Category landmarks
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.
Ten Figures by Sculptor James Tyler Keep Masks on in Davis Square
When I feel weary with the prospect of wearing masks for months to come in public, I can now turn to what I learned about the Davis Square statues, who have kept their masks on night and day for more than twenty years!*
Chalk Gives Voice on Days of Action in Cambridge and Somerville
This unplanned post shares fleeting street art from local actions on May 31, 2020. Rain may soon wash these chalk statements away, but there will be more to come.
Spiral Inspired Art for Quincy Square, a Collaboration of David Phillips and Halverson Design
In earlier posts about David Phillips’ art, I noted his collaboration with Halverson Design, but here I’ll let it shape my perspective with quotes from Cambridge Public Art resources about this park that opened in 1997 near Harvard Square.
Marianna Pineda’s Sculptures Create Connections
While museums everywhere, including deCordova Sculpture Park, were closed for the past two months, I began to look more closely at the art that was still accessible in my neighborhood. Fortunately for me that includes the grounds of Harvard University and within those Radcliffe Yard. There among other areas with intriguing art is the Alexandra D. Korry Sculpture Garden around Marianna Pineda’s Oracle Portentous.
Nancy Webb’s Bronze Insects and Plants Became Treasures in Cambridge
I’ve walked through Charles Park before, (on the way to or from CambridgeSide Galleria) without noticing most of nearly forty bronze representations of insects and plants Nancy Webb created almost three decades ago. This week I came to find and focus on them, guided by the Cambridge Public Art Fact Sheet.
David Judelson’s Brickworker and Ballplayer Keep on Documenting History
By a ballfield in North Cambridge ( Rindge Field) since 1983, two brick beings by David Judelson have faced each other supported by pertinent names, equipment, and stories. In recent years I had visited them with vague plans to post about them, though waiting for a way to focus. Then this spring when walks with face coverings became one of the few recreational options, I discovered that Brickworker and Ballplayer had been outfitted in response to the pandemic.
Murals by Lisa Houck, Joshua Winer, and Ellery Eddy Reflect Cambridge History in Inman Square
These three murals within three blocks of each other build on local history and also have histories of their own, revealed as I lately took time to look at them and look online about them. A great resource was Lisa Houck’s documenting of the processes and people involved in restoring her mural on her blog and website. I hope now that the other murals noted here can get similar support to regain clarity, color, and impact.
Follow up on Elliott Kayser’s Pigs from their Year on the Greenway
The photos in this post come from January 1, 2020, the last time I visited Elliott Kayser’s eight ceramic pigs along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. They had kept their stations well for almost a year. Now that the Year of the Pig is almost over they are gone!
From a very informative Greenway blog post, I have learned that five of the pigs have moved on to the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton. Chiefly the blog post clearly tells a story with great photos of ten steps involved in creating the pigs. If you wondered about the origins or future of these sculptures, about 250 pounds each, read that blog post.
Rob “Problak” Gibbs Gave Momentum to his Mural, ‘Breathe Life 3’
Today I want to note this one of many murals by Rob “Problak” Gibbs and share some ways it adds to my awareness of what a mural can do. This one can actively demonstrate hand signs for its title when you view it through an app in your device. My post, so far, won’t directly reveal the actions but gives you links to see them or, better yet, go to the wall on Tremont Street at Camden Street, where you can enliven them yourself.
Art Outdoors 