For Immediate Release
May 1, 2003
Contact:
Brent Sverdloff 781/259-3628, bsverdloff@decordova.org
Sarah Smith 781/259-3663, ssmith@decordova.org
July, August, September 2003 @ DeCordova: Exhibitions and Events
New Exhibitions
Puppets, Ghosts, and Zombies: The Sculpture of Pat Keck
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, Arcade Gallery, Window Gallery
September 13, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Opening Reception: Friday, September 19, 2003, 6 - 8 pm
Since the late 1970s, Andover-based artist Pat Keck has created painted wood figurative sculptures, many of them mechanical and interactive. Each detail-from the wood joinery to the clothing to the moving parts-is designed and fabricated by the artist herself. These beautifully hand-crafted works reference folk art, anthropomorphic theatrical props (marionettes, ventriloquist dummies), fairy tales, and other cultural traditions to probe the existential borders of what it means to be human.
Keck creates beings that exist on the edge of humanity and consciousness: mechanical and utilitarian figures like scarecrows, dummies, toys, puppets, robots, and automatons; semi-sentient figures like somnambulists, ghosts, and monsters; and a host of androgynous "men" engaged in quasi-ritualistic and mysterious activities. Keck's imaginative world is influenced by many sources that point roughly in the same direction. She is interested in folk and vernacular arts, especially those associated with carnivals, fairs, and the circus, as well as visual elements of other performing arts, most notably vaudeville and 1980s popular music (punk and glam rock). Her vision is also informed by Surrealism and Existentialism, cartoons and comics, ancient arts like totems and masks, and literary and mythic characters based on the animation of the inanimate: the Golem, Frankenstein, Pinocchio, and creatures from Oz.
Keck's art, on a conceptual level, grapples with important philosophical and psychological issues that continue to perplex us: control and manipulation vs. free will and predestination; the relationship of the conscious to the subconscious mind; and the mysteries of life, self-awareness, sleep, and ultimately, death. These fears are leavened with humor, while intensified with experiential strategies derived from theater. Keck's work-especially the mechanical sculptures-involves anticipation, confrontation, surprise, spectacle, and the direct participation of viewers to make the figures "come alive." This exhibition is organized by Curator Nick Capasso.
DeCordova Collects: Gifts from Stephen and Sybil Stone
James and Audrey Foster Galleries
September 13, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Opening Reception: Friday, September 19, 2003, 6 - 8 pm
Active participants in the regional art scene for over forty years, Stephen and Sybil Stone of Buzzard's Bay have collected the works of a number of contemporary New England artists. This exhibition presents highlights of the over 150 works the Stones have generously given to DeCordova and includes paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures by many prominent New England and American artists such as David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Hyman Bloom, Bernard Chaet, Alfred Duca, Robert Eshoo, Elizabeth Johansson, Conger Metcalf, Charles Sheeler, Henry Schwartz, Barbara Swan, and Karl Zerbe. This exhibition is organized by Curatorial Fellow Francine Weiss.
Ron Kuivila: An Outgoing Message
Media Space @ DeCordova/Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Gallery
September 13, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Opening Reception: Friday, September 19, 2003, 6 - 8 pm
This sound art installation is composed of one channel of sound playing through
speakers in the gallery and another channel playing through numerous telephones on the wall. To hear the piece, the visitor must listen both to the telephone and the environment simultaneously. The sound itself is a collection of dial tones, rings, and busy signals from the world's telephone systems electronically synthesized and then mixed and overlapped in ways that reveal their microtonal relations while adding greater force to the moments of silence that occur in the patterns of pulsation. This exhibition is organized by Curator of New Media George Fifield.
Debra Weisberg: Fascia
Grand Staircase
Opens August 2003
Boston sculptor Debra Weisberg will create an installation on the 40-foot tall elevator shaft wall that will create an illusion of material transformation and architectural disintegration. Fascia is organized by Curator Nick Capasso.
Ongoing Exhibitions
The 2003 DeCordova Annual Exhibition
Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery, James and Audrey Foster Galleries, Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport Gallery
June 7 - August 31, 2003
Each summer DeCordova presents its eagerly awaited Annual Exhibition, an exciting round-up of regional talent in the visual arts. This show focuses on the quality and diversity of contemporary art created in the six New England states, and consciously avoids any unifying themes based on media, content, or subject.
For 2003, eleven artists from four states have been invited to participate. Their work ranges from painting, drawing, and photography to new media and kinetic sculpture. This year's participating artists are Hannah Barrett, hand-painted digital collage (Boston); Bruce Bemis, film installation (Gloucester, MA); John Bisbee, sculpture (Brunswick, ME); Morgan Cohen, color photography (Arlington, MA); Dave Cole, objects/conceptual art (Providence, RI); Lars-Erik Fisk, sculpture (Burlington, VT); Heather Hobler-Keene, painting (Dover, MA); Steve Hollinger, kinetic sculpture (Boston); Laura McPhee, color photography (Brookline, MA); Jennifer Maestre, sculpture (Concord, MA); Jane Masters, prints/drawings (Providence, RI). The exhibition is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Curator Nick Capasso, Curator of New Media George Fifield, and Curatorial Fellow Francine Weiss.
Joseph Wheelwright: Stone Heads and Tree Figures
Sculpture Terrace and Sculpture Terrace Gallery
June 7, 2003 - May 16, 2004
Boston-based artist Joseph Wheelwright vitalizes and humanizes natural elements through his sculpture. This exhibition features both familiar and new outdoor monumental stone heads and figurative tree sculptures, making this the most comprehensive showing of Wheelwright's larger works to date. Listening Stone, an example of one of Wheelwright's stone heads, is in the DeCordova Permanent Collection and is currently on display in the Sculpture Park. Joseph Wheelwright: Stone Heads and Tree Figures is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue/brochure and is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo.
Landscapes Seen and Imagined: Sense of Place, Part II
Dewey Family Gallery, Millipore Foundation Gallery
Through summer 2004
Part II of a group thematic exhibition on the theme of landscape selected from DeCordova Museum's Permanent Collection, this show explores a host of issues concerning the representation, perception, and meanings of space and place in Modern and contemporary American art. The themes examined in this show are linked to the educational content of The Dr. Kenneth Germeshausen ArtExperienCenter. This exhibition includes prints, works on paper, sculptural reliefs, and photographs and is organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo.
Robert Kieronski: Photonic Evolution in Deep Time II
Window Gallery
Through August 2003
Artist, engineer, and physicist Robert Kieronski has installed optical transflectors and computer-controlled motorized projectors behind the Window Gallery to create a dazzling three-dimensional light sculpture that changes as it interacts with the shifting angles of daylight. The visual effects are programmed together with an audio background designed to soothe the onlooker.
Robert Kieronski has been involved with art and technology since the late 1960s when, as a young Bell Lab Engineer, he collaborated with artists like Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage on interactive light and sound shows. This show is organized by George Fifield, Curator of New Media.
Bryan Nash Gill: Blow Down
Grand Staircase
Through August 2003
Bryan Nash Gill is an artist from New Hartford, Connecticut, who works in many media-installation, sculpture, painting, drawing, and printmaking-to address issues about art, nature, artifice, and perception. Blow Down is a monumental relief, 40 feet tall, which has been installed against the Museum's elevator shaft wall. This sculpture is made from the bark of a single fallen tree, flattened and affixed to panels and mounted on a wall visible from both inside and outside the Museum. In this way, the sculpture operates in the territory where nature becomes architecture. Blow Down is accompanied by two other reliefs-spiral sculptures made of used chain saw blades that resemble the growth rings of trees. Curator Nick Capasso organized this show.
David Berry: Segments
Sandy and Herb Pollack Family Terrace
Ongoing
David Berry is a sculptor from Groton, Massachusetts, who gracefully combines metal and glass to create evocative abstract sculptures. David Berry: Segments is comprised of three distinct yet closely related works: Attraction, Balance, and Crossed. The artist sees these works as segments-of his personal artistic vision, of a larger series of sculptures, and of a larger aesthetic continuum marked by shared materials, shapes, symmetry, and multiple meanings. Individually, each sculpture is elegant and mysterious. Together, the works suggest alchemical vessels or advanced technological apparatus, tools of a mad scientist, or probes from other worlds.
The Museum and The Café @ DeCordova will be closed for exhibition installation from Monday, September 1 through Friday, September 12.
The Sculpture Park and The Store @ DeCordova will remain open during this time.
Events and Education
Opening Reception
Third Floor Main Lobby
Friday, September 19, 2003, 6 - 8 pm
Join us in celebrating the opening of Puppets, Ghosts, and Zombies: The Sculpture of Pat Keck; DeCordova Collects: Gifts from Stephen and Sybil Stone; and Ron Kuivila: An Outgoing Message. Free and open to the public.
Meet the Artists and Curators
Third Floor Lobby
Saturdays @ 3 pm
Have you ever wondered how an artwork is made? Do you ever wonder, "What inspired the artist?" Or why the curators selected a particular artwork for the collection? Here is your chance to meet some of New England's most interesting and vital contemporary artists and the DeCordova curators as they discuss artwork in the current exhibitions. Drop by and get your questions answered. Free with Museum admission.
The 2003 DeCordova Annual Exhibition
June 14 Laura McPhee
June 21 Jane Masters
June 28 Bruce Bemis
July 12 Lars-Erik Fisk
July 19 Steve Hollinger
July 26 Heather Hobler-Keene
August 2 Morgan Cohen
August 9 Hannah Barrett & John Bisbee
August 16 Jennifer Maestre
August 23 Dave Cole
Family Sundays
Museum Galleries
Drop-In Sundays, 1 - 3 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Have fun with looking and hands-on activities as you share insights and discover what you value and enjoy about art-as a family. Designed for families seeking to introduce their children to museum going and the art of seeing. Join us on one Sunday each month as we celebrate artists' creativity through interpreting artworks in current exhibitions. This drop-in program is perfect for families with children ages 5-12.
July 13 In the Mix
What are the recipes for making artworks? Explore the many different kinds of artworks in The 2003 DeCordova Annual Exhibition and see what ingredients you think the artists put in the mix.
Sculpture Park Family Day
Sunday, August 17, 2003, 1 - 4 pm
Spend a relaxing summer Sunday afternoon in the beauty of DeCordova's Sculpture Park! Have fun as a family participating in art activities, outdoor games, and relay races! Enjoy a 1 pm magic show, and strolling magic from 2 - 3 pm by Bonaparte (www.bonapartemagic.com). Special musical performances by Ben Rudnick and Friends (www.benrudnickandfriends.com) at 1:30 and 3 pm will top off the day.
$5 per person; free for DeCordova Members. For reservations, email membership@decordova.org, or call 781/259-3629. In case of rain, the fun will continue with art activities and performances inside the Museum.
Totems and Talismans: A Family Day
Sunday, September 14, 2003, 1 - 4 pm
Enjoy art as a family! Participate in an art activity inspired by the exhibition Puppets, Ghosts, and Zombies: The Sculpture of Pat Keck. At 2 pm, experience a performance by a mysterious special guest. This event is free with Museum admission. For reservations, email membership@decordova.org or call 781/259-3629.
DeCordova Style 2003
The Store @ DeCordova
September 18 - 21, 2003
Preview Party: Thursday, September 18, 2003 at 7:30 pm
Always an exciting affair, DeCordova Style celebrates the work of some of the finest wearable artists and designers in the region. DeCordova Style features stunning pieces by artists new to the event as well as the very latest designs by returning friends. Come to a fabulous Preview Party and be among the first to shop this popular venue of wearable art. The Preview Party and sale will take place in the Museum School Gallery adjacent to The Store. All tickets for the Preview Party are $40 and can be purchased by calling 781/259-8692 or emailing store@decordova.org. The Style event continues for the three days following and is open free to the public. Members' discount will apply to all purchases and special orders.
Museum School Gallery Exhibitions
Museum School Gallery
Ongoing
The Museum School Gallery offers students and faculty a unique opportunity to exhibit their work in a beautiful and highly visible space. Throughout the year, students working in specific media are invited to exhibit their artwork created during their DeCordova studies.
Sculpture, Collage, Photography, & Mixed Media
June 28 - August 3, 2003
Opening Reception: Sunday, June 29, 2003, 2 - 4 pm
Calligraphy, Collage, Photography, & Mixed Media
August 9 - September 14
Opening Reception: Sunday, August 17, 2003, 2 - 4 pm
General Information
DeCordova Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm and on selected Monday holidays. Admission is $6 per person, $4 for senior citizens, students, and youth ages 6-12. Children age 5 and under, Lincoln residents, and Active Duty Military Personnel and their dependents are admitted free. The Sculpture Park is open year round during daylight hours and is free. The Store @ DeCordova and the School Gallery are open Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 7:30 pm, Friday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Sunday 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. The Café @ DeCordova is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 3 pm. Free guided public tours of the Museum's main galleries take place every Wednesday and Sunday at 2 pm. Free tours of the Sculpture Park are given on Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm from May to October. Visit our online press room at www.decordova.org or call 781/259-8355 for further information.
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