CultureJunkie

Barry McGee

Over the years, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston has hosted shows by different graffiti artists, most notably Shepard Fairey and Os Gemeos. Their latest exhibit in this genre is from San Francisco-based Barry McGee, who got his start in the late 80's under the tag name "Twist."

Last Friday night I attended the Opening Night reception for McGee's new show, which included a cocktail party in the ICA lobby (a beautiful space overlooking the Boston Harbor) followed by a talk with the artist and a 20 year survey of his work.

The talk was bizarre - McGee is painfully shy and was visibly uncomfortable being in the spotlight. He repeatedly asked for the lights to be turned down (taking the focus off of him) and encouraged audience members to talk so that he wouldn't have to. I found this so interesting because his work is very bold, infused with bright colors, hard lines, and a fair amount of social commentary/activism. But I guess the man prefers to stay in the shadows, letting his paint cans do the talking.

McGee admits that now that he's 46 and a father he has lost interest in tagging, but continues to bring urban installations into art spaces and galleries. From the ICA write up:

"At once humorous, political, and difficult (especially for those who see private property as an inalienable right), his art underscores the complexities of life in early twenty-first-century America, a country in the midst of wars, a financial crisis, unemployment, class stratification, and the ever-cheerful exhortation to keep consuming."

He's decidedly anti-consumerism and anti-establishment, remarking,

“If I live in an urban center — in a city — with constant advertising, I feel like I have every right to partake also. I don’t feel like it should be limited to corporations that can buy ad space. I just always assume that anything written on the wall was the authentic thing to me. The real voice.”

The market value of his work rose considerably after it was included in the 2001 Venice Biennale, a major contemporary art show in Italy. Today, much of his San Francisco street art has been stolen (although I did hear in his recent NPR interview that some work can still be found in and around Boston). And he just created a new [sanctioned] piece on the back of the House of Blues building while he was in town last week.

Unlike other cities that are known for their graffiti - areas of Buenos Aires, Old San Juan, San Francisco, and Venice Beach come to mind - Boston doesn't have much elaborate street art. Just last month, local artist Cyrille Conan was hired to paint a 14'x17' mural on the old Boston Herald building in the South End, but it was purely to drive publicity of a new mixed-use housing and commercial complex (dubbed The Ink Block) that is going up there. The Herald building - along with Conan's work - was demolished just a few weeks later (but not before I captured the shot below).

The best-kept graffiti secret in the city might be at my office. We have several walls that were painted years ago by some local teens who got caught tagging and were sentenced to community service - which included coming in to our space and putting their talent to good use. Take a look:

Here is the photo set from McGee's exhibit, which is at the ICA through September 2nd.

One Year Later

Here we are, one year later.

It was on January 27, 2012 that I went into MGH at 9am for a mammogram, and went home at 3pm the same day with a cancer diagnosis. What a blur that day was.

But I will never  forget the conversation I had with Cathy Furlani, one of my nurses in the cancer center, soon thereafter. She said, "Stephanie, I wish I had a crystal ball so I could show you what you'll look like one year from now. You'll be like a new woman, and you'll feel great."  And she was right! 

So when I went to get my hair cut last week (I've had it done 3 times already!) I was thrilled to see that Cathy was among the most recent honorees at The One Hundred, an annual fundraiser sponsored by the MGH Cancer Center that celebrates one hundred individuals and groups who have helped advance the fight against cancer.

Patricia Wrixon, owner of the Salon at 10 Newbury, was another honoree, for her work providing wigs to cancer patients. I have Patricia to thank for hooking me up with Kristen Wiig, and her colleague Kimberly Bruno for keeping my new pixie cut in shape!

The beads around my wrist were a gift from my sister and her daughters, to mark the end of the last year and give hope for the future. They came from Amazima Ministries, a nonprofit designed to educate and empower the people of Uganda through child sponsorship, meals, medical care, spiritual studies, and vocational programs like jewelry-making, carpentry and farming. The jewelry making program is a great key to success in helping women take care of their own families - and then in turn helping whole villages begin to care for their own and thrive.

Closer to home, there is another effort underway to provide hope, this one through music and laughter for cancer patients. My friends Jane and Alastair have two beautiful twin girls, one of whom was diagnosed with Leukemia last year. Alastair is a musician, and during the long months of treatment he found that the brightest moments at the hospital were spent singing and writing songs with his daughter. So now he's putting together an album full of songs  about appreciating the little things, coping with hardship, and embracing struggle.  There will be a video accompanying one  particular song - When I Get Bald - a fun, empowering track about losing hair. He's currently looking for cancer patients who might be willing to share their "bald and proud" photos for inclusion (I sent two!). To learn more, or to donate to the project so that Alastair can make the album a free resource for patients and pediatric oncology programs around the country, you can visit his webpage here.

7 Days and Counting

Just one more week until my surgery!

And I'm so ready to get it over with. I'm feeling stronger than I have all year, and although I'm quite nervous about the procedure itself (unilateral mastectomy with single-stage reconstruction), I've been too busy lately to think much about it.

In my continuing quest to cram a Summer's worth of fun into two weeks, I've gone to the beach, attended the circus, hit the SoWa Open Market, and did a Paint Nite with friends. I've also gotten my ~4 mile walks in a few times a week. I'm exhausted! Stamina isn't quite what it used to be. But it felt good to get back to "normal" activities.

Here's the Paint Nite crew:

And my masterpiece:

We were all instructed to paint a cupcake, like this (in case you were wondering why I chose to paint a weird, pop-art cupcake). But the room was dark, people were drinking, and of course there were varying levels of experience (it was my first Paint Nite), so it was fun to see what people came up with. And very therapeutic to paint while chatting with friends. I would definitely do it again.

Amidst all this fun I did have one meeting with the plastic surgeon, where I learned all the gory details of the upcoming procedure and listened patiently while he shared the "what if" scenarios (as in, "what if things don't go as planned..."). Hopefully that won't be the case and I'll have a straightforward operation, 2-night hospital stay, and then home for ~4 week recovery, before starting the 6 week radiation regimen.

We'll see what next week brings!

The Phillips Frog

This frog - another piece by sculptor David Phillips - stands sentinel over the fountain in City Square Park, Charlestown.

Codfish

A cod adorns the fountain in City Square Park, Charlestown.

David Phillips is the artist responsible for this sculptural piece, as well as all of the other hammered copper and bronze in the park, which harkens back to Charlestown's (and Nw England's) past when cod was the most important food.

 

Saddle Up

Bronze statue of George Washington by Thomas Ball (1869), Boston Public Garden

It was nearly 60 degrees in Boston today, with bright blue skies. Not bad for January 7th!

The Hess Collection & Domaine Carneros

On our last full day in Napa, we stayed relatively close to "home" and visited two wineries - one decidedly modern, and the other reminiscent of old-world France.

The Hess Collection, which not only produces wine, but also houses works of modern art from Donald Hess' private collection. Most of it was over-the-top modern, but there was one installation that I loved: "Hommage" by Leopoldo Maler, which is an old Underwood typewriter with gas flames coming out of it, representing the inflammatory political essays of his uncle (a well-known Argentinian writer). The gallery only shows about 25% of his collection, which he started in 1966 and limits to 20 living artists whose works he wished to support long-term. The balance is shown in museums around the world.

(Photo credit for "Hommage" goes to I Dream Lo-Tech, since there was a "no photos" sign on the work and I obliged)

Domaine Carneros, a giant chateau situated on a hill surrounded by vineyards that was architecturally inspired by the 18th century Chateau de la Marquetterie in Champagne, France (in fact, both properties are owned by Taittinger, the French wine family famous for producing Champagne). We sat on their sunny terrace and enjoyed an assortment of sparkling wines, cheeses, and charcuterie.

Ahhh, Napa...until we meet again!

Coit Tower

Next I climbed the dozens of steps up Filbert Street, one of the steepest navigable roads in the Western hemisphere, with a nearly 35% grade. The sidewalks are stepped and cars must park perpendicular to them because it is so steep. It's also an incredible up-hill workout!

My destination was Coit Tower, a 210-foot structure atop Telegraph Hill that was built in 1933 at the request of a local socialite who wanted to beautify the city. Her name was Lillie Hitchcock Coit, an eccentric woman who smoked cigars and wore trousers (unheard of for women back then!) and on occasion dressed like a man so she could get into the gambling parlors.

The long climb up was rewarded with amazing 360-degree views of the city, including Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Oakland Bay Bridge. Inside, the tower walls are swathed in giant murals painted by 27 different artists under the auspices of the New Deal Public Works for Art Project.

North Beach - Part 2

More pictures from North Beach...

North Beach

North Beach is sort of an edgy neighborhood sandwiched between Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf. It's home to the city's Little Italy and headquarters to the Beat Generation (Alan Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac) in the 1960s, but today also hosts the red light district. Here are some pictures to give you an idea; the bathtub is from the Beat Museum, which we visited.