For the love of fungi, western Massachusetts artist Madge Evers grows her own...ink. Yes, she makes prints by using the spores that fall out of the gills of the mushrooms that she grows. My art work begins, as so many things do, in the garden. I make images using the millions of tiny spores that fall from the gills of mushrooms that I grow in piles of wood chips. The … [Read more...]
From the Archives
Artist Travel and Mobility
Observations and resources from the 2016 TransCultural Exchange Conference in Boston. The TransCultural Exchange Conference (TCE) took place February 25-27, 2016, the fifth such event since 2007. TCE focuses on international opportunities for artists in all disciplines. At the 2016 conference, I moderated a panel discussion called "Funding Artists Mobility." We talked … [Read more...]
Three Stages: Steven Barkhimer
In Three Stages, we ask Massachusetts artists to shed light on their art-making process by focusing on three stages in one work of art. Steven Barkhimer's play Windowmen is about to open at Boston Playwrights' Theatre, running October 31-November 24, 2013. Here, he traces the play's history, weaving through dramatic moments from his real life. Inception What writer … [Read more...]
Studio Views: Elizabeth Alexander
Elizabeth Alexander (Sculpture/Installation Fellow '11) creates installations, dazzling in complexity and beauty, that draw from lineages in fine art, craft, design, and conceptual art. Here, she offers views into her studio as she prepares work for the group show Pedigree at the New Art Center in Newton, MA (9/16-10/14). My studio is located in the newly renovated … [Read more...]
Art in Response to Art
It can be a slow burn or a lightning strike: the spark of an idea for a new work of art. Sometimes it starts with an image, or a memory, or a misheard fragment of speech. Or it may start when one artist experiences another artist's work, a journey of imagination as an art audience that leads to an exploration as creator. We're interested in art made in response to other … [Read more...]
Copyright, Appropriation, and Creatives
In May 2011, artists Tim Devin and David Taber organized a conference in Cambridge called Play-Jurisms, exploring the complex thicket of copyright, appropriation, and ethics in the work of contemporary artists. We asked the two collaborators to share their observations from that weekend, which approached the idea of creative property from all angles. How does copyright … [Read more...]
