“Art doesn’t transform. It just plain forms.” – Roy Lichtenstein

The Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts in New Castle, Pennsylvania, not only recognizes the truth in this concept, expressed by prominent pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, but furthermore, acts upon it in the best interest of its surrounding community. For what the Hoyt is doing in terms of its shows’ diversification and increased accessibility goes well beyond a museum’s call of duty, reaching out in unique ways to form and enlarge visitors’ perspectives, allowing their immersion in its ambient sights, sounds, and experiences. While the facility’s efforts are certainly not limited to New Castle’s youth, local students make up a significant contingent of those benefiting from its distinctive approach to fulfilling its role as a cultural center. fine arts magazine

The Hoyt will soon unveil two very different shows, back to back, in a continuing effort to foster the public’s understanding and appreciation of fine art. Through Another Lens, June 7 – July 29, will include a mix of local, regional, and nationally recognized photographers, and Faces of War & The Landscapes of Robert Blair, August 2 – September 24, will feature that painter’s critically acclaimed watercolors. The former show’s photographs by nationally recognized artists, William Workman and Kelly Coursey-Gray, will share the spotlight with regional artists, Skip Allen and Bryce Herrington, and local photographer, Jesse Katrencik.

Workman’s photos explore the fine line between abstract concepts and the realism of pure nature photography. His work has hung in the Pentagon and the Smithsonian Institution, and he was honored by Black & White Magazine as the winner of its international competition in 2007. Coursey-Gray has shown in Colorado, and her work may also be found as part of the permanent collection at Chateau de Pourtales, Srasbourg, France. Allen’s contributions reveal a deep feeling for the human experience through his portrayal of nature’s continuous evolution.

Herrington’s watercolors will hang on the Hoyt’s third floor, known as the Ballroom Gallery, channeling the original use of that space during the early 1900’s when the spacious Greek Revival estate was built and occupied by the Hoyt family. The artist’s compelling use of color lends an abstract quality to realistic scenes. And Katrencik’s engaging photos of New Castle and surrounding areas will complete the show by expanding viewers’ perspectives, giving them a look at their own locality through yet another lens.

Robert Blair’s installation will include evocative depictions of World War II and a number of highly complex landscapes. His work expertly merges abstraction and realism. Known for his instrumental role in elevating the status of watercolor to a primary medium, his paintings were regarded as highly experimental. During the 1920’s and 30’s, Blair introduced into the studio tools that had not previously been considered for that milieu. He is credited with the development of the Smear Technique, which offered the artist the essence of movement that Blair aimed to capture in his paintings.

As a soldier in World War II, Blair painted from sketches done on location, already developing his own style. These feature a strong narrative element, evoking the urgency inherent in the real battles that he had witnessed. Using a limited palette, comprising mainly of grays, browns, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue, and integrating primary colors only to depict fire and explosion, Blair painted wet into wet, thereby fusing many of the scene’s elements . In Tanks in Battle, there is very little solidity to the ground; it is merely suggested. The emphasis is on action and design. This piece, like several others in the show, is about the calligraphy of the brushwork that lends to the scene a necessary tumultuousness. The only sculpture in the show, comprising mostly watercolors, depicts a German helmet atop a human face, almost completely destroyed.

The landscapes are stylistically similar to the World War II pieces, but less focused on narrative. In contrast to the ephemeral feel of the ground in the war paintings, the figure-ground relationship in White Horses is far more substantial, perhaps because the artist himself is no longer dealing with the transience and impermanence of war; still, one recognizes a rolling, tumbling energy there. Again, Blair works with a limited palette, but produces a very personal vocabulary. Strongly influenced by Charles Burchfield, his landscapes are design-oriented, but Blair’s highly evolved style is clearly his own. His work portrays nature as an integrated, unifying force.

Through Another Lens will hang during the Hoyt’s youth art camp in July, one of the facility’s most anticipated annual events, attracting nearly 700 visitors in 2010. The Hoyt has attained a uniquely intimate understanding of the needs of its community, striving to recognize, and maintain, a real connection with its audience, thus debunking the myth that museums are only for artists or the socially elite. Because the Hoyt family was once one of the wealthiest in the city– the estate and surname remain prominent on the north side of New Castle– the exhibitions effectively work to bridge the perceived class division, balancing local history and creative efforts with nationally or even internationally recognized displays of historic figures and events. In this way, the Hoyt maintains a high standard while avoiding inaccessibility. Visitors are encouraged to compare and contrast multiple degrees of talent in single media shows like Through the Lens , and to infuse new meaning into historical events, as in the first-hand accounts of war in Robert Blair’s exhibit. Both approaches enable viewers to transcend what they previously knew through a broad range of life perspectives, while developing a sound frame of reference.

The Hoyt demonstrates an inspiring ability– despite unprecedented cuts in funding for the arts– to bring prestigious shows to the Rust Belt of southwestern PA, including Wolf Kahn, Oscar Bluemner, Charles Burchfield, Robert Motherwell, and Will Barnet. They have also curated shows from other museums including the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, and hosted a number of exhibitions from the Jerald Melberg Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina including Romare Bearden. The Bearden show was held in conjunction with an eight week exploration of the Harlem Renaissance, beginning with an opening night, appropriately-themed to the era, featuring gospel concerts, Soul Food Dinner, lectures, school tours, and a teachers’ workshop. Photos and memorabilia of local black history were also exhibited for the duration of the event.

The Hoyt’s mission over the past fifteen years has been “To encourage an awareness, understanding, appreciation and practice of the Arts & Humanities through visual, educational, and enrichment programming for learners of all ages,” and it has succeeded beyond expectation. It has risen to the challenge of invigorating a dwindling arts program in the middle of a bankrupt city which, like many others suffering from a post-industrial economic downturn, is struggling to redefine itself.

The facility itself comprises a pair of historic mansions and outbuildings– one Greek Revival in style and one Tudor Revival– referred to as Hoyt East and Hoyt West. They are situated side by side on New Castle’s North Hill. Hoyt East, once the home of elder sister May Emma Hoyt, houses galleries, classrooms, the Shenango China collection and the Gertrude Chapin Fine Arts Library. Hoyt West was originally the estate of Alex Crawford Hoyt (c. 1917), and is now used as a Period House featuring an abundance of art and antiquities dating as far back as the late 1800’s, including a large collection from third generation furniture magnate Louis J.G. Buehler. Spacious rooms, leaded glass windows and intricate woodwork of both three-story houses speak to the former prosperity of the city of New Castle. It has been connected, in recent years, to Hoyt East by an all-glass walkway, allowing visitors to easily experience both the majestic beauty and grace of the Period House, and the ever-changing fine arts displays in Hoyt East. The estates are surrounded by manicured gardens and magnificent trees, rare Japanese maples and an enormous beech, all part of the original landscaping. The Hoyt has recently installed an updated security system and UV filtering for the windows, positioning itself to attract increasingly high caliber shows.

Very few cities along the east coast– large or small– boast a facility that compares to the Hoyt in breadth and depth, in what it’s doing in terms of public education and community outreach. Most of the major shows, including Wolf Kahn and Will Barnet, feature complete curriculum guides integrated into local schools’ otherwise minimal art programs in an effort to supplement what is lacking, due to budget cuts, and to ensure that local youth are given an opportunity to learn about, and appreciate, fine art. The Winslow Homer curriculum guide, for example, included 27 pages of images and information, in color and two-sided, beginning with the artist’s life, work, historical setting and contemporaries, with a detailed explanation of wood engraving printing processes used by Homer, finishing up with actual lesson plans, including student objectives, vocabulary lists, instructional aids, and procedural outlines, all broken into a four week timeline, key questions, and instructions on the printmaking process using various materials. The guide printed earlier this year in conjunction with the Will Barnet exhibit featured an insightful compilation of quotations by, and about, the artist.

How does the Hoyt do it? In partnering with the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, funding has become available for printing the curriculum and making it accessible to local school districts. In conjunction with New Castle school administrators, Director Kim Koller-Jones has been able to identify means for strengthening the public school curriculum throughout the Arts & Humanities. This includes professional development opportunities and the Hoyt offers continuing education programs to educators needing Act 48 credits through the IU, as well.

Through Another Lens will include simple gallery sheets rather than full curriculum guides, and the exhibit will feature alternative, interactive means by which visitors may experience the photographers’ work. Featured contributor Jesse Katrencik will participate as a visiting artist at the summer art camp and guide students through the show, visit classrooms, and work with them to build pinhole cameras using recycled materials. This hands-on experience will enable students to personally create the “other lens” through which they can view their surroundings, including the art on display, itself. The Hoyt will, in this way, maximize its resources for the good of the community.

Robert Blair’s exhibit also will feature a variety of supplemental experiences for all types of learners in the audience. Painter and former Blair student, Wendy Warner, will speak on her 10-plus years of sharing the artist’s studio in East Aurora, New York. Tentative plans would integrate the World War II-themed Blair work into an upcoming film series to be offered as a free event at the Hoyt later this year. Bob Presnar, Hoyt Programs Director, will record and integrate veterans’ interviews into the display. Narratives from local heroes, such as WWII fighter pilot, Mr. Fred Rentz, will add a human element resonating within the New Castle community.

Students visiting the Hoyt’s Blair exhibition will be invited to engage in a writing exercise on current events in an effort to connect with the artist’s experience as a soldier, and to study his theory of painting. They will also have the opportunity to explore their own visions in watercolor by painting in that medium, themselves. In the words of Hoyt Executive Director, Kim Koller-Jones, “Whether it’s Through Another Lens or the works of Robert Blair, we’re looking to build an experience, not just have an exhibition.”

By Autumn C. Miller, Contributing Writer

Visit the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts at www.hoytartcenter.org

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All Blair photos: Courtesy of the Blair Family

All facility photos: Courtesy of The Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts

All photos of Through Another Lens photography: Courtesy of the artist(s)