newsletter: July/August/september 2013 Volume 47 froM the board of trustees THANK YOU!! At Peninsula Public Library it’s about you. Everything we do — every program we offer — every experience we encounter — it’s about you. Your continued loyalty and support allow us to bring you quality programs and continued excellent services. We thank the community for their strong support and approval of our 2013-14 budget. Joan Lepelstat President reflections on a career Joel shiff: covering Jewish art in MeMoriaM thursday, July 18, at 1PM The Peninsula Public Library Robin Cembalest, the longtime executive editor of ARTnews, is family mourns the loss of one of the foremost journalists writing on Jewish art today. our dear friend, longtime Cembalest has spent her career covering the ways that Jewish art trustee, former president and is made, interpreted and exhibited — from the ancient to the unparalleled champion. Mr. contemporary; from studio to gallery to mainstream museum. In a Shiff’s genius was matched quirky, informative and wide-ranging lecture, Cembalest looks back by his wit, compassion and to some of her most fascinating and challenging stories. leadership and those qualities Making appearances in the talk are well-known figures including will be missed. A fervent advocate for our Five Towns Marc Chagall, Charlotte Salomon, R. B. Kitaj, Art Spiegelman and community and the Library, he inspired his fellow trustees Deborah Kass, along with Moses, Jesus, Rembrandt, Barbie and with his vision and generosity. We will remember him as Man Ray, among many others. An afternoon to remember! a leader and visionary who sought to elevate our library community to new heights. welcoMe to the Musee d’orsay A Grand Tour Led by free MuseuM Passes Art Historian Louise Cella Caruso. To make a museum experience accessible to all our residents, the Library is offering Free passes to the Monday, august 26, at 1PM INTREPID SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM, the LONG ISLAND The Musee d’Orsay is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, an CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, and the HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. & TOLERANCE CENTER OF NASSAU COUNTY. If you are The D’Orsay houses the largest collection of Impressionist and a PPL card holder, in good standing, passes can be post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world by painters such as obtained at the Library. Reservations will be accepted on Monet, Manet, Degas, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. It is the perfect the 2nd floor at our Reference Desk. Complete information place to contemplate beauty - to enjoy the art of the era in all its about the Library’s policy governing museum passes can profusion and diversity. be obtained at the Library. tiPs for buying and selling PoPe Pius Xii and on ebay and craigslist the holocaust tuesday, July 23, at 7PM Monday, July 8, at 1PM Buying and selling on eBay and/or Craigslist is not difficult, but it does demand a savvy “buyer beware” attitude. In a PowerPoint Nearly 70 years after the end of World presentation, Sarah Weber will discuss the following: War II, debate still rages over the actions of • Setting up an account Pope Pius XII and the role of the Catholic • Taking & uploading pictures Church during the war and the Holocaust. • Listing items • Shipping • Pricing You are invited to join Dr. Stanislao G. Pugliese, Professor of Handouts will be distributed to use as a reference guide at History, Queensboro UNICO Distinguished Professor of Italian home. Time will be allowed for questions and answers. Perhaps it and Italian-American Studies, Hofstra University, for an informal is time to clean up and clean out! discussion of the history of this contentious topic. f ilM s: a Must see it’s m ov ie t im e tuesdays at 10aM; 1PM; and 7PM July 30… quartet (94 min.) Dustin Hoffm an’s directorial debut is a wickedly co mic film about redefining old age and growing old with hope. The film stars Magg ie Smith, Michael Gambon a nd Tom C ourtenay. augu st 6 … life of Pi (123 min.) O verc oming a catac ly sm ic ship wreck, Pi finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with the only survivor, a ferocious Bengal tiger. “A landmark of visual mastery.” - Roge r Ebert au gust 13 … the iM P ossible (114 min.) The film is based on Marie Belón and her family’s experience of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The terror is tempered by the displays of compassion and simple kindness encountered during their darkest hours. august 20… les Miserables (158 min.) Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway star in this critically-acclaimed adaptation of this musical phenomenon. The enthralling story is a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. august 27… side e ffects (106 min.) Director Steven Soderbergh focuses on the consequences visited upon a young couple after the side effects from the wife’s medication cause her to commit an alarming act. booKs you can’t Put dow n the street sw eePer th e Midwife of venice (Elliot Perlman) (Roberta Rich) Monday, august 5, at 1PM M onda y, august 12, at 1PM Led by extraordinary book reviewer Led by distin guished lecturer Edna Ritzenberg. Mira Rosenfeld Sennett. The year is 1575 and the se tting is Venice. A city The Street Sweeper deals w ith memory, with a larg e ghetto, a city th at is dirty and polluted, a city full of hatred and fear, a city with physical and love, guilt, heroism, the extremes of racism and unexpected kindness. A recurrent theme is the moral decay. Ms. Rich has written a fascinating need to bear witness. In the icy winter of 1944, historical novel illustrating the loves and dangers of in Auschwitz, prisoners called out to anyone this storied city as she paints the plight of the Jews in who migh t possibly survive: “Tell everyone a world where they face suspicion and hatred. Hannah what happened here.” The story spans the Levi, a wonderful heroine, fights to save the man she twentieth century to the present, and spans the loves and the lives of women and babies. This is a globe from New York to Chicago to Auschwitz. novel whose pages seem almost to turn themselves. t his & that cu r rent issues: changing tiMes your health Means everything: thursday, July 25, at 1 PM siM Ple stePs to helP KeeP you safe tuesday, september 24, at 1PM Monday, July 15, at 10aM Join our informal current events discussion program. This series is One consequence of aging is a steady decline in balance and designed to increase awareness muscle strength. While certain declines are unavoidable, experts have repeatedly proven that much of balance and muscle strength can be and understanding of policy issues in the U.S. and the world. restored. Ms. Susan Hannon, B.S. RN, Winthrop University Hospital, These thought-provoking, town- will explain how to identify risks for falls and what can be done to hall-meeting-style conversations minimize those incidents. She will talk about exercise and how foster engagem ent and dialogue important it is for seniors to exercise and build a healthy foundation for among a udience members. Our fall avoidance. This lecture will help mature adults maintain their health, moderator is Jerry Mantell. balance and independence. Illustrated visual feasts Art Talks Thomas Germano, Professor of Art History at SUNY Farmingdale, will present the following: diego rivera good taste, bad taste: what is & frida Kahlo tasteful in Modern art thursday, July 11, at 1PM thursday, august 8, at 1PM Considered the father of Mexican mural art, An illustrated lecture exploring the role of “taste” in the Rivera is also the pioneer of modern political art in visual arts today. How is individual taste formed? What does the Americas. His murals express his personal taste mean today? Issues such as taste as it relates to social ideals by unifying art with politics. Diego’s notable classes, cultures, aesthetics, consumerism, imitation and wife Frida Kahlo painted some of the most piercing self-portraits, elitism wil be explained. This lecture will discuss the philosophy of which she used to question her relationship with society, taste, looking at the works of Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Jeff traditional culture, and her role as an artist. This visual lecture will Koons, Cindy Sherman and a host of contemporary artists whose consider the lives and work of these two extraordinary artists. work taunts the taboos of aesthetic transgression. what MaKes a MasterPiece? Monday, september 23, at 1PM This visual lecture will explore the factors which underlie the tenets behind a work of art determined to be a “masterwork.” From the Mona Lisa to the Sistine Chapel, cave paintings to Picasso, learn how some works receive the label “Masterpiece”