'Italy' Exhibit All June At The Beebe

Behind every successful man, as the saying goes, is a woman. Behind Thom Ciulla (pronounced "Shu –la"), the Melrose resident and artist on display throughout this month at The Beebe Estate, is his wife and "muse," Rose.  

If you let Ciulla talk, he'll also tell you that behind every picture taken, there is a story — like the one that explains "Italy," Ciulla's 100-photo exhibit on display this month at The Beebe Estate.

"Rosie and I had our 30th wedding anniversary last year," he explained. "So one year ago, we started planning a trip to celebrate it. I decided that I would take pictures, then create an exhibit and hold it at the Beebe."

This is Ciulla's second photo exhibit. 

"I held another one here, 'Paris,' two years ago, after a similar trip to Paris," he continued. "When I contacted Gary Borkan (Beebe Estate administrative manager, who books the gallery and events), he agreed and we booked it for June 2010. Rosie did all the planning: Rome, then Florence, then Sienna and the Tuscany area, and then we ended up in Venice, all in two weeks. 

"It was wonderful," he smiled, "but after 30 years, Rosie was ready to kill me."

Why?

"Every time she turned around, I was taking pictures," he chuckled.

His effort shows. Ciulla's "Italy" is one of the biggest and busiest exhibits ever held in this space; most exhibits have up to 30 pieces of art total throughout the rooms, Borkan confirmed.

"Typically, an artist has one to four pieces hung, straight across the wall," explained Ciulla. "About ten pieces per room, a total of 30-40 in all." 

Ciulla, however, is displaying 100 framed photos. Do the math. Yet, the exhibit doesn't feel crowded. All the photos are artfully displayed and in beautiful frames.

"It's like composing every photo. I had to think about every wall, every frame," he said.

His photos pulled emotions varying from shock, to amusement, to admiration from the more than 100 people who viewed them opening night, Friday, June 4. Like "Evening Ladies," a photo of a statue featuring five portly, large-breasted women, standing around, some naked, yet their private areas covered by excess hanging flesh, others semi-covered, wearing colorful, frilly skirts. Shocking, at first, and then, more reaction.

"I'm a prude," one woman in her 70s admitted quietly, pointing discreetly to the picture of 'the ladies.' 

"But I like this picture!  I don't know why," she laughed. "I first saw it at the Melrose Arts Festival in April.  I want it!"

Garrey Faller, a doctor by day, was inspired by a previous Beebe exhibit to try his hand and eye at photography. 

"It was an exhibit like this one that got me going," he said.

Today, he and his wife, Christine, both are photographers, in addition to their full-time careers. (Note: Faller's picture of the baby swans swimming with their parents, Mel and Rose, is featured in Melrose Patch's article "")

Another photo with an unique, intriguing story is "Sisters." As Ciulla explains, he was taking pictures of a piece of art showing two sisters faces, facing each other. It was hanging on a wooden wall surrounding a construction site. 

"That's what they do in Italy," Ciulla said. "They cover the wall with real art so passerbys don't have to look directly at the eyesore caused by the construction.

"So anyway, I was taking this picture, when I noticed this older Italian woman standing behind me, really agitated. Turns out, she was the artist. She had started cutting a heart shape out of her painting, when I walked by and starting clicking away. She got really mad at me.

"I finished my shots and started to leave. The woman ran up to the painting, finished cutting, pulled the heart shape out, and left. 

"That's what this half-heart shape is, on the sisters' faces. See it? If I had just come by just a minute or two, there would have been a heart-shaped hole in the painting." He shook his head at his fortuitous timing.

Ciulla, both young-looking and extremely fit for his age — he's also a personal trainer and runs The Tolerant Trainer, his own fitness consulting business — tells the story of how he got into photography. 

"I started shooting about 35, maybe 40 years ago now," he said. "The man who taught me, now 75, likes to tell me, 'the student has become the teacher.'"

Ciulla went professional for a while, shooting weddings, videos, and doing portraits, very "natural, informal portraits, not studio shots," before going into a decades-long career in the insurance business. Recently retired from it, he devotes his efforts full-time to his photography, the clients of his personal training business, and, of course, his wife Rose, all with equal passion.

"It's only because I can't have everyone in my home that we are having the exhibit at the Beebe," he said. "It's like being in our home." 

He wasn't kidding. At the opening night recepetion, the Cuillas welcomed over 100 friends, family, and art lovers who leisurely strolled through the Beebe's tastefully decorated rooms, feasting their eyes on his art, while nibbling on a never-ending Italian feast of appetizers and desserts the Cuillas had catered by the North End Cafe in Saugus. (Each artist is responsible, noted Borkan, for setting up their exhibit, publicizing it, hosting a reception, and cleaning up.)

Large silver trays were constantly refilled with mini-shish sticks holding a glistening white-red-black trio of mozzerella balls, cherry tomatoes and black olives drizzled in olive oil and dotted with basil; more trays of shrimp and artichoke heart bruschetta artfully arranged; tables decorated with large, chocolate covered strawberries; colorful trays of Italian cookies, including pizzelles.

And to drink? Italian wine, of course, as well as Italian sparkling water, orange and limonata sodas. Italian music played in the background. The combination of artful Italian food eaten while in a room filled with scenes of Italy was a powerful combination, stimulating all senses at once.

The day before opening night, Ciulla went down to the Beebe for one last lookover. 

"It's the first time I've seen it all together like this.  It looks ... good."

Tommy, Ciulla's 27-year-old son, was along to check it out and nodded his agreement.

"This looks much better on the walls here than in piles on the floor of my room like they were," he said.

The public is invited to see Ciulla's exhibit Saturdays throughout the month of June, from 11 a.m.—3 p.m.