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By STEVE AISHMAN SUBJECT: FAQ (Fairly Asinine Questions) Asinine:[‘æ-sê-nIn] marked by inexcusable failure to exercise intelligence or sound judgment of, relating to, or resembling an ass My third grade teacher once told me there is no such thing as a stupid question. While this may be true for third graders, it is definitely true that adults can ask insulting and/or passive aggressive questions. Here are some of the insulting/passive aggressive questions people have asked me recently: “Oh, you’re wearing that today?” “Why would an artist go to a lecture by a scientist?”…
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 rather sarcastic as it’s impossible to consider the tragedy of war as mere discontent. It is in the disparity of war and discontent that we find the show’s purpose. Sarcasm is a sign of desperation: repressed citizenry, minority comics, teenagers, etcetera, all resort to sarcasm when they’ve given in to despair. It…
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 made a whole body of work based on this idea. Her decades of text-based works rely on short pithy quips which are meant to be seen and understood by millions. For Jenny Holzer: Archive, the artist took her methodology in a different direction by seeking out statements of grave historical significance by…
By CHARLES GIULIANO Once again we much enjoyed the scenic drive along posh Trapelo Road in bucolic, suburban Lincoln. The azaleas were in glorious bloom and here and there on the stately manses workers were busy sprucing up the grounds. Ah, yes, rolling down the windows even on a drizzly May afternoon, we caught the fresh air. Perhaps for the last time we were traveling from the inner city to take in yet another DeCordova Annual in a community where all the women are beautiful and the children are well above average.…
By MATTHEW NASH The 2007 Boston Cyberarts Festival has come to a close, and when looking back on the variety of shows, the range and complexity of new media works were as impressive as the diverse array of venues hosting events. The Boston Cyberarts website lists 81 things to see during the two weeks of this past festival, ranging from interactive new media to performance, dance, sculpture, video and other visual treats to lectures, talks and performances. Because each Boston Cyberarts Festival changes our outlook on technology and its relationship to art,…
By MATTHEW NASH Looking at the websites and publications from artists and organizations throughout New England, one is struck by the consistent recurrence of the LEF Foundation logo. From large arts organizations like the Boston Center for the Arts, to universities like MIT and Harvard, and even alternative projects like the Berwick Research Institute and Big RED & Shiny, LEF is active on all levels of the arts in New England, funding projects of great diversity and depth. Between 2001 and 2006 they funded 368 projects, giving $3.8 million in support to…
By BIG RED Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 Candid snaps from a Big RED night on-the-town at The Rose Art Museum for the opening of “John M. Armleder: Too Much Is Not Enough.” Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University
By BIG RED Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 4th Graders of the Graham & Parks Alternative Public School and local residents participate in artist Kelly Sherman’s Wish Wall Mural project. Along with a mural made up of over 400 written wishes by the students and residents, each one painted over in varying shades of yellow, Sherman created a lesson plan for the students covering conceptual art, graffiti, and community engagement. Wish Wall Mural website The “Wish Wall Mural” was painted an exterior wall of the Thistle & Shamrock convenience store located at Walden…