IN THE PINK: A Celebration for Women
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 

IN THE PINK: A Celebration for Women

 

 By Tammy Duffy

 

 

 

Every year, in the month of October we celebration National Breast Cancer Awareness month. The world is surrounded with pink ribbons, pink 5k races, and events focused on celebrating and recognizing women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. This is a disease that does not discriminate. It sees no color, it sees no race. It can afflict anyone.

 

New Jersey’s breast cancer incidence rate is fourth highest in the U.S., and New Jersey has the highest breast cancer mortality rate in the U.S. among white females according to recently released statistics by the American Cancer Society. Mercer County’s incidence rate is higher than both the NJ and US rates increasing the likelihood of knowing or being related to someone diagnosed with breast cancer. “With alarming statistics like these, the role of the BCRC becomes even more significant,” explains Judy Hutton, CEO of YWCA Princeton. “‘in the PINK’ not only helps us raise crucial funds for BCRC, but it also helps create awareness and hope,” adds Hutton.

 

This evening the 10th  Anniversary “in the PINK” Fashion Show Benefit  took place at the Westin Princeton Forrestal Village. All of the event proceeds  at this event benefit the Breast Cancer Resource Center (BCRC) at YWCA Princeton. The evening featured  a cocktail reception and a silent auction featuring a stunning array of experiences and merchandise, followed by sit-down dinner and an awe-inspiring fashion show.  The models in the fashion show were:Holly Chen, Nidia Fernandez, Maggie Jara, Doug Johnson,Rachel Katz, Alyson Keyes,Arlene Lintag, Emily Lintag, Emmanuel Beza Marte, Sabrina Marte, Alyssa Martin, Maureen Offord, Assenka Oksiloff, Cindy Pinelli, Deepti Rana, Raj Rana, Suzanne Reynolds, Eneida Rodriguez, Sally Samuel, Dr. David Sokol, and Dr Shirnett Williamson. 

 

In the PINK is a unique event that celebrates the strength, beauty and spirit of those diagnosed with breast cancer. It also pays homage to the courage and compassion of their support network during their journey. This year’s fashion show featured the hottest fall and winter trends by Lord & Taylor. The clothes and accessories were modeled by breast cancer survivors, along with a chosen member of their support network, which includes family, friends, and medical professionals.

 

This event is a celebration of those surviving and thriving despite a breast cancer diagnosis. The BCRC relies on the proceeds of this event to continue to do the important work they do with women and families living with breast cancer..  The BCRC takes a comprehensive approach to breast cancer support and education, the BCRC at YWCA Princeton positively impacts the lives of more than 5,000 individuals each year, and helps hundreds of women learn to live with, through, and beyond breast cancer through free support groups, private counseling, a peer support network, lectures, mind/body wellness activities, free wigs & prostheses, a patient assistance fund, resource library, transportation-to-treatment program with their "treatment express" (which was donated by a local onocologist) and more.

 

The YWCA Princeton is especially grateful for the support of this year’s sponsors: Title Sponsor Lord & Taylor, CHEMRES as Spirit Sponsor, an anonymous Courage Sponsor, Compassion Sponsors Capital Health, Hopewell Valley Community Bank, University Medical Center at Princeton, Oasis Spa/Just For You Center, and an anonymous donor. Princeton Radiology has returned as Dessert Sponsor.  Several individuals joined this year as Patrons. Inspiration Sponsor Hamilton Jewelers sponsored a special, limited edition pin made in honor of the 10th anniversary of the event

 

For more than 40 years, the center has been providing free programs designed to help women through the entire breast cancer journey – from diagnosis through treatment, recovery, survivorship, and even recurrence. Their comprehensive approach to breast cancer support and education positively impacts the lives of more than 5,000 individuals each year, and helps hundreds of women learn to live with, through, and beyond breast cancer.

 

Their outreach program brings education directly to Mercer County, central New Jersey, and Bucks County. Trained YWCA staff members are available to meet with community organizations, corporations, places of workshop, schools, to talk about breast cancer and teach women to do self-examinations. Presentations are tailored to the group and may include a workshop to identify women who quality for free breast health services

 

Each of the women who attend this event all had a story of triumph. I was given the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Sally DaSilva, a breast cancer survivor.  In January 2013 she was playing with her son, Vincent II. He accidently hit his head on her breast area. Several days after this happed, Sally was still in pain. She went to the doctor only to discover she had a mass/lump in that very breast.  Sally was only 38 years old, too young for a mammogram according to all the “rules”. She went for a mammogram and that is when as Sally puts it, ”She started a new normal.”  Just one week prior to her diagnosis, Sally’s husband’s mother had passed away. Sally carried this burden and did not tell her husband right away, due to the death of his Mom. She lost another relative shortly after that as well. Her family embraced her once she told them and have been her support and strength through the years.  Her son saved her life.

 

Vincent DaSilva, Sally DaSilva, Vincent DaSilva, II, and Marilyn Samuel

 

 I will repeat something I said in the beginning of this article. This is a disease that does not discriminate. It sees no color, it sees no race its sees no age. It can afflict anyone, women and men. Make sure those you love get their mammograms and stay alert to changes in their breasts. As women we do not want to ask for help, it is viewed as a sign of weakness. We go through the toughest things in life alone sometimes. The women in our towns do not have to go through their breast cancer alone. They can reach out to the Breast Cancer Resource Center in Princeton and get loving support through their journey with this disease. Reach out to them, these ladies are doing amazing things for other women. 

 

VISIT DUFFY's Cultural COUTURE FACEBOOK PAGE TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

 https://www.facebook.com/Duffyculturalcourture

 

 

David Lynch: The Unified Field at PAFA
Topic: ART NEWS

David Lynch: The Unified Field at PAFA

 

 

 

 

 First Major U.S. Museum Exhibition of Eminent Filmmaker and PAFA Alumnus
September 13, 2014 – January 11, 2015

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) presents David Lynch: The Unified Field, on view September 13, 2014 through January 11, 2015.

The Unified Field will be the first major U.S. museum exhibition of internationally-renowned filmmaker and PAFA alumnus David Lynch (b. 1946), featuring works from all periods of Lynch’s career. The exhibition will feature approximately 90 paintings and drawings from 1965 to the present, many of which have rarely been seen in public. Included will be a section exploring his early work and its origins in Philadelphia (1965-70), which was a critical time in Lynch’s creative development.

“PAFA’s tradition of teaching emerging artists the figurative tradition found one if its most outrageously exhilarating practitioners in David Lynch. We are delighted to showcase Lynch’s artwork in our Frank Furness building—the very place where his darkly human, body-centric artistic vision took hold almost five decades ago,” says Harry Philbrick, PAFA’s Edna S. Tuttleman Director of the Museum.

Born in Missoula, MT in 1946, Lynch attended PAFA from January 1966 until the summer of 1967, where he studied painting. At PAFA, Lynch studied with Leon Kelly, Julian Levi, Elizabeth Osborne, Morris Blackburn and Hobson Pittman, whose weekly critique sessions were significant to Lynch’s artistic development. Lynch was drawn to the supportive community of students at PAFA, and his social circle included artists Buffy Beardsley, Robert Chadwick,

Murray Dessner, Jack Fisk, Tom Hatton, James Havard, Roger Lapelle, Noel Mahaffey, Virginia Maitland, Christine McGinnis, Eo Omwake, Tom Palmore, Peggy Reavey, Bruce Samuelson, Frank Skillman, poet C. K. Williams, and others.

While at PAFA, Lynch had an experience that led him to filmmaking. One night in 1967 as he was working in his studio, Lynch recalled, “I’m looking at the painting and fromthe painting came a wind. And the painting began to move. Two things: a wind came from the painting and the painting began to move. And I’m looking at this and hearing this and I say, ‘Oh, a moving painting.’ And that was it.” This inspired Lynch’s first project in film. Using a 16-mm wind-up camera, he produced a one-minute animated film related to his contemporary drawings and paintings that he projected at a sculpted screen bearing relief casts of his body. This multimedia installation, titled Six Men Getting Sick, brought together painting, sculpture, sound, film, and installation. The work won PAFA’s second annual Dr. William S. Biddle Cadwalader Memorial Prize, and opened Lynch up to the possibilities of filmmaking. By 1967, he had decided not to return to PAFA, instead planning to pursue film studies. His subsequent shorts, The Alphabet (1968) and The Grandmother (1970) combined animation and live action and were made in Philadelphia.

In 1970, Lynch moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking at the American Film Institute Conservatory. He went on to become internationally acclaimed as the director of films such as Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006), as well as the groundbreaking TV series, Twin Peaks (1990). In recent years, Lynch has initiated internet-based projects and recorded original music. Throughout his career, Lynch has continued to work as a visual artist and has maintained a devoted studio practice.

Among the qualities of Lynch’s work that will be explored in The Unified Field is his ability to suggest infinite potential in a paused narrative. Many works present a tense, mysterious scenario suspended in the course of a story. In many cases, Lynch combines the human body with “organic phenomena” out of scale, in unlikely combinations, and embedded in the materiality of paint. Dark humor, often introduced through the inclusion of text, permeates much of the work. Lynch’s ability to suggest the emotional intensity of his subject matter through paint textures, surface effects, and physical traces of his hand, brings intimacy and empathy to even the most disturbing narratives. Images of domesticity and pictographic depictions of the “house” are also recurring motifs in much of Lynch’s work on view at PAFA.

The Unified Field will present a room devoted to Six Men Getting Sick, staged as it was originally presented in 1967, along with related drawings. The exhibition will include a selection of short films made while Lynch was living in Philadelphia shown continuously within the installation. In addition to The Alphabet and The Grandmother, this program will include a rarely seen group of 16-mm experiments and the previously unscreened film made at the opening of James Havard’s Crayola exhibition at Dianne Vanderlip Gallery in Philadelphia (1967).

PAFA Senior Curator and curator of the exhibition, Robert Cozzolino, says that, “Throughout his career, Lynch has maintained that in Philadelphia ‘something clicked.’ Philadelphia was a dark and dangerous place, but it also fueled immense creativity for him. Lynch has said that the biggest inspiration of his life was the city of Philadelphia. The industrial ruins, urban decay and strange visual juxtapositions Lynch experienced in the city struck him as beautiful because of, rather than despite, the emptiness and horror.”

David Lynch: The Unified Field will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue with texts by PAFA curator Robert Cozzolino, Susan Felleman, Professor of Art History and Film and Media Studies at the University of South Carolina, and Tom Gunning, Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Art History, Department of Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago. A comprehensive chronology by PAFA curatorial assistant Alethea Rockwell will appear in the volume, making it invaluable for future work on Lynch’s visual art.

 

Eiko: A Body in Places
Topic: ART NEWS

 

Shop Chic and Raise Money for Breast Cancer
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

 

 Shop Chic and Raise Money for Breast Cancer

 

By Tammy Duffy 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness month which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same. This is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer.

This evening Lord and Taylor at the Quaker Bridge Mall did an amazing event focused on breast cancer awareness.  People who attended the event had the chance to support one or more of the 10 non-profits listed below AND also take advantage of UNIQUE savings exclusively on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 ONLY!

 

This event was an interactive and fun filled event.  Every purchased made went to the charities .....ever cent! So one did not feel bad about buying anything. They had so much to do and great food......just fabulous! The heartfelt time that everyone donated for free was amazing. What people did for others was a beautiful representation of love in the community. 

2014 Selected Non-Profits

• The Arc Mercer Foundation  
• Boheme Opera Company, Inc 
• Young Scholars’ Institute 
• Anchor House, Inc 
• YWCA Princeton Cancer Resource Center 
• Rider University 

• American Lung Association 
• Lawrence Township Education Foundation 
• American Cancer Society
• Robbinsville Hamilton Rotary Club 

Each non-profit are selling $5 coupon books of which, 100% is donated to their cause! 

FOR YOUR $5.00 DONATION - HERE IS WHAT YOU GOT!

 Regular and Sale Priced Merchandise Storewide! Very limited exclusions! 
• 10% off Cosmetics and Fragrances! 
• (2) 25% off Bonus Cards – Your choice of one Regular or Sale priced Item – again very limited exclusions! (So save big and buy more than one coupon book!)
• ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE…use your Lord & Taylor credit card and get an extra 10% off your entire purchase! 

IT GETS EVEN BETTER….

All day there were festivities in the store from 9am – 11pm at night! 

Kid’s Activities * Live Music * Sample local Restaurants * Meet Lord & Taylor Vendor Reps
Makeovers *In-store Fashion Show *Strolling Entertainment

 

Click below to see photos from the event 

 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.360938987402011.1073741827.359697407526169&type=1

 

Click below to see a video of the boheme opera cast performing at the event this evening 

 https://www.facebook.com/Duffyculturalcourture

 

When being proactive can save a life
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

                  

 

 

 When being proactive can save a life

 

 

Why did they wait?

 

 By Tammy Duffy

 

From mid-August to October 6, 2014, CDC and state public health laboratories have confirmed a total of 538 people in 43 states and the District of Columbia with respiratory illness caused by EV-D68. 

" On August 19, 2014, CDC was notified by Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, of an increase (relative to the same period in previous years) in patients examined and hospitalized with severe respiratory illness, including some admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. An increase also was noted in detections of  rhinovirus/enterovirus by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay in nasopharyngeal specimens obtained during August 5–19. On August 23, CDC was notified by the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital in Illinois of an increase in patients similar to those seen in Kansas City. To further characterize these two geographically distinct observations, nasopharyngeal specimens from most of the patients with recent onset of severe symptoms from both facilities were sequenced by the CDC Picornavirus Laboratory.

 

Enterovirus D68* (EV-D68) was identified in 19 of 22 specimens from Kansas City and in 11 of 14 specimens from Chicago. Since these initial reports, admissions for severe respiratory illness have continued at both facilities at rates higher than expected for this time of year. Investigations into suspected clusters in other jurisdictions are ongoing.

 

Of the 19 patients from Kansas City in whom EV-D68 was confirmed, 10 (53%) were male, and ages ranged from 6 weeks to 16 years (median = 4 years). Thirteen patients (68%) had a previous history of asthma or wheezing, and six patients (32%) had no underlying respiratory illness. All patients had difficulty breathing and hypoxemia, and four (21%) also had wheezing. Notably, only five patients (26%) were febrile. All patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, and four required bilevel positive airway pressure ventilation. Chest radiographs showed perihilar infiltrates, often with atelectasis. Neither chest radiographs nor blood cultures were consistent with bacterial coinfection.

 

Of the 11 patients from Chicago in whom EV-D68 was confirmed, nine patients were female, and ages ranged from 20 months to 15 years (median = 5 years). Eight patients (73%) had a previous history of asthma or wheezing. Notably, only two patients (18%) were febrile. Ten patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit for respiratory distress; two required mechanical ventilation (one of whom also received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), and two required bilevel positive airway pressure ventilation.

 

Enteroviruses are associated with various clinical symptoms, including mild respiratory illness, febrile rash illness, and neurologic illness, such as aseptic meningitis and encephalitis. EV-D68, however, primarily causes respiratory illness (1), although the full spectrum of disease remains unclear. EV-D68 is identified using molecular techniques at a limited number of laboratories in the United States. Enterovirus infections, including EV-D68, are not reportable, but laboratory detections of enterovirus and parechovirus types are reported voluntarily to the National Enterovirus Surveillance System, which is managed by CDC. Participating laboratories are encouraged to report monthly summaries of virus type, specimen type, and collection date." (Source:CDC)

 

The first case of EV-D68 in NJ was not reported until September 17,2014. A full month after the virus showed itself to the USA.  It should have been no surprise for the township of Hamilton that Enterovirus D68 could touch its residents. Unfortunately, it appears to be been a total surprise for them. It was not until the death of Eli did the school district and Health Department implement rigorous cleaning of the school.  At a press conference this weekend when the Township of Hamilton leadership was asked did they go into the community to see where Eli could have gotten the virus, they responded with, ”Its not part of our procedure to do that.”  There is no documented evidence that Eli got Ev-D68 at the school. He could have gotten it at a restaurant, a movie theater, a daycare, a public restroom anywhere.  The virus according to Mr. Plunket can live on surfaces for 24 hours.

 

There have only been robocalls sent to the parents of local schools, not all the schools and not to all the residents. This is quite disturbing due to the fact there should be information shared with the entire community. There needs to be a vigilance. How does the township robocaller know that I have not been babysitting a kid who goes to the school for a month. If I am not called as well as a resident of the community, I would not know what is going on unless I am watching the news. This is not the way this information should be shared with the community.

EV D68 is NOT just a childhood disease. Adults, teenagers and children can fall victim to this virus. It is absolutely imperative that EVERYONE is vigilant with cleaning, how we interact with others, how we observe each others and react to those observations and how we sneeze and cough. Adults CAN get it (however adults do build up an immunity once you get it as an adult) and give it to their own kids, teenagers, etc. It is NOT just a disease that kids get. If you or your kids are asthmatic or have compromised immune systems in some way, you much be extra vigilant. I spoke with Senator Greenstein last evening and she will be setting up a meeting with the health department to offer her assistance to remove obstacles for them. I hope the normal bipartisan agendas that exist by the leadership can be put aside and they allow her to help. At the press conference last evening they refused to even acknowledge and announce her presence at the meeting.  There is no doubt the family members there would have loved to know that the Honorable US Senator, Linda Greenstein was in the audience.  There to support them. The township leadership also did this at the inauguration of the mayor, they chose to only announce the loser of the senate race and not Honorable Greenstein when she was sitting just two rows behind him. .

 

From the press conferences it appears that the township did not implement rigorous cleaning until after Eli died. They should have implemented this when the epidemic started to amplify and present itself in the US. With that said, we all need to use the tools we have from the CDC to ensure we do not get our kids, nephews, nieces, grandkids sick.  This website is filled with information to help you stay safe this season.

http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/ev-d68.html

 

The virus can live on surfaces for 24 hours. You MUST clean surfaces, businesses must clean their surfaces, daycare centers, everywhere in order to combat this disease.

 

There is no proof that Eli (the boy who died) got EV-D68 at school. It is not part of the township protocol to go into the community when there is an outbreak to address the community.  They stated this at a press conference this weekend. They only have focused on the school.  At last evenings meeting a bus driver in the township shared that they have not been given any cleaning procedures for the buses. She has been a bus driver for 8 years. Children of all ages ride the buses. So, kids that have the virus can get on the bus (the buses are used for ALL schools and grades and remember I said it lives for 24 hours) so the kids can get it from the bus.  Dr. Parla promised to send to the bus companies this morning a procedure to clean the buses. Why this was not done weeks ago is anyone’s guess.

 

Everyone must wash their hands with soap.  Hand sanitizer, DOES NOT WORK ON THIS VIRUS! We are only half way through this season for this virus so it's VERY important that we all become rather OCD with hand washing. That is the only thing that works and keep your surfaces clean. There are recommendations by the CDC on how to do that. Use the link I placed in this article.

 

.So, one can only think, if there were proactive measures in place when this virus started in August 2014, would little Eli still be alive? We will never know the answer to that.

 

Hug your kids and keep them healthy.

 

Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

Mafalda’s to Host Legendary Entertainer Barbara Trent

 

 

 

 

By Tammy Duffy 

 

Mafalda’s restaurant located at 3681 Nottingham Way in Hamilton, NJ success story continues. They were recently awarded the catering contracts for the Elks in Hamilton as well as the Nottingham Ballroom. It’ no wonder. for their menu and unique platters are a culinary delight.  They  continue to work with the community and recognize the extreme talent that exists within our home town. They now will have a legend performing at the restaurant every Wednesday night starting Oct 8, 2014.

 

For decades central New Jersey jazz lovers flocked to hear legendary area pianist Barbara Trent play and sing standards. The performer connected with her fans — lovers of romance and memories in ways that inspired them to seek her out after years and years. The 75-year-old musician just ended a five-year stay at the Centre Bridge Inn (in New Hope, Pennsylvania).

 

In the month of October, starting Wednesday, Oct 8, 2014 the legendary Barbara Trent will be performing at Mafalda’s.  The legend will perform every Wednesday’s at Mafalda’s from 6-9pm. It is recommended that you make reservations to ensure you can get a seat. Reservations can be made by calling 609-587-5800. There will be a special dinner menu during the performances and the restaurant is BYOB.

 

Music is a family tradition for Trent. Her father, William Trent, studied at Juilliard before settling in Harlem and performing in churches. About the uncanny similarity with the name of the acknowledged 17th century founder of the City of Trenton, Barbara Trent says her father’s family was from Richmond, Virginia, where the historical William Trent (son of the founding Trent) had a military career during the French and Indian War.

 

Barbara Trent has been a major figure in the Trenton area music scene for over 5 decades.  Her singing never fails to touch the heart and soul of her listeners in very personal ways.  Her vast repertory of songs all center on her personal theme. Love is what it’s all about!

 

Wednesday, Oct 8, 2014 from 6 to 9pm  is the first concert, don’t miss it!

The Evolution of Modern Sports through the Eyes of 19th-Century French Artists
Topic: ART NEWS

The Evolution of Modern Sports through the Eyes of 19th-Century French Artists

 

 

 

 

 

Drink more protein! Get some fresh air! Visit the employee gym! This is not advice from your favorite morning show or fitness magazine, but social messages promoted by artists in the new exhibition Sports and Recreation in France, 1840-1900 at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers. As Rutgers enters its first season of competition in the Big Ten, the Zimmerli visits late 19th-century France for a glimpse at the origins of how we perceive sports today. On view through January 11, 2015, the exhibition of prints, drawings, photographs, and posters by some of the era’s most recognized artists – Jules Cherét, Honoré Daumier, Hermann-Paul, and Édouard Vuillard – reveals the 19th century’s burgeoning interest in competitive and recreational sports, an interest now ubiquitous in our lives and in today’s print and live media. 

 

“Artists played a significant role in chronicling fin-de-siècle Paris. And they embraced the growing culture of sports, exploring new approaches to portraying the human body, as well as documenting contemporary life,” explains Christine Giviskos, Associate Curator of European Art, who organized the exhibition, which is drawn from the Zimmerli’s extensive permanent collection of works on paper. “Trends that started 150 years ago continue today with ‘meetup’ sports and recreation clubs, as well as attempts to garner women as participants and spectators.”

 

Athletic endeavors historically had been the purview of the aristocracy in France. But over the course of the 1800s, the growing middle class sought more opportunities to participate, given their increased leisure time. In addition, following France’s loss of the Franco-Prussian War (attributed, in part, to its troops’ inferior physical abilities during this 1870-71 conflict), the country instituted a national agenda that encouraged all citizens to become more physically fit. Mandatory physical education in schools and employer-sponsored fencing halls were among the initiatives that stressed the social and physical benefit of sports.

 

 

Alexandre Lunois documented trends of the era in his 1898 lithograph La Partie de Volant (Lawn Tennis). An alternative to croquet (which had developed a questionable reputation because of illicit activities that accompanied some matches), lawn tennis became popular on private estates, as well as at public parks, increasing appeal across economic and social classes. This work also underscores the appeal of the game to women, who began to venture out more by themselves and deemed certain sporting activities as “safe.”

 

As fencing began to gain more attention, artists portrayed amateurs and competitors. During the 1880s, several Parisian department stores and newspapers maintained fencing halls for their employees, a benefit similar to onsite fitness centers at large companies today. In 1908, Francisque Poulbot created a series of illustrations for an 1893 collection of vignettes that satirized office bureaucracy, Messieurs les Ronds de Cuir (The Pencil-Pushers) by Georges Courteline. Here, Poulbot shows two government functionaries, Douzéphir and Gripothe, practicing in an empty storage room. Well-known illustrator Hermann-Paul also documented this growing popularity with Tournoi Franco-Italien (French-Italian Tournament), a poster that publicized the event held in December 1895. According the extensive commentary in the Parisian press, it drew large crowds and inspired much debate about the relative superiority between the two national fencing styles.    

 

Circus culture also flourished in Paris during the late 19th century – and with it, celebrity culture. By the 1890s, these spectacles were recognized as innovative performance art and respected on the same level as traditional theater. The performers were also lauded for their athletic abilities. One of the famous personalities of the era was Miss Lala, an acrobat at the Cirque Fernando, a permanent circus located on the edge of Montmartre. A staged studio photograph, from the 1880s or 1890s by an unknown photographer, emphasizes her gymnast-like physique. This portrait showing her standing firmly on the ground is also an interesting contrast to her signature feat: the Iron Jaw. In this traditional aerial circus act, the performer gracefully swings from the trapeze supported by only a bit clamped between the teeth, seeming to dance in midair.

 

Artists also celebrated cycling, a subject that lent itself to their talents spanning fine art, graphic design, and advertising. The increasing popularity of the sport was evident in the development of velodromes (arenas with tracks for racing) across England and France during the 1880s and 1890s, as well as the first Tour de France in 1903. It also appealed to women, giving them a sense of freedom. Hermann-Paul’s 1896 lithograph Artistic Cycle Club, which included many members from the theater community, shows a rider fully dressed in the fashions of the time, leisurely walking her bike. The painter and printmaker Édouard Vuillard – who was well-known as a designer in the Parisian theater realm – chose an angle that is familiar today: sports merchandise. His poster La Bécane (1894) depicts a bicycle race in progress and declares that “Cyclists take Bécane, a restorative meat-based elixir.” Gladiator Bicycle Poster, by an unknown artist from around 1895, also serves as an advertisement, with a collage of professional racers from the era promoting the Gladiator Bicycle Company, which also manufactured motorcycles and early models of motorcars during the first two decades of the new century.

 

Organized by Christine Giviskos, Associate Curator of European Art, with the assistance of Sara Green, Summer 2014 International Fine Prints Dealers Association (IFPDA) Foundation Intern.  The Zimmerli Art Museum’s Morse Research Center for Graphic Arts is grateful to the IFPDA Foundation for the award of one of its inaugural grants funding a museum internship focused on prints.

 

 

 

Community Invited to Opening Reception Oct. 8, 5 to 7 p.m.

 

 

 

The Gallery at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) puts its own talented faculty in the spotlight for the “2014 Visual Arts Faculty Exhibit.”  The show runs from Tuesday, Oct. 7 through Thursday, Oct. 30, with a reception to be held Wednesday, Oct. 8, 5 to 7 p.m.  The Gallery is located on second floor of the Communications Building on the college’s West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.

 

The show is dedicated to Lyn Ports-Lopez, a long-time Fine Arts ceramics instructor and beloved colleague who passed away in August.  Eight of Ports-Lopez’s ceramics pieces, including two collaborative works, will be included in the exhibit.  Other featured artists are Allegra Cecci of Ewing; Michael Dalton of Rutherford; Yevgeny Fiks of New York City; Leilani Hickerson of Cherry Hill; Lucas Kelly of Bordentown; Tina LaPlaca of Princeton; Terri McNichol of Cranbury; Paul Mordetsky of Hightstown; Colin O’Con of Brooklyn, NY; Mircea Popescu of Lawrenceville; Courtney Puckett of Brooklyn, NY; David Rivera of Newtown, Pa.; Dennis Santanella of Brooklyn, NY; Kyle Stevenson of Hamilton; Michael Welliver of Ewing; and Nancy Zamboni of Mercerville.

The show includes works by both full-time and adjunct faculty members who teach visual arts, photography, advertising design, digital media arts and fashion design.  Artwork is in a range of mediums, including photography, acrylic, watercolor, ink, silverpoint, installation, pastel, ceramic, and more.

Gallery Director Dylan Wolfe is excited to invite community members, as well as students, to experience the range and depth of the works collected for the exhibit. “These pieces truly demonstrate the strength of the college's instructors as professional artists and reflect contemporary art and culture contributed by a dynamic and varied group," Wolfe observed.

Wolfe said that dedicating the show to Ms. Ports-Lopez was unanimous. “Everyone loved Lyn. She was giving and kind and funny and cared about everyone she knew,” he said, adding that in his first year as director during 2013-14, Ports-Lopez came to his aid regularly as he acclimated to his new position.

Ports-Lopez’s colleague Michael Welliver, coordinator of the Fine Arts Program, worked closely with her for 13 years. “We were office mates and teammates. We supported each other, worried about each other, and irritated each other.  She laughed with me. She laughed at me. But she always had my back.  She was the caretaker. We had it pretty good for a long time,” he said.

Gallery hours for this show are Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

 

Maurer Productions’ “Count Dracula” to Deliver Some Creepy Halloween Fun at Kelsey Theatre Oct. 24-Nov. 2
Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST

Maurer Productions’ “Count Dracula” to Deliver Some Creepy Halloween Fun at Kelsey Theatre Oct. 24-Nov. 2

 

 

Maurer Productions OnStage is set to haunt your Halloween dreams.  “Count Dracula” comes to Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) Kelsey Theatre Fridays, Oct. 24 and 31 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is conveniently located on the college's West Windsor campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.  A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on Oct. 24.

Inspired by Bram Stoker’s ground-breaking novel, “Count Dracula” is a fresh retelling of the epic tale of good versus evil and science versus superstition.  Audiences will get caught up in the battle as honorable men like Johnathan Harker, Dr. Seward and Professor Van Helsing take on the Prince of Darkness himself – Count Dracula. Written by Ted Tiller in 1971, the play has been performed on Broadway, by regional theater companies throughout the country and on television.

According to director John Maurer, the production is a faithful retelling of the original story.  "There are no sparkly vampires, no drenching piles of blood. The show offers some lighter moments to break the tension, but the story is rooted in Bram Stoker’s original text."

The cast includes Joe Grosso, of Hamilton Square, as Count Dracula; Michael Lovett, of Ewing, as Jonathan Harker; Stephanie Moon, of Yardville, as Mina Murray; Sean McGrath, of Churchville, Pa., as Heinrich Van Helsing; Scott Fishman of Newtown, Pa., as Dr. Arthur Seward; Laurie Hardy, of Hamilton, as Sybil Seward; Paul Phalen, of West Windsor, as Renfield; Susan Galli, of Hopewell, as Miss Hennessey; and Jeffrey E. Milstein, of East Windsor, as Welsey.

The show is directed by John M. Maurer, and produced by John M. Maurer and Diana Gilman Maurer.  Costumes are by Anthony Reamer and original underscore music is by Brandon Franks.  M. Kitty Getlik is the lighting designer and Jeff Cantor constructed the set.  Cast photos are John Maurer and Robert Gougher.

Tickets for “Count Dracula” are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and $14 for students and children.  Free parking is available next to the theater.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.kelseytheatre.net or by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333.  For a complete listing of adult and children's events, visit the Kelsey webpage or call the box office for a brochure.

Communion One: Artist Clifford Ward Exhibits
Topic: ART NEWS

 

Communion One: Artist Clifford Ward Exhibits

 

By Tammy Duffy 

 

 

The Gallery at Chapin this evening opened a new art exhibition. This exhibition demonstrated sculpture and wall mountings by artist Clifford Ward.  This exhibition is entitled “Communion 1”. The exhibition runs from October  1 through October  31, 2014. 

 

Ward’s work has been displayed in numerous regional exhibitions in the Philadelphia, New Jersey and in New York.  Clifford Ward resides in Philadelphia and has a studio in Hamilton, NJ as well.

 

“It is important,” states Ward, “that I bring my work to ‘ordinary, everyday” people, for it is from these people (past and present) that my work is inspired.”  Clifford Ward embraces the mythologies, cultures and ethos of the African Diaspora, Australian Aborigines, Native Americans and Maori People of New Zealand.  His work has evolved into a “potpourri” of many of these indigenous people’s culture. 

 

Ward states that his work is truly from his soul and “I feel more and more like a conduit for my ancestor’s messages which hopefully will continue to nourish the honesty and integrity of my work and will also whelp me to better understand my African roots.”

 

The general approach to Ward’s work is the concept of relationships; communion. “My work usually involves pairs of sculptures and paintings that are more similar to one-another than they are different. These relationships are both visual and structural. Developing complementary pieces that maintain particular attributes that are similar to one-another, but also that maintain many individual structures and designs unique to the individual piece, is a major goal of mine. And although the groups of complimentary pieces are paired, all of the work shows a common denominator that ties all of the work together.”

 

 

Using plaster bandages as his main external material, he  interlocks and creates various types of weaving patterns and grids.  Various materials are used: wood, metal,

Styrofoam and lots of cardboard.  The negative space he creates in his spaces are very purposeful. This negative space adds a wonderful optical experience.`    

 

One of the pieces in the exhibition entitled, “George Inspired Mask”, has a wonderful story behind it. One of Ward’s best friend who worked in a zoo had many animals she took care of. One in particular she was in love with, George. When George died she was devastated so Clifford created this piece as an homage to George.  Ward brings the migration of animals and humans together in this exhibition.

 

The Gallery at Chapin, which is in its 11th year, has already hosted a wide variety of artists from painters, to weavers, to woodworkers, to photographers, to digital artists.  The have exhibitions in the months of January, February, April,

September, October, and November. Gallery openings always take place the first Wednesday of the month that exhibitions are held.

 

Chapin School and its Art Gallery are located at 4101 Princeton Pike, Princeton, N.J. The exhibit can also be viewed during school hours by appointment by calling 609-924-7206.