Four Artists Show at Warner Library

Colorful masks, digital photos both color and black-and-white, collages and pastels with a feminine touch, and drawings by a budding teenage realist are all on show at Warner Library for the month of February, Black History Month.  What these artists have in common, in addition to their ethnicity, is strength of personality and command of visual elements.

Ron Brown’s masks, as he says, “embody human emotions” and have the power to create “a sense of awe, fear, or mystery.”  They started out in the tradition of African masks, and developed unique aspects after he traveled the world.  From his trip to Mexico he picked up the idea of using feathers, and in Brazil he decided to add stones and gems.  There is also sheer sensual pleasure to be derived from looking at many of his masks.  The basic structure is mostly clay, with adornments which also include cloth, leather and raffia.  The rich colors of the faces are from paint, chemical glazes, smoke techniques, and oxides or metals in the clay. There is a well-honed theatricality to these works that made me feel like I’d happened upon a Broadway show in the library. His blue-feathered, red-feathered and multi-colored masks were my personal favorites. 

Donald Whitely is showing several of his fall and winter scenes, mostly color, done in Westchester and New York City.  Last year most of his photos were film based, he told me, but although he still likes film, this year they’re all digital.  He said that he responds to what he sees and doesn’t usually go looking for a specific scene.  In his eyes, “Everything is photoworthy, it just depends on the angle, the lighting, and your desire to take that particular shot.”   A Bridgeview in Tarrytown, with its soft blues and lightly glowing whites, captures fluffy snow on trees.  The soft nature forms contrast beautifully with the hard sloping roof in the foreground and the triangular structure of the bridge in the distance.  In Winter Stream the hard lines of the trees make the flowing water visually soft and inviting despite the cold.  The near-horizontal of the fallen tree with its vivid texture and cap of snow contrasts well with the more distant verticals and diagonals of the ones that are still standing.  A Bench in Memory looks peaceful, if a little lonely.  His versatility is evident in his New York City scenes such as Times Square Entertainment, showing performers in a subway station.   Whether or not you make it to the show you can see more of his work at www.dhwphoto.com.

Martha Evans was a life-long artist, her son Walter Evans told me, and she was never stopped by raising her family or the trials of growing old.  She lived to be ninety-two, and her son feels that it was her work that kept her going.  Could anyone doubt this woman’s inner strength after seeing her Lady With Red Hat?  While not photographic in terms of the range of values, as soon as I stood in front of this pastel I thought, I know this woman.  I’ve encountered her more than once.  She’s the one you go to when you want something done, although she might occasionally give you a bit of a talking-to if you’re not up to par in her eyes.  Other viewers may have different associations, but her psychological presence is very strong and I can’t imagine anyone not feeling something when they look at her.  That’s an accomplishment beyond illustration of someone’s features. 

Another of Evans’s works is a 2D mixed media piece called Five Women with Headdress which to me is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian works.  It is a hypnotically repetitive depiction, with variations, of five figures in near-profile.  Shown just below it in the library is another 2D mixed media image called 3 Masks, in which the background is a very homey-looking multicolored design that could have been a piece of fabric from her kitchen or bedroom.  Along with these is a delightful 3D mask, a multicolored face with wide-open eyes that have very round dark-rimmed irises with large pupils.  Hanging down from the face is a lush cascade of what appears to be mixed-color yarn.

Evans’ Face to Face has careful pen and ink work that must have required great patience.  I can imagine her absorption as she worked on this image, or on her two collages, Historical Faces 1 and 2, in which figures from different times and places mingle side-by-side.  In Historical Faces 1 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. shares his space with Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Johnnie Cochran, Jr., among others.  Historical Faces 2 is dominated by nineteenth century writer and activist Sojourner Truth, and also features a twentieth century general as well as Bill Cosby, Leontyne Price, and more.  Also, if you get to the show, check out The Sax, Ladies Dancing, and 3 Veiled Ladies, all colorful pastels.

 At the other end of the age spectrum is Steven Ferri, who at nineteen years old is just starting out.  His ability with art, he told me, was a complete surprise to him when he gave it a try at the age of fourteen.  He doesn’t remember doing art as a child.  His works in this show are mostly pencil drawings, so they don’t pop out as much as larger, more colorful works often do, but if you take the time to walk close and give them a good look, you’ll be rewarded.  His vivid renderings of rappers Nas and Mos Def hang near his careful study of a young Albert Einstein.  Nearby a “split” drawing seeks to express how the left side of the brain is “average and dull” and the right side has “all the creativity and artistic element.” Ferri says that he has been influenced by artists such as Andy Warhol and Shepard Fairey, and music such as Jimi Hendrix and The Velvet Underground.  I see more traditional portrait influences as well, and the faces he has created are as strong and psychologically present as Martha Evans’s people.  He told me that he is getting more into color now, and in the show you’ll find an Asian-style painting that began in his mind as a tattoo and ended up a canvas.  He is exploring his craft in classes at Westchester Community College and posting his work on his new blog, www.creativeflow13.tumblr.com.

The show is at the Warner Library for the rest of February.  It’s wonderful that it honors Black History Month, and the artists’ accomplishments are significant.  Don’t miss my photo of a six-year-old girl who is just plain enjoying the show.  The sheer display of skill benefits all of us.