Fruitlands Speaks A Language All Its Own By Elizabeth Michelman The slope down to the farmhouse at Fruitlands is a cultivated one. It expresses a “language” of architecture and agriculture.When Bronson Alcott and his fellow Transcendentalists arrived here in the early 19th century to begin a communal farming experiment, this landscape was already far altered from its primitive state. Forests were hewn to make way for fields and stones harvested to fence them in, orchards were planted for fruit and pines for shade. The sun did not just set but beckoned over the hills to the American West and its receding wilderness. This back-to-the-earth attempt, supported by a belief in the divinity in man, the authority of the self, and the grounding of human intuition in the laws of nature, was simply one more moment in an evolving ideology of “Nature.” While the title of this year’s outdoor … [Read more...] about Art in Nature
July/August 2015
Coming of Age
Talent for the New Millenium at Sharon Arts By Linda Chestney What is life if not change? We all resist change to some extent, but inevitably, change occurs. As they say, change is a constant. And so it is with art. What innovative changes does the new generation of artists offer? How does culture infuse their art? What is the “sign of the times” for millennials? Born roughly from 1980 to 2000, the millennials are featured in an exhibition currently showcased at the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough, NH. “Coming of Age: Artists Under 30,” hosted by the New Hampshire Institute of Art, spotlights 30 works by 20 artists from around the United States who work in a multitude of expressions — sculpture, tapestry, video, photography, glass, ballpoint pen, pencil and mixed media. The show offers a diverse treasure of young talent. Often there is a message, a reason, a point to their art … [Read more...] about Coming of Age
An Off the Wall Community of Artists
Annual Juried Exhibitions at Danforth By J. Fatima Martins It’s impossible to examine all of the quality work represented in this year’s ambitious Annual Juried Exhibitions at Danforth Art. This review will spotlight a small sample that I consider to be intellectually poignant; not all of my selections match those artists awarded prizes or honorable mentions by the exhibition curators. These artists have created compositions that encourage dialogue about the complex and often paradoxical nature of living. They talk about important topics such as environmental degradation, racial and ethnic competition, migration and displacement, and our violent heritage and culture. Before we examine the artists mentioned more closely, lets look at what the curators of the Annual Juried Exhibition have accomplished this year. From a pool of nearly 500 submissions, two curators selected 230 … [Read more...] about An Off the Wall Community of Artists
Touching Base: Pawtucket’s Public Art Profile
By Suzanne Volmer The City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island recently launched ArtBridgesPawtucket.org to stimulate dialogue about the city’s changing infrastructure. As a conversation starter, it brings city planning concepts into focus to further encourage participation in the innovation process. Susan Mara, assistant director of the City of Pawtucket’s Office of Planning and Redevelopment, wrote the Our Town Grant proposal that successfully secured $75,000 in National Endowment of the Arts funding for the city’s purchase of public art in 2014. That amount has now been matched locally by combining city resources with private grant support. When interviewed, Mara spoke of Pawtucket’s intention to fulfill the National Endowment of the Art’s requirement of “artistic excellence.” Pawtucket wants transformative impact, and sees this grant as a tremendous opportunity with which to do … [Read more...] about Touching Base: Pawtucket’s Public Art Profile
It Must Be Maine
Gorvett and West in Ogunquit By Eric Taubert If you plan to head through Southern Maine this summer, set aside some time to turn down Shore Road at the logjam intersection in downtown Ogunquit and visit Maine’s oldest artists’ group, the Ogunquit Art Association (OAA). Originally founded on September 16, 1928 at the Perkins Cove Studio of painter Charles Woodbury, the OAA currently consists of 90-plus juried local artists who exhibit at the Barn Gallery on the corner of Shore Road and Bourne Lane. The OAA will hold its well-attended (and 64th Annual) Art Auction on August 1. Out-of-towners can preview selected auction works online and have the option to send a silent bid to Barn Gallery or request a private phone number for active bidding during the auction itself. Full details are available on the OAA’s dedicated auction website (oaaartauction.com). To read more, pick up a … [Read more...] about It Must Be Maine
It’s a Mystery
The Brush Uncovers Teenage Supersleuths By Taryn Plumb It’s the 1930s. Three stately women in chic slim-fit dresses, heels and finger wave bobs stand clustered at the edge of a lake, inspecting a piece of jewelry. Flash-forward roughly 30 years, and the same three women are depicted as decidedly younger, more confident and casual, even tomboy-ish — they walk barefoot in the water, button-down shirts tucked into rolled-up jeans. In the intervening decades, the trio, featured on the cover of the classic Nancy Drew mystery, “The Clue of the Broken Locket,” goes through at least two other transformations that reflect changes in society, values and fashion. When many of us pick up a book, the cover art is somewhat of an afterthought (even if it’s what initially drew our eye); it’s the goodies inside that we’re after. But in the upcoming exhibit, “Book Illustration: Nancy … [Read more...] about It’s a Mystery