Guild Hall Lights the Way
By Linda Lee
When East Hampton’s prime cultural institution announces two intriguing shows opening May 19, that is a kickoff to the summer. Members will get an early peek on Saturday, May 18, 2024, from noon to 5 pm. For fans of the indigenous, abstract and tactile arts, there is “Spin a Yarn,” a clever title for a show of textile works from the ancient Andes to now, including feather-work, knots, weaving, twisted fibers, and embroidery. The show points out that these pieces, besides their inherent beauty, were often meant to convey a story. Thus they wove a yarn for the next generation.
Rotazione XV by Jorge Eielson (1978) Fabric and acrylic on board. Estrellita B. Brodsky Collection.
The second show revives the career, cut short by AIDS, of Edward “Ted” Fawcett Carey (1932–1985), who lived in Manhattan and the Hamptons. His ingenuous paintings, showing scenes with his friends, are flat. He was part of the Andy Warhol crowd, however, so his paintings were knowing, not naive.
The title for the show, “Queer as Folk,” refers to the Showtime series of 20 years ago, for those too young to remember. A previous show of Carey’s paintings was put on shortly after his death, in 1985. (The year 1985 will be remembered as when Ryan White, a hemophiliac, got AIDS, Rock Hudson died of it, and Ronald Reagan mentioned it for the first time; a majority of Americans believed in 1985 that people with AIDS should be quarantined.) Carey’s artworks were preserved by his partner, Tito Spiga, seen in the painting below. Spiga donated nine Carey paintings to Guild Hall, and 10 Warhol works. He committed suicide in 1988 in East Hampton when he tested positive for the AIDS virus.
The title “Emak Bakia” refers to the Basque title of a surreal film by Man Ray made in 1926. Tito Spiga is wearing a robe, far right. Ted Carey is center. His mother is at left. They are sitting on classic Eames Diamond wire chairs. Oil painting by Ted Carey. (1978-80) Gift of the Estate of Ted Carey. Photo: Gary Mamay4
“Boot Hill (75th and Amsterdam Ave, New York City” Ted Carey, (1982-85O) Oil on panel. Photo: Gary Mamay. This is probably a reference to the legendary leather-Western Candle Bar on Amsterdam, which closed in 2015.
When “Spin a Yarn” and “Queer as Folk” end, on July 14, Eric Fischl’s “A Day at the Beach” interactive exhibit opens in Guild Hall’s Boots Lamb’s education center. Here is an invitation to play. Visitors will be invited to add (or subtract) from Fischl’s vision of a day at the beach with their own magnetized vinyl creations. Or to use several that are provided. It will be a cumulative effort, and ongoing. Day by day.
“A Day at the Beach” Eric Fischl (2020) Vinyl on steel and magnets. Photo: Melanie Crader
And don’t forget. Guild Hall’s much-anticipated John Drew Theater will be reopening in July!
