. With this installation, we are using a fresh way of looking at a free library, inviting and enticing patrons with its welcoming appearance,” Ellman said. 

This  22”x24” box, made of birch and cedar, is a blend of functional fun, with its bright colors and and unique shape. Installed adjacent to LIM”s aromatic herb garden, visitors will be able to take a book and immerse themselves in the stories as they settle in the tranquility of nature.

This visage belies the Brownies determined diligence in creating and maintaining the free library. A requirement for being formally recognized as an officially chartered member of the nonprofit Little Free Library network is that the girls are stewards of this installation. Each Brownie will be assigned certain weeks of the year to check on the library, including cleaning, maintaining, and restocking it as well as reporting any needs to Troop 1343.  

“To have a long term project that [the troop] could get excited about and work on collaboratively created responsibility and pride in what they accomplished,” Unander said. “Since all the girls live in the Three Village area, we know they will grow up helping keep the library well maintained and bring friends and family to see what they helped create.” 

For the Brownies, its motivations for the Little Free Library are multifaceted. Starting when the girls were Daisies, the Girl Scouts program for kindergarten-first grade, their meetings frequently commenced with a co-leader reading them a story that related to a project on which they were working.

“They always responded in a positive way to each book that was read to them and we felt it created a strong bond between the girls and the badges that they were about to take on,” said Unander. 

Then last year, the group began working on its World of Journey badges, a four part certification that focuses on “girls around the world and how stories can give you ideas for helping others,” according to Girl Scouts USA’s website.

Inspired by a pamphlet that depicted girls traveling the world in a flying bookmobile to learn about different cultures, and having recently read a book about Little Free Libraries’ founder Todd Bol, Troop 1343 decided to create a Little Free Library of its own in pursuit of the badges.

“Many troops do a simpler project to complete this journey, but we felt the girls in our troop were willing and ready to make a true and lasting impact,” Unander added. 

They were not the only ones embarking on a new adventure; it was Ellman’s first time constructing a free library too, though he anticipates it will not be his last. “I definitely want to build another one,” he said.  

As reading invites the imagination to explore, facilitating LIM’s free library has alerted everyone involved in this endeavor to other possibilities: Troop 1343 and its co-leaders are discussing developing a book about this process.  

“Fred had the idea of the girls creating a book that would tell visitors a little bit about them and some of their favorite books; I loved it,” Unander said. “Next year the girls will be Junior level Girl Scouts, and we plan to incorporate this project into our meetings. Ideally, this book would be attached to the Little Free Library onsite for all to read.”

In the meantime, the girls collected and donated their own books to launch the library. Given its location, Unander believes that as the library continues to expand its collection, visitors will be particularly inclined to leave books about art and history; its public accessibility binds the library to the community and encourages any visitor to the museum to indulge in the exchange of ideas. 

“We are grateful to our Co-Executive Directors Sarah Abruzzi and Joshua Ruff for enthusiastically giving us the green light to use this magnificent space to host our Little Free Library. We all feel this small structure will bring a large amount of joy to all who see it,” said Unander. 

To take a book, leave a book, visit the Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook Thursdays to Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. To learn more about the museum’s exhibits and other programs, visit www.longislandmuseum.org. 

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Taylor Dayne belts out a hit song at Funtastic 2023.
Neil Giraldo and Pat Benatar at Funtastic 2023.
Pat Benatar waves to a fan in the crowd during the Funtastic 2023 concert at Bald Hill on July 23.
Catherine Canadeo, Taylor Dayne, and LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo pose for photos at Funfest 2023.
The crowd enjoys Funtastic 2023 at Bald Hill on July 23.

On July 23, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame celebrated the power of music with “Funtastic 2023,” a benefit concert for the organization featuring Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo with special guest Taylor Dayne at the Catholic Health Amphitheater at Bald Hill in Farmingville. The packed crowd enjoyed rock favorites including “Love Is A Battlefield, “Heartbreaker” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” from Benatar and “Tell It to My Heart,” “Love Will Lead You Back,” and “With Every Beat of My Heart”  from Dayne, both native Long Islanders.

Photos by Tara Mae and Dylan Ebrahimian

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From left, Neil Giraldo, Pat Benatar and Taylor Dayne head to the Catholic Health Ampitheater on July 23. Photos courtesy of LIMEHOF

By Tara Mae

Since time immemorial, troubadours have chronicled every aspect of affection and antagonism through song. If love is a battlefield, music is one of the most effective weapons in its arsenal.

On Sunday, July 23, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) celebrates the power of music with “Funtastic 2023,” a benefit concert for the organization featuring Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo with special guest Taylor Dayne at the Catholic Health Amphitheater at Bald Hill, 1 Ski Run Lane in Farmingville. The concert kicks off at 7:30 p.m. 

“We are calling it Funtastic 2023 because we want people to have a lot of fun at this concert with powerful, upbeat music that has survived the test of time,” said LIMEHOF Chairman of the Board of Directors Ernie Canadeo.

Benatar and Dayne, who are each on tour this summer, will play full sets spanning the continuing creative arc of their careers. Giraldo, a musician and five time Grammy Award winning producer, will join his wife, Benatar, onstage.  

International artists whose first notes were formed on Long Island, Benatar and Dayne were inducted into the LIMEHOF in 2008 and 2012 respectively. Benatar, a four time Grammy Award winning rock singer/songwriter, is renowned for assertive, commanding hits like “Heartbreaker,” “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” and “Love is a Battlefield.” 

Three time Grammy Award nominated, American Music Award winning singer/songwriter Dayne, is famous for defiantly danceable pop music, including “Tell It to My Heart,” “Love Will Lead You Back,” and “With Every Beat of My Heart.”  

These multi-award winning, multiplatinum musical mavens are hometown heroes: Benatar grew up in Lindenhurst and Dayne was raised in Freeport and Baldwin. 

“[The board] worked together to put on a concert utilizing the Long Island Music Hall of Fame’s inductees. From there we selected Benatar and Dayne, a natural fit…they are excellent representatives of Long Island. Canadeo said. “We felt that the LIMEHOF clientele would appreciate their music and artistry.”

LIMEHOF’s mission and membership will be well-represented at the event, with a promotional booth onsite selling its merchandise as well as concert t-shirts and raffle tickets for two house seats to a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden. Although LIMEHOF has had smaller shows in the past, this is its premiere big benefit concert, with the goal of many encores to follow. 

“I am looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting future members of LIMEHOF. We hope it becomes an annual event,” Canadeo said.

Just as a performance requires cooperation, Funtastic 2023 is a collaborative exercise both onstage and behind-the scenes. The idea of the concert was born from a conversation between Canadeo and John Caracciolo, who athrough his company JVC Media, operates 16 radio stations and the amphitheater in Farmingville, which is owned by the Town of Brookhaven. 

“I love the venue; it is the largest outdoor venue in Suffolk County, with a terrific sound system, and accommodating seating: people may opt to bring their own chairs to sit on the lawn or take advantage of the stadium seats,” Canadeo said. “…We were discussing how to promote LIMEHOF and the conversation evolved from there.”  

While the arts are seemingly threatened by everything from the advent of Artificial Intelligence to streaming sales that yield cents per play, LIMEHOF lauds the universal language of music and honors fluent local musicians. Founded in 2004, LIMEHOF has honored 120 inductees. It is committed to preserving Long Island’s musical legacy so that it may be appreciated and celebrated now and in the future.

A rolling stone for many years, in 2022 LIMEHOF finally found a permanent home at the Stony Brook Village Center. With the price of admission, visitors to its headquarters may enjoy free concerts or immerse themselves in an interactive exhibition. It houses musical mementos and traditionally hosted awards ceremonies, including the Long Island Music Hall of Fame Induction through 2018.

Since settling down, LIMEHOF has reportedly exceeded all of its all attendance goals as visitors immerse themselves in exhibits featuring musician memorabilia or a surround sound theater that plays what Canadeo described as “rare music videos.” 

“As a nonprofit, LIMEHOF depends on public support through admissions, donations, and events like [Funtastic] to help us operate and continue to create memorable, exciting experiences,” he said.  

The success of these programs also enables a new duo to make its debut. At the concert, Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CEO of Catholic Health, will announce Health and Harmony. This program, a partnership between the healthcare group and LIMEHOF, is designed to support residents’ mental health.   

“People can listen to a select playlist that matches their mood; it is a multifaceted program that incorporates a vision to improve the wellbeing of Long Islanders through the power of music,” Canadeo explained.

During Funtastic, the message of music as sustainable sustenance for the soul is both a refrain and supporting act for Benatar, Giraldo, and Dayne. 

“[This] is a wonderful opportunity for all Long Islanders to enjoy a terrific concert in a wonderful venue and support the Hall of Fame’s mission of keeping Long Island’s music heritage alive,” said Canadeo.

Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets, which range from $52.65 to $106.65 (including fees), are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information about this event and LIMEHOF, visit www.limusichalloffame.org.

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A scene from the NSGC's 2019 Flower Show. Photo from Leighton Coleman III
A scene from the NSGC's 2019 Flower Show. Photo from Leighton Coleman III
A scene from the NSGC's 2019 Flower Show. Photo from Leighton Coleman III
A scene from the NSGC's 2019 Flower Show. Photo from Leighton Coleman III
A scene from the NSGC's 2019 Flower Show. Photo from Leighton Coleman III

By Tara Mae

The allure of foliage and other flora is an alchemy of fanciful imagination, artistic interpretation, and scientific intuition. Such traditions, planted a century ago, will bloom with a renewed vision at the North Suffolk Garden Club’s (NSGC) annual garden show, “Sands of Time,” at Deepwells Mansion, 2 Taylor Street in St. James on Wednesday, June 7, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., and Thursday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Members of the NSGC will be joined by different garden clubs from Long Island and around the country, including the Kettle Moraine Garden Club, whose members primarily hail from Waukesha County, Wisconsin. 

Generally affiliated with the umbrella organization, Garden Club of America (GCA), all participating garden clubs will showcase their horticultural aptitude with a variety of individual and collaborative creations. As a juried show, entrees will be assessed by a panel of three GCA approved judges. 

Featuring between 30 and 50 horticulture exhibits (plants and cuttings), approximately 12 floral exhibits, and a miniatures exhibit (tiny floral arrangement done in diminutive dimensions), “Sands of Time” is a testament to the NSGC’s robust history of industry and ingenuity.  

“We are celebrating our 100th year with this centennial flower show as a way to display our abilities in horticulture, floral design, and photography,” flower show committee co-chair Deanna Muro said. “Our show is based on the history of our club…We picked a historic venue, Deepwells, to set a really nice stage for all our different displays relating to the history of the club and this area.” 

With four distinct categories, Floral Design, Horticulture, Photography, and Education, the display explores how NSGC’s growth and development is reflected in the evolution of its surroundings. Every category has different classes that are a tribute and testament to the nature of life and budding environmental awareness in the 1920s.

“Each flower show must include an educational component. ‘Sands of Time’ focuses on 100 years of conservation, which has always been the root of the garden club. In the 1920s or 1930s, women of the NSGC, carrying their parasols and dressed in their finery, sailed down the Nissequogue River to draw attention to runoff and other water pollution. One of the classes is a floral homage to those parasols,” NSGC president Leighton Coleman III said. 

From its inception, conservation was a primary concern of NSGC. Established at the onset of widespread automotive culture, the club quickly recognized its environmental hazards: air pollution, littering, disruption of natural plant and animal habitats, etc. 

Thus, over the years NSGC has addressed issues both aesthetic and atmospheric, like  battling to ban roadside billboards; preserving scenic views and open spaces; promoting the plight of endangered waterways as it seeks to preserve them; highlighting the vulnerabilities of wildlife dependent on native plants; and creating community gardens.  

Hosting this year’s event at Deepwells is itself an homage to this fertile history. It was the summer home of William Jay Gaynor, mayor of New York City from 1910-1913, and his wife Augusta Cole Mayer Gaynor, an avid gardener whose scrapbooks and other belongings will be present in the exhibition. 

Intricately intertwined with the local cultural, climate, and communal past, NSGC was founded in 1923 by Smithtown residents. Accepted as an official member of the GCA in 1931, NSGC gained further prominence shortly after World War II when the club’s successful victory gardens and canning kitchens earned it government recognition. 

Cited then as a club that others should emulate, NSGC’s membership base continues to strive for such excellence. Over the decades, through education and community outreach, it supported the successful effort to save the 500-acre Blydenburgh Park and amplified the importance of the Pine Barrens legislation in the 1980s. More recently, NSGC collaborated with the Stony Brook Yacht Club to restore the Stony Brook Harbor oyster beds.  

Gardeners of NSGC are devoted to furthering its efforts in ecology and conservationism with the varied crop of projects it nurtures throughout the year. “Sands of Time” is just one element of the group’s ongoing effort to advance its original mission of conservationism as it engages the public in ecological and environmental awareness. 

“We want to get people interested in gardening, conservation, and things associated with that, like indigenous plants, including pollinators,” Coleman said. “Our history of being involved in ecology dates back to the beginning of the club, starting with the development of auto culture in the 1920s, then expanding in the 1960s with revved up interest in ecology, dealing with pesticides, urban sprawl and development, and promoting habitat for endangered animals and parks.” 

NSGC strives to promulgate such interests through its community outreach endeavors including maintaining the Long Island Museum’s herb garden and championing conservation and environmental endeavors on the local as well as national level. 

“We are looking forward to letting the public know what we do and giving an idea of the importance of garden clubs…the flower show basically gives you an introduction of what the garden club does and a sense of community,” Rockwell-Gifford said. 

The club currently consists of approximately 55 individuals, including retirees and professionals, many of whom are second or third generation members.  

“I love all of the friendships I have made joining the garden club…Members are a dynamic mosaic — a real kaleidoscope of personalities. We welcome new people to join us,” Coleman III said. 

“Sands of Time” is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.northsuffolkgardenclub.org. 

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Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in a scene from 'The Birdcage'

By Tara Mae

Time to fly the coop and settle in at Theatre Three’s Second Stage for St. George Living History Productions’ next interactive talk, “The Making of The Birdcage.”  

On Tuesday, May 30, at 12:30 p.m., award-winning playwright and lecturer Sal St. George will guide the audience on a behind-the-scenes tour of the 1996 modern classic, with anecdotes, trivia, insights, and movie clips making cameo appearances. 

Featuring complimentary refreshments, cookies, and other treats as well as a Q&A session, “The Making of The Birdcage” invites its patrons to enjoy the presentation as an immersive experience. 

“It is LecturTainment at its best. It’s a combination lecture and entertainment package. My goal is to help you learn while you laugh, that is the magic I try to create,” said St. George.  

Starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, The Birdcage is an acclaimed American remake of La Cages aux Folles (1978). Directed by Mike Nichols, the film chronicles the comedic calamities that befall a gay cabaret owner and his drag queen partner as they try to impress the ultra conservative parents of their son’s fiancée. 

It launched the film career of Lane, renowned for his theater work, and solidified Williams’ chameleon-like ability to embody a variety of characters. Further spotlighted by its stacked roster of supporting actors, this film was a box office smash hit and remains a crowd-pleaser today.

“This was Nathan Lane’s first film. He and Robin Williams bonded immediately…This [cast] is a winning combination of talent,” said Sal St. George. “The Birdcage is a modern day classic that will be enjoyed 20 years, 50 years, and 100 years from now simply because it boasts a brilliant script, superb direction, and memorable performances.” 

Highlighting, exploring, and understanding such talent is a founding tenet of St. George Living History Productions, which provides a sort of showbiz curriculum about Hollywood of yore and yesterday, including lectures, events, and virtual tours of entertainment museums. 

“During our programs we never talk down to audiences; we are informative, educational and entertaining. I think that is what is appealing to them,” added St. George, who runs St. George Living History Productions with his wife Mary, son Darren and daughter-in-law Cassandra.

Such care and consideration is in part what inspired the collaboration between the production company and Theatre Three, which was conceptualized when Darren reached out to Executive Artistic Director Jeffrey Sanzel. 

“Sal’s events are so incredibly well-curated. His translation of detailed research into engaging entertainment is unique. He has a way of finding new takes on any topic he selects,” Sanzel said. “We hope this is the first of many events like this with St. George Productions.”

Although this latest installment of St. George’s lecture series is the first partnership with Theatre Three, St. George and Sanzel have previously collaborated on other projects, including earlier incarnations of Port Jefferson’s annual Charles Dickens Festival. 

“I have lectured from Long Island to San Diego; it was time to bring my programs to the patrons of Theatre Three and the Port Jefferson community,” said St. George.

Theatre Three is located at 412 Main St., Port Jefferson. Tickets for “The Making of Birdcage” are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and veterans, and $20 for groups of eight or more people. To order, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com. Group sales may be made by emailing [email protected]. 

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A statue of Charles Darwin (and finch) created by sculptor Pablo Eduardo overlooks the harbor on the campus of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Photo courtesy of CSHL

By Tara Mae

Scientific study is a perpetual testimony to the feats and foibles of human nature, intricately intertwined in ways that continue to be excavated by inquiring minds bold enough to imagine. 

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), which has largely been a titan in such innovative investigations, will offer a series of walking tours on select weekends from Saturday, May 20, through Sunday, August 27, starting at 10 a.m. The hour and a half long tours will traverse the past, present, and future of the complex and its work therein. 

“We are most excited to get people to the Laboratory who have always wondered what goes on here. So many have heard about us, driven by us, read about us, but they have never dug deeper. This walking tour is the chance to learn who we are,” said Caroline Cosgrove, CSHL’s Community Engagement Manager.

Conducted by trained tour guides, including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, the walks strive to bridge the gap between the physical realm and scientific theory. 

“These tours encompass the stunning grounds, the Lab’s history, and our current facilities and work. Community members, whether they have a background and interest in science, can come and learn from current graduate students about the world-renowned work going on in their very backyard,” explained Cosgrove. 

Probing CSHL’s ongoing research and program development for plant and quantitative biology, cancer, and neuroscience, the tours will encompass details about its historic and modern architecture, Nobel legacy, and identity evolution. Additionally, these scenic, scholarly strolls explore the practices and procedures of CSHL, with behind-the-scenes sneak peaks into the inner workings of scientific investigation. 

“As long as the tour guide’s laboratory is open and available, folks get a walk through and see the student’s own lab station,” Cosgrove said. “Whether it’s a cancer research lab, a neuroscience lab, a plant research lab, you get to see where all the magic happens.” 

Established in 1890, CSHL’s North Shore campus is a beacon of biology education, with 52 laboratories and more than 1100 staff from more than 60 countries. Eight scientists associated with CSHL have earned a Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. This internationally recognized center of scientific research is also a local history and education site, where students of all ages and backgrounds come to study. 

“History has been, and will continue to be, made here. Please come get to know us,” said Cosgrove. 

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, One Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor offers walking tours on May 20 and 21, June 24 and 25, July 29 and 30 and Aug. 26 and 27 at 10 a.m. Tours begin in the lobby of the Grace Auditorium. Tickets are $5 per person. To order, visit www.cshl.edu/public-events/tour-cshl/. For more information, call 516-367-8800.

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'Dance Siesta' by Cynthia Pascal

By Tara Mae

Art is a form of communication beyond words. It transcends language barriers and is accessible to those who seek to experience it. Cynthia Pascal’s creations speak through muted patterns, rich hues, softness imbued with strength. Her work tells stories of women, sometimes at rest or in repose, but always vibrantly alive. 

As a celebration of art and life, Pascal’s posthumous exhibit, Cynthia Pascal: A Retrospective, at the Art League of Long Island, honors the artist who passed away in 2022 at the age of 92. On view at the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery from April 15 to 28, this showcase features 46 acrylic paintings and six clay sculptures from the late artist. It is an act of love; a tribute from a daughter to her mother in collaboration with the Art League.

‘Abstract of Women in Pink and Blue’ by Cynthia Pascal

“My son brought Cynthia to the Art League and showed her work to the curator, which resulted in booking the show — one last highlight of her life. After she passed, it was in my head to still do the exhibit. I also thought, that for my mom, there was no other way to honor her than to talk about her surrounded by her work,” said her daughter Jeanne Gambardella.

Pascal’s palette and art projects a subtle warmth, even innate safety, whether the female subjects stare assuredly and directly from the canvas, gaze at something only they see, or relax with eyes closed. The lines of the women may be soft but their presence is strong. 

“I believe that this exhibit covers all styles, but Pascal particularly leans towards abstract impressionism: figures are flattened with colorful brushstrokes and bright colors. She celebrates the world that she knew: her art focuses on women, friendships, relationships, their roles in society. It is full of life and energy,” said Susan Peragallo, coordinator and curator of the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery.

A prodigious painter up until the very last months of her life, Pascal, who was a resident of Plainview, pursued both a personal and practical interest in interpersonal dynamics and emotions. She studied painting at Old Westbury College as well as the New School for Social Research in New York City, but was a licensed psychotherapist by profession and maintained a practice out of her home for more than 4 decades. 

“I think she innately had a very emotional IQ and got the degree so she could use it. She was really socially, emotionally smart…[and] provided a safe place for everyone who talked to her,” Gambardella said.  

This sense of security is evident in the self-assuredness of her subjects and the apparent ease with which they occupy space. That innate serenity can transcend to the audience and perhaps emanated from Pascal herself. She never lost her appreciation of beauty nor ability to create art, even as dementia dominated other aspects of her life during her last years. 

‘Two Girls Sitting’ by Cynthia Pascal

“We would talk about [her art]. Cynthia could still talk about the work and the process. We had that language until the end. My mother was painting at the highest level,” Gambardella said. “I thought her work would show deterioration, but her painting was still there. It was the one thing that she still had, in addition to her family. She could access painting, and it was a means by which to express herself.”

As her characters commune in the paintings, Pascal was able to communicate through and about art, although words might otherwise fail her. Her art, which includes pastels in addition to different paints and clay sculptures, is an ongoing dialogue that allows connections to continue to develop.

“I was not familiar with her work before she approached us, and I was really thrilled to become acquainted with it. Her work is exciting, it is vivacious. She was around for a long time and I am delighted to have her work up on our walls,” Peragallo said.

Gambardella estimates that Pascal had about 10 shows in her life but was in a constant state of creation. She painted 20 pieces between 2018 and 2022, and most of the 46 works included in Retrospective were made in the past 10 years.

“I really truly feel joy when I look at her work. It is interesting — over the years, her work reflected her growth as an artist and where she was in life. When she was going through a divorce, I can see it reflected. I derive more pleasure in the joy, color, and strength of the women my mother depicted,” Gambardella said, adding that organizing the exhibit and arranging the remembrance were cathartic exercises as she grieved and adjusted to her new normal, having been her mother’s primary caregiver. 

“Organizing this has absolutely been a labor of love for the last 5 months and beneficial to me in handling her passing, working on something to show who she was, her life’s work,” Gambardella said. “I kind of immersed myself in this project. It was a lot going through her decline and death with her, so this was healing. I am her supreme fan; my house has always been filled with her work.”

‘Dance Siesta’ by Cynthia Pascal

Now others will be able to surround themselves with Pascal’s art, and during the opening reception, envelop themselves in an environment resplendent with Pascal’s greatest joys including a soundtrack of her favorite classical music by Antonio Vivaldi, jazz interludes provided by a pianist hired for the evening, the easel she used for more than 60 years, and her favorite hat in her favorite color — pink. 

“I am creating an atmosphere that I know she would love. After she died, people were calling about service details, and we instead decided to have a memorial at the gallery. Everyone in my family was in on it,” Gambardella said. “My mom and I were very close, this was the right thing to do…art and painting were her passions in life.” 

The Art League of Long Island, 107 E. Deer Park Rd, Dix Hills presents the retrospective exhibit of Cynthia Pascal in the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery from April 15 to 28 with an opening reception on April 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. A celebratory remembrance introduction will be held from 6 to 6:30 p.m., followed by light refreshments. For more information, visit www.artleagueli.org or call 631-462-5400. 

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The award-winning documentayr A House Made of Splinters will be screened at John F. Kennedy Middle School on March 20.

By Tara Mae 

Documentaries are artistic passion put into practice. They require the fervor and drive not only of subjects and crew but also of those who seek to share their stories. 

The Port Jefferson Documentary Series (PJDS) has been honoring and matching such moxie since 2005 and advances the plot this season with the seven films on its spring roster. Held at 7 p.m. on every Monday in March, from the 6th to 27th; April 10 and 17; and May 22, each showing is followed by a Q&A session featuring either the director or producer of the project. 

Emceed by Tom Needham, executive producer and host of “Sounds of Film” on WUSB, the Series is a labor of love for all involved, giving both filmmakers and festival organizers the opportunity to revisit what initially drew them to these stories and share it with an attentive public.  

“I like seeing the films again. With most of these films, we have been working on arranging the screenings for at least 3 months. I really do enjoy being in the audience, seeing the films again, thinking about them for the Q&A, and noticing what the audience reacts to. And then, meeting the documentarians and hearing their stories is one of the most exciting parts of the whole process,” said PJDS co-director Lyn Boland. 

This season starts with Dr. Tony Fauci, which explores the professional and private life of a man striving not to be blinded by the spotlight as he does his job. 

Immediate Family highlights the harmonies of five star session musicians whose notes, if not their names, are famous.

A House Made of Splinters chronicles the efforts of intrepid social workers on the front lines of the war in Eastern Ukraine as they endeavor to create an orphanage oasis for children displaced by war and woe.

I Am Not  follows the journey of Oren Levy, a young adopted Israeli man who travels back to Guatemala in search of his identity. 

Lift illuminates the invisible story of homelessness in America through the experiences of a group of young homeless and home-insecure ballet dancers who are selected to study their craft at the New York Theater Ballet.

Bobi Wine: The People’s President traces the career evolution of a man from musician to politician as he heralds the opposition to Uganda’s 35-year regime. 

Lastly, Unfinished Business offers an inside look at the creation and legacy of the WNBA, as exemplified through the champion New York Liberty’s dramatic 2021 season.

“We try to balance it between serious and entertaining documentaries,” explained PJDS co-director Wendy Feinberg.

Screenings, held either at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson or John F. Kennedy Middle School in Port Jefferson Station, are arranged and organized by PJDS’s co-directors: Boland, Feinberg, and Barbara Sverd. Known as the “Film Ladies,” they are dedicated both to spotlighting the art form of documentary filmmaking and the often lesser-known stories that they champion.  

“When I choose a film to be reviewed by the film board, I feel it must tell a story, have an emotional connection and appeal to a general audience. When I view a documentary for the first time, regardless of its subject matter, I want to feel like I am taking a class and learning something new,” Sverd said. “The greatest pleasure is sharing this experience with our audience and having the director, producer or someone from the film there for the Q&A to enhance the learning experience.” 

Such an opportunity for more informed dialogue is part of the appeal for the documentarians as well; it acts as an avenue for deeper understanding between audience and artist.  

“A smaller series or festival offers a unique and intimate connection with those who come to a theater and watch your film. It’s not about the publicity, or agents, or distributors. It brings us, as filmmakers, back to the fundamental reason we made this work: to listen for an answer back,” said David Peterson, director of Lift. 

In addition to personal, there are also practical reasons that the PJDS and other such events are vital to the endurance of documentaries, a genre that generally has far less star power and thus less funding than its cinema siblings. 

“These films would never have a chance if it was not for festivals and documentary series…to get distribution is really hard. That is where PJDS and other festivals can help.  You have to show distributors that you have an audience,” said Denny Tedesco, director and executive producer of Immediate Family.

After each viewing, audience members are given the opportunity to rate the documentary: Excellent, Very Good, Good, or Poor. At the end of the season, the votes are tallied and the Audience Award winner is announced. 

The members of the Film Board, which in addition to Boland, Feinberg, and Sverd, includes Honey Katz, Lynn, and Lorie Rothstein, then chip in money to donate to an organization of the winning director’s choosing. 

Sponsored the Greater Port Jefferson-Northern Brookhaven Arts Council, Maggio Environmental, Port Jeff Storage, Inc., and Covati and Janhsen, CPAs, with funding from Suffolk County, PJDS is seeking volunteers to assist with screenings, marketing, and social media. 

Theatre Three is located at 412 Main Street, Port Jefferson. John F. Kennedy Middle School is located at 200 Jayne Blvd, Port Jefferson Station.

A season pass for all seven documentaries is $56; single tickets are $10 online or at the door. To purchase passes, tickets, or for more information, visit www.portjeffdocumentaryseries.com.

A scene from ‘Lift.’ Photo courtesy of PJDS
Film Schedule:

■ The season begins with a screening of Dr. Tony Fauci at Theatre Three on March 6. This intimate film chronicles Fauci at home, in his office and in the corridors of power as he battles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the political onslaught that upends his life and calls into question his 50-year career as the United States of America’s leading advocate for public health. Guest speaker is Director Mark Mannucci. Sponsored by Danfords Hotel & Marina and The Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club.

■ Immediate Family will be screened at Theatre Three on March 13. If you listen to 1970s pop music, you’ve undoubtedly heard these guys play, but do you know their names? The documentary highlights five talented men—Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel and Steve Postell—who shunned the spotlight for themselves, yet enjoyed decades of success as session musicians on iconic tracks. Guest speaker is Director Denny Tedesco. Sponsored by Danfords Hotel & Marina and The Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club and the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook.

■ Next up is A House Made of Splinters at JFK Middle School on March 20. As the war in Eastern Ukraine takes a heavy toll on poor families living near the frontlines, a small group of strong-willed social workers works tirelessly in a special kind of orphanage to create an almost magical safe space for kids to live in while the state decides the fate of the child and family. The film is nominated for a 2023 Oscar in the documentary film category. Guest speaker is Director Simon Lereng Wilmont via pre-recorded Zoom.

■ I Am Not will be screened at JFK Middle School on March 27. Oren Levy, a young Israeli man, who is an adopted child with Asperger’s, faces challenges adapting. Suddenly, his life changes with the help of the camera, which becomes an extraordinary therapy tool assisting him on a long journey which takes Oren and his family to Guatemala in search of his identity. Guest speaker via Live Zoom will be Ehud Levy, Oren’s father and subject in film. Sponsored by North Shore Jewish Center in Port Jefferson Station and Temple Isaiah in Stony Brook.

■ The season continues on April 10 at Theatre Three with Lift which shines a spotlight on the invisible story of homelessness in America through the eyes of a group of young homeless and home-insecure ballet dancers in New York City. The story centers around ballet dancer and mentor Steven Melendez, who was a seven-year-old boy living in a Bronx homeless shelter who had his life turned around when he was the recipient of the New York Theater Ballet (NYTB) Project LIFT’s generosity. Guest speakers will be Director David Petersen and Steven Melendez, Principal Dancer & Artistic Director at the New York Theatre Ballet and subject in the film.

■ Bobi Wine: The People’s President heads to JFK Middle School on April 17. First-time co-directors Christopher Sharp and journalist Moses Bwayo tell the story of Bobi Wine, the musician-turned-politician leading the opposition to the 35-year regime in Uganda. Withstanding arrests, torture, and violence from the government, Bobi Wine and his wife Barbie risk their own lives and the lives of their children to lead their country towards freedom. Bobi Wine: The People’s President is a brave exposition of an authoritarian government that highlights the power of documentary journalism. The film won the Hamptons Film Festival 2022 Best Documentary Audience Award. Guest speakers via Zoom will be Co-Directors Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo. 

■ Unfinished Business, the final film of the season, heads to Theatre Three on May 22. An intimate look at the formation and legacy of the WNBA, and its flagship team, the New York Liberty’s, dramatic 2021 season, as they play for acceptance, respect, and the future of basketball. The film is named for a song “Unfinished Business” written for the New York Liberty basketball team in 2001 by Joan Jett, a Liberty super-fan who appears in the film. Guest speaker is Director Alison Klayman.

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Artist Hulbert Waldroup with his painting, The Life and Legend of Pyrrhus Concer, at the Whaling Museum of Cold Spring Harbor

By Tara Mae

Serving in one of the 19th century’s most profitable and perilous industries, Black mariners risked their lives, livelihoods, and liberty in the pursuit of a meager but available wage. The Whaling Museum of Cold Spring Harbor’s new two year special exhibition, From Sea to Shining Sea: Whalers of the African Diaspora, examines the too-frequently ignored Black heritage and contributions to the whaling industry.  

Guest curated by Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director of Eastville Community Historical Society in Southampton, the exhibit opened on Feb. 15 and will run through 2024.

“This exhibit is focused on expanding and expounding on stories of Black mariners in maritime history and sharing the untold/under-told stories of whalers of African descent and whalers of color in our whaling history,” said Gina Van Bell, Assistant Director of the Whaling Museum.

From Sea to Shining Sea exhibit at the Whaling Museum

The exhibit casts the African American whalers for what they were: main characters in their own lives, who took up whaling as a means of survival and, in many cases, transformed it into a stepping stone for other successes.

“We want people to understand the vastness of their lives, which is sometimes missed,” Dr. Grier-Key said. “We really wanted to focus on that, just going a little bit deeper and not stopping at the surface of BIPOC whalers and their lives, probing what they were able to do and what it meant in the context of the times. We want to offer more of a world view, a holistic look at whalers and their lives.”

Like a ship’s crew comprised of many individual roles, this exhibit consists of items from the museum’s own archives as well as items on loan from 10 different historical organizations. It honors the artistic pull the sea has had on creators throughout the centuries by incorporating art inspired by the water and maritime culture.

Awash with primary source documents, artifacts, and artwork, the interactive display explores what life was like at sea and ashore for non-white mariners while contextualizing the greater experience of people of color who in lived in coastal areas during the 1800s. 

The story of one such Black man, Pyrrhus Concer, inspired local artist and Southampton gallery owner Hulbert Waldroup, whose oil on canvas painting The Life and Legend of Pyrrhus Concer (2022), is included in the show. This circular painting, reminiscent of the shape of a porthole, depicts in vibrant colors the nautical scope of Concer’s life, framed in repurposed boat wood rescued from a salvage yard. 

A formerly enslaved Southampton man of African descent, Concer became a sailor after he was freed in 1832 (slavery in New York formerly ended in 1827.) He sailed aboard the whaling ship Manhattan, the first American ship to visit Tokyo, Japan, where he was greeted with wonder, being the first Black man many of the Japanese had ever seen.

“It was painted purely out of love and respect for Concer,” Waldroup said. Drawn to the stories of Black cowboys and whalers, who have traditionally been erased from popular lore, Waldroup was intrigued by Concer, whose career as a whaler enabled him to establish himself as a businessman and philanthropist on the shore. 

Whaling and other maritime endeavors were often precursors for the precarious promise of more stable lives away from the water, but such pursuits were fraught. 

Part of the Sea to Shining Sea: Whalers of the African Diaspora exhibit at the Museum.

“The first Black Americans who were treated as ‘citizens,’ in a way, were sailors. During the nineteenth century, working as a merchant seaman or whaler was one of the few occupations which offered free Black people a relative level of independence and self-sufficiency, along with the opportunity to travel the world with a Seaman’s Protection Certificate,” said Executive Director of the Whaling Museum Nomi Dayan.

From circa 1796-1940, American mariners carried this document as proof as citizenship. It was particularly vital to Black sailors, as they were not defined as citizens under the law until the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868. 

African Americans took very big risks for mitigated reward when they sailed with whaling ships. When docking in harbors of the South, for example, they were subject to being jailed or captured and sold into slavery. 

From Sea to Shining Sea features receipts for the imprisonment and release of Alfred Gall, an African American crew member on the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Company’s Tuscarora, whose captain had to bail him out of jail. His crime? Being a free Black man in a Southern port.

Yet despite the marine and manmade dangers, whaling was considered to be a viable, even comparably steady trade. The sea offered a sort of freedom to men who might not find it on land as long as the voyage did not kill them.

“Whaling employed the most diversified workforce among all other occupations at the time. Many whalers of color who endured hard work, poor pay, awful living conditions, and serious danger, chose to work at sea because work options on land were limited,” Dayan said. “African American whalers who faced work discrimination on land were more likely than other racial groups to continue whaling.”

Whaling records indicate that rank prevailed over the color of one’s skin. Recruiters did not record race, just complexion, which was a subjective categorization. Herman Melville, the white author of Moby Dick was even listed as “dark.” 

Light-skinned African American sailors had more opportunity for advancement. And while Black whalers did encounter barriers to advancing their ranks and were relegated to service-based positions, they usually earned the same rate of pay as other men of the same rank.

“On these voyages, your life and your counterpart’s life depended on how well you did you job. So in that way, you were equal in the sense of doing the work … tough, backbreaking work that was dangerous — you could lose your life but could achieve financial success,” Dr. Grier-Key said.  

This made whaling unique to other industries. Whaling could provide a sort of networking opportunity for the African Americans and other people of color. Ancillary jobs associated with the sea were also available to them, such as being caulkers and coopers. Wives of BIPOC whalers might be seamstresses for the captains’ wives. 

Such a utilization of community building is a trait understood by the team behind this exhibit, for whom From Sea to Shining Sea is a labor of love and longevity, part of the Whaling Museum’s ongoing efforts to share the whaling tales generally omitted from the history books.  

Dr. Grier-Key and Dayan served together on the board for the Museum Association of New York, and Dr. Grier-Key knew of Waldroup through her work in the Southampton community. Together with Van Bell, they coordinated an exhibit that the stories of BIPOC whalers are no longer submerged in the murky annals of time.

RELATED PROGRAMS:

Black History: Whaleboat Chat

Join the special edition of a Whaleboat Chat highlighting the Whalers of the African Diaspora exhibition on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at noon. Gather around the star of the museum’s collection, the whaleboat, and listen as a staff member shares the tale of the dangerous Nantucket Sleighride and the brave whalers. Free with admission. No reservations necessary.

Black History: Build-A-Boat Workshop

Drop by the Museum any time on Feb. 21 and Feb. 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. to learn about African American whalers who designed, built and worked on whaling ships in the 19th century and then imagine, design and create unique wooden vessel models out of a variety of materials in this open-ended workshop. ​Entry: Admission + $10 participant.

Beyond the Book

Join the Whaling Museum’s new book club! Read Whaling Captains of Color by Skip Finley at home and  go on new adventures through history. Then meet at the museum on Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. to dive deeper into the story through connections with the Museum’s collection. Adults only. $15 per participant. Registration required.

The Whaling Museum, 301 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor is open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the winter months, and Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the summer. Admission is $8 for adults; $6 for seniors; $6 for children ages 4-17; free for children three years old and younger; and free for members. For more information, visit www.cshwhalingmuseum.org or call 631-367-3418.

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