Author Archives: deborahlee713
Alchemist in Cambridge and Humming in Lincoln, Huge Human Forms by Jaume Plensa
Humming by Jaume Plensa at the deCordova Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA and his Alchemist on MIT’s campus in Cambridge are the only two sculptures by Plensa that I have seen in person. I’ve known Humming for a few years, and I’m only just getting to know Alchemist. Like several other sculptures by this innovative versatile artist, both are much larger than […]
Brilliant Walls by Frank Gehry at MIT Stata Center
My visit to the Alexander Calder stabile at MIT in November led me to explore other forms of art outdoors on the university’s campus. The most compelling discovery there for me this winter was the Ray and Maria Stata Center designed by architect Frank Gehry with his firm Gehry Partners LLP. At a distance I had at times […]
Calder Stabile Stands Tall in Cambridge
Since 1965, Alexander Calder’s forty-foot-tall dark, handsome stabile* called La Grande Voile (The Big Sail) has stood on MIT’s campus within view of the Charles River, livened by small white sleek sails in certain seasons. Why now after nearly fifty years in Cambridge does this mighty metal sculpture call for new attention from someone like […]
Playful Work by Artist Thomas Willis in Home Depot House at deCordova
This is my third post about deCordova Biennial’s Home Depot House but first to include a direct link to artist John C. Gonzalez’ story of how it came to be. Curating a series of month-long residencies there by six different artists, John carried out the first one, in early fall. Now in nearly spring, this final residency […]
John Osorio-Buck, Artist with Crickets at Home Depot House
At deCordova on a sunny chilly Friday afternoon at the end of February, I got to see how John Osorio-Buck has transformed Home Depot House. For this artist it has become a space to study,raise, harvest, prepare, and serve crickets, but only until Sunday afternoon, March 9. I’m posting now to alert people to this […]
Outdoor Sculpture Unleashes Power in Exhibit at Wellesley College
TONY MATELLI: New Gravity at the Davis Museum, February 6 – July 20, 2014 Lured by curiosity about controversial art on campus, I wouldn’t wait for better weather. That seemed so for other visitors too. The lively atmosphere and the great guidance of a Wellesley graduate increased my urge to share the fun and […]
Indoors Outdoors: Home Depot House at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
As a volunteer guide at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum for more than a decade, I should be accustomed to changes indoors with each new exhibit and outdoors with each new artwork. Yet some changes still startle me. For instance, in late September at the top of the steps near the museum entrance a huge crane deposited […]
Beloved Bronze Rhinos Nearby
After visiting bronze frogs on the Boston Common in December, I decided to revisit two bronze rhinos in my own Cambridge neighborhood. Their names are Bess and Victoria, three tons each, created in the 1930s by sculptor Katharine Lane to flank the entrance of Harvard’s then-new biological laboratories complex. By returning once again, this time with […]
Playground Enriched by Collaborative Art
Here are my recent photos and notes about the Boston Common Tadpole Playground, which I had often passed by on my walk to work for years. Finally a deliberate visit there during December holidays got me to focus on the art that has been integral to that playground for more than a decade. In 2002 […]
Changing Art along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston
One Mural Replaced by Another After months of meticulous, precarious preparations and almost a year of controversial display, one enormous mural gave way to another. Brazilian twin brothers Octavio and Gustavo Pandolfo created the 70′ x 70′ temporary mural in conjunction with an exhibit of their collaborative art at he Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston […]
Art Outdoors 