I first became acquainted with David Lang through his art, specifically with the large metal sculpture on the grounds of the Danforth Museum of Art where I once worked. Curvilinear in form and monumental in size, the piece stood delicately balanced on its pedestal, a twisted, disintegrating question mark that the artist entitled “The Question Is the Answer.” Solid, yet seemingly weightless, this formally abstract sculpture was most dramatically visible to students looking down from the second-floor classrooms in the museum’s school. Which was appropriate, given Lang had been a teaching artist for most of his decades-long career and never really stopped. When we finally met, it was when he came in to work with our teen docents, which led to many conversations about his whimsical kinetic sculpture (including ways to keep it working while on display) and so much more. The path Lang … [Read more...] about Remembering David A. Lang: Teacher, Artist, Friend
Issue Articles
Textual Healing: Finding Meaning at Art League Rhode Island
Surprise! There’s human hair on display in “Parsing Sign and Image,” a diverse group exhibition of mixed-media art juried by Artscope Magazine’s founder and publisher, Kaveh Mojtabai, that engages with the complex theme of image-communication. The exhibition asks: Can a text itself stand as an image, or will our minds always connect to a literal meaning? Must a word always carry meaning, or can words and letters act as graphic elements of pattern and design? The show’s exhibition statement responds, then asks more questions: “Images can stand alone without relying on a literal translation. Today our visual fields are filled with imagery (from television to Instagram) and a literate mind unconsciously reads text without considering it. You don’t have to tell yourself to read a stop sign — you just do. From road signs and graffiti to pop-up ads and text messages, we are constantly and … [Read more...] about Textual Healing: Finding Meaning at Art League Rhode Island
Isamu Noguchi: Groundbreaking Sculpture in Portland
The Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi displayed an impressive range throughout his decades-long career, producing not only traditional sculpture, but also stage sets, memorials and furniture. His forays into industrial, landscape and interior design evince his belief that sculpture belongs in all realms of life, not merely to be placed on a pedestal and stared at. Hence, “Beyond the Pedestal,” the title of the Portland Museum of Art’s exhibition, a rare Maine retrospective of Noguchi’s work. Noguchi believed that sculpture should not remain static, to be viewed passively from a safe distance. He wanted people to walk around, under and through his sculptures, and in some cases even to climb, play or relax on them. Interaction between people, objects and space is central to understanding and engaging with Noguchi’s art. The exhibition is arranged according to three themes that … [Read more...] about Isamu Noguchi: Groundbreaking Sculpture in Portland
The Shape of Birds: Bridging the Cultural Divide Through Art
“The Shape of Birds” takes the theme of displacement, remembrance and adaption from Nizar Qabbani’s poem “A Lesson in Drawing” which begins with “My son placed a paint box in front of me / and asked me to draw a bird for him. / Into the color gray I dip the brush / and draw a square with locks and bars. / Astonishment fills his eyes: / ‘...But this is a prison, Father. Don’t you know, how to draw a bird?’ / And I tell him: ‘Son, forgive me. / I’ve forgotten the shapes of birds.’” The artists in “The Shape of Birds” are from nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Azerbaijan. Some continue to live in their countries of origin, while others have immigrated to adopted homelands of Europe or the United States. The exhibition is arranged in three galleries: the large Ilgenfritz Gallery and its Corridor, the … [Read more...] about The Shape of Birds: Bridging the Cultural Divide Through Art
Welcome: From Brian Goslow
Earlier this fall, after our national correspondent, Nancy Nesvet posted pictures and video from a rally in Washington, D.C. on our Facebook page, someone asked us, “Are you a political group?” My response was, “Staying alive is a political act.” And art is the way many of us filter life. Rarely is that a more truthful statement than when you have to deal with a loved one facing a health crisis — and you’re the person in charge of arranging their health care. This issue features a story by Meredith Cutler, whose dad was recently diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s disease. If you’ve ever known someone who’s faced this challenge and had to be moved into a private care facility, you’ve probably noticed one of the best possible ways to connect with them is through the visual and performing arts which somehow has the magical ability to trigger old, fond memories in their brains when they … [Read more...] about Welcome: From Brian Goslow
CHALLENGING BOUNDARIES: WICKED HARD AT ROOM 83 SPRING
Now entering its sixth year in a Watertown storefront, Room 83 Spring continues to insist local artists challenge their own artistic boundaries — and ours. To this end, directors Ellen Wineberg and Cathleen Daley invited painter Monique Johannet to guest-curate works by six abstract painters with Boston connections. Johannet views 20th century abstraction as an evolving family of practices intertwined with art’s changing history and artists’ personal timelines. Among the artists, who range widely in age and sensibility, she has introduced the mid-century paintings of an unsung post-war Boston abstractionist who, serendipitously, happens to have been her aunt. The interspersed works address each other in several different voices at once: constructivist, conceptualist, feminist, social activist and postmodern-ironic — with each voice respecting and employing abstraction. Diane … [Read more...] about CHALLENGING BOUNDARIES: WICKED HARD AT ROOM 83 SPRING