Category Artists
Sophy Tuttle’s Murals Bring Buildings Brilliantly to Life: INTERCONNECTED and PROTECTING NATIVE PLANTS & POLLINATORS
Here are photos, quotes and links for two different but related murals: INTERCONNECTED on Western Avenue in Allston and PROTECTING NATIVE PLANTS & POLLINATORS on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington.
Murals offer Many Ways to Celebrate a City: “Chelsea Resilient: Call and Response Through the Ages” and “City of Dreams”
In mid-May I visited two mighty murals barely two blocks apart: “Chelsea Resilient: Call and Response Through the Ages” by David Fichter and “City of Dreams” by Silvia López Chavez. With great enthusiasm, I now share photos, quotes, and links that should convey the rich history and possibilities of both murals.
Harvard Business School Features Sculptures by Three Black Artists: Yinka Shonibare, Melvin Edwards, and Thaddeus Mosley
As May begins, I want to share my photos, notes, and links for these three artists while their sculptures are still on campus (for the 2021-22 academic year).
Events in Ukraine Add to Art in Harvard Square
These photos, notes, and links are my attempts to connect recent and past events in outdoor art. These may help me transition to some future post with my own thoughts.
Light Poles Display Banners for Black History Month On Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington
This February (2022) I learned to look up at light poles for Black History Month banners along Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington. Luckily banners from earlier Februaries (2020 and 2021) were up again, along with a new set. Different artists, selected by Arlington Human Rights Commission and Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture, created the banners for each year.
A Statue and a Stamp Shed Lights on the Life of Sculptor Edmonia Lewis
A public radio segment about sculptor Edmonia Lewis (1845-ca. 1909) recently roused me to order a sheet of newly issued stamps honoring her and then to seek out the marble monument she made 150 years ago for a family lot in Mount Auburn Cemetery. Stories behind the new stamp and the long-standing sculpture led to more revelations about the artist’s life, through resources I will share here with quotes and links.
Public Art in Somerville Highlights History of deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln
Public art in Somerville has enlightened me in many ways in recent years. Here are two more examples, each enlivening my resources as a long-time volunteer guide at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln. Both focus on fascinating aspects of Somerville’s Union Glass Company, owned by Julian deCordova through the early years of the twentieth century. One is among the seven vibrant panels of the Union Square History Murals on the building where Webster Avenue (55-50) and Prospect Street (70) intersect. The other is a bright sturdy signpost, among more than fifty others in Conway Park on Somerville Avenue. Here are photos, quotes, and notes to elaborate their connections.
Bronze Sculptures by Cyrus Dallin in Arlington Combine History and Humanity
New important plantings around Cyrus Dallin’s long-standing sculpture (since 1912) on the lawn of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston this summer made me realize how much I did not know about the sculptor. That led me to Arlington, where some of his significant works have braved all weather for over a century, and where the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum has developed valuable online resources about his works. A winter lull finally let me review my summer notes and photos for Dallin’s art in Arlington, where he lived in the first half of the twentieth century. Now I need to share some fascinating aspects of his 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.” ….
Silvia López Chavez Displays Wonderful Ways to Work with Windows along Main Street in Kendall Square, Cambridge
Here are my photos, with quotes and links that should take you to fabulous photos on Silvia López Chavez’s website including her creative ways with windows in two buildings (290 and 314 Main St.. Cambridge). Both temporary public art installations, commissioned by MIT, developed as part of a community project called MIT Art Activation, Kendall Sq. Cambridge.
Art Outdoors 