review: translations...

by gordin & christiano

One of the most remarkable things about our little corner of the earth is the unique combination of small-town simplicity and big-city sophistication. In a place where red farmhouses still loom against the clear winter sky and a decline in the flounder population actually has first-hand effects on the community, you’re usually not dealing with gallery openings and theatre premieres as well. But this is the East End and its dexterity in balancing the quaint and the posh is fine-tuned.

One single event that epitomizes this polarity is happening this weekend. Alison Restaurant takes advantage of the cultural curiosity of folks out here by hosting a variety of artists and writers for dinner and roundtable discussions. The restaurant works in conjunction with East End Books to organize exciting and informative talks, bringing creative people to the dinner table to dicuss their works. Last month, Alison hosted Amanda Vaill, author of Somewhere, the biography of Broadway choreographer Jerome Robbins. The talk was a great success, as others have been in the past.

This Feburary 3, there will be a “Meet the Artist” dinner, discussion and slide show with artist Tom Steele as he showcases his new collection, Landmarks and Landscapes. Tom Steele is a master of landscape and landscape photography who found his home on the East End in 1989. He has worked with the Nature Conservancy and the Peconic Land Trust to create work that captures the natural beauty of this place. Last Labor Day, Mr. Steele participated in a show called “Accabonac Harbor” as a benefit for the Nature Conservancy. The show took place at Ashawagh Hall in Springs and was a tribute to a beautiful spot in the depths of the Springs, one of the precious jewels of our area.

Tom Steele reviewed his best work done over the years since he’s been out here, and chose landscapes that he really felt captured the essence to put in this show. His images are on a grand scale – one is actually three feet by seven feet. The slideshow presentation will therefore be a perfect medium for his body of work, because it will give him the space that his pieces demand.

Mr. Steele is eager to share the process of how he creates his work with eager participants. For this most recent exhibition, Mr. Steele has been using his digital camera, taking between 30 and 100 images of different portions of one landscape. In so doing, he is able to piece them together like a puzzle and get a high-definition, massive piece of work. He makes one giant file on his computer on Photoshop, then prints it onto photo paper and laminates frames and mounts the large-scale works.

If he took only one shot of the landscape, a lot would be lost in the enlargement. But because he takes the landscape in small parts, he is able to “maintain the integrity.” Mr. Steele makes it a priority not to alter his images, because he wants to depict the beauty of the East End as it is. He believes in a sense of truthfulness in his work, even though he works on the pieces in Photoshop, where he could easily change things to suit his desires. It’s a reflection of his love for the area, which he sees as the most perfect depiction of it to be as is.

Mr. Steele looks forward to sharing his “Accabonac Sunrise,” which shows the lovely harbor at dawn, with the mist rolling in. The photos for this piece were taken in August of 2006. Another of his favorites is “Osprey Nest at Great Meadow.” When he was going through his work to select what he would exhibit, Mr. Steele said he was surprised at how much he had. He’s been inspired by the area since he moved here 18 years ago, but he has only been focusing his energy on landscapes for the past three years.

Another part of Mr. Steele’s exhibit, which will be on display at East End Books after this dinner discussion, addresses landmarks. His landmark pieces are quite the opposite of the landscapes. While the landscapes are grand and commanding, the landmarks are diminutive little pieces, done in muted sepia tones. He divides the landmarks into cultural and historic. Some inspirations for the landmarks have been the Memory Motel, the windmill in Water Mill, and an amusement park. Mr. Steele believes that our own memories are “landmarks in each of our lives,” and therefore he believes it’s worthwhile to document them through photography. It should be interesting to see these vastly different approaches to memorializing our home towns from the same artist, in the same show.

One thing that is so exciting about this forum of discussion is that you can ask questions about the interesting process of creating the work, as well as how he was feeling and what inspired him to create a certain piece.

Of course, in a place where progressiveness and tradition still mingle in a copasetic manner, fine food will accompany the hearty discussion. Alison Restaurant has received warm reviews from this paper as well as The New York Times and Newsday. You may be lured in by the tribute to serene and familiar landscapes, but you won’t be able to resist the appetizing menu. Entrees range from striped bass to braised pork shank and the lobster shellfish fricassee appetizer looks like a slice of heaven.

You can find out more about Tom Steele at www.tomsteelestudio.com, or just come down to Alison on Saturday night to nurture your cultural side while the chef takes care of your simple desire for a delicious warm meal.

Meet the Artist Dinner will take place at Alison Restaurant on February 3 at 6:30 p.m. Located at 95 School Street, Bridgehampton. Call 631-537-7100 for reservations.