All posts by Liah Haginicolas, Correspondent

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A look into the mind and life of local artist Jay Tuccolo

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When reaching the final steps leading to his third flood office, a bombardment of color and sound encircles you. Hundreds of CD’s line the walls and records are stacked all around. Paintings and artwork surround the room, in a wash of beautiful greens, lazy yellows and bright blues. A soft hum reaches you from the record player in the corner, the psychedelic sounds of the Grateful Dead and the tender voice of Gerry Garcia bring a warming relaxation. He sits on a desk chair in front of three monitors, a box of pencils to his left and a crisp white page in front of him. As he begins to draw, his hand moves with the sounds of the Dead, and swirling loops and zig zags emerge on the page. He looks up with a hearty smile, eyes aglow with joy.

Jay Tuccolo was born in 1968 and has lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts his whole life. He has always been a passionate lover of art.

“I see myself as an alchemist in art. They teach you in art to focus on one thing but I want to explore everything and I use art as a tool of exploration,” professed Jay.

As a young, budding student artist, he was always drawn to record artwork and posters, and his love of music is what helped him discover and get involved in the world of graphic design.

While in high school he came across commercial art, and thought “Hey, somebody makes a living doing this stuff. I want to do this. There’s actually money to be made there. Having such a strong passion for art, wow, I could make a living and do this.”

Jay has dabbled in many artistic forms including drawing, painting, photography, digital imaging, etc. He really liked photography in high school as well, but at the time it was an extremely expensive profession to try and get into. Once he discovered commercial art and graphic design, he decided it would be much easier.

One of his first jobs was designing t-shirts. “I did a Magic Johnson t-shirt that sold over 50,000 units but I only got paid by the hour and never saw any of the profit because I was just an hourly employee,” confessed Tuccolo

He attended Fitchburg State University, then Fitchburg College, and graduated in 1990 Cum Laude with a bachelor of science in communication media with a graphic design specialty. He found his way into signage mostly by luck, the work force during this time really declined and white collar jobs were extremely hard to find, especially with what he wanted to do.

“It was the worst time in 90 years to get out of college and get a job. Literally had nothing,” Jay recalled. At one point, he considered walking away from graphic design altogether.

“I looked around at all my friends and they were doing so well and hadn’t gone to college, and I was like what did I do? Did I waste my time for nothing? It was quite demoralizing. But I ended up finding a fulltime job. I was lucky to get what I got and fell into the sign industry. Signage wasn’t really what I wanted but it was all that was available,” he divulged.

Jay found what he describes as a crappy job, at a little sign shop in Pelham, NH, and so began his career in the design and sign industry. Fast forward to today, he now works as an art director at Viewpoint Sign and Awning in Northborough, Ma. He began working there in the company’s infancy and he had the opportunity to shape their system and make it more successful, helping coordinate the infrastructure within the company. He performs managerial tasks including assigning jobs, keeping schedules, and maintaining status of tasks and projects.

“I bring new light to weaknesses or maybe strengths that could be embellished,” explained Jay. In a fast-paced work environment, with deadlines, the designers have little time to revisit work and be creative. Jay is able to review his employees’ work and help them unleash their potential, offering critiques along the way.

Tuccolo has worked on many projects over the 15 years he has been at Viewpoint. Many of the signs in Haverhill have been designed by himself and his team, including Dunkin Donuts and Papa Gino’s.

Jay still practices art at home where he is able to express his true creativity, without having to meet deadlines or expectations. It is one of his most beloved hobbies.

“I am going on five years now, almost six, of drawing every day,” said Tuccolo. He has come to realize that the process is just as, if not more important than, the product.

“Art helps us grow and pushes our minds. It lets people see the world in a way they never did before and allows them to be expanded in their own way,’ he remarked. Jay finds the exploration of art as the most exciting part and finds that people tend to focus too much on the finished product. Art has helped him learn to liberate himself from some of his anxiety in life as well. It has taught him that shooting for a masterpiece at every moment will lead to getting stuck and nothing done.

“With drawing, some days it comes very comfortable and some days it is clunky. Sometimes things work, and sometimes they don’t,” explained Jay.

Some of his great stresses in life come from conflict within communication with others. He works hard to not get caught up in the anxiety and not let it slow him down and to keep moving forwards. He has learned to feel the stress, let it come and let it pass. One of his favorite quotes that came to mind was by Carl Jung, “Hell is a door locked from the insides.” He explained how everyone’s prison is something they create from themselves, and that everyone has the ability to just unlock the door and walk out any day.

“It’s like a storm, you can die in it or hunker down and wait for the blue skies,” professed Jay. “You have to accept the peaks and valleys. That’s why I love art and the ability to use it as a tool of exploration of those highs and lows.”

Arts and Entertainment, Home Page News Bytes

A review of Shadow and Bone

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Shadow and Bone is a new fantasy series on Netflix, run by Eric Heisserer, adapted from Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling young adult Grishaverse novels. The series is loosely based on Tsarist Russia, building a story on a reeling, war torn kingdom. It follows the common chosen-one trope, following the adventures of an orphaned young woman, Alina, who comes to discover her magical abilities. The show is successful in building a compelling world that is both intriguing to newcomers and palatable for longtime followers of the series.

The show is presented in eight, hour long episodes, and while it does take a few episodes for it to find its footing, the show eventually becomes quite enthralling and notably binge worthy. Strong performances from Ben Barnes, who plays General Kirigian, a dark and twisted character, who has a much darker and twisted past, and Jessie Mei Li, who plays Alina, the heroine of the story, add to the chemistry of the series. Their difficult and provocative relationship gives the audience the often desired toxic yet seductive relationship people feel strangely drawn too.

Although the show attempts to give each of its many characters an appropriate amount of time and attention, it often feels either rushed or at the expense of others. There are times where it seems the focus is pulled away from the main story and shined upon what can only be described as a side mission, played out by Kaz (Freddy Carter), Inej (Amita Suman), and Jasper (Kit Young). Their storyline, of which is moderately interesting, distracts from the main plot following Alina, which caused her portions of the show to sometimes feel rushed and condensed. This may be in credit to the fact that the show runners decided to include the stories of two separate novels into one season.

The series was surprisingly quite successful in addressing racial tension and discrimination, which has been at the forefront of American minds for the past year. As subtly slipped into the plot as it was, it resonated throughout the entire eight-episode season. The main character, Alina, whose features resemble the people of Shu Han, a realm similar to China, is faced with resentment, racism, and disrespect a number of times. This ignorance poses not only an obstacle for her but offers the audience a blunt look at a familiar problem in the world today.

Shadow and Bone is a captivating and exciting show that is well worth the watch for those who enjoy fantasy. Strong character development and world building adds to the dynamic chemistry of the show. There are times where it feels a little rushed or underdeveloped but as a whole the show remains evenly paced and enjoyable.

Arts and Entertainment, Home Page News Bytes

Mortal Kombat review

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Mortal Kombat has been a treasured game for almost 30 years. It’s use of extreme violence, gore, and intricate fighting techniques has led it to accumulate 11 main installments of the game, with its most recent being Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019. On April 16, 2021, Mortal Kombat the movie was released.

It follows Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, an aspiring MMA fighter, who works to seek out Earth’s greatest champions to fight against the enemies of Outworld, in a tournament known as Mortal Kombat and to save Earth.

Directed by Simon McQuid, the film attempts to appeal to the games fans with easter eggs and extreme violence, however its story and plot fall short. Starting off strong, with a solid backstory and tearful loss, the plot becomes hollow and crumbles away by the third act. It is filled with plodding, lackluster world-building. The film spends too much time on searching for characters, without showcasing any of their powers or giving them credible backstory.

Much of the information is a fraction of what it could have been. It then focuses on what can only be described as a training sequence for a good portion of the film, where the characters are working on learning their powers.

The other problem is that the entirety of the movie focuses on this great tournament, called Mortal Kombat, that will result in the liberation or demise of Earth, yet the battle never arrives.

The whole plot is focused on something, that in the end, falls short. The movie was barely saved by an occasional laugh and the CGI. The fights were definitely engaging, including memorable finishing moves from the game. But for anyone who is not a fan of the game franchise, it offers very little.

The script feels loose and off-center, and the pacing of the film is way off. Too much time is spent on training, and the battles during the climax are quickly thrown on and back off the screen.

It was disappointing to be introduced to so many potential characters and backstories, only to be left with hollow and forgettable characters.

The film is saved only by its over-the-top and wildly entertaining fights, and its cheesy yet occasional comedic relief.

 

Arts and Entertainment, Home Page News Bytes

Movie theaters face challenges in 2021

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There has been a progressive decline in moviegoers over the past years, causing small theaters to disappear rapidly. The most recent in the Haverhill vicinity is Cinemagic, which announced its permanent closing in February. “I miss going to the movies, it is deeply saddening that the smaller chains are closing.” said Owen Devlin, a student at NECC.

COVID-19 has only added to theaters dwindling away. Because of the social distancing guidelines, it has forced theaters to open at smaller capacities, causing companies like WarnerBros to lose money on its film. They tried releasing the film Tenet during the pandemic and lost millions on the project. This caused many companies to take a new direction and try to revamp the way they release films. In December, WarnerBros announced they would be releasing all of their feature films during 2021 on HBOmax.

However, this came as a surprise to many of their movie exhibitors, who received notice only an hour before they made their announcement. AMC was incredibly disappointed and lost 14 points of stock the day of WarnerBros statement. However, many feel that it was the right decision given the circumstances, and some are even excited for what this means for the future of movie watching.

“I had no problem with Warner Bros.’s decision. I felt that it was a way to keep people safe as well as still providing a means of entertainment through the safety of their homes.” explained Karen Stokes, another student at NECC. It also offers many a choice in how they choose to watch movies.

Many feel excited about the prospect of watching a new film from the comfort of their own home. “I think it’s awesome that they’re incorporating the choice to stay home and enjoy a new movie.” said Waynlyn Otero.

It leads the way forwards into reshaping how people watch movies. With more options, it gives the consumers more flexibility. One student explained how it would be interesting to see some movies in theaters and others available at home.

“It all depends on the caliber of the film at hand; If it’s something like a Marvel movie or A Quiet Place, most people would probably want to see it on the big screen and share the experience with others. If it’s something like The Kissing Booth or The Snyder Cut of Justice League, most people would be ok streaming them instead. If you look closely, you can sometimes tell which films best fit the format they’re presented on,” said Leo Wellock.

This idea is quite interesting. It is without a doubt that the fans of huge films who can hardly stand their excitement for a release still love the magic of going to a theater. But there are many, especially families, who would love to sit down in their living room together and snuggle up on the couch.

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COVID-19 has torn apart the fabric of trade schools, where online learning fails as a substitute

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The teachers and students at trade and technical high schools have been suffering over the past year due to COVID-19 and the implementation of online learning.  
Trade schools like Whittier Technical High School and Essex Agricultural High School have been at the tail end of the changes brought on by COVID-19.  (Editor’s note: This story reflects experiences at the vocational schools before they bgean to phase in an in-person schedule in mid-March..)
Students have lost a large part of their education with the absence of hands-on learning, a fundamental part of learning a trade.  
Many things have been left behind as they move forward in school. Learning solely from a book via a computer does not provide these students with the tools and skills they need to be successful in their trades once they leave high school.  
 Danielle Young is a student at Essex Agricultural High School, studying sustainable horticulture.  
She has found learning to maintain plants over a computer to be unsuccessful and upsetting. Young says that with online learning “you lose the tactile part of education and the rest doesn’t stick well. It’s extremely draining to sit there looking at a screen all day, to the point that you don’t want to do anything.”  
Learning the techniques over the computer does nothing for students if they don’t have the ability to apply it in person with the teacher’s assistance. And motivation to get up and sit on a computer all day is lacking. They are no longer excited for school with the repetitive nature of computer work, day in and day out.  
Nicky Haginicolas, a cosmetology teacher at Whittier Tech. has had a really hard time teaching her students how to do hair and makeup over the computer.  
She has been forced to only teach the basics of the class, focusing on rudimentary and broad ideas.  
She explains that “looking at a screen lacks the one on one contact needed to teach students body mechanics and hair artistry. Because it is a hands-on creative expression, in order to teach the finer elements, such as body and hand placement mechanics, in order to teach that, you have to view the student replicating it.” 
She can teach the ideas and explain the steps over the computer but the ability to apply it to a real human being has been lost.   
It has taken a lot of time and effort for these teachers to adjust to teaching a trade in a remote learning setting. They have had to modify their teaching styles and come up with ways to educate their students as best as possible.  
Haginicolas has settled on creating videos of herself practicing on a mannequin to show her students what to do but that has come with its own set of challenges.  
The lack of one on one contact with her students has deeply affected their learning.  
“My students have lost the quality time they need to utilize the information they’ve been given,” says Haginicolas.  
One of Haginicolas’s students, Emilia Carducci agrees, stating, “it’s not easy doing hair by yourself.”   
The stress on these students and teachers has only increased as time has gone on and there is no way of knowing when things will go back to normal. 
 It is extremely hard for the students to stay focused and do all their work at home. Carducci bluntly says that “when I’m home, I want to be home. It’s stressful to do everything in your bedroom but you just have to keep going I guess.”  
Hands-on classwork is a principle of trade schools and without it, these students are losing the very education they came to these schools for. They are not learning what they need and even though school is continuing, their education has stagnated.  
Haginicolas’s final statement perfectly sums up the effect COVID-19 has had on these trade schools, “I just want this year to be over.”