Funny and Historical Artists Shine at First Friday

3/1/2013 (Updated 10:57:01 PM)

There was a big display of creativity Friday night during Binghamton's First Friday festivities.

At River Read Books on Court Street, there was both Irish music and a variety of musicians and singers.

There was also some fine artwork of the area's past, by R.C. Oster, who is named artist of the month.

"I just do drawings of local barns.  I love local history.  These are all scenes of real places around here, most north.  I travel a lot around Norwich and Utica.  These are all actual barns.  So, they're all places that are historical in the region, a lot of which are disappearing.  I'm just trying to draw them and capture them before they go," said Oster.

R.C. Oster said relics of a fine architectural past are all around.  We just have to open our eyes, and look for them.

Also at River Read Books were the grandsons of famed local cartoonist, Johnny Hart.

Before his death a few years ago, Hart and his grandsons were turning out both B.C. and the Wizard of Id cartoon strips.

Now, the grandsons are producing the "Dogs of C-Kennel," and were signing books Friday night containing the first 150 days of the cartoon strip.

Why do many cartoons, like their grandfather's remain so popular for so long?

"I think even with the decline of newspapers, people love comics," said one of Hart's grandsons Mason Mastroianni.  :Humor is humor, and if you pull off a good gag, people will find a way to read you."

"Something about the artwork, it's not like a TV show that will fade away," said the other grandson, Mick Mastroianni.  "Cartoons seem to stay.  I mean, "Blondie's" been going on for 75 plus years now."

The Mastroianni's said the big reason they are so attracted to producing cartoons is because it's better than working for a living.


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