Blood Type: Ragu

This is the transcipt of the podcast appearing on our podcast page.

Carolyn: Frank Ingrasciotta is a veteran of the New York stage and television. He is also the heart and soul behind his one man show, Blood Type: Ragu, currently at the Actors’ Playhouse in Greenwich Village, New York City. Raised in Brooklyn by his Sicilian immigrant parents, Frank became the bridge not only between each of his parents, but also between his parents and 1960’s America. This created pressure and confusion for Frank and his siblings, and they each coped in the best way they knew how. Blood Type: Ragu distills the poignancy and hilarity of a dysfunctional Italian American family in a time of turbulence in America. Andy Webster of the New York Times says, “It’s the understanding and forgiveness that gives Blood Type: Ragu its lasting, rewarding flavor.”

Tell me about how the show has evolved. Tell me where it started.

Frank: I always had these stories that I would tell my friends and they would always crack up. And I thought it was normal, but I found out it wasn’t normal by the way everyone was cracking up. Because you know it’s funny as a kid you grow up as a first generation child in a house that I have to imagine that not just Italian Americans go through this but I’m sure every culture that’s coming into this county goes through this, whether it’s Chinese or Latino. And it would be one life in your house and one life in your more Americanized friends’ house. So, I knew those stories were always something that I would recount to my friends and by the way they laughed at the stories, my non-Italian friends, I knew that there must have been something there.

So they kept saying you really should make it into a stand-up comedy act. So when I married Theresa, the gift of the story came out. When meeting a Sicilian woman and marrying her and reconnecting to her family, that was a big Italian family. And I had pretty much divorced myself from the culture from everything that I had been through. I was reintroduced to the culture in a more positive way and also it afforded me the opportunity to open myself up And Theresa kept saying to me, “You know, the last time you saw your family there you were 7. Why don’t you go look them up?”

I was already in my mid-30s at that time and I was so scared. Because every time she would mention it, the shame of the whole story coming out of like, I would feel it. The idea of knocking door was just reminding me of the whole story. Because my mother and father were ashamed of their own relationship they divorced themselves from the entire family.

And then I thought, OK, I’m going to go there, I’m going to find the courage, I’ll go. And then the rest of the story you’ll come and see the show and see what happens. I was in the elevator after I had met my aunt and uncle. I turned to Theresa and said, I’ve been given a gift. A gift of the ending. Now I’ve just got to thread it together. But this is the story. And I know I had something wild and it was a gift, I thank God every day for it, you know?

So I sat, I started to write. And then from there I did a reading at Dixon Place and from there I got a producer at the Belmont Playhouse in Little Italy in the Bronx brought me in. I was supposed to last there 4 weeks, I lasted there 4 months. Then, after that, I always thought I was going to put it down but I’d get a booking here, solo performance festivals, and then it built a momentum. But it took 9 years.

Carolyn: The show doesn’t present the expected romanticized view of an Italian American upbringing. Why did you make the choice to go a more complex route and have you encountered problems?

Frank: My reasoning for presenting it in this way is because I wanted to tell a truthful story from my experience and I felt there was more to be said between the dynamics of a mother/son relationship and a father/son relationship and I wanted to show what the holy trinity is like when the mother and father are having problems and a child takes on the roles that the mother and father should be giving each other more fully.

So I thought there was a lot to be said to talking about a story that had a little more depth than just the romanticism of it. I mean I do romanticize things, but it’s been done. The food has been done. I wanted to tell a deeper story.

Carolyn: And you definitely do. The story takes you in so many different directions in terms of, it’s very, very funny in certain spots and I’m still repeating certain lines from the show, because they are just so funny. But then, you’re laughing and then the next second something happens and then you’re shocked. It really takes your breath away, it’s like “Wow! He went there!” It’s amazing. So that takes tremendous courage on your part.

Frank: Thank you. Well, I watch one man shows, and I’ve studied them. And some of the most brilliant people that I admire and respect, when I see them going there, what they tend to do is cut it with a punch line, or not go deep. and I think there’s a fear of that, and I knew what I was doing when I went there and I wanted to take the risk to do it I was afraid in the beginning and I’d be lying to say I wasn’t because I thought ‘are people really going to get this?’ but I thought, the more truth I tell, as long as it’s from an honest place I feel, at least, I can’t go wrong, you know?

Carolyn: Well, I think it certainly makes it more universal. It’s getting beyond the Italian story, it’s a very human story.

Frank: Thank you. That’s what I really intended. Thank you. Because you see, people, it’s so funny. Like some people who were thinking of wanting to produce this piece, they didn’t take the time to read the script and I always knew when they did and when they didn’t.

Because when they started saying things to me like, ‘Well I don’t know if it’s universal or it’s just for Italians’ I was like, ‘you didn’t read the script’. So of course if you’re Italian you get it in a much more visceral way, but it’s for anybody who’s grown up in a family, and we all have.

Carolyn: One of the things I’d like to discuss which I found so refreshing about the content of the show is the poetry and there’s a literary quality to the writing that I appreciated so much and the audience appreciated so much. There’s this unspoken respect from your writing that, my audience, they’re smart people, they’re going to get this. So can you talk a little bit about this, because I think that’s pretty unusual on stage and in a lot of entertainment.

Frank: Italian, to me, is poetry. Because growing up it was never just, you know, ‘drop dead’ it was, your tongue should whither and fall out’, you know? It was never just saying a curse word, but it was just, ‘go back to the womb of your mother’. It was just these things, and even as a child I would say, that’s like pretty intense as a form of expression. There’s a poetry even in the way they put each other down and curse each other out. ‘Face of a cow turd’, those kinds of things.

Frank: I think in the way things are described in the culture it’s always so visual, it creates pictures in your mind, there’s such an imagery there. I really feel that’s part of what makes Italian culture so special.

I didn’t just want to say, ‘my mother left the kitchen’, but I put it in a way where I was saying, ‘a malfunction exiled the holy mother’s conveyer belt arms from the dinner table to the kitchen where she now eats alone as a declaration of her independence.’

Now there’s a lot of metaphor coming at people, there’s a lot of images, and I know that’s like 4 or 5 of them there. And I also have learned to simplify some things. But I want people to think about what that means, you know?

Carolyn: And they do. I can tell you as an audience member, when I left, I was still thinking about the story, I was still thinking about the language. It clings to you. It’s a story and a presentation with a lot of depth.

When Frank was 7 years old he traveled to Sicily with his mother. There, he was exposed to a life he never imagined existed. His time in Sicily created some of his show’s most unforgettable moments.

Frank: And I got off the plane and it was just a whole other world and back then, in the late ‘60s, Sicily was a different place than what it is now. Now I want to go live there, they live better than us. They’re not coming here anymore. They have it together and they know how to live, much better than we do. But back then it was primitive. The chickens were still running thru the streets and the mule was still in the basement in the stall, and they didn’t have indoor plumbing. My grandmother had one running water faucet down in the basement.

I had this photographic memory of images growing up as a boy and those 4 months I spent there as a child at the age of 7 was such a culture shock from what I knew. And I was not warned, I was not told, I just showed up.

There’s a scene in the play where my mother takes me to Rimina Vendura, a soothsayer, to rub a curse off of us that was put on the family by, supposedly a family member. And that really did happen, that was true. I still have memories of that woman with olive oil smeared on her eyelids, rubbing me down to take the curse out. I had to… (laughter).

Carolyn: So you’re rubbed down with olive oil.

Frank: Right. Ragu, garlic and olive oil, that was the 3 ingredients she used. My grandmother was there, my mother was there and I was there. I don’t recall if she actually rubbed down my mother’s stomach to take the curse out, or my grandmother’s stomach, but I distinctly remember incantations and prayers and I still remember what she said.

I just remember that this is freaky and spooky. And I was a big fan of Bugs Bunny growing up, and I thought she was a Bugs Bunny character. That’s why I mentioned that in the show.

Carolyn: One thing that impressed me in the show was your acknowledgement of the tarantella, the phenomenon of tarantate, tarantismo, the whole thing. Many people don’t refer to that or if they do they refer to it in a very traditional kind of wedding dance sort of way and not the phenomenon of the bite of the tarantula. But tell me your thinking. Why did you bring that in and how?

Frank: I saw this wonderful documentary about the history of the tarantella that I actually still have on some old video somewhere that explained the whole mystery behind it. Women would have these little mini breakdowns out in the fields, from whatever they were going thru, everybody would gather around that woman who was having the emotional breakdown and they would play instruments to exorcise out the evil spirits. It was literally an exorcism. So, I brought in the whole notion of the tarantella because of that story with the fattura and the curse and her taking it out of me and I needed to find something that connected the play in the beginning to what happens in the end.

The tarantella is misunderstood, maybe not misunderstood, it’s just not known, what the history is. And they think it’s just a celebration dance that’s played at weddings where everybody just dances around and holds hands and does the grapevine, but that’s not what it is.

Carolyn: It has such deep cultural meaning,

Frank: Right. And because of the metaphor of the exorcism that’s what it took for me to get where I am now in my life and what I talk about, so what perfect metaphor than to use the image of the tarantella because it was my journey, as well.

Carolyn: I’d like to talk a little bit about the challenges of doing a one man show in terms of the stamina that you need. You do about 22 characters, right?

Frank: I do 22 characters, men and women. And it’s a challenge.

So it’s all about preparation. I have to take care of my voice, I have to pick and choose who I want to talk to on the telephone. I’m under the care of a chiropractor and a naturopath. I’m on a high vitamin, high protein diet and that’s what I’m doing. Just lots of tea and herbal drops and I have to just pace myself to be able to do it. Because I’ve never done 8 shows a week, and that’s what I’m doing. Two on Wednesday, two on Saturday, two on Sunday, so it’s a lot.

To do two in a day, and on the weekend I do five. An hour and a half just me on stage. So I’m just so grateful I can do it. I did the first week and now I’m like, OK, I’m going to build a rhythm, I’m going to figure it out. And I am. You have to really pace yourself.

Blood Type: Ragu opened on March 5, 2009 at the Actors Playhouse on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York City, for an open ended run. To learn more, visit www.bloodtyperagu.com.

From the Ground Up - Creating an International Art Exhibit

This is a transcript of a podcast appearing on our Podcast page.

Carolyn: Walking through an art exhibit is both relaxing and exhilarating. Seeing objects up close that were created an ocean away, there’s a feeling of appreciation and connection. Have you ever wondered how an international exhibit comes together? How does it go from the original inspiration all the way to shipping one of a kind pieces of art across an ocean? I had the chance to pose these questions to Dr. Evelyn Rossetti, Executive Director of the Westchester Italian Cultural Center in Tuckahoe, New York. In this program, Dr. Rossetti explains the details of how 2 art exhibits, one a collection of ceramics from Este, Italy and the other, paintings from Venice, made their way from concept to opening day in Tuckahoe, New York.

Evelyn: When you’re involved in planning an exhibition it’s all very exciting and I think people frequently think about the end result, as they should, because you need to start at the end and work backwards. But as they say, the devil’s in the details. And there are so many details that go into planning an exhibit. How many pieces and how will the pieces get here?

Carolyn: Especially when you’re dealing with overseas, original works of art. It requires so much creativity and patience and detailed planning on your part.

Evelyn: And diligence. You really need to believe in it and you really need to want to make sure it comes out correctly. So one works very hard at that and engages a variety of professionals to help with that. Making sure there’s proper insurance to protect the shipping of the artwork, and making sure the artwork does get out of customs. And on the walls, as it should .Which is what everyone wants at the end of the day. They want to see the artwork on the walls!

Carolyn: We’ll begin with Ceramica Magnifica Exhibit. Ceramica Magnifica was part of about 67 exhibitions taking place throughout Westchester County, New York under the umbrella of an initiative called All Fired Up. The Westchester Arts Council created All Fired Up in order to celebrate the ceramics tradition across a broad range of styles and countries.



Ceramica Magnifica at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center ran from Oct. 7 through Nov. 30, 2008. All of the pieces were produced in the town of Este, just outside of Venice Italy.

Walking through the exhibit at the Center was a calm, almost serene experience, with each piece lit just so to bring out its shape, color and character. But how did all of this come together?

Evelyn: I had the occasion to meet one of the curators, Dr. Judith Schwartz who’s at NYU who is the chair of the ceramics program at NYU, and Judy said, “Have I got a show for you! This is a perfect show for the Westchester Italian Cultural Center.” I learned more about it, I met with Federika Marangoni who is a renowned artist and also curated the show for us and I said yeah, it’s a perfect fit. It was a year in planning.

Carolyn: I guess that’s what you have to do to create things like this, they don’t just come together in 15 minutes.

Evelyn: Our meeting did, and knowing that we would do this did, but the shipping of it, the planning, the curating, preparation of the catalogue that took much longer.

Carolyn: I would think the shipping from Italy and you have to wait for it to come thru customs. How long did it take to get here?

Evelyn: All tolled, it probably took between 3 or 4 weeks, which, at the end of the day wasn’t terrible at all. But we were very well prepared, the show was very well planned out, the artists were very enthusiastic.

Carolyn: The town of Este, Italy has a ceramics tradition that dates back 6,000 years.

Evelyn: It’s remarkable; 6,000 years. They’re very, very proud of their ceramics tradition. However, with modern times some of the interest in ceramics production had started to wane, and so to reinvigorate an interest and to keep the tradition alive the town of Este created a juried art exhibition every 3 years, much like the Venice Biennale. They are doing the Este Triennale, all focused on ceramics, contemporary ceramics design and it brings a wealth of ideas and variety of artists to the town.

Carolyn: The Ceramica Magnifica exhibition is a survey of pieces over 3 years: 2001, 2004 and 2007. Not all of the artists in the show are Italian, but all of the pieces were produced in the town of Este in its rich tradition.

The artists participating in this exhibition are from various disciplines; fashion designers, architects and graphic designers. These artists interpreted their particular visions into ceramic pieces.

Evelyn: There are American artists in it, people like Allison Sky, Ultraviolet who was a contemporary of Andy Warhol, John Loring, Missoni, Krizia, Massimo Vignelli and Adam Tehani. The show celebrates not just ceramic artists per se, but also people who are creative and who have created these very interesting, very compelling, very provocative designs.

Some of the pieces are very useful, they can be a plate for example. And some of them are very whimsical and some of them are very provocative. It really plays with the possibilities of what ceramics can be. So it’s really a show that’s on the cutting edge but celebrating traditions, and carrying forth lots of traditions. It was also very exciting for the town of Este in fact, the gentleman whose workshop, whose factory produced all of the ceramics was here the night of the Opening and the mayor of the town of Este was here.

Carolyn: Some of the artists were also in attendance at the Opening.

Evelyn: Armando Milani was here, and he’s just a treat, Ultraviolet, Angie Churchill was here. Angie Churchill was interesting because she had been the Chair of Ceramic Arts at NYU some years ago, and she was originally from Milano, so this exhibition had a very special resonance for her as a professional artist, as a professor, as an Italian American woman.

Carolyn: After Ceramica Magnifica’s run at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center, it will be brought to different museums and galleries in the Westchester County area

Evelyn: so that this tradition and this wonderfully, beautifully curated show with some 65 artists in it will continue on.



Carolyn: The next exhibit we examined was the paintings of Roberto Merelli, which appeared at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center from February – April, 2008. Merelli is 86 years of age and lives and works in Venice. His work first came to the attention of the Center when David Pope, the President and CEO of the Generoso Pope Foundation, happened to see it while he was on vacation in Italy.

Evelyn: Some years ago David Anthony Pope was on vacation in Venice with his wife, saw Merelli’s work and fell in love with it and said one day we’re going to do an exhibition. And then, back in the summer of 2007, Patricia Calce who’s our Director of Programs, was in Italy and she met with Roberto Merelli and discussed the possibility of doing an exhibition.

Carolyn: Roberto Merelli does not exhibit often in America and as such, is not a household name. But he is well known outside of the US.

Evelyn: He’s exhibited in the Venice Biennale, he’s exhibited with Salvador Dali, but he does not exhibit often in America. In fact, there’s only one other gallery in the US that carries his work from time to time. So he’s getting older, I think the idea of having a real exhibition, a one man show in New York was very exciting to him, and so he agreed to do the exhibition.

Carolyn: Some of the challenges of transporting the paintings from Italy to the United States were similar to those of the Ceramica Magnifica exhibit. How many pieces to bring over and which ones? What is the best method of transport? Who are the correct professionals to handle the details? Is there sufficient insurance?

Evelyn: It’s always an experience and yes there were some challenges. Some of the paintings were held up in customs for a couple of days. All of the paintings were ultimately released, but the drama of the story and the excitement of the story was that we didn’t get to pick them up until the morning of the Opening.

Carolyn: That’s an aspect of directing a show like that the average person doesn’t think about.

Evelyn: That’s right.

Carolyn: Of course, this final delay meant that the pieces were picked up at customs, brought to the Center, unpacked, and hung on the same day as the Opening Reception, when hundreds of guests were expected to walk through the door. It’s not for the faint of heart!

Evelyn: I will say that was our first real major exhibition. So we were very excited to bring this Venetian painter, well known in Italy, well known amongst artists and people who are art connoisseurs, but not very well known in New York. It was incredibly well received. He captures the spirit and the light of Venice like no one else we’ve ever seen.

Carolyn: To learn about future exhibits, visit wiccny.org.

Our New Photography Exhibit in Riverdale, New Jersey!

This article also appears on our Italian Journal page.

Our current exhibit of selections from the collection Italy, Through the Eyes of Love is at the Riverdale Public Library in Riverdale, New Jersey (www.riverdalelibrary.org). The exhibit opened with a reception on November 17 and continues through January 16, 2009. A portion of the proceeds from sales will be donated to the Library.

The Riverdale Public Library is an open, light-filled space with several levels. They regularly hold art exhibitions and interesting programs on a variety of topics. Over the summer, Jefferson stopped by the Library and asked if they would display our marketing postcard, since I was a town resident. (Jefferson designed our postcard and it always attracts attention. Here it is:

The staff graciously agreed and Jefferson went on his way. A few weeks later the Library contacted us through our website and asked if we would be interested in exhibiting the photographs at the Library. We were thrilled! They also asked if we would conduct an hour-long program for them on the collection (more on that later!), which of course, we agreed to do. It’s scheduled for December 2 at 7:00 pm.


We had a small window of time in which to install the exhibit, as we had to wait for the previous Library exhibit to be dismantled. Just like in Westchester, we brought in the metal grids for the unframed works (thanks to Matt Locker!) and hung the framed and gallery-wrapped prints on the walls.
The Opening Reception would start in a few hours. As we were working on it, we noticed that the heat in the Library (especially on the second floor) caused the identifying tags on the metal grids to curl. This was an unanticipated complication that needed to be addressed. Jefferson sized up the problem and fixed it by attaching thick stock black paper to the back of each tag. He believed this would work at least through the Opening Reception, and after that we would have time to create a more permanent solution if needed.
Of course, reinforcing the tags was rather tedious and time consuming. We finally finished at 5:30, rushed home, got dressed and returned to the Library in time for the Opening Reception at 6:30.

People started arriving early and kept coming until the Library closed at 8:00. We had invited many of them, and quite a few were strangers to us who had heard about the exhibit and wanted to see it. I use the word “strangers” very loosely because common interests bring people together, and soon we all talking about the enchantments of Italy!

Matting and Framing Photographs

This article also appears on our Italian Journal page.

We receive so many questions about matting and framing that it seemed like a good idea to share our process in an article. We hope it will add to the conversation about how to best enhance photography or showcase any artwork.

On our website, essenceofitaly.net, if you click on the Photography link on the left hand side, you’ll find yourself at the page that lists Regions and Subjects. We’ve added a new Category under the Subjects heading, entitled Custom Framed Prints. This category shows how we’ve chosen to mat and frame a selection of images from the collection, Italy, Through the Eyes of Love.


The photographs can be displayed in a variety of ways. We’ve included smaller size prints in ready-made triple frames, which you can purchase in many stores. In this way, the photographs can be mixed and matched to achieve whatever theme appeals to you; whether it’s subject matter, color, shape or your personal memories.

We’ve also included larger prints, approximately 12x18 inches, that we have had custom matted and framed. When it comes to choosing the right frame and mat, we pair each photograph with what we believe brings alive the color, vibrancy and mood of each image. Sometimes elements of the image itself are extended onto the mats or frames. At other times, the mat and frame emphasize the image that lies within.



I’d like to add a word about matting here. Many people believe that only black or white mats should be used for photographs. I believe this reflects a concern that a colored mat will distract from, rather than enhance, the photograph. However, we’ve never subscribed to this point of view. Although there may be times when a black or white mat best serves the image, we’ve never felt limited to those choices. Instead, we chose each mat color with the same care and specificity with which we choose each frame.


With all of our custom framed works, we use non-glare glass. It’s a little more expensive than regular glass, but is well worth it. Regular glass is highly reflective and this interferes with your ability to view the photograph. Any light source, including sunlight or a television set, will reflect off the glass and create a visual obstacle to the photograph and the mat you’ve chosen. But non-glare glass allows you to enjoy the photograph without strain or interruption.

Here are some examples of our custom frame choices and the reasons behind them:
For Chianca Beachouse, we started with a photograph that is very bright, colorful and intense in its geometry. We chose a mat color that compliments, rather than competes with the colors in the image. This mat also has a geometric design of its own which extends the geometric theme of the image. The frame has a plain design, again so as not to compete with geometric depth of the photograph.


For Benvenuti, we chose a purple toned mat to compliment the colors in the photograph, especially the predominate shades of yellow. The frame is deep burgundy that picks up the color of the pipe that runs vertically down the left side of the image. The frame is also textured in short sections that mimic pipe sections.


For Harvest, we chose a dark grey mat to emphasize the lighter colors of the grapes in the center of the image and also to mimic the dark cantina in which the grapes are stored. The frame is made of gnarled, twisted wood reminiscent of grape vines and bark.


Capri Rocks is a majestic image and its strong, masculine tone is repeated in the mat and frame choices. Here we used double matting in colors that pick up the colors of the rocks themselves and compliment those in the sea and sky. The frame is wide and substantial, mimicking the heaviness of the rocks.

I hope these examples provide a window into the process we use when creating finished works. I hope they help you set your own imagination free. If you would like to discuss possible matting and framing choices for any photograph from Italy, Through the Eyes of Love, please contact us.

Taking Down the Exhibit in Westchester

This article also appears on our Italian Journal page.

Although the exhibit technically ended July 31, 2008 the wonderful staff at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center were in no hurry to take down the exhibit. They allowed the works to remain until mid-September, when we finally began the careful dismantling process. Like all endings, it was bittersweet.

The exhibit had gone extremely well for the Center and for us. It was wonderful to read the comments written in the Visitors Book in the Exhibit Halls. Here are some of them: “Wonderful eye for beautiful scenes. Thanks for this mini-vacation”; “Le fotografie sono meravigliose!”; “Absolutely breathtaking – I feel as if I am there having wine & bread sharing happiness with my friends & loved ones!” We were so grateful to the Center for the opportunity, and they treated us so well throughout the experience, that we donated a 24x36 inch canvas of “Waiting” to the Center.

A narrow totem with 3 display screens stands in the front lobby of the Center.
Jefferson had created a slideshow of selections from the exhibit that played continuously on one of the screens. As the time for removing the exhibit drew near, Evelyn Rossetti, the Center Director, told us that the slideshow was so beautiful that she didn’t want to remove it. She asked if we wouldn’t mind leaving it on display in the totem. Mind?? Not at all! The slideshow had to be reworked because it had announced the exhibit dates. Here is the streaming video version of the new slideshow:



The Center also used my photograph, “Bogliasco Cliffs” for the cover of its Fall and Winter, 2008 Program Catalogue. Bogliasco is a small town near Genoa, in the region of Liguria, on the Italian Riviera. Here it is:


I had the opportunity to give a live radio interview about the exhibit on WGHT - 1500. You can listen to it here.

We had good press throughout the exhibition.

We’re very proud of the exhibit review that appeared in the Westchester County ArtNews Supplement to the Westchester County Business Journal, June 2008:



A wonderful article also appeared in The Herald News, focusing not only on the exhibit but on our collaboration:


The Italian Tribune:

Italy, Through the Eyes of Love, Exhibit is On!

The exhibit continues until July 31 at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center in Tuckahoe, New York.

Click here for directions: http://wiccny.org/contact.html#directions

Public viewing hours during May and June:

Tuesdays: 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Wednesdays: 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, except 6/11
Thursdays: 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Saturdays: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

In July, by appointment only.

Admission: Free

This article also appears on our Italian Journal page.

Well, ready or not, the big day arrived! Luckily, we were mostly ready. Jefferson & I went up to Tuckahoe early to finish hanging the exhibit. We finished just in time for me to start training the docents at the Center who will take people through the exhibit on a daily basis when I’m not there. The docents take their responsibilities very seriously and asked me thought-provoking questions about the stories behind specific images and my approach to photography in general. I know my photos will be in good hands with them.

By the time the session was over, it was time to get dressed for the opening. Just before 6:00 o’clock, the first groups started coming in. It was a stream that continued for 2 hours. I managed to meet most of them, and it was wonderful to answer their questions and hear their stories about what Italy means to them. Many of them were of Italian descent, but not all. You don’t have to be Italian to love Italy!

Some of the people I spoke with were born and raised in Italy. They shared their childhood memories of large, close families, heavenly aromas from the kitchen and picking grapes from their grandparent’s vineyard. Some were veteran travelers who spoke of Italian vacations that turned into the best moments of their lives. Some focused on the people with whom they had traveled, long passed away but alive forever in heart and memory. To me, this is the true alchemy of Italy, turning strangers into friends.



(Click on the player above to view Jefferson's slideshow. This video introduction is displayed on a large flat screen TV in the atrium between the two Exhibit rooms.)

Our New Photo Exhibit in Tuckahoe, New York!

This article also appears on our Italian Journal page.

We are preparing for an exhibit of selections from my photographic collection, Italy, Through the Eyes of Love, at the Westchester Italian Cultural Center in Tuckahoe, New York (http://www.wiccny.org/). The exhibit opens with a reception on Tuesday, April 29 from 6-8 pm and continues until July 31.

We’re very excited and proud to have been invited to show the photographs at the Center. We’re working with some wonderful people, like Evelyn Rossetti, Executive Director and Anne Marie Annuciato, Director of Events.

The Westchester Italian Cultural Center is associated with the Generoso Pope Foundation. It's the focal point for lovers of Italian culture in the area. They sponsor artistic exhibits (naturally!), Italian films, lectures, cooking classes, language classes, special children’s programs and highlight the wine and culture of particular Italian regions throughout the year.

If you’ve never been to the Center, it’s an elegant and impressive building. After a recent multi-million dollar renovation, it houses exhibit halls, a theater, library, professional kitchen and wine cellar. The architecture is gracefully appointed with careful attention to detail. It’s a feast for the eyes.

There are so many details that need attention and we’re hoping not to miss any! Jefferson designed the banners that will hang outside of the building announcing the exhibit.

He also designed the postcards that will be mailed to Center members. Still to do: design a slideshow of images and text for the electronic totem that stands in the front lobby; design the price list complete with images of each work, create the title cards for each photograph, decide where each work will be displayed, and that’s only what I can remember right now!


We’ll be showing works in various mediums; some will be matted and framed, some printed onto canvas without frames, and some on unframed on photographic paper. The unframed works will be displayed on black metal grid panels.

Our goal is to create a visual environment that invites each viewer into their own personal experience of Italy.

For this exhibit, I had to create a new Artist’s Statement and write my bio. I thought you might like to see them:



Artist’s Statement:

My journey as a photographer reflects my relationship with Italy itself.


I’d never been interested in photography until I started traveling to Italy. For my first few trips, starting in 1995, I didn’t even bring a camera. Although I was happy to share stories about my trips, At that time, I had the sense that I didn’t want to share what I had seen with anyone when I returned; I wanted to keep my visual experience private. I couldn’t explain why. But looking back, I see it more clearly. Those initial trips were my first steps on a personal healing journey. In many ways it was like entering therapy; both wonderfully liberating and at times, deeply painful.

At some point, as I was preparing for an Italian trip, it crossed my mind that if I took pictures there, I would come back with some great images. So, I bought a camera (I’m not kidding; I didn’t own one!) and saw Italy through a lens for the first time. I never expected anyone but me to care about my photographs, so I was surprised by the positive responses they received when I returned home.

The camera became my constant companion in Italy, and it continues to be an integral part of my healing journey. My relationship with Italy is like that of a lover; it brings me great happiness and some of my deepest disappointments.

But I can't imagine my life without it.

My photographs reflect what I value most about Italian life: its subtle surprises, freshness and the constant invitation to consider the familiar in unfamiliar ways. In that spirit, Italy continually invites me to look at myself with new eyes.





Biography:

Carolyn Masone was born in Brooklyn New York to an Italian-Swedish family, where the Italian influence always dominated. Her upbringing in New Jersey was filled with Italian culture; the music, dancing, cuisine, celebrations and strong sense of family. Her father Nicholas, a first-generation Italian-American, spoke longingly of someday traveling to Italy, but never had the opportunity. Nonetheless, the family traveled often and Carolyn's wanderlust was born.

She journeyed to Italy for the first time in 1995 and has never been the same. Enchanted by feeling at home in a place she had never been before, she remains under its spell. Carolyn knew that first trip would change her life; perhaps gradually, but nonetheless profoundly. Over time, her traditional career path took a back seat to more creative professions that would further connect her to Italy. She joined a company that planned weddings in Italy and became a destination wedding planner. Although no longer with that company, she continues to plan weddings for couples from all over the world who dream of marrying in Italy.

Carolyn's photographic collection, Italy, Through The Eyes of Love, has received worldwide attention. They appear in private collections nationwide as well as in Australia, England, France and of course, Italy. Her work has been exhibited in New Jersey, New York and, in 2009, in Lucca, Tuscany.

In 2004, together with Jefferson Harman, they created a venture called Essence of Italy, showcasing her unique perspective on the Italian experience. In 2007, they launched a website, http://www.essenceofitaly.net/, through which Carolyn presents her beautiful photographs and publishes lively tales of her travel adventures. Thanks to the connections she's made through these experiences, she researches, writes and records podcast interviews with interesting people who highlight unexpected aspects of Italian life.

She often returns to Italy to attend various classes, workshops, festivals and to visit dear friends. All the while her camera goes with her, allowing images to speak through the lens to the viewer, evoking emotion, history and dreams.

"If I had to sum up what the photography, writing and interviewing are really about, it's about the journey of setting your dreams free. It doesn't matter what form they take. It's where real joy and deep healing come from." For Carolyn, her photographs truly present Italy, Through the Eyes of Love.