Laura
04-09-2008, 11:11 PM
http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/04/09/time_off/entertainment_news/doc47fd04fa924e2552120215.txt
Artfully Enabled
ArtFirst! highlights the power of art to make a positive impact in people’s lives.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 2:08 PM EDT
By Susan Van Dongen
Photographer Leigha Emma Cohen finds inspiration close to her home, including scenes of Carnegie Lake. Her work is on view at the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Unlike some photographers who travel the world to capture exotic images, Leigha Emma Cohen stays pretty much within a 20-mile radius of her home in Lawrence.
Part of the reason is, physical challenges, including chronic pain syndrome, limit her mobility.
How lucky she is, though, to have nature’s beauty so close — as near as the Delaware & Raritan Canal, Carnegie Lake and Washington Crossing State Park.
”New Jersey is beautiful,” Ms. Cohen says. “Carnegie Lake is always like a retreat for me, so is the D&R Canal. I enjoy finding little towns in the middle of nowhere, especially places where there are barns. I’m a fairly recent transplant— I moved here 25 years ago. The rest of my life was spent in New York City, so this is like the country, quite rural to me, something I didn’t have growing up.”
Taking photographs of the natural settings around central New Jersey is healing to Ms. Cohen, physically, psychologically and spiritually. In fact, she feels that art has given her a new identity, she’s not just labeled a physically challenged person.
”Being able to do my art makes me feel I’m still a part of traditional America,” Ms. Cohen says. “Instead of having the label of ‘disabled,’ I also have this wonderful label of ‘artist.’ It’s very powerful and makes a difference in my life.
”I always seem to have a headache and I can’t get out as much as I used to, but 20 or 25 times a year I can go do my shooting,” she adds. “Sometimes I can’t break through the headaches if they’re getting me down. But I can sit here and stare at my computer and I can be creative.”
Ms. Cohen is one of more than 100 artists to be showing work at ArtFirst!, an international juried art exhibition and sale showcasing the works of professional artists with disabilities in the lobby and halls of University Medical Center at Princeton, through May 9. Sponsored by the hospital’s Auxiliary, ArtFirst! showcases the diverse talents of artists in the disabled community and also highlights the power of the arts to make a positive impact in people’s lives.
Now in its sixth year, the exhibit is an opportunity for both seasoned art collectors and first-time buyers, with painting, photography, sculpture, handmade jewelry and artisan crafts on view. ArtFirst! is the Auxiliary’s premiere fundraising event. Proceeds will be dedicated to the hospital’s Maternity Child Health Program.
Jurors for this year’s ArtFirst! are Gordon Haas of Lambertville’s Haas Gallery and Tony LaSalle of Lasalle Gallery, also in Lambertville.
Artists from as far away as India and Guatemala are participating this year. However, there are a number of artists from New Jersey in the show as well, including a handful from central New Jersey.
Jeff Belpanno of Hightstown started painting in the fall of 2001, three years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 40. Mr. Belpanno uses pastels and acrylic paints, often creating seascapes and other nautical scenes, as well as abstract art.
Plainsboro resident Kay Jones also lives with Parkinson’s disease. A printmaker, she studied at the Community Art Center of Wallingford, Pa. Her work has been accepted in numerous juried shows in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. One of her pieces was a purchase award winner in the New Jersey Historical Commission Show.
A self-taught painter born in India and now living in South Brunswick, Vimala Gade works in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pencil and paint on silk fabric. Ms. Gade, who came to the United States in 1988 and earned a master’s degree in fine arts in 1994, has limited mobility due to the effects of rheumatoid arthritis. She exhibits her artwork locally and credits painting with keeping her mind alive and active.
Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Joyce Lichtenstein of Princeton has been painting most of her life, working in pastel, watercolor and oil. She contracted polymyositis in the 1980s, and spent years in bed until the debilitating neurological disease was diagnosed. She was later able to use a wheelchair and learned to walk again, although with difficulty and pain.
Trained as an electrical engineer, Ms. Cohen worked at Princeton Plasma Physics Labs and then Science Applications International in the 1980s. She was working at Verizon Wireless and began to experience severe headaches, which eventually became total body pain. She kept working but found that she was experiencing longer and longer periods of disability.
”Then about three and a half years ago, things just fell apart as far as coping with the pain,” Ms. Cohen says. “I hit a wall. I was also struggling emotionally. Then I was in a car accident, and then my conditions started to be diagnosed. But all this coincided with me picking up my camera again. I had bought a digital camera just months before I became ill.
”That’s the good and the bad side of being disabled,” she continues. “I was a workaholic for many years and, although I had done photography when I was younger, I had stopped doing it, probably for more than 25 years. I would get out with my children and enjoy nature although I wasn’t visually connected to things. I remember being counseled by someone that illness is your body trying to tell you something. If we’re working too hard, we sometimes don’t hear this.”
Ms. Cohen studied photography in New York at Queens College, the New School and Pratt Institute. Her work has appeared in shows at the Ocean County Library in Toms River, Gallery 125 in Trenton, the Ellarslie Open XXV and M. Geis Gallery, in Lakewood. She names Eugene Atget, Brassai, Alfred Stieglitz and Walker Evans as major influences.
”The black and white photography from 1900 to 1945 or so are some of the best things in the world to me,” Ms. Cohen says. “My roots are in black and white photography and I remember when I was studying, I would just ogle it. There aren’t a whole lot of color photographers that I love, although this is my role now. I’ve come to very much like Clyde Butcher, who is kind of the Ansel Adams of Florida, taking these wonderful portraits of the Everglades. His work evokes these visual responses, like tasting a fine glass of wine, and it just adds to my visions.”
In addition to central New Jersey, Ms. Cohen makes it out to the Southwest every once in a while, where the warm, dry climate agrees with her physically, and the landscapes inspire her artistically.
Photography and spending time in nature are part of a holistic approach Ms. Cohen utilizes to work through her own challenges, but she also counsels people with similar problems to try her ideas.
”I coach people to do (healing) things without medication,” Ms. Cohen says. “You don’t have to go out of your mind with things, it could be something as simple as getting into a nice, warm, therapeutic pool. I have a whole armory of ideas I use and people have to find out what works for them.”
Ms. Cohen says she has learned to live in a “middle place” where she doesn’t do too much or too little.
”I have limitations and can do things as long as I don’t overdo,” she says. “That’s what I learned in the last few years — I’ve learned about boundaries. ‘Disabled’ is a label I struggle with sometimes. Part of me knows I can’t do things I used to do, but I’m still a bright and creative woman and there are things I can do, so I focus on that. I’m always going to have pain, but how I dance with my pain is how I’ll cope with it.”
ArtFirst!, with photography by Leigha Emma Cohen, is on view in the lobby and hallways of the University Medical Center at Princeton, 253 Witherspoon St., Princeton, through May 9. Free. The artwork can be viewed daily from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (609) 497-4211; www.princetonhcs.org. Leigha Emma Cohen on the Web: www.leighacohenphoto.com
Artfully Enabled
ArtFirst! highlights the power of art to make a positive impact in people’s lives.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 2:08 PM EDT
By Susan Van Dongen
Photographer Leigha Emma Cohen finds inspiration close to her home, including scenes of Carnegie Lake. Her work is on view at the University Medical Center at Princeton.
Unlike some photographers who travel the world to capture exotic images, Leigha Emma Cohen stays pretty much within a 20-mile radius of her home in Lawrence.
Part of the reason is, physical challenges, including chronic pain syndrome, limit her mobility.
How lucky she is, though, to have nature’s beauty so close — as near as the Delaware & Raritan Canal, Carnegie Lake and Washington Crossing State Park.
”New Jersey is beautiful,” Ms. Cohen says. “Carnegie Lake is always like a retreat for me, so is the D&R Canal. I enjoy finding little towns in the middle of nowhere, especially places where there are barns. I’m a fairly recent transplant— I moved here 25 years ago. The rest of my life was spent in New York City, so this is like the country, quite rural to me, something I didn’t have growing up.”
Taking photographs of the natural settings around central New Jersey is healing to Ms. Cohen, physically, psychologically and spiritually. In fact, she feels that art has given her a new identity, she’s not just labeled a physically challenged person.
”Being able to do my art makes me feel I’m still a part of traditional America,” Ms. Cohen says. “Instead of having the label of ‘disabled,’ I also have this wonderful label of ‘artist.’ It’s very powerful and makes a difference in my life.
”I always seem to have a headache and I can’t get out as much as I used to, but 20 or 25 times a year I can go do my shooting,” she adds. “Sometimes I can’t break through the headaches if they’re getting me down. But I can sit here and stare at my computer and I can be creative.”
Ms. Cohen is one of more than 100 artists to be showing work at ArtFirst!, an international juried art exhibition and sale showcasing the works of professional artists with disabilities in the lobby and halls of University Medical Center at Princeton, through May 9. Sponsored by the hospital’s Auxiliary, ArtFirst! showcases the diverse talents of artists in the disabled community and also highlights the power of the arts to make a positive impact in people’s lives.
Now in its sixth year, the exhibit is an opportunity for both seasoned art collectors and first-time buyers, with painting, photography, sculpture, handmade jewelry and artisan crafts on view. ArtFirst! is the Auxiliary’s premiere fundraising event. Proceeds will be dedicated to the hospital’s Maternity Child Health Program.
Jurors for this year’s ArtFirst! are Gordon Haas of Lambertville’s Haas Gallery and Tony LaSalle of Lasalle Gallery, also in Lambertville.
Artists from as far away as India and Guatemala are participating this year. However, there are a number of artists from New Jersey in the show as well, including a handful from central New Jersey.
Jeff Belpanno of Hightstown started painting in the fall of 2001, three years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 40. Mr. Belpanno uses pastels and acrylic paints, often creating seascapes and other nautical scenes, as well as abstract art.
Plainsboro resident Kay Jones also lives with Parkinson’s disease. A printmaker, she studied at the Community Art Center of Wallingford, Pa. Her work has been accepted in numerous juried shows in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. One of her pieces was a purchase award winner in the New Jersey Historical Commission Show.
A self-taught painter born in India and now living in South Brunswick, Vimala Gade works in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pencil and paint on silk fabric. Ms. Gade, who came to the United States in 1988 and earned a master’s degree in fine arts in 1994, has limited mobility due to the effects of rheumatoid arthritis. She exhibits her artwork locally and credits painting with keeping her mind alive and active.
Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, Joyce Lichtenstein of Princeton has been painting most of her life, working in pastel, watercolor and oil. She contracted polymyositis in the 1980s, and spent years in bed until the debilitating neurological disease was diagnosed. She was later able to use a wheelchair and learned to walk again, although with difficulty and pain.
Trained as an electrical engineer, Ms. Cohen worked at Princeton Plasma Physics Labs and then Science Applications International in the 1980s. She was working at Verizon Wireless and began to experience severe headaches, which eventually became total body pain. She kept working but found that she was experiencing longer and longer periods of disability.
”Then about three and a half years ago, things just fell apart as far as coping with the pain,” Ms. Cohen says. “I hit a wall. I was also struggling emotionally. Then I was in a car accident, and then my conditions started to be diagnosed. But all this coincided with me picking up my camera again. I had bought a digital camera just months before I became ill.
”That’s the good and the bad side of being disabled,” she continues. “I was a workaholic for many years and, although I had done photography when I was younger, I had stopped doing it, probably for more than 25 years. I would get out with my children and enjoy nature although I wasn’t visually connected to things. I remember being counseled by someone that illness is your body trying to tell you something. If we’re working too hard, we sometimes don’t hear this.”
Ms. Cohen studied photography in New York at Queens College, the New School and Pratt Institute. Her work has appeared in shows at the Ocean County Library in Toms River, Gallery 125 in Trenton, the Ellarslie Open XXV and M. Geis Gallery, in Lakewood. She names Eugene Atget, Brassai, Alfred Stieglitz and Walker Evans as major influences.
”The black and white photography from 1900 to 1945 or so are some of the best things in the world to me,” Ms. Cohen says. “My roots are in black and white photography and I remember when I was studying, I would just ogle it. There aren’t a whole lot of color photographers that I love, although this is my role now. I’ve come to very much like Clyde Butcher, who is kind of the Ansel Adams of Florida, taking these wonderful portraits of the Everglades. His work evokes these visual responses, like tasting a fine glass of wine, and it just adds to my visions.”
In addition to central New Jersey, Ms. Cohen makes it out to the Southwest every once in a while, where the warm, dry climate agrees with her physically, and the landscapes inspire her artistically.
Photography and spending time in nature are part of a holistic approach Ms. Cohen utilizes to work through her own challenges, but she also counsels people with similar problems to try her ideas.
”I coach people to do (healing) things without medication,” Ms. Cohen says. “You don’t have to go out of your mind with things, it could be something as simple as getting into a nice, warm, therapeutic pool. I have a whole armory of ideas I use and people have to find out what works for them.”
Ms. Cohen says she has learned to live in a “middle place” where she doesn’t do too much or too little.
”I have limitations and can do things as long as I don’t overdo,” she says. “That’s what I learned in the last few years — I’ve learned about boundaries. ‘Disabled’ is a label I struggle with sometimes. Part of me knows I can’t do things I used to do, but I’m still a bright and creative woman and there are things I can do, so I focus on that. I’m always going to have pain, but how I dance with my pain is how I’ll cope with it.”
ArtFirst!, with photography by Leigha Emma Cohen, is on view in the lobby and hallways of the University Medical Center at Princeton, 253 Witherspoon St., Princeton, through May 9. Free. The artwork can be viewed daily from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (609) 497-4211; www.princetonhcs.org. Leigha Emma Cohen on the Web: www.leighacohenphoto.com