By Emily Toy
Artist, novelist, poet, journalist and filmmaker Melinda Camber Porter, whose creative life was largely informed by her adopted hometown of Sag Harbor, will be honored April 18 at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York City by an internationally-recognized group of artists.
Porter’s work will be on display at the Clark Studio Theater and Samuels Teaching Studio from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Expected to attend are major figures from the art and literary world, many of whom were friends and collaborators of Porter’s.
Porter lived on Ackerly Street in Sag Harbor with her husband, Joe and their two sons, Robert and James.
“She was very much into her boys,” said Patti Archibald, a family friend and Sag Harbor neighbor for 18 years.
Porter, who died in October 2008 of ovarian cancer, was cutting-edge in both the subject matter and aesthetics of her work as well as revolutionary in keeping the integrity of arts journalism.
Throughout her career, Porter produced more than a dozen series of watercolors, oils and drawings, four documentaries, four novels, three plays, over a dozen poetry series, and countless news articles and interviews.
“It was very interesting to see someone from her generation creating works that are, stylistically, very abstract and raw but on the other hand, included deep, conceptual writings in her paintings,” said Peter Trippi, editor of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine and family friend. “Her work is very strong and intense,” he said. “It almost leaves you bare.”
Trippi, who is scheduled to speak on Porter at the ceremony, became friends with her in 2004 after they both served on a panel discussion on William Blake in Manhattan.
Porter, whose work often included excerpts from Blake, was often compared to the author by critics.
In 2006, Porter’s work was immortalized at her alma mater, Oxford University, with the book “William Blake Illuminates the Works of Melinda Camber Porter.” Senior curator at Tate Britain, Robin Hamlyn, lectured on Porter’s 23 watercolors, oil paintings and drawings.
“We can see another quality in these works, the greatest achievement of them all, and it is one of the reasons it’s so marvelous to see a display like Melinda’s ‘Luminous Bodies’ exhibition — we have the imagination at work,” said Hamlyn.
Porter was also uniquely diligent in journalism as well. She reported on French cultural life for The London Times in the 1970s and 1980s. Porter’s book, “Through Parisian Eyes” is a series of her interviews of world-renowned Parisian cultural figures, including Francois Truffaut, Marguerite Duras and Louis Malle.
The book received global praise with the San Francisco Chronicle calling it “a daylong trip to the candy store.”
“Not everyone grasps what she did in all these different aspects of the art world,” Trippi said. “But the reality of it is that she was always doing so much stuff, she began connecting threads.”
Porter‘s deeply tied roots to Sag Harbor, a town she made her home, produced one of her largest painting series depicting the seascapes of Barcelona.
“The Barcelona Point Series” is composed of 15 oil-on-canvas paintings and depicts a seascape of high dunes at the popular nature preserve just outside of Sag Harbor.
The short film, “Luminous Journey,” shows how Porter was inspired to create the series because of the area and shows how the artist’s connection to nature began to dominate her exploration of light and shadow. This in turn produced large, vibrant oils infused with natural light, making the paintings in the series really come alive.
“She loved Barcelona,” said Archibald. “She was very much into and inspired by nature.”
Barcelona became a part of Porter’s daily life, both physically and emotionally, often going to the area to walk around and be at peace. Porter enjoyed the area so much, husband Joe Flicek said throughout her life here in Sag Harbor, she became known as “that woman who walks on the beach.”
With this memorial celebration, both Flicek and Trippi hope to shed light on how her work is a universal tool that can touch anyone from anywhere. Trippi said themes of love, loss, spirituality, nature and family are central to her pieces.
“Her work always had a sense of context,” Trippi said. “She was such a world citizen.”
For more information on the memorial celebration, visit Porter’s blog at http://melindacamberporter.blogspot.com.
on Apr 16, 2010