by Nancy Nesvet MARCH 13, 2019 -- With the headlines changing at the speed of the wind blowing snow around New York and New England this week, it’s difficult for artists to keep up with making work reflecting daily politics. After the emphasis on the possible “wall,” treatment of LatinX at the Miami Fairs last summer and refugees at Art Basel in Basel, art reflecting the “Me, Too” movement addressing abuse of women was in a lot of the work at last week’s New York art fairs. Walking to the VOLTA art fair on Pier 40, a good walk from piers 42 and 44 of the Armory show, I had time to reflect on those pieces that dealt with “Me, Too.” Recalling the Armory show, I cannot put Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Paredolium, 2017, shown by Max Estrell Gallery, Madrid, out of my mind. Though the artist claims the work is about surveillance, as the viewer stares down into a bubbling circular … [Read more...] about VOLTA AND FINAL THOUGHTS ON NEW YORK ART FAIRS, WINTER 2018
Featured
WALT MCGOUGH’S BRAWLER AT THE BOSTON PLAYWRIGHT THEATRE
by James Foritano BOSTON, MA--It’s an unimposing facade and a small stage inside the Boston Playwrights’ Theater at 949 Commonwealth Avenue, so if you take your cues from looks and size, you’re not prepared at all for the tragic grandeur of “Brawler,” authored by Walt McGough, and directed in a world premiere collaboration with Kitchen Theatre Company by M. Bevin O’Gara. Tragedy, rightly understood, doesn’t seem to appeal to us anymore, the way it did to the ancient Greeks or to Shakespeare. We cherish our “innocence” and bad things just seem to happen to innocent people without their connivance — like extreme weather and ambushes with heavy weapons. Very bad luck, in other words, but unavoidable. The four characters in “Brawler” are, to different degrees, anything but innocent, in spite of the fact that they are all more or less dedicated to nothing more harmful than … [Read more...] about WALT MCGOUGH’S BRAWLER AT THE BOSTON PLAYWRIGHT THEATRE
THE WHITE CARD AT THE EMERSON PARAMOUNT CENTER
by James Foritano BOSTON, MA--Claudia Rankine’s The White Card, playing through April 1 at the Emerson Paramount Center on the Robert J. Orchard Stage, is about both the privileges of whiteness in a multi-racial society and the enervating struggles of a family in conflict and confrontation. Either one of these themes is huge enough to be handled alone, but both at once, however deftly explored, seemed, to this reviewer to overwhelm rather than enlighten. “Charles,” Daniel Gerroll’s character, is a prosperous developer of everything between and including the polar opposites of hospitals and private prisons, trying to live down the conflict between the nurturing and punishing aspects of these institutions by establishing a foundation which aspires to collect and forefront black art and artists. “Charlotte,” played by Karen Pittman, is a black artist invited for dinner … [Read more...] about THE WHITE CARD AT THE EMERSON PARAMOUNT CENTER
PHOTOGRAPHS AND PORTRAITS STEAL THE SHOW AT SCOPE NEW YORK
by Nancy Nesvet MARCH 9, 2018, NEW YORK CITY -- Newly painted white walls and large spaces for exhibitors gave the SCOPE New York International Contemporary Art Fair the look of a high-priced gallery. The two-story space, in an old office building on West 18th St in New York from March 8 through 11, gave the larger work space to reach, and all the work room to breathe. And a lot of it was a breath of fresh air from the rarefied atmosphere of the Armory Show. The Armory Show has incredible, high quality work; most of it sold to buyers who recognize that quality, want to own it and can afford to. Armory work this year provided a tropical getaway from the woes of the world (and the grey weather outside) but the work at SCOPE was incredible as well, similarly introducing new techniques and content, politically engaged work, and providing humor but generally was more … [Read more...] about PHOTOGRAPHS AND PORTRAITS STEAL THE SHOW AT SCOPE NEW YORK
COLD AND ALIVE: EZRA FURMAN AT GREAT SCOTT
by Shem Tane ALLSTON, MA -- On the evening of March 5, sandwiched between two nor’easters, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to watch the band, Ezra Furman, led by its namesake, a Boston native turned nomad, perform at the Great Scott down in Allston. In an ever-shifting political climate and divisive political scene, Ezra plants their feet on the ground and spits back in the collective face of conformity. Their musical toolbox varies from performance to performance, with a backing band of drums, bass, saxophone, synth, guitar and electric cello. There is a certain grit to Erza's voice that dips its toes into the glam soaked pitch of T-Rex as well as the stale cigarette stained ramble of Tom Waits. As the set rolled on they announced to the crowd, “You thought we were fun, but turns out we were really just weird.” This statement was a comment on the success and … [Read more...] about COLD AND ALIVE: EZRA FURMAN AT GREAT SCOTT
THE BOSTON OPERA COLLABORATIVE PRESENTS AS ONE AT LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC OF BARD COLLEGE
by James Foritano CAMBRIDGE, MA -- It sometimes happens that you don’t know you’re looking at art. For me, “As One,” a chamber orchestra for two voices and string quartet, performed, over the last weekend of January by the Boston Opera Collaborative, qualified, eminently, for that accolade. As usual, many elements contribute to this grand illusion — which doesn’t seem to be an illusion, but life itself. Firstly, all the elements cohere, from conception to execution. “As One’s” story evolved from a long and happy collusion between a much-practiced librettist, Mark Campbell, and filmmaker Kimberly Reed. Ms. Reed contributed not only the montage of film that contributes such depth and illumination to the on-stage action, but also unique insights into the operetta’s theme of growing up and into a transgender woman’s torturous journey from one gender to another — Ms. Reed’s … [Read more...] about THE BOSTON OPERA COLLABORATIVE PRESENTS AS ONE AT LONGY SCHOOL OF MUSIC OF BARD COLLEGE