Anthony Eastlering: A Cop with a Camera

Art on the Town organizer Jeni Barton told me during the re:FRESH afterparty at Kooma: “People get on the Loop bus as strangers, and step off as friends.” Once again, we were lucky to have Shawn as our bus-driver/tour guide. One friend asked him to be flexible and give us more than the allotted 15 minutes per stop. Always congenial, he agreed, and treated us like the celebrities he so often transports. It was a blast to trek around the downtown portion of the Loop with complete strangers, all of whom have an interest in art, culture and the city of Wilmington.

We met artist Amy Orr at the DCCA who “quilts” with bits of old credit cards, creating brilliant, gleaming works. We made it to the Delaware College of Art and Design for some short, animated movies. Pahl Hluchan, area coordinator of animation, pointed out one of the “controversial” movies to me. As our group watched some graphic moments, one of my new friends quipped, “We are too old for this. We don’t know what is happening.” I laughed and remembered that art not only binds us together as humanity, it also provides a bridge of understanding between young and old (most of the time).

Anthony Easterling, photographer and 14-year veteran of the Wilmington Police Department, was my loop pick artist of the month. His bold, sometimes raw photographs are displayed at Veritas Wine and Spirits through the end of November. A tall, soft-spoken man, Easterling is a Master Corporal in the Special Operations Division. Some of his photographs depict the grueling training at the Police Academy, where he is a certified instructor. When asked why the men in one photo were covered in mud, he smiled, noting they “got into a little trouble” and were doing push-ups. He also captures moments of swat teams in action, officers on the beat and other gritty scenes. Though the photos grip you with action-packed motion, the vulnerability of his subjects’ faces is moving and even heart-wrenching.

Greg Barkley at the DCCA

Tired, dragging myself upstairs at the DCCA and feeling rather hungry after a long day’s work, I spotted two red objects: one, a tempting bowl of salsa and two, a large painting of something very red and a train in the top third – a train with vivid detail mixed into the steel-grey colors of its pistons and driving axle with a little bit of rust and wear mixed in.

Feeling grateful for both the salsa and the vivid color, I wandered in to Greg’s studio and found out he is from Delaware and studied at the University. His teachers, Stephen Tanis, Julio DaCunha, and Charles Rowe – gave him soft realism, romantic and surrealistic models. He has had a studio in the DCCA for a few years now and had a book of Francis Bacon he is perusing.

He genially posed for the piece that I was so taken with of a man in a business suit with a fishbowl for a head and tipped a diptych of a dog with a violin head so I could get a picture without too much glare. The dog is so black and the bright green beneath him makes his dark coat even more striking. The violin seems to be a weapon of sorts – incongruously intriguing in the bullring setting.

Barkley has one thought about his art: ‘I wish had more time to do it. ‘He and Ken Mabrey are scheduled to have an exhibit in the downstairs gallery at the DCCA in January.

I look forward to an uncluttered display of Mabrey’s farms, birds, trees and whimsical pastels as they stand their ground against Barkley’s biting Magritte-esque visions.

See http://www.thedcca.org/.

Evil and Oh So Messy!

“We have a line out the door, so it’s your lucky day!” yelled Bootless Artwork’s Artistic Director Rosanne Dellaversano into the microphone. She encouraged the audience to move from general seating into the “splatter zone” for Evil Dead: The Musical. The zone’s special effects — blood gushing, floating ghost heads, entrails spilling onto the stage and audience members — were riotously funny and well worth the extra dollar for seating. Directed by James Gaspero and music directed by James Fuerst, the sold-out performance was a big hit.

The musical is based on Sam Rami 1980’s cult-classic movie. The movie—“so bad it’s good” (bad acting, bad effects, bad writing, just altogether bad)—is fodder for this hilarious spoof. Minutes into the show, the actors make a mockery of the horror movie genre. All the elements of predictability, stock characters and theme are played to the hilt. The role of the dumb blonde—a staple for the horror genre—is played expertly by Melissa Leigh Elizabeth Baker. “Shelly” provides the audience with plenty of opportunities to yell things like, “No, don’t open that door!” or “He’s right BEHIND you!” As the indestructible protagonist, Ash (played by the deadpan Dan Farrell), weathers demons, evil trees and even saws off his own evil-possessed hand while singing over the buzz of his chainsaw.

After Ash has defeated all his friends who have become demons, the newly evil-possessed Professor Ed played by Brooks Adam Banker, comes at him. With an unused weapon in hand, Ash calmly reminds the audience he has nothing to fear since the man is a “bit-part demon” and would never kill the main actor. This prompts the demonized Ed to break into song, complete with tap dancing and cane. Given the perfect time of year and our culture’s incessant love of camp and gore, Bootless has certainly hit the mark!

See http://www.bootless.org/.