There was a lot of talk last week about the appropriateness of Spencer Tunick's installation at Montauk Point involving hundreds of naked people. We here at the Pioneer even had a debate about whether or not to run the pictures in the paper (you'll see that the picture of everyone facing up is blurred) but one thing that cannot be argued in my opinion is that this work is truely stunning art.

You will see in our "Man on the Street" column which has been a great success for the newspaper and is put together by our wonderful summer intern Mara Certic, that the people we talked to in general do not have a problem with his work at all. It's art folks, it's supposed to invoke you with emotion.

Montauk has been graced by some pretty amazing photographers, from Peter Beard, to Michael Dweck, to Spencer Tunick. Photography is one of those fields, much like writing, where anyone can do it, but if you get good at it, you really get noticed.

For the last couple of years this has been happening to Montauk local James Katsipis, who has been able to get photos published in national magazines, including ESM Magazine, and has earned himself a reputation. Nearly every week that we can, The Montauk Pioneer looks to get James on the cover because his photos invoke emotion, have a story behind them and are hard to pull off. One that comes to mind was his photo of Montauk local Phil Berg outside of the Surf Lodge on his motorcycle wearing his viking helmet and sporting his dog in a basket. The shot, from a technical standpoint, was incredible, with James opening the shutter just long enough to give it an almost outerspace feel. This is not an easy thing do.

At the Boca Luppo Art Gallery in Montauk James will be showcasing some of his work this weekend and I suggest that you go see it. A lot of the work that will be showcased there is going to be work of the artistic nature. James has been able to capture photos of water that is just unreal.

Art, especially serious art done by serious artists is such an important thing to celebrate and luckily for us, we have serious artists as neighbors here in Montauk.

I've interviewed and spoken with an enormous amount of serious artists and art critics and one of the most common subjects of conversation that comes up with people like this is what makes somebody's particular artwork special. There is always a clear answer to this question, whether it has to do with the technical skill of Daniel Polera or the incredible style of Cuca Romely. What makes art special is pretty clear when you see it. A lot of the time, the thought, "How in the world did they do that?" is what goes through my head when I see art that blows me away.

Retaining artists in a community like Montauk is important. I was sad to find out that Peter Beard was looking to sell his house in Montauk and move. I was never able to find out the real reason behind the it, but it was clear that he was looking to sell. I hope that he changes his mind.

Probably one of the biggest supporters of Montauk artists, photographers and writers out here is Edward Albee, the master playwright that has the ability to charm you just when you hear his name. His work with up and coming artists and writers is legendary, offering them a studio space, a place to live and to focus on their work. He has been able to put the Montauk art scene on the map in more ways then one and is yet another treasured person in Montauk that makes this place what it is.

Can you imagine Montauk without real artists? It would be one very boring place, not all that different from any other boring town. Art is a huge component to making Montauk what it is.

Art and its relavence didn't all just happen by accident. A lot of sweat goes into the work of the local artists out here and putting themselves out there for the public to see and criticise is not, by any means of the word, an easy thing to do. The local artists out here bring passion to their work, care about what they are doing and care about why they are doing it. -DLR

Back to Contents