Author Archives: deborahlee713
Panels from Significant Summer 2020 Extend Mystic River Mural and Affirm Hopes
In my July post about the Mystic River Mural Project, I was hopeful but not sure that the Summer 2020 project would work through all the complications of the pandemic. Now I can gladly share glimpses of the inspiring outcome with photos of the 2020 panels added this fall on Mystic Avenue. For context, read quotes with links to informative sources. Also note a new video that adds an enriching overview of the whole project.
Mural for the Movement Makes Statements in Many Languages with Faces, Flags, and Fist in front of MFA Boston
After visiting the mural “No Weapon Formed Against Thee Shall Prosper,” currently on the Huntington Avenue lawn of the Museum of Fine Arts, I want to urge everyone in the Boston area to see it before it leaves November 19, 2020. So, this quick post includes photos, quotes and resources that could help you appreciate the mural in person, or at least through connected stories about it.
Rob “Problak” Gibbs’ New ‘Breathe Life’ Mural Looks Wonderfully Alive at Madison Park High School
The recently completed ‘Breathe Life’ mural by Rob “Problak” Gibbs’ takes in the sky above Madison Park Technical Vocational High School where he was a student, graduating in 1995. Here are photos from my first visits with quotes and links to valuable resources that promise to enrich your perspective on this significant artwork.
Chris Frost Builds Two New Birdhouses for the Bikeway in Arlington before Taking Colony Down
After more than two years of winning devoted fans and welcoming many special guests, “Colony” created by Christopher and Basil Frost is due to depart before October ends. When I visited for an emotional last look, I was glad to find that two new birdhouses nearby were ready for first looks, both full of their own appeal and promise.
Louise Nevelson and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Briefly Share Space and Spirit
Since 1985, Louise Nevelson’s painted steel sculpture, Night Wall 1, has stood 12 feet tall on a lawn edged by several Harvard University buildings, including the law school library ( Langdell Hall). Last week for the first time I found a way to post about this admired art and artist, though I had meant to many times for many years. At the start of the Jewish New Year, 5781, Louise Nevelson’s monumental sculpture kept a steady silent vigil in view of a steadily growing memorial for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Respond to the Spirit of Art Ramble around Fairyland Pond in Concord
My goal now is to get the word out about a wonderful way to get away, though this temporary exhibit in Concord’s Hapgood Wright Town Forest won’t let you get away from the issues of climate change. I went once last week and hope to return as often as possible before the last day, November 8. I hope to post again with more photos and reflections on water, but here are quotes and links to lead you into the forest, around the pond, with art and poetry.
Colorful Characters Brighten Brine Tanks: Mural by Monique Aimee in Cambridge
Selected and funded by Percent-for-Art program in Cambridge, Monique Aimee proposed, planned, and painted her mural on all sides of the four tall brine tanks along the lot for Saint Peter’s Field. She began near the end of June and finished near the end of August. My photos here come from a few visits there throughout the summer. The links should take you to videos and exciting photos of the work in progress on Monique Aimee’s Instagram site: https://www.instagram.com/moniqueaimee/ The quotes here should give background that lets you visit in person or online.
Applaud Playground Turtles and their Creators: Nancy Schön and Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg
Endurance is a quality shared by the turtle sculptures in this post. Lilli Ann Roseberg’s colorful concrete turtles in Cambridge have been ridden, jumped on, snowed in, flooded over and lots more in the past three decades. Nancy Schön’s bronze Myrtle the Turtle was bound up and relocated within Boston’s Myrtle Street Playground soon after settling in last year. These sculptures endured isolation while playgrounds were closed in the spring and then cautiously reopened.
Uplifting Art Waits at Our Feet on Bike Paths (Can You Help Solve a Mystery?)
Four distinctive paintings appeared on the bike path in Somerville and Cambridge this summer. None are signed but all contain the same heart emblem and related design elements. I post now to share these elegant images and to ask for help in identifying the artist(s), process and maybe more places to admire such alluring art.
Marvel at Moses Mosaic
The brilliant new mosaic mural above the Moses Youth Center entrance radiates reminders of its history and promise. While not much could happen inside through the summer 2020, the Moses Mosaic had been collaboratively created by community youth and artists before the pandemic began. So, in early July after weeks of labor-intensive installation, the Moses Mosaic was ready for public view.
Art Outdoors 