Much to See at Glen Cove Library in June

The Glen Cove Public Library will host two exhibits during the month of June.

The first will be a war memorabilia exhibit showcased in the lobby of the building in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, and the second will display abstract artwork in the library's mezzanine gallery.

War Exhibit

Glen Cove resident Bob Staada has been a collector of military items for 67 years. The historian has a basement full of mementos, patches, books and uniforms from the Korean and Vietnam wars as well as World War II. Staada, a Korean War veteran, will display patches from the army air corps that were worn by airmen in Korea. All  of the patches, he explained, are distinguished insignia that soldiers wore on their lapels.

Staada shows his military collection at senior citizens homes, veteran's organizations, civic groups and libraries. He is a member of the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors, or ASMIC, where he buys many of his patches. People also donate artifacts to his collection.

"I started collecting military memorabilia when I was about 10 years old," said Staada, who collects just about everything besides weapons. "My brother was in the service and so was my brother-in-law. The war was fascinating and I was always a history nut."

Staada contended that the Korean War is significant because it is a forgotten war.

"It was never a war until fairly recently," he said. "It was called a police action.

Art Exhibit

For something completely different, patrons can visit the library's mezzanine gallery to view The Sun Exploding exhibit, which features paintings by Glen Cove native Nina Rukavchenko. The 10 piece exhibit, library officials, is all abstract expressionism.

"My work is about construction and deconstruction," Rukavchenko explained. "It's very emotional and it's cathartic and it gets rid of my frustrations and anxiety."

Rukavchenko uses the pseudonym Nuclearghost as her artist name. 

"When you think of a nuclear bomb you picture a video of a building standing there and an atomic bomb goes off and the building explodes," she said. "There are a few pieces of wood remaining. My work comes from complete disaster and devastation."

Rukavchenko, 25, who now lives in Austin, Texas, uses locks of her own hair and her fingernails in her work. She also goes to salons and collects hair. The exhibit's title also represents the name one of her favorite pieces. 

"My hair is in the center and it's in a circular motion, there is gold spray paint around it," she noted about the artwork. "My hair is painted in black chunks to give it lots of texture."

Since 2001, Rukavchenko has been working in the art industry. She is a graduate of the Huntington School of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago. She hopes everyone who sees the exhibit will take something from it.

"Anyone who's interested in art that's been made recently should see it," she said.