A Common Conviction; A Century Apart by Marguerite Serkin It may be difficult to consider parallelism between two artists as separated by time and tradition as Erastus Salisbury Field and Alice Neel. Yet parallelism is exactly the tenet of a groundbreaking exhibition opening July 5 at the Bennington Museum, “Alice Neel/Erastus Salis- bury Field: Painting the People.”Erastus Salisbury Field was born in 1805 in Massachusetts, where he lived for most of his life. Like Alice Neel, Field found his way to Greenwich Village, where he developed his skills in portraiture. Field made his early living as a limner, but portraiture occupied the vast majority of his early and middle years. Following the death of his wife, Field returned to Massachusetts where his bucolic country life did not diminish his political fervor and passion for social justice. He was an outspoken … [Read more...] about Painting The People
July/August 2014
The Empty Spaces Project
Giving Victims A Voice by J. Fatima Martins A team of professional visual artists and their supporters has birthed a new project that has, in only a few months, raised a loud voice, transforming an old storefront into The Gallery on Main and launching the Empty Spaces Project with a stream of exhibitions. Leading the way is iPhonegrapher/ artist Paul J. Toussaint and his business colleague, Ann Monteiro. Their latest project brings in Giancarlo Beltrame, an interdisciplinary artist, journalist and film scholar from Italy who is the creator of the new-media installation SVAW! — an international grand project involving hundreds of contributing artists from around the world. The SVAM! 2014 Putnam project expands upon previous installations reflecting the style and structure of Beltrame’s other mobile-technology based film/installations such as “Hell,” “Purgatory” and … [Read more...] about The Empty Spaces Project
Woodstock, Pomfret, Putnam
The Quiet Corner Makes Some Noise by J. Fatima Martins There is a place within “The Last Green Valley” with an endearing sobriquet: northeast Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, a quintessential New England day-trip or weekend getaway retreat for urbanites and romantics seeking seclusion from the big city. While the Quiet Corner can be remarkably dark, sometimes foggy, sleepy and atmospheric at night (and free of heavy artificial lighting and city glare), during the daytime, the mostly rural landscape, abundant in country sounds, is the nesting place of scenic towns with thriving, innovative arts communities. U.S. Route 169, the second-longest national byway of its kind, goes through Woodstock, home of two exclusive Quiet Corner star designation points: the historic Inn at Woodstock Hill bed and breakfast (1816) and Roseland Cottage, a National Historic Landmark House Museum … [Read more...] about Woodstock, Pomfret, Putnam
Absence of Color
FINDING CLARITY IN THE GREY AREAS by Jim Dyment The words black and white generally make us think of photography; in this case, Nick Johnson and Kelli Costa have curated an exhibit of drawings and paintings. Costa had a couple of artists in mind. She remembered Alicia Dwyer’s black and white paintings of dresses hanging in Indian Hill Music Center in Littleton back in October 2012. It didn’t take long to expand this concept, and artists Catriona G. Baker, Arthur J. Garrone and Joel Moskowitz were added to feature a collection named “Absence of Color.” I was intrigued by Dwyer’s ability to make the garments look like they were in motion. She shared her technique for capturing motion in her painting, “A model wore the dress and jumped on a trampoline while I took still photos with my digital camera,” she explained. “I referenced the photos for the paintings.” Dwyer … [Read more...] about Absence of Color
Rare Books And Manuscripts
COLLECTING FOR THE BOSTON ATHENAEUM IN THE 21ST CENTURY by James Foritano The Boston Athenaeum’s current exhibit explores the question of what constitutes rarity, with its own brand of exuberance that is at once spirited and discriminating. And what a probing and wide exploration it is. One example, enthroned behind glass (but just barely), we owe to the Countess of Aylesford’s genius for adorning her own private copy of Thomas Pattinson Yeats’ 1773 edition of “Institutions of Entomology” with “delicate, life-size watercolors of each insect.” A description, however accurate, that doesn’t do justice to the vitality of the Countess’ inspired graffiti. No respecter of text, her beetle inscribes its path right across the scientific category that is supposed to pin such waywardness firmly in place. Fast forward a few steps away, through a century and a half of technological … [Read more...] about Rare Books And Manuscripts
Salt of The Earth
Ziek And Shapiro Make Their Marks by Linda Chestney What is it that invades artists’ psyches and propels them toward new exploration while fueling the flames of inspiration many years after they’ve first waded into the profession? More than 30 years after they each made a lifelong commitment to their work, mastering the process and materials of their medium along the way, potter Mark Shapiro and weaver Bhakti Ziek both say they are still challenged, awed and “lucky” to be doing what they do for a living. While they work in totally different media, parallels do exist. “Both Mark and Bhakti are virtuosic in their media so it was easy to picture the two bodies of work together in a show,” said Joanie Morris, a member of the Aidron Duckworth Art Museum selection committee that was responsible for choosing the two guest artists. “Both artists’ works have calligraphic … [Read more...] about Salt of The Earth