Marylin Arsem at the MFA by Elizabeth Michelman Boston, Mass. - Tuesday, December 8. I’m attending Day 29 in a series of 100 unique perfor- mances at the MFA this fall and winter by Boston’s leader in performance art, Marilyn Arsem. Arsem has not yet shown up, but I can already hear her disem- bodied voice musing over the previous day’s performance. The wall text before me explains that each day’s performance provides the inspiration for the next. 10:30 a.m. I enter the all-white Towles Gallery, no larger than a college classroom. A paper calendar on the wall reads “Day 29.” I take a seat on a bench along the wall. The artist, wearing a black sweater-dress with black leggings, black socks and black slip-ons, is already at work. A square wooden table, flanked by two wooden chairs and a black-and- chrome floor lamp, occupies the center of the room. Black coats and … [Read more...] about The Clock Is Ticking
Artscope Online
IN CELEBRATION OF THE PENCIL
Leaving a Mark at D'Amour by Marguerite Serkin Springfield, Mass. - Graphite occurs naturally in many forms, and its appli- cation for modern inscription has a history dating back to sheep marking in 16th-century England. Formerly referred to as “Plumbago,” graphite was used as a paint base in Neolithic times by the Marita culture of the Danube to decorate ceramic pottery. Versatile, easily manipulated, and widely found in nature, graphite serves as an accessible and functionally effective tool in both art and science. It is used in nuclear technology, batteries and brake linings. And, of course, in pencils. “Leaving Our Mark: In Celebration of the Pencil,” on view through March 27 at the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Spring eld, offers a unique perspective on “pencil art.” Organized by New England artist Steve Wilda and curated by Spring eld Museums curator Julia … [Read more...] about IN CELEBRATION OF THE PENCIL
Bruce Rosenbaum – The Expansion of Steampunk
By Shem Tane Sharon, Mass. - I recently traveled to Sharon, Mass. to visit Steampunk House, the home of ModVic, a Steampunk art and design company owned by Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum. At first I thought I had the wrong house and had stumbled onto a historic landmark. I was welcomed in and felt like I had traveled not only back in time but also to a different dimension. Bruce gave me the grand tour and I was fascinated by the re-purposed furniture that took on new life in the house — each room had a story attached with it and each piece of antique furniture had a role to play — before we sat down to discuss Steampunk and its role in today’s art world. Bruce Rosenbaum explained how he came across Steampunk and the effect it had on his life: “It began with the kitchen when the stove had to be replaced. I found an old 1890s wood fire cooking stove and … [Read more...] about Bruce Rosenbaum – The Expansion of Steampunk
Boston Ballet
The Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Boston Opera House By James Foritano Is an old chestnut a weakness? The Nutcracker is an old chestnut a virtue. Having just come from a screening of the legendary Merce Cunningham’s spare, modern choreography at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston’s landmark“Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957” exhibition, I was distinctly aware of this weakness. True, the costumes are stunning, the moves of the highly trained dancers breathtaking, but come on isn’t this all, at best, superfluous; at worst, heresy in the canon of contemporary dance, a canon which embraces Spartan scenery and dance movements which at least appear spontaneous movements one could possibly witness in a sports stadium or even on a particularly lively street corner? Still, seated in the Boston Opera House’s elegant environs, I remembered not only Merce … [Read more...] about Boston Ballet
Evocations
Familiar Traditions for New Faces By Shem Tane In the traditional ways of Rembrandt and other Dutch masters, Kelly Carmody's style is soaked with rich oils and her exhibit “Evocations” that opened at the Sloane Merrill Gallery on Nov. 13 leaned on those styles. While the gallery holds the appearance of reading nook, there was a certain air from Carmody's pieces that offered a larger feel to the room. The depth of her paintings offered a new take on historic styles. The still lifes gave a rich warm tone to her collection. In the classical theme, there were paintings of flowers and food, but there were few that had corpses of dead birds caught my eye. “Flicker” is one of her strongest pieces I saw, because of its sheer range of colors and the flow of the subject. The detail displayed on the feathers hold the contrast between the bird and the looming background. There … [Read more...] about Evocations
Cornered
Ralph Mercer at Galatea Fine Art by Brian Goslow Needham, Mass.-based photographer Ralph Mercer earned his BFA in photography and education from the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA in visual arts from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. His current show, “Body and Soul: Discovering My Muse,” on view at Galatea Fine Art through Nov. 29, features work from his “Myths” series and “implies a spiritual connection through merging of a human figure with a natural organic subject.” This Saturday (Nov. 21) at 2 p.m., Mercer will be giving a special kind of gallery talk in which he’ll be staging a live photography shoot and demonstration with a live figure model, then take the final work and combine it with an existing file from his photo archive to compose a final image. A few days prior to the event, Artscope’s managing editor Brian Goslow “cornered” Mercer to … [Read more...] about Cornered