It's a 'RAP'
Curtain falls on Roosevelt Arts Project's 20th Anniversary weekend
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff A look at some of the artwork created by Roosevelt residents that the Eleanor Gallery displayed during the Roosevelt Arts Project's 20th Anniversary Celebration on May 5.

ROOSEVELT - Minstrels roamed the streets, structures and sideways.

Laptops in the woods sang out what's in the hearts of computer musicians.

The voices of past Roosevelt citizens carried through the wind in the treetops and through the hallways of the factory off Oscar Drive to speak of the importance of community, passion and art.

The Roosevelt Arts Project (RAP) celebrated its 20th anniversary last weekend as it has celebrated itself each day of its existence - encouraging the collaboration of talents and getting the work of local artists displayed, read and performed.

People from nearby and far visited the factory to see "Art in the Factory 2007," a showcase predominantly of Roosevelt artists' works but also of pieces created by artists with associations to the borough.

The main hallway of the factory, which typically runs as a machine shop, was adorned with work by artists such as the late Stephan Martin, known for his intricate woodcuts, the late Jacob Landau, who designed many book and recording covers, and the late Ed Schlinski, who took a shine to creating many mythical creatures out of pen, ink and paint.

The factory also had a large display of both established and up-and-coming artists who make Roosevelt their home today. Ani Rosskam's turquoise and terra cotta painted six-panel mural depicted flora beneath a structure reminiscent of Stonehenge. Her husband, Bill Leech, also had three pieces of artwork in the show, generated through the use of computer programs.

Other artists featured in the hallway were Barbara Atwood, who created pastel-hued drawings of sibling-like creatures almost taking human form in a dream-like atmosphere.

Pearl Seligman contributed a nude self-portrait. Ron Kostar showed three collage works, one of which depicted a man working in knots of water pumps.

The Eleanor Gallery, which is located off the factory hallway, showed many of the town artists' sculptures. Victoria Estok not only had a few sculptures in the show, she also created a sound installation that played in the factory on Sunday, but initially sounded out in the woods behind the town's amphitheater on Saturday.

Estok had contacted many people in the community in an effort to accumulate some of the many voices of Roosevelt. She collected select recordings and wove them together in a soundscape played near a bench where people could sit and listen and reflect. Many Roosevelt citizens such as Jonathan Shahn, Al Hepner, Naomi and David Brahinsky, and David and Connie Herrstrom could be seen listening to the lessons and stories of old that still seem apropos today.

Estok's sound installation was just one part of a larger sound project created by Brad Garton, a borough computer musician. Some of the other stops along the "Artwalk in the Woods" included cymbals ringing out sounds to the ears of passersby, tiny sound makers hanging from wires bleeping and squeaking near the heads of walkers, and a fallen tree moaning out an ethereal sound.

The Roosevelt String Band also provided musical entertainment to packed houses on both Friday and Saturday night.

The weekend culminated with the Sunday unveiling of the community mural, which over 100 residents helped to create under the guidance of Katherine Hackl, an artist from Lambertville. Perched atop a scaffolding above the shrubbery in front of borough hall, David Herrstrom, the director of RAP, spoke of the organization's evolution and the importance of artists and support for them in the local community and at large. For more in-depth coverage of the 20th Anniversary Celebration, watch for an online video at www.gmnews.com.