Aspects of loneliness can be unexpectedly transformative.
So says Congregational Church of Patchogue pastor Dwight Lee Wolter. Besides his recent book about the subject, “The Gospel of Loneliness,” Wolter is pushing this human condition further as a reflective exercise that can result in creativity and even quiet joyfulness. On Sunday, Jan. 21, a Festival of Loneliness will offer thoughtful, beautiful artwork at the Museum of Loneliness in the church reception hall, followed by a gorgeous solo dance and concert with great songs in the sanctuary. This unusual endeavor will take place from 6 to 9 p.m.
(The museum is free. Concert is $10 a person to cover musicians’ costs.)
Three jurors, including members of the Patchogue Arts Council and Museum of Contemporary Art, selected 20 artists for the show.
Several of the festival participants gathered this week to discuss their contributions.
Patchogue’s Kevin Casey, alias soulface, brought his arresting large canvas, “I and I.”
“The figure has realized his existence,” he said of the large, faceless image with hands over his heart, “and he’s made of tiny human figures. The point is, we aren’t separate from one another. We are one. For example, there’s the man on the scaffolding painting, a mother with her child, someone is dying. It’s all happening at the same time.” Casey utilized paint pens and acrylics in bright yellows, magenta, dark and lighter blues, and metallics. He also brought impressive drawings of dragons. “They guard the treasures within,” he added.
Miles to Dayton bass player Dave March will sing vocals and play acoustic guitar as a solo performer. His brother Jon March (drums) and Anthony Pravata (electric guitar) will also accompany him.
“The songs will be Neil Diamond’s ‘Solitary Man,’ REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts,’ Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel,’” he said.
It isn’t March’s first foray with Wolter’s church performances. “I’ve been involved with the ‘Spirituality Series’ and was included with the first one, ‘Spirituality of the Beatles.’ I think it’s real intuitive about how music is written and interpreted.”
The large bird of prey enamel painted on plaster was Bryan Gutman’s “The Journey.”
“I felt that this solitary bird flying over land is existing alone. He’s on his journey and he’s fine with that. And as artists, we work alone.”
Secondo Orellana’s murals are glorious to behold, and his work has hung in many important galleries and museums, including recently the “Somos: We Are” exhibit at the Long Island Museum. He won the New York State Council on the Arts 2024 Visual Art Award.
His “Living Scars of an Immigration Child” is of a 14-year-old Ecuadorian boy with a story. “The scars are his feelings,” Orellana said of the marks, some of which are beautiful. “He’s feeling alone. His father immigrated to the U.S.A. and left him with family members.” The boy’s longing is emphasized in teals and blues with shading. Orellana has lived in Patchogue for 30 years, but recently moved to Central Islip.
Beautiful choreographer/dancer Wendi Weng hails from Huntington and will perform “The Dance of Loneliness.”
“I want people to enjoy loneliness,” she said. “Your energy is open. It’s a gift that has power.”
Weng, originally from China, studied traditional Chinese dance, but also traveled to different cultures to learn their dances.
“I’ve been to Egypt five times,” she said.
Hers is a 15-minute segment. “I’ll walk in, in the moment of loneliness. Sometimes I’ll stop,” she emphasized, extending her hand. “Stop means the next step. Then I’ll start my improvisations. I will feel the ideas people send me.”
Weng originally received a Facebook message from Wolter about the theme asking if she was interested. “When I talked to her about the concert, she said, ‘Loneliness is beautiful.’” That sold him.
The festival will follow a trajectory, Wolter explained.
“As the hour ends in the Museum of Loneliness, Wendi will begin her dance in the wraparound balcony above the art exhibit, and I’ll announce ‘Let’s follow Wendi.’ Then we’ll move into the adjoining concert hall in the sanctuary, where she’ll perform.”
After that, “The Greatest Loneliness Songs in the World” will begin.
Get ready to be moved and even exhilarated by a dozen songs.
“We’ll have rorie kelly singing Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’; Toby Tobias singing Hank Williams’s ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’; Bob Arndts is singing ‘Only the Lonely’ by Roy Orbison.”
Even Wolter will sing “Melancholy Man” by the Moody Blues, accompanied by Moog synthesizer, piano and guitar.
“People in touch with their own loneliness become very empathetic,” he said. “That is empowering and beautiful. They’re in touch with their creative spirit.”
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