by DONNA MARIE JOYCE




Thank you, Curator Johnes Ruta, for giving the public including myself the rare opportunity to meet and speak with "painter, illustrator, filmmaker, lecturer and publisher," Herb Rogoff on Thursday, December 9th.  Had it not been for the holiday season, I firmly believe this would have been a "standing room only" event.  We were quite fortunate to have a memorable evening with the remarkably talented Mr. Rogoff speaking to such a small crowd so personally and intimately about his experience in and of the art world.  His chronological presentation of the comics both in the United States and abroad was fascinating and his well-articulated point that the comics and the artists who create them should not be relegated to second class status in the art world was especially well-taken...how easy it is to rifle through the pages of a newspaper seeking the news of the day and wholly ignoring the comic pages of the newspaper without realizing that it is in those comic pages where the comic artist creates some of the most relevant socio-political discussion of the day.

Most notably, the opportunity to hear Mr. Rogoff speak was only accentuated by the fact that the presentation was made at the New Haven Free Public Library during Mr. Rogoff's own exhibition entitled "The Way it Used to Be and Now."  His paintings, many of which recapture the nostalgia of a bygone era, are outstanding in every sense of the word.

 

To encounter his painting, "Carousel: 1966" is a virtual candyland for the eyes.  The lady dressed in purple in the foreground of the painting takes center stage.  Her strong jaw, facial features and musculature appear androgynous whilst exuding a palpable and robust energy.  After discovering all the smiling faces in the painting, whether the figures are male or female really doesn't preoccupy this viewer.  What becomes abundantly clear is that in life's playground the common human experience of having fun is what matters most.  Likewise, "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2009" captures the euphoria of the parade experience...Colorful and nostalgic, it's possible to be a child again and again just by looking at this magnificent compendium of characters.

 

But, undoubtedly,  I found "Lower East Side: 1942: Menachim Rubin Sells His Pretzels" to be the most incredible of Rogoff's paintings on display until December 29, 2010 at the Library Gallery.  Mr. Rogoff dates his painting "1942" but could this not be the New York's Lower East Side of "2010" as well?  Aren't there still independently-owned zipper, sweater and pant shops up and down New York City Lower East Side streets and signage that may still read "Streit's Matzos," and "Myron's Hats?" And as is portrayed in the lower left of the painting, aren't there still handsome industrious Jewish men in poorboy caps selling their produce and wares and long white-bearded rabbis walking the street with exactly the same concerned expression?  And as is portrayed in the right side of the painting, aren't there still Jewish grandmothers with that same warm and forgiving smile...and doesn't that white-haired lady look precisely like the one you almost bumped into last week when you were in the City when she flashed you that smile?

 

And, so it is that Mr. Rogoff presents images that are so classic and relatable that the painting is almost timeless.  In presenting "The Way it Used to Be and Now," we find that at least when it comes to portraying the New York experience and the Jewish culture and influence there, things are really not all that different.  Perhaps, it is Mr. Rogoff's commentary on the remarkable resilience and appeal of the Jewish people...a people so deeply rooted in tradition, with such strong family bonds and an equally strong work ethic that life on New York's Lower East Side is much like French writer Alphonse Karr's proverbial saying "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

 

But, perhaps we should ask Mr. Rogoff directly about what he intended in this painting and it certainly wouldn't be difficult to do so.  For as much as Mr. Rogoff is described as a "polymath of art," he is not unlike his favorite comic book hero, Stan Lee's "Spiderman,"  a superhuman who is still very human and very humble.

 

Thanks again, Johnes, for another class act,

 

Donna Marie Joyce