2008 Boston Art Awards
Stimulating a Dialogue
By: Greg Cook - Feb 05, 2009
We live in a wired world, where much has become decentralized, and many hurdles to participation have been lowered. The Boston Art Awards, an open-to-all project organized by a local blog, marks a great moment for the place of our alternative wired press – and the web in general – in our art community.
Still the art world remains focused on the closed Circuit of Away biennials and art fairs and New York. But with the money that is the lifeblood of this Circuit evaporating, perhaps now is the time for the art world to have a webby decentralized moment too. It's the moment for folks like us in the provinces – the yokels.
I invite you to join my proudly provincial movement, which I call Yokelism.
The Boston Art Awards are focused on exhibits organized here – and especially on art made here in New England. They are a sort of argument about what we value here. They look back to where we've been but also point to where we'd like to go. They identify the sort of ideas, the sort of spirit, the sort of crazy amazing stuff we'd like to see more of around here.
The Boston Art Awards are also meant to be the beginning of a discussion. A discussion I hope all of you will join me in here on The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research and in various forums over the coming months. A discussion about why art made here matters. And how can we better support the cool stuff that we do. And incubate more amazing stuff. And so produce more terrific stuff to make our art scene more exciting. And in turn make our New England community more thrilling and more nourishing for everyone who lives here.
Boston Art Awards: 'In memory'
As we all know, 2008 was a tough year for the New England art scene. And 2009 isn't looking sunnier. So during the awards I paused to acknowledge some of the local treasures that we lost this past year.
A number of curators have moved on, including Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Bill Arning, Cheryl Brutvan, Vesela Sretenovic, Carole Anne Meehan, and Daniel O'Leary.
Ten Boston-area galleries closed: ArtSPace, Judy Ann Goldman, Gallery XIV, Julie Chae, Rhys Gallery, MPG Contemporary, Pepper, Space Other, Bernard Toale and Allston Skirt. And, hey, when is Beth Urdang going to reopen?
Out of the blue, the University of Rhode Island shuttered its Fine Art Center Galleries over the summer and laid off its intrepid director Judith Tolnick Champa.
Pioneering holographer Harriet Casdin-Silver of Brookline died in March. Photographer Jules Aarons of Newton died in November. Painter Andrew Wyeth of Maine and Pennsylvania died in January.
I'm hoping that somehow the trustees of Brandeis University will find a way to reverse themselves and save their Rose Art Museum from being on this list next year. Right? Let's all help them change their minds.
Also, as a member of the increasingly endangered press, at a moment when arts coverage is particularly threatened, let's hope our art local art press is not on this list next year. Thank you for your support.
Boston Art Awards: Thank-yous
Thanks to all the wonderful people who helped me put the Boston Art Awards together:
• The folks at Big Red and Shiny, including Matt Nash, Christian Holland and James Nadeau, who organized the party. I organized the awards, but they did the hard behind the scenes work to make last night's celebration happen. And Matt designed the awesome poster.
• The folks at the Beehive for their hospitality.
• Francine Koslow Miller, who ran the New England AICA awards – that's a critics' organization – for six years, concluding last February. As I was taking on this crazy, amazing project, she offered helpful suggestions. The Boston Art Awards builds upon the foundation she laid.
• Jane Cunningham, who attended from Gloucester as The Journal's very official photographer. Also James Manning for photographing for Big Red & Shiny.
• The critics who voted: Edgar Allen Beem, Evan Garza, Shawn Hill, Christian Holland, Francine Koslow Miller, Shirley B. Moskow, Matt Nash, Doug Norris, and me.
And
• All the people across New England who made nominations and who voted. More than 60 people made some 180 nominations. And some 600 people voted.
The 2008 Boston Art Awards winners
The winners of the 2008 Boston Art Awards, which were organized by The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research, were announced at the Beehive in Boston tonight. More than 60 people made some 180 nominations, and some 600 people voted. Participating critics included: Edgar Allen Beem, Greg Cook, Evan Garza, Shawn Hill, Christian Holland, Francine Koslow Miller, Shirley Moskow, Matt Nash, and Doug Norris.
Installation:
Critics' pick:
• Andrew Witkin of Boston in ICA's Foster Prize exhibit, November 2008 to March 2009.
People's choice:
• Jacob Berendes, HBML Junk Shoppe, Worcester, forever.
Photography:
Critics' pick:
• Judy Haberl of Newtonville, MA, Gallery Kayafas, March to April.
People's choice:
• Jess T. Dugan of Cambridge, Gallery Kayafas, September to October.
Painting:
Critics' pick:
• Raul Gonzalez of Somerville, "Chingasos," New England Gallery of Latin American Art in East Boston, May.
People's choice:
• Neal Walsh of Providence, 5 Traverse, April.
Drawing and printmaking:
Critics' pick:
• Mary O'Malley of Somerville in "Overflow," Laconia, October to November.
People's choice:
• Brian Chippendale of Providence, "Human Mold," Stairwell, May to June.
New media:
Critics' pick:
• Suara Welitoff of Cambridge, "Anonymous," Allston Skirt, February to March.
People's choice (tie):
• Dirk Adams of Roslindale, "Mouth of a Story" at the empty bear cages at Franklin Park, Boston.
• Catherine D'Ignazio of Waltham in the ICA's Foster Prize exhibit, November 2008 to March 2009.
Sculpture:
Critics' pick:
• Dave Cole of Providence, "All American," Rotenberg Gallery, September to October.
People's choice:
• Xander Marro of Providence in "NetWorks 2008" at AS220, Newport Art Museum, 5 Traverse, October 2008 to January 2009.
Public exposure:
Critics' pick:
• Platform2 of Boston [Catherine D'Ignazio (aka Kanarinka) of Waltham, Savic Rasovic (aka Sasha and Pirun) of Cambridge, Andi Sutton of JP and Jane Marsching of Roslindale], "Parade for the Future," Boston Common, September.
People's choice:
• "Providence Art Windows," exhibits in Providence storefronts, throughout the year.
Book:
Critics' pick:
• Caleb Neelon of Cambridge, "Book of Awesome," Ginko Press.
People's choice:
• Jo Dery of Providence, "Quietly Sure - Like the Keeper of a Great Secret," Little Otsu.
Career survey of an artist with local ties:
Critics' pick:
• Corita Kent, late of Boston, 'We Can Create Life Without War," Breslin Fine Art, organized by Joanne Breslin, April to May.
People's choice:
• "Harry Callahan: Eleanor" at RISD Museum, late Providence photographer, organized by Atlanta's High Museum of Art, November 2008 to February 2009.
Current events (art most reflecting our times):
Critics' pick:
• Catherine D'Ignazio of Waltham in the ICA's Foster Prize exhibit, November 2008 to March 2009.
People's choice:
• Dave Cole of Providence, "All American," Rotenberg Gallery, September to October.
Awesomest spectacle:
Critics' pick:
• Ben Sloat of Jamaica Plain, street performance of "Thriller" as part of his exhibit "I'm Not Like the Other Guys" at OHT Gallery, September.
People's choice:
• Iron Guild of Boston and Maine for its 6th Annual Halloween Pour at the Steel Yard, Oct. 31.
Best reflection of our local community:
Critics' pick:
No critics' pick.
People's choice:
• Jess T. Dugan of Cambridge at Gallery Kayafas, September to October.
The decline and fall of civilization:
Critics' pick:
• Tom Deininger of Newport, RI, in "Trash" at 5 Traverse, September to October.
People's choice:
• Brian Chippendale of Providence, "Human Mold," Stairwell, May to June.
Solo artist from Away – non-gallery:
Critics' pick AND People's choice:
• Tara Donovan of Brooklyn, ICA, curated by the ICA's Nicholas Baume and Jen Mergel, October 2008 to January 2009.
Locally-curated historical show:
Critics' pick:
• "To the Ends of the Earth," Peabody Essex Museum, curated by PEM's Samuel Scott, November 2008 to March 2009.
People's choice:
• "Social Photography Across a Century: The Works of American Master Lewis Hine and Contemporary Artist Scott Lapham [of Providence]," Slater Mill Gallery, curated by Slater Mill's Andrian Paquette, Pawtucket, April to June.
Prettiest:
Critics' pick:
• "In Pursuit of Beauty," Montserrat College of Art, curated by Leonie Bradbury, November 2008 to January 2009.
People's choice:
• "Drawn to Detail," DeCordova Museum, organized by DeCordova's Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, Kate Dempsey and Nina Bozicnik, August 2008 to January 2009.
Big idea show:
Critics' pick:
• "This is Boston, Not LA," LaMontagne Gallery, curated by Emily Isenberg and Russell LaMontagne, November to December.
People's choice:
• "Hecho a Mano: New Visions of Latin Contemporary Art," Center for Latino Art, curated by Evan Garza, September to October.
Local curator of locally-made art:
Critics' pick:
• Maggie Holtzberg, "Keepers of Tradition," National Heritage Museum, May 2008 to June 2009.
People's choice:
• Neal Walsh and Mike Taylor, "New Obstructions," AS220's Mercantile Block, September to October.
Standout performance by a local artist in a group show:
Critics' pick:
• Andrew Witkin of Boston in ICA's Foster Prize exhibit, November 2008 to March 2009.
People's choice:
• Leif Goldberg of Providence in "Sound Beings," Stairwell Gallery, March to April.
Solo show by local artist (or collaborative):
Critics' pick:
• John Bisbee of Brunswick, Maine, "Bright Common Spikes," Portland Museum of Art, curated by Susan Danly, January to March.
People's choice:
• Mike Taylor of Providence (now Florida) "Glitter Disco Synthesizer Nite School," Stairwell, December.
Andrew Witkin wins ICA's Foster Prize