Category visual art
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.
Visit 2021 ART RAMBLE: “SOMETHING IN THE AIR” for Vital Stories and Vibrant Views
In September, after my first visit, I posted an overview with focus on four artworks and a plan to return for additional explorations. Now, selecting from photos in my second visit, early October, I focus in this sequel post on artworks about animals with wings.
Art Raises Many Related Questions in Amazing Ways on the Boston Common: “What Do We Have in Common?” by Janet Zweig, now through October 24
Presented by NOW+THERE and Friends of the Public Garden, through wonderfully welcoming, attentive, versatile Guides.
I’ll post very quickly in case anyone who lives nearby can visit the Boston Common before this brief opportunity ends. I plan to return and post with more connections. Meanwhile here are a few photos from my first visit two days ago, with quotes from two informative rich resources: NOW+THERE and Friends of the Public Garden.
Take Time to Take in Juan Travieso’s Mural, Engulf, on the Greenway in Boston
Engulf mural , Lincoln Street Triangle, about three blocks southwest of South Station, created by Juan Travieso in 2019 is up through October 2021. Sometimes obscured by cars and trucks in its adjacent parking lot, the long low wall space is notably less visible from a distance than the tall Greenway mural wall in Dewey Square. Additionally, the mural’s lifespan has coincided with pandemic limitations on travel and social activity. I’ve visited twice and hope to go again before it’s gone, while wishing I could do more to convey the visual drama and mystery generated by Juan Travieso ‘s Engulf.
All I can offer so far is to post segments of the mural with captions quoted from the Artist Statement to focus on the issues that are motivating Juan Travieso’s creative work. This should help me recall what I saw at the wall and discover design elements I didn’t absorb at the time. Maybe it will connect with someone who missed the chance to be there, or might still have that chance.
New Murals on Blue Hill Avenue by Ekua Holmes and London Parker-McWhorter Make Many Meaningful Connections
My visit to “Honoring the past, seeding the future,” the newest Grove Hall murals, extended my own range of travel after too long a time. Simply walking a few blocks around their location (on and near 345 Blue Hill Avenue) offered such an abundance of promising connections that I must now choose a few of many for focus in this post. Here are the chosen three.
“Arboreal Attire” and “Chairful Where You Sit” Extend History around Jason Russell House in Arlington
Sculpture by Leslie Wilcox, Poetry by Jessie Brown, Chairs Transformed by Many Artists: This post honors an inspiring event last Saturday (8/21/21) that reminded me, yet again, of how much public art keeps offering no matter how many challenges continue. Walking among at least thirty chairs and six tall trees with unique creative identities, I began to understand they all shared histories extended by artists’ careful appreciative attention. Also most chairs there were made with wood, so crafted originally from trees. Musical performances, poetry reading, artist talk, and many other happenings were free for anyone who visited the lawn of the historic Jason Russell House near Arlington Center.
That led me to this quick post ( with links, quotes, and key resources in red type) because the chairs are only up for bidding until September 5:
Circles Unify Art by Laura Baring-Gould and Mags Harries/Lajos Héder in Drinking Fountains Revived Around Fresh Pond Reservoir
For many months of the pandemic, these drinking fountains were shut down (sometimes covered over) sadly signaling limits on ordinary routines and extraordinary art experiences. When the fountains around Fresh Pond became available again, I wanted to honor their functional and creative qualities. I began to see circles as useful frames for water and also design elements in art, as the artists must have from the start.
Artists Ekua Holmes and Elizabeth James-Perry Bring MFA Lawn to Life with “Garden for Boston”
Whether or not you go inside the Museum of Fine Arts, on the front lawn you will find rich offerings by artists and curators attentive to soil, sun, sea, community, and history. One morning in early August, I joined other visitors enthralled by plantings and perspective in the collaborative venture called “Garden for Boston.” Delighted by discoveries, I’ll share a few of my iPhone photos with quotes from enlightening resources on the MFA website and other specified links.
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:
Temporary Art Leads to Ongoing Information from Harvard Museums of Science and Culture: PLAZA PAINT PROJECT
The person I saw painting attractive images on Science Center Plaza said she was not an artist, but she was creating interactive art to engage people with rich resources from the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture while the physical doors are still closed to visitors. She noted that the paintings on the plaza would be power-washed away in a few weeks. So once again I’ll post quickly to speed the news about temporary art before it goes.
Art Outdoors 