By Elizabeth Michelman The idea of a cosmos vastly greater than the self, containing objects ever more removed from our awareness in time or space, both excites the spirit and awakens primitive fears. Yet, as in maturity, we perceive our own limited compass, we need some way of relating to this greater world that will sooner or later swallow our individual being. For sculptor Josiah McElheny, art offers a vehicle for understanding and accepting our condition, both through the emotion of awe and the faculty of wonder. McElheny, a conceptual glass sculptor whose concrete images of limitlessness are on exhibit at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, has also found astronomy a fertile source of integrative forms through which to plumb the nature of time, history, and infinity. But for McElheny, fidelity to quantifiable fact is the supreme discipline — even though, as science well knows, … [Read more...] about Josiah McElheny Some Pictures of the Infinite at the ICA/ Boston
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Fresh Collective Grows Culture
Part studio, part lounge, part home, but mostly gallery, The Fresh Collective at 93 Sheridan St. in Jamaica Plain has found a way to subvert art scene norms, and build a bridge over the moat that seems to separate the established exhibition gallery venues of Boston from their own home grown contemporary culture. In their Saturday salon exhibition, "Where Have All the Dinosaurs Gone?" over 20 different artists exhibited work accompanied by live jazz and DJ Star Trakk. Some of the most compelling work incorporated cultural references relevant to the contemporary urban culture and the artists themselves: A cubist inspired painting of Nefertiti-esque head with pieces of Marge Simpson's features jigsaw puzzled in the space of her face and an iPod knit out of wool, both by multimedia artist Pat Peltier, new scenes from the ink and pen comic strip, "The Shrimps" by French cartoonist … [Read more...] about Fresh Collective Grows Culture
Less is More for Nancy Schön at Kolbo Fine Judaica Gallery
By Rosemary Chandler BROOKLINE, MA— The promise of "Israeli Encounters" drew me in to Kolbo Fine Judaica Gallery this week. Inspired by the renowned public artist’s year abroad in Jerusalem, "Israeli Encounters" is advertised as the headline collection of Nancy Schön’s sculpture exhibition. Familiar only with her public sculpture — namely one bronze mother duck and the trail of cheerful baby ducklings waddling along behind her in Boston Public Garden — I was intrigued by the radically different offering on view at Kolbo. The diminutive sculptures that make up "Israeli Encounters" are a definite departure from the life-size scale of "Make Way for Ducklings." Dozens of tiny brass figures, no more than seven inches in height, are on display in the central room of the gallery. Their size had to be limited, I was told, in order for them to fit into the small centrifugal capsule of the … [Read more...] about Less is More for Nancy Schön at Kolbo Fine Judaica Gallery
Aphrodite and the Gods of Love at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
By Rosemary Chandler BOSTON -- At the entrance of the exhibition, the marble head of Aphrodite floats in the air, as the black metal bar that secures it to its pedestal disappears against the dark wall behind it. Separated from its body centuries earlier, this is all that remains of the once life-sized statue of the beguiling Greek goddess of love and beauty. Her pensive, almond-shaped eyes gaze outwards at her spectators as they enter the latest Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, exhibition, “Aphrodite and the Gods of Love,” and her full lips turn slightly upwards in a mysterious smirk. It is an inexplicable expression akin to the infamous smile of the “Mona Lisa.” Yet unlike da Vinci’s femme fatale, Aphrodite holds no secrets, bearing all before her spectators in the impressive collection of nudes that follows. The show is a collection of 160 pieces drawn largely from the MFA’s permanent … [Read more...] about Aphrodite and the Gods of Love at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Boston Film Festival: Celebrity Power with Meaningful Projects
by Sara Farizan BOSTON-This weekend kicks off the 27th annual Boston film festival, a haven for creative projects that may fly under the radar at larger festivals like Tribeca or Toronto, but are deservingly honored and featured in Beantown. With strong contenders and famous thespians, the festival from September 16-22 features shorts, documentaries and narrative films. Many of the films do not rely on special effects or sultry starlets to grab the audience's attention, but are indie driven productions with topical content close to the filmmaker's hearts. The festival begins with the film 'Certainty' written by "Glee" star (everyone's favorite Dad, Burt Hummel) Mike O'Malley, with an all-star cast including Bobby Moynihan of 'Saturday Night Live' notoriety, Giancarlo Esposito from AMC's hit "Breaking Bad" and icon Valerie Harper of "Rhoda" fame. 'Certainty' is the story of a young … [Read more...] about Boston Film Festival: Celebrity Power with Meaningful Projects
Citizen USA: A Documentary for All Americans
by Sara Farizan BOSTON- Artscope magazine had the good fortune to attend an advance screening of Alexandra Pelosi's new documentary Citizen USA: A 50 State Road Trip. In a time where immigration has become a very politicized and Fox News buzzword topic, filmmaker Pelosi has managed to remind us what it in fact does mean to be an American. Inspired by her husband's recent U.S. citizenship, Pelosi traveled all fifty states, visiting countless citizen oath ceremonies, and interviewed people from all over the world on their first day as a United States citizen. Pelosi, an established filmmaker with documentaries like Emmy winner "Journeys with George" and "The Trials of Ted Haggard" to name a few, has set out to make a positive homage to America's welcoming nature. Pelosi says, "Seeing America through the eyes of our newest citizens makes you realize all that we take for granted. The … [Read more...] about Citizen USA: A Documentary for All Americans