GO ART! hosted a steel drum band concert in the City Centre concourse on Saturday.
The featured bands were:
Photos by Howard Owens
There’s an event coming up for teens with a poster title that may sound a bit deceiving. It asks the question, “Is there something you want to change in Genesee County?”
In talking with lead organizer Cameron Bontrager, a more specific question came to the forefront.
“We’re giving them the tools and going to ask them, ‘what do you want?’” Bontrager said during an interview with The Batavian. “If you pause in grief and ask ‘what do I want?’ something comes to you. Ask yourself, is this nourishing or is this depleting? You don’t have to stay stuck in something.
“It leads to a life you’re excited for, it feels like Christmas morning,” he said. “You feel empowered. This initiative, this is what motivates me. You don’t have to wait for some type of status. It’s right here. And it starts to get magical.”
So back up a minute. The event that he’s organizing is for kids ages 13 to 18 to meet from 3 to 6 p.m. on April 23 at GO ART!, 201 E. Main St., Batavia.
This gathering will also be an opportunity to get together, talk, share your thoughts, feelings, and artwork if you care to create something, and share your vision of the world, your life, and — most importantly — what you’d like your life to be, he said.
Bontrager, who has struggled with depression, is a 2019 Batavia High School graduate who began to study music education with a focus on violin at Fredonia State College before deciding to leave. A versatile musician, he also plays guitar, piano and trumpet.
“I have struggled with this in school. People did their best, but they didn’t give me the tools for life. They filled my head with a lot of knowledge,” he said. “I want to listen to that space inside of other kids … to find out what kind of impact they want to make on this world, to take that and run with that. Give them the tools and access this life they want.”
The Batavian asked why he believes that he can help other kids. Because he has already, he said. He has randomly encountered kids in various situations, including as a musician and member at Batavia First Presbyterian Church, and when it seems appropriate, will engage in conversation.
“I have friends feeling depressed, I was in a place of depression, I wanted to die, I was in a place I wanted to hide away and eat a pizza,” Bontrager said. “I want kids to be able to tell us ‘I want to die.’ We don’t want to die, we just don’t like our current situation.”
He will lead the event gathering and explain that it’s really up to the participants what it will be. They can use the time to just talk, or create art, share poetry, music, plan a community outreach project, and/or more meetings, whatever they decide.
“I want to let them know I feel the same way, it’s never just you, it never is. I try to be as honest as possible,” he said. “My biggest hope is that people can express how sucky it is, and say they need something. My biggest times of growth were when I reached out for help. Your parents may not understand you, they may love you, but not know how to help you.”
He now feels that he’s on a much better path — in connecting with people, sharing his story, helping them find what they need for their own growth, and seeing his gifts come to fruition through others.
“This invitation is to just show up and speak what’s in your heart,” he said. “If you want to create art and talk about it, or if you don’t want to talk, that’s ok too.”
Artwork can be visual, written, performance or musical, and is to tell, express, and communicate what you would like to change. All entrants will be added to a drawing for a $200 gift card and door prizes. The deadline for entries is April 16, submitted to GO ART!, 201 E. Main St., Batavia, NY, 14020.
The group is not based on any religious beliefs or denominations, and all teens 13 to 18 are welcome, he said.
For more information, contact Cameron Bontrager at (585) 343-0505.
Photo of Cameron Bontrager of Batavia in a "welcome" pose in preparation for his youth event on April 23 at GO ART! in Batavia, by Joanne Beck.
Press Release:
GO ART! is excited to host the Western New York Steel Band Festival on Saturday afternoon, April 15 at the Batavia City Centre. Organized by teaching artist and percussionist, Ted Canning, the event welcomes everyone to come enjoy steel pan bands performing on this instrument developed in Trinidad and Tobago. Admission is a $5 suggested donation, and
ample parking is available at the City Centre.The event begins at 2 p.m. with a pre-concert presentation, Pan in Trinidad, with longtime Rochester pan player and band leader, Alfred St. John. Alfred was born and raised in Trinidad and experienced the first several decades of the instrument’s growth there in the 1940’s-60’s. The program continues with a concert at 3:00 pm, featuring the Lancaster High School Carnival Kids Steel Orchestra, Rochester Institute of Technology’s Tiger Steel, and the Steel Alchemy Community Steelband.
The concert will conclude on a high note with joint performance of all the bands together. Carnival Kids Steel Orchestra was started by John Marone in 1974, and is the third oldest established continuing steel drum program in the United States. The group performs numerous concerts and events annually in the greater Buffalo area, has produced several recordings, and has traveled from Philadelphia, Chicago, Disney World and Trinidad. The RIT Tiger Steel band is newly formed over the past year, offered as a class in a campuswide initiative to enhance the experience of arts for all students.
They have represented the university at events off campus and were featured in the 2022 holiday video card for the university. Steel Alchemy was formed in 2001 as a community- based band, open to anyone ages 13 and older. With an emphasis on intergenerational group learning, the band performs at town festivals, concert series and private events throughout the Genesee Valley. Steel Alchemy and Tiger Steel are directed by Ted Canning.
“I’m really excited to bring this festival to Batavia, in what I hope will be an annual event,” says Canning. “It might be surprising for people to learn that our part of the state has a significant Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council WNY Steelband Festival Release
connection to the Trinidadian steel band tradition and its founders, from the groups featured at the
festival as well as Paul Ferrette’s Caribbean Extravaganza in Buffalo, Al St. John’s Trinidad and Tobago
Steel band in Rochester, and a history of school bands in Rochester, Randolph, Ithaca, Naples, and
Dundee. I have wanted to bring our groups together for a long time, and to share this music with our
community—it will be a great time!”The Western New York Steel Band Festival is being presented as part of the activities of
GLOW Creatives, a group of 10 artists (including Canning) at GO ART! who received a grant from
the Creatives Rebuild New York Artist Employment Program, supported by the Mellon Foundation.
GO ART! programming is also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the
support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.The event is at Seymour Place, 201 East Main St., Batavia, New York, 14020-2205. For more information, call 585-343-9313. email info@goart.org or go to www.goart.org
Photo submitted from online source.
Press release:
The Batavia Society of Artists is hosting artist Mary Jo Whitman on Tuesday, April 11, starting at 7 p.m. at GO ART!/Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St., Batavia. Mary Jo will be doing a demo on Preparing for an Exhibit. Which every artist needs! The 2.o.1. Tavern will be open for cash purchases. Non-members are welcome for a $5 fee. We are always accepting new members, any medium or skill level, single $30, couple $50, and student/veteran $10.
Mary Jo Whitman is the Education Director/SCR Coordinator at GO ART! and an Adjunct Art History Professor at Genesee Community College. She has been a practicing artist for over 20 years, working in a variety of forms, including drawing, mural painting, photography, digital art, and sculpture, with a focus on conceptual art. Although much of her work is commissioned, she has exhibited in various group and solo exhibits, both locally and internationally.
Earning a MA in Critical Museum Studies from the University of Buffalo, her graduate research focused on exploring critical theory as it pertains to the construction of identity in a postmodern era. Graduating from SUNY Brockport summa cum laude, she holds a BA in Studio Arts with a concentration in Sculpture and a minor in Art History. Mary Jo also has an AAS in Fine Arts, with a concentration on Digital Art, from Genesee Community College.
Passionate about promoting and fostering the arts, Mary Jo served on the Board of Directors at GO ART! from 2015-2018, chairing the External Affairs and Gallery Committees. As the former Art Gallery Coordinator for the Rosalie “Roz” Steiner Art Gallery, Mary Jo focused on enhancing the student’s education through exposure to a variety of mediums and art forms while curating diverse and dynamic exhibitions for the community to enjoy. She has also had the honor of speaking as a guest lecturer to several artistic and educational groups, as well as serving as a juror for many exhibitions across the region, including the Congressional Art Competition for the 27th District.
This past year has been a year of firsts for Genesee-Orleans Regional Art Council.
The nonprofit gave out $147,000 through its regrant program and $210,000 through COVID relief funding, both more than what’s been doled out in the past, Executive Director Gregory Hallock says.
Better known as GO ART!, it has grown exponentially with the number and variety of programs offered for children and adults, developed a budget of $100,000 from when Hallock was hired seven years ago to $600,000 now, and was the recipient of the Chamber of Commerce Special Service Recognition Award.
The facility at the corner of East Main and Bank streets in Batavia, with a site also in Orleans County, is figuratively busting at the seams to the point where staff is planning to expand in both counties. All this is to say, Hallock was plenty armed with positive data for his annual report to Genesee County legislators Monday.
“Everything we do is dramatically stepped up in numbers,” he said. “We’re no more the best-kept secret.”
Although having only 12 percent of its revenues coming from programs and fundraising seems like a good thing, it concerns Hallock, he said. That leaves GO ART! dependent on the majority of its funding from outside sources that could revise their contributions at some point.
Genesee County’s funding has been fairly steady, recorded in 1993 with a $2,500 contribution, and jumping to $6,000 in 2004, with $4,000 in state grant funds, and declining in 2010, ranging from 5 percent to 15 percent reductions. Numbers hit a low of $6,300 in 2017, and then inched up to $6,500 and again, for the last two years, where it has remained at $7,500.
According to the report, 50.6 percent of its budget goes to administrative costs of $208,395, 35.8 percent for grants ($147,465) awarded to community artists, 2.4 percent for fundraising costs of $10,138, and 11.2 percent for programs and events ($46,167).
Grants go to musical groups such as Batavia Concert Band, Genesee Chorale, The Old Hippies, and Genesee Symphony Orchestra; and to community entertainment and initiatives, including Batavia Players, Elba and Oakfield Betterment Committees, GLOW OUT!, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Gillam Grant Community Center, Holland Purchase Historical Society, and Bart Dentino.
Staff is pursuing additional artists, such as Rochester City Ballet for a performance of the “Nutcracker” and Nickel City Ballet, hoping to showcase those groups for less than people would have to pay to see them in bigger cities and venues, Hallock said.
“It’s more to sustain programming than to sustain us,” he said.
GO ART! has also more recently printed a flyer that will be sent out periodically to keep members updated on programs and offerings, which include podcasts, dance, music, art, culinary arts, and culturally- and diversity-focused events.
“As an organization, we’re proud to have a building that allows us to be versatile in the programming we are able to offer the greater community,” Hallock said as part of the report.
2023 File Photo of Gregory Hallock by Howard Owens.
We all know -- or should -- that Sherman burned Atlanta, but like all historical characters who have become more myth than human, there is more to General William Tecumseh Sherman than his march to the sea during the Civil War.
The Ohio native was an intellectual, insightful man with a keen understanding of human character, said Derek Maxfield, a GCC history teacher who has written a 160-page biography of Sherman.
GO ART! hosted a reception on Friday evening to celebrate the release of "Man of Fire," published by Savas Beatie as part of the Emerging Civil War Series.
"Somebody like Sherman is a lot more complex than what popular culture makes him out to be, and that was part of one of the reasons I wanted to write this book," Maxfield said. "Here's a character who is not that simple."
In popular culture, Sherman is remembered for burning nearly all of Atlanta to the ground on Nov. 15, 1864, largely because of Gone with the Wind. From Atlanta, Sherman marched his Union soldiers to Savannah (the March to the Sea) as they destroyed everything in their path.
"I think one of the tasks of a good biographer is to make somebody more human, make them more easily understood," Maxfield said.
It as tough, Maxfield said, capturing somebody as complex as Sherman in 40,000 words, but he thinks he's produced the best short biography yet of the Union general.
This is the first biography written by Maxfield but his second book. Previously, he wrote "Hellmira: The Union's Most Infamous Civil War Prison."
Among Sherman's more positive traits, Maxfield said, was his intellectual strength.
"He used to love to quote Shakespeare, so he was very literate, and I think that part of him is lost," Maxfield said. "He is known as this arsonist and barbarian, at least to the South, and even some of his partisans want to remember him that way. I think it does him a disservice because he's probably the most intellectual of all of the generals in the Union Army.
"I also think that he had a deeper understanding of people than many in the administration, perhaps save Lincoln. I think that, ultimately, that understanding of human nature is one of the keys to the Union victory because he could understand how to break the will of the Confederacy and end the war sooner."
The most unredeemable aspect of Sherman's life, Maxfield said, came after the Civil War.
"I think you have to be careful judging people of another time and place by 21st-Century values, but the thing that punches me in the gut is he's the author of a federal policy in the late 19th Century to kill the buffalo in order to subdue the Plains Indians," Maxfield said. "That's the one that I find the most unredeeming."
The book, Maxfield hopes, will find an audience among people with an emerging interest in the Civil War while also appealing to people who have already read a good deal about the war between the states.
"I always envisioned it as a general audience book for somebody who might not even know a lot about the Civil War," Maxfield said. "I was aiming kind of broadly, but certainly anybody who has an interest in the Civil War, I would hope that they would find this of value."
For more about the book, click here.
Photos by Howard Owens. First and second photos, Derek Maxfield.
Tracy Ford, actor and teacher, dressed above as Sherman, wrote an essay published at the end of the book entitled "Becoming Sherman." He's signing a copy for fellow actor Daniel Snyder, who played Arthur Brisbane in the one-act play written and produced by Derek Maxfield, Brothers at Odds: The Brisbane Story
It was showtime on Thursday at GO ART! for Brian Kemp and two other artists with new solo shows in one of Seymour Place's galleries.
While Kemp had won multiple local art competitions over the years, this is his first solo show.
Kemp describes his creative process as intuitive and almost childlike, and he takes found materials of wood and metal along with Duck cloth for painting to create unique and original pieces, all while listening to an assortment of tunes for inspiration.
"I love creating in this manner as it allows for unplanned expression," Kemp said. "It amazes me what comes out of my works as they develop."
Also opening on Thursday was a show by Bryan Wright. A Batavia resident, Wright is originally from Charleston. As a child, he was drawn to the seaside and water, which remains an inspiration for his work in various mediums.
The collection was inspired, he said, by countless hours spent digging and rummaging through the earth in search of unique rocks, shells, sand dollars, and even an occasional shark's tooth.
"I truly enjoy working with my hands and find my training in graphic design and basic metal fabricating has proven to be practical when fixing things and effective when creating art with such rugged material," he said.
The two pieces below are by John Midla, who also has a new show at GO ART!
Photos by Jim Burns.
As grateful as GO ART! staff was to have gotten additional funding this year to resume the annual Picnic in the Park, it will only be possible with the assistance of other community organizations to help out, Executive Director Gregory Hallock says.
City Council agreed this year to boost the regular amount of $2,500 to $6,500 to bring back the Fourth of July event at the urging of Councilwoman Patti Pacino. Since the city wanted to approve a transfer of funds from the defunct centennial celebration committee for a resurrected Wing Ding, Pacino said she would only vote for that as long as her fellow council members also approved extra funding for Picnic in the Park. And so they did.
After seeking various ways to make it happen, Hallock feels it’s just not feasible, he said.
“With funding drying up for both the Ramble and Picnic in the Park, GO ART! and the Ramble Team joined forces last year to put on the Ramble Explore ART! and Music Festival in hopes of keeping an event alive within this amazing community we are part of,” he said to The Batavian Monday. “GO ART! made the commitment again for this year prior to hearing about a possible funding opportunity from the City of Batavia. It was a welcoming surprise when we heard the City of Batavia was willing to help fund Picnic in the Park this year; however, there is no guarantee this funding will continue beyond this year. With the Ramble just three days before July 4th, GO ART! just does not have the capacity and resources to put on Picnic as well.
“We have reached out to numerous groups asking for help, but we have been unable to secure any. We are willing to assist any organization by providing all the files and information needed to put on the event if anyone is willing and able to step up,” he said. “It is estimated that the event in today's dollars costs $20,000 to put on.”
City Council is expected to vote on a final 2023-24 budget during its business meeting on March 13. That includes GO ART! funding of $2,500 to support the arts and $4,000 for the picnic. The group and City Manager Rachael Tabelski were informed that GO ART! was committed to the Ramble and had “declined Picnic in the Park late last week,” Tabelski said.
So what happens to that funding?
“As far as the proposed budget, the line item is still in the budget, council has the option, and may dedicate or reallocate the funding through a budget amendment to general events account or not expend the funds altogether,” she said.
The picnic is not the only event not to make an appearance this year. Assistant City Manager Erik Fix recently announced that the Wing Ding Committee has put a halt on plans for this year’s event, initially scheduled for Labor Day weekend to correlate with a Wings Over Batavia Air Show. There didn’t seem to be enough time to properly map out the event, and members wanted to reconsider a date for the event.
Not all is lost for summertime fun. The Italian Fest will make a second annual return in July, The Ramble Explore Art! and Music Festival will also be happening in July, plus Friday night Jackson Square concerts throughout the summer and other concerts and special events at various downtown and across town venues to check out at The Batavian’s calendar. The air show will be making a comeback Labor Day weekend at Genesee County Airport.
File photo of the virtual 2020 Picnic in the Park during COVID, by Howard Owens.
Press Release:
GO ART! announces a Call for Artwork for its 6th annual juried exhibition, Art of the Rural. The exhibition is open to all artists. All work must be original, created by the submitting artist, and not previously exhibited at GO ART!. All media is accepted. Artwork must be ready to hang, and no larger than 36” x 36”.
GO ART! members may submit up to five works for $30, $5 for each additional work. Non-members may submit up to three works for $30, $5 for each additional work. Artists can drop off submissions at GO ART! located in Seymour Place, 201 East Main St., Batavia between March 22 and April 1, during regular business hours. No entries will be accepted after April 1.
“The Art of the Rural is one of my favorite exhibitions.” says Education Director Mary Jo Whitman. “ It is so exciting to see all of the talent that comes out of our region. It really is a fabulous opportunity for artists of every level to showcase their talents while exploring the theme: rural.”
Art of the Rural will be on display April 5 – June 5. The winners will be announced at the artist reception, April 20 from 5 to 8 p.m.
For a complete list of rules and entry forms visit www.goart.org/galleries. Contact Mary Jo Whitman at mjwhitman@goart.org with any questions.
Photo of 2022 Art of the Rural winner: "The Fog" by Julie Lambert-Coleman
The work of Batavia High School art students is on display on the second floor of GO ART! through Feb. 27.
The gallery, at 201 East Main St., Batavia, hosted a show opening on Wednesday evening.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Local artist David F. Burke provided Tuesday's artist demo on Intuitive Painting for the Batavia Society of Artists and GO ART!
Intuitive Painting, Burke said, is what happens when you have no preconceived image in your head about your finished work. You let the blank canvas lead you each step of the way.
There are no rules, no restraints.
"You just allow for each paint stroke or mark that you have made to speak to you about the next one," he said. "You are freed from the needless self-analyzing or overly scrutinizing your work. It can be meditative and self-reflective as you explore all the possible combinations of color, value, shape, visual texture, that show up through your own personal style."
A creamy casserole resembling layered lasagna with a Peruvian twist, and a sweet finale of cinnamon-dusted milk custard, wedged between a tour of an arts facility and hands-on exercises of creative works.
Not too shabby of a school day for a group of 13 students visiting GO Art! Wednesday in Batavia.
The day was part of a Youth Bureau Genesee Youth Leadership program organized by Program Coordinator Chelsea Elliott. The program offers a different each month from October through May, and February is about Arts and Culture. Elliott worked with GO Art! staff for the artistic component, and staff, in turn, reached out to members of the Peruvian Outreach Project to provide the cultural aspect.
“And they did all the behind-the-scenes work. They are the ones that thought of who would cook the meal and what the culture would be. And I let them kind of run with it. Because I knew that they would have the best connections to make this day be the best for our kids,” Elliott said after the cooking demonstration. “So each month we focus on different topics. We begin at BOCES, that's our home base. And then we go out to the community for the rest of the day, basically, for them to learn more about their community. What happens behind the scenes … a lot of these kids don't even know anything about art until today. So it's opening their eyes to other things that go on in the community, other than just what goes on in their own little towns.
"We always hope that … they can go back to their schools and tell their peers, ‘there's this great program that's in the community, you know, we should get more involved,’" she said. "Because, again, if they don't know about it, they don't know about it.”
The group of 13 students represented grades nine through 12 in five different school districts of Batavia, Byron-Bergen, Le Roy, Alexander and Oakfield. GO Art! Executive Director Gregory Hallock gave them a tour of the East Main Street facility, and Christian Houlihan of the Peruvian Outreach Project talked about his experience as an orphan who was adopted and brought to the United States and now travels back to Peru to assist his native homeland.
The students were then seated next to the kitchen while Veronica Collantes demonstrated how to assemble the authentic causa rellena dish of layered potatoes with lemon oil, chicken salad, and avocados. A dish piled high and a bright yellow, it was then served for lunch as Latin-themed music played in the background.
The kids were also given a cup of inca kola, a sugary yellow Peruvian drink, and topped off their meals with leche asada, a creamy milk custard. Elliott described it as similar to a rice pudding. No one left much on their plates or in the dessert glasses.
“It’s good, I never had anything like it,” 15-year-old Mary Engelhardt said.
Mary has known for a while now that she wants to go into law enforcement and become a deputy, so when Elliott recommended that she apply for the leadership program, that’s just what the Le Roy 10th-grader did. Other program topics include criminal justice, community service, and agriculture. It wasn’t too difficult to figure out Mary’s favorite outing so far: criminal justice, which included a visit to the jail.
“I’ve been before, but I liked it. It’s just what I want to do,” she said. “Today has been very interesting. I’m not interested in art, but it’s interesting.”
Neither Mary nor Elijah Loysen, a ninth-grader from Oakfield, had ever been to the GO Art! building. Elijah enjoyed the visit, he said.
“I think the art and ambiance of the building and the colors are aesthetically pleasing,” he said.
Kathy Houlihan wanted to educate the kids about Peru and the outreach project, while also potentially recruiting a few volunteers for future events, including a dinner and basket raffle in March at GO Art!.
“If anyone likes chopping vegetables, we could use the help,” she said.
After lunch, the students were going to meet up with artists Susan Ferrari Rowley and Gaitrie Subryan for some hands-on experience. This type of visit from the Youth Bureau only happens once a year, Education Director/SCR Coordinator Mary Jo Whitman said.
“It's very exciting. A lot of people don't realize that our building is open to the public. So having them come in and realizing, okay, well, this is actually a really cool building,” Whitman said. “There's a lot of artwork, and we have a ton of programming, a lot of stuff that might be actually interesting to them.”
Top Photo of Veronica Collantes demonstrating how to make causa rellena; Kathy Houlihan serving leche asada; students enjoying lunch at GO Art!; and watching the demonstration in between a tour and hands-on art project. Photos by Joanne Beck.
The Peruvian Outreach Project is a nonprofit organization that assists orphaned children in Peru with donations of clothing, essential supplies, special celebrations for Christmas, and educational opportunities for young women at an outreach-leased residence so that they can pursue the field of nursing and have hope for the future.
The residence, known as the Hogar Hermelinda Home for Young Women, is full, with six young women who are studying nursing and volunteering at the Aldea Orphanage.
There will be a dinner and basket raffle fundraiser to help with expenses for outreach efforts. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and dinner is at 7 p.m. on March 25 at GO Art!, 201 East Main St., Batavia. Organizer Kathy Houlihan hopes to have at least 20 baskets for the event, and winning tickets will be drawn at 8:30 p.m.
A Peruvian meal of papas a la huancaina (potatoes with Huancaina sauce), arroz con pollo (chicken with rice), leche asada (milk custard), and inca cola (a sweet beverage) will be served. There will also be a cash bar and door prizes.
The Peruvian Outreach Project has already made a big difference in the lives of vulnerable children and young people the last few years with your help, Houlihan said. The organization’s mission is “hope and compassion through work that enhances the lives of others.”
Outreach members are also striving to spread the word of the project and share the culture with others while garnering support for the work, she said.
Presale tickets are $30 and may be purchased via PayPal or Venmo at Peruvian Outreach Project, or by mail at: P.O. Box 234, East Pembroke, NY, 14056.
Press Release:
The Batavia Society of Artists are kicking off the New Year with a demonstration by artist David Burke on Tuesday February 7th at Go-Art!/Seymour Place, 201 E. Main St., Batavia at 7pm. The Tavern 2.0.1. will be open for cash purchased that evening. Membership for 2023 is open to all for $30 single, $50 couple, and $10 for student or Veteran. Non-members welcome for a $5 fee.
Intuitive Painting With David F. Burke happens when you truly have no preconceived image in your head about how your finished artwork will look, and you just let your blank paper or canvas lead you each step of the way.
It’s an exciting way to paint because there are so many possibilities and ideas for every painting! It is liberating because there are no rules, there are no restraints, you just allow for each paint stroke or mark that you have made to speak to you about the next one.
You are completely freed up from needless self-analyzing or overly scrutinizing your work. And it can be very meditative and self-reflective as you explore all the possible combinations of color, value, shape, visual texture that show up through your own personal style of mark-making.
What you paint will be your very own intuitive style, generated from all that is within you…yet very much inspired by how you see the world.
About David: "I’ve been an artist all my life, but in the last 7 years I began painting full time, have participated in many art shows and done numerous murals around the area. I received a BFA from SUNY Brockport in 1999, he says.
"My artwork has been primarily inspired by nature, and my connection to the life of the earth and that greater Mystery beneath the manifest world. I love how the effects of light and shadow, color and composition evoke subtle emotions and unconscious memories. In the last couple years I began playing with Abstract Expressionism and Intuitive Painting. It’s very liberating!"
Artist David Burke's works.
City Councilwoman Patti Pacino was true to her word from a meeting last September.
During that Sept. 27 discussion about shifting more than $9,000 of leftover Centennial Celebration money toward a future Wing Ding event, Pacino spoke up on behalf of another beloved city favorite.
“While I think the Wing Ding is fabulous and it is an event open to everyone, we used to fund the Picnic in the Park, which is also for everyone,” she said at the time. “GO Art! had to cancel the picnic.”
The city used to contribute money — about $2,500 — to the annual Picnic in the Park, but began to cut back over the last few years, and did not fund it in 2019, 2021 or 2022. The Original Red Osier Landmark restaurant presented the event in 2019, and a virtual picnic -- sponsored by several entities, including the city -- was shown on YouTube in 2020. The picnic was canceled in 2021 due to COVID protocols and lack of sponsorship and canceled again in 2022 due to lack of sponsorships.
During that September meeting, Pacino said she would vote for the Wing Ding and transfer of money, but expected support when a request for Picnic in the Park funding came around again.
As part of early budget talks this year, Pacino requested that the council add another $4,000 in funding to GO Art!, for a total of $6,500.
During Monday’s budget workshop, Councilman Bob Bialkowski asked about that line item, and City Manager Rachael Tabelski explained what happened.
“Patti asked for funding of $4,000 to be put back in the budget,” she said. “No one disagreed at the time. So I included it for discussion.”
No one raised objections about the total. In the overall category of recreation, another $12,932 is slated for community celebrations, $78,846 for the Youth Bureau summer rec program, $15,340 for the ice rink, and $15,750 for Dwyer Stadium.
Also present Monday were council members Tammy Schmidt, Eugene Jankowski Jr., Paul Viele, Kathy Briggs, and Al McGinnis. John Deleo and Pacino were absent.
2022 File Photo of City Council President Eugene Jankowski Jr., and Council members Paul Viele and Patti Pacino during a meeting in September 2022. Photo by Joanne Beck.
The Owen Library at GO ART! was unveiled today as the James R. Owen Memorial Library, in honor of the late "Mayor" Jim Owen, who passed away Jan. 19.
Owen, notoriously tight-fisted with a dollar, if not a dime, was generous with his donations to causes he supported, especially the arts, and especially music. Owen, who made no bones about his lack of musical talent (he was quoted at the event as once saying, "I sing solo. So low, nobody can hear it.") was especially proud of the accomplishments of his father, the late Frank Owen, who was a music teacher at Batavia High School.
In addition to the many donations he made to GO ART! during his lifetime -- such as the funds to help create the library, the books in the library, and the white baby grand piano, he also left a sizeable donation, Director Gregory Hallock (speaking above) said. It's enough that GO ART! can create an endowment fund for the first time in the organization's history.
Previously:
Photos by Howard Owens
Andy Rich and Brad Meholick at the Franke E. Owen Memorial Piano in the James R. Owen Memorial Library.
Carol Reband and Elain Watson toast Jim Owen.
Press release:
GO ART! will be celebrating the life of James R. Owen on Sunday at 1 p.m. All are welcome to attend. The mic will be open for anyone that wants to speak or share a story about Jim.
The beautiful white baby grand piano in the Owen Library, donated by Mr. Owen, will be played with any and all welcome to sing along. Jim would sit for hours in the Library sharing stories, talking about his father and music, and doing his best to entertain. And entertain, is what we plan to do during this celebration. Food will be provided, and the bar will be open.
When Mr. Owen donated the funds to make the library a reality, he did not want his first name associated with it. He said it was because he did not want to ruin his reputation as a frugal man, but we all know it was because he was humble and did not want the credit. He made GO ART!'s director promise that his first name would not be associated with it while he was alive. Please join GO ART! at this celebration of life event in the renaming of the Owen Library to the James R. Owen Library.
The event will be held at GO ART!'s Seymour Place, 201 East Main Street, Batavia, NY 14020, on Jan. 29 at 1 pm.
An opening reception has been rescheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at GO ART!, 201 East Main St., Batavia, Coordinator Nikki Greenbaum said.
The show will run through Feb. 24 and showcase 22 students from grades nine to 12.Their pieces cover a wide range of art electives, Greenbaum said, to meet the goal of highlighting a variety of art mediums within the class electives offered at the city school district.
“We have students participating that are from our AP Art, Portfolio, Printmaking, Drawing, Painting and Studio Art classes,” she said. “We do hope that many of our students will be able to make it to the opening reception and will be available to talk about their work.”
The artwork currently exhibited illustrates a variety of mediums from oil pastels, printing ink, graphite, watercolor, acrylic paint, charcoal, and ball point pen, she said.
Greenbaum has served to coordinate the show between the Art Department, which also includes staff Mandi Antonucci and Ashley Duzsa, and GO ART!
Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Photos of student artworks submitted by Nikki Greenbaum.
Gregory Hallock hid his personal life for “a very long time,” before realizing that he needed to be a better role model for his children.
The GO ART! executive director and father of two stepped out from the shadows to display that it’s ok to be who you are.
“Coming out was hard for me. I prayed to God every day to make me not gay,” Hallock said of his life up to his mid-20s. “My then-husband and I decided that we have to be proud of who we are. And we want our children to be proud of who they are.”
That love and respect he has for himself, his family and his children — Augustus, 7, and 10-year-old Cattaleya — has been folded into a 15-piece exhibit of various artworks that tell “My Journey” at the Genesee Orleans Regional Arts Council, 201 East Main St., Batavia.
It was a colleague, Mary Jo Whitman, working as art coordinator for Genesee Community College, who prompted Hallock to submit his first piece in 2016.
“I was doing a piece for a charity auction. And I was selling that piece. And they were auctioning it off, and I bought it back because it didn’t go for what I thought it was worth. And Mary Jo … they were doing an alumni show, and she asked me to apply for the show. So I applied, thinking that I would be putting in that one piece. Only six artists got selected. And she's like, 'you got selected, now I need the rest of your collection,'” he said. “So I added to the collection, and I decided the initial piece was about love. I had taken two chairs that were exactly the same, I cut out half of the seats on both of them … and I combined them to make a bench. For us, we were two separate people that weren't allowed to be together because of being homosexual. And then we were allowed. So that was our love coming together. So from there, I decided to create a collection based on my journey through life.”
Now 42, Hallock has embraced his persona, which has been steeped in the performing arts, having gone to school for theater, acting and dancing. He was not one to give up easily, and in fact, is “very competitive,” even to the point of making sure to win every coloring contest as a kid.
"My first piece, “(I’m) Coming Out” is a collection of stories from all different people about moments in their life, that, upon looking back on, they realized they were literally 'born this way,'" he said. "I have attached them to a closet door in representation of my childhood and the moment I came out at age 24."
His pieces use materials, such as the wooden chairs, that have been created from two separate pieces to meld into one unified bench. Even his children’s school work has been incorporated into his imagination through decoupage. The collection has been a gradual accumulation of work, much of which was found when a staffer was cleaning out his office. Much of the pieces are from objects found — literally in the street, he said — and fashioned into something meaningful, often weaving family into them.
“I love the arts, fine art is something I have not pursued, he said. “I did that collection to make people smile. In general, it just makes me smile. This is my now. There’s a meaning behind every piece. For photographs, I would make my whole family do a photo shoot with costumes.”
During his first adoption process, it went much quicker than expected, and before he knew it, Hallock and his former husband welcomed Augustus as part of the family. Then Jezebel the dog, a wheaten terrier, got pregnant and had seven puppies. His life had become wrapped up in pregnancies, and he loved every moment of it, he said.
Hallock then had the privilege of cutting Cattaleya’s umbilical cord during his second adoption, and it further strengthened his fatherhood — and personhood — experience, he said.
“And then came the biggest day of our lives: “Our Little Princess” (also one of his pieces) was born. I remember swearing that I would never buy Disney clothes or in general be that Disney person,” he says in the exhibit statement. “Well, I failed. I am 100 percent that Disney person, but when you have a daughter how can you avoid it (excuse, lol).”
Fast forward six years, and his “now” has changed, he said, to having a 10-year-old daughter, seven-year-old son who was adopted at age four, plus five chickens, two dogs, two gerbils, one cat, one hedgehog, and one fish. He is "flying high" despite having encountered some bumps along the way.
"I have been working my dream job for nearly seven years, I have gone through a bout of cancer, a separation bought a house and am living life to its fullest," he said.
He credits his family for supporting everything in and about his life -- including dressing up in costumes for photos --- and his mom's handiwork of crocheted ornaments and stockings is included in the exhibit as well.
He has a tattoo that simply states where he’s at these days: “love for all, hate for none.”
Mary Jo Whitman always had an interest in art, she said, and pursued that by obtaining an associates, bachelor and master degree in fine and studio arts, sculpture, and finally, critical museum studies. Her goal was to become a professor, which she accomplished as an adjunct at GCC.
Whitman also wanted to get involved in an art gallery or museum, she said, and was art coordinator at GCC. She is currently at GO ART! as an educational statewide community regrant program director. Long titles aside, Whitman’s craft is short on boring — bringing multiple facets of images together as a completed visual.
“I’m very interested in human behavior and how we come to identify ourselves. So I believe that our identities are socially and culturally constructed. Meaning that every single aspect of your personality, your beliefs, everything that makes you a person has been influenced by someone or something else that you've come in contact with through your life,” Whitman said. “And taking that on the next level, as adults to really be successful in life, you really have to be able to assimilate to whatever situation you're presented with. I really got into what is the psychological impact … who are you at the very root of it.”
Although she answered that for herself through these pieces — there’s an image of Whitman in every photo — she’s reluctant to share that with the world. Considered “very personal,” she wants instead for viewers to interpret for themselves what each piece means, and how they feel when they see it.
Her 18 pieces, “Deconstructed and Raw,” include sculptures and digital photos culled over the last decade, with the last two years being devoted more to the digital realm.
“I’ve always had an interest in art, pretty much my entire life. I went to school for art. And I've always, within doing my art, I'm always experimenting with different mediums, trying different things. I decided, after taking some courses in digital art, I really enjoyed being able to manipulate images in Photoshop,” Whitman said. “I like the kind of freedom it gave you. Because you can't really make mistakes. You know, when you're doing a painting or something, if you make a mistake, it's hard to kind of rectify it where and when you're working in a digital capacity, it's easy; I could just undo whatever I just did.
“I dissect myself into different identities, and break them down,” she said of her “The Disillusioned” piece. “Once the work is shown publicly, it’s the audience’s responsibility to interpret.”
Whitman was doing her grad school research, being drawn heavily into the idea of identity construction, she said.
“And so, in looking at this, I really got interested in what is the psychological impact of knowing that your identity is constructed: who would you be if you had not been influenced by this specific thing, or that specific thing?” she said.
Backdrops are taken from obscure places, such as her gutted basement with pieces of dropped ceiling torn down. That construction material is shot in wide angle with other images positioned on top and merged.
"And when it was on the floor, I was just kind of, you know, enamored with this, these materials, it was all broken up and dusty. So I started taking photographs, I took these very low wide angle photos of it. And usually, when I'm doing one of these digital images, that's my first thing I go to, as I find the central background image of it, and it's usually something wide angle, you know, from an unusual perspective, so that was kind of fitting into it," she said. "And, you know, it was kind of telling through some things that I had going on, ... and I scanned in these incomplete drawings and manipulated them so tha they're overlaid of this image, and then there' an image of me ... And then just kind of put this like introspective silhouette kind of image of myself, it's like sitting amongst this rubble."
Whitman plans to have other exhibits in the next year, she said, depicting “that mode of anxiety of who am I right now? I enjoy the human behavior.”
"I attribute much of the success in my life to my ability to assume whatever identity is necessary to function within any social situation with which I am presented. My appearance, my clothing, my mannerisms, my vocabulary, and even the tone of my voice differ from situation to situation. I am the crazy hippie, dancing barefoot at a festival as my flowing skirt chases me. I am the curator, entertaining pretentious conversation in stilettos," Whitman said. "I am the smart-ass bartender, donning pigtails and a bowtie with a mischievous grin. I am the country girl in mud-covered, ripped-up jeans, destroying targets with a shotgun and riding four-wheelers. I am an artist, conceptualizing all my observations in an array of mediums, often in wax and plaster-covered clothing. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am an aunt. I am a mom. The sheer size of my closet can attest to how many different people I can be and who I may need to be at any given moment.
"So, who am I beneath the fractured and fluid identity which has been constructed in accordance with societal expectations? The truth is, I am all of these identities… and none of them at the same time," she said in her artist statement.
How does Program Coordinator Jodi Fisher feel about her first exhibit, “Pictures and Prose?”
“It’s nerve-wracking,” she said.
Her 22 photographs of mostly color scenes focus on the outdoors, nature, and, really, “anything that’s interesting or out of the ordinary,” she said.
One muse she’s drawn to is the sky — she loves”I love taking pictures of the clouds and the infinite blues” — and gaze into Centennial Park.
“I’ve always been into art, and have never been able to draw,” she said. “I’ve always been into poems and poetry — m mom used to read poems to me every night.”
Now that she’s discovered a special lens for the iPhone — noted for capturing “amazing” photos by users these days — Fisher plans to home in on the fine details of close-ups, called “extreme detail photography.”
“I just see something beautiful,” she said. “I don’t necessarily see it as art, it speaks to me in some way or another. It sometimes tells a story about something, like an abandoned building.”
Her poem “Autumn” aptly describes a photo of those leafy trees:
Autumn
The sun peaking through
The leftover autumn leaves
Casting shadows on the ground
Blue skies above the canopy
The sweet fragrance wafting up
From the forest floor
The sharp crunch with each step
As you trek across the uneven soil
You are transported back
To a time before the lands were spoiled
Before the trees were stripped
And if only for a moment you are one with everything around you
You are Autumn
She began writing poetry, and “wanted to incorporate that with photos,” she said. “Poems and songs have always intrigued me. Those were my nighttime stories.”
The exhibits of Whitman and Fisher will be through Feb. 18.
Photos of GO ART! staff artists Gregory Hallock, top, Mary Jo Whitman and Jodi Fisher are featured in an exhibit at the facility at 201 East Main St., Batavia; various works on display; and Angie Dickson, above, who contributed some artwork to the exhibit. Photos by Howard Owens.
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