QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 3, 2013 Page 54
SQ page 54
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I HAVE OFTEN WALKED
Works that memorialize Chew on this: LIC’s friends from the Holocaust gum factory by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor
Rosemarie Koczy, shown with one of her carved hanging sculptures, created thousands of artworks based on her early years spent in Nazi concentration camps. Many are on display at Queenborough Community College until Dec. 15. PHOTOS COURTESY QCC ART GALLERY, LEFT, AND BY JOSEY BARTLETT
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Through Koczy’s attention of detail a fury of ink lines wrap around each other and create the figures’ empty black eyes and the delicate lace that they are swathed in. The second series, entitled “Standing Man,” shows the same person — a prisoner known only as Stacho — over and over on about 20 unstretched six-foot canvases. Each colorfully painted image of the man lives in a slightly different world, ranging from slightly psychedelic to eerie. But all pay homage to a man whose gestures to Koczy, who was only a toddler when she was imprisoned in the Nazi camps — including giving her his food — cost him his life. In all the works from the series, Stacho, with his arms stretched out, looks to be embedded or encased in abstract weeds or barbed wire. The third of the mini-exhibits within the “Art As Witness” display showcases Koczy’s wood car vings, which bear names such as “Deportation Train.” The same haunting figure plays a role in all the pieces, commemorating a boy who
The name chicle comes from the latex of a tropical evergreen tree used as the chief ingredient in making chewing gum. Thomas Adams received a patent for a chewing gum machine in 1871 and started selling gum in Manhattan drug stores for one cent. His company and others were amalgamated into the American Chicle Co. in 1899. In 1910, the firm bought the company that was making Chiclets gum, and in 1916, the one that was making Dentyne. Four years later, American Chicle built a factory at 30-30 Thomson Avenue in Long Island City. At the height of the Depression, the company listed its capital at $5 million, not bad for a product that sold for a penny. In 1962, American Chicle introduced Trident gum, and Warner-Lambert Pharmaceuticals, a drug company based in Morris Plains, NJ, purchased the business. The firm employed entry-level and semi-skilled immigrants from Queens. But in 1976 an explosion took place that mortally wounded at least one employee and injured 55. Five years later, when major law-
SPORTS
The American Chicle factory at 30-30 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City, on April 20, 1965. suits resulting from the fire were making their way through court, the LIC factory closed its doors, laying off 1,600 employees. American Chicle factories in Toronto and Mexico City picked up the slack. With the gum maker gone, the building became home to more than 30 different small businesses. Now it houses the city Department of Design and Construction. After going through a succession of owners, the gum business is now part of Kraft Inc. Q
BEAT
Mets finish third by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor
Rosemarie Koczy’s sculptures evoke the destruction of humanity during the Holocaust. served as her protector and friend during her time in the camps, according to Scandaliato. Over all the exhibition pays beautiful Q homage to Koczy’s tragic memories.
‘Art As Witness’ When: through Dec. 15. Tuesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Where: Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, 222-05 56 Ave., Bayside Tickets: Free,(718) 631-6396, qccartgallery.org
The Mets’ 3-2 come-from-behind victory last Sunday afternoon at Citi Field to close out the 2013 season meant that the team wound up in third place in the National League East with its 74-88 record. That wasn’t a cause for anyone to be popping champagne in the clubhouse, but considering that many believed the Mets would be battling the penurious Miami Marlins all season for the cellar, it was a major accomplishment. Hardly anyone had predicted that the Mets would finish ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. Of course, that’s more of an indictment of an aging, overpaid and underperforming Phillies squad than it is a tribute to the Mets. Nonetheless, Mets manager Terry Collins, who rightfully received an extension on his contract Monday, sees finishing third as an important launching point for the 2014 Mets. “I told Sandy after we swept the Phillies down there last weekend that we were going to overtake them in the standings,” Collins proudly said in his postgame press conference, referring to general manager Sandy Alderson. “This is important to us.” It’s a credit to Mets fans that Citi Field was sold out Sunday as one of the greatest players in the franchise’s history, Mike Piazza, was inducted in the team’s Hall of Fame. Prior to the game Piazza, always the epit-
ome of class, took the high road when asked about that other Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, NY. Even though he wasn’t named in the infamous Mitchell Report or in any Congressional hearings for using illegal steroids as a player, too many voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America have taken a “guilty until proven innocent” approach to Piazza and other hitters who should be automatic inductees, such as Jeff Bagwell. “It’s a process and I understand that,” Piazza told the press. “It took Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio three times to get elected.” I believe he’s right. Time should be his ally. Last Friday the Mets brought a number of their top prospects to Citi Field for the Sterling Awards ceremonies, which honor the best players in their farm system. Allan Dykstra, a strapping 6-foot-5 first baseman who played for the Binghamton Mets, said he was not related to disgraced former Mets centerfielder Lenny Dykstra, who served prison time for engaging in fraud. “I have never been contacted by Jim Cramer for stock market advice,” he said with a laugh. Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero are the two top Mets pitching prospects. Noah admitted he was nervous about meeting the New York press, while Rafael said he will try to learn English in his native Dominican Q Republic this winter.