Through a Photographer's Eye

Celebrating the Quadricentennial of the Hudson River, "Salute to the Hudson River: Through a Photographer's Eye,” opens Saturday, July 11 and runs through Aug. 3 at RiverWinds Gallery, 172 Main Street in Beacon. The exhibit features the photography of Robert Rodriguez, Jr., Linda T. Hubbard, Claudia Gorman, Karl LaLonde, Mike Sibilia, and Brian Tervenski.

An artists' reception takes place from 5-8 p.m. Saturday. Gallery hours are Wednesdays through Mondays, from noon to 6 p.m., and from noon to 9 p.m. on the second Saturday.

Here is more from the organizers:

The camera clicks, but it is the photographer's sense of light, depth, composition and passion that tells the story of this famous river. These six Hudson Valley artists are each unique, well-known and have their special interpretation of the Hudson.

Robert Rodriguez Jr is an award winning professional landscape photographer specializing in landscapes of the Hudson Valley. Seeking to capture the beauty, or convey the emotional qualities of a place or moment in nature, his images have elicited responses ranging from evocative, to spiritual and breathtaking. His images have appeared in numerous publications including the NY Times, and his work has been used by many non-profit organizations including the Mohonk Preserve, and Audubon Society. His photography is also featured extensively by Scenic Hudson, a non-profit organization dedicated to land and nature preservation in the Hudson Valley. In addition, he has edited and produced documentary films highlighting the natural beauty of the region. Robert is a respected educator in all aspects of photography including field work and digital editing and printing. He gives seminars in the region on a regular basis, and has been an invited speaker to industry associations.

Linda T. Hubbard is a photographer known throughout the Hudson River Valley and beyond. "I love to capture the beauty, peace and serenity of the river - its changing light and seasons. I also love to include an element of architecture, a chair, something that states how humans and the river interrelate". A tireless promoter of the arts in the Hudson Valley, Linda is also a champion for enjoying the beauty of this river and its unique characteristics.

Michael Sibilia has been practicing the art of photography for over thirty years and he brings a definite point of view to his photography of the Hudson River. "We live in a country that exists because it was rich in natural resources, discovered at a time in the world when these materials were most needed to fuel a growing civilization. Now the same resources that should be feeding us, seem to be strangling us.” Michael captures this paradox by creating images of the river and mankind.

To Claudia Gorman, “Photography is an art form that I have always enjoyed studying and creating with alternative processes such as hand coloring black and white photographs, platinum/palladium printing, and creatively working with Polaroids. Hand coloring a river photograph allows me to create an image according to my own personal perception of the river. I start by printing and toning a black and white negative, and then paint it with oils. Polaroid emulsion lifts and image transfers also enable me to expand the visual and emotional range of the original river photograph.

Karl LaLonde is a photographer and painter. He uses both of these talents in taking river photographs and then enhancing them, highlighting a color or a shape to bring out the uniqueness of the river. Using Photoshop techniques he plays with the light on the river, altering its mood and image.

Brian Tervenski's brings to the show charming images of people using the river for commerce and enjoyment. A Beacon resident, he is a retired English teacher. And he just loves playing with his photographs and the computer.

Image above: Robert Rodriguez Jr - Hudson River Pallettes

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome marks 50th year

Intrigued by the vintage aircraft from the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome that accompanied the Quad Flotilla as it made its way up the Hudson River last month?

The Aerodrome will celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend with music, special re-enactments on the ground and demonstrations of pioneer aircraft, including the Aerodrome’s 1909 Bleriot XI which has been flying for 100 years and is the oldest original airplane still flying in the United States.

There will also be a demonstration of Aerodrome founder Cole Palen’s original 1917 Curtiss “Jenny” JN-4D (shown above). More than 10,000 of these airplanes were built, most in a factory in Hammondsport but only two or three in the world are still flying.

The museum and grounds open at 10 a.m. with air shows on both days starting at 2 p.m. The Aerodrome has four hangars of antique airplanes and artifacts from the earliest days of aviation to explore and its two 1929 New Standard D-25 open cockpit biplanes will offer rides non-stop, except during the air shows. Directions are at the Web site.

(Photo by Don Fleming/Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome)

The Hudson River Trilogy

Ellen Kozak's work is featured from July 12 through Oct. 4 as part of The Hudson River Trilogy, a Katonah Museum of Art exhibition series celebrating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic exploration of the river that bears his name. The three solo exhibitions during the year showcase contemporary artwork inspired by the Hudson River’s beauty, ecology and rich maritime history.

The Katonah Museum of Art is located at 134 Jay Street in Katonah.

Here is more about the artist from the event's release:

An artist with incredible focus and perseverance, Kozak has returned every summer to paint along the banks of the Hudson for the past 18 years, combining a tradition of plein air study with studio work, much like her 19th-century predecessors of the Hudson River School. Outside she records the visual “facts” of her subject—color, light, reflection, current, mist, and fog. While some paintings are completed on site, many are finished months or even a year later in her SoHo studio, thereby incorporating the elements of memory and time into the composition. Kozak is first and foremost a colorist, eliciting distinct moods in her paintings — the viewer can palpably sense whether a painting depicts an overcast morning or a bright summer day.

Kozak’s strength lies in her ability to translate direct observation of natural phenomena into lyrical paintings. Her paintings straddle the line between representation and abstraction. Without the reference of horizon lines, viewers are immersed in molten scenes of saturated hues and subtle movement. And yet her paintings are jewel-like, small and nearly square. Unlike traditional landscape, which tends toward horizontal orientations and vast vistas, Kozak’s format lends itself to intimate, abstract readings. While ostensibly her paintings depict the Hudson River, they are, in fact, explorations in phenomenology.

Notations on a River, a compilation of digital stills taken of the Hudson over the past two years, is Kozak’s first video work in 24 years. One image slowly dissolves into another in a hypnotic, rhythmic progression. Similar to her paintings, the images are close up views of the water’s surface; they are abstract and fluid and project a sense of topography, almost like aerial photographs. In two sequences, the early morning light transforms the water’s surface into a textured blanket of gray tonalities, while a third segment is as aquamarine as the Caribbean Sea.

Ellen Kozak is a professor of color and design at Pratt Institute.

Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?

Did you know that Henry Hudson never received a proper burial because his body was lost at sea after his crew mutinied? "Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?" an outdoor exhibition of Henry Hudson memorials designed by 16 area architects and curated by Linda Weintraub, will be on exhibit at the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony as part of the Quadricentennial celebration through Oct. 12. Hours are from dawn to dusk daily. Call 845-679-2079 for information. Byrdcliffe Arts Colony is on Upper Byrdcliffe Road in Woodstock.

Ecotones and Transition Zones

"Hudson Valley Artists 2009: Ecotones and Transition Zones," will be on view until Sept. 6 in the Alice and Horace Chandler Gallery and North Gallery at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at the State University of New York at New Paltz. It is the first in a series of five major art exhibitions in the museum’s Art & The River project extending through December 2009, which coincides with the Quad.
Organized by museum curator Brian Wallace, Ecotones and Transition Zones will feature artwork, performances, gallery talks and other activities from 24 area artists who connect global issues such as sustainability, ecological awareness and bioethics to the Hudson River Valley landscape.
Featured artist and artist groups include:
· Michael Asbill, Accord
· Robert Capozzi, New Paltz
· Robert Capozzi / Lorrie Fredette / Dylan McManus / Laura Moriarty / Jill Parisi (New Paltz / West Camp / New Paltz / Kingston / High Falls)
· Ryder Cooley, Chatham
· Dick Crenson, Pleasant Valley
· Simon Draper / Habitat for Artists, Cold Spring
· Dana Duke, Roscoe
· Beth Humphrey, Saugerties
· Heather Hutchison, Saugerties
· Tanya Marcuse, Barrytown
· Susan Miiller, Sparrowbush
· Wayne Montecalvo, Kingston
· Itty Neuhaus, Fishkill
· Franc Palaia, Poughkeepsie
· J. Gilbert Plantinga, New Paltz
· Emily Puthoff, Kingston
· Jill Reynolds, Beacon
· Ryan Roa, Newburgh
· Camilo Rojas, Millerton
· Thomas Sarrantonio, Rosendale
· Ida Weygandt, Germantown

Here is more from the event's press release:

“In selecting the artists in the show,” said Wallace, “I wanted to play off the emphasis of art in and of the region and to show that there is an emphasis on the environment in historical styles of art such as Hudson River School painting as well as in the art being produced by the artists among us now. “
Wallace added that New Paltz is an ecotone, a place where overlapping natural and social ecologies – the river and the mountains, the cosmopolitan and the rural – exist in fragile tension. “These artists work in their own mini-environments and there is a great diversity among them even as they take from and share ideas with other artists.”
One component of the exhibition, Habitat for Artists, will offer temporary studio space and a collaborative exhibition project in repurposed structures in several locations in New Paltz. There will also be a benefit concert for Habitat for Artists and ecoartspace with Dar Williams and Nick Panasevich at 7 p.m. in McKenna Theatre on June 27 (tickets are $35 for front row and $25 for all other seats); a fishing trip and Wallkill River talk with artist Michael Asbill at 5 p.m. on June 28; and two evenings of gallery talks followed by artist performances: on July 23 beginning at 5:30 p.m., four exhibiting artists will discuss their work, and at 7 p.m., exhibiting artists Ryan Roa and Darren Jones will present their "Jones and Roa Expedition" project; on August 20, beginning at 5:30 p.m., four other exhibiting artists will discuss their work, and at 7 p.m., exhibiting artist Ryder Cooley will present her "Singing Tree" performance.

Suggested admission to museum is $5. A variety of public educational activities associated with the Art & The River project are planned throughout the summer and fall, including artist and curator lectures, docent-guided tours, school programs, field trips, readings, and musical events. For event details, reservations, accessibility, or directions, visit www.newpaltz.edu/museum or call (845) 257-3844.

Windows on Poughkeepsie will be auctioned

"Windows on Poughkeepsie," an exhibit by local artist Michael Asbill that has been featured at the Poughkeepsie Railroad Station since 2006, contains 84 images, which change, depending on the angle, from an old Poughkeepsie photo or drawing to a modern one of roughly the same subject. The art work, now at Locust Grove, will be auctioned later this year. More info is here.

Fireboat rides, light show & fireworks at Poughkeepsie waterfront

Celebrate Independence Day & the Quad on the Hudson River with a ride aboard a historic fireboat, then listen to a live band at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie. Dutchess County Tourism will offer hour-long cruises on the John J. Harvey, on Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4. (The band plays on Saturday only.)

Also on both nights, come at dusk to see the first-ever attempts to project a laser light display on the powerful wall of water sprayed by the JJ Harvey. Dutchess Tourism says this type of display has never been done before, but Dutchess County's Quadricentennial Committee has found a lighting specialist who's confident enough to take the plunge.

The boat tours leave from the Poughkeepsie Pier at Waryas Park on Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. Rides are first come, first served, with a limited number of passengers on board for each tour. There is no charge for the cruises but donations to Dutchess County Tourism are suggested.

The Michael Dell Orchestra will perform at Waryas from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, the 4th of July. Following Saturday's laser show, the City of Poughkeepsie will sponsor a fireworks display to honor the birthday of the United States of America. After the fireworks, look for more laser lights, in an experiment to synchronize the lights to music.

Here are more details from Dutchess Tourism:

Built in 1931, MV John J. Harvey, at 130 ft and 268 net tons, is among the most powerful fireboats ever in service. She has five 600 HP diesel engines, and has the capacity to pump 18,000 gallons of water a minute. Her pumps are powerful; enough so that when she and the George Washington Bridge were both brand new, she shot water over the bridge's roadway.

She was retired by the New York City Fire Department in 1994, but on September 11, 2001, she answered her nation's call when she fought the fires resulting from the terrorist strikes at the World Trade Center. First the crew evacuated some 150 people, and then tied up nearby to provide pumping capacity since hydrants were not working. She and her crew stayed on duty for 3 days, fighting fires for more than 80 hours. The JJ Harvey was bought at auction by her current owners in 1999, restored and placed on The National Register of Historic Places in June 2000.

There are no advance reservations for these tours. Note to women, do not wear high heels! Children ages 12 and under must wear a life preserver at all times while on the boat. Make sure your family takes advantage of this unique opportunity to explore Dutchess County’s wonderful assets, our rich history and natural scenic beauty.

Dutchess County Tourism hosts the JJ Harvey as it docks in Poughkeepsie. Sponsors are Central Hudson Gas & Electric Company, Poughkeepsie Journal, City of Poughkeepsie and the County of Dutchess. All proceeds will be applied to promoting tourism in Dutchess County. Dutchess County Tourism is a division of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation and is funded by the County of Dutchess. Visit www.Dutchess400.com for information.

If you cannot read the poster (above), click on it to make it larger.