Four Prolific Artists, One Creative Family
Although Mirana Comstock is a photographer, musician and writer, she never felt there was a spot for her in her artistic family. “When I was young I had trouble fitting into the visual arts side of the family because there wasn’t any wall space,” she says. Comstock isn’t just referring to metaphorical space but to the actual limited hanging room in their home. With an artist mother, grandmother, and brother, wall space was expensive real estate.
Recently closed at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester, MA, is an exhibit that’s not just about art, but about family. Generations features four artists from the Bercovici clan, the family of the late Konrad Bercovici. Konrad was a Hollywood writer, and he and his wife, Naomi, lived like creative royalty, dividing their time between New York and Los Angeles. Their circle of friends included notables like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Brancusi, Dreiser, Robeson, Modigliani and Chaplin, and their children grew up around these incredible artistic forces. The four artists featured in the exhibit—Mirana Comstock, her brother Konrad B. Abbott, her mother, Mirel Bercovici, and her grandmother Naomi LeBrescu—used these incredible artistic influences to create four very different bodies of work.
Master Class by Mirana Comstock
Mirana works primarily in photography, although she also headlines, with her husband, a band called Theory of Tides. The Generations exhibit features a series of photographs of dancers facing a wall of photographs of people in costume. She finds the idea of costume to be fascinating, a paradox between hiding and at the same time being freed. In her series of costume and drag portraits from the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, Mirana explores how self-expression and identity can be safely explored in the alternate realities of costume. Her photographs of dancers, originally commissioned by Hunter College, allow her to explore self-expression through an artistic medium.
Addict by Konrad B. Abbott
Konrad’s paintings, though small, have a witty dynamism to them that has often been compared to de Kooning’s work. Though sometimes called “innocent,” the pieces in the exhibit are remarkably sophisticated. His abstract use of color and proportion gives ordinary forms a mysterious, almost ominous feeling. In his artist statement Konrad says, “My aim is to capture and render my spontaneous reaction to the subject…evoking a response from the viewer by putting them in that moment.” From early on artist Abraham Walkowitz was an admirer of and mentor to Konrad, helping him develop his unique style.
Bernstein by Mirel Bercovici
The youngest child ever admitted to the adult Academie Julian in Paris, Mirel Bercovici, mother to Konrad and Mirana, was quickly noticed by other greats. She is well known for her dynamic portraits and unique way of depicting the people around her. Mirana recalls a painting of a newspaper writer that she found terrifying as a child. Current audiences love the stocky, leering reporter. They can almost hear her firing questions at an unsuspecting interviewee. Most famous are Mirel’s portraits of Leonard Bernstein, who gave her special permission to paint him within his orchestra. In these portraits Bernstein isn’t just conducting, he’s dancing, he’s moving, he’s completely embodying the music that he creates. Tanglewood, a favorite of Bernstein’s, now owns the centerpiece of this collection, an 8 foot-by 6 foot masterpiece that’s kept on permanent exhibition.
Desert Blooms Naomi Bercovici
Naomi LeBrescu, who went by L.B. Naomi in the art world, was not only a talented artist, but also the glue that kept the family together. Nothing got past her, and when she had a goal in mind she couldn’t be stopped. Her paintings reflect the kind of frenetic energy that must have circulated her in life. Vivid, abstract floralscapes cover the canvas in rich, bright colors. Although different types of flowers are identifiable, the images take on a romantic, dreamlike quality. Naomi worked primarily in watercolor, although audiences swear the medium must be oil. “Grandma was a feisty 4-foot, 9-inch French woman,” says Mirana. “She willed the mediums to do whatever she wanted.”
One thing consistent throughout the Bercovici clan, each artist has a clear appreciation for diverse art forms. From Mirel’s inspired depiction of Leonard Bernstein in the height of his musical fervor to Mirana’s intimate portraits of dancers, art is the lifeblood of the family. With her mother, brother and grandmother deceased, Mirana no longer has to fight for wall space. She now has a much more difficult responsibility: she must keep her family’s legacy alive.
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Image Credit: Images courtesy of Mirana Comstock.
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Celina Colby is the editorial assistant at Art New England magazine and the blogger behind Trends and Tolstoy.