Notes From The City: June 2020

Last August I was invited to an event at Gary Lichtenstein Editions at Mana Contemporary for the pre-release party for the artwork that had been created by Tommy The Animator for the Legends Recording Group album "The Foundation." I always love going to events at Gary Lichenstein Editions because Gary Lichtenstein and Melissa Marr, the Director of Operations, are such wonderfully creative and inspiring people and the space itself is beautiful. There are many excellent Artists of all genres and modes of expression that have strong relationships with Gary and Melissa, and the artwork on display is always gorgeous. Gary is an Artist and a Master Printer who creates the highest quality silk screen prints in collaboration with some of the greatest contemporary Artists. It's always exciting to go to an event that he and Melissa are a part of, whether at the studio at Mana or at another gallery or event space. There is something very special about the work they do and the people they collaborate with, and so whenever I receive an invitation I try to make sure I get there. On this particular night in August it was a pre-release because the the Album release party would be two weeks later. I was glad that I had the opportunity to attend on that night first because it was a bit more low key and gave me a chance to really see the artwork and meet the Artist who as it turns out is awesome as an Artist and as a person as I knew he would be if he was working with Gary Lichtenstein Editions. I found out that night that several of the pieces had been painted with iconic images of Ice-T and other legends, and some had been signed by both Tommy and Ice-T. I have two of them that are treasures in my collection. Two weeks later, the Album Release party was a very exclusive event with Hennessy as one of the Sponsors. The large studio was packed with high profile guests and it was definitely a highlight of the season.

Tommy The Animator grew up in Manhattan on the Upper West Side and was influenced by some of the world's most revered Break Dancers and Graffiti Artists such as the late Frosty Freeze of Rock Steady Crew, Charlie Rock, and George "SEN-One" Morillo. In his early years he embraced the Hip Hop culture, first as a break dancer and then as a music producer. In the late 1990's he was incarcerated due to some legal trouble, and during his incarceration he changed his view of the world and began to draw, something that he often did in the past to pass the time. He found it to be a good form of therapy, and after being released in 2002 he began to teach himself 2D/3D animation, releasing animated shorts with well known Rap figures in the music industry which led to his being given the name "Tommy The Animator". In addition to gallery shows in New York, his work has been exhibited during Art Week at Art Basel and is sought after by collectors.

To me, when I look at Tommy's work there is something so intensely beautiful about it. The colors and shapes and textures are stunning. His pieces are also many times so different from each other, with sculptures and 3-D printed objects finding space along with paintings and drawings, sketches, prints, figurative work and abstracts within the expanded universe of his creation. His messages are not easy to view sometimes because he takes on subjects of urban life such as violence, racism, and poverty with such a direct gaze, but there is something within even his harshest work that still has great beauty. The work shown at the events I attended at Gary Lichtenstein Editions was gorgeous. Each one was a unique jewel, and they lent themselves to the diamond dust and gold that were part of the printing process for select pieces. The images he creates are precious, and are priceless, and the stories they tell are worth much more than a thousand words.

Tommy The Animator

At Gary Lichtenstein Editions

At Mana Contemporary

https://www.gleditions.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tommytheanimator

https://tommytheanimator.crevado.com/my-work

With Ice-T And Gary Lichtenstein

Photograph Screenshot From An Instagram Story
By Tommy The Animator
Photo Credit Eladio Lopez

Inspiring Another Generation

Photograph Courtesy Of

https://www.instagram.com/_simpleenigma/

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

I wrote about Chef Anthony Pino in early February, and I've written about his restaurant Bin 14 before in its own post and also on a few other occasions because I was writing about people who work with him or people whose products he has in his restaurants. When I sat down to meet with him for the blog post in February I hadn't written specifically about him before and I had been wanting to do that for some time because during the time that I've known him I've been impressed not only with the delicious food he creates, but also the quality of the experiences I've had at Bin 14 and at some of the events and tastings there. I knew a bit about Anthony David's, the first restaurant that he opened in Hoboken which celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2018, but at the time of writing my blog post I had only eaten there once at their Anniversary celebration. And then a few weeks after writing the blog post about Chef Pino all of our worlds changed drastically, and I found myself one day walking through Hoboken after having heard late on a Saturday night that the restaurants were being shut down except for takeout and delivery, and then one after another other states in the tri-state area followed that model. As I wrote in my blog post about the Love & Plenty project which I started developing as an effort to help the restaurants get funding to provide meals for people in need, the reason I was walking through Hoboken that first day after hearing about the restaurant shutdown was because I was so overwhelmed with what I knew was going to be a disaster because of my experience and background in working in community and youth development and nutrition and health and food insecurity in the inner city. Because of the work that I have done for many years, I knew how drastically the food supply system would be affected and also that on a good day there is a great deal of need so on a day like this and for long after the need would be even greater. I didn't know how to address it because the problem was so enormous, and so I went on a prayer walk through Hoboken.

In part of my mind I was thinking about Chef Pino and I had been planning to stop by Bin 14 to see if he was there, but somehow or other as I walked along Washington Street, when I got to Tenth Street I felt compelled to take a left. When I did I realized I was in front of Anthony David's and I saw Chef Pino in the window. I went inside and we started talking and almost the first thing he told me was that he wanted to stay open to try to help the community and that he knew that the Shelter was in need and that there would be many more people out of work or affected in some way who would need food. He wanted to be able to help people, but he didn't have the extra funding to do it now that his restaurants had been closed so abruptly, and with only takeout and delivery he had to let go of most of his staff and was going back into his own kitchen to cook along with the Chefs who were still working with him. It was that conversation and several that we had in the weeks after as things got darker and more difficult all over the area that led to my starting the Love & Plenty project, and seeing and hearing about Chef Pino in his kitchen day after day was one of the things that kept me going.

And now we find ourselves at another crossroads, when the Governor is opening up the State of New Jersey in slow but sure steps. Laws have been passed so that temporarily restaurants can sell cocktails and drinks to go, and Bin 14 already had the ability to sell wine by the bottle. Just this past week outdoor dining was allowed and to help restaurants with capacity the outdoor spaces are being lengthened and enlarged, with different options available for restaurant owners to apply for permits, including using the parking spaces in front of their buildings to build parklets for outdoor table seating. Through all of this I have been watching Chef Pino, sometimes stopping by to take photos and sometimes seeing his posts on Instagram. It's been inspiring to see his commitment to making something work that someone else might look at and say was impossible. But if there's one thing I've gotten to know about Chef Pino during these months since I sat down to talk with him for a blog post it's that he will always do what it takes to get done what needs to be done. Whether it means going into his own kitchen to cook for the community and creating special menus that will work in a to-go only format, or starting his Chef Pino's Feed It Forward Go Fund Me campaign that was so successful that within a few days of launching it he was able to serve 75 high quality meals to the Shelter. He was featured in the National broadcast of the Jersey For Jersey concert in a video highlighting Chef Pino's Feed It Forward, and he continues to serve meals to those in need in the community. His newest innovation is creating a parklet oasis outside each of his restaurants, and with Sangria to go on a sunny day Chef Anthony Pino will make sure that the community is feeling cared for and loved and well fed. If he has to deliver high quality meals in an environment that is a challenge, he will still deliver them with love.

Chef Anthony Pino

Executive Chef And Owner

Of Anthony David's

953 Bloomfield Street

And Bin 14

1314 Washington Street

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://anthonydavids.com/

https://bin14.com/