Newest Features
By SCOTT ALBERG Broken Home 1997/2007 at the Rose Art Museum is a provocative re-exhibition of a 1997 show of the same name held at the Green Naftali Gallery in New York City. The Rose’s exhibition brochure points out that Broken Home was a guest curated (by Meg O’Rourke and Caroline Schneider) show of “museum quality”, that is, a show that brought together a wide range of work by very important artists around a theme of art historical importance. The practice of commercial galleries mounting shows with art historical ambitions, as opposed…
By MATTHEW NASH This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war. Erich Maria Remarque introduction to “All Quiet On The Western Front” How do we tell the story of war? Do we tell stories of glory and valor, or do we talk about…
By CHELSEY PHILPOT Perhaps Boston University’s School of Theatre, School of Music, lighting design majors, and dance programs, in realizing the sad state of the winter psyche, strategically timed the sixth performance of the Aurora Borealis Festival. Opening night fell just at the end of a long February and the beginning of an even longer March, and for about two hours, winter felt a little more bearable as the wait for spring felt a little less tedious. Aurora Borealis 6: A Festival of Light and Dance, a dance, movement, text and light…
By MATTHEW NASH On Sunday, March 16th, my students from The Art Institute of Boston will perform Lee Walton’s “Life/Theatre: ICA” at the Institute of Contemporary Art. [1] This piece came about through a collaboration between myself and Rosanna Flouty of the ICA, and it is one of the performance pieces hosted by the ICA in conjunction with the exhibition “The World As A Stage”. —- Lee Walton has made every minor action in the world his art, or so he claims. This is not a claim made in his artist statement,…
By MATTHEW NASH & MATTHEW GAMBER Ben Sloat’s new exhibition “Death Is Just A Rumor Spread By Life” at Laconia Gallery is an intense and thoughtful exploration of methods and history of photography. By dissecting the very nature of graphing light, Sloat asks tough questions about how we perceive the photograph, and what we expect of light and our ability to understand it as a medium. Big RED & Shiny’s Matthew Gamber and Matthew Nash sat down with Sloat to discuss the show and the explorations to that led to this work.…
By SHANE LAVALETTE The following interview is a conversation between Shane Lavalette and photographer Matthew Monteith, discussing Czech Eden, published by Aperture in 2007, with photographs by Monteith. Their discussion also touches on photography’s various uses to define identity and history. Shane spoke with Matthew in February of 2008. – Ed. • Shane Lavalette: What is your earliest memory of looking at a photograph and understanding it as more than just a “document,” as a medium for artistic expression? How did your interest in photography develop after this? Matthew Monteith: I’m not…
By JORGE ESPADA VALENZUELA Jorge Espada Valenzuela: After being awarded the Traveling Scholarship from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, you set out for a backpacking tour throughout the American Southwest after having spent time exploring Alaska. What was your attraction to these places? Mathew Freeman: I’ve spent a great deal of time in the Southwest visiting family as a child. Almost all of that time was spent on ranchland in those days. It’s an incredibly nostalgic place. In August 2006 I arrived in Albuquerque and was overwhelmed by the…
Beth Kantrowitz has just confirmed that Allston-Skirt Gallery will be closing their doors. She promised a press release soon. This is a loss to the arts in Boston, and Allston-Skirt will be greatly missed. They were home to many great exhibitions, and launched the careers of numerous artists. In fact, two of the finalists for the ICA’s 2008 Foster Prize are Allston-Skirt artists. Randi and Beth, we’ll miss you.