Last show at Parrish in Southampton
This photograph of Belvedere Castle in Central Park is part of "The Landmarks of New York" exhibition, the last major show at the Parrish Art Museum's current space in Southampton, through Sept. 5, 2012. Credit: Andy Cook
The Parrish Art Museum opens its final show this weekend in the space it has occupied in Southampton since 1898.
Although the 90 photographs in "The Landmarks of New York" are of historic sites in the city, its organizer, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, says of the Parrish's current home, "I think it's a very significant building, and I hope it will be repurposed in a significant way." (Southampton Mayor Mark Epley says the building at 25 Jobs Lane will be preserved and renovated, once a new tenant is found.)
After "Landmarks" closes Sept. 5, the Parrish will begin the move to its new space a few miles east in Water Mill. Scheduled to open Nov. 10, the new museum's 11 galleries will allow it to exhibit the Parrish's permanent collection on a regular basis, along with special exhibits, such as the landmarks show that previews with a reception tomorrow night before Sunday's opening.
FUTURE WITH A PAST
The new exhibition accompanies the publication of Diamonstein-Spielvogel's "The Landmarks of New York: An Illustrated Record of the City's Historic Buildings." As chairwoman of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Centerand a past preservaton commissioner, Diamonstein-Spielvogel says she is "committed to preserving the past without jeopardizing the future. I'm equally interested in good contemporary design" -- a subject that will be explored at the reception's "The Future of the Past" panel discussion, with architects Richard Meier, Annabelle Selldorf and Rafael Vinoly. "No generations has the right to make any place a monotonous monument to any onetime," Diamonstein Spielvogel says.
FAMILIAR AND OBSCURE
Among her favorite images in the show are ones we all know and others we may not. "Magnificent Central Park," as she calls it, "America's first great planned public park," is represented by a photograph of Belvedere Castle, well known to anyone who's stood in line for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park at the outdoor Delacorte Theater, where "As You Like It" currently plays. But the entire 843-acre park, larger than the tiny nation of Monaco, is a designated scenic landmark.
A far-less-renowned historic site, currently undergoing extensive renovation, lies across the East River. The Bowne House, built in 1661, stands for religious freedom, which drew immigrants to America before it was a nation. John Bowne, a Quaker, emigrated from England. His religion was deemed intolerable by Dutch Gov. Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland (as New York was then known), who ordered him arrested and transported to Holland for trial. But Bowne, citing the Flushing charter of 1645 that guaranteed religious freedom, was exonerated. He returned to Flushing and the Bowne House, where his descendants lived until 1947.
Also on exhibit at the Parrish are 16 prints of overlooked scenes from Copiague to Montauk, none of which bear historic markers. "Liminal Grounds: Adam Bartos' Long Island Photographs, 2009-2011" reflects the passage of time on a rusted truck chassis, for instance, or a faded sign.
WHAT "Landmarks of New York" and "Liminal Grounds: Adam Bartos' Long Island Photographs" exhibits
WHEN | WHERE 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 1-5 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 5, Parrish Art Museum, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton
ADMISSION $3-$5 (Saturday's reception sold out); parrishart.org, 631-283-2118
