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Harborarts to Exhibit at East Boston Shipyard

Longterm Temporary Exhibit of Public Art

By: - Feb 02, 2010

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Unlike other vibrant American cities, examples of public art are few and far between in Boston. Yes, there is an occasional piece of public art here and there, and the Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund has done a veritable Trojan's job with few resources in assisting with the commissioning and installing of medium size pieces in the city in the last couple of decades. The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) has a very sophisticated, long range planning, commissioning and installation public art program regionally. But, they too are limited by budget constraints. There are a few site-unspecific pieces around the Museum of Fine Arts, a few sprinkled around the Esplanade along the Charles River, an uneven assortment at various colleges and universities and a very few at major corporations and large hospitals. 

Admirably, UMass Boston has a public art collection called Art on the Point that has been put together over the years by Art Historian/curator Professor Paul Hayes Tucker. There is even a Mark Di Suvro piece front and center as you drive to the campus buildings. The City of Cambridge has a history of supporting public art and a designated percentage based upon new construction costs. The Cambridge Arts Council conscientiously administers this most ambitious of the local public art programs. The City of Lowell has examples of public art as well. 

Other than the occasional bronze soldier, sailor, politician or author, few other Eastern Massachusetts cities and towns have commissioned or displayed contemporary public art pieces. Perhaps, fear of controversy, Philistine attitudes or New England conservative tastes have all formed this? Certainly a combination of these has led to the problem.

The Institute of Contemporary Art  has no public art as a visual counterpoint to its unique museum building as of yet. MIT has developed a collection over the years with some real focus including big name or star artists on its rather hard campus. Harvard's approach has been donor driven and is much sparer. There is a Sculpture Park at the DeCordova Museum in suburban Lincoln, MA. However, the quality of the pieces are quite uneven and often at best mediocre rather than visually enriching. The artworks are generally donated by the artists due to a lack of fiscal support by the museum. Unfortunately, public art is not a high priority in the Boston area. There seems to be much more public art activity in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts than in Eastern Massachusetts.

So in this somewhat forlorn context, it is wonderful when an ambitious public art program is developed in Boston. The new and extensively developed project is by Harborarts, Inc. with assistance from the Urban Arts Institute of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Costal Marine Management. The longterm temporary (one to two years) exhibit is being held at Boston Harbor Shipyard in East Boston, the Boston neighborhood best known for its shipbuilding history and Logan International Airport.

An international call for entries was advertised in September 2009 with a closing date of November 9, 2009 for artists who work in large scale who wanted to loan temporarily works appropriate to the old shipyard site. the competition was open to artist, designers and teams as well as to students.

HarborArts sought to implement an outdoor artwork loan program for a limited number of large-scale, 2D and 3D works at Boston Harbor Shipyard in East Boston, Massachusetts. Works would be exhibited on a rotating schedule lasting a minimum of 3 months to several years, depending on availability and feasibility. Artists, designers and teams were invited to forward a selection of up to four existing works and/or installation proposals for appropriate new work. HarborArts also offered participants the opportunity to pair with an environmental organization to raise awareness and educate the public about issues and solutions affecting oceans, waterways and harbors. A range of 12-20 works were to be installed. The Urban Arts Institute is facilitating the project. 

The juror for the exhibition was Randi Hopkins, Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts. The exhibition planning team made up of Harborarts and UrbanArts staff members would grant final approval of all works and determine siting in collaboration with exhibiting artists. Each selected artist are to receive a $500 stipend or honorarium to go toward the cost of transportation and installation. Interestingly, artists are invited to offer work for sale. Sales will be subject to 20% commission. What a wonderful public gallery!

The Call to Artists resulting in a worldwide response from nearly 60 artists. Submissions were received from nationally recognized artists as well as students and included existing works as well as site- specific proposals. The quality of the submissions was so high that over 30 artists or teams were chosen to exhibit. The range of artists is from students to established mature artists.

Participating artists and teams include 
B. Amore, John Atkin, Ralph Berger, David Chatowsky, Robert Craig, Konstantin Dimopoulos, Marisa DiPaola, Gary Duehr, Margaret Evangeline, Mark Favermann, James Fuhrman, Donald Gerola, Gunnar H. Gundersen, Lisa Hein & Robert Seng, Lucy Hg & The League of Imaginary Scientists, Barbara Holub & Paul Rajakovics, Paul Howe, Matt Evald Johnson, Annetta Kapon, Stacy Levy, Carolyn Lewenberg, Mark Millstein, Caitlin Nesbit, Lori Nozick, Trace O'Connor, Dennis Oppenheim, Bayne Peterson & Murray Dewart, Kimberly Radochia, Derek Riley, Karl Saliter, Paul Lloyd Sargent, Maayke Schurer, Phillip Simmons & Katja Bjorn & Harmut Stockter.

The project was kicked off in January with the installation of a giant Cod sculpture created by a team of Harborarts staff and volunteers. The Cod will act as an iconic element for Harborarts and the Boston Shipyard exhibition. The schedule for the first three months is:

January 2010: The HarborArts Boston Harbor Shipyard Sculpture Exhibit first installation - The Codfish

February 2010: Two installations are scheduled during February Paul Howe "Untitled" Steel & concrete ocean plant form Carolyn Lewenberg "Boston Harbor Traffic Light"

March 2010: Six installations are scheduled including:

1. Ralph Berger "A Toy for Sisyphus"

2. Robert Craig "Fiddler"

3. Marisa DiPaola " The Twin Octopi"

4. Mark Favermann "Benches"

5. Matt Evald Johnson "Twist"

6. Kimberly Radochia "Rip Rap"

Harborarts, Inc. is a non-profit organization who sees its mission as to bring attention to the oceans, waterways and harbors as vital to our future. Harborarts wishes to use public art displays to bring attention to issues and solutions for our environment. It promotes environmental responsibility by individuals, organizations, communities and corporations and encourages new and better ways of living and working that respect our water resources.

The Urban Arts Institute was founded in 1980 to promote excellence in public art and design. Their mission is accomplished through services provided to facilitate and administer public art and design projects, public policy advocacy and educational programs. It acts as a professional resource for city and state agencies, artists, architects, landscape architects and urban planners as well as for public institutions and private sector clients. UrbanArts is committed to integrated design, sustainable approaches and fully accessible spaces.

Photographs, videos and background materials of the artists and their works as well as the installations in progress in the Shipyard will be featured on www.harborarts.net  website beginning in late February.

Perhaps Harborarts is just on to something that can grow into real interest and support for public art in Boston?