|
By Peggy Kreimer The exterior of the modest frame home is complete, with historically accurate colors and details that recreate the home as it appeared in 1900. That's when the internationally acclaimed painter was teaching at the Cincinnati Art Academy and moved back to the family home at 1226 Greenup St. and added his painting studio The party also is a celebration of the art that continues in the Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center at the hardware store-turned arts center at 1232 Greenup. Flame-colored sculptures by art instructor Jennifer Baldwin fill the wide front windows. Inside, the voices of the Duveneck Junior Ensemble will fill the center's studio at a 2:30 p.m. concert. The ensemble is made up of children who attend the weekly choral singing program taught by The Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers. Youngsters who barely opened their mouths when the program opened are now singing solo parts, said Arts & Cultural Center Director Rena Gibeau. The program draws children from kindergarten through high school and their parents, who often join in the Gospel-style music making. The birthday party, 2 to 4 p.m., is an open house for the center as well as for the Duveneck house, said Gibeau. At the party local artists Robert O'Neal and Peter Jaquish will receive the Josephine Whitney Duveneck Award honoring community to community arts and culture. Both artists worked with neighborhood residents to paint the mural on the Duveneck Arts & Cultural Center wall in 2001. mural on the Duveneck Arts & Cultural Center wall in 2001. O'Neal was born in the Eastside and helped found the Arts Consortium of Cincinnati. He has been an art teacher as well as artist. Jaquish has directed mural projects throughout Covington, working with youth and adult community residents. He teaches art at Holy Cross Elementary. Josephine Whitney Duveneck was the daughter-in-law of artist Frank Duveneck and work for inner city youth, African-Americans, migrant farm workers and Japanese-Americans during World War II. Exhibits during the open house will include the sculptures by Jennifer Baldwin, artwork by O'Neal, and photos by D. Anthony Mahone and his photography class at the center. The center has been offering free art programs for children since 2002, and hired Gibeau as its first director in 2003. Most class participants are from the surrounding Eastside neighborhood, but the programs are open to anyone, Gibeau said. "We try to give children a creative outlet for their energy and help them see the positive effects of using their energy in that way," she said. The choral singers have performed in concerts in the community. The art class studied the work of African-American artist Jacob Lawrence and created their own work in his style, which was exhibited at Fifth Third Bank. "Our mission is to enhance the life of the community by nurturing individual artistic expression and celebrating diversity," said Gibeau. Children's programs include creative writing, music, drama, visual art, African-American drum and dance and modern dance. The center also has become a gathering place for residents of all ages. Community members met at the center to create neighborhood mosaics that became benches destined for a public park, and they worked with artists to create a gateway sign proclaiming the "Eastside." The center also hosts shows for local artists. During the school year, programs are scheduled after school and on weekends. Classes this fall will include visual arts, creative writing, dance, drama, and choral singing. The non-profit center has a budget of close to $130,000, which includes salaries for 10 part-time teachers, the full time director, materials for classes, and maintenance for the center. "Our support grows every year," said Gibeau. "The Rotary held a fund raiser for us this summer." The Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice funds several of the arts programs. Other donors include the City of Covington, Forward Quest, the Fine Arts Fund, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Friends of Covington, Northern Kentucky Heritage League, Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Heritage Council, and an array of businesses, private foundations and individuals.
Visitors to the Cincinnati Art Museum on Saturday will be whistling a 156th birthday greeting to internationally acclaimed Covington-born painter Frank Duveneck, and to the "Whistling Boy" painting that may be his best known work. The museum acquired the painting of a young working class boy with lips puckered in a whistle 100 years ago. "We wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our acquisition of the painting, and decided to do it on Duveneck's birthday," said Art Museum spokeswoman Natalie Hastings. The celebration includes lectures on Duveneck and his art and a large birthday cake in the lobby of the museum. "We're going to all gather and ask people to whistle for 10 seconds," said Hastings. The event is free to the public. Duveneck was born Frank Decker in Covington on Oct. 9, 1848. He took his stepfather's name and pursued an art career. At age 21, he left his stepfather's home on Greenup Street in Covington, to study in Munich, Germany. He and his art flourished there. Duveneck returned to the United States after his wife, painter Elizabeth Boott Duveneck, died in 1888. He taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. "Duveneck's work today seems as bold and refreshingly unpretentious as it did in his own day," said Cincinnati Art Museum Curator Julie Aronson. "Much of its appeal, I think, lies in his evident love of the sensuous qualities of paint. He had a special gift for pushing paint around a canvas that seemed magical to his contemporaries. The remarkable way he could form a head in three dimensions with a few sure strokes drew students and colleagues to him--they were fascinated by watching him work." In 1900 Duveneck moved back to the family home at 1226 Greenup St., where he lived until his death in 1919. |
|
Children are our most valuable natural resource. Herbert Hoover |