Mary Brienza

By: centraljersey.com
Three township residents are participating in an art show at the Municipal Building that opened yesterday.
The "See All the People" Exhibit opened at the South Brunswick Gallery on Jan. 5, and will run through the end of March, according to a press release from the South Brunswick Arts Commission who is sponsoring the exhibit.
The commission will hold a "Meet the Artists" Reception on from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 11, according to the press release.
Three of the 17 artists; Art Lee, Mike Derer, and Lesley Gevins, reside in the township.
Dayton resident Art Lee said he entered a sculpture titled "Champion People Watcher" in the show.
Mr. Lee said he had six to eight weeks to put something together to showcase in the event.
"(I) recycle items into creations," Mr. Lee said. "(I) work with found objects, and have been creating artwork since 1985."
Some items he said he used in the sculpture include: a baseball trophy that his now 38 year old son, received in 1985, two pairs of unused eyeglasses, a ceramic tile base, liquid nails, yellow venetian plaster, and red and blue paint.
"(The trophy was) around the house for 25 years collecting dust," Mr. Lee said. "The ceramic tile was leftover from one of my son’s home improvement projects and lying around his home."
Mr. Lee said he asked his son if he could use one of the tiles in his art, and his son gave it to him.
"I accidentally dropped the tile a few months ago and it cracked," Mr. Lee said. "When I started creating the piece, I decided it would make an interesting looking base."
Mr. Lee said the tile was in his backyard "junk pile", where he keeps his projects and objects he will eventually use in making his art.
"My passion for recycling permeates my art," Mr. Lee said. "I love to create using just about anything; nothing is out of bounds."
"Champion People Watcher" is 20 inches high, and was installed at the show Tuesday, Mr. Lee said.
" I like to use mixed media in my compositions," Me. Lee said. "I try to incorporate disparate items because I love the challenge."
Mike Derer of Kendall Park said he entered a black and white photograph of his two sons Eric and Adam he took six or seven years ago into the show. The boys were six and eight years old at the time the photo was taken, and now Eric is 16, and Adam is 14, Mr. Derer said.
Mr. Derer said he dressed the boys up like they were from the 1950s since he was a child himself during that era.
He said he gave them a pompadour similar to the way he used to have his hair and took the photo "just for fun."
"I enjoy entering shows, (and) try to submit something to each of the shows that allows photography," Mr. Derer said. "(I) was a news photographer for the Associated Press and retired in 2009."
He said he has entered South Brunswick shows since he retired and has also entered a Monmouth County art show.
"I enter ones I hear about," Mr. Derer said.
Mr. Derer said he photographs sunrises at the beach, a combination of landscapes, and people doing things.
Because the boys play football for South Brunswick High School, he takes many action shots during the games, Mr. Derer said.
"I am still a photographer. It is just something that I do since it is hard for me to not photograph things," Mr. Derer said. "I photograph anything that moves me."
The third local artist, Lesley Gevins of Monmouth Junction, entered a photograph titled "Sing" for the show.
The photo is of three people singing in the Sharim v’Sharot, which is the Jewish Choir of Central New Jersey, Ms. Gevins said.
According to the website, the Sharim v’Sharot is dedicated to the preserving, performing and studying various Jewish music.
Ms. Gevins said she took the shot during a concert in Pennsylvania either last spring or at the end of last winter.
"I liked the picture- it is a picture about people and it is a happy picture," Ms. Gevins said. "I certainly enjoyed their concert."
She said she took the photo because she was impressed in how intense and interested the members are in their singing.
"I have always been interested in photography, I was an art major (in college)," Ms. Gevins said.
Ms. Gevins said since she is now retired, she has the time to "indulge" in her hobbies and interests.
She said she was an art teacher in New York City, and at one point was an adjunct professor at Trenton State, which is now The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
She said she taught mostly high school and junior high school students, and taught for a total of 13 or 14 years.
"I have submitted things before," Ms. Gevins said. "(I am) always interested in pushing art in South Brunswick; if more people (were) interested it would be great."
She said she taught photography classes at the South Brunswick library last winter and taught art at the senior center the spring before.
Princeton artist Howard Siskowitz, who has had portraits displayed in various galleries throughout the Northeast, chose the pieces being exhibited at the show, according to the release.
The exhibit in The Gallery will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the release.