NIAGARA FALLS —
At the age of 5, Joe Nicosia told his mother that he wanted to be an artist. His mother responded with a question. “Do you know what it means to be a starving artist?” she asked her son.
Nicosia had never heard the term, but his mother assured him that most artists don’t make much money and end up starving to death. He didn’t like the thought of this so his art career was over nearly before it began. Or rather, it was put on hold.
Despite his mother’s dire counsel, Nicosia showed an interest in photography. His bedroom wall was covered in a collage of photographs.
“When I was really little I would always be digging through drawers looking at the photos of family members. Photography was something instinctual to me and I have been really in love with it since I was a kid,” Nicosia said. Even though he was deeply interested in the art, he never considered it a career.
Nicosia attended college and graduated with a MBA, then landed a job with American Greetings. At the card company he worked as a creative project manager. He tracked the productivity of creative people and made sure their deadlines were met. While there, his dream of being a professional photographer kept beckoning.
“I had a great job that I liked and that I was really good at but I didn’t feel anything for it,” Nicosia said. “I wanted to focus on my dream.”
He began taking night classes in photography, and when American Greetings reduced its workforce, he seized the opportunity by going back to school full-time to study photography. Eventually he began photographing portraits and making a living at what he loved to do.
But, it hasn’t been all easy for him.
This past July, after someone stole copper piping and accidentally cut a gas line, Joe’s house was literally blown off its foundation in the Town of Niagara.
Nobody was seriously injured but the explosion destroyed most of the house’s interior. When Nicosia heard the news, the first thing he could think was to grab his camera and begin taking pictures. He took a total of 500 photographs.
Some of the photographs from that day, as well as photographs taken over the course of the months that followed the explosion, have been turned into an art exhibit titled “A Big Bang and the Unclouded Aftermath.”
The exhibit is being showcased at Wine on Third.
“What the show is really about is about the period after the explosion. I sort of dug my way out of the rubble,” he said.
Wine on Third, located on the corner of Ferry Avenue and Third Street, has showcased multiple artists for the last two years. This past year they began holding exhibit openings twice a month, with one on the first Tuesday in the dining area and an opening on the third Thursday in the bar area. Nicosia’s photos are being shown in the wine bar until Friday.
Co-owner David Guisiana says it is part of what he is hoping to grow as “Third Thursdays on Third.” He plans to recruit local Third Street businesses to join him in staying open on third Thursdays of each month and holding special art-themed events.
Artists like Nicosia appreciate the support.
Features
Related Photos
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Photo by Joe Nicosia PIECE WORK: When Town of Niagara photographer Joe Nicosia's home was destroyed by a gas explosion, after a theft of the structure's copper wire, he picked up his camera and documented the destruction. The photos have become part of an exhibit at Wine on Third.
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Joe and sebastian.jpg CONTRIBUTED PHOTO THROUGH HIS EYES: Town of Niagara photographer Joe Nicosia, shown here with his dog, Sebastian, has an exhibit of his work at Wine on Third. The wine bar and restaurant regularly features the work of local artists as selected by co-owner David Guisiana.
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PROFILE: Photographer's art depicts the remains of his destroyed home
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