By BIG RED February 10, 2008 Candid snaps from Curators Elizabeth Duffy and Brian Miller’s talk on their show, Office Space, at the New Art Center in Newton. The New Art Center “Office Space” was on view January 14 – February…
By MATTEW GAMBER Snowing. Snow over the area in New England. At least that is what I anticipate; this is the anticipation. Based on this report, come my following sentences: In between digging out your spot, and salting the steps,…
By MATTHEW NASH It has been a few weeks since the Boston Foundation’s “Vital Signs” report (pdf) was released, and it is still a topic of conversation and heated debate. Among those who are on the lower-budget end of the…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND The following questions were submitted to Big RED and Shiny by artists and organizers in the arts in Massachusetts. The questions were sent to four members of the state’s legislature and State Treasure Timothy Cahill. Each one…
By MATTHEW GAMBER T’was the first week of December, and all through the house, the heater was grinding, disturbing the mouse. Equally enchanting is the first New England snowfall of the season (as I write) that have to walk home…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Boston: the Red Sox are going to the World Series, the Revolution are in the finals, and the Patriots can’t seem to lose. The harder I search for relevance in the success of Boston’s sports teams to…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND In the past couple weeks we’ve been buckling down for the new school year: putting the final touches on our lesson plans, picking up our tweed blazers from the cleaners, or, in my case, actually going back…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND In Merging Influence: Eastern Elements in New America Art, the word “east” has a somewhat dubious meaning. It does not necessarily mean the “Far East,” but means what is not the West. The idea brings about a…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Jon Taylor, an artist of New Bedford, Massachusetts, will, on occasion, put moss into his mouth. It’s true; there are pictures to prove it. He will also make expressions like those Andrew W.K. makes when photographed, but…
By STEVE AISHMAN I watched a new neighbor move-in over the past few days. Most of her big boxes included multiple types of exercise equipment (abs, arms, cardio), HD TV’s for the living room, bedroom and kitchen (she lives in…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND I ran into Bill Arning, the Curator of MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, at a talk at MIT on March 11 and he gave me the scoop: Laura Donaldson was leaving the BCA. The leadership there was…
By MATTHEW GAMBER This summer, Big RED is taking some time to find an outlet for the AC, and we will be publishing once a month for the duration of the season. Before we begin unplugging the electrical nest of…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND The curators of the MFA have titled a survey show of war-themed work spanning several centuries War and Discontent. There is a relationship between those two words, but a rather slim one. In fact, the title is…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND “If you don’t have anything worth saying, don’t say it.” This was a popular aphorism that the more erudite girls would tell the boys on the elementary school playground when I was growing up. Jenny Holzer has…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND This week, the ICA Boston presents Zidane, A 21st-Century Portrait (2005), a film in which 17 35mm cameras follow the French footballer Zinedine Zidane for 90 minutes. The film runs from the moment the first whistle commences…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND History will be interpreted differently by different individuals and communities. It goes without saying. In fact, “History” is an interpretation, an interpretation of the past. MassMoca’s show, “Ahistoric Occasion: Artists Making History,” brings together a group of…
By BRS STAFF CHRISTIAN HOLLAND by MICAH J. MALONE MATTHEW GAMBER by CHRISTIAN HOLLAND MATTHEW NASH by MATTHEW GAMBER MICAH J. MALONE by MATTHEW NASH A project like Big RED & Shiny is not built overnight, and it does…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail. Once every Spring, on Easter Sunday, Christians commemorate the reanimation of Jesus of Nazareth (aka Jesus Christ), a Galilean Jew whom they believe came to Earth to save…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Liz Nofziger is an artist with bright orange-red highlights in her hair and robustly rimmed glasses that remind me of the pair an old carpenter might wear in his (or her) woodshop. Her glasses may be just…
By MATTHEW NASH Print this article After reading and reviewing the new book “Critical Mess,” and reading others’ responses to it, I am left with the lingering question of what, exactly, we expect from art criticism. As an artist, not…