By Rhiannon Leigh Cambridge, Mass. - There is still time to enjoy Lesley University’s current exhibition, “Black History Matters 365,” running now through March 5 at the VanderNoot Gallery. This exhibit will have you engaging with the artwork and leave you engaging with the world around you. “Black History Matters 365” is an exhibition you don’t want to miss. The show features seven artists of color including Paul Goodnight, Lawrence Pierce, Destiny Palmer, Cedric Douglas, L’Merchie Frazier, Shea Justice and a Lesley alumnus, Percy Fortini-Wright, who organized the show. Each artist has an extensive background in art and a decorated resume, including Destiny Palmer, who co-founded Traditions Remixed, an artist collective who strives to create an encouraging community for young artists and Paul Goodnight, who has traveled throughout the world in order to gain experience and … [Read more...] about BLACK HISTORY MATTERS 365 AT VANDERNOOT GALLERY AT LESLEY UNIVERSITY
Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s Richard II at Cambridge YMCA
By James Foritano Cambridge, Mass. - As usual, the Actors’ Shakespeare Project performed brilliantly on the stage of the Central Square YMCA in the current production of Richard II during its Feb. 21 performance. The house was fortuitously configured so that villains could be spotlighted in high places performing dastardly deeds like the strangulation, in his sleep, of the noble Gloucester. And soldiers, courtiers, priests and nobles could thread themselves though the aisles of the audience breathing hot revenge, sorrow, despair and other mightily theatrical emotions. For me, both in his acting and in his pivotal role in the action, the star was Robert Walsh’s Duke of York. The Duke’s role was to salvage not only Richard II’s throne and kingdom, but the very sanctity and awe of kingship. In the case of Richard, such a rescue mission was bound to fail. Being king in … [Read more...] about Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s Richard II at Cambridge YMCA
HIRO: PHOTOGRAPHS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON
By Rhiannon Leigh Boston, Mass. - Staying warm this winter by stopping by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to see their newly acquired Frida Kahlo piece? Don’t forget to continue to the photography gallery to see an exhibition featuring works by Manhattan-based photographer Hiro. Born to Japanese parents in 1930 in Shanghai, Hiro spent the beginning of his life in China until eventually relocating to Japan at the end of World War II. Hiro had begun looking at American fashion magazines and noticed photographers Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, becoming inspired by their work and completely enveloped in photography. After moving to New York in 1956 and working under Avedon, it was clear that he had a natural talent for the art. Hiro used this niche as a way to express what he had seen growing up in a war-torn area, bringing “his fear, his isolation, his splendid light, to film” … [Read more...] about HIRO: PHOTOGRAPHS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON
OUT THE WINDOW & AROUND THE TOWN
CYNTHIA MAURICE & DAVID CAMPBELL AT THE BRICKBOTTOM GALLERY By Rhiannon Leigh Somerville, Mass. - Cartoons are not typically considered for the philosophical canon, but one New Yorker cartoon captioned “The meaning of life is having a spectacular view” gave meaning to much of the work featured in “Out the Window & Around the Town” at the Brickbottom Artist Association’s Gallery. Featuring work by David Campbell and Cynthia Maurice, the exhibition draws from the changing cityscape overlooking Boston between 1987, when the Brickbottom Artist Association first opened, through today. As I walked into the workspace of Cynthia Maurice, with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filling the room and the mid-afternoon light poured in from the large glass windows overlooking the city, I noticed several works of flowers not far away from a vase of daffodils on the countertop and it was … [Read more...] about OUT THE WINDOW & AROUND THE TOWN
THE CONVERT AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER
By James Foritano Cambridge, Mass. - Central Square Theater’s current production, Danai Gurira’s “The Convert,” onstage at the Cambridge, Mass.-venue through February 28, is a complex piece of theater filled with complex characters. This description is not intended to warn off theatergoers but to prepare them to focus in as much as possible on the broad outlines of this drama, while letting go as much as possible of those smaller constituent parts they will probably never understand, or never quite understand, literally. For example, you will probably never understand the Shona language, a language that Mai Tambe, masterfully played by Liana Asim, speaks with a bred-in-the-blood familiarity and speed. As a female elder in the tribal society of the Shona, Mai Tambe not only speaks Shona, but also models its words and worldview in her posture, movements and smallest … [Read more...] about THE CONVERT AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER
Lyman Allyn Museum: Director Sam Quigley Makes His Mark
By Kristin Nord New London, Conn. - When he first came on board as director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in May 2014, D. Samuel Quigley was taken with New London’s vibrancy and intrigued by the possibilities of building upon the museum’s considerable holdings. Within the handsome neoclassical building, situated on 11 acres overlooking the Coast Guard Academy, he found a virtual “mini-Met, with approximately 15,000 works ranging from mummies to Warhol and Picasso.” But, he said, it was time to let the rest of the world know about these treasures and to move the museum into the 21st century. Since then, and drawing upon a career that has included tenures at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Harvard University Art Museums, and most recently, the Art Institute of Chicago, Quigley has begun to orchestrate significant changes. Fast forward just a year and a half – and visitors … [Read more...] about Lyman Allyn Museum: Director Sam Quigley Makes His Mark