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artscope magazine
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A Rose is a Rose is a Rose.
January 19, 2012
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Greetings!
Echoing these words by Gertrude Stein, things are what they are. But is this law of identity really so simple? We've provided you with three seemingly innocent exhibitions to help answer this question. You tell us if these artists and their works "are what they are." Or, tell us if they're more. Also, don't forget to check out our new blog on the artscope website. It is equipped with updated headlines and rotating featured content -- a great way to stay connected to art and culture news in between artscope issues and email blasts! Online advertising is now also available on the blog as well.
As
always, you
can
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information on upcoming exhibitions
and
performance events for both the
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To
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at the
end of this email - Lacey Daley
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A Girl and Her Room at Foster Gallery
in Dedham, Massachusetts now through February 17th
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Photograph by Rania Matar, featured in her exhibition, A Girl and Her Room.
Most of us find sanctuary in the safety of our own rooms--a haven of personal thoughts, emotions and expressions. It is the space within these four walls that many girls and young women retreat to for privacy, peace, and protection. The structure and exhibition of bedrooms often reveal individuals in the rawest of forms: attitude, innocence, habits, secrets, styles and obsessions. Boston photographer and artist Rania Matar took it upon herself to explore the inner-workings of these safe harbors, to reveal the vital similarities between them that seem to span both time and culture. A Girl and Her Room, an exhibition that features a series of photographs taken in the U.S. and Middle East of teenage girls in their bedrooms, is showing at the Foster Gallery at Noble and Greenough School now through Friday, February 17th. Of her show, Matar said, "This project is about teenage girls and young women at a transitional time of their lives, alone in the privacy of their own personal space and surroundings: their bedroom, a womb within the outside world. I am fascinated with the similarities of issues girls at that age face regardless of culture, religion and background as they learn to deal with all the pressures that arise and as they become consciously aware of the surrounding world wherever this may be." The photographs in this exhibit play down the role of intruder by the camera and instead give us an inviting fly-on-the-wall perspective of these girls' personal spaces. It is the unacknowledged presence and genuine feel of these pieces that help to remind us of that crucial line between peace and commotion, exposure and meditation. Matar is full-time photographer and teacher at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She also teaches photography in the summers to teenage girls in Lebanon's refugee camps with the assistance of non-governmental organizations. Matar's work has been published and exhibited widely in the U.S. and internationally. A Girl and Her Room is also currently on view at the Beirut Exhibition Center in Beirut, Lebanon and the Mosaic Rooms in London. With her work in popular demand, you don't want to miss a reception with Matar tonight, Thursday, January 19th, from 5-7pm at the gallery. If you can't make the mingle, be sure to at least make it out to this exhibition. The show is free and open to the public and it might just refresh your mind on topics long forgotten.
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Sponsored by: Sprinkler Factory Gallery, Atlantic Works Gallery, Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts and Massasoit Community College
Sprinkler Factory Gallery
the Eye is not a Camera
February 4-26, 2012
Sprinkler Factory Gallery
38 Harlow Street
Worcester, MA
Featuring video, sculpture and painting by:
Christine Croteau, Joanne Holtje,
Ted Lilley, Philip Marshall,
Lynn Simmons and Mark Spencer
Opening Reception Sat. Feb. 4, 6-9pm
Artist Talks Sun. Feb. 19, 2-3:30
Gallery Hours
Thurs. 4-8pm / Sat. & Sun. 12-5pm
www.sprinklerfactory.com
Atlantic Works Gallery
control.release.transform.
February 2-25
New member show featuring
installation, prints and drawings by Matt Keller;
mixed media abstracts by Kelly Slater;
and kinetic sculpture by John Wilkinson.
opening reception 2.2 6-9 pm
third Thursday reception 2.16 6-9 pm
gallery hours: Friday and Saturday 2-6 pm and by appointment.
Atlantic Works Gallery
80 Border St
East Boston, MA 02128
617-529-0181
www.atlanticworks.org
Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts
Liminal: The Space Between
An Exhibition of Contemporary Photography.
Curated by Barbara Hitchcock,
former curator of the Polaroid Collection.
January 16 through March 6, 2012
Artists' Reception and Gallery Talk
with Curator Barbara Hitchcock
Thursday, January 26, 7 to 9 pm
40 Stow Street
Concord, MA
978-371-0820
www.emersonumbrella.org
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Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein at Boston Sculptors Gallery
in Boston, Massachusetts now through February 5th
Promises Reconsidered by Andy
Moerlein, (detail). Wood and ceramic.
Although they are showing together and both come from backgrounds of artistic talent and knowledge, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein stand apart in the voices of their artwork. Captivated by the intricacies of avian language and communication, Andy Moerlein has shaped his entire exhibit around the irresolute habits and lifestyles of common birds. With the mood changing from piece to piece, Moerlein takes on the role of narrator as he navigates us through interactions between shaped woody figures, altered trees, and ceramic birds. Of this project, Moerlein said, "My work lately has embodied birds because they seem so innately expressive. We mammal-human-types possess a conceit about our creative uniqueness. Considering that by evolutionary science we are no more nearly related to a bird than a stone cold lizard, I find the emotional/ musical affection we project upon avian kind curious. The parallels between avian and human - warm bodies, social complexities, and a passion to communicate - fascinate me. Birds see a kinship between our worlds and speak to me personally." Andy Moerlein: Avian Language is showing at Boston Sculptors Gallery in conjunction with another captivating exhibition. Donna Dodson continues the curiosity of Moerlein's exhibit into her own, which hinges on her iconic wood sculptures of larger than life birds. In Flock Together, Dodson sets out to invert sixteen negative stereotypes or misconceptions, shining a new, more positive light on these old notions. Her series started with her exploration of Cardinal, as if women could hold high office in the Catholic Church. She pushed the bar further as she went on to include White Stork, who is carrying a baby in her tummy instead of her beak; Little Red Riding Hood, who is anything but little; and Culture Vulture, who is exquisitely cultured, deeply ravenous and stalking the edges of culture to satiate. Whether these sculptures transcend the psychological or simply tamper with the controversial, one thing is for certain: Dodson has certainly found a way to ruffle our feathers and get our attention on things much more concerning than sculpture or physical space. Both Flock Together and Avian Language are on view now through Sunday, February 5th. A Gallery Talk for both artists will be held on Saturday, January 21st from 3-5pm. The Closing Reception isn't until Friday, February 3rd from 5-8pm, so use this time wisely and come see this dexterous duo take on the ways of birds.
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2012 SOLO Competition Winners at Bromfield Gallery
in Boston, Massachusetts now through January 28th
Mind the Gap by Johnathan Derry, (detail).
Last year, Bromfield Gallery invited New England artists to enter its SOLO 2012 Competition. Juror Jen Mergel, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston had to choose from an impressive repertoire of art from 152 submitting artists. The mission of SOLO 2012 was to award two solo exhibitions, all expenses paid, to two New England artists who had not previously had a solo show in a commercial gallery. The talented pair that was selected can now check "solo show in a commercial gallery" off their to-do lists because it has been done. SOLO 2012 Winners Johnathan Derry and Alison Kotin opened their very first solo exhibitions on the 4th of this month. As coverage and success for their shows grow, so does their gratitude and experience. Showing in Gallery I, Johnathan Derry's I've Been Again explores the seemingly absurd relationship between material and message, tragic and comic. In an assembly of objects and sculpture, Derry places the role of interpreter solely in the hands of his audience. "I present the viewer with a series of sculptural diagrammatic narratives. The viewer is tasked with interpreting the work's meaning based on personal understandings of cultural and symbolic references in the elements that comprise the piece." The power of Derry's exhibition is found within this ever-revolving notion of perception and power, and the importance of the role of the audience in order to constantly refresh the meaning. In Gallery II, Alison Kotin also makes use of the role of the audience in her exhibition, Listen Close. Kotin employs all the senses of her viewers as she asks them to participate and collaborate with her in creating art. Kotin's collection of palpable new media works explores all avenues of performance, narrative, and musical composition. By harnessing the uses of the unusual, like cats' whiskers, Kotin intends to spark the curiosity of viewers, drawing them deeper into the meanings of her work. Of her exhibition and its mission, she said, "These open-ended, interactive situations favor chance and ambiguity, adding a layer of metaphor or unexpected responsiveness to familiar objects and places." Listen Close and I've Been Again are on view now through Saturday, January 28th at Bromfield Gallery. Gallery Artist Lisa Olson is also exhibiting during this time frame. Her show, Small Tallies, is on view in Gallery III.
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Massasoit Community College
DEADLINE MAY 4, 2012 - $2,200 IN CASH AWARDS
4TH ANNUAL ARTS FESTIVAL: CALL TO ARTISTS
Juried Show welcomes painting, drawing, printmaking and photography.
Original work only. All entries must be for sale.
25% commission, no insurance provided.
Maximum framed size 36"x40". $10/1, $24/3.
Event: May 20, 2012.
MASSASOIT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
900 Randolph St.
Canton, MA 02021
781-821-2222x2124
www.massasoit.mass.edu/artsfest
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Lacey Daley
artscope
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