A Walk on the Art Side in Montclair

My wife and I drove to Montclair, New Jersey, this evening to check out "A Little Night Art, Gallery Walk VIII." A number of galleries and storefronts participated in the event, but the supposedly art-oriented Montclairians largely stayed away. It's too bad, as some of the displayed work was strong and worthy of a stroll on a crisp autumn evening. The best of the lot was by Dan Fenelon at 73 See Gallery.

Fenelon's work, such as Petro Graf, appears at times to combine Meso-American motifs with the spirit of graffiti. That he's able to sustain that vision and style borders on the amazing. And Dan's warm, engaging personality is the perfect foil to his art. He's what my wife would characterize as a mensch, and would unhesitatingly call an artist.

(Petro Graf appears here with permission of Dan Fenelon.)

From Russia With Love

A well-told spy story takes craft, research, and brains. Such tales also sell; publishers can't get enough of the good ones. So it made sense that two people recently arrested for allegedly being Kremlin spies lived in publishing-rich Montclair. The Russian agents already knew their trade; perhaps their true cloak and dagger work was getting inside the publishing network honeycombing the New Jersey suburb. After all, in the publishing business as well as for the spy world, it's who you know that counts.