ANNIVERSARY: A YEAR IN REVIEW

This Valentines Day, Big RED & Shiny has it’s first birthday. That’s right, our little pink website is now a year old, and we can now allow ourselves the indulgence of looking back on a year of the arts in Boston. We could spend the time singing the praises of Big RED and its writers, but that is not what we’re here for. Big RED has always been a cheerleader for Boston, designed to be a forum for artists, gallerists, critics and more to discuss our little city without reservation. It is our view that a good cheerleader does not always say nice things, and that occasionally a negative review or difficult discussion can be necessary to make things better, to be more productive. By the same token, when things are good we see nothing wrong with a bit of congratulations.

At the bottom of our Archive page, we list the number of articles we’ve published on Big RED. This issue brings us to 167. It’s hard, with so much good writing and so many complex thoughts, to pull together the various themes that have defined the last year. Still, I’ve tried to find a few themes that span our issues, and some of the highlights are presented below.

The State Of The Arts
With an eye towards ‘the big picture,’ it has sometimes been necessary to address the overall state of the arts in Boston. During the dark days following the closing of Mobius, The Berwick, and Oni, this was often a bleak prospect. But as these organizations push on, and new ones spring up in their place, it is clear that one year can bring many changes.

THE BOSTON PROBLEM: GREENER PASTURES by MEG ROTZEL	BOSTON NOW: THE STATE OF THE ARTS by TIMOTHY BAILEY
NEW MEDIA IS MEDIUMLY OLD: SURVEYING THE BOSTON NEW MEDIA SCENE WITH TURBULENCE.ORG by KANARINKA	SURVEYING THE BOSTON ART SCENE by JAMES HULL
BOSTON-ISM a dialogue with 11 Boston culture-makers

Cheerleading
It would not be unfair to say that Boston sometimes has an inferiority complex: too close to New York and yet not NYC. With this in mind, it is sometimes useful to remind our little city that it is a great place unto itself, with a lot to offer. Big RED occasionally plays the role of cheerleader, with words of encouragement, hopes and (sometimes) dreams.

IF WE RAN THE WHITNEY BIG, RED AND SHINY contributors weigh in on their favorite artists	BREAKING THE VIDEO FRAME by JANE HUDSON
STAKING PERFORMANCE ART by NATALIE LOVELESS	BIG RED GOES BACK TO SCHOOL BIG RED looks at Boston's college galleries
WORDS OF HOPE AND ENCOURAGEMENT BIG RED mourns the 2004 election	WHY NOT US? by JAMES MANNING

Dialogue
There are many voices in the Boston scene, each bringing something new and worthwhile to the discourse around our arts and culture. From time to time, Big RED has been lucky enough to sit down with a few of them, to capture their thoughts and to ask the tough questions.

THE CELL BLOCK AND THE WHITE CUBE by JENNIFER SCHMIDT	SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH JESSICA RYLAN by MEG ROTZEL
SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH DAN ELIAS by C. SEAN HORTON	A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUTRAGE by MATTHEW NASH
7 QUESTIONS WITH JANE HUDSON by MICAH MALONE	A CONVERSATION WITH KEN FEINGOLD by MATTHEW GAMBER
THE INTERVENTIONISTS @ MASS MOCA: INTERVIEW WITH NATO THOMPSON by JOANNE PASILA	SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH BRIAN KNEP by MATTHEW NASH
5 QUESTIONS WITH TIM PETERSON OF THE ANALOGOUS SERIES by SHIN YU PAI

We at Big RED are proud of our first year online, but even more proud that we live in a city that has so much to offer. Our writers come from this community, care about it, and want it to grow. We are here because we want to make Boston the best it can be, and if this past year is any indication then we can say with confidence that there is a bright future ahead.