Achmed John Assaff

IN TUNE - A selected collection of street photography

A native New Yorker, Achmed John Assaff was born in 1941 on 104th Street and Lexington Avenue. John grew up near Central Park and knew all its majestic views, paths, and ponds like the back of his hand. The park was a place he considered home and would become the connective tissue of a body of work he photographed in his late 20's, setting in motion a life-long love of photography.

For a five year period between 1968-1973, John socialized with like-minded photographers and other regulars around Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, an active meeting place where he spent most weekends and his days off as an Aircraft Mechanic at Pan American Airways. It was an exciting time and John was seldom seen without his Pentax camera. Relishing the spontaneous opportunities the day would bring, his vibrant portraits of musicians, activists, and park goers were a consistent source of inspiration for him. The city was changing and culture was on full display as current events unfolded along Fifth Avenue, including frequent protests against the Vietnam War and women’s rights demonstrations.

Self-taught, John’s hobby developed to have a documentary-style flair. His keen observation, composition, and use of natural light captured social issues on display in and around the park. Now, more than fifty years later, the subjects he photographed still resonate. In retrospect, John photographed a time-capsule of many intimate and powerful moments in New York City’s ever evolving history.

"Bethesda-Fountain"

Matted Photo $75

Framed $200

"Bethesda-Guitarist"

Matted Photo $75

Framed $200

"Woman Unite"

Matted Photo $75

Framed $200

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

November Artist of the Month: Liz Crimi Olsson

Art At The Kent Library

Sponsored by The Friends of the Kent Library

with Arts on the Lake

Exhibition Dates: November 1st to November 30th

Liz Crimi Olsson

Having grown up around art and artists, I have become a very visual person. Sometimes I think I see what others may not see. Very often I may be taking a walk or driving my car and my eye is caught by something beautiful. Something that I think will make a beautiful photograph or painting or sculpture.

I come from a family of artists and sculptors, both professional and non-professional. As a child my mother took me to the many art museums in New York City and I fell in love with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I always participated in special art projects in elementary school. I spent childhood summers in our little cottage in Lake Carmel where I sketched and painted the wildflowers, made outfits for my paper dolls, and taught myself needlework. I majored in art in high school and participated in several art projects. I majored in art in college where I studied sketching, life drawing, design, sculpture, and art history. The creative genes in me always found a way to surface…either by painting stage sets for community theater, needlework, making my own clothing, assorted crafts, baking, cooking, gardening, painting and wallpapering my home, directing the repainting of a Westchester railroad station, and as an active member of a town beautification committee. In my more recent years I have visited Italy and Sicily many times to revel in the art of the masters. However, I never really learned how to “paint”.

I have always been attracted to the beauty of watercolor. I never had the confidence to take a watercolor painting class until I met an artist in a gallery who encouraged me to take the plunge. So I enrolled in classes at the Putnam Arts Council in Mahopac, NY, the Westchester Community College Center for the Arts at the White Plains County Center, the Bronx Botanical Gardens, HRCE (Hudson River Community Education) in Dobbs Ferry, and the Railyard Arts Workshop in Croton Falls, NY. I have participated in many art workshops in watercolor, acrylics, calligraphy, and drawing at several public libraries.

I am a member of the Putnam Arts Council in Mahopac, NY and Arts-on-the-Lake in Lake Carmel, NY. I have participated in local group art shows and have sold some of my watercolor paintings.

I have fallen in love with the meditative aspect of painting which allows me to focus on my art and put all worries aside! I choose to see and paint beauty in difficult times…

"Day's End"

Watercolor

$200

"Rockport, Massachusetts"

Watercolor

$200

"Venezia"

Watercolor

$200

Artist Statement | Liz Crimi OHarrison

I love color. So I study and paint in watercolor. I choose peaceful references and, most recently, from photos that I have taken over the years. Many have personal meaning. I choose to see beauty in challenging times and share it with the viewer.