By Shem Tane Sharon, Mass. - I recently traveled to Sharon, Mass. to visit Steampunk House, the home of ModVic, a Steampunk art and design company owned by Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum. At first I thought I had the wrong house and had stumbled onto a historic landmark. I was welcomed in and felt like I had traveled not only back in time but also to a different dimension. Bruce gave me the grand tour and I was fascinated by the re-purposed furniture that took on new life in the house — each room had a story attached with it and each piece of antique furniture had a role to play — before we sat down to discuss Steampunk and its role in today’s art world. Bruce Rosenbaum explained how he came across Steampunk and the effect it had on his life: “It began with the kitchen when the stove had to be replaced. I found an old 1890s wood fire cooking stove and … [Read more...] about Bruce Rosenbaum – The Expansion of Steampunk
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Boston Ballet
The Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Boston Opera House By James Foritano Is an old chestnut a weakness? The Nutcracker is an old chestnut a virtue. Having just come from a screening of the legendary Merce Cunningham’s spare, modern choreography at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston’s landmark“Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957” exhibition, I was distinctly aware of this weakness. True, the costumes are stunning, the moves of the highly trained dancers breathtaking, but come on isn’t this all, at best, superfluous; at worst, heresy in the canon of contemporary dance, a canon which embraces Spartan scenery and dance movements which at least appear spontaneous movements one could possibly witness in a sports stadium or even on a particularly lively street corner? Still, seated in the Boston Opera House’s elegant environs, I remembered not only Merce … [Read more...] about Boston Ballet
Evocations
Familiar Traditions for New Faces By Shem Tane In the traditional ways of Rembrandt and other Dutch masters, Kelly Carmody's style is soaked with rich oils and her exhibit “Evocations” that opened at the Sloane Merrill Gallery on Nov. 13 leaned on those styles. While the gallery holds the appearance of reading nook, there was a certain air from Carmody's pieces that offered a larger feel to the room. The depth of her paintings offered a new take on historic styles. The still lifes gave a rich warm tone to her collection. In the classical theme, there were paintings of flowers and food, but there were few that had corpses of dead birds caught my eye. “Flicker” is one of her strongest pieces I saw, because of its sheer range of colors and the flow of the subject. The detail displayed on the feathers hold the contrast between the bird and the looming background. There … [Read more...] about Evocations
Cornered
Ralph Mercer at Galatea Fine Art by Brian Goslow Needham, Mass.-based photographer Ralph Mercer earned his BFA in photography and education from the Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA in visual arts from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. His current show, “Body and Soul: Discovering My Muse,” on view at Galatea Fine Art through Nov. 29, features work from his “Myths” series and “implies a spiritual connection through merging of a human figure with a natural organic subject.” This Saturday (Nov. 21) at 2 p.m., Mercer will be giving a special kind of gallery talk in which he’ll be staging a live photography shoot and demonstration with a live figure model, then take the final work and combine it with an existing file from his photo archive to compose a final image. A few days prior to the event, Artscope’s managing editor Brian Goslow “cornered” Mercer to … [Read more...] about Cornered
Brattleboro Street Artist
Borofsky in Brattleboro by Brian Goslow During the monthly First Friday Brattleboro Gallery Walk, which takes place from 5:30-8:30 p.m., there will be a reception at the Latchis Theatre Art Gallery, 50 Main St., for a multi-media installation featuring paintings, photographs and films. Works on paper used for creating downtown outdoor artworks will also be shown and offered for sale in a silent auction, with all proceeds going to benefit public art projects in downtown Brattleboro. The Barber Building Lobby, 68 Main St., will also be open during the Gallery Walk for public viewing of murals and restoration done there by Borofsky. The original painting, “The Story of Fresh Water,” which inspired one of the two murals, is included as part of the Latchis Gallery installation. On Saturday (Nov. 7) , there will be a reception at 1 p.m. in the parking area of the Cultural … [Read more...] about Brattleboro Street Artist
Cornered
CORNERED: JOE FIG: INSIDE THE ARTIST’S STUDIO AT CARROLL & SONS Last month, Princeton Architectural Press released “Inside the Artist’s Studio,” the second book by Joe Fig, in which 24 “painters, video and mixed-media artists, sculptors and photographers” share their production tools and techniques and the habit and strategies for getting work done — including background music, work hours and relationships with family, friends, gallerists and curators. This week, an exhibition of the same name featuring new paintings, sculptures and drawings by Fig goes on view at Carroll and Sons, 450 Harrison Ave., Boston; the opening reception takes place on Friday night (Nov. 6) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The exhibition runs through December 18. For more information, call (617) 482-2477. Artscope magazine editor Brian Goslow “Cornered” Fig to discuss both the new exhibition and … [Read more...] about Cornered