DIA Beacon

The conceptual/ minimalist artist, critic, philosopher and theorist, Donald Judd (1928-1994) had radical ideas founding a contemporary art museum on a 340 acre former military base in Marfa, Texas. Today Marfa's Chinati and Donald Judd Foundations are major destinations for cultural tourism. As with Dia Beacon, in New York, and Mass MoCA in North Adams there has been a dramatic impact on the local economy and lifetstyle. Whether this is good or bad is a matter of who you talk to. In Marfa we got an earfull.

As part of the Tenth Anniversary celebrations the artist, Richard Criddle, who has been in charge of installations and fabrication for Mass MoCA gave a power point presentation of some of his most interesting and challenging collaborations with artists. The slide lecture was followed by a guided tour of the museum's efficient workshops. But Criddle's dog Winston had the day off.

There was a full weekend schedule of events celebrating the opening of a new building on the campus of Mass MoCA which, for the next 25 years, will house "Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective."

This is the third, self published book by artist/ entrepreneur, Eric Rudd. The superb images in this picture book were photographed by Kelly Lee who worked for ABC News and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer in D.C. before he settled in the Berkshires.

In July it will be 20 years since Tom Krens left the Williams College Museum of Art to become director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. His resignation was announced today. He has changed forever the mandate for major museums and how they are managed.

While not a "best" and "worst" list in the usual sense we offer an overview of events and what proved to be moving and insightful while covering the arts in 2007.

Over the busy Memorial Day weekend the arts were officially launched with overlapping openings all over the Berkshires. We opted to covering the events in North Adams.

Mass MoCA announces plans for a 25-year-long installation of wall drawings by the recently deceased, minimalist artist, Sol Lewitt. This project will comprise $8.6 million in a $37 million capital campaign.