In Case You Missed It: TLS Exhibition

Delavan Art Gallery’s Wild Card Exhibit The Art of Transitional Living Services, which was on view through November 14, celebrated 35 years of services to the Central New York community by TLS, a long-time active organization that provides a broad range of supports and services to individuals living with a developmental disability, mental health issues or brain injury.

The celebratory purpose of the exhibit extended the organization’s focus in helping people live in the community with dignity, responsibility and hope. David Barber, TLS Program and Service Coordinator, says, “An important part of TLS’s philosophy has always been to provide individuals with opportunities to explore their creativity and potential, and we believe that the creative process of art making enriches, heals and enlightens the life of the artist and the viewer as well.”

Transitional Living Services began in 1974 with twenty staff members committed to helping individuals who were being de-institutionalized from state facilities to live in the community. Today, a staff of professionals offer many hundreds of people not only residential services, but also support for employment, education, medical and substance abuse issues, community involvement, habilitation activities and service coordination. The organization’s vision of service encompasses the needs of veterans, immigrants who do not speak English, those with hearing impairments, and other individuals challenged in different ways.

Independent Review: Elements and Transitional Living Services exhibitions

Delavan looks to the elements for its November Show
-Bonnie Rosenberg

Earth, wind, fire, and water are the substances of life and the soul of the Delavan Art Gallery’s latest exhibition aptly entitled “Elements.” Though vastly different aesthetically, three artists – Lynette Blake, Jim Van Hoven, and Amy Haven – come together in this show to communicate their views of nature. The paintings, ceramics, and woodcuts on display reveal the indelible mark nature leaves on each artist and their work.

Lynette Blake explores the infinite through her oil paintings in an effort to connect herself to the viewer, the viewers to one another, and the in the end, everything in the atmosphere.

Blake’s approach to still lifes and landscapes is double-edged, as she melds organic and geometric shapes on the canvas. In Zigzag, tree branches are superimposed with transparent, kaleidoscopic shapes. The paintings appear to have a distorting piece of glass sitting in between the foundational natural image and the viewer’s gaze.

Each painting is covered in hues of blue and copper. When dominated by shades of copper, the canvases nearly glow with warmth, while the bluer canvases are cooler and more somber.

Positive/Negative looks like an over-exposed photograph. Branches and still life elements dissolve into one another. The radiance of suggested sunlight at the heart of the work abstracts and transforms it. Blake’s highly stylized technique is an exploration in unreality and the duality of the image.

Fellow nature enthusiast Jim Van Hoven’s many incantations of landscapes run the gamut in terms of style, technique, and medium. In all of his works, Van Hoven endeavors to relate an experience rather than a likeness. His aim is to truly capture every aspect of the scenes he paints/etches, etc.

His oil works provide placid vistas of the outdoors. In Rainbow Falls a cascading waterfall rushes to the waiting rocks below. Grays, blues, and forest greens constitute this innocuous painting. Beyond paintings, the exhibit also displays Van Hoven’s woodcuts, which sit on a plane above his other works. In Northern Nocturne, intricately cut treetops weave together in front of an invented moonlit night. Less literal and more editorial, these woodcuts alter nature and defy expectation.

Peppered throughout the exhibit are Amy Haven’s ceramic pieces. Not strictly sculpture-in-the-round, and certainly not paintings (although some are fastened to the walls), these works admittedly teeter on the precipice of decoration and function. While the precise setting for them is unclear, the appeal of them is not.

Haven’s ceramic pillows affix to the wall and are ornamented much like a turn of the century travel trunk. Post cards, stickers, stamps, and text are printed on every rotund rectangle as if chronicling a trip abroad. An avian theme flutters throughout the works as does adage-bearing script. Text is applied with a heavier hand in Font Vase, where disassembled letters float on a neutral ceramic background.


Transitional Living Services exhibition

Exterior of the main Elements exhibit is the gallery’s ever-changing Wild Card show. Running until November 14th is the celebratory The Art of the Traditional Living Services. Traditional Living Services (TLS) is an organization that provides services and support to people with developmental disabilities, mental health issues, and brain injuries. It encourages its clients’ creativity while acclimating them to everyday life. The fruit of their artistic labor is what is currently on view.

With some items up for sale and others not, the exhibit offers a diverse collection of works in various forms of media. Graphite drawings, stained glass panels, watercolor paintings, and photographs are just some of the artworks produced not only by residents of TLS, but also by employees and others connected with the organization (which happens to be celebrating its 35 year anniversary).

Elizabeth Edinger’s Family Portrait appears as though it’s been ripped from the cover of a cherished childhood book. The illustration is bright, whimsical, and reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.

This show recognizes the artistic capabilities of those who would not otherwise have the opportunity to showcase their art. It highlights the greater philanthropic project of TLS, while at the same time challenging preconceived notions of what constitutes art and who is an artist.

Delavan Art Gallery's Favorite Trickster

Last weekend's Halloween Party at Delavan Art Gallery embodied all the treats promised, but one sole trickster managed to get his 'licks' in at the end of the evening.

Monty, Caroline's black lab/golden retriever mix and stalwart member of the office staff, chewed his way through two foil-wrapped packages, one containing a large piece of Halloween decorated cake and the other, several deliciously baked Italian cookies...all 'carefully put away' to give to the garage attendant on duty in a DAG staffer's condo complex. Moreover, the 'carefully put away' description and Monty's access to these treats defies logical thinking: Those two wrapped items were stored in the hollow of a collapsible witch's hat that was then placed in a plastic shopping bag, resting in the middle of the staffer's office desk. When Monty's deed was discovered, the plastic bag was found partially under the desk alongside the hat, and the shredded foil wrap scattered about. The upshot of the whole incident is twofold: Monty has wonderfully hygienic eating habits, for there was no trace of gooey cake frosting in the hat nor crumbs on the floor. Secondly, when returning home and into her parking garage, this staffer was able to expand on that old adage: "the dog ate my homework" saying instead to the person intended for the treats: "The dog ate your cake and cookies!"

**This shall remain anonymous so as not to alert the reader to the identity of the staffer whose practice it is to carry away refreshment left-overs with which to ply the parking attendent to get her a good space in the garage.

Bill Storm: A Letter to the Editor

Bill Storm, a photographer and a current exhibitor in our show Visions, has written the following Letter to the Editor of the Post-Standard regarding Katherine Rushworth's review of September 27th. His letter is copied here in its entirety. We cannot say if it will be published by the Post-Standard, or, if it is published, whether and how the P-S will edit it, so this blog entry can both inform you and give you an unedited baseline. Also, feel free to comment by going to the bottom of this entry and clicking on comments.

-Bill Delavan, Director

**Note the letter that follows is Bill Storm's original letter, which he later shortened to fit within the Post-Standard's length limits for Letters to the Editor.


An Art Critic Fails Badly
 
Among the many things that fall into the domain of subjective criticism is the world of art. There is no membership required. Everyone and anyone who wishes to participate can join in with their opinions. That is part of the fun for the viewers and as well as the artists who are trying to convey through their work some expression of what is inside of them.

At a bit more formalized level, we have the interjection of the art critic.â These folks can provide a rallying point for individuals who may share a particular critic's sensibilities. Done well, the critic can be an educator and a motivating factor in any community to help promote the arts. So while one may or may not agree with the critics subjective views of some art, a positive dialog can be fostered that is stimulating and benefits all concerned.

Unfortunately, Post-Standard contributing writer Katherine Rushworth, in her September 27, 2009 review of the Delavan Art Gallery fell badly in reaching the level of a respected art critic. From the onset of the article it was blatantly clear that Rushworth had a personal agenda with the gallery and it wasn't a constructive one. Rushmore made it plain she did not like the manner in which the gallery operates. On that note she then let loose with lines laced with contempt that quickly lost any credibly in the context of her disturbing approach. Interestingly, her comments about the art appeared to pick up on earlier reviews (Nancy Keefe Rhodes, City Eagle, et al.) and turn positives into negatives.


Art helps reveal what is inside the artist. Writing can do the same. In this instance Rushmore's words spoke volumes about an animosity that had no place in the Post-Standard. The Delavan Art Gallery, all galleries and the community deserve better than this.
-Bill Storm

Fall/Halloween Party Sneak Peek!

Here's a little sneak peek of the scarecrow that will be joining us at the Fall/Halloween party tonight at Delavan Art Gallery! Stop by between 6 and 9pm for lots of fun! (Admission $10 at the door, costumes optional)

 

City Eagle article by Nancy Keefe Rhodes

Delavan Art Gallery would like to highlight the article written by Nancy Keefe Rhodes for the City Eagle newspaper. Published on September 17, this article takes a look at the Visions and Discoveries exhibitions that opened the season at the Delavan. Thanks Nancy!  Click the link below for the article:

http://www.cnylink.com/cnyarts/view_news.php?news_id=1253207849

Fall/Halloween Party at Delavan Art Gallery!

 

Please Join Delavan Art Gallery for

All Treats and No Tricks

at our Fall/Halloween Party!!

Featuring

jazz vocalist Marcia Rutledge

and guitarist Doug Robinson

Friday, October 23

6 to 9 PM

Admission $10 at the door

(Costumes optional)

Stop by to celebrate Halloween and the fall season with the staff at Delavan Art Gallery! We'll be in costume, and you're welcome to dress up or not, whatever you like. Our favorite musicians Marcia Rutledge and Doug Robinson will supply the entertainment, and we'll supply the light, non-alcoholic refreshments and hors d'oeuvres! Give us a call if you have any questions (315-425-7500). We hope to see you for a good time!