The Man, The Machine
oil in canvas
*now on view in the Contemporary Interpretations Exhibition at Oceanside Museum of Art (June-October 2023)
This painting pays homage to my grandfather, Rocco Chiaro: his strength, work ethic, resilience, and integrity.
Hugo Gellertâs Worker and the Machine evoked a memory of my grandfather that inspired me to excavate his life through interviews with my father.
Roccoâs parents immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, from Gioiosa Ionica, a small fishing village in Calabria, Italy, and settled in the Pittsburgh, PA area.
Born in America in 1922, his first job away from home was in 1939-1940, when he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps, an organization that was part of the WPA project. He spent the following years working long days at a steel mill in the mornings and as a union carpenter in the evenings. Rocco also served in the US Navy as Master of Arms and drove a landing craft onto Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion.
This work ethic and resilience through hardship allowed him to send his children to college, epitomizing the American Dream.
Embedded beneath the painting is a collage of photographs, a tapestry of my grandfatherâs life, including some photos taken of my grandfather at the F-25 CCC Camp in Hot Springs, Virginia, where he was stationed.
*now on view in the Contemporary Interpretations Exhibition at Oceanside Museum of Art (June-October 2023)
This painting pays homage to my grandfather, Rocco Chiaro: his strength, work ethic, resilience, and integrity.
Hugo Gellertâs Worker and the Machine evoked a memory of my grandfather that inspired me to excavate his life through interviews with my father.
Roccoâs parents immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, from Gioiosa Ionica, a small fishing village in Calabria, Italy, and settled in the Pittsburgh, PA area.
Born in America in 1922, his first job away from home was in 1939-1940, when he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps, an organization that was part of the WPA project. He spent the following years working long days at a steel mill in the mornings and as a union carpenter in the evenings. Rocco also served in the US Navy as Master of Arms and drove a landing craft onto Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion.
This work ethic and resilience through hardship allowed him to send his children to college, epitomizing the American Dream.
Embedded beneath the painting is a collage of photographs, a tapestry of my grandfatherâs life, including some photos taken of my grandfather at the F-25 CCC Camp in Hot Springs, Virginia, where he was stationed.