Category animals in art
Public Art Personalities Greet the Season Together on Palmer Street in Harvard Square
Analog the Sphinx Dog and Wapiti the Green Elk recently joined Michelle the Blue Elephant on Palmer Street in Harvard Square. All three stand with slender sturdy legs on narrow skis. All three are creatively constructed from various recycled materials, adorned with objects, and decorated festively. All three are called Skraelings by Bob Smith (of Minimum Wage Art), who describes them in the following quote: “These being(s) are super heroes that are made from wood, metal, even plastic, all castoff materials from an overly materialistic society. Skraelings fight boredom and apathy in all dimensions of time and space.” ….
Artists Add New Life to Familiar Forms: “GO OUT DOORS – ARLINGTON 2021” November Notes and Quotes
Guided by the very helpful interactive map on the GO OUT DOORS NEIGHBORS!, Arts Arlington, I have visited most of the 2021 doors. I hope to see them all before November ends, when they’ll be kept safe from the threats of winter weather. Then I will watch for their return in spring 2022 and for newly created doors as well. If able, I will want to show and tell more about “Go Out Doors” beyond Arlington.* Meanwhile here are names, art titles, links ( click on artists’ names in red for their websites), and quotes for the doors I’ve seen so far.
New Views Come in through Art for “Go Out Doors” in Minute Man National Historical Park
“Mission: “Go Out Doors” inspires discovery and exploration of outdoors spaces and trails, and the intersection of place, history, community, spirit, and nature. On View Through November 15, 2021” (quote from Umbrella Arts Go Out Doors @ Minute Man National Historical Park) This mission addresses my experience visiting the three doors!
Doors created by artists Yetti Frenkel, Cassandra Charles, and BARD at three separate sites within Minute Man National Historical Park
Visit 2021 ART RAMBLE: “SOMETHING IN THE AIR” for Vital Stories and Vibrant Views
In September, after my first visit, I posted an overview with focus on four artworks and a plan to return for additional explorations. Now, selecting from photos in my second visit, early October, I focus in this sequel post on artworks about animals with wings.
Take Time to Take in Juan Travieso’s Mural, Engulf, on the Greenway in Boston
Engulf mural , Lincoln Street Triangle, about three blocks southwest of South Station, created by Juan Travieso in 2019 is up through October 2021. Sometimes obscured by cars and trucks in its adjacent parking lot, the long low wall space is notably less visible from a distance than the tall Greenway mural wall in Dewey Square. Additionally, the mural’s lifespan has coincided with pandemic limitations on travel and social activity. I’ve visited twice and hope to go again before it’s gone, while wishing I could do more to convey the visual drama and mystery generated by Juan Travieso ‘s Engulf.
All I can offer so far is to post segments of the mural with captions quoted from the Artist Statement to focus on the issues that are motivating Juan Travieso’s creative work. This should help me recall what I saw at the wall and discover design elements I didn’t absorb at the time. Maybe it will connect with someone who missed the chance to be there, or might still have that chance.
Breathe in Energy of 2021 Art Ramble: “Something in the Air”
My first visit this year, on a sunny September morning, should be one of many in the next two months, so I won’t try to cram in whatever can wait for future posts. That suits the spirit I sensed along the pathways of this year’s ramble, allowing time and space between, and within each installation to appreciate what the air is offering. So here are just a few photos (with excerpts from artist statements) from four of the fifteen installations as samples of what you might see if you can go or explore online if you live elsewhere.
Circles Unify Art by Laura Baring-Gould and Mags Harries/Lajos Héder in Drinking Fountains Revived Around Fresh Pond Reservoir
For many months of the pandemic, these drinking fountains were shut down (sometimes covered over) sadly signaling limits on ordinary routines and extraordinary art experiences. When the fountains around Fresh Pond became available again, I wanted to honor their functional and creative qualities. I began to see circles as useful frames for water and also design elements in art, as the artists must have from the start.
More Public Art Appears in Harvard Square: “Michelle the Blue Elephant”; Patricia Thaxton’s Mural
View two of a few recent additions to visual art in Harvard Square. I’ll save the rest for future posts. Both artworks involve creative use of fabric. Both are in settings that don’t always enhance viewing or documenting art. But as Patricia Thaxton notes on her printed mural “The Beauty of Everyday Living,” it is about joy and harmony “in spite of it all,…”, including unavoidable traffic, trash, and construction equipment. See photos, quotes, and links:
Temporary Art Leads to Ongoing Information from Harvard Museums of Science and Culture: PLAZA PAINT PROJECT
The person I saw painting attractive images on Science Center Plaza said she was not an artist, but she was creating interactive art to engage people with rich resources from the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture while the physical doors are still closed to visitors. She noted that the paintings on the plaza would be power-washed away in a few weeks. So once again I’ll post quickly to speed the news about temporary art before it goes.
Restored and New Art Combine in Renovated Clarendon Avenue Playground: Bronze Birds by Juliet Kepes with Leaf-Pattern Fence by Bart Uchida
In 1980, artist Juliet Kepes designed five bronze birds for the brick walls of Clarendon Avenue Park in Cambridge. A longtime admirer of her children’s book illustration, I wasn’t aware of her range of creative work until a few years ago when I read the Cambridge Arts/ Public Art listing below. By the time I managed to visit the park in 2019, it was closed off for extended renovations after almost forty years of use. ….
Recently I learned that the renovated park had opened, so I headed there one early evening in July. The bronze birds were back, set against a stone wall that replaced their brick background. Floral plantings enhanced their new setting, with the promising addition of a flowing plant-patterned fence that certainly added to my appreciation of the whole park.
Art Outdoors 