Brian Goslow, Managing Editor
bgoslow@artscopemagazine.com
Welcome to our 12th Anniversary Issue.
When our first March/April issue arrived in 2006, it did so with the mission of striving to fill a void in the general arts community. “We have set the bar high for Artscope and we promise to do our best with determination, hard work and integrity to gain your trust and to exceed the expectations of our readers, advertisers and the arts community,” wrote publisher Kaveh Mojtabai in our first Welcome Statement.
This has remained our goal over the past dozen years, and I strongly feel that the issue in your hands will confirm our continuing dedication to promoting the visual arts and artists of the New England region.
Longtime contributors Greg Morell (the 2018 Portland Museum of Art Biennial), Franklin W. Liu (2018 Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show), Suzanne Volmer (Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989-Today at ICA Boston) and James Foritano (Inventur-Art in Germany, 1943-55 at Harvard Art Museums) have done tremendous jobs with the challenge of condensing large multi-artist shows into 1000 or so words and in doing so, they’ll hopefully have helped fill up your art calendar for the months ahead.
Beth Neville took on the challenge of covering two shows that would be opening after we were going to press and the end result is a great example of partnership between Artscope and the institutions we cover and work with.
Deb Todd Wheeler and Robert Todd made a special trip to Milton Academy’s Nesto Gallery to introduce Neville to the concept behind their “Artificial Atmospheres” exhibition, while the South Shore Art Center opened their doors on a holiday so Neville could be filled in on its “ON! Pushing Back the Dark” show — a story that turned into a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of creating a unique exhibition including specially made for the event glass artworks from artists around the country, and getting them in time — and safely — for display.
The “Self-Confessed! The Inappropriately Intimate Comics of Alison Bechdel” show at the Fleming Museum on the campus of the University of Vermont has been on our radar since last fall; Elayne Clift, after traveling to Burlington to see the show, reported that she had a wonderful conversation with the artist by phone, noting, “She is a very warm, genuine person and I now realize what a genius she really is” — and that her assignment has led to acquiring and reading her second book.
Clift’s piece is complemented by Tom Soboleski’s enthusiastic review and chat with illustrator Nadir Balan, who used a large-scale comic book strip format to tell the story of World War I soldier Philip English in his “The Courier: Tales from the Great War” exhibition at the New Haven Museum.
Molly Hamill got to “reunite” with her former teacher, painter Robert Freeman, to talk about his “Mardi Gras Indians” exhibition with photographer Max Stern at Adelson Galleries Boston. Enroute to visiting family on the Cape,Flavia Cigliano stopped by the studio of Stephanie Roberts-Camello — whose work we first fell in love with at the International Encaustic Conference and Schoolhouse Gallery in Provincetown in 2015 — to preview her early spring exhibition at the Cotuit Center for the Arts.
As we’ve done in the past, we’ve used our anniversary issue to provide our writers with the opportunity to cover artists they’ve wanted to write about in the past but the opportunity hadn’t previously arisen.
Anne Daley, normally our behind-the-scenes copy editor, wanted to learn more about Howard Barnes, whose work had graced the cover of our May/June 2017 issue, and Eric Taubert writes about how Maine artist Heidi Geist has found new opportunities for locations to place her art in branding herself, “Art Punk in the Craft Beer Sphere.”
Donna Dodson, in addition to her regular “Making Connections with …” column, profiles artist and educator Destiny Palmer, while Elizabeth Michelman talked with fabric, fiber and installation artist Samantha Fields – both of whose work is featured the fascinating “Stitch: Syntax/Action/Reaction” exhibition at the New Art Center in Newton that I was honored to get to see and review in its preopening stages.
When you’ve been at something for a long period of time, you can’t escape deep losses. While visiting the home studio of sculptor Victor Pacheco to talk about his upcoming show at the Worcester Center for Crafts, I realized that his house was right behind that of the late Leon Nigrosh, a renowned ceramic artist, scholar and our first contributing editor, who passed away 10 years ago. I miss our talks, his knowledge and presence to this day.
I frequently ask those of you who are loyal readers of our magazine, and members and regular attendees of New England’s museums and galleries, to let those institutions know when you’ve attended shows there because of our coverage and, if you don’t see our magazine available, tell them that you’d like to see them partner up with us to ensure the artists and exhibitions that we cover reach the largest audience possible.
New York Times CEO Mark Thompson recently predicted that his paper’s print publications could be “dead” in 10 years; however, here at Artscope, we see that print in the visual arts is strong, a fact confirmed by how quickly each new issue disappears from our 700-plus locations throughout New England, as well as our being used as a source by the mainstream media. We are living proof of how a full-color, printed, glossy arts magazine stands out. Readers can hold onto it, keep it on display on their coffee tables or studio spaces, or reference a work or artist they love or want to collect.
Meanwhile, Artscope continues to be a leader in the arts field with its multimedia streaming platforms including our mobile app and tablet edition that’s available worldwide on your tablet or smartphone.
Thanks to all of our readers, subscribers, advertisers and event listers for your support over these past 12 years — and to all our writers, graphics designers, sales representatives and interns past and present for your help in making each issue possible.
I hope you enjoy our 12th Anniversary Issue as passionately as we put it together.
To read more, pick up a copy of our latest issue! Find a pick-up location near you or Subscribe Here.