Pictured is “Hull,” one of two new additions in the eight-part art print series entitled “Susquehanna Crossroads,” a series of artistically rendered photographs that express the connection between the community and the Susquehanna River environment. A portion of the profits will benefit the Tioga History Museum. Posters are on sale at the Early Owego Antique Center. (Provided photos)
Tioga County artist, Karen Kucharski, announces two new posters available in her eight-part art print series entitled “Susquehanna Crossroads,” a series of artistically rendered photographs that express the connection between the community and the Susquehanna River environment.
Released in September 2015, “Dawn” and “Hull,” the current additions to the series, represent the area’s resurgence following the flood of 2011, and integrate painted imagery with photographs of the Tioga History Museum (known most recently as the Tioga County Historical Society Museum).
“Dawn” showcases a view of the Tioga History Museum foyer and “Hull” portrays a wide-angle view of the Great Room at the museum. Kucharski cleverly designed the hull of the ship as the ceiling of the Great Room turned upside-down with a view of the room facing the front of the museum.
On sale at the Early Owego Antique Center, located at 43-45 Lake St. in Owego, N.Y., a portion of the profits of “Susquehanna Crossroads” will benefit the Tioga History Museum, located at 110 Front St. in Owego.
Pictured is “Dawn,” one of two new additions in the eight-part art print series entitled “Susquehanna Crossroads,” a series of artistically rendered photographs that express the connection between the community and the Susquehanna River environment. A portion of the profits will benefit the Tioga History Museum. Posters are on sale at the Early Owego Antique Center.
Karen Kucharski is a professional fine artist and a member of the Board of Trustees at the Tioga History Museum. Her art is on display at two Watkins Glen, N.Y. galleries, including the Franklin Street and Quintus Galleries. A Tioga County native, Kucharski is a graduate of Owego Free Academy (OFA) with a B.A. in Studio Art from Binghamton University and an M.F.A. from Syracuse University (Printmaking concentration).
Kucharski is also an educator and has taught at the public school level, including working with high school students at OFA, which featured a project about the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) confederacy and “river of life” symbolism. She has also taught at colleges and universities, including Dartmouth College and Cornell University.
Kucharski’s work and research for the “Susquehanna Crossroads” project was made possible with a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, which is administered locally by the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.
The “Susquehanna Crossroads” series also includes Guardian I: At the Museum, Guardian II: At the Courthouse, Roost, Herons’ Watch, Monumental and Destiny’s Crossroad, all in commemoration of surviving the flood of 2011.
Work on the series started by photographing both the Tioga History Museum and the Tioga County Courthouse at different time intervals, which allowed for capture of weather changes and other aspects of the surrounding environment.
Kucharski explained, “The series exemplifies the power of nature and that of the human spirit, and the bond between the two. The Tioga History Museum serves Tioga County in its mission to preserve and protect the history of the county while the Tioga County Courthouse makes responsible decisions for the present and generations to come.”
Pictured is Tioga County native, Karen Kucharski, a professional fine artist who recently announced two new additions in her eight-part art print series entitled “Susquehanna Crossroads.”
In the series, Kucharski’s insight and personal view is expressed by highlighting hydrofracking as a subject representing changes to the river environment, and also uses the symbolism of the heron, which while guarding their own world, is watching over the community and how we preserve our environment.
Still recovering from the flood of 2011, the Tioga History Museum has had a turbulent relationship with the river. The museum remains a vital link to the history of the community and is focused on the future.
Staci Becker, interim executive director of the Tioga History Museum, shared the museum’s new vision statement; “Explore the past, engage the present, and learn to create a better future.”
Becker explained, “Karen’s poster project captures the beauty, architecture, and history of our community in a truly unique way, and the river is such a big part of our culture. Karen’s work really showcases the new vision.”
To learn more about Karen Kucharski’s work, visit her website at www.karenkucharski.com.
To learn more about the Tioga History Museum, visit their website, www.tiogahistory.org or find them on Facebook.
