My friend, Steve Epstein, is part of an art show called “Art at Bay” at the tip of Staten Island from March 5th to 28th this month. They had an opening reception last night. It was the first time I’d ever been further than Richmond Ave, but I’d heard about Bay Ave. and it’s views of the Statue of Liberty and the city. It didn’t disappoint.
Staten Island to me was always a really scary place. In my imagination, I always pictured the underground activities that take place on an island which refuse is known to go. Pictures of mobsters prance through my head and a pistol in a pear tree. All kidding aside, the dense nature of the island and not having any kind of GPS system, nor any map- left me to think about ending up in a sleazy neighborhood and having my ass handed to me on a plate.
The worst thing about Staten Island are the traffic grids- there aren’t any. Roads take crazy hairpin turns, the same names can be found in multiple places- (Richmond Ave, Port Richmond, Richmond Blvd, etc, etc, etc.), and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many traffic lights condensed into one place, pot holes everywhere. Now, if your alone with a print out from Mapquest you’re trying to read as you drive, it could be a downright nightmare. The obstacles come up fast and furious; car choked streets, double parked cars, traffic lights, pot holes, jay walkers, all the while trying to navigate a maze of directions. My printout when I crossed the Goethals Bridge went as follows:
1) Take Exit 12 Todt Hill Rd/Slosson Ave - .01mi
2) Turn slight left on to Lortel Ave - 0.0 mi
3)Turn Left on to Slosson Ave -.2 mi
4)Turn Rt. on to Victory Blvd - 2.9 mi - HURRAY! I have time to read!
5)Turn Lft on Bay Street - .3 mi
6)Turn SHARP LEFT onto Nick LaPorte Pl - 0.0 mi
7) Turn Left on to Stuyvesant Pl - 0.0 mi
8) Stuvesant Pl becomes Bay Street - 0.0 mi
9) 70 Bay St on Right - 0.0 mi
Oh, I forgot to add the Staten Island attitude which basically says. “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re going to slow, or you’re looking at me funny, you don’t belong on Staten Island and I can attempt to get you out by HONKING at you!”
Regardless, of how difficult the drive was- if you knew the roads, the people and the surroundings, it’d be relatively simply. My New York plates provide a LITTLE ease. It’s practically opposite the Staten Island Ferry which would be really convenient for you NYC dwellers. I believe the train is close also. Take public transport- save the planet and yourselves!
I felt compelled to visit my friend Steve Epstein because of my love for his work, but also the name of the exhibit: “Emotional Rescue”. It’s a favorite song of mine by the Rolling Stones, something when I read the lyrics, I designated it as an internet name- ERescue. It was perhaps a sign from the cosmos telling me it was a place I needed to go.
He has two long time friends- Neil Besignano and Michele Guttenberg- who he’s talked about before. I’d seen their paintings at his place and was always impressed with the work. I was fortunate to arrive before the crowds when I could take time to walk around chit-chat and enjoy. The space is great and the artists- fabulous. One of the paintings Michele had done was a couple I’d seen photographed for a small publication called “The Sun”- one of the most INCREDIBLE magazines for compassionate people EVER. In my mind, that said a LOT to me. Subject matter always said a lot to me about a person. Neil’s patterns and subject matter, attracted me a great deal. There was one of crumpled yellow tarps which was absolutely STUNNING. I kept going back to it again and again. I believe it was my favorite of the show. There were one’s of beach trash with a focus on crumpled containers- empty bottles, dead fish, and stones. An entire painting of cigarette butts, worn tires. I think he has a new fan.
I own a few of Steve’s paintings. He did my portrait; the best portrayal of me, ever done. If you look at “my photos” in our Funk Thunder folder, you’ll find a portrait of Joe & I, done by Steve. He does more than just portraits, but contemporary abstract work- FASCINATING stuff. He works in radiology in a hospital, and is often pulled into the emergency for situations. How he does it, I don’t know, but the impact appears in his paint. I feel he’s a painter who NEEDS to paint. Steve had a featured painting in Lurzer’s Archive Special of the “200 Best Illustrators Worldwide” 2007-08. A tremendous achievement, but as most artists is tied up in every day wage earning.
Getting out and doing things is the catalyst of creativity. Nike said it best in their advertisements- “Just do it”. The more you explore, the more it comes to you- the purpose, the meaning, the inner salvation you need to cope with all the nastiness which surrounds us. It may take a maze of city streets, but there’s peace at the end of the journey. Good day all.