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Much More to Worcester Than Weather
(Part 1)
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Mary DeBerry
January 6th 2008 |
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 For most New Englanders, Worcester is thought to be nearly on the edge of the universe in western Massachusetts, and has the worst weather in New England. We are wrong on both counts. The absolute worst weather in New England is at the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and Worcester is much closer to central Massachusetts, not western.
The point is, we can be dead wrong in our perception of places. Although Worcester does sometimes have odd weather - In 1954 the deadliest tornado in New England's history killed 94 people there - Worcester has been quietly growing a vibrant and rich arts community that is ready to literally jump out of the woodwork and surprise people.
One glowing and growing gem in Worcester is The Park Hill Gallery. It stands unobtrusively on Rte. 9 in a small wood frame house. It is co-owned and managed by David Wackell and David Maki. I made a day trip up to The Park Hill Gallery to meet with David and Sumiyo Wackell and view their work. I was truly amazed at the breadth of work and high level of creative talent displayed in the small, but welcoming space.
In fact, there was so much to see and experience in The Park Hill Gallery, I decided to bring this story to you in two parts. This part is mostly about David Wackell and Svetlana Burinskaya, fellow artists that create truly unique works of art together in a unique way.
Sumiyo, David and Svetlana all started out as individual contemporary abstract artists. Initially David was interested in woodcuts, working with 3-D forms, actually cutting through the wood and presenting his work in triptychs. A small sample of this work is at the gallery and I found it to be highly energized. In person David is a soft-spoken, reserved persona. However, at closer inspection of his art, and in talking about his art, it becomes evident that David thinks about his creations in a very personal, extremely detailed and spiritual (as in cosmic conscience) way.
His work with Svetlana came about quite accidentally through experimentation with their art. Even though Svetlana emigrated from Russia, and David was born and raised in the United States, they found they shared a similar philosophy and creative energy in their artistic work. So they decided to collaborate.
Now I can tell you that I have played duets with a partner, and danced with a partner, but this approach to art seemed much more difficult to me. David and Svetlana create their "Conversations", painting with the same palette on the same canvas at the same time. Both work with and around each other, paint brushes in hand. And no, they never bump into each other.
It is during these highly focused, creative sessions that David "hears" the painting. He hears it as music. "You have to be really tuned in to the other person," David admits. It's almost a psychic connection that makes this work. Swirls of color meld into each other as if sketched out ahead of time - which they are not.
The paintings are created spontaneously like a piece of music. In jazz, you know what the base line is, and if you feel the groove and have the talent, you can join in anytime. Each performance is unique. For David and Svetlana, it is a very natural process and the results are stunning, beautiful contemporary art pieces.
David and Svetlana have created over 400 paintings with this technique and many have already been sold. Their work is also on display in other galleries throughout the country.
In Worcester, through the work of the Worcester Arts Group, a collection of local art works are on display at Jumpin' Jays Nightclub, including some of the "Conversations" from Svetlana and David.
For directions and other information on Jumpin' Joe's please visit: http://www.jumpinjoesnightclub.com/
For more information on The Park Hill Gallery please visit: http://www.socialweb.net/Places/5415.lasso |
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