Ed Sappin | Philanthropy & Community

Giving & Volunteering

Running with and for the Community

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Ed Sappin Vermont City Marathon 2005

Vermont City Marathon 2005 – a few years younger, a few pounds lighter!

 

Once upon a time, I was a marathon runner and long before that I ran everything from the 5K to half marathon here and there. After several injuries and growing into middle age, I had stopped running for many years until recently, when I tried to get back into form.

Running is a great way to engage with the community, whether it be hearing your name yelled out when you’re getting off of the 59th Street bridge and going onto 1st Avenue in the middle of the New York City Marathon (to quote American great runner Meb Keflezighi “You know the excitement is waiting for you,” Keflezighi says of crossing the Queensboro Bridge. “You always hear about it, but to experience it is wild.” in the late miles of a marathon), running for charity, or going off into the woods on a trail and experiencing nature.

On Saturday, May 6th, I lined up for the Dime McCarren 5k in Williamsburg, which supports St Nicks Alliance. St Nicks works to improve the lives of low to moderate income people, focusing on elder care, affordable housing, workforce development, and youth and education. Started in 2012, the race has become a fairly popular event, bringing out over 500 runners for a spring race to support a good cause.

While it is a far cry from the 2005 Vermont City Marathon (above), my last race, I was pleased to be able to finish the race without injury and without stopping. My time of 30:45 won’t go down in any record books (even mine), but it was good to be back on the road and crossing the finish line after 12 years. I’m looking forward to doing more races and supporting the community even more over the summer and into the fall. Whether you participate or volunteer, hopefully you can do the same!

Winning the White House

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We are finally here – it is election day 2016 after one of the most vicious electoral campaigns of modern times. The candidates have tried to leverage all the modern tools to win the day. In spite of this, the election of 1960 was arguably even more of a watershed for presidential candidates and their public images.

John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon participated in the first nationally televised debate on September 26, 1960. Those who listened on the radio thought Nixon won with his answers about current issues. However, the debate on television was a different story.

Nixon sported five o’clock shadow, appeared to be sweaty and didn’t look at the camera. Kennedy appeared well-groomed and confident. Kennedy looked like he was the better candidate — and won over the 70 million television viewers by a broad margin.

And that was just the beginning.

With the rise of television, the internet and social media, image has become paramount for presidential candidates, while substance has waned in importance. Winning the White House: From Press Prints to Selfies, a photography exhibit presented earlier this year by the International Center of Photography (ICP) at the Southampton Arts Center in New York, explored the complicated relationship between candidates’ personal images in visual media and their carefully created and tightly controlled campaign images over time.

The exhibit featured campaign memorabilia, posters, and video materials created for the candidates from the start of the campaign image revolution – with John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon — to current candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

In a press release issued by ICP, Assistant Curators Claartje van Dijk and Susan Carlson describe the evolution of the campaign image and the importance it has in the current election today.

“Presidential candidates have used photographic imagery in their campaigns to impact public opinion,” says van Dijk. “The delivery method has shifted from print publications to broadcast to computer and mobile phone screens.”

Carlson goes more in-depth about imagery and the presidential election today. “With the rise of smart-phone technology and the rapid rate at which images are released on social media, the 2016 campaigns are seeing an even greater demand for visual content,” she said. “This provides us with a timely opportunity to explore photography’s significant role in elections.”

The free exhibit ran from August 6, 2016 to until September 11, 2016 at The Southampton Arts Center. You can view some of the artwork on social media channels by using the hashtag #WinningtheWhiteHouse.

Nature, Technology and Humanity through the Worlds of Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

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In 2007, I was living in Shanghai and decided to come back to the US for a visit to see my family in New York. I also passed through Chicago to attend the law school commencement of a cousin living there. Trudging through the winter in Chicago was actually fun (my cousin graduated midyear). I had some free time during the trip and visited the Catherine Edelman Gallery in River North, where I first saw the works of Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison.

I was taken with the worlds the ParkeHarrison’s depicted in their bleak photographic works – the environment suffering greatly, often with an everyman trying to help heal some of the ills that have befallen Mother Nature.

Earth Elegies by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (from the artists’ website)

Earth Elegies by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (from the artists’ website)

The ParkeHarrisons became one of my favorites from that day onwards. Their statement is one of alarm, concern and warning of the world we live in and where it may lead:

We  create works in response to the ever-bleakening relationship linking humans, technology, and nature. These works feature an ambiguous narrative that offers insight into the dilemma posed by science and technology’s failed promise to fix our problems, provide explanations, and furnish certainty pertaining to the human condition.  Strange scenes of hybridizing forces, swarming elements, and bleeding overabundance portray Nature unleashed by technology and the human hand.  

Rich colors and surrealistic imagery merge to reveal the poetic roots of the works on display.  The use of color is intentional but abstract; proportion and space are compositional rather than natural; movement is blurred; objects and people juxtaposed as if by chance in a visual improvisation that unfolds choreographically.  At once formally arresting and immeasurably loaded with sensations—this work attempts to provide powerful impact both visually and viscerally. 

– Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (as posted on the artists’ website)

While their artistic statement expresses great concern of a potentially apocalyptic future, the ambiguity in their statement also points to the ability to correct our course and become better stewards of the land. On that day in Chicago, I was particularly taken with Gray Dawn, a dreary, contemplative work. Our everyman lays on a bed, asleep still or waking we do not know, with a dirty window in front of him and a scene outside dominated by a power plant or industrial facility. However, there are signs of life, of Mother Nature, as plant trimmings sprouting in the foreground point to another dawn.

Gray Dawn by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (from the Catherine Edeleman Gallery website)


Gray Dawn by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (from the Catherine Edeleman Gallery website)

The ParkeHarrisons are well represented by major galleries in New York, Chicago, and Colorado and their works have been included in the permanent collections of institutions including the Whitney, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC and the Museum of Arts in Boston. If you have a chance to see their creations I highly recommend it.

 

Gateway to Himalayan Art at the Rubin

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Gateway to Himalayan Art

“Life story of Buddha Shakyamuni,” a Tibetan cloth painting on display at the exhibit.                           [Image courtesy of RubinMuseum.org]

New York City is home to a vast range of museums, many of them legendary, from the Met to the MoMa to the Museum of Natural History. While big-name museums are exciting to visit, there are also many niche institutions throughout the city. The Rubin, a cultural hub for Asian art, is one that I find fascinating and wish more people knew about.

 

Located in Chelsea, the Rubin, “inspires visitors to make powerful connections between contemporary life and the art, cultures, and ideas of the Himalayas and neighboring regions.” Since opening in 2004, the Rubin has had 1.4 million visitors through its interactive and educational exhibits that connect contemporary world to Himalayan art, ideas and history.

 

Himalayan art is not something everyone has an inherent familiarity with, which is why a visit to the Rubin can be particularly eye-opening and intriguing. The exhibit “Gateway to Himalayan Art,” a year-long exhibit lasting this June to next, is a wonderful way to introduce new viewers to the Rubin’s collections. Even those like myself with an interest in Asian Art can glean new and interesting insights from “Gateway.”

 

“Gateway to Himalayan Art” introduces visitors to the main concepts, forms, and themes  within the Rubin’s collections: a gateway in every sense of the word. It opens with a video presentation and virtual map that highlights regions of interest, including past and present parts of Mongolia, India, Nepal, China, and Bhutan. Significant objects from the collection are arranged within the exhibit by theme: 1) figures and symbols, 2) materials and techniques, and 3) purpose and function. This careful, organized curation helps visitors understand what a piece of art means, what it is made for, and what it does or did.

 

The most common depiction is the Buddha, or “enlightened one,” founder of Buddhism and religious figure in 5th or 6th century BCE. A variety of Himalayan gods and goddesses can also be observed on scrolls, murals, sculptures, and tools.

 

The Rubin Museum is a fantastic museum for any visitor, its collections full of items that provide a window into another part of the globe. “Gateway to Himalayan Art” is an educational portal into this magnificent world, well-suited for both first-time visitors and specialists. Next time you’re in Chelsea, why not treat yourself?

The Brilliance of Michael Kenna

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This is the first of a series profiling some of my favorite artists, living or past.

Michael Kenna is a rare modern photographer – his work is both lauded by the art world and has crossed over into the mainstream market. You can walk into some of the most rarefied galleries in the US or abroad and see his original prints, or go on to Overstock and buy a framed poster. What is the appeal?

Kenna creates ethereal, beautiful landscapes with high contrast, and small format. His works jewel boxes, taking us along for a trip to see the world around us anew.

Ed Sappin - Japanese art

Winter Sun, Kami Oumu, Hokkaido, Japan. 2004

Born in Lancashire, England and currently residing in Seattle, Washington, Kenna is best known for his works of Asia, specifically Japan. He is also an accomplished commercial photographer who has worked with some of the world’s leading brands. On the more serious front, Kenna has also turned his lens to subjects including concentration camps and the changing landscape of the Middle East. His image below of the railway lines at Birkenau is haunting and beautiful, a counterpoint to the horrors that took place in this slice of the Polish countryside.

Ed Sappin -Railway Lines

Railway Lines and Entry Building, Birkenau, Poland, 1992

Kenna is represented by a who’s who of galleries around the world and is often the subject of individual and part of group exhibitions. Next time you have an opportunity to see his work in a city near you, I highly recommend it.

Pushing the Boundaries of Photography: The New ICP Museum

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On Thursday, June 22, the relocated International Center of Photography opened at its new home in New York City at 250 Bowery. As a photographer, the opening of this museum has been on my radar for a while now, and from what I’ve heard it does not disappoint. That is, unless you’re expecting traditional photography. The first exhibit is decidedly much edgier than that.

Called “Public, Private, Secret,” the New York Times says that this exhibit shows how the ICP has been renovated for the so-called “selfie age.”  In its ultra-modern 11,000 square foot space, with an all-glass street-level facade (erasing any inside privacy) it would seem that the architecture matches the artwork in this respect.

Organized by Charlotte Cotton, the museum’s first curator in residence, “Public, Private, Secret” explores the way that public image collides with self identity. This, I think, is very fitting in an age where everyone with a smartphone has become a photographer and social branding expert in their own right. Rather than treating the everyday selfie as art, the work showcased is elevated and conceptual: cameras capture museumgoers and turn their images into a pixelated display, art is created out of found footage from social media, to name just two examples.

The ICP’s Bowery debut comes after a move from Midtown Manhattan, its home for many years. The museum has an interesting history: it was originally founded in 1974 by photographer Cornell Capa, who was concerned with upkeeping the legacy of what he called “concerned photography” — photography with a humanitarian impulse bent on having social impact on the world. Capa started ICP after leading the legendary Magnum Photos. Since ICP’s founding, it’s become one of the world’s leading institutions dedicated solely to photography and the visual arts.

The concerned photographer expresses “genuine human feeling predominates over commercial cynicism or disinterested formalism.” This opening exhibit is a portrayal of human feelings as they exist in a digital era, where the line between public and private is as thin as you want it to be, and sometimes erased altogether.  

But what I find especially great about ICP is that it’s more than just a museum. I took my first formal photography courses there when the museum was based on the Upper East Side. Throughout its history, ICP has engaged the surrounding community, including schools and public programs, and photography is brought to the forefront instead of treated as an afterthought as you sometimes see in art museums. I can’t wait to visit ICP in its new home, as it continues to break boundaries and impact visitors through careful curation, outreach, and innovation.

Good for the Heart, Good for the Community

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Back in the dark ages, I rowed for part of my freshman year at Penn. The school had just won the national championship for heavyweight eights the prior year (the most prestigious race) and I walked on without knowing too much. Almost all of the other team members had been recruited from prestigious prep schools around the US, but I somehow was good enough to be invited to winter training in Florida. I generally do not look second guess past decisions, but my 18 year old self decided to leave the team just before the main spring rowing season to try rugby. I went to a few rugby practices, didn’t like it and decided to just run and play basketball rather than go back to rowing.

Now, 20+ years later, I am excited to have found a place in New York City where one can row on the water. Even better, the group sponsoring it has a great community program. So this Saturday I’ll be heading to the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River to take RowNewYork’s Learn to Row I program. It is required to move ahead in their sequence and I’ll be in Learn to Row II later in June.

What excites me at least as rowing myself is the youth programs RowNewYork sponsors targeting middle school and high school kids that ordinarily would not have access to a crew program. From the website: “RowNewYork’s core year-round program for youth combines rowing with comprehensive academic support, and prepares middle school and high school girls and boys for success both on and off the water.” More about the volunteer mission here. Whether you want to row yourself or just get involved with a great organization check out RowNewYork.

The Refugee Crisis as Seen from New York

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Ed Sappin, refugee article

Every week if not every day there is another story in the news on our global refugee crisis. A child dies trying to make it across the Aegean Sea to Greece. The EU negotiates with Turkey to repatriate illegal refugees while supposedly taking in an equal number of legitimate refugees. The Shengen agreement effectively goes up in flames as EU countries reinstitute border controls.

Meanwhile, we sit here in New York and worry about our ongoing presidential campaign, our rent or mortgages, if Mayor De Blasio can be effective, how the Mets and Yankees are going to do this year. Syria is far away and it is very easy to dismiss our current crisis (yes our) as Europe’s problem, or the Middle East’s problem.

I find this particularly hard to stomach. We have been and remain a country of immigrants, even if we are going through a period of income inequality and social unrest. Most of us are here because our ancestors were fleeing from something terrible: wars or political, economic or religious persecution. To be sure, not all Americans are here because they were leaving something bad behind. Many came to seek fortunes or change.

I do not expect us to open up our doors to massive waves of immigrants. But we need to do more to help others in need. Donating to charities is a great place to start and participating in a volunteer mission is even better. There are great organizations at work on both fronts, like Doctors without Borders, UNICEF, Save the Children and others. My personal recommendation is the International Rescue Committee.

Founded in 1933 with the help of Albert Einstein, IRC is notable for its focus on results – the most recent review of the charitys finances showed 93% of its donations going to actual programs and services. Currently led by David Milband, the former Secretary for Foreign Affairs on the UK, IRC is very active in the Syrian Crisis. It is providing resettlement support to the small number of Syrians being allowed into the US and healthcare and providing healthcare and other services in Syria, Iraq, Greece, Lebanon, and Jordan.

So take some time as we enjoy the blossoming of spring to remember that we are very fortunate to live in our beautiful city. Help those displaced by the Syrian crisis whether you donate your time or money and pay homage to the immigrants that have sought safety and a new life in this country for generations.

Spring is Here and the Art World is Blooming

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It is spring in New York and the museum and art worlds are busy with events, fundraisers and auctions. My wife Yanhua and I were fortunate to take part in The Rubin Museum’s annual spring series Brainwave. Emotion is the theme this year and we had an interesting afternoon with Bob Mankoff of the New Yorker and neuroscientist Scott Weems exploring laughter. What makes people laugh and how does the brain process it?

We also were able to attend several events around Asia Week New York at the Rubin and at Christie’s. The opening of the auction at Christie’s included a number of beautiful pieces. My favorite was the head of an unnamed bodhisattva from Indonesia (below),

Ed Sappin philanthropy

while my wife Yanhua preferred a statue of Guanyin, the Mahayana Buddhist bodhisattva. I guess we were both looking for guides on our path to enlightenment.

Ed Sappin philanthropy

I was sad to miss the Armory Show but one of my favorite events, the AIPAD show, is coming up in a few weeks. It is the pre-eminent photography show in New York and brings together some of the best galleries in the world. I am looking forward to seeing the new works from husband and wife duo Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison who are presented by the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago.

On the volunteer front, I’ve been hard at work on a new civic venture to create family wage jobs for an underserved population in New York City. More to come on this in future blog posts.