By Claire Walla

What is the Reutershan Trust and how does it work? That was the discussion at Monday’s Sag Harbor Board of Education meeting which focused on the nature of the trust and was initially spurred by questions stemming from board members. Specifically, board members wanted to know what role does the school plays in overseeing costs related to the trust.

In the end, however, the presentation — given by Reutershan trustees Bob Schneider and Peter Solow — had little to do with funding. Schneider and Solow instead spoke at length on the merits of the privately funded art program created by Sag Harbor resident and architect Hobart “Hobie” Betts.

But it was just as well, said school board member Walter Wilcoxen, who in a follow-up interview noted that, coincidentally, Betts passed away Monday, the same day the trust was being presented to the school board. Wilcoxen felt it important to point out the program’s merits.

“Our art program would be decimated without it,” Wilcoxen said. “It’s so important that Hobie stepped up [to create the trust].”

The Reutershan Trust — named for Betts’ close friend Donald Reutershan, who until his death had been actively involved in the Sag Harbor School District — was established in 2000 with an endowment of $1.8 million. Each year, the fund generates somewhere between $40,000 and $80,000 in interest which is used for the sole purpose of fostering artistic programs within the Sag Harbor School District.

According to Solow, who administers the program for the district, “The thing that makes the program effective is that, from the very beginning, there was a vision provided by Hobie of what art education should be — and that vision was connected to the idea of bringing professional artists into the district. The program was really designed to create authentic artistic experiences for kids.”

Solow proceeded to run through 60 slides featuring images of Pierson students making, presenting, or discussing artwork — from photography projects like “Me By the Sea,” in which students documented their lives in Sag Harbor; to drafting projects, like the Bell Monument; discussions with professionals in the art world such as Vogue editor Andrew Leon Talley and workshops with world-renowned Spanish painter Perico Pastor and Condé Nast photographer Francine Fleischer.

Earlier this year, board members discussed the program’s financial structure, questioning whether or not the program met state regulations and how the trust should be classified under the purview of the school.

“In a sense, it’s a little similar to Y.A.R.D. [Youth Advocacy and Resource Development],” Wilcoxen explained. “If the money is run through our accounts at the school” — as had been the case with Reutershan until this year — “then the purchasing policies have to follow our purchasing guidelines, and they’re pretty strict.”

For example, Wilcoxen noted that the school requires administrators to go out to bid before purchasing any goods or services. But for a service like the Reutershan Trust, which uses money to bring artistic professionals to the school to work with students, Wilcoxen said it simply doesn’t make sense to bid-out services.

“How do you put out three bids for an artist,” he asked.

In the end, the board decided to keep all financial transactions with the trustees themselves, rather than with the school’s business office. Trustees Bob Schneider, Greg Ferraris and Marsha Heffner now have the authority to sign-off on all expenditures, with financial decisions guided largely by Ferraris who is a certified accountant.

“With regard to the trust, that’s not really our money, so we didn’t feel that we should have to oversee that money as closely as the money that the taxpayers give us,” Wilcoxen continued. “We suggested that the fund itself approve the money [it spends], and in that way they can act however they see best.”

As Schneider pointed out, the program functions according to the vision and the values initially set forth by Betts: “Pride of Place, Service, Commitment to Community, Citizenship, Good Works, and Engagement with the Greater World.” And in the wake of Betts’ death, Sag Harbor School District Superintendent Dr. John Gratto said he didn’t see the trust functioning any differently in the future.

For Schneider, the value of the trust is clear. He noted the courtyard at the middle/high school — which took four years to construct and is still an ongoing project — and the fact that students can do photography, printmaking and drafting work as examples of opportunities the trust has provided.

“Students get to work with materials that would otherwise be too expensive for the school district to get,” explained Schneider, who was principal of Pierson Middle/High School when the Reutershan Trust was founded. He continued, “The art program without the benefit of the trust would not be the vibrant program that it is today. It really has distinguished the Pierson art program from any other art program that I know of.”

By Courtney M. Holbrook

Art and activism will join forces at the 16th Annual Artists Against Abuse Benefit Gala on Saturday, June 25, at the Ross Lower School Fieldhouse. This event is designed to raise money for the Retreat, the only domestic violence services organization on the East End. It is their most important fundraiser of the year, according to Jennifer Palmer, the Development Director of the Retreat.
“When you’re affected by domestic violence, it diminishes your life,” said Richard J. Demato, the vice president of development in the Board of Directors at the Retreat. “We deal with women and children in crisis, and it’s important to have these artists and participants who help those in need.”
Despite the serious nature of the event, it is also a showcase for artists and their work. The gala will feature a silent and live auction, hosted by auctioneer, Sara Friedlander of Christie’s Fine Art Auction House. In previous years, the Retreat auctioned off ceramic plates, each one crafted by an individual artist. But eventually, they realized it was easier for many painters to work on canvasses.
“We felt the paintings would really allow them more room to show their skills,” Palmer said. “Plus, most people wanted to buy paintings to display in their homes. There are only so many ceramic plates people can hang on their walls.”
At the silent auction, participants can bid on 11” X 14” canvasses from local artists. Many of the artists chose themes associated with the event or with life on the East End.
Bobbi Braun is one artist who was influenced by life spent making art in Bridgehampton, where she lives today. She is grateful to participate, because she sees the fundraiser as a way to honor this location and the Retreat through art.
“I chose to paint what I thought was a wonderful field of Bridgehampton,” Braun said. “We live in a very special place on this planet. So, I believe this shows the real essence of where we live in a painting.”
Artist Pat Moran drew inspiration from his home near the Morton Wildlife Refuge in Noyac. His landscape depicts a woman and two children walking down a path to the beach. At the foreground of the painting, the viewer sees the darkness of the forests; but as the family moves forward, the scene opens to reveal the open bay.
“I liked the idea of the darker foreground headed toward open light, open air,” Moran said. “And when they come to the beach at the Morton Wildlife Refuge, they’re just having a lovely time.”
Moran also saw this event as an excuse to experiment with his medium. He usually works in monotype, a type of printmaking; for the fundraiser, he experimented with acrylic.
“I’m not a painter in a conventional sense, so this was a learning experience,” Moran said. “The imagery is more bucolic than my other work, so it was wonderful to have this chance to experiment.”
After the silent auction, guests can participate in a live auction. The canvasses on display tend to be larger, and the styles range from collage to photorealism. Ann Chwatsky, the event’s art co-chair, emphasized the generosity of the artists themselves.
“Whether it’s a collector who gives a piece or the artists themselves, everyone has just jumped at the chance to help,” Chwatsky said. “And because of that, we have a truly amazing collection of art for the auctions.”
Chwatsky also discussed the variety of art on display in both auctions. Audrey Flack’s “Untitled” uses photorealism in her portrayal of a nude woman. Peter Bynum’s “Untitled No. 224” is created on multiple layers of three-dimensional glass. One treat comes in the form of pop art; Roy Lichtenstein’s triptych “Cow Going Abstract I, II, III” will be sold together in the live auction.
“These are paintings that are just going to make people excited to own them,” Chwatsky said. “You can hang them anywhere in your house … and it’s not often that you get to be surrounded by such a variety of world-renowned art.”
The Retreat has drawn artists and participants from a variety of backgrounds. According to Chwatsky, people involved recognize this event’s importance in the fight against domestic abuse — and as an exhibition of artistic masterworks.
“It’s always important to remember the importance of the organization,” Chwatsky said. “But you can also have fun and enjoy great art.”

There is no school trip planned to Italy this year, and a trip to Spain is highly unlikely — but teachers in the Sag Harbor School District are still working hard to get the best education and experience for their students.
Peter Solow, the high school art teacher at Pierson knows a very influential person in his industry — artist Perico Pastor of Barcelona, Spain. Pastor is been staying with Solow for two weeks in his Sag Harbor home and is working with the art students at Pierson who are reaping the benefits of studying alongside this widely-experienced and well-traveled artist.
“I used to live in New York City,” Pastor said on Monday. “I lived there for 12 years, it is like a second home to me.”
Pastor, who brought his wife and son along on this visit, has produced numerous illustrations for the New York Times and now works for a newspaper in Spain.
“I haven’t had any formal training,” Pastor said, “I just look at other people’s work.”
Though he never went to art school nor sat as an art student, Pastor seemed thrilled with the opportunity to teach the kids in Sag Harbor. He has taught in other areas across the globe, including most recently Cairo and Tokyo.
While Pastor is here, Solow is holding workshops after school for up to 15 interested kids, teachers and administrators. At one point, Solow said there were as many as 22 attendees at the workshop.
He said perhaps the best thing the kids will get from Pastor is learning how to take care of art supplies. Pastor teaches the kids that materials are extremely valuable. He explains that even drying the brushes is important in keeping them for a number of years.
Solow explained on Monday that some of the materials the students were using, paid for through the school’s Reutershan Trust, were costly and materials that Solow, himself, has never had the privilege of using before. This includes Japanese brushes, Sumi ink and homemade oriental paper — Pastor’s materials of choice for watercolor painting — his technique of choice.
Pastor asked the kids to be courageous in their work, and told them that art is an eye-opening experience — similar to that of bull fighting. Pastor said his philosophy is about taking care of what’s important and valuable.

“We live in a disposable society,” Solow said on Monday. “He explained that it is important for the kids to realize that everything should not be replaceable.”
Solow said that Pastor’s workshops are also great discipline for the art students.
“This two-and-a-half-hour shot can be exhausting, and requires a tremendous amount of commitment,” says Solow. “But the kids will look back on it and we will still have these brushes from the workshops.”
Pastor told the students to learn to take chances and more importantly, with watercolor, learn to live with the mistakes they make. He also told them to lose pre-conceived notions of what the final product will look like.
“I always try to achieve maximum results with minimum effort,” said Pastor on Monday. “I’m impressed with the students in all levels and how quickly they work. They have had very good training in art and they are very thorough.”
Pastor told the students that less is often more, and that adding more does not necessarily make a better piece of art. Pastor also talked to the students about looking at artwork as symbols. Pastor has created massive pieces of work on paper that can be up to 12-feet long, with a simple message or symbol. His business card reflects this idea – the card is a copy of his six-foot long piece of paper with two eyes featured painted in black.
At the end of the week, when the workshops close, Pastor will have one big piece of work completed with the students that will show a simple symbol.
“This type of art is like putting on a performance,” said Solow.

After Hurricane Katrina roared through Louisiana in 2005, David Ebner was at a loss as to what to do next. Ebner, a Baton Rouge native, was living in New Orleans at the time. But in many ways, he was also a New Yorker, having lived in the city for 20 years. He was visiting friends on the East End and was scheduled to fly home the day before the hurricane hit.

But plans changed. In the days and weeks that followed, Ebner stayed on the East End and could only guess at what was happening in the Garden District where he lived in an apartment.

“It was pretty hard hit,” recalls Ebner. “One day, the levees broke. Then next day they said the Garden District was on fire, but they couldn’t put it out with water from the lake because there was oil in it.”

“It was very surreal to be here on the beach and with my friends in Amagansett with blue skies and this destruction is going on at home.”

Before the hurricane, Ebner had planned to buy a blighted house in New Orleans, fix it up and rent part of it out with help from the Preservation Resource Center, an organization whose mission is to save historic structures in the city.

After Katrina with the city in so much turmoil, that prospect seemed rather daunting. So instead, Ebner went back to New Orleans, retrieved his possessions and moved to the East End where a mutual friend put him in touch with the owners of a furniture store who needed a manager.

Ebner suddenly had a new home, a new job and a new life. But like many people with a foot in two worlds, the New Yorker couldn’t forget about his Louisiana roots or the friends he had there who were — and still are — suffering the effects of Katrina three years later.

So he called Lisa diStefano, an artist and a friend from Baton Rouge, and told her he wanted to organize a show here featuring work by southern artists. DiStefano put him in touch with other artists she knew and this weekend, Ebner will open the exhibit with work by seven Louisiana artists affected by Katrina at the Keyes Atelier, 12 Bay Street, Sag Harbor. One of the artist’s, Bruce Keyes, will travel to Sag Harbor for the opening. The show runs through October 28, 2008 and opens with a reception on October 4 from 4 to 7 p.m., and also on view will be art by three local artists.

Ebner hopes to make the creative connection between his two worlds a permanent one and with that in mind, has started Mason Dixon Arts and Artifacts with an eye toward curating more shows like this and maybe one day having a local gallery.

“This is a new venture for me,” says Ebner, who lives in Sag Harbor. “I’ve never done this before. I don’t know how the gallery system works, but I started Mason Dixon Arts and Artifacts because I want something that keeps me in the north and the south.”

The exhibit came about when Ebner and his friend, ceramic artist Julie Keyes, realized they had a connection through New Orleans. It turns out that Keyes’ uncle and Ebner’s cousin are friends and have breakfast together once a week at the Pontchartrain Hotel. That’s just how New Orleans is.

“She has an affinity for New Orleans and said she wants to do something to help the artists down there,” explains Ebner. “I want to start this business to keep me tethered to the area. She said ‘Let’s do a show together. We can use my space and start from here.’”

Also a priority for Ebner is giving something back to the arts community in his home state. A portion of proceeds from the sales of work during the show will benefit Frederick L’Ecole des Arts Inc. a non-profit organization in Arnaudville, Louisiana founded by artist George Marks.

“Arnaudville is across the river from Baton Rouge,” explains Ebner. “I went to visit George and he’s a young, amazing painter who took over this little town that had been blighted by the economy.”

“He bought an old auto parts store and renovated it,” continues Ebner. “The town had a bunch of drug dealers and crack addicts. Over time the cops would come and run them out and George bought these cottages from the city. They’re on the bayou. He fixes them up and rents them to artists for $100 a month.”

The community is now a thriving artists’ colony. Ebner describes fiddle makers living next door to visual artists and everyone coming out on the porches in the evening for jam sessions.

The building Marks bought himself is now Nunu’s, a renowned music club that draws people from all over the world. But part of the building is still an arts studio that houses Frederick L’Ecole des Arts which is named for one of the first families in Arnaudville and offers classes for adults and children. Money raised through the art show will help pay the center’s teachers.

“What he wants is a place that’s affordable for people to come hear music,” explains Ebner. “He’s also teaching art to the kids. For $8, parents can drop their kids off at an art class and go next door to hear music. Artists come in to teach them art — it’s cheaper than a baby sitter.”

Ebner notes that Arnaudville represents a bright spot in what has been a largely dismal existence for many Louisiana artists.

“A lot of George’s paintings were in New Orleans galleries and were destroyed,” explains Ebner. “I reached out to Lisa, because she has been struggling to sell work. Getting a roof over heads and foods in mouths is the priority. People are not buying art.”

“The artists need money to rebuild studios,” adds Ebner. “I love living here but I’m still tethered to Louisiana. I’m hoping this will give me an opportunity to do more shows here of Louisiana artists — and give support to artists who lost homes, studios or places to sell their work.”

The art on view at the Keyes gallery will represent a number of mediums, including paint, glass and woodworking. In some cases, the work is directly inspired by the hurricane that changed so many lives.

“Vernon Smith, whom I’ve never met does these beautiful bowls,” says Ebner as he picks up an example. On the bottom, he shows where Smith has etched the title of the bowl, the type of wood it’s made from and the phrase “felled by Katrina.”

“They’re like his kids,” says Ebner of Smith’s relationship to his bowls. “They’ve just been sitting down there. I asked him to send a couple for the show and he sent them all. I’m hoping people come to see his work. These artists really need the outlet.”

 “One reason I love living here is the community really supports the arts,” he adds. “I’m hoping that people will still support them.”

Louisiana/New York Artists will be on view at Keyes Atelier, 12 Bay Street, Sag Harbor from October 4through October 28, 2008. The show opens with a reception on Saturday, October 4 from 4 to 7 p.m.

 (Above: David Ebner holds “Becky’s Heart” #3, a wooden bowl made by Vernon Smith from a tree felled by Hurricane Katrina)

 

 

Have you seen those legs yet? They’re hard to miss. Fifteen feet high and in full stride against the façade of Ruth Vered’s and Janet Lehr’s home (a former church) on the corner of Madison and Henry streets.

As a sculptural piece, the legs, which are by the late artist Larry Rivers, are quite famous. But as an accessory structure without a permit, the village says they’re a violation of village code.

This isn’t something the village has come up against very much, and we think it’s going to be very interesting to watch.

There was a case like this over in Southold a few years back in which the owners of a beachfront property erected a 40 foot steel heron in their backyard sans permit. That one went to court. The couple maintained it was art — and art, they argued, is different than a structure. Art, they said, doesn’t need a permit.

The courts didn’t agree. Ultimately, after a few years and a number of appeals, a judge ruled that as artistic as it may be, the two ton bird was, in fact, a structure. The steel heron had to go — at least until it got a building permit — which it did — and it returned, not as a structure, but as a monument which incidentally exempted it from height restrictions, no doubt to the chagrin of the neighbors.

So where does that leave our legs?

Given the fact they are striding through the historic district, perhaps in the hands of the ARB. But what parameters would a board use to make judgments on objects like this? Will the call be based on what members of the board think of the art personally? Whether it’s offensive or not, too bright, too weird, too modern, God forbid. Or maybe the decision will be based solely on a piece’s size, or the number of complaints it garners. Perhaps the methods of affixing a given work of art to either the ground or an existing building will be the parameter by which it is judged. Artistic birdhouses would surely be allowed…wouldn’t they?

Like we said, this is going to be very interesting to watch.

Do we feel that the ARB is equipped to begin making decisions about what constitutes art? At times, the members have difficulty agreeing on things directly related to architecture. What happens when art becomes architecture? How will any board make that call? The requiring of a permit may well put the legs within the purview of the ARB. Forget about windows and moldings, what will this board do when asked to make a judgment call about a set of 15-foot gams?

We can’t wait to find out.