THE LINKS PAGE

don’t know what sort of sites people expect to find linked to an artist’s web page. I think you might be a bit surprised. In fact, I hope you are very surprised. Some links pages are the product of extensive research and web surfing organized into a useful catalogue. This is not that sort of page. This is more of a potpourri of pages. I hope you discover at least one site here that you find helpful or fun. I am open to suggestions—just e-mail me.

gary.speziale@nyu.edu

would like to think some of you will feel you have made a real discovery in this site. If you would like to provide a link to my website from your own and prefer using a banner I have provided one below.

• VERMONT STUDIO CENTER
  Back in 1995, artist, David Humphrey recommended this artists’ colony in Johnson, Vermont to me. He thought I would love the place as well as the visiting artist/critic, Hugh O’Donnell, and he was absolutely correct on both counts. I have been back so often since then I should just join the staff. I have also had the opportunity to meet and be critiqued by artists such as Archie Rand, Gary Stephan, Ruth Miller, Ed Smith, Susanna Coffey, Alfred Leslie, Kay Walkingstick, and Gregory Gillespie to name only a few.

• SPRING STUDIO
  Outside of my own studio, this is my favorite place to draw from life. This life-drawing studio is an incredible resource for artists in the NYC area. It has a good atmosphere and it is open to artists of all levels from the absolute beginner to the most accomplished professional. Minerva Durham, the director, is a powerhouse personality. Beside all this, many of the models are simply fantastic.

• SILVERMINE GUILD ARTS CENTER
  This is a beautiful facility in New Canaan, Connecticut. Their gallery houses many handsome exhibitions and they sponsor many wonderful events as well. It will be my pleasure to teach a sculpture workshop, The Figure in Relief, at Silvermine on Saturday, December 14th.

• LESLIE-LOHMAN GAY ART FOUNDATION
  While galleries have represented me on commissioned work and have presented my work to collectors, it was here that I had my first showing in a New York City gallery. They have a reputation for the provocative and going to this basement style gallery can seem as though you are going someplace clandestine. It still evokes a past Soho/Greenwich Village character that one can usually find only in books these days.

• RIDGEFIELD GUILD OF ARTISTS
  In 1996 I was awarded Best Drawing in Show, in a competition sponsored by the RGOA in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The juror was one of my idols, Paul Cadmus. He attended the opening with his partner, Jon Andersson. They were so generous and genuinely interested in all the artists and their work. Though he was a bonafide icon and a legend, Paul Cadmus was ever so approachable. I had spoken with him at two different openings in New York City prior to this exhibition. However, that evening he singled out my work and treated me as his colleague. It was quite unfathomable and I will always owe a great debt to the RGOA for that remarkable opportunity.

• PHILLIS KIND GALLERY
  I go to all of this Soho gallery’s shows since I was drawn in off the street by a showing of the work of Attila Richard Lukacs. I have been a fan ever since.

• D C MOORE GALLERY
  I find myself at this midtown gallery quite often. I first went there to see the work of Paul Cadmus, but there is much more to recommend this gallery besides Cadmus.

• WILLIAM HART MCNICHOLS
  I met Bill McNichols through my friend, Jeff Engelken. I believe Isaac Bashevis Singer has a story that tells how there are 36 people whose goodness keep the world going and for whom God spares the rest of us. I am certain Bill is one of those 36 people. Bill gets two links. Click on his name to see Bill’s icons or click here to read an interview with Bill McNichols.

• BRIDGE BUILDING IMAGES
  I like many of the contemporary icons from this company particularly those of Robert Lentz.
  Click here for a new icon commemorating the events of September 11th.

• ALEX GREY
  Alex is a beautiful person and an amazing artist. He was my professor at NYU and I would like to think I could call him a friend as well. His website is not to be missed.

• MITCH, LA LIFE MODEL
  If you do go to the Figure Drawing Group Forum you may find that some of the best and most professional postings are from Mitch. Mitch is an absolute professional and his website reflects this. He is an attorney and a life model. (I guess he is not modeling for the money.)

• FIGURE DRAWING LINKS
  Just in case you have no idea where to start.
  

• NY CENTRAL ART SUPPLY
  This store was always my first choice for fine art supplies. Once I started to go on art residencies and needed materials shipped this store became indispensable. The staff is great and very knowledgeable, particularly upstairs in the paper department. They also have a respectable store for custom framing.

• JOHN ESTY, FINE CUSTOM FRAMING
  This is my first choice for any framing. When you step inside, the store looks so great that you will know you are in good hands. John is located at 44 Greenwich Avenue, New York, NY 10011. The telephone number is 212-691-3753 and the fax number is 212-255-4448. The store hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays: 11:00am until 7:00pm. He doesn’t have a website yet but you can e-mail him at estyhudson@aol.com.

• J. FIELDS STUDIO
  This recommendation came to me from John Esty and has become an indispensable resource for mounting and paper conservation. I had a number of working drawings I considered discarding. However, after J. Fields Studio applied their skills the drawings were all worthy of framing and exhibiting.

• MATT MCGHEE’S
  Unfortunately Matt’s store allows me to obsess over my Christmas tree all year long. If you have viewed the Christmas gallery, then you know I am in Matt’s store quite often. I have been a loyal customer since 1978.

• CHISHOLM LARSSON GALLERY
  This is my favorite store for vintage posters in a wide range of categories. They have a very good website that you should visit even if you can’t get to their store yourself. Don’t miss the Polish movie posters. They tend to be my favorites here.

• POSTERITATI MOVIE POSTERS
  Do all vintage poster galleries have great websites? I love searching through the images on this site. Here it’s the Japanese posters that are my favorites. This gallery is well worth the visit.

• THE MAGNOLIA BAKERY
  This bakery has been called the best bakery in New York City. Whether you agree depends, I suppose, on the style of baking you prefer. When you walk in one of the first things you may notice is the sign that reads, “Cupcakes limited to one dozen.” That is the best review I can give them. Personally I am addicted to the hummingbird cake and the red velvet cake. They don’t have a website (or a fax either the staff tell me). The bakery is located at 401 Bleecker Street. The telephone number is 212-462-2572. If you can’t get there in person, the next best thing to do is to click here for the Magnolia Bakery cookbook.

• ABE BOOKS
  This is a great resource for out-of-print books. Just look up a title you thought you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere and I bet you will be surprised. I have found volumes I had been searching for for years —and often at the original publisher’s price.

• CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
  If you need a place to go to mass in Manhattan, look no further. The spirit has definitely visited these folks. They have a deep sense of community, an active congregation, some great preaching, and they even have a good website.

• ORATORY CHURCH OF ST. BONAFICE
  Only one subway stop into Brooklyn, this church is easily accessible from Manhattan. They are located at 111 Willoughby Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Their telephone number is 718-875-2096. They don’t have a website yet but their e-mail is phillipneri@aol.com.  I have some good friends making incredible music there and the choir’s two CDs are well worth purchasing. A third CD is due to be release soon.

• DR. JOY BROWNE
  I began listening to talk radio on road trips. By the time I got out of the city and hit the open highway it would be nearly 9:00am. I would turn on the radio and the first show I tuned in to was Dr. Joy Browne. She is the best psychologist I have ever heard on radio or TV. Dr. Joy strikes a fine balance between common sense and professional advice, between being entertaining and helping callers, between sensitivity and a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bull. Joy Browne even does good movie and theatre reviews.

• JOAN HAMBURG
  I always thought Joan Hamburg was a doll. However, after the events of September 11th, I think of her as New York City’s honorary mom. She is both a great lady and a dame with a good head on her shoulders. First she cried, then she dusted herself off and like Auntie Mame said, “OK, enough of that, now—LIVE, LIVE, LIVE!” If you need to know where to go, where to get it, or how to do it—ask Joan.

• ARTHUR SCHWARTZ
  Arthur has a great show, Food Talk, and a great website. I listen to him nearly everyday at noon while working in my studio. Arthur is a tremendous resource for all things food and a wonderful lunch companion. Thanks to Arthur and his show I was able to put together a unique gift for two friends who got married this past April.

• RICHARD BEY
  Richard Bey’s former TV show is “credited” as the model for The Jerry Springer Show. Now on the radio he seems like “the voice of reason”, or something. Who knew? Richard Bey has two shows actually, The Buzz which he co-hosts and his solo Saturday show. The Saturday show is worth a listen just for the closing song not to mention Richard’s “original” songs.

• ART BELL
  If you’ve never experienced Art Bell catch him quick. Art just announced his retirement. His last show is December 31st 2002. Once when he interviewed a police officer that accompanied a bishop on exorcisms, I had to get out of bed, turn on the lights, and turn off the radio. Art’s show, Coast to Coast, is noted for topics such as UFOs, Bigfoot, and ghosts. My favorite show, however, was his 3-hour interview with a mercenary. If that is not enough—Coast to Coast has the best bumper music and Art is just too cool.

• LYNN SAMUELS
  I just can’t put the experience into words. Let me just say that Lynn Samuels rocks my world! She is a concert going (and we are talking the Pet Shop Boys not the Boston Pops) 60 year-old, luscious babe who is a house music connoisseur and political commentator. Lynn Samuels is the reason I haven’t replaced my television in the last 2 ½ years. So what was WABC thinking when they fired her on August 15th? To call her left wing is to miss the point—and if you have missed Lynn Samuels, then you have missed the best! Amen. You will just have to console yourself with her website until she is back on the air.

• YUL BRYNNER: HOLLYWOOD’S RUSSIAN PHARAOH
  I was so happy to come across this tribute page.  Yul rules! One of my odd talents is that I can recite the entire film script of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments from memory.  In particular, I can channel Yul Brynner as Ramses.  I can’t imagine how much of my brain’s disc space this is using up.

• A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
  “I AM DOOMED to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.” If the opening line of John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany doesn’t make you want to read the novel, nothing I can say will.

• WISHFUL THINKING: A SEEKER’S ABC
  It amazes me how things come to us. I was taking a train and a stranger had the nerve to ask me out to dinner. I accepted the invitation. I would say nothing came of that dinner except that before we parted, my dinner companion handed me Frederick Buechner’s Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC. Since then I have given the book as a gift at least a dozen times. By the way Frederick Buechner was John Irving’s teacher and is cited in the acknowledgements of Irving’s, A Prayer for Owen Meany.

• JAMES BALDWIN: PRICE OF THE TICKET
  James Baldwin said, “The world is held together, really, it is held together by the love and passion of a very few people”. This documentary demonstrates that indeed, a very few people have the love or the passion equal to Jimmy Baldwin. This documentary is well worth the purchase price of $195.00. If you are lucky your library will have it or you can tape it when PBS shows it (usually 1:00am) during Black History Month (February) like I did.

• LEONARD BERNSTEIN—REACHING FOR THE NOTE
  Director Susan Lacey’s documentary on conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein is one of my favorite films about any artist. I first saw the film on the PBS series American Masters.

• THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT
  Among the films that I consider my “guilty pleasures” this 1964 delight probably tops the list. I think it may just be my favorite film set in New York City as well.

• THE PILLOW BOOK
  At the “artsy” end of my list of favorite films is another that I am afraid that many people may have missed—Peter Greenaway’s, The Pillow Book. I saw it six times in the theatre when it was originally released in 1997.

• SOEUR MARIE KEYROUZ S.B.C.
  My friends affectionately refer to Soeur Marie Keyrouz as “the singing nun”—but she is no Debbie Reynolds. Keyrouz is a Lebanese nun singing Arabic Christian songs. Don’t let her starched appearance fool you either. Marie Keyrouz has all the soul of any blues singer. If you need a recommendation for a selection, try Cantiques de L’Orient.

• ANDREW SULLIVAN
  On any given day, the right hates him, the left hates him, the gay press hates him, the straight press hates him, etc. Maybe that’s why I like him. I have always appreciated that Andrew Sullivan seems to allow for the possibility that his mind could be changed by the right idea. He also admits to the possibility his position could be wrong. I can’t imagine any other way to have a debate. For the longest time he was my idea of the perfect date for the prom.

• THE LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER
  This is a tremendous resource center for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community as well as the New York City community in general. This is where my painting, The Sons of Dreams hung for years until they began renovating.

• EVELYN PAK
  If you have gotten this far and have enjoyed anything you have seen it is only due to the efforts of Evelyn Pak. Evelyn (a.k.a. E-vil-leen) is amazing. You could say she speaks softly and carries a lot of code. When she offered to "help" me put up a new page I don't think she had any idea what she was getting herself in for. Another web designer would have killed me. All I ever heard Evelyn was "that'll be fun" and an the occasional "whatever". In the immortal words of Katherine Hepburn, "...you're my knight in shining armor." If you need a web designer or like what you have seen here you can e-mail her at webdev@evpak.com.