Capturing the 'Spark'

Capturing the 'Spark'

   By Pat Cahill
   The Republican (Springfield, MA)
   Saturday, January 8, 2005

Some people have a certain something, a passion or joy that keeps them interested in life deep into old age. Robert Gallant, director of Highland Valley Elder Services in Northampton, calls it a spark.

About five years ago, Gallant decided he wanted people to start thinking about that quality, finding it early and nourishing it so it could sustain them even after youth is gone.

The result is a small but evocative photography exhibition titled "Spark," with black-and-white pictures by portrait photographer Judy B. Messer of Northampton and text by Debra A. Basili of Holyoke.

On view at the Huntington Library through Jan. 28, the show focuses on 10 people who find joy in life. Gallant said the challenge he presented to photographer Messer was "to catch people in the act of investing for the long haul." Having devoted his career to the elderly, Gallant knows that letting the light go out and just going through the motions is no way to live.

He believes so strongly in his message that Highland Valley funded the exhibition itself, though the money barely covered the expenses of the writer and photographer. Some pictures had to be dropped. But those involved in the project have high hopes that their show, which was on view at Northampton's Look Park and Highland Valley before moving to Huntington, will travel to several more sites in Western Massachusetts. Eventually, said Messer, they would like to publish it in book form.

The 10 people are defined by their actions, with the panels that display their pictures titled "Hitting Balls," "Writing Poetry," "Quilting," "Singing," "Ikebana" (Japanese-style flower arranging), "Rowing," "Walking," "Caring for Birds," "Art," and "Choosing the Right Foods." The "Rowing" panel shows Anna P. Wilmot of Westfield taking her boat out on Pequot Lake at age 102.

Wearing checked trousers and a scoop-necked T-shirt, Wilmot pulls her boat up to shore, sits in position to row and stands with her oars afterwards.

"You should have known me at 100," Wilmot told the team of Messer and Basili, who got to ride in her boat. "I was peppy!"

Messer said she loves the simplicity of black-and-white tonality and the beauty of natural lighting. Her photographs have a still, silvery, sculptural quality that was just what Gallant wanted. The "Caring for Birds" panel features Miguel Vuelta of Westfield. "He is passionate about his birdhouses," said Basili. "He formed them out of old wood he gathered, and he gives them away to people."

He told Basili, "I've always loved birds," adding that he wanted them to have "a safe place to raise their babies."

Originally Basili wrote the text for the show in the form of poetry, but that was one of the things that changed as the show evolved. The five organizers also decided to show "spark" in people of all ages, not just the elderly.

An example of a younger person with spark galore is Northampton voice instructor and performer Justina Golden, who is the subject of the "Singing" panel.

It was important to the team to include singing, said Messer, because its use of breath, body and energy seemed to embody the title of the exhibition.

In Golden they found a woman who believes in the power of music to transform lives. "Singing helps to lift you out from being anxious and filled with worries," Golden told Basili. A series of photographs shows Golden opening her arms expressively as she tutors a student. The diminutive white-haired pupil is the late Beulah Colli, who was in her 80s when she studied opera with Golden. In the last picture on the panel, Colli opens her own arms with a wonderful abandon. "Is she not a gem?" said Messer.

Also in the pictures are teenager Todd Grant of Springfield and Messer's son, Anthony Rigali, 4, with his grandmother. Flower arranger Verda Dale and quilter Sharon Carty were chosen from Amherst. Carol Basili of Holyoke, Debra's mother, was also included. Electa Johnson, who loved to take country walks and recite poetry to herself, and artist John Phelps have since passed away, but the show is a testament to their "spark" while they lived.

Debra Basili, 43, grew up across the street from Messer in Springfield. "We are lifelong friends, which is a rare gift," said Messer, 42.

"We have been 'sparkers' together for many, many years."