"Artists Recreate Iconic Montauk Image" | The Long Islander: Life & Style Article

Article by Danny Schrafel reads “It was like assembling a really big family picture, except instead of aunts and uncles jockeying for position, it was dozens of artists jockeying for the perfect pose at the Ripe Art Gallery Saturday morning.

At the Park Avenue gallery, photographer Jim Marchese, of Brentwood, arranged the assembled artists with hopes of recreating an iconic 1962 image by Hans Namuth, taken in Montauk.

Organizer Mike Stanko said the idea was inspired by the image.

“Years ago, I saw this picture somewhere and said, ‘Oh wow, how cool is this?’” he said. “Then, two years ago, I bought this book… When I saw this picture for the 10th time, I was like, you know what? Why don’t we just do this? Let’s just organize this.”

Stanko met Marchese at a performance by Caroline Doctorow, daughter of author E.L. Doctorow, and pitched the concept. Matchese who has photographer Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, former President Gerald Ford, Neil Armstrong, former Governor George Pataki, Donald Trump and Liberace, jumped on board.

Initially, Stanko planned to stage the photo at his house. Instead Cherie Via Rener, proprotor of Ripe Art Gallery for 11 years, now on Park Avenue in Huntington, bonded the guggle of creative minds.”