Journalism / Rockport Gem

Rockport Delight
by Mary Lipman

If you are looking to meander down the scenic seaport streets of Rockport, wander into the Mercury Gallery and view some of the works of Joseph Solman. They are alluring and reveal, in addition to his skill, his personality, that of his subjects and the era. No credentials are needed to understand and enjoy his work.

Art is expressed and used in countless ways. Some artists make a living with their art. Some art is gimmicky or commercial. Solman’s art pulls one in because it is clearly an expression of his self. There are drawings done on newspaper, sketches done on the playbills while attending musical events, and paintings of his family that immediately detail the subject’s un-posed essence. There is a humility to his work and an expression of the simple, exquisite worthiness of the ordinary.

His art is a tribute to his time. It is a visual history of art trends spanning a hundred years. He was required to make a living and worked at a track betting window part-time as well as teaching. Some of his pieces were drawn on his subway rides to the track. One painting of woman on a subway was drawn on a newspaper around 1960 and he painted and signed the drawing decades later. The dated newsprint shows through the work.The colors too are the colors of his time. A portrait of his daughter has the olive tones of the sixties.

One can view the clear growth of the artist in his works and the willingness of the artist to try on new styles. Yet in word and deed he accepted the influences of the past one hundred years, while never losing his own self.

Joseph Solman was born in 1909 and passed away this year.

Visit the Mercury Gallery, 20 Main Street, Rockport to view some of his works.

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Reviews

November 02, 2008

max

No. of Reviews	Overall Quality	Comment Followup
83	84.6% (13 votes)	32.2%

REVIEW QUALITY: 100.0%(1 vote ) personal info reviewer stats

Age	Gender	Location	Last Login
38	F	Fairfield, VT	November 16

max reviewed Version 2 - Read 100% of the Item

I thought the descriptions in this piece were lovely. I also enjoyed reading about the artist. I have only a couple of small comments/questions.
1) Rockville, (state?)
2) I would also get into a little bit more of the artists biography. The author put in the artists death, perhaps a little bit more about his life? Even just a paragraph would give this piece a little more fluidity.
This was a well written piece though, and I hope it was published in the paper.

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July 14, 2008

Tammi

No. of Reviews	Overall Quality	Comment Followup
0	0.0% (0 votes)	0.0%

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16	F	Dover, DE	September 16

Tammi reviewed Version 2 - Read 50% of the Item

Simple and informing.
Just the way I like it.

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July 04, 2008

Curtastrophe

No. of Reviews	Overall Quality	Comment Followup
538	96.2% (265 votes)	89.1%

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Age	Gender	Location	Last Login
28	M	United States	November 23

Curtastrophe reviewed Version 2 - Read 100% of the Item

I would humbly recommend opening this article with more of a “hook”. I haven’t been to this place you described, nor have I seen this artwork, so it’s kind of tough for me to offer a suggestion, but try to begin with something that immediately grabs the reader’s attention. That being said, the opening isn’t bad at all. But it could be better. :)

of his self. / true self.—I think this makes the sentence a little more provocative.

One painting of woman / of a woman

”...olive tones of the sixties.” Hmmm… I would say this is kind of a weak phrase. Why are the tones of the sixties associated with the color olive?

One thing that this article definitely does have which works is the passion. The writer’s enthusiasm really shines through, but with subtlety. This much is obvious. If anything, this has inspired me to do a little research on the man myself, albeit via the internet. Good work. Thanks for sharing.

-Curt

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June 17, 2008

longview

No. of Reviews	Overall Quality	Comment Followup
0	77.8% (9 votes)	100.0%

REVIEW QUALITY: 100.0%(2 votes ) personal info reviewer stats

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19	M	Bronx, NY	August 12

longview reviewed Version 2 - Read 100% of the Item

Very nice job detailing what the artwork achieves in terms of style. I honestly would like to see some of his work after reading this.

It could, however, be improved. It should be longer. Also, a little more should be given on his life. Finally, certain parts of the article seemed to read more like an advertisement.

Fixing those problems would make the article more than publishable.