Category public art
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.
Cheer for Changes in One Tree through Several Holidays and Seasons
Here is my record of seasonal decorations in the front yard of a historical house near me in Cambridge: William James House at 95 Irving Street. Most of the photos here focus on the tree and fence, though the steps, porch, and roof have also been transformed for several holidays. This post just keeps track of the leaves, blossoms, lawn, and snowfall as they interact with holiday shapes and colors people placed within the landscape.
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.
Artists Reshape Forest Spaces during 2021 ART RAMBLE “Something in the Air”
Curated by Laurie Bogdan and Kimberley Harding; Hapgood Wright Town Forest in Concord, MA, September 1 – November 14…The Umbrella site 2021 Art Ramble: “Something in the Air” lists the sixteen artists’ bios, websites, and statements about their artwork, as well as audio versions to access as you move along.I visited in September and October, followed by posts, each focusing on four installations. This third post connects four more through their relation to the forest’s trees, shadows, and light while always aware of the air.
Art Outdoors 