Honoring the Artist: Daniel Pollera

Although it was a bleak week in Daniel Pollera’s household, the Dan’s Papers’ cover artist was still his warm and optimistic self, despite the sense of great loss he felt from his mother’s death. The last time he was on the cover, Mr. Pollera spoke about his mother and the family values he shared with her. That conversation reverberates in the following comments.

Q: Your mom left a great legacy to you and your family. We can see it in your paintings, their sense of intimacy, capturing a mood that centers on simple things, like home and nature. They have a nourishing quality. What did your Mom leave in terms of personal values that you especially cherish?

A: There were so many things – taking time to enjoy your family, the importance of compassion, recognizing other people’s feelings, taking the time to understand why people are acting a certain way. My mother left a legacy to her grandchildren too. They watched how we took care of their grandmother. My son was home and took care of her as well.

Q: What do you remember particularly about growing up with your mother? What characterized how she acted, how family life was?

A: This was her philosophy – “Come to my table and eat.” That was our family. Whenever you went to our relatives (I remember visiting my uncle and aunt,) the food always came out. Same with my parents. If Joe Shmo from the neighborhood came over with a friend, out came the pasta. It was a small community then.

Q: I think you’re probably the same way. I can imagine you cooking for friends and family at a drop of the hat. Or at least, you like to cook a lot. For example, what is a favorite dish? Give us the recipe.

A: I love to cook, especially veal marsala. Cook the veal in olive oil and breadcrumbs. Remove the veal. What’s left in the skillet is part of the sauce. Cook thin sliced mushrooms with butter, tossing them as you go. Add opici marsala wine, maybe a little flour. The wine is the secret.

Q: I’m getting hungry. How about any recipes you got from your mom?

A: She had a great recipe for combining hotdogs, fresh garlic, potatoes and peppers.

Q: You said food “goes to your heart.” That reminds me of a documentary Martin Scorsese made about his parents in their Elizabeth Street apartment in New York. A lot of it was Mrs. Scorsese making pasta sauce. It was a charming segment. As is your own recipe. Besides the idea of food as both a substance and a metaphor for values, what else do you think is important to be happy?

A: After my family, my passion is art, of course. You don’t need a lot to be happy – simple is good. You just have to keep your feet on the ground. If I won the lottery, I wouldn’t buy a bigger boat. I have one in the yard, but I prefer to go out on a small one with my dog; it’s more intimate. I can sail into my dream world.

Q: When we look at your paintings, like the one on the cover called “Majestic View,” with the porch, we can sail into our own dream world as well.

A: I hope so.

– Marion Wolberg Weiss

Mr. Pollera’s work can be seen at Southampton’s Chrysalis Gallery.