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Valerie's new book, "Eye Was Blind... Now Eye See," is on sale now at amazon.com. Seduction... Betrayal... Blackmail... Murder: It's a page-turning, thrilling shocker!

Larry Walker (MA '53)

 

Larry has a solo exhibition of 21 recent paintings on exhibit at Mason Murer Fine Art in Atlanta, Georgia, until January 8, 2010. He will also be included in a two-person exhibit at the Thelma Harris Art Gallery in Oakland, California, from November 20 until January 30, 2010. The artist reception will take place on November 20 from 7pm to 9pm.

 

Capathia Jenkins (MA '84)

 

Capathia is just releasing a new CD with her collaborator Louis Rosen - 'The Ache of Possibility.' She is also starring in Norah Ephrans Off Broadway play, 'Love, Loss, and What I Wore.' The cast includes Rhea Perlman, Rita Wilson, Lucy Devito, Kristin Chenoweth, and Ms. Jenkins. It runs from November 18, 2009, to January 3, 2010. www.capathiajenkins.com

 

Ivan Rivera (LaG '89)

 

Ivan will be performing as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Regina Hall in Brooklyn on November 22 at 3pm and November 28 at 7pm.

 

Robin Holder (MA '69)

 

An American Consciousness: Robin Holder's Mid Career Retrospective is on exhibit at The David C. Driskell Center through December 11, 2009. You can view the entire catalog

of the retrospective at http://www.driskellcenter.umd.edu/Holder/index.php.

 

Larry Walker (MA '53)

 

Emerging Spirits and Other Secrets: Recent Works by Larry Walker will be on exhibit at Mason Murer Fine Art in Atlanta, GA, from November 6, 2009 - January 8, 2010. A reception will be held on November 6 from 7pm - 10pm.

 

Ellen Feinberg Blitz (MA '72) 

 

Ellen recommends a Landscape Painting Workshop in Jerusalem taking place May 27 - June 7, 2010. The workshop will be led by Jordan Wolfson, who lived and taught painting in Israel for ten years. Cost is $3500 + airfare, for the entire trip - includes room and board at a luxury hotel, the landscape painting workshop, meetings with current Israeli artists, and touring. For more information, contact Mr. Wolfson at info@jordanwolfson.com. To view Mr. Wolfson's work, see www.jordanwolfson.com.

Gail Kotel (LaG '88)

 

The work of Gail Kotel will be displayed at Earth+Bread+Brewery during POST (Philadelphia Open Studio Tours) on October 10th and 11th, 2009. The Show will continue through November 29th. Earth+Bread+Brewery is located at 7136 Germantown Avenue, at the corner of Durham St.

M&A alumni from the 1950s who remember music teacher HAROLD BROWN:
 
Centennial celebrations the last weekend in October 2009 will honor Harold Brown, the teacher, composer, and founder of The Renaissance Chorus, with three days of reunion and music. All are welcome. For details, visit www.RenaissanceChorus.org and click on Harold Brown.

Harold Brown (c. 1940s)

 

Marlene Siff (M&A '53)

 

The work of Marlene Siff, along with work by other members of The Katonah Museum Artists Association, will be on display at Northern Westchester Hospital, 400 East Main Street, Mount Kisco, NY. (Also, see below for news about her exhibit at the Walter Wickiser Gallery, listed previously.)

 

Ann Schaumburger (M&A '61)

 

Ann Schaumburger's work will be exhibited at A.I.R. Gallery from October 7 - November 1, 2009. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, October 8, 2009, from 6 - 8 pm.

 

Annie Korzen (M&A '56)

 

Annie Korzen (Ann Drazen) has a book out in October, BARGAIN JUNKIE: Living the Good Life on the Cheap (www.TheBargainJunkie.com). You can also see Annie as the recurring Doris Klompus on SEINFELD and as John Turturro's mother in TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.

 

Susan Manspeizer (M&A '58)

Marlene Siff (M&A '53) 

 

Dreams and Metaphors: Sculpture at Play II, featuring work by Susan Manspeizer and Marlene Siff, will be at the Walter Wickiser Gallery from October 3rd - October 28, 2009. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, October 3rd, 6-8pm. 

 

Byron Dobell (M&A '44)

There will be a one week show of the paintings and drawings of Byron Dobell from September 21 - September 26, 2009, at W.M. Brady & Co., 22 East 80th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC. A reception will be held on Monday, September 21st, from 5 to 8 p.m.

 

Clifton Anderson (M&A '74)

The Clifton Anderson Quintet will be playing two shows at The Iridium Jazz Club on the night of Tuesday, August 4, 2009. For more information, click here  

 http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/talent.php?talent=663&month=8&year=2009)

 

Kristin Falcier (M&A '74)

 

Ms. Falcier is looking for artists to exhibit their work at a new artists cooperative forming at Mother Duck Art in Elizabethtown, NC. Artists of all ages, current students and alumni are all welcome. The exhibits have a focus on ethnicity and multiculturalism. Interested artists should contact Ms. Falcier at (910) 862-2306 or by e-mail at kfalcier@yahoo.com.

 

Renee Epstein Kahn (M&A '48)

 

An exhibition of Ms. Kahn's work will be on display at The Loft Artists Gallery through August 30, 2009. The opening reception will take place Friday, July 10, 2009. 

 

The exhibit pokes fun at the foibles of suburban life. The Seven Deadly Sins, a religious concept dating back to the Middle Ages, takes on a modern twist with large oil paintings or drawings on brown paper with intriguing titles such as: "Envy: Loehman's Dressing Room," or "Lust: Male Strippers Appear in Darien." 

 

http://www.loftartists.com/gallery_pages/kahn.php

 

Sandra Jackman (M&A '55)

Sandra's work is being exhibited in a group exhibition entitled "The Book as Art" at the McMullen Museum on the campus of Boston College through May 31. From April 3-5 she had work displayed in the New York Antiquarian Book Fair.

 

 

Niela Miller (M&A '52)

has just had an album released (SONGS OF LEAVING) which can be found on www.numerogroup.com. (It is also offered in mp3 form).
It contains ten songs I wrote mostly during the fifties. Sitting to my right in the photo of the album cover is Miriam Rosewald Charney, another M&A alum. I think we were both about 17 when this photo was taken.

 

Mimi Stern-Wolfe (P.A. Miriam Stern 1954) 

is presenting a semi staged version of THE CRADLE WILL ROCK by Marc Blitzstein on Sunday, February 8 at 3PM. The performance is presented by her non-profit organization, Downtown Music Productions at the  East Village Concert Series at St. Marks in the Bowery at 131 East Tenth Street. Mimi is music and artistic director of the series, now  in its sixth season . It presents high quality, socially oriented thematic concerts at affordable rates for the community. The musical, premiered in 1937, is a Brechtian allegory of corruption and corporate greed and presents an entire panoply of societal figures while  Larry Forman tries  to unionize in Steeltown U.S. A.

For further information visit www.downtownmusicproductions.org

email dmpmimi@verizon.net or call 212 477-1594.

 Alan Binstock (M&A '64)

 UPCOMING EXHIBIT:

In formation

Sarah Tanguy, Guest Curator
October 28, 2008 - April 17, 2009
Reception October 28, 5:30 - 7pm
gallery talk 6:15pm

The American Center for Physics
One Physics Elypse College Park, MD 20740
301-209-3125 (Eva Adams)
for directions www.acp.org

Thursday, July 17, 2008 5 PM

Roy Eaton, recently Grammy nominated pianist plays a program entitled "Gershwin and Friends" as part of Bryant Park's 'Music at 5 series'. He will feature the Seven Gershwin Preludes along with selections by Scott Joplin, Ravel, Chopin, & Bill Evans. Bryant park is located behind the main NY Public Library branch at 42nd street. Admission is free.

 

 

Jon Mayer, M&A 56

Jon Mayer and his quartet are playing at the Kitano Hotel's jazz lounge Thursday, May 8 at 8pm and 10pm. (66 Park Av at 38th). He would really like to see classmates and alumni!

 Julian Tomchin (M&A '49)

Gesture Drawings                                                                                in the gallery of                                                                                    The Fromm Institute of Lifelong Learning                                                 University of San Francisco                                                                   2130 Fulton Street                                                                                San Francisco                                                                                     April 14, 2008 - June 5, 2008

 Susan Schwalb (M&A '61)

I hope you can see my solo show at Galerie Mourlot, opening on April 15 –May 31, 2008.
The reception is April 17 from 6-9pm.  A catalogue is available just contact the gallery.

Galerie Mourlot, 16 East 79 St. between Madison and Fifth Ave.  
(212) 288-8808 ny@galeriemourlot.com    http://www.galeriemourlot.com

Delorys Welch-Tyson (M&A '69)

Delorys Welch-Tyson is pleased to announce the publication of her new novel.   

Ladyfingers, the sequel to the bestselling novel Gingersnaps (Random House Publishing Group) and the second installment of what Welch-Tyson calls her “Cookie Quartet,” again combines the ingredients of humor and self help in the satirical tale of American gaffes and foibles on the French Riviera.
  

 George Lois (M&A '49)                                                                                                                                                                                  Twenty years before thinking up the "I want my MTV" campaign, advertising genius George Lois saved Esquire magazine from a swift sink into bankruptcy by transforming it into one of the most visually provocative publications of the last half century.

From Lois' first cover for the magazine, which featured an image of boxing favorite Floyd Patterson knocked out in an empty arena, and broke Esquire newsstand sales records, to a 1970 cover depicting a marquee for the film Easy Rider transposed over St. Patrick's Cathedral, the designer sparked controversy and discussion that translated to big sales.

His process of combining clip art, stock photography, and drawn elements were precursors to the digital retouching employed everywhere today; and his images of cult figures like Andy Warhol drowning in a can of Campbell's tomato soup, and Muhammad Ali depicted as the martyr St. Sebastian, slapped a direct editorial commentary front and center, revolutionizing the industry then, and revealing an iconographical history now.

Thirty-two of Lois' covers from 1962 to 1972 are included in the exhibition George Lois: The Esquire Covers, at the Museum of Modern Art, from April 25, through March 31, 2009.

  Susan Schwalb (M&A '61)

Upcoming shows:

Group

            March 7-29, 2008
                    Soprafina Gallery, 450 Harrison St., Boston, MA
                    Equilibrium: Susan Schwalb and Nan Tull
                    Reception: Friday, March 7,  5:30-7:30PM
                    http://www.soprafina.com

May 31 – July 12, 2008
                    OK Harris Gallery, 385 West Broadway, New York, NY
                    Color/Abstraction: 18 Artists
                    Reception:
                    http://www.okharris.com/

September 21, 2008 – January 25,  2009
                   The Art Complex Museum, 189 Alden Street,  Duxbury, MA
                    “Artists and Books”
                     Reception: Sunday, September 28, 2008
                     http://www.artcomplex.org


Solo

April 15-May, 31 2008  
                     Galerie Mourlot, 16 East 79 Street,  New York, NY
                     “Music of Silence: Silverpoint Paintings and Drawings”
                      Reception: Thursday, April 17, 6-8 pm
                      http://www.galeriemourlot.com

 Eleanor Fineman, now Eleanor Antin (Jan '52) 

"Helen's Odyssey"
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Gallery
31 Mercer Street in SOHO
Feb 15—March 15

an exhibit of large tableaux photography of stylized people in classical costumes, poses and sets. Absolutely amazing and MUST SEE for concepts.

 

Alan Gompers (M&A 57) 

Alan Gompers, class of 1957, will be holding a special pre-book launch event to celebrate the release of his memoir "Maximum Security: The True Meaning of Freedom."  Since Music and Art played such a profound role in Alan's life, he would like to invite all his friends and alumni to share this momentous event with him.

March 13, 2008

The Subud Chelsea Center

230 West 29th Street

New York, NY 10001

6:00pm

Alan will sign books after the program.

RSVP 

(718) 708-4799 (Alan Gompers)

(901) 483-5968 (Lorena Rostig)

 John Gampert (M&A 1958)                                                

Now and Then.

Exhibition

April 21 - May 9, 2008

Members Gallery                                                                                 Society of Illustrators 

Society of Illustrators                                                                       128 East 63rd Street                                                                        New York, NY 10065                                                                    212-838-2560

Alan Binstock, M&A 1964

SCULPTURE:

Glass & Steel: A Pilgrim’s Process (Solo Show)

December 12 –  January 6, 2008


-Opening Reception
Friday, December 14^th, 6pm - 9pm

Ch’I Contemporary Fine Art
293 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-218-8939
http://www.alanbinstock.com/exhibits.html
alan@alanbinstock.com

 

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Susan Manspeizer, M&A 1958

SCULPTURE AT PLAY
November 3 - November 28, 2007

Alexy Klimov
Renee Lerner
SUSAN MANSPEIZER
Richard Pitts

-Opening Reception
Saturday, November 3rd, 6pm-8pm

WALTER WICKISER GALLERY, INC.
210 Eleventh Avenue Suite 303
New York, NY 10001
212-941-1817
www.walterwickisergallery.com
wwickiserg@aol.com

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Barbara Korman, M&A 1955

BEYOND THE CACTUS
Sculptures by Barbara Korman

-October 24-November 25, 2007
Opening Reception, Sunday, October 28, 3-5pm

-WPA Gallery
Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
Rt 121 & South Rt 35
Cross River, NY 10518
914-864-7317 www.westchestergov.com/parks

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A Message from Norman Narotzky, M&A 1945

On Saturday, 4 August 2007, the Casino Art Gallery of Cadaques will open a 50-year Retrospective of my art.

Cadaques is a village on the Spanish Costa Brava, which over the years has been a magnet for artists from all over the world. Picasso and Derain spent the summer of 1910 there. Salvador Dali had his home and studio there where he painted most of his major works. Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray spent many summers in Cadaques.

The exhibition will consist of 50 paintings representing the different periods of my work beginning with abstract canvases of the late 1950's and early 1960 that reflect my impression of the Mediterranean luminosity. In late 1960 the paintings became more figurative with large heads and torsos like the ones that were included in the "VI Biennial of Sao Paulo" in 1961 and in "Recent Paintings USA: The Figure" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and others throughout the US in 1962.

The images became more concrete in the mid '60's with collage and acrylic portraits of specific Americans and Spaniards such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Fernando and Isabel "Los Reyes Catolicos". This latter painting was a denunciation of racial, religious and political persecution throughout history. The first version of this work, when exhibited in Barcelona in 1966, caused me many problems with the Franco government, which James A. Michener details in his book "Iberia".

The series "Images of Life and Death" painted during the Vietnam War in the 1970's denounced war and destruction, and contrasted this with life and creation. Man-made pollution was also included as a source of destruction in some of these works.

Works of the 1980's returned to nature with a group of anthropomorphic landscapes in acrylic, which gradually became more geological as I introduced collage. In these, I conceived the earth as the source of life and the repository to which it returns in an endless cycle of creation, destruction, and re-creation.

I turned to the city in the 1990's observing and painting the unseen architectural details of buildings in Barcelona and New York. I found a life in these images, which are unperceived by the passer-by and transformed the grey stone and cement ornaments into strange and colorful creatures that might inhabit one's dreams. I continue this transformation with my most recent paintings of chimneys of the Ampurdan region of Catalunya.

Examples of all these periods will be included in this comprehensive exhibition that celebrates my more than fifty years of living and creating in Catalunya.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/narotzky

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"The Piano Tuner & His Granddaughter" a novel written by Myra Lubell Humphrey, M&A 43

"The Piano Tuner & His Granddaughter" a novel written by Myra Lubell Humphrey M&A 43 is a book born from the life-long love of the author for piano music. Although an historical novel, its message is one for our times, one of love and hope, in which each woman moves to her own internal rhythm. Humphrey was born in New York City. A gifted pianist, in her late teens her love of dance led to years of studying both ballet and modern dance, teaching and chorepgraphy. She presently resides in Portland, Oregon, where she continues to write fiction. Her next book is to be based on the secret love life of Beethoven. Humphrey's books, including "To Walk Barefoot on Thorns," are available through Alyscamps Press, Paris & Austin.

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Class of M&A 55 Scholarship

The Class of M&A 55 raised more than $50,000 toward the establishment of an endowed, creative writing award program for seniors as well as for subsidizing The Lively Arts. A list of names of committee members who not only donated to the fund but helped establish the criteria follows:
Rollie Greenberg Abkowitz
Debra Cole Alee
Adele Bildersee
Betty Roth Bogart
Isabelle Ganz
Barbara Becker Gol
John Graziano
Martin Hutner
Henry Kellerman
Linda Turkel Kellerman
Barbara Korman
Ramona Knight
Margot Lewitan
Jerome Nadelhaft
Ruth Levy Nadelhaft
Lilian Wisnia Rand
Donna Irony Regenstreif
Carol Stolbach Scott
Dorothy Miller Zellner

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A Message from Barbara Korman, M&A 55

At my 40th reunion, we sat in a basement room of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts building, taking turns talking about ourselves.More than a few said Music and Art High School had been one of the best parts of their lives. Others, myself included, felt it validated a passion not fully understood by our families.

At the planning of our 50th reunion in 2005, about a dozen of us met. We presented a never ending number of celebratory ideas, punctuated by a seemingly uncontrollable stream of laughter. We had remained, CREATIVE and PLAYFUL....each different and yet unified by our love for “the Castle”.

It became clear to me that we needed to return to that building, walk the halls, sit in that auditorium, and maybe even climb “those stairs” up to St.Nicholas Terrance. Thanks to Charles Thompson, Activities Coordinator of what is now A. Philip Randolph High School, I was able to arrange an alumni weekend, afternoon visit to our M&A. Charles has a stunning appreciation of the history and importance of that landmark building, and all that has been and continues to be nurtured within it’s walls. We bonded, we talked, we planned and we became aware that the building needed a plaque, a reminder of that important history. Our planning committee agreed. The Alumni Association agreed.

As a sculptor, who has worked for many years with cast bronze, it was easy to appreciate the permanence and lushness of that material and to arrange for the production of the plaque. Completed and installed, a ceremony was needed to mark the event. The enthusiasm of Matilda Hohensee, the new Director of the Alumni Association, facilitated this. On June 15th we celebrated. Classmates of mine, M&A’55, of course were present. It was very moving to be joined by alumni from other graduating classes, as well as, Connie Boykan , M&A’ 59 , and former Director of the Alumni Association, Warren Kass, M&A ‘52, represented TWEED, and Stephanie Del Valle, M&A ‘76 and Membership Manager of the Alumni Association.

Even the mail person, Anita-Cornwell Charlton M&A 80, making her daily mail delivery announced she was a graduate of LaGuardia High School and joined the group for photographs. I suspect that hundreds of reunion photographs will be taken besides that plaque, patinated with years of wonderful memories.

The “Castle” is special because the concept is extraordinary. In a city that pulsates with creative energy there is a public school system that reaches out to enhance that creative energy. THIS IS SPECIAL. it needs to be acknowledged by all those students who are gifted enough to participate.

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A Letter from Philip Gould, M&A 40

September 27, 2006


Letter to the Editor:

I just learned that my old class mate, David Zeibel, had died. I was told that he had been unwell for several years, reduced to getting around with a walker and then succumbing. The news was disturbing because I always had in mind to call him and to propose a meeting. Knowing that such a call was now useless left me in an awful state.

I remember David very well from our three years at Music and Art. We were both art students, often working in the same art studio. He was a wiz of a painter, producing very impressive canvases as through effortlessly. In fact whatever he attempted he did so with ease and grace. After paining I think he loved sports and basketball in particular. He had the build for sports, not gangly like many adolescents, but of medium height David was compact and solid. He exuded health and confidence.

I trekked a number of times up to his home in the Bronx on Allerton Avenue, near the Bronx Botanical Gardens. I met his mother and his brother, his friends and his girl friend, Leah, who he eventually married. David’s mother was a courageous woman for she was working and raising her two sons by herself. She was strong and confident about the future.

The class of 1940 was proud about being the first full class at the school. We knew full well how lucky we were to be charter members of the experiment in education of specialized schools. We had seen and heard Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia address the whole school in the auditorium when he declared his pride in giving birth to his baby: The High School of Music and Art. We were so privileged to have great teachers, mostly not much older than the students. We were never treaded with condescension. The place was too small for that. We could talk to our teachers.

I was thrilled to be in the company of so many talented people. And no one found the long hours of our school day a problem. Like David I lived in the Bronx also so we made the ascent and descent of St. Nicholas Park on 135th Street to and from Convent Avenue every day.

Those were fateful days. World War II would begin within a year and a half of our graduation. Everyone moved in different directions. I heard that David was involved in coaching, mostly basketball. And later his interests led him to the game of golf. I always thought that he could have made a career as an artist. He certainly demonstrated great promise in that area. But I knew that whatever professional path David took, he would excel in it and above all he would always be surrounded by family and friends that loved him.

Philip Gould M&A 40
Art History Professor Emeritus