Category graphic design

Explore Stories Behind Patricia Thaxton’s Monumental Mural in Harvard Square

This post is my way to preserve elements of the valuable Gallery 344 exhibit (now ended) about Patricia Thaxton’s work for her monumental mural around the Harvard Square kiosk. The exhibit presented original collages as well as photos of the artist’s process. These, as well as text and visuals, helped me understand and appreciate how this complex, spirited mural came to be. Here are quotes, photos, and informative links.

Continue with 2022 ART RAMBLE, “In the Balance,” Focus on Three More Artists: Paul Angiolillo, Carolyn Enz Hack, Jose Trejo-Maya

This third post completes the series of related posts for 2022 ART RAMBLE, “In the Balance,” with photos, quotes, and links for three more of the eleven artists* (four more of the seventeen installations*). The first post includes an overview. All three note the curator talk on October 16 and other valuable resources. Whether I post again before the final day, November 19, I intend to revisit and reflect on significant connections between the forest and the artworks!

ART SCRIM Extends Possibilities for Public Art Outdoors, as shown by Yenny Hernandez, Anna Dugan and Deborah Johnson

Each of these three artists has created several fabric panels that transform stretches of metal construction fencing near the intersection of Harvard Street and Western Avenue in Allston. One, Anna Dugan, incorporated concrete Jersey barriers as well. All three worked out their own distinctive series of panels printed on scrim, a lightweight durable translucent textile that has long been used in theater sets. Daylight, street light, clouds, the sky itself, and any machinery or equipment behind the fence can add variables to our view. Whether driving by or standing near, we respond to these shifting features. I grew more aware of such changes as I photographed the art. In fact, I felt that each artist had recognized and successfully addressed the possibilities of scrim.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Many People Play a Part in Art Installation by Nilou Moochhala in Menotomy Rocks Park, Arlington

I wish my words or photos could convey the sense of being in the presence of this important installation in Menotomy Rocks Park. Certainly I want to return there and to get others in or near Arlington to go too. Also I want people who can’t go to still appreciate the energies, organization, and interplay involved in such ventures. So I offer this quick post now with links and quotes that might lead you further in than I’ve yet been