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By THE EDITOR Print this article Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced the creation of the Department of Arts and Cultural Development to combine the efforts of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, Tourism, and Film and Office of Cultural Affairs. Mayor Menino named Susan Hartnett, a respected and successful member of the arts community, to serve as director. Ms. Hartnett will report directly to Mayor Menino. “Susan’s proven talent in the arts and cultural community, along with an impressive record of leadership, will serve the Department of Arts and Cultural Development…
By THE EDITOR Print this article (updated Fri. April 16th) Our publication schedule may seem sporadic over the next few months. During the summer months of June, July & August, we will be cutting back to one issue a month. This time will allow us to plan and gain steam for the debut of a bigger, better BRS in the Fall. Please join our e-mail list by click on “Join Us.” – we’ll only email you when a new issue is available. Below is our updated publication schedule: Friday, April 30th: BRS…
By THE EDITOR Print this article According to our news sources here at Big, Red and Shiny, Dan Elias recently closed his gallery after six years of operation. Showing the work of artists like Taylor Davis and Frank Egloff among others, Elias consistently mounted quality and thoughtful exhibitions in his small warehouse off the beating path in Allston. As one if the city’s most reputable galleries, Elias Fine Art’s presence will be missed. Stay tuned for an interview with Dan Elias in the next issue of Big, Red and Shiny.
By THE EDITOR Print this article As a city rooted in history, the people of Boston are often deeply divided regarding the preservation of its structures. For the last year, the Gaiety Theatre at 659-665 Washington St. has faced a similar fate of many who have come before it. After decades of glory, the Boston Landmark Commission decided that the theater is not a historical landmark worth saving. Located in the Chinatown/Midtown cultural district, the Gaiety was at its time amidst a mecca for the African-American working-class culture in Boston. With fifteen…
By MATTHEW GAMBER Print this article As part of their Northeast Exposure Series, the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University presents Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 1972-1981. The exhibition features the work of Henry Hornstein, a New Bedford native, currently a professor of photography instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design. Based on his recent Chronicle Books publication of the same title, this collection of photographs documents the culture surrounding country music – its venues, its patrons, and its musicians. Depicting different locales of the country music scene that range…
By BETH MARTIN Print this article In a society colored, shaped and devised to nurture our short attention spans, a focus on obsession is strangely refreshing. OCD (referencing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), now showing at the Mills Gallery at Boston Center for the Arts is the fruit of eight artists paying rare attention to detail and subject over long periods of time. A foreign idea to many today, the focus on this “extreme” behavior undermines the show almost, seeming to focus only on this surface level obsession, rather than the uncomfortable and sometimes…
By DIRK ADAMS Print this article Chocolate, whiskey, and the aroma of cake and rotting meat were among the bodies of material that confronted the senses during “Corporeal Heat”, a festival of performance art featuring nine artists from Canada, Germany, and the United States. The festival took place in the former district four police station in Boston’s South End – a wonderful raw space whose frigid temperature gave a certain significance to the festival’s title. The festival was created and curated by students at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts…
By C. SEAN HORTON Print this article LET ME BEGIN BY ASKING YOU WHAT YOU’RE UP THESE DAYS. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU RECENTLY CLOSED ELIAS FINE ART IN ALLSTON AFTER SIX YEARS AND THAT YOU TURNED OVER YOUR POSITION AS HOST OF ANTIQUES ROADSHOW AFTER THREE YEARS TO LAURA SPENCER FROM ABC – HAVE YOU DISCOVERED FREE TIME OR ARE YOU PURSUING OTHER PROJECTS? DE: I closed the gallery to move into museum work. I have always, and increasingly, been interested in why people make what they make, and how an idea…