beauty changes everything
Every year, thousands of people flock to the first public beach in America, Revere Beach (est. 1896) for the International Sand-Sculpting Festival. These are wonderfully complicated works that sculptors create in a short time, and they don't last very long. Shortly after the festival is over, the sand sculptures disappear. “SHELLter" by Jonathan (Jobi) Bouchard … Continue reading Fleeting Beauty
In 1961, the Sursock Museum opened, according to the will of Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock. He wanted to leave his estate as a museum to help define the public taste in Lebanon. Maru Pabón reviews a recent exhibition titled Ten Stories from the Sursock Museum Collection 1923 – 2016. It is set up as ten stories (or … Continue reading Lebanon’s Sursock Museum
The Urbano Project in Jamaica Plain (Boston) has a wonderful show by artist Constanza Aguirre, on view from November 9, 2018 through January 11, 2019. Her art explores the relationship that people have with work. What happens when displaced people are thereby prevented from working? Do they become less human? In my art review (see … Continue reading Review of Wandering in the Land of Oblivion
Here is my review of Temple of Mnemon, a sculpture by Anne Lilly that was installed on the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston from the summer to October of 2018. This review was published in Big Red & Shiny, Boston's contemporary art journal online. The opening paragraph of the review: Part of what makes us … Continue reading Review of Temple of Mnemon
Here is my review of Anna Schuleit Haber's exhibit Scientific Purposes (In which a murderous hairdresser donates his head to science, with one restriction) in Boston (March 2 - April 15, 2018). This is part one of a series for Big, Red & Shiny. For these essays, I review a show through the lens of a particular … Continue reading Review of Scientific Purposes
Robert Wellington has written a brief defense of the value of beauty in art. He explains: "Let me be clear. I am not saying that works of art ought to be beautiful. What I want to defend is our felt experience of beauty as way of knowing and navigating the world around us." He takes us … Continue reading Beauty and Art
Here is my review of Greg Lookerse's exhibit Evocations at AREA Gallery in Boston (January 26 - March 9, 2018). This is part one of a series for Big, Red & Shiny. For these essays, I will review a show through the lens of a particular philosopher's theory of art. I look at this show through … Continue reading Review of Evocations
The Leonardo Electronic Almanac has released its newest book, Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics. This volume situates a critical discourse on the molecular data–cloud and aesthetics within contemporary experiences of art and society. It reflects varied perceptions and current thinking by artists, curators, scientists, and theorists in comprehending the appropriation and colonization of the cloud. The cloud … Continue reading Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics – New Volume
Beauty is not as different among cultures as it often appears. Proportion (or harmony), for example, has been an important characteristic of beauty since ancient Greece, despite all the changes and iterations it has undergone. As one culture is influenced by another culture’s view of beauty, they don’t have to abandon their original view. They … Continue reading Elegance in Japanese Art: Reflections on Cultural Changes
Art is supposed to be experienced. Recently in Massachusetts, there has been a big push for why the arts matter. People blasted social media with photos holding signs explaining why the arts matter, which was truly awesome. I love art, and I highly commend them for their efforts. However, it is always surprising to me … Continue reading Why Do We Thrive on Self-Expression?