Category steel

See Six Sculptures by Melvin Edwards in Different Seasons at deCordova before they Leave this Spring!!
The deCordova Sculpture Park is a great place to take in several selected works by one artist, especially Melvin Edwards! You can get close to all sides of each artwork and recognize connections to related sculptures within your view. Circle them on snowshoes or other ways this winter; stroll among them in the spring. Feeling lucky to live so near, I’ll pass along related links, quotes, and photos now.

Meet “The Embrace” Sculpture by Hank Willis Thomas on Boston Common, January 2023
On the cold rainy morning after the very crowded unveiling ceremony of January 13, 2023, I began to explore “The Embrace” on the Boston Common’s new ‘1965 Freedom Plaza.’ Here are a few photos, links, and quotes selected for this first in what could become a series of related posts in the years ahead. The focus of this post is the sculpture itself, with basic information about the Freedom Plaza and broader plans from Embrace Boston.

Who Restores the Art Outdoors? Clues in Cambridge Examples: William Reimann’s Bollards and Bland Hoke’s “Artesian Well”
As I have visited and revisited local art outdoors for many years, I’ve seen how artwork can be worn down by time, weather, and all imaginable events. Luckily, also I have seen how artwork can be restored by planful focused funded teamwork. For example, here are photos, quotes and links with hints of how change happened at two sites in 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.

Metal Preserves and Transforms Features of Trees in Art by Ed Shay and Letha Wilson
Ed Shay’s ten-foot-tall bronze “Acadian Gyro” entered deCordova Sculpture park about three decades ago. Letha Wilson’s nearly as tall cor-ten steel sculpture “Hawaii California Steel(Figure/Ground)” came in about two years ago. Until now I hadn’t considered their common key elements: 1) attention to the forms of leaves and branches, 2) expressive rendering of those forms in durable metals ( bronze and steel) 3)relation to the seasonally changing foliage of nearby trees. My awareness grew from posting about four more obviously tree-related artworks in the park and noting further connections. Though I have been a volunteer guide in the park for almost two decades, this focus led me deeper into resources with heightened reasons to share them.

Titles of Sculptures Signal Ways to See Them: Falling Man by Douglas Kornfeld, Resurgence by David Kasman
Two sculptures near my house meant more than ever to me on January 20, 2021, with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Maybe just the images are enough to explain my emotions, but I might find words, or you might add them, to affirm how directions make a difference at critical moments. Meanwhile here are some photos and facts.