New Kids in the Neighborhood, 1967, Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978), Norman Rockwell Museum Collection.
It’s a short drive from anywhere in Otsego County to downtown Utica, but once you step inside the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute’s exclusive Norman Rockwell exhibit on display now, you’ll feel like you’re thousands of miles away.
Two stunning galleries of his famous Saturday Evening Post covers – all 323 of them — flank the installation of paintings and sketches covering the whole of the artist’s storied career and creating an exhibition that the Institute’s Deputy Director and Chief Curator Stephen Harrison says opens the viewer to “the breadth and depth of the entire career of this great American artist.”
“This is a perfect time to be showing these works,” Mr. Harrison said during a tour with The Freeman’s Journal / Hometown Oneonta. “In a world so full of strife, we might view these illustrations and paintings as a look at a simpler time but we also can see the work of an artist who portrayed the challenges our country faced throughout his long career.”
The exhibit – which runs through September 18, 2022 – opens chronologically with some of Mr. Rockwell’s earliest works – illustrations and paintings for Boy’s Life magazine that framed what Mr. Harrison called the artist’s “lifelong commitment to the Boy Scouts of America.”
The AP reported Tuesday, Sept. 14, that a federal judge in Utica has temporarily blocked New York State from requiring vaccinations for health care workers regardless of a religious exemption.
The decision came after a group of doctors and nurses filed a lawsuit claiming the mandate was a violation of their rights.
A possible solution to worker shortages in Otsego County could be employing refugees and resettling them in Otsego County communities, some local leaders suggest.
Al Rubin, CEO of the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, and Tom Armao of the Country Club Auto Group, said they are having preliminary discussions in finding ways to alleviate the problem of understaffing and the idea of resettling refugees came up extensively in their conversations.
Richard Friedberg, well known in Oneonta artistic circles, discusses “Big Wave,” one of nine sculptures based on natural disasters that go on display Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute in Utica. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
UTICA – “Terrible Beauty,” an exhibit of monumental sculptures by an Oneonta-area artist, Richard Friedberg, will open Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art in Utica.
Developing a novel aluminum mesh as his raw material, Friedberg’s nine sculptures in the show are based on such catastrophes as BP’s Deepwater Horizon wellhead blowout in the Gulf of Mexico and the Fukushima nuclear accident and resulting tsunami.
WINTER PROGRAMS – 1 – 3 p.m. Bring the kids for some learning fun over February break. Choose from programs ‘Forest as a Habitat’ featuring interactive games on how action of animal & humans affect the forest, or ‘New York State Breakout Box’ families try to open the Breakout Box with their knowledge of NYS social studies. Free, open to public. Oneonta History Center, 183 Main St., Oneonta. 607-432-0960 or visit www.oneontahistory.org/index.htm
PLAINFIELD – Janet Kay Johnson Talbot, 64, retired CFO at the House of the Good Shepherd, Utica, passed away peacefully with her family beside her on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019,at MVHS Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in New Hartford.
Janet was born on May 17, 1955, in Herkimer, a daughter of the late Elmer and Katharine (Oliver) Johnson. On Oct. 1, 1977 she married the love of her life, David Talbot, and enjoyed many years of blessed matrimony.
Anna D’Ambrosio, Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute president, examines delicate Floriform vases, a Tiffany specialty.
UTICA – Heat wave be damned — at the Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute is bringing the fire.
“The Hot Glass Road Show” – The Corning Museum of Glass’ mobile glass-blowing studio – will be here from Friday – Aug. 2 – until Aug. l1, with demonstrations, classes and live glass-blowing exhibitions, all parked on the MWP’s front lawn at 310 Genesee St.
It’s part of the institute’s Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit, on view through Sept. 8. “To see this Tiffany glass in person, you really understand why it is the pinnacle of stained glass,” said Anna D’Ambrosio, MWP president. “He was painting with color and light in 3-D.”
The exhibit – a traveling show that was last at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa – contains 60 pieces from the private Driehaus collection in Chicago, including the “River of Life” window.
LECTURE – 6:30-8 p.m. Learn the basics of converting lawn to a wildflower meadow from OCCA/Mohican Farm Be Informed Lecture Series. Mohican Farm, 7207 State Route 80, Cooperstown. Info, occainfo.org/signup/, 607-282-4087.
WOODSMEN’S FESTIVAL – 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Festival celebrates way people use, work with wood. Features lumberjack events, woodworking demonstrations, horse-drawn wagon rides, local vendors, mill tours, food, music, crafts, science exhibits, more. Cost, $9/adult. Hanford Mills, 51 Co. Hwy. 12, East Meredith. 607-278-5744 or visit www.hanfordmills.org
FALL ART SHOW – 1 – 3 p.m. Fall show features works by Leatherstocking Brush & Pallete Club, local artists. Includes bake sale to benefit Springfield Historical Society. Gym, Springfield Community Center, 29A, Springfield Center. 607-264-3375 or visit springfieldhistoricalsocietyny.org
Awaiting President Trump in downtown Utica, members of “Indivisible Mohawk Valley” speak to a large crowd in the plaza of the State Office Building. The President’s arrival in the city brought out 1,000s of demonstrators, both in support and opposition of to the president. (Parker Fish/AllOTSEGO.com)
FAMILY DANCE – 6 p.m. Put on your semi-formal best and bring the whole family for a fun night out, families of all sorts welcome. Cost, $25/family. Unitarian Universalist Soceity of Oneonta, 12 Ford Ave., Oneonta. Call 60-7-386-1508 or visit www.facebook.com/otsegopride/
ART CLASS – 3:15 – 5 p.m. Kids learn about “The Great Wave” print by Japanese artist Hokusai, then make their own prints. Cooperstown Art Association. Call 607-547-9777 or visit www.cooperstownart.com/for-kids.html
CHESS NIGHT – 7-11 p.m. Chess enthusiasts of all levels welcome to play. Includes free lessons for beginners. Hunt Union Cafeteria, SUNY Oneonta. Call 607-386-3589
Jessica M. Gaston and her beloved Rottweiler, Shiva.
EDMESTON – Jessica M. Gaston, 33, of Utica, an athlete and accomplished singer while attending Edmeston Central School, passed away unexpectedly in Utica, where she was working for Bank of America.
Jessica was born on Jan. 1, 1984 in Norwich, the daughter of William L. and Tammy M. Martin Gaston Jr.
She is survived by her parents William L. Jr and Tammy M. Martin Gaston of Edmeston, sister April Gaston of NJ, brother William L. Gaston III of Edmeston, nieces Saffiyah, Zainab, and Rose, nephews Mohammed, and Riley. Also surviving are many aunts uncles and cousins.
3-D DESIGN WORKSHOP – 3:30-5 p.m. Come tinker with your designs for 3-D printing. Create your own Fidget Spinner. Ages 8+. $4 material fee to print your spinner. Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. hmloneonta.org/calendar/
COOPERSTOWN – Bassett Healthcare is looking to bring Oneida Healthcare into the Cooperstown-based network as a “full member” at the end of a two-year agreement reached this month, Bassett President/CEO Vance Brown reported today in a letter to employees.
“Under the terms of the two-year agreement (signed Dec. 9), OHC will remain an independent organization governed by its current board,” Brown wrote. However, “if the initial working relationship proves beneficial for both organizations, it would be both parties’ ambition to bring Oneida Healthcare into BHN as a full member.”
The Bassett CEO calls Oneida Healthcare “an ideal partner,” as it is financially sound and has a 101-bed acute-care hospital on Genesee Street in the City of Oneida, “just down the road from Bassett’s primary care clinic in that city.”
Here is the full text of the memorandum of understanding:
