Navajo Artists Weave Magic by J. Fatima Martins There’s a Navajo/Diné story in which Spider Woman, the ancient goddess who mapped out the universe and invented the weaving loom, rubbed spider webs on newly born baby girls to ensure they’d mature into great weavers. Although weaving is the core feature in the Navajo/Diné creation story, sacred spiritual imagery and symbolism weren’t traditionally included as design elements in Navajo/Diné rugs and blankets. These objects were primarily utilitarian and decorated with geometric patterns that may or may not implicitly refer to cultural history or identity. The permanent and explicit depiction of a divinity on these objects was taboo. The prohibition against depicting the sacred was challenged shortly after the turn of the 20th century by an artisan named Gle-nup-pah and her younger sister, Yah-nah-pah. These women caused … [Read more...] about Dancers Of The Nightway
Issue Articles
A Feast For The Senses
Gallery Seven Whets Our Appetites by Brian Goslow Several times a year, artscope publisher Kaveh Mojtabai is asked to judge and/or curate exhibitions. For “FEAST: Images of the Edible,” on view through April 2 at Gallery Seven, he was charged to review an “eclectic” group of digital submissions on the theme of food. “I tried to pick work that would sell in a commercial gallery,” Mojtabai said, and select “work I could imagine being framed and going on someone’s wall.” Most of the work chosen was based in realism, along with a few abstract works. “There are some that push those boundaries but could easily hang on a person’s wall if they related to it personally,” he said. The end result is a warm mix of New England-themed work that would make the perfect housewarming gift or wedding present, or complement recent renovations to your kitchen or dining area — and I mean … [Read more...] about A Feast For The Senses
Looking Good On Paper
Artworks A Cut Above At Fuller Craft by Don Wilkinson Paper may be the most ubiquitous man-made material on the planet. Even in an increasingly digital world in which cash, books and handwritten letters are slowly being supplanted by debit cards, Kindle and Facebook, it endures. There is something about the tactility, about the crispness of a page turning or the sound of an envelope being crumpled, about its faint wood pulp aroma, that deeply engages us. As an art material, it is generally considered the substrate, the tabula rasa, the open possibility on which the art occurs by the deployment of pencil, crayon or other tool. But the artists in a new exhibition at the Fuller Craft Museum prove that the paper itself, when elevated by thoughtful and careful effort and craft, is worthy of consideration and contemplation. “Paper and Blade: Modern Paper Cutting” is a … [Read more...] about Looking Good On Paper
A Woman’s Perspective
Current Visions At South Shore Art by Don Wilkinson For 127 years, the National Association of Women Artists has worked relentlessly to foster public awareness and interest in the work of female visual artists. Sponsored by the organization’s Massachusetts chapter and curated by painter Jennifer Jean Costello, “Current Visions: Tradition Meets Innovation,” on display at the South Shore Art Center until April 3, does much to draw in viewers with an exhibition that lives up to the title. Tradition, in the form of art history, mentorship and influence, informs the innovation that the 10 artists clearly command. Costello herself exhibits three works (as does each of the participants) and the common theme is nature. Her “Yellow Trees” feature thin brown branches and yet thinner twigs reaching upward, dissecting a field of yellows that range from acidic lemon to an earthy … [Read more...] about A Woman’s Perspective
Question Bridge At UMass Amherst
Black Males Get The Conversation Going by John P. Stapleton Over the past few years, there has been an ongoing conversation about race in the United States. The #BlackLivesMatter movement is rallying against the shooting deaths of black Americans by police officers and is constantly met with controversy from those who don’t find the problem to be about race. Despite where one stands on the issue, a lot of the backlash against the aforementioned movement touts negative stereotypes about black men in America, but also ignores the realities that marginalize them. The travelling video exhibit, “Question Bridge: Black Males,” explores this and simply examines what it’s like growing up as a black man in America. Directed by Hank Willis Thomas, Bayeté Ross Smith, Kamal Sinclair and Chris Johnson, the video was released in 2012 after piecing together testimonies from over 150 men … [Read more...] about Question Bridge At UMass Amherst
Pictures At An Exhibition
Sight And Sound Harmonize At Rivier U. by Greg Morell When music and the visual arts conspire, a unique synthesis is explored. An interesting experiment opened on February 8 at a small liberal arts college in Nashua, New Hampshire. The Rivier University Art Gallery curators decided to delve into the mystique of Maurice Ravel’s interpretation of Modest Mussorgsky’s musical suite “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Their goal was to find and present a series of single images that conjured the moods of the music. As patrons listen to the 30-minute musical suite — visitors equipped with earphones can use their own cellphones to access the program or use the listening devices provided by the staff — they stroll through 11 visual stations. Each station features a masterwork painting that correlates to the 11 movements of the musical piece. The music runs continuously as patrons are … [Read more...] about Pictures At An Exhibition