Craft show depicts the art of personality

By CHARLIE BUTERBAUGH

HURLEYVILLE, NY — A decorative broken-glass holder, a miniature 1930s coupe complete with rumble seat and spark plugs and a model airplane assembled from household wares that once collected dust are just a few of the objects featured in the Catskill Art Society’s new show, “Colors and Crafts: Artists Make Crafts.”

From multiple vantage points, the show is an American collector’s dream; it’s a collection of what curator Jonathan Hyman was able to find during his travels as a photographer in and outside of Sullivan County, and as Hyman explains, the pieces in the show represent a collection of personalities.

“I think the reason the show is so cohesive is that the personalities of the people are working in service of their objects and art,” Hyman said.

“The pieces speak truthfulness, and it comes through in service of why they make art.”

Some of the 18 creators have never shown their work before, and a few hesitated when Hyman asked them to participate. Others are experienced artists. One unifying theme is that each piece manages some kind of transformation.

Jane Jacobs of Forestburgh, a potter who specializes in Chinese and Japanese traditions, adds to the show’s comic side with her cookie jars that double as burial urns.

After some convincing, Paul Pisano, a part-time resident of Cochecton and well-versed artist, allowed Hyman to display some of his woodcuts, carvings that convey messages of social satire. One shows an image of an entrenched homeless man with the New York cityscape in the background. Normally, the woodcuts serve as templates for prints after they are rolled with ink, but Hyman persuaded Pisano to display the carvings as art.

On his way to the Museum of American Folk Art, Hyman met “Liberty” George Dukov, a Bulgarian sculptor who carries his Statue of Liberty masks by bicycle every day over the Queensboro Bridge to a street-corner “gallery” at 55th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Kathy Rieser of North Branch, who specializes in the art of found objects—which she collects during her travels as the owner of a trash business—has on display her small decoupage tables and a decoupage bust.

In his curatorial statement, Hyman writes, “Through the ages, much has been made of the differences that separate fine arts from crafts. While I find the various nuances between the two to be an interesting discussion, I have organized this exhibit with the expressed intent of blurring the line between the two.”

On his way to do business at Cornell University, Hyman met Frank Baker, who worked for the Town of Tioga Highway Department for most of his adult life. When he retired, Baker set up a small workshop to keep himself busy, and he began creating models of heavy equipment and other kinds of machinery. On display are Baker’s 1930s coupe and a model front-end loader.

Hyman said there’s no denying that most of the work could be described as folk art.

“But the people are doing these things in a way that transcends that label,” he said.

The show will be on display in the Beck Gallery, inside the Sullivan County History Museum, until October 31.

For more information call 845/436-4227 or visit catskillartsociety.org.