Category portraits

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.

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.

Jaume Plensa’s Sculptures Make Many Meaningful Connections

Jaume Plensa’s Humming came to deCordova Sculpture Park almost ten years ago, generating innumerable reminders of how powerful sculpture can be. As a guide at the park, Humming has given me reliable ways to connect with others about how and why a tall translucent entrancing head might come to be. Humming has brought perspective to other art in the park, and it has led me to more sculpture by the same artist as well.

Winter Weather Combines with Outdoor Art: Monique Aimee’s Brine Tanks Mural, James Tyler’s Ten Figures

Photos from recent winter visits add perspective and updates to earlier posts in other seasons.

Artists Myoung Ho Lee and B. Wurtz both Focus on Single Trees at deCordova Sculpture Park

Artists Myoung Ho Lee and B. Wurtz both focus carefully on single trees in these two samples from larger projects that reflect their own unique creative processes. Their artworks thrive on the trees and sky through seasonal or daily changes of their current settings in deCordova Sculpture Park. My iPhone photos here hint at those, while quotes give basic background. Links (in red) to intriguing resources reveal fascinating features of both artists’ approaches and results.

Marvel at Moses Mosaic

The brilliant new mosaic mural above the Moses Youth Center entrance radiates reminders of its history and promise. While not much could happen inside through the summer 2020, the Moses Mosaic had been collaboratively created by community youth and artists before the pandemic began. So, in early July after weeks of labor-intensive installation, the Moses Mosaic was ready for public view.

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.

James Tyler’s Tower of East Cambridge Faces Holds Power Over Time

My recent post about James Tyler’s Ten Figures in Davis Square led me to search out and visit his fourteen-foot tower of fifty bronze portraits completed in 1986.