End of an Era

Several days ago I was at my parents' house and picked up a section of the Asbury Park Press.  Opened the page and was hit with some unexpected news- the story of the passing of Douglas Ferrari.      Doug may be been the art person I had known the longest in the shore area.  I first moved to the region in the winter of 1996, to become the caretaker of a mostly empty house.  I was not even a year out of grad school, and was aware that many of the people I had gone to school with in Illinois were teaching at colleges in the midwest.  Some had literally walked up to nearby colleges, asked for  a position, and gotten it.  When asked why I hadn't gotten such a job yet, I would tell people that New Jersey just didn't work that way.

But at times I wondered if I hadn't given it enough effort.  So on a spring day when I had nothing else on my schedule, I decided to look into the state of local colleges.  No previous contacts or appointments, just drove around, investigated, met who I met.  Two colleges here in Monmouth County, and two in nearby Ocean County.  With nothing more than my maps, I set out.  Didn't find much at Ocean County College- just a few cluttered messy classrooms.  Later I would learn that the school actually had a print studio, but it wasn't active at that point, and never would be again.  My visit to Georgian Court would be a bit more productive.  Actually found a printmaking professor and studio classroom.  There was no opening, but thanks to that contact I would eventually get to do a few lectures (paid appearances) and had two solo shows in their gallery.  Then on to Monmouth County and Monmouth College, where I met the faculty member who taught printmaking, who was excited that computers were used for much of it, so no future for me there.  My last stop of the day was at Brookdale Community College (Monmouth's county college), where I was told there was no printmaking class, but if there ever was, there was someone who would be teaching it.  I decided to hang around and meet this person, and eventually he showed up and I met Doug Ferrari.  Got no teaching job that day (I eventually started working at OCC, the one school where I met no one that day), but I learned a bit.

I became reacquainted with Doug at SICA (The Shore Institute for Creative Arts), an organization he helped to found.  A large old building in Long Branch that had served many purposes over the years had been repurposed as an art center.  A huge raw exhibition space, a large storage/work area. a cafe for performances, small studios available for rent.  I participated in one of the early shows there, but came back annually to check out the "Fresh Meat" shows- exhibitions of recent graduates from various New Jersey colleges.  A bunch of the young artists renting studio space there became regulars in the critique group that met at my studio.  When OCC decided to replace its old art building and officially get rid of its print studio, all that equipment ended up at SICA, perhaps due to Doug's interest in printmaking.  Unfortunately, his love of art didn't necessarily translate into economic success, and after several years, the board decided to sell their large Long Branch property.  It was reestablished in Asbury Park, a few blocks up Cookman Avenue, a relatively short walk from the Studio.  Much smaller location, no room for the rental spaces or the planned print studio (the equipment was redistributed to individual artists and such), but the cafe and exhibit space would be there.  I helped paint the space (in exchange for some free pizza) and saw a few good shows there.  But I guess the money ran out again, and word got out that the place would be closing.  I stopped by for a last visit, and Doug requested that I send him some digital images of prints, for a show that he might be involved in putting together.  And then SICA was gone.

But soon I would hear from him again, that show he was putting together, which turned out to be at his new job, assistant director of the Arts Guild of New Jersey.  That turned out to be a renamed version of the Rahway Arts Guild, a municipal art/education space in the downtown area and a place I had participated in a print show several years earlier, so I knew how to find it.  This new show was not strictly a print show, but had a theme of "Preemptive Strike"- a spring invasion of Jersey shore artists into North Jersey before all those people came down for the summer.  A decent show, but recent years have been tough for arts all over, and a few years ago, the Arts Guild of NJ announced they were cancelling programs and classes and ceasing operations.  I never did see him again after that show four years ago.

I wouldn't say that we were particularly close, but he was a presence in my art life for nearly two decades.  He was responsible for some exhibitions that I was part of, and I admired his dedication to the goal of bringing some of the New York style art experience to Monmouth County.  I don't know if the eventual failure of art organizations he was involved with was at all his fault or more the economics of the times.  But he kept trying, so I'll respect him for that.