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Photo byVincentGuadazno
Hannah and Hyman Shrand
are framed by some of the works from the Truro COA group show. |
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'Animal Magic' show is one for the ages
JoeBurns
BANNER STAFF
Among the varied ties that bind the Truro community
together one what be hard pressed to find one as colorful and creative as
'Animal Magic,' the group show on exhibit through Jan. 30 at the
Truro Council on Aging Gallery, 19 Town Hall Road.
Weaving, ceramic, printing, oil, acrylic, watercolor,
wood sculpture and collage are among the media on view. The age of the works,
like the ages of the artists, varies greatly from a decades-old work dusted
off for the occasion to a spontaneous, on-the-spot piece created at the
opening. Over 30 pieces are intelligently and artfully integrated throughout
the room, erasing the lines that separate professionals and hobbyists, adults
and children.
'I think it's incredible. It shows that there's
little difference between the amateur and professional, especially kids,'
said artist Robert Cardinal, attending the shows opening on Dec. 13. His
wife, Barbara Tucker Cardinal, and their six-year-old daughter Camille have
both contributed to the show, too. Camille's 'Cow,' a Styrofoam
print, bears a strong stylistic resemblance to her mother's 'Leopard,'
painted when she was 10 years old.
Family ties are tightly woven throughout the show.
Eleanor Meldahl and her 12 year-old grandson Jeffrey; siblings Clementine
Dunne, age 6, and Logan Dunne, age 5; brothers Brendon and Brett Kaplan,
ages 8 and 6, their sister Arianna, age 9 and their great-grandmother Joan
Pereira; and husband and wife Hyman and Hannah Shrand have all contributed
pieces to the exhibit.
Pereira's 'My Dog Sammy G' and Arienna's
'Flower Patch Cat' are collages hung side by side whose similarities
extend to the use of a black image placed vertically in the upper left hand
portion of each.
One the other end of the spectrum, Meldahl and
her grandson took dissimilar approaches. Her piece 'Mouse' is
a delicate sumi-e, a Japanese ink painting. Jeffrey's 'Trojan Horse,'
on the other hand, is a sturdy wooden model complete with trap door.
'His piece is particularly interesting because
it was the result of a study of 'The Odyssey' at the Truro Central School
last year, and his 'Trojan Horse' was featured in a little show on
public television,' his proud grandmother says.
Ruth Greenblatt, who is showing a mixed media abstraction 'Innocence
in the Garden,' says she's delighted with the work in the show by young
artist. 'I think it's wonderful. I love children's work, with its innocence,'
she says, adding. 'Every artist's still a child, that's why we create.'
The show's common ground is most evident on the
gallery's rear wall, where 'Magic Rhino' and 'Magic Elephant,'
large circus poster-like paintings by octogenarian Hyman Shrand, seem right
at home alongside 'The Queen Lioness,' by five-year-old Logan
Dunne and 'La Grenoille,' by his six-year-old sister, Clementine.
The person most responsible for the multi-generational
exhibit is Truro COA director Mary Cassel, who has made art an integral
part of the senior center since it was opened two years ago. Cassel, daughter
of noted opera singer Walter Cassel, is well-versed in the arts and made
their inclusion in the COA program a priority since becoming director five
years ago. When the COA moved into its present quarters two years ago, Cassel
made sure that the main room was equipped with halogen ceiling lights in
order to ensure that art could be properly displayed, and she has continued
to make the facilities available to artists of all ages.
Cassel sees the gallery as a way of spiritually
and intellectually stimulating seniors, but beyond that, shows such as 'Animal
Magic' move the COA away from being an elders-only facility towards
becoming a center for Truro residents of all ages.
'Part of our responsibility is to ensure the
quality of life of the elders in the community, that's one of our
major responsibilities,' Cassel says. 'And one way way of doing
that is to be sure that we do not ghettoize our elders.'
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Dec 25th, 1997