“Easter Egg” in summer!

I was so pleased to be alerted to an article in Buffalo Rising newspaper which was a complete surprise. A local art mover and shaker noticed that my brother Symon had hung a Giclee print of koi from years ago on his balcony wall in the heart of Elmwood Village. The reviewer was very taken with the idea of displaying personal art for the public. I wrote him a note saying that my brother and I were following in our father’s footsteps. He updated the article, and voila! Text and pictures below.


A few days ago I posted on a special Buffalo Easter Egg that I came across during a walk in the Elmwood Village. Today I’m posting another Easter Egg in the form of a work of art adhered to the facade of a house. What I especially find interesting about this is that due to COVID-19, there is a dearth of art opportunities at hand. With shuttered galleries and studios, art does not abound as it once did. Therefore, public art has become more important than ever, even a little splash of art such as we see here.

It’s not often that we see a work of art as part of a neighborhood streetscape. Maybe an occasional work on a boarded up window, or atop an easel on a front porch. But to see a painting actually hanging on clapboard? I think it’s pretty neat.

What I love most about coming across this painting (there’s actually another work in the window), is that I was not expecting to see it. The creation drew my eyes to the house, where I also noticed the leaded glass windows, and other architectural details that might have escaped me.

There’s a very humanist element that is to be appreciated. It tells us a lot about the person who lives inside – an art appreciator and an artist him or herself. This is a neighborly action that is not only meant to be shared with people perched on the patio, but passersby as well.

After posting this, the artist Barbara Mink reached out to me to share the following:

I’m a member of the BSA but live and work in Ithaca NY. The “Flying Fish” is a giclée print of the original I had given my brother Symon almost ten years ago, when he and his wife Ellen lived in Buffalo. They then moved to LA for five years, where Symon worked as a first assistant cameraman in “the business”, and they just returned to Buffalo this year.

I was so happy they put the fish outside- our father, Irving Mink, was a well known abstract painter in the region while we were growing up, and we always had a painting on our porch (see inset right). I started painting in 1999 and have carried on the tradition in Ithaca (see inset left). I was very moved by your contextualizing the public display of art in the current Time of Covid: I know people are starving for gatherings, connections, and beauty. Whatever we can do as a community to lighten that burden even a little is so important. But just as important is having people notice and share.

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