The WAH Center presents a group of Williamsburg artists & performers noted for their sensational and "total experience" productions. The show "STYLE N' QUALITY" is a unique multimedia collaboration by artists Naoki Iwakawa, Michael Krynski, and Ur. These three artists share a vision which, in spite of their different cultural origins (Japan, Poland, France) is somewhat similar in defintion. Their use of rich texture and found objects, their mutual interest in the rendition of timeless, archtypal images, intended to help the viewer to identify with the material, are the common ground of their language.

Naoki Iwakawa paints large canvases, crusty with sediment-like layers of sand and crushed glass where the fading imprint of a presence can be felt. Abstract, yet utterly realistic, his work is reminiscent of other-worldly geology. He calls it "ambient painting."

Michael Krinsky's work depicts the growing disconnection between the cycles that drive humnan behavior and the natural order of the rest of the world. They deal with the detachment of Mankind from natural progression of time. Through the use of materials and human form, he compares and contrasts the notion of growth and time.

Ur balances between painting and scupture, endeavoring to create a transitory medium in which the represented object, principally the human form, takes a superlative realism. His fine shadow work, combined in the "in-your-face" harsh matter-filled compositions he calls "paintings," opens a gap into which the viewer is invited to jump. Often his pieces are interactive.

In addition to their own art, they will create a piece on the spot, the STYLE N' QUALITY MONUMENT, which will be uncovered on Saturday, June 12, from 7 to 10 P.M. in a climactic happening featuring live painting, an auction of the work (tie requested), a terrorist attack and live music (Nao Sakamoto and Laddio Bollocko, recently back from their Europen tour).

The WAH center is dragging out all kinds of boxes and odd things from it's basement catacombs and the dusty attic. We are frankly SURPRISED at the assortment of lamps, clothing, shoes, artwork, antiques, and collectibles. We even found a beautiful 19th portrait by L. Lang (American) 1840, which we are keeping for our collection. This SPRING CLEANING was a very exciting thing, and we think you will find something in this sale that you can't afford not to have. Prices are from 25 cents on up...

We also are holding our CHESS AND GO TOURNAMENT ON THE SAME WEEKEND WITH CASH PRIZES! HOT DOGS AND COLD SODA AVAILABLE!! See you there for a great weekend of FUN!!

On Saturday & Sunday June 19th & 20th, 1999, the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center hosts the first annual Williamsburg Chess & Go championships at the Center.

Sign up is Saturday from 9 A.M. to 10 A.M. Admission for the Chess event is $6.
Admission to the Go event is free!

There are six matches.
Each days matches are 11 A.M., 2 P.M. and 5 P.M.

Prizes are awarded for the winners of the chess championship as follows:
First Prize $50
Second Prize $25
Third Prize $10

For the GO matches there is a $10 first prize only.

Early sign up for the chess tournment is Sunday June 12th 12-6 P.M. for $5.

For information: call Terrance Lindall, (718) 486-6012 or 789-6008

The MOTHER EARTH CELEBRATION exhibit this year will display photography of world adventurers & explorers. Indeed this show is to celebrate the mother Earth, and to discover something about aboriginal peoples as they are living now. For as industrial progress and international investment in land & resources make incursions into these pristine regions, the traditional cultures & life styles of these remote people are challenged and they will likely be assimilated into a Western style, McDonaldiized K-mart superculture.

So, in our gallery this year we venture with Cynthia Wilder to the north, the land of ICE, exploring remote Alaska along the Yanese River and to Kamchatka, the Russian Far East (former Siberia), to stay with a group of Eveni Reindeer herders. We visit through her photos the remote islands of the Bering Sea which lead like stepping stones to the vast frontier of the Russian Arctic as yet visited by only few travelers. You will see the spectacular arctic landscapes which support some of the largest colonies of sea birds and marine mammals in the world. The time is June 1998 when Cynthia visited this region. Tiny wildflowers are in bloom on the tundra and wildlife is most active. The sun sets only briefly this time of year and we experience nearly endless hours of daylight for exploration & discovery. We meet with local people from both continents and learn about traditional methods of hunting, fishing & habitat construction and are treated by native dancers & storytellers. Cynthia Wilder is a member of the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has spent many years in the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Anthropology. She is an expert on reindeer and the peoples of the north Pacific Rim, and has worked on several exhibitions featuring Siberian cultures and their migration to North America. For the past 8 years, she has been a lecturer on the American Museum's Discovery Tours in the north Pacific region. In the photography we can follow in the comfort of our gallery the pathways of famed 18th & 19th century Arctic explorers like the famed Captain Vitas Bering in 1728. This is an exhibit which must be seen. Come visit with us the scenic coves and anchorage's and study the fascinating tribal cultures, spectacular wildlife and marine environments in this remote Paradise!

Next we travel to the land of FIRE, New Guinea, with Williamsburg Journalist/Photographer James Bevins who exhibits photos and discusses his recent exploration of uncharted regions Irian Jaya New Guinea and his discovery of a new tribe unseen by Western man. James was shot with a poison arrow and had to trek through the jungles two weeks before reaching civilization. The Center will exhibit his photos and hear about his amazing "Indiana Jones" adventures.