by Neil Needleman
Mark your calendar to spend some time in Peekskill on the weekend
of June 10 and 11! The Peekskill Arts Council's Annual Open Studios
event is bigger, better, and more vibrant than ever—and now
boasts the arrival of an important artist with an international reputation.
Jon Stevens, a protégé of the surrealist master Salvador
Dalí, will be opening his Silver People Studio—located
in Peekskill's Landmark District at 824 Main Street—during the
Open Studios weekend. Be prepared: This won't be a typical "wine
and cheese and chat" gallery opening.
Billed as a "multimedia, multi-cultural weekend of photography,
performance, and sculpture," the opening of the Silver People
Studio will be an involving experience for the public. So what should
you expect when you attend the event?
Photography, sculpture, food, voodoo, music…and more!
Many gallery openings are "pleasant" affairs. You view the
exhibit, compare notes, and make comments. The Silver People Studio
opening will be a dynamic and eclectic experience. And that's just
what you'd expect from the man Zoom Magazine described as a "total
artist." In an age where specialization is becoming an accepted
norm, it's wonderful to know that there are still creative people
who transcend a single category. Throughout his career, Stevens has
joyously worked in a variety of media and forms, including photography,
painting, music, dance, theater, and poetry.
For the studio opening on the weekend of June 10 and 11, Stevens will
perform excerpts from two original category-defying theatrical works,
AFRITECH and FOODOO. Inspired by his love of African culture, AFRITECH
celebrates the continent's many spiritual and technological contributions
to world civilization. Stevens originally premiered a one-man show
version of AFRITECH in Peekskill 11 years ago as part of the city's
African-American festival.
"It's Pan-African in feeling and essence," Stevens says.
If FOODOO sounds like a combination of the words "food"
and "voodoo," you're right! Of this musical/theatrical performance
work, Stevens says, "Expect beautiful sights and sounds and states
of mind."
Local guest artists add to the experience
One of the missions of the Silver People Studio is "to interact
with the Peekskill community by inspiring and empowering through the
presentations of the creative talents of local artists." True
to that goal, the opening event will also feature the work of photojournalist
and documentary filmmaker Susanne Moss and sculptor Kendall Valentine.
Moss' photography reflects her interest in musical and cultural celebrations
around the globe. Among her many travel adventures, Moss accompanied
an anthropologist from the National Museum of Natural History to Jamaica
to document the Rastafarians.
Images from her well-traveled camera have been exhibited in one-woman
shows in Cuba and New York City, and will soon appear in an upcoming
Smithsonian Institution exhibit. Her documentary on the Rastafarian
culture in Cuba, Ras Cuba, is currently available on DVD.
Of her work, Stevens says, "You see incredible faces from Cuba
and the African Diaspora. Her body of work really shows the culture."
Also on exhibit will be a variety of driftwood sculptures by Kendall
Valentine. When creating her work, Valentine looks beyond the shape
and texture of the wood, to find the "spiritual life within the
wood." Not only was Valentine born and educated in Peekskill,
her driftwood is also local.
"All the wood Kendall sculpts is from the Hudson River,"
Stevens says. "And remember, the original art movement in America
was the Hudson River school."
Valentine's work has been exhibited at the New York Renaissance Festival,
The Peekskill Coffee House, Crystal Bay, and a variety of regional
arts festivals.
From New York to London
The more you discover about Jon Stevens, the more fascinating he becomes.
Born in New York City's Harlem, Stevens was a professional jazz drummer
when he was only 14. Three years later, in a classic example of chutzpah,
he booked a gig in Miami for him and his jazz group. But there was
one thing missing for that night's performance: The jazz group! But
Stevens knew where the best local jazz musicians could be found.
"So I went to the part of town where they lived," he recalls.
The result was one of Miami's first integrated jazz combos.
The general public became aware of Stevens in the 1960s, when his
handsome features began appearing in print advertisements in major
magazines in the United States and England. As a top fashion model
of the era, Stevens was photographed by iconographic photographers,
such as Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton. (Note to our male readers:
The next sentence will make you jealous.) During that swinging era,
Stevens was photographed with celebrated cover girls Lauren Hutton,
Cheryl Tiegs, and Ali MacGraw, as well as many other stunning supermodels.
Stevens is also credited with being the first model to represent the
"British Mod" look in the U.S. and England.
"I had a monopoly on that look for a while," he fondly remembers.
Did it bother the British public that a fashion style created on their
shores was being personified by a Yank?
"No," Stevens says. "Maybe that was part of the charm.
Remember, this was a time when Jimi Hendrix was appearing in clubs
in England because he couldn't make it here in America." With
a laugh he adds, "Think Yiddish, act British!"
You don't have to go far these days to see what the mod look was all
about.
"My daughter was watching a movie on TV," Stevens recalls,
"and the guy was wearing one of my old outfits. It was Austin
Powers! When I was modeling in London, that's exactly what I looked
like!"
Stevens sums up the '60s by saying, "Those were incredible days—and
nights, too!"
The Dalí connection
Among the many prominent people who were struck by Stevens' distinct
look and piercing blue eyes, was Salvador Dalí. After seeing
Stevens in an ad in Newsweek, the internationally renowned surrealist
artist contacted the young model.
"One day my modeling agency told me, 'Salvador Dalí called;
please call him back'!"
You can sense Stevens' amazement when he recalls this life-altering
experience.
"Dalí had my picture on the mantle in his apartment at
the St. Regis and was trying to locate me for months so he could paint
me! Part of my life is like a materialization of a dream because Dalí
was my idol in painting. He represents to me the epitome of the master
painter/artist."
What was Dalí like? Stevens describes him as a "merry
prankster."
"If he wasn't a master painter he would be like a Charlie Chaplin,"
Stevens recalled.
But there was a cosmic side to Dalí as well.
"He could paint so accurately and amazingly because he was zeroing
in on the actual atoms moving through time and space. The gyroscope
that controlled his hand when he was drawing was linked to the universe."
Posing for Dalí was the beginning of a rich and rewarding relationship
that influenced and nurtured Stevens' artistic interests. With Dalí
as friend and mentor, Stevens emerged from being simply a "Dalí
protégé" into an artist with his own creative vision.
The man with the silver touch
As you walk through Stevens' three-story, 4,500-square-foot Peekskill
gallery, it becomes obvious that the Silver People in his artwork
form a visual theme that links many of his works. The first Silver
Person he photographed was himself. Stevens used a silver-skinned
self portrait on the cover of an erotic coloring book he created in
1971. He then began photographing a wide variety of bizarre and poetic
scenes featuring people painted from head to toe in silver paint.
Some were shot in his New York City studio, others were photographed
in exotic locations under tropical skies.
It was a trademark look that became synonymous with Jon Stevens. (Now
you can stop wondering why Stevens' new Peekskill gallery is called
the Silver People Studio.) Not content to simply photograph his Silver
People, Stevens also developed a dance troupe for his silver-skinned
performers, for which he created choreography, computerized slide-show
backgrounds, and soundtracks of prerecorded music.
"I also played my silver flute," Stevens adds.
Peekskill is where it's happening!
For someone who has led an amazingly international life, Stevens looks
and feels very much at home in Peekskill. He describes the city's
art scene as "vibrant and vital to the community."
"There are some incredible artists here," he said.
Does Peekskill offer any advantages over New York City, where his
previous studio was located?
"The diversity of Peekskill is like a scaled-down version of
Manhattan," he says. "Here, people will have access to my
creativity and I will have access to the people."
Access and diversity are, obviously, important factors to an artist
who thinks of his studio as a cultural center where the community
can gather and share meaningful experiences together. Peekskill, as
it turns out, is the ideal place to bring about a fusion of Stevens'
many interests.
In a nutshell
What: Opening celebration of Jon Stevens'
SILVER PEOPLE STUDIO
When: June 10 & 11 from noon to 5:00 p.m.
Where: 824 Main Street (#4), Peekskill (entrance
on Decatur Avenue)
For more information: (914) 293-0884 and www.silverpeoplestudio.com
