QNE_p088

QC09222016

56 The Queens Courier • buzz • SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com buzz Photo courtesy of Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning Artist Emmett Wigglesworth Dynamic Jamaica exhibit examines truth through artist’s work BY MCGEORGE SORENSEN editorial@qns.com/@QNS A six-decade career that began during the Civil Rights Movement has brought Queens-based artist Emmett Wigglesworth to the opening of a new exhibition of his work in his home borough. Wigglesworth’s amazing works of art — from lavish paintings to a threedimensional foam core sculptures — will be on display for the next two months at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL). The exhibit formally opens with a reception this Friday night, Sept. 16, and will remain on view through Nov. 25. The centerpiece of the exhibit is Wigglesworth’s newest work, “It is Not Enough to See ... One Must See Through to Find Truth.” The massive work, which Wigglesworth created working 35-hour weeks over the past five months at JCAL’s studios, features six life-sized painted foam core sculptures installed in front of a 10-foot painting, giving the viewer a one-of-akind art experience. Most of the 40 artworks on display are what Wigglesworth calls “scribble,” depicting figures, gestures, light and sky with multicolored lines and patterns. The central theme of his art aims to inspire viewers to practice a spiritual truth and enhance a more humanistic work. Wigglesworth has lived in Jamaica for the past 20 years, but he has been creating art and poetry since the 1950s. A native of Philadelphia, he attended the College of Art and continued to ply his artistry following an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps in 1957. Two years later, Wigglesworth became active in the Civil Rights Movement, working with the CORE Freedom School in Selma, Alabama, where he taught art and wrote two plays that he later directed at the CORE Freedom Theater in San Francisco. Wigglesworth will be at JCAL at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, for a special talk and demonstration. JCAL is located at 161-04 Jamaica Ave., close to numerous subway and bus lines as well as the Long Island Rail Road. For more information, visit www.jcal.org. Local representatives, city officials and social service organizations convened at the Samuel Field Y in Little Neck to discuss culturally sensitive ways to improve mental health services in New York City. Host and Councilman Barry Grodenchik was joined by Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, Executive Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health Gary Belkin and Queens-based mental health services to discuss ThriveNYC, the city’s new culturally tactful mental health initiative that aims to provide solutions to residents across the five boroughs. “We understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating mental health. Mental health is deeply personal, and for decades, there was a stigma attached to even discussing it,” Grodenchik said in a press release. With 8 percent of public high school students reporting suicides and one fifth of New Yorkers likely to experience a mental health issue in any given year, a new approach is needed to tackle this serious issue, says Grodenchik. In Memoriam: Kenneth Wallace Kenneth Wallace, father of Queens Courier account executive Michele Miller, died on Saturday, September 3, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. A native of Brooklyn and a resident of New York City, he spent most of his successful career in the insurance industry, ending with ownership of a personnel agency devoted to insurance placements. He was preceded in death by his son Mitchel, wife Arcie and sister-in-law Marilyn. He is survived by his daughter Michele, son-inlaw Brian, grandchildren Logan and Lindsay, brother Bruce, sister-in-law Nisreen, nephews Mark and Jeremy, former spouse Rita and many devoted friends. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, http://donate.lls.org.


QC09222016
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