Category Women’s history
Walks through Kip Tiernan Memorial on Dartmouth Street become Memorable
Since The Kip Tiernan Memorial near Old South Church in Copley Square was dedicated in early October 2018, I have walked through and also paused there several times. My photos in different seasons suggest how the sheltering structure subtly directs our flow and where we stop to read Kip Tiernan’s words. I feel that the design and details function as intended, to enhance memories and convey an overarching mission.
David Fichter and David Phillips Honor Community Histories in Public Art
David Phillips is a sculptor; David Fichter is a muralist. With their distinctly different materials, both are masters of rendering historical figures and events. Both have created public art that is densely packed with researched images and documents. As public art, the expansive colorful mural and the tactile intimate bronze relief wait openly for anyone who wants to focus on some sign or scene and make their own associations.
Admire Animals by Artist Katharine Lane Weems in Boston: Dogs, Dolphins, Rhinos and More
The more I learn about sculpture by Katharine Lane Weems (1898 — 1989), the more I admire the art, the artist and the animals. An earlier post about two rhinos, Bess and Victoria, installed 1937 in Cambridge led me on to sites in Boston with work by this artist “famous for her realistic portrayals of animals.” Her art combined scientific accuracy, meticulous renderings, and creative design to bring out the animals’ majesty and character. This post notes four places in Boston to be in the presence of her elegant animals.
Men in Cambridge Made by Women: Anne Whitney and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson
The statues of Charles Sumner and the Hiker both connect to stories worth telling, well told in the quotes below. The Sumner statue story leads back to a much earlier Boston proposal that was rejected because the artist Anne Whitney was a woman. The Hiker statue story leads on to a much later time when fifty bronze replicas of Kitson’s original around the country became part of a scientific study.
Monumental Sculptures by Fern Cunningham and Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller Combined Forces in Harriet Tubman Square
In recent years I had walked among these two monumental bronze sculptures in Harriet Tubman Square Park without appreciating how and when they had come together. Now I can offer valuable links for their significant stories that should be savored by you, instead of summarized by me.
Art Above Us: Cambridge Murals by David Fichter and Be Sargent
Almost caught up with some recent temporary art, I’ll share some views of three murals in my home city, Cambridge. Two, by Be Sargent, have been here for nearly twenty years. One, by David Fichter, has been for fourteen. All three begin above eye-level, so I had seldom made eye contact with the animals or people depicted.
Uplifting Updates, Thanks to Boston Women’s Heritage Trail and Boston Art Commission
At the end of my self-assigned project of posting about women artists on Public Art Walk, I began to wonder how I could better share the fascinating discoveries that came from it. After listing the artists and my posts on a blog page last month, I wished for some ways to convey what I had learned beyond my own small base of friends, colleagues, and family. Now two organizations are doing what I wished for.
Anne Whitney and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson Dealt with Men on Pedestals
My first post about women artists represented on Public Art Walk Boston included art by both Anne Whitney and Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson on Commonwealth Avenue Mall. That was in March 2017. Now almost a year later, I will wrap up the promised project with their additional art.
Lilli Ann Rosenberg Engaged People in Making and Enjoying Public Art
Lilli Ann Killen Rosenberg (1924–2011) initiated memorably collaborative community art projects wherever she went throughout her working life. From the Henry Street Settlement in New York City to numerous sites in the Boston area and then others in southern Oregon, she engaged children and adults in creating responsive public art. This post offers images from Boston sites I have visited and quotes or links that motivate me to visit many more.
Two Murals and Their Makers: “See Her” by Ann Lewis and “Patterned Behavior” by Silvia López Chavez
As new murals emerged in Boston this summer, I tried to track two through different stages of development. Both reminded me that mural artists must envision on a grand scale while also dealing with daily details and constant complexities. Many minds, hands, and hearts helped both murals come into being. One source common to both was the force of the non-profit organization Now and There headed by Kate Gilbert featuring the Year of the Woman in public art. I have referenced and quoted from their wonderful website at several points in this post.
Art Outdoors 