Outlander Art

A Winter's Tale: Art on roads less traveled

By Maria LaCreta

del.ico.us | digg it! | reddit!

print | email | 5 Comments

Even in the dead of winter, our scene will still hum along. Forget those who complain about a limited amount of work to see. Forget about how many artists from New York get shown in our backyard. For the sake of Boston, let's quit moaning and take more responsibility into our own hands, shall we? Let's continue to educate ourselves and go investigating, yes? There is lots of great stuff out there. Sure, there is a lot of mediocre work; mediocrity runs it all.

But like it is for photographers -- or as the saying used to go when there was actually film -- for every roll you shoot, you'll get one shot you can use. So go explore. See more. Absorb. Take a train, a bus, a Zipcar, or grab a ride with that guy from HR who really wants to buy you a hot cocoa, and take advantage of the winter to check out some shows that aren't happening in the Mecca over on Harrison Avenue. Not that we don't want you to go to Harrison Ave. -- we do, get on over to Harrison Ave. Just remember to take advantage of this resourceful city full of intellectual bourgeoisie, and seek out ways to keep yourself informed.

The MIT School of Architecture + Planning, where recent plans for a building made of water -- or more specifically, a "digital water curtain" -- was awarded one of Time Magazine's best inventions of 2007. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the department in February, the exhibition Changing Cities: 75 Years of Planning Better Futures at MIT focuses on architecture and, you guessed it, civil disobedience. [2.12-4.11, Wolk Gallery, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617.253.4401. sap.mit.edu]

Speaking of civil disobedience, it's time to finally make your way out to the region of Thoreau and the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA. Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children is a photo show with both vintage and contemporary work. While you're there all bundled up in your snow boots, consider taking the snowshoe sculpture park tour -- Saturdays at 10am and 1pm, where for $15 you can frolic around the 35-acre sculpture park in EMS sports gear. They'll even supply the guide to help you strap your hungover, tired ass into a pair of snowshoes. [2.2-4.27, 51 Sandy Pond Rd., Lincoln. 781.259.8355. decordova.org]

There's also the Boston Public Library. Yes, really. Choosing to Participate: Facing History and Ourselves has in focus four true multimedia stories that consider and demonstrate "the complexities that any moment could present" and encourages us "to think about the consequences of our choices," and what it means to live and participate in a democracy. Great for anyone who wants to avoid such things as say, the holocaust. [1.10-5.20, 700 Boylston St., Boston. 617.536.5400. bpl.org]

Somerville's Brickbottom Art Gallery is an ever-enjoyable complex with resident and nonresident artists creating community. Toys & Games shows artists exploring the subject of toys and games -- along with the concept of "play." Later in January, Pauline Lim curates FIRE, a show which will explore "both the destructive aspects and the life-giving aspects of fire, from the tiny flickering candle flame to the consuming inferno." [Toys & Games thru 1.22. FIRE 1.10-2.9. 1 Fitchburg St., Somerville. 617.776.3410. brickbottom.org]

Atlantic Works Gallery opened a show last week curated by Leonie Bradbury, Gallery Director/Curator at Montserrat College of Art. The show, Trans, has work exploring "the many states that may be inferred by one small prefix." Also coming up: Old Country, New Country, an exhibition commenting on Eastern Europe 15 years after the Iron Curtain rusted away. Also coming up in March: Increment, two- and three-dimensional works investigating the incremental progress of art-making and daily life. With artists Todd Fairchild and Liz Nofziger. [80 Border St., East Boston. 617.872.2432. atlanticworks.org]

Also:

Opening February 1, Greed, Guilt and Grappling: Six Artists Respond to Climate Change. Curated by exhibiting artist, Mags Harries. Featured artists: Jay Critchley, Michael Sheridan, Lajos Heder, and John Tiguri. [2.1-3.30, Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston. 617.426.5000. bcaonline.org]

Get a peek at the next generation of photographers when Boston University shows a student exhibition featuring work from area colleges and universities. Reception: February 7, 5:30-7:30. [2.8-3.16, Photographic Resource Center, 832 Comm. Ave., Boston. 617.975.0600. bu.edu/prc]

Some Sort of Uncertainty is in the air when Adriana Rios, at Axiom Gallery in a collaborative effort with the remains of Art Interactive, curates a show that "explores the complex relationships between the object and viewer." Artists include Liz Nofziger, Bruce Campbell, and The Institute for Infinitely Small Things. [1.11-2.17, Axiom Art Gallery, 141 Green St., Jamaica Plain. 617.953.6413. axiomart.org]

If you're looking to slow it down, Gallery Anthony Curtis transforms their rear gallery space into a "meditative shrine" with Buddha paintings by Virginia Peck, antique "Buddha sculpture" and oriental rugs to "stimulate in visitors a deep sense of inner peace as one would feel when stepping into a Buddhist temple in Asia" -- because you never know where you might find the bodhisattvas. [1.8-2.2, Gallery Anthony Curtis, 186 South St., Boston. 617.988.8119. galleryanthonycurtis.com]