Category animals in art
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.
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.
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.
Animal Sculptures by Judy McKie and Jay Coogan Prove Patient, Purposeful and Playful
Judy McKie’s bronze cat benches and Jay Coogan’s aluminum dogs and cats were kept off location during extensive construction of Cambridge Public school and library properties where they had become favorite features. Soon after they returned ready to resume their roles, the closing of all schools and libraries in March 2020 cut short the opportunities for children and adults to interact with them again. Though I had found opportunities to admire and photograph these artful animals, I didn’t want to share the images until the sculptures could be part of daily life once more.
Mystic River Mural Panels from Last Summer Make Powerful Connections
Photos, quotes, and links related to the Mystic River Mural Project focus on the most recent additions, affirming the project’s persistent powers.
Playgrounds Thrive on Art by Mitch Ryerson and Gail Boyajian
As playgrounds have cautiously reopened, I can happily share photos of art by Mitch Ryerson and Gail Boyajian. This lifts my own sad restrictions on earlier posts about these artists and others with work outside Maud Morgan Arts. Now I can show and celebrate art that was meant to be where children play.
Randal Thurston’s Birds and Butterflies Guide Our Ways through Yerxa Road Underpass in Cambridge
Maybe best to show some of what I have seen lately along this pertinent passageway without trying to explain why I didn’t post earlier. I hope the links and quotes will give you ways to appreciate the efforts and effects of this public art project completed in 2006.
