Author: Ed Healy

Todd Lesmeister entered my house, kicked off his shoes and cracked open a beer: this interview was going to be different. Cigarette and tape recorder in hand, we put on some blues and set up shop in my living room. At one time an English major at Buffalo State College, Todd waited until he was 22 years old to begin his paintings. “I was led to NYC in the late 90’s and once I got there, I realized that my studio and supplies cost way too much for me to paint the way I wanted to. So, I started working…

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Dan Shanahan presents Architect, a site specific work, the first week in August. As a follow up to the installation production of Terminus, made for the Central Terminal, Architect creates an artificial environment which is the stimulated externally. Set pieces are enhanced by latex and staged through out the ballroom. The idea behind the production: A man will enforce a series of rituals in order to generate a mythology, while attempting to manipulate a geometrically closed system. His hope is that it will produce a favorable outcome. Should his mythology collapse, he will have no where left to go but…

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The very next time that you find yourself strolling through the streets of Allentown, be sure to stop into College Street Art Gallery. On the corner of College and Allen, the gallery is rentable to artists of any medium, and there for Buffalo’s visual pleasure, are mixed media pieces created by Buffalo native Sean Madden. Madden believes that his work spurred from a number of different resources. Growing up in Buffalo, Madden was constantly aware of the more underdeveloped side of the community. He would rather work with the thought of trouble and recklessness in his mind than inspirational sunsets.…

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This summer, construction began on the third floor of our office building in the Cobblestone District. For months, we have been riding elevators with courteous construction workers, typing our posts to the faint sound of hammering and brushing speckles of dust off of our shoes. We have often wondered what our new neighbors would bring to the building and to the district. Clark Patterson Associates began filling the space with furniture and electronics this past Friday. They seem to have a funky progressive spirit: teal, green and cobblestone walls with orange pillars, metal mesh desk dividers, a small Zen fountain…

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The second 2007 summer production of Shakespeare in Delaware Park is set to begin. Cited as a must see summer event, Othello, directed by Saul Elkin and assisted by Steve Vaughn, will begin July 26 and end on August 19. This is Delaware Park’s 32nd year of high performance theater and one of Shakespeare’s most compelling tragedies. A brief overview for those who are not familiar: Othello is betrayed by his best friend who frames an Othello’s wife in an affair. Othello murders her in a fit of rage, but realizes not long afterwards that he was tricked. This production…

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Hidden behind ad plastered doors, across from Jim’s Steak Out, resides the Allendale Theater. Tonight I had the pleasure of entering through those doors to enjoy, Glass Garden, a production by Junko Hayashi. However, be advised that the event is sensory intensive and not recommended for the hypersensitive crowd. This combination of interpretive dance, narrative, film and experimental music creates an electric stimulation for around an hour. This is not to say that the production was by any means vulgar or offensive, but I did witness a few senior men and women alarmed by the aggressiveness of the cross cultural…

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Our Buffalo City Mission is hosting a sleep out tonight at the University of Buffalo’s North Campus Stadium. The Mission hopes to raise awareness of the root causes of homelessness and conditions that the impoverished face every night. Guests will be entertained with a mini concert that begins at 6:30 PM and the event will run until 8:30 AM, tomorrow morning. The Mission serves those that are homeless around the city by providing them with food, shelter and above all, recovery services. The men, women and children that wander the streets of our Queen City can enter the mission with…

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The ever reliable Albright Knox consistently produces fresh art and entertainment, much to the joy of Buffalonians. This year’s much anticipated fundraising event, Rockin’ at the Knox, has a world famous headliner. New Wave sensation Elvis Costello, singer and composer will be performing for your listening pleasure. Costello, a recent inductee to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame will present an overview of his career which will be comprised of many songs that we all know and love. Accompanying Costello is pianist Steve Nieve, a member of Costello’s former band, the Attractions. “Rockin’ at the Knox is building a…

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If you have just graduated from High School and are thinking of applying to Buffalo State College, think again. Over 10,000 freshman applications have already been turned in for the Fall 2007 semester and the school only has 1,400 slots causing the college to turn away any more applicants. This is the most applications that Buffalo state College has received in 15 years. The number of applications is up 15% from last year alone. This surge in prospective students may be due to the new favorable undergraduate programs such as fashion technology, chemistry and forensic science. It may also be…

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Joel invited me into his home and his studio, a pop surrealism playground that was as anti-establishment as it could be. I found Simpson action figures, a painting of a killer mummy hanging above the fireplace and a skateboard. Upstairs his studio is full of the trappings of street culture–punk zines, comix, tattoo sketches and paintings that are anything but mainstream. What a relief. Joel leaves me to my picture taking, which I admit does his work no real justice. I realize at once that fine art rendering is not lost on lowbrow artists like Joel. His sketches are animated,…

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