Henrik Ibsen Humans are not particularly good at assessing large patterns. We can make smaller calls, like noticing that our train is late or determining that an apple is particularly delicious. But assessing transportation infrastructure efficiency or the overall quality of food production? It is like the difference between weather and climate: there is that […]
Sublime Persistence
Trevor Paglen, Blue #3 (Chelsea), detail. C-print, 2016 Stories about architect Louis Kahn‘s legendary tenacity and unwavering devotion to an idea fill the biography of his life by Wendy Lesser, You Say to Brick. Iconic and larger than life, complex while also doggedly singleminded, Kahn is an ongoing symbol of art that comes from relentless […]
Kathleen Petyarre: In the Dreaming
Kathleen Petyarre (Photo: Mimi Art Gallery) I was introduced to aboriginal art about 25 years ago after a friend spent several months in and around Alice Spring in Australia. When she returned to the U.S., she shared a breathless enthusiasm for a whole slew of artists she had discovered while she was Down Under. Of […]
Maps, Territories and Mind Drift
Territory I could get lost in, with a map or without (Southern Utah, near Boulder) The texture of every day consciousness has changed dramatically over the last two years for most people with whom I share my life. We are like patients whose vitals don’t make any sense—some of the indicators are healthy and hopeful, […]
Yet to Come
Trees, in Italy Voice as a creative concept feels worn out and tired to me. As my partner Dave often says about so many things that garner too much attention at the expense of other more valuable concerns, we are overinvested in that idea. But that does leave me without easy words to describe what […]
Unity, at Art Times Two
Dan Zeller, in The Unity of Everything When Karen Fitzgerald first told me about her idea for a show, The Unity of Everything, I was already on board. Karen and I are like-minded in many ways, particularly in our shared interest in visual lexicons that engage the viewer at multiple sensory points, not just the […]
The Unity of Everything
THE UNITY OF EVERYTHING Art Times Two 731 Alexander Road Suite 200 Princeton, New Jersey September 9 2018 – March 31 2019 Opening Reception: September 11 6-8pm Featuring: Deborah Barlow, Nandini Chirimar, Lorrie Fredette, Elizabeth Mead, Liz Quisgard, Andra Samelson, Daniel Zeller Curated by Karen Fitzgerald It is a rare opportunity to be part of […]
Storytelling in Dark Times
Richard III, now on the Boston Common (All photos: Commonwealth Shakespeare Company) Storytelling fascinates me. It is considered primal to the human condition. My guess is that you, like me, are soothed—and intrigued—when you hear the words, “Let me tell you a story.” Because I am not a particularly good storyteller—my preferred form of personal […]
Progress!
Studio floor, South Boston The packing up of my studio of 22 years is nearly done, and I am almost ready for the move to Waltham in September. As disorienting as it has been to lose a space I loved and could ride to on my bike (a few pictures of it before it was […]
Begin Again
Thank you to so many friends who have been steadily at my side through this protracted and difficult passage, one that I am still struggling through. (A bit more about my condition can be found here.) I had a second neurosurgical procedure in June and was told that my eyes will need another six months […]