Long Island museums unveil new fall exhibits
Children from the Shinnecock Boys and Girls Club and The Wuneechanunk Shinnecock Preschool gather around the mishoon at the Long Island Children's Museum. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Close your eyes and imagine a photograph of the Beatles having a pillow fight in their hotel room in 1964. Now, envision a tiny sculpture of a man and his wife playing checkers in the late 1800s. Those are just two playful works of art that join more than 150 paintings, photos, sculptures, costumes and posters in the new exhibit "At Play: Artists & Entertainment" at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn.
If you're a family with kids who love dinosaurs, picture a 19-foot-tall animatronic dinosaur leaning on a tree as it seems to eat leaves. Now visualize two smaller animatronic dinosaurs preparing for a hunt. These three new dinosaurs have recently been added to a group that now totals 12 animatronic dinos at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning in Rockville Centre.
The new Long Island Museum exhibit includes the largest and smallest items in the collection. Credit: Beth Chiarelli
An 8-foot-wide portrait of a gentleman's face, followed by a portrait of a woman in a frame just 3 inches wide, are part of the new "Giants and Gems" exhibit at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook (through Dec. 21). "The idea is to help you see how works of art that are different sizes can make you feel," says curator Nina Sangimino.
For visitors, these new museum exhibits this fall will inspire imaginative concepts, both big and small.
Giant objects at Long Island Museum
1200 NY-25A, Stony Brook
"As an artist, one of the first decisions you make is how big the artwork is going to be. That can change the way you’ll make it and how someone else will look at it," Sangimino explains. In the "Giants and Gems" exhibit, you'll notice an enormous painting of a flower followed by a 3-inch painting of a landscape with a tree and a pond. A life-size grandfather clock stands beside a small one that fits inside a dollhouse. There's a mannequin wearing a wedding gown with a 54-inch train near a petite comb adorned with gems.
Children observe a large canvas at the Long Island Museum. Credit: Beth Chiarelli
Sangimino adds, "In the exhibit, there are 3-inch portraits created in the 18th century. They were meant to be exchanged between loved ones and friends. So you could keep a 3-inch sized portrait in your pocket." There’s also a painting of two very large crows. "They dominate the landscape behind them so you can see how painting something larger makes it seem more important or powerful," Sangimino adds. Families visiting the exhibit can create collages with very small and extremely large pieces.
MORE INFO 631-751-0066, longislandmuseum.org
Celebrity photos at Nassau County Museum of Art
1 Museum Dr., Roslyn
The new exhibit displays countless examples of ways we’ve continued to play throughout time. As Franklin Hill Perrell, chief curator, describes it, "We were looking for examples of art on the highest level that exemplifies the fact that the artist is valuing the human experience of play." Perrell also feels each playful piece in the exhibit can inspire a story in a visitor’s mind.
Stroll through the galleries and notice mannequins wearing opera costumes designed by Chagall. You'll find Picasso's painting of a child with a doll, along with sketches of celebrities by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. Photographs of the Beatles having a pillow fight in their hotel room (1964) accompany photos of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim at a piano rehearsing for "West Side Story."
John Grande's "Are You Experienced," inspired by the music of Jimi Hendrix, is featured in the Nassau County Museum of Art's exhibition, "At Play: Artists & Entertainment." Credit: John Grande
The playful art continues with paintings ranging from children throwing snowballs in 1889 to Black American jazz masters jamming in 1980. Illustrations from the children’s book "The Boy and The Boy King" also fill the walls. A phrase said by the toy rabbit character in the story sums up the museum experience: "May we all grow up to be children."
MORE INFO 516-484-9338, nassaumuseum.org
New dinos at Center For Science Teaching And Learning
1450 Tanglewood Rd., Rockville Centre
Alexa Gosine, 7, of Trinidad, visiting family in Queens, looks at the new dinosaurs at the Center for Science and Learning. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Introducing the three new animatronic dinosaurs. The first, known as the Lessemsaurus, is a 19-foot-tall, four-legged, very long-necked sauropod. "We wanted to make sure all the types of dinosaurs are represented," says director Ray Ann Havasy. "We didn’t have a sauropod, so this is our first one. He’s a plant eater with a very long neck and kind of slow walk." The Lessemsaurus can be found in the outdoor area positioned against a tree. It looks as if he’s trying to knock it down or munch on some leaves.
The other two new animatronic dinos are Coelophysis. They’re small, meat-eating dinosaurs. Havasy explains, "Since these two are small and sometimes hunted in groups, we put them together as if they’re working in a pack."
All 12 animatronic dinosaurs at the museum have motion sensors, so when you walk by, they make sounds and move. "A lot of kids imitate the dinosaurs," Havasy says. "You see kids standing in front of them and acting like them, which I really think is fun."
MORE INFO 516-764-0045, cstl.org
Creations by local artists at Museum of Urban Arts
1500 Old Country Rd., Suite 118, Westbury
"We’re not a typical museum," explains director Stephanie Sulaiman. It’s located in and is part of the Samanea Mall in Westbury. The floor-to-ceiling murals cover many of the mall's walls or stand on exceptionally large canvases. On one wall, you'll see a rainbow-colored jellyfish. On another wall, you'll find a mural of a brilliantly colored tree that represents the Samanea tree, a protective rain forest tree. All the colors in the tree symbolize the unity of the arts and the cultures it protects.
The art displayed in the museum ranges from works created by well-established urban artists from around the world to those who are starting out. Sulaiman says, "There are so many artists out there of all ages that are talented. We’ll pair a less-experienced artist with someone with experience to help them paint their first wall. It’s not easy painting large." To request this opportunity, see the museum website to apply online. There is no age limit.
The most recent exhibit, known as "Murals in Motion," debuted on Aug. 15. However, no matter what time of year, there’s always something new to see because the wall art rotates or changes every six months.
"People have fun taking selfies in front of the murals," Sulaiman adds. "Posing in front of the artwork makes them feel like they’re part of the painting. People stop by between playing pickleball and rock climbing at the mall and say it’s the best place they’ve ever been to!"
MORE INFO 516-834-6682, moua.org
Shinnecock canoe at Long Island Children's Museum
11 Davis Ave., Uniondale
"Saltwater Stories: We Need the Sea & the Sea Needs Me," scheduled to debut on Oct. 11, will be devoted to Long Island’s maritime history. A dugout canoe, crafted in the traditional manner by Shinnecock Nation members in Southampton, will be one of the exhibit’s central artifacts, says Maureen Mangan, museum director of communications. The mishoon will remain on display in the museum lobby until the exhibit's opening, when it will move upstairs to a gallery. Once it moves upstairs, children will be able to climb inside, Mangan says.
Creating a mishoon is tradition passed on from generation to generation. Credit: Rick Kopstein
The new exhibit will also include a fishing boat, a bay house, a fish market, and an area called "Lifting the Ocean’s Lid," which will explore what’s underwater and suggest ways families can help protect the sea, Mangan says. Visitors will enter the new exhibit through a 9-foot-wave, because "for so many people on Long Island, their first connection to the water is a day at the beach," Mangan says. The new gallery will be included with museum admission.
MORE INFO 516-224-5800, licm.org
Newsday's Beth Whitehouse contributed to this story.
