|
The
Year in Pictures 2004 - Art
We
Know It When We See It
Joe
Putrock |
(clockwise
from top left) Author-editor-artist David Greenberger
celebrated the 25th anniversary of his cult-hit ’zine,
The Duplex Planet, which records the insights and idiosyncracies
of senior citizens in elder-care facilities around America;
the Albany International Airport Gallery continued to
attract discerning connisseurs, frequent flyers and—who
knows—shifty-eyed travelers avoiding the pat-down
with shows like Artists in the Studio: 30 Years at the
Millay Colony, which opened Jan. 1; at the Corning Tower
on March 22, author Jennifer Gonnerman and Elaine Bartlett
held a book signing for Gonnerman’s Life on the
Outside, which chronicles Bartlett’s 20-year journey
through the criminal-justice system, courtesy of the
Rockefeller Drug Laws; in April, the Saratoga Amtrak
station spruced itself up a bit, adding a coffee shop,
a gallery space to feature the work of local artists,
and a permanent decorative frieze by Anne Diggory, Alice
Manzi and Beverly Mastrianni; the scientific illustrator
for the New York State Museum, Patricia Kernan, highlighted
the beauty of the natural world—even slugs; photography
teacher Zoeanne Murphy instructed SEIU members, allowing
them to capture and preserve elements of an unseen America.
|
Joe
Putrock |
John
Whipple |
Leif
Zurmuhlen |
Joe
Putrock |
|
|
John
Whipple |
 |
| PERIPHERAL
VISION |
|
One
Shot
Albany
Heritage Area Visitors Center, through Dec. 17
Photographer Shaina Marron, a mainstay of the
Albany Underground Artists group, has conceived
and organized this collection of photographs by
25 area shooters who each picked just one shot
to submit to the show. While the exhibit space
is a bit disjointed, the groupings work well together.
As with any show of this nature, the work runs
a broad gamut, from the commercial (Carrie Jeeves’
glitzy, straightforward Candy Corn) to
the recycled (Ingrid Staats’ untitled black-and-white
print of plastic soldiers) to the humorous (Mark
Gregory’s quasi-monumental Baghead) to
the bizarre (PRVRT’s Happy as a Pig in Sherbert).
There are a number of strong individual pieces,
including a glowing, almost otherworldy pair of
morning glories by Marianne Kendrick; Samantha
O’Keefe’s sexy, almost abstract Fishnets;
an appealingly honest portrait by Rick Poston;
and Mary Spinelli’s quietly sinister Machine
by Airport. Local favorites Michael Farrell,
Robert Gullie and Leif Zurmuhlen have each also
provided a top-quality image.
My hat’s off to Marron for putting in the effort
and creativity to mount this fun showcase—and
for having the restraint not to put one of her
own pictures into it.
—David
Brickman
|
|
|
Columns
& Opinions
