PORT + HARBOR:  
Preservation, not Speculation

Greenport, Floyd Memorial Library

“How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.” 

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, 1939

This quote from John Steinbeck’s classic American novel helps to encapsulate two approaches to historic architecture. It is this tussle between civic preservation and urban development that Sabina Streeter explores in the current exhibition.

Comprising new works created especially for this show, Port + Harbor: Preservation, Not Speculation is a comparative architectural and historic profile of Greenport and Sag Harbor, two traditional maritime settlements facing the pressures of modern consumerism. Streeter documents a tale of these two villages through paintings, drawings, collages, and photographs, sometimes/frequently using materials employed in construction and architecture, such as vellum, blueprint, and plywood.

Highlighting Greenport and Sag Harbor’s lived histories, the exhibition includes depictions of notable buildings as well as figural portraits based on historic precedents. We’re particularly thrilled to see a new painting of Grace Floyd, the founder of Floyd Memorial Library.

Yet Port + Harbor is not a romanticized portrayal of these villages. As a long-time resident of Sag Harbor, Streeter has grown increasingly concerned about overdevelopment and compromises to the historic integrity of her hometown and other East End communities. Thus, alongside representations of old buildings that have been preserved are images that signal destruction, like dumpsters and boarded-up buildings.

The exhibition’s subtitle makes it clear that Streeter believes in preserving our historic buildings. Her hope is that Port + Harbor helps further discussion on this crucial issue from all sides. After all—to paraphrase William Murtagh, first “Keeper” of the National Register of Historic Places—the present conversation on preserving the past involves our “mutual concern for the future.”

* Both the artist and Floyd Memorial Library would like to acknowledge the invaluable research help of our Greenport neighbor Stirling Historical Society in the creation of this exhibition. *

* Both the artist and Floyd Memorial Library would like to thank our Greenport neighbor Stirling Historical Society for their help with research in the creation of this exhibition. *