On view through April 30, 2014 at the Mulberry Street Library is the stunning collaborative effort of five teaching artists who participated in NYPL/Lifetime Arts Creative Aging classes for Older Adults. 'Artists in the Library,' curated by teaching artist Sabra Friedman, showcases the work of Mary Didoardo, Sabra Friedman,John Mendelsohn, Josh Millis, and Antonia Perez.
Each artist brings a unique and striking perspective to their works. Mary Didoardo creates abstract paintings that are heavily layered, with color and drawn lines that build up into very rich, textural surfaces. Sabra Friedman’s recent paintings are visually spare, with abstract images that float to the surface, suggesting the ephemeral nature of passing time. John Mendelsohn works with the material qualities of paint, generating vibrant visual fields that shift between presence and absence. In his work, Josh Millis reflects the alluring, yet unglamorous surfaces that surround us, with skewed perspectives that evoke everyday glimpses of textures and spaces. Antonia Perez makes sculptures, paintings, and site-specific works using repurposed materials, including plastic bags that she cuts into strips and crochets.
I spoke to curator, educator, and artist Sabra Friedman about her motivations behind organizing the 'Artists in the Library' exhibition.
How has your experience with Lifetime Arts influenced you as a teacher?
Teaching adults through the library program has allowed me to share my perceptions and approaches to art with a very receptive student group motivated solely by the joy of making art. Making art intuitively, without so much thinking, seems to allow adults to reconnect with the aspects of themselves which may not been expressed for many years. The exhilaration I have observed in my adult students as they tear and cut paper, mix colors, and apply paint, and the freedom that grows over the course of the residency to experiment without preconceptions or the stultifying presence of constant self-judgment is an experience I share (at times, when it goes well) as an artist in my studio.
Working with the adults made me feel valued for myself, and gave me the opportunity to connect in an intimate way (in that I was letting them into my personal world) with strangers who soon became a supportive and engaged group. Each person was there for their own development but also to help to create a safe space for one another to play, to experiment and ultimately to surprise themselves with what they could achieve in their work.
The natural objects that I brought in to my classes to inspire my students and to help to make them aware of the remarkable shapes and colors in the world around us, has in turn influenced me, and some of these same images appeared in my own work without intention.
How does showing art in a library differ from having art shows in other more traditional environments, such as galleries, museums, etc.? What challenges did you face?
Showing art in a library environment is very gratifying in that it connects the private and solitary art making in the studio and the resultant work, with the public, not necessarily the art-seeking public. The environment attracts many different kinds of people and the art may affect their experience in the library in a positive and unanticipated way. We make art to be seen and a library with streams of patrons in and out each day is an exciting venue. At the same time the installation had to work with the bookshelves, signs, desks, and library essentials and interact effectively within a space that is not empty and pure like a gallery or museum but alive and dynamic with library life.