Category Artists
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.
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
We Become Aware of Active Air through 2021 Art Ramble in Hapgood Wright Town Forest
Based on September and October visits to 2021 Art Ramble, I add this fourth post, which features installations by BARD, Martha Heller, and Kiyomi Yatsuhashi. As in the three earlier posts, artist names, installation title, materials and quotes from the artists’ statements about their installations appear above my photos. Quotes and links are from The Umbrella Arts & Environment Website headed 2021 Art Ramble: Something in the Air.
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.
Art Raises Many Related Questions in Amazing Ways on the Boston Common: “What Do We Have in Common?” by Janet Zweig, now through October 24
Presented by NOW+THERE and Friends of the Public Garden, through wonderfully welcoming, attentive, versatile Guides.
I’ll post very quickly in case anyone who lives nearby can visit the Boston Common before this brief opportunity ends. I plan to return and post with more connections. Meanwhile here are a few photos from my first visit two days ago, with quotes from two informative rich resources: NOW+THERE and Friends of the Public Garden.
“Confluence” at Spy Pond in Arlington Flows with Grace through Time and Space
Begin with a new installation Confluence by Laurie Bogdan and Kimberley Harding. Then follow a path enriched by continuing presence of earlier installations, : Colony III, Current, Persistence, ExtraOrdinary Birds.
Art Outdoors 