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Artscope Magazine | November/December 2020

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Cambridge

PHOTOGRAPHY AS POWER: ART PRC SHOWCASE CONFRONTS VIEWERS’ PERCEPTIONS

// March/April 2020

by Isabel Barbi

There’s no way to distinguish how many years passed make a specific time period history. In “Present Histories Redefined,” history lies within the last two calendar years. The photographs of Feda Eid, Jonathan Mark Jackson and Joanna Tam document the everchanging stories of the present, focusing on marginalized voices. Curated by Jessica Burko, photography as “Power Art” is showcased at Lesley University’s VanDernoot Gallery by the Photographic Research Center. Feda Eid’s photography brings an immediate sense of familiarity, depicting a recognizable setting. Although her artist statement reveals the setting, the captions beside the photographs don’t disclose the location. That familiar place is behind-the-ropes, so to speak, of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. As a luminary of the museum, Eid was granted access to use the museum in an intimate manner for her “Reflected” series. … [Read more...] about PHOTOGRAPHY AS POWER: ART PRC SHOWCASE CONFRONTS VIEWERS’ PERCEPTIONS

CAN ART SAVE THE WORLD? CAA EXHIBITION TAKES ON THE LURKING DARKNESS

// March/April 2020

by Leah Hamilton French

When it seems that environmental protections are increasingly scaled back, even as we speed towards the point of no return, it is not unusual for so many artists to focus on the beautiful and wild things of this world, or to meditate on nostalgia for the past and their anxiety for the future. In the Cambridge Art Association’s annual Members Prize Show, many have done just that. This year’s show is larger than ever, with works by almost 60 artists in almost every conceivable media, and is split between two venues, the University Place Gallery and the Kathryn Shultz Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Walking through both spaces, one is struck by the proliferation of trees and other plant life in the paintings, photographs and prints on view. A carpet of bright red, yellow and pink leaves surround moss-covered roots in Erik Gehring’s photograph, “Red Maple #2.” Jane Sherrill’s … [Read more...] about CAN ART SAVE THE WORLD? CAA EXHIBITION TAKES ON THE LURKING DARKNESS

Evan Turissini, Paul Melendy, David Keohane and Debra Wise (Photograph by Nile Scott Studios).

VANITY FAIR, AN (IM-)MORALITY PLAY AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER

// Artscope Online, Review, Theatre

by James Foritano

For my money, the Underground Railway Theater’s presentation of “Vanity Fair, An (Im-)Morality Play,” at Central Square Theater through February 23, couldn’t be a more timely and engaging burlesque of the surplus of hypocrisy and disguised cruelty that runs just below even the most distinguished of civilizations. In this case, the narrative is based on novelist William Makepeace Thackery’s mid-19th century novel, “Vanity Fair," which, judging from this dramatic adaptation, looked minutely and scathingly at an England nearing the height of an empire so globally broad that upon it, “the sun never sets.” The directing and the acting were, in this reviewer’s perception, superb. It was a delight to see hypocrisy so fully inflated with its own pomposity it seemed to float like a gas-filled balloon across the narrow stage with only its tiny, well-shod feet showing — the more pleasure to … [Read more...] about VANITY FAIR, AN (IM-)MORALITY PLAY AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER

CAMBRIDGE ARTS RIVER FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS SATURDAY JUNE 1

// Artscope Online, Featured, News

by Leah Hamilton French

The recent Memorial Day weekend, with its golden sun and warm weather, was a welcome respite after the long New England winter and a cold and rainy spring. I spent the weekend kayaking on the Charles, picnicking in my local park, and strolling the suddenly green streets of my neighborhood. Everywhere I went, I encountered other Cantabrigians out and about and enjoying the sunshine. Now that we are out, we don’t want to go back in. Thankfully, there are many free outdoors art events to look forward to as we slide towards summer. Coming up this weekend, don’t miss the 40th annual Cambridge Arts River Festival, now in its new location in the Central Square Cultural District. The festival, which will take place on Saturday, June 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will bring the neighborhood alive with four stages of music plus dance, theater and vendors selling crafts, international foods and … [Read more...] about CAMBRIDGE ARTS RIVER FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS SATURDAY JUNE 1

Daniel Galvez, "Crossroads," in the process of removal (on election day).

CAMBRIDGE’S CHANGING MURALS: CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY THROUGH PUBLIC ART

// Current Issue, Issue Articles, May/June 2019

by Leah Hamilton French

As I walked to work last Election Day, I passed a crew power-washing a mural off the side of a building. Concentrated blasts of water hit the wall, dislodging chips of paint that swirled in rivulets towards the gutter. I frantically snapped pictures with my phone of the disappearing images from Daniel Galvez’s “Crossroads” mural, which had adorned the side of Central Square Library in Cambridge for over three decades. In creating it, Galvez had enlisted the help of local photographers to document the daily activities of neighborhood residents. He used these photographs as a design reference, and community volunteers to help paint. As a student, Galvez studied the work of Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros, the three most influential Mexican muralists of the 20th century. He became enchanted with the scale of their work, as well with how murals were used to convey … [Read more...] about CAMBRIDGE’S CHANGING MURALS: CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY THROUGH PUBLIC ART

THE COLOR OF SPRING: GREEN MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION AT BRICKBOTTOM 

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Featured, Visual Arts

by Olivia MacDonald

The color green is one of healing, growth and renewal. It is the color of plants, youth, good luck, camouflage, money and even envy. After a long winter, Brickbottom Gallery’s new exhibit “GREEN” invites viewers into their white wall gallery fully immersed in the color green through the artwork on the walls. Developing and established artists showcase their work together, providing their own interpretations and visions about this color that surrounds our everyday lives. Many reach towards nature for inspiration, crafting their pieces with various materials. As spring brings rain to the New England area, this exhibit provides a small retreat to feed our creativity and imaginations. On three vertical canvases, Pauline Lim’s acrylic and gold metal leaf painting, “Leave No Trace,” carries viewers atop forests dabbled with lime and olive greens. In the first canvas, a small girl in a red … [Read more...] about THE COLOR OF SPRING: GREEN MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION AT BRICKBOTTOM