Matt Duquette is anti-art, yet he creates visually barbaric images that are far more social and artistic than he claims to be. In his realm, art is created for one purpose, to capture an ultimate moment. Working on a textured surface, he has an identifiable, methodical brush or comb stroke that snags the paper or wood grain and creates splatters that add to the motion within the piece. Most of Duquette’s work has a distinct movement and masculinity. He feels that placing a female model in his work would make it too cliché, so he uses himself as a model…
Author: Laura Sargent
Queen City Capitalist, Linsey Snyder, is launching a new cosmetic line in NYC aptly named Face Time Cosmetics. The new makeup line targets women who aspire to look put-together without looking like they spent hours in the powder room. Snyder’s idea, spawned from the concept of accessible beauty, has a timeless, classic look that is clean and fresh. She thinks that sometimes women are more uncomfortable buying makeup than they are other wardrobe accessories. “No one really wants to go to that other floor where the makeup is, because it’s intimidating,” Snyder said. “Beauty has become too difficult and complicated.…
On August 10, BRO/BRM was a special guest of Shakespeare in the Park along with WBFO. During that evening’s Othello performance, we hosted a contest inviting the audience to write a sonnet or poem giving praise to Buffalo. We collected over 40 entries, chose a winner at random (but, man, was she good!), and handed out some gifts from us, WBFO and Pavlov’s Togs. As promised, BR will be posting, from time to time, some of the sonnets that were written that night. The cold and snow I will forego, to live in the land I call my home. The…
Most members of the community make it a point to fit the Bidwell Farmer’s Market into their busy weekend routines because it starts their weekends out on a good note. The market offers fresh fruits and vegetables, jazz and warm summer air, but it also offers other type of goods, such as loose teas and fresh bread. These private vendors consider The Farmer’s Market to be the best opportunity to clear a profit from a small business without buying into a costly storefront. They also have the means to supply an adequate amount of goods to the community without compromising…
Bob Schulman is a portrait of endurance, much like the buildings he photographs. Bob has witnessed the evolution of Buffalo, for better or worse, and yet his love for the Queen City has survived. His photographs capture the vignettes of vintage structures that are often overlooked, giving new life to hidden treasures. “”These images become compositions that resonate melancholy and up-beat moods with a jazz-like harmonious and dissonant essence,” Schulman says. “I put together images from the local environment and they become constructions of abstract images that have artistic and visual value–somewhat poetic. It may be a window, chunk of…
Judy Griggs, Board member of SABAH, has cleverly constructed a unique package for an eBay auction meant to incite a donation to be made to benefit SABAH’s athletes with special needs. SABAH, “Skating Athletes Bold At Heart”, is a program that challenges individuals with special needs to experience the thrill of ice skating. The individuals involved enjoy freedom and independence, while the experience is also therapeutic; building social skills, coordination and self esteem. The auctioned-off package will include two graciously donated tickets to the New York Film Festival Opening Night Premiere at Lincoln Center on September 28. Along with these…
Wednesday brought good news for Buffalo’s waterfront. Roger B. Kelly, NYPA President and CEO, presented a ceremonial check for $2M to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC), symbolizing the statewide public power utility’s commitment to waterfront revitalization. This check is the second of two payments made, each $2 million, a financial solution stemming from a June 2006 settlement agreement tied in with the relicensing of NYPA’s Power Project in Lewiston. That agreement provided the Buffalo waterfront and Niagara River Greenway $279M from NYPA for revitalization projects over a 50 year term of a new operating license. “These payments and…
Pope Joan was four years in the making and based upon an Italian myth that hints at scandal within the Catholic Church. The myth was brought to the public eye when documentation was discovered in the underground of a monastery in Southern France, the time period is ambiguous. Michelle Poynton, playwright, discovered Joan’s character after starring in another play that highlighted the Pope’s success and became obsessed with sharing the legend. The myth states that Pope John VIII was actually a woman, who, in hasty desire to become a priest, took her brother’s place in Seminary. She was made a…
BR photographer Justin Lowe and I were granted the pleasure of a special invitation to Sean Hus Var’s opening reception for Prometheus 233. While the party did not actually begin until 8 PM, we arrived at 6 PM for a pre-party cocktail. From the first quick glance at my surroundings, I was sure that Buffalo was sold on Hus Var’s idea. The refurbished space next to City Grill was packed with models, set designers, photographers and even a couple that drove all the way from Rochester in order to gain a sneak peek at Hus Var’s venture. Staff was roaming…
The new gallery space, Studiohart, located adjacent to Cafe 59, is hosting a series of photographs taken by Buffalo native Jean-Michel Reed. The images are a series of shots taken within the Queen City of various fires. Reed states, “generally, I have thought the fire scene as this amazing urban spectacle – mesmerizing, terrifying, tragic – a truly sublime experience. But for me, the images work on many levels, from the long history of disaster imagery, to the modern spectacle, to my own personal fascination with firefighting. I have been photographing fires in buffalo for over ten years. This is…