This is a first for me, embedding a flickr sideshow. The fades work to emphasize the thirds. I like that you can change the size and the aspect ratio of the flash embed. Obviously, mine is square. If you click through to my flickr stream, understand that it’s more storage space than gallery for me. Only the photos on this blog are officially endorsed by me for viewing. Please remember that both my photos on this blog and those on flickr are protected by copyright.
I know, I didn’t photograph any of the wonderful sculptures in the park. I cetainly did enjoy them, but you should go see them for yourselves. For the purposes of this post, I took pleasure in a quiet walk and noticing patterns in the built and natural environments.
I visited the hip South of Washington Street (SoWa) arts district Accompanied by some good people from the DeCordova and gallery buddy L for the YMOD gallery walk. There was a similar event on Newbury Street in the Spring.
It would take several posts to describe everything I saw, but I’ll devote some extra space to the work on view at Gallery Kayfas because Arlette and Gus were such gracious hosts. Kayafas has just moved upstairs from their prior location and approximately doubled their exhibition space. They have three shows running now: Robert Knight, Bruce Myren, and “Ahh, Italy,” a group show of images of Bella Italia.
Knight, whose current body of work, “My Boat is So Small” investigates the spaces we inhabit and the stuff we keep there, was good enough to give a brief gallery talk and answer some questions. He photographs people’s homes and is always looking for subjects, so get in touch.
Bruce Myren showed a completely new body of work, The View Home, as well as a trio of tripychs from his markers series. The View Home shows each of Myren’s residences photographed at an angle directed at his current home, along with the duration of his habitation and the bearing and distance.
The small show of photos of Italy included classic images by Mario Giacamelli, a set of 1891 photogravures of Venice, and more contemporary work from the likes of Nick Nixon and Eric Lewandowski.
We ended the evening with drinks and appetizers at Rocca, a stylish italian place next to the galleries. Despite a minor mixup on what was vegetarian and what was not, we filled up on tasty finger foods in the engaging company of the other gallery walkers. Plus, I must give kudos to the alert valet who recognized me coming out of the restaurant and fetched my car without even asking for the ticket. Wow.
Once again, I’m in danger of falling seriously behind on posting about events that I’ve attended or noted, so I’m going to get proactive and blog about some events that are upcoming and maybe drum up a few more attendees. Perhaps I’ll see you there.
You’ll have just a week to recover from that and then it’s time for the DeCordova Museum’s Young Members of DeCordova (YMOD) Gallery walk around the South End on October 23. It’s also $10 ($15 if you’re not a member of the museum) and you can sign up by getting in touch with Joanna at the DeCordova.
YMOD is a more established group with a good lineup of events planned (I attended a great one back in May), while the PRC’s group is just getting off the ground. It’s a good thing that we don’t have to choose.
Clearly I’m a bit behind on the art writeups here. I was at the opening for the DeCordova’s drawing show, “Drawn to Detail” with erstwhile museum buddy L some weeks ago. As usual, the opening was way too crowded to really see the work, but I did run into some nice art scene folks and even some of the artists. Oddly, I was mistaken for one of them twice. I came back a few days later to have a quieter look at the work and also to pick up the catalog, something I seldom do. The show is still up and I suggest you get over there and have a look right away. The sculpture garden is exceptionally beautiful in fall, too.
Drawn to Detail is comprised of works by more than 20 artists, each working in a medium that could be called drawing. Some are more clearly making marks on paper with ink, and some are doing things that are less traditionally categorized. All are working in highly detailed, often repetitive, possibly compulsive and sometimes conceptual modes. I won’t try to discuss every artist in the show, but here are a few that caught my fancy.
Martha Lewis‘ work is less obsessive and repetitive than that of some of her gallery-mates, but it’s no less interesting. She draws on the visual language of floor plans, circuit diagrams, mechanical and engineering schematics and more to create collage-like works that echo Wright and Mondrian with a touch of futurism and machine-age constructivism.
Tadashi Moriyama’s work reminds me of that of Adolf Wolfli (a poster child for “art of the insane” who was institutionalized most of his life) in its naivety and also its apocalyptic incantory repetition. I wonder if Moriyama is channeling such images consciously or simply conducting his subconscious directly onto the paper.
Andrea Sulzer showed two wall-sized drawings, each about 8 feet square and simply pinned to the walls unglazed and unframed. It was a bit unnerving to be so close to the naked paper and ink, but that’s the best way to experience a drawing, isn’t it? Sulzer’s work looks like a big abstraction from a distance, but as you get closer and let the drawing fill your visual field, you start to see bits of figurative elements inside the sweeping compositions.
Martin Wilner makes long accordion sketchbooks that capture new york city subway rides in a dense mass of talk bubbles and limbs. Far more figurative than most of the rest of the show, Wilner’s drawings do a great job of conveying a particular experience
Daniel Zeller’s work is like the organic foil to Martha Lewis’ harder-edged scientific imagery. Zeller makes images that are inspired by weather maps, anatomical illustration, microscopy and elevation maps. They look like living organisms somehow captured up close or maps of hidden attributes like the migration patters of unseen insects or the flow of unknown currents through terrain.
Looking at the show made me think of how people once classified as insane and locked away are better understood and integrated into society today. Asperger syndrome and autism are all over the mainstream media, the idea of the “idiot savant” is discredited but our appreciation for people who process the world very differently is much greater. Popular television characters have all kinds of once-shadowy conditions, like obsessive-compulsive disorder. I don’t mean to say there’s something wrong with any of the artists in this show, but simply that the idea of what behavior gets classified as “something wrong with” isn’t what it used to be, and that’s probably good. Artists whose work engages with these themes no longer has to get lumped with “outsider art” or “art of the insane.” Judge for yourself. Get over to Lincoln right away.
And if you can’t get to Lincoln, look into the DeCordova’s YMOD group’s SoWa Art Walk on October 23.
You know you have a problem when you go shopping for something when you have recently purchased examples of that same thing sitting around your house, unopened. Well, maybe not in the case of food. But in the case of art, I think I might have this problem. Last year around this time I blogged about the photo auction season. I also bought a couple of things, and not all of them have made it into rotation on my walls. And it’s that time of year again, and I’m making a shopping list.
Last week it was Skinner’s auction of fine wines. I didn’t get it together to go, and I hope I can find the sale prices online somewhere. Morbid curiosity, I think. The $12 screw-cap Bordeaux should fill my needs for now.
This weekend, it’s The DeCordova Museum’s annual benefit and auction. I’ve never been to this one, and it looks like I’ll miss it again this weekend, but I’ve been having great times at the DeCordova lately so will pay more attention next year.
Just two weeks after that, on the 25th - not much time for budget relief - is The Photographic Resource Center’s annual benefit auction. With almost 200 works in total and 3/4 of that in a silent auction, you can expect some bargains here, but also expect to see some amazing work sold for breathtaking prices.
November 1 brings us ARTcetera at the Boston Center for the Arts, a fundraiser for the AIDS action committee. Keep an eye on this one, there’s an amazing variety of work - not just photos - on offer.
This is far from an exhaustive list, but it’s what’s on the limeduck radar these days. I’m very interested to see how these events play out. Economic uncertainty suggests that people will be bidding timidly, but that also suggests that those with the guts and the cash might get some exceptional bargains. It’s also possible that some investors will look to art as a better store of value than commodities or equities. In any case, it’s a great way to buy local and get a unique gift for yourself or a loved one.
Martha Lewis‘ work is less obsessive and repetitive than that of some of her gallery-mates, but it’s no less interesting. She draws on the visual language of floor plans, circuit diagrams, mechanical and engineering schematics and more to create collage-like works that echo Wright and Mondrian with a touch of futurism and machine-age constructivism.
Andrea Sulzer showed two wall-sized drawings, each about 8 feet square and simply pinned to the walls unglazed and unframed. It was a bit unnerving to be so close to the naked paper and ink, but that’s the best way to experience a drawing, isn’t it? Sulzer’s work looks like a big abstraction from a distance, but as you get closer and let the drawing fill your visual field, you start to see bits of figurative elements inside the sweeping compositions.
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