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 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 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 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 CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Print this article The scratch and sniff walls are gone, along with the trippy hallway, though the Star Wars helmets and 2001: A Space Odyssey set reproduction still occupy the entrance to Part II of theList Visual…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Print this article In today’s terms, the superhero is a component of the contemporary mythological psyche. They are a representative from the everyday world, touched with ultra-human capacities, (however flawed) and act as a social servant to…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Print this article Composition is the most basic underpinning of visual communication, if not all visual art-making. It is both a tool and a skill, learned and innate, which when employed well, often goes unnoticed by the…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND In order to celebrate its 35th birthday, the Boston Center for the Arts showcased artists from its studios, past and present. The show, Studios@35, held in the BCA’s Mills Gallery was curated by local art hero and…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will have had nine weeks between Election Day and inauguration to prepare a new administration for their next four years in office. Nine weeks, when considering the length of the administration and…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Note: This piece is the third and final of a series of interviews by Christian Holland with the four 2006 finalists for the ICA’s James and Audrey Foster prize. Previously he interviewed finalists Kelly Sherman and Jane…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Note: This piece is the second in a series of interviews by Christian Holland with the four 2006 finalists for the ICA prize. You can read his interview with finalist Kelly Sherman here. Look for more interviews…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will have had nine weeks between Election Day and inauguration to prepare a new administration for their next four years in office. Nine weeks, when considering the length of the administration and…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND On Sunday, November 5, 2006, the 401st Guy Fawkes Night was celebrated. Today, we bring to you the 51st issue of Big RED and shiny. The most significant change to Big RED for Issue 51 is the…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND I don’t know how many times I’ve seen someone describe the volume of his or her headache. Though I can attribute this to Excedrin’s popular, “I’ve got a headache this big” commercial, it is an example of…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND The best way to critique the absurd is with the absurd; the more flamboyant the critique, usually, the more potent the message.CoachTV, the Raishad Glover and Emily Eastridge “enterprise,” wastes few opportunities for flamboyance in The Buffet…
By CHRISTIAN HOLLAND What does it mean and why did you make it? What is the origin of this piece? Have you ever been to an artist talk and, instead of admiring the artwork, found yourself marveling at how the…