Gayle Wagner and Elizabeth Wagner at Westhampton Free Library

Flowers and Candy Photographs, February 2016

February is the perfect month for an exhibit by mother and daughter artists, Gayle and Elizabeth Wagner. Valentine's Day is celebrated with flowers and candy, and what better way to enjoy a treat than to see what they have done with these subjects. Magnificent color. Both artists exude a passion for color along with an understanding of how to use it.

     Elizabeth's work is true "eye candy" with a sense of humor. Gummy bears with attitude! Her titles "Sucker Punch," "Mean Girls," and "Teeth" hint at what is in store when you view these gems. The formality is not lacking either. "Blue Crush" is an arrangement of all blue M&Ms, rock candy, jellybeans, and Jolly Ranchers. "Teeth," my favorite, is a minimalist row of colorful gumdrops on a field of white.    

     Gayle's flower photos are wonderful zooms into nature. She celebrates the color and shape of blossoms at their most beautiful, in all weather. "Rain, Rain, Go Away" evokes the freshness of spring with reflective water drops on petals. Whatever your favorite flower or color, you will find new appreciation here. "Sunflower Lover" displays the warmth and sunshine of yellows and oranges with the peak greens of mid summer. 
     All the photographs in the exhibit are beautifully framed with white frames. They look great scattered throughout the library and in the gallery, but would look even better on the wall in someone's house. The sizes range from 8" x 10" to 20" x 30" and prices are reasonable. If you are looking for something to brighten your décor, grab a few of these before the Wagners become too famous.

The Long Island Museum at Stony Brook

The LIMarts Members' Exhibition, One Square Foot at the Long Island Museum was restricted to square images on identical boards. That's one way to show talent on an equal footing. This show featured work by a mix of hobbyists and professionals. That's always the problem with a member's show. Anyone can join and have the wall space. However, this show had beautiful work by some of our more experienced local Long Island artists, and I was delighted to see the work. 

     This show was open from December 4, 2015 to January 31, 2016. I guess the museum has to find something to fill its space when they are technically closed for the month of January. But at least it was FREE. The new fee to see the museum is $15. That keeps me away. Does anyone else think the fees are just too high? The artists' membership fee for LIMarts is $75 per year. That's how much each artist had to pay to get into this exhibit. For that fee, artists get free visits to the museum all year long. The general public pays individual membership of $40 per person. Seniors pay $25 per year, but there is no senior category for LIMarts membership; it is still $75. 

     How many other museum or arts council membership organizations charge artists a fee to join for the year, and offer inclusion in a members' exhibition? What are the other fees? Guild Hall in East Hampton, The Parrish Art Museum in Watermill, the East End Arts Council in Riverhead, The Brookhaven Arts Council, The Patchogue Arts Council, The Huntington Arts Council, The Art League of Long Island -- all worthwhile organizations where anyone can show art, for a fee. Public Libraries on Long Island are another place to show your work. If you are a serious amateur and your work is fairly good, you will have no trouble getting a show at your local library for NO FEE. But you need to organize and hang the exhibit and pay for the framing, as well as design, pay for and mail your own invitations. A small amount of publicity is handled by the library. Often you need to agree to give an artist's talk or workshop for no pay. If someone takes your work, there is no insurance to handle it.

     I think there is something wrong with this scenario. If the work is good, shouldn't we be paying artists for exhibiting? Or at least giving them a framing subsidy or grant? After all, without artists, there would be no exhibits.