Date: Fri 05-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-7

Quick Words:

Barnum-art-Frund-Adam-mixed

Full Text:

(3 Newtown artists in 1996 Barnum Festival Juried Art Show, 7/5/96)

Discover How Talented Newtown Is!

(with photos)

By Shannon Hicks

BRIDGEPORT - With 71 works chosen to represent Connecticut artists for the

37th Annual Barnum Festival Juried Art Exhibition at the Discovery Museum,

Newtown should feel proud to know that three of the works selected from the

125 entries received were created by females who reside in Newtown or Sandy

Hook.

The 1996 exhibition, which opened with a reception on June 25, contains works

by 57 artists from 31 Connecticut towns. Between the artists in the show and

the judges selecting works for inclusion, Newtown captures quite a bit of the

creative interest this year.

"The [Barnum Exhibition] demonstrates that there are a lot of good artists out

there in the state of Connecticut," says Discovery Museum assistant curator of

arts and collections Ben Ortiz.

"There is a pretty strong selection this year," he continued. "The exhibit

consists of a lot of abstract work. The show varies, of course, from year to

year, which is interesting. This year, for instance, there was very little

sculpture, and one year photos swept all the prizes. It really varies, and it

depends on the jurors selected for the judging panel."

Judging was done for the 1996 exhibition by Newtown artist Robert Cottingham

and Janice La Motta, director of the Paesaggio Gallery in Canton.

Stephanie Adam (Newtown) and Carol Gaulin-McKenzie (Sandy Hook) were roommates

when they went to grad school at the University of Cincinnati. Still friends,

both were among the three artists chosen from Newtown in the just-opened 36th

Annual Barnum Festival Juried Art Exhibition. Kathryn Frund was the third

Newtown artist to get into the show.

Stephanie Adam's piece is a large acrylic entitled "Moeller's Saw"; Carol

Gaulin-McKenzie submitted a mixed media entitled "Boy in a Hat"; and Kathryn

Frund's mixed media sculpture, featured in a glass case in the main room of

the gallery's show, is called "Alter, Altar."

Very strong, vibrant colors mark "Moeller's Saw," Stephanie Adam's large-scale

acrylic chosen for the exhibit. The work is named after a saw blade that

belonged to her grandfather, she explained. Her grandfather is the "Moeller"

named in the title. The painting also includes antique farm tools Stephanie

has found while out on walks.

Stephanie Adam is represented by New York City's Babcock Galleries, situated a

stone's throw away from Trump Tower. One of her largest pieces, "Teal, Five By

Five," another bright, abstract work with glossy colors, is in the gallery's

summer show of the contemporary artists Babcock represents. Stephanie has been

with the Manhattan gallery since 1989.

A Newtown resident, her studio is also in Newtown, separate from her home. She

and her husband, Peter Bagger, have two sons, Erik, 8, and Adam, 12. A

substitute art teacher in the Newtown school system, Stephanie has lived in

town for fifteen years.

"I adore Newtown," she said last week. Stephanie had not been to the Discovery

to see the Barnum Exhibit, but was looking forward to going for a visit. "It's

close enough to the city so that I can get into the `art world' [without much

trouble], but it's beautiful here."

When Stephanie goes to view the Barnum Exhibit at the Discovery, she will no

doubt be accompanied by her family. Her husband works in the film business,

and both of their boys are in love with all aspects of art, having been

exposed to their parents' careers from birth.

"We took Erik to one of my openings when he was six months old," Stephanie

shared. "They love art. They respect that the studio is a special place, and

they love visiting it."

Mr Ortiz called Stephanie's work "an interesting composition. The contrast

between the black and the colors pulls it off very well."

Stephanie's former roommate, Carol Gaulin-McKenzie, used a photograph of her

son, Micah, from when the boy was three years old to create her Barnum entry,

"Boy In A Hat." (Former roommate Stephanie Adam was one of Carol's first

models.)

The work, a mixed media that uses everything from acrylic and oil pastels to

velour paper, rice paper and Color-aide paper, is a real piece of work . Set

onto a very stiff, but lightweight material called gatorboard, Carol says she

likes to use gatorboard because she does a lot of collage work. While canvas

is too giving and masonite is too hard, "This stuff," she says, "is great!"

Carol painstakingly cuts and pastes each separate piece on every one of her

works, a process that takes months of effort. Even when a piece is first

completed, she explains, it isn't necessarily done.

"I spend a lot of time looking at [each piece of art], going back" she said

this week. "They take a tremendous amount of time. But I think the time

element, for me, is very important."

"Boy In A Hat" is a very interesting piece of art, thanks to its

deceptiveness. Connoisseurs who have followed Carol's works over the years

know of and appreciate the hours of intense labor and minute pieces of

material which goes into each piece created. New viewers, looking too quickly,

are easily deceived into thinking they are looking at a single-medium piece.

"Boy In A Hat," at first glance, looks like an oil or watercolor painting.

The work of art has two strikes against it in its position in the Barnum

Exhibit. First, it is grouped with the paintings section of the show, which

means many viewers will dismiss it as a painting. Secondly, with the work

covered by a full piece of Plexiglas - to protect the piece's innumerable,

minute pieces of paper - the lighting by the museum does not show how

intricately composed "Boy In A Hat" truly is. True, it does not look like a

typical piece of mixed media work, but its placement in the Discovery show

does somewhat negate Carol's work. But only somewhat, as the museum's curator

does appreciate what the artwork represents.

"[`Boy In A Hat'] is so well executed, very well done, so technically very

impressive," Mr Ortiz offered.

"It is such a well-crafted piece ... When I first looked at it, I saw some

areas of the mixed media she refers to, but [upon closer inspection while

leading an art appreciation class] I was finally able to look at it closely.

It is much more than the watercolor it appears to me.

"That's how good it looks," the curator continued. "All the hard work and

perseverance ... she pulled it off very well."

Carol Gaulin-McKenzie, who lives in Sandy Hook in a 200-year old house with

her husband, Douglass McKenzie, and their two children, Micah, now 11, and

Ginelle, 8, is able to do about one painting a year these days, working in her

40-foot studio. A full-time teacher in Danbury, Carol says teaching has taken

"a big chunk" of her time.

Like her paintings, Carol and Douglass are constantly working on renovations

to their historic home. Similar to her love of painting even with very little

time to do so, however, Carol would not have it any other way. Renovating the

house, she says, has taken longer than she and her husband had expected. It is

at times a painful process, sometimes interesting.

"Right now I have two small children, so I think teaching and having kids has

become more important to me than doing art, although I wouldn't not do the

art.

"At first it bothered me that I didn't have enough time to do it. I had

problems with not spending enough time in my studio, but I think I've worked

[out a balance]," she says.

Differing Views On

A Curator's Favorite

Kathryn Frund's entry into the Barnum Exhibition is also a mixed media. A

sculpture entitled "Alter, Altar," Mr Ortiz raved about it, even naming it

"one of [his] favorites in the exhibition."

The sculpture, seen primarily from the front - at the artist's request -

because it has been placed under a glass case and put into a corner, resembles

an open book in muted colors.

Many of Mrs Frund's pieces are political, which can make them difficult to

explain or describe, admits the artist. Her works, she says "are very deep ...

symbolic." "Alter, Altar," then, is an atypical example of her portfolio.

"`Alter, Altar' is a piece that questions what we value, what we worship," the

artist explained earlier this week, on the phone from Wisconsin where she is

vacationing. "The numbers on the piece can represent scientific values or

money.

"The altar is a very spiritual place," Kathryn continued. "And sometimes

people come to the altar but not always for a spiritual purpose."

While he did not agree with Mrs Frund's decision on the piece's presentation,

Mr Ortiz was very moved by the work.

"I think it needs to be viewed all around," he said. "[Seeing it only from the

front] takes away from its entire impact ... Putting it into the case makes

another statement in itself.

"It's a very special piece, a very spiritual type of image... just a jewel!

It's another very interesting piece."

Kathryn Frund's may have been one of very few pieces of sculpture entered into

this year's competition, but it obviously made an impression on the museum's

curator.

The Barnum Festival was born in 1949, two years after a number Bridgeport

business owners decided it was time to begin taking pride in and honoring

their city's unique history and accomplishments. The annual festival honors

Bridgeport's most famous citizen, P.T. Barnum, with special events for all

ages.

Ten years after the Festival began, the Barnum Festival Society

enthusiastically accepted the proposal from Paul N. D'Elia, another Bridgeport

business owner, that the festival include an art show. The first Annual Barnum

Festival Juried Art Exhibition was sponsored by D'Elia Agency Travel Services.

It was presented at the Stratford Hotel.

In 1962, the fourth festival art show was presented at the then-Museum of Art,

Science & Industry, the current site of The Discovery Museum, where it has

remained since. The contest is open to all artists living and/or working in

Connecticut.

"I am already interested in what next year's show will look like," said Mr

Ortiz.

The Discovery Museum's 37th Annual Barnum Festival Juried Art Exhibition

remains on view through August 4. The museum is at 4450 Park Avenue in

Bridgeport; telephone 372-3521.