My View of Life on the Dock
Different musicians every Thursday, 6-9PM sponsored by Pratty’s, Go Spring Water, Seacoast, Rhumb Line, Noble Electric and Maplewood Car Wash
These photos are scenes from the Quentin Callewaert & Safety concert August 3, 2017.
Maritime Gloucester’s aquarium sign mural looks good!
GLOUCESTER, MASS.- This intimate and museum worthy exhibition, The Manships, is a rare chance to see and purchase original work by the talented family of artists: Paul Manship, Margaret Cassidy (daughter in law), and John Paul Manship (son). The show closes August 6th, 2017. Flatrocks Gallery is located at 77 Langsford Street, in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
(b. 1885 St Paul, MN – d. 1966 NY, NY)
Paul Manship was an American sculptor of international status. His most famous work of art was the public art fountain he was commissioned to create for Rockefeller Center in New York City. The 18 feet high, gilt bronze statue of the treasured Greek myth, Prometheus Bringing Fire From Heaven, soars above the skating rink. It was installed in 1934 during the Great Depression and includes an inscription above the statue: “Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends.” (The artist’s model for Prometheus was a lifeguard from New Rochelle, NY, hired regularly for life classes at women’s colleges. I have not been able to track down a picture of him at work, but have tried.) Prometheus refers to the Titan granted the power of creating mankind out of mud and water.
What was missing? Fire, of course, which Prometheus stole from the Gods, a selfless act for humanity that nearly had him punished for eternity (in a memorably sad, gruesome and Groundhog Day bit of the myth) if not for Hercules.
In Manship’s ingenious composition, heaven and earth are filled with Prometheus, clutching fire coals, and the artist’s signature forms and themes in every detail. Note the forms of the water spray in this photo from 1934 and the effect of the water over the base.
Why am I going into such detail about the Prometheus statue?
This exhibit at Flatrocks includes a complete set of Manship’s famous tondo Zodiac medallion ashtrays, ca.1946 ($18,000). Manship was a cigar smoker. Ashtrays weren’t a big creative leap from medallic art. He created his first one in 1915. They were utilitarian, and sculptural objects. He did this with architectural details in his home, a Manship (rather than Midas) touch. He worked out a deal with Medallic Art Company to replicate them. People bough their favorite zodiac sign for themselves or as gifts. Even if you don’t know Manship’s motifs like the zodiac ring around Prometheus, it’s fun to linger and observe the entire set.
Compare the Paul Manship Aquarius from the Zodiac set with a zoomed in detail from Prometheus
A first edition of Manship’s creative and original representation of Venus Anadyomene “Venus Rising from the Sea” is also available for sale! It’s modeled in bronze and set on a marble base, measuring 7.5″ (not including base) and dates from 1924 ($42,000).
Artists and patrons through the ages couldn’t resist this Aphrodite lure. Manship’s sculpture isn’t as famous as Botticelli’s, but it should be–and not just because his kneeling modern beauty has the best wrought hair wringing out there. It’s just a fabulous sculpture.
The main commission for the new Addison Gallery building at Phillips Academy which opened in 1931 was this Manship sculpture. Unforgettable and rendered in gorgeous alabaster, the Addison Gallery’s Venus Anadyomene from 1927 is one of the world’s most optimally sited sculptures. The whole museum flows from this Venus. Now you can purchase the sculpture that inspired Addison’s architect, Charles Platt, to make such a brilliant selection. Platt also designed the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC, which is equally sublime.
Another life cast that’s for sale is this vividly detailed and lovely Perseus and Andromeda, 1965 ($39,000). There’s a rescue and great tension so effective with the mixed materials, florid and fascinating. There’s poor Andromeda sacrificed by her mother Cassiopeia to appease Poseidon and beg off a sea monster. You can pick out the anger and emotion in that sea. The bag with Medusa’s severed head was captivating, bounced just so, side quests are still to come after all. Don’t miss the sword and winged sandals Hermes gave Perseus.
I’m fascinated by Manship’s treatment of time. Speaking of which, make sure to leave enough of it to study those glorious Manship reaching hands and gestures.
Another knock one’s socks off lifetime bronze that’s for sale is David, ca.1916-1921 ($72,000), mesmerizing composition and signature elegant articulation.
Manship came to Gloucester in 1915–before his first solo exhibition– and rented until the 1940s when they were able to purchase fourteen contiguous acres in Lanesville, ensuring the acquisition of two, gorgeous abandoned quarries. His daughter Pauline and her husband Ilmari Natti also bought a home in Lanesville in the 1940s. After Manship died, his son John Manship and daughter in law Margaret Cassidy continued to reside and work in the family estate. The Flatrocks Gallery location, vibe, and roster make it an ideal gallery for this exhibit and fundraiser. Proceeds will help the nationally significant Manship estate and property.
Make sure to look back at John Manship’s work from the next room as well as up close. There are strong works from different series and decades primarily of the landscape and people about him, and so many greens! They range in price from $750-$10,000.
(Cassidy died in 2012)
I was so intrigued by the 3 Cassidy works. The painting and bronze of Beryl Grimball are sold as a pair ($5000) and the portrait from life of Pope Pius XII is $7000. She also sculpted Pope John Paul II and Presidents Carter and Reagan. I hope to see more.
Here’s a detail of a Paul Manship at the Museum of Fine Arts that needs some attention.
Cape Ann Museum owns several works by Paul Manship. A few more Flatrocks Gallery installation views:
Apparently they have already cast the part of Jo Hopper (1883-1968), depicted sketching here in Gloucester on Good Harbor Beach, in a watercolor portrait by her husband, Edward Hopper (1882-1967), in the collection of the Whitney Museum.
From CP CASTING
CASTING MALE LEAD
Hopper’s Ghosts by Kevin Rice
Role: Edward Hopper, painter, age range, 40 – 55, tall, over 6’2″. Cultured, well-read, sophisticated, stoic, great sense of humor. Looking for experienced actor for two-character play about the famous realist painter Edward Hopper and his wife Jo.
Rehearsals begin August 21, 2017
and play runs September 6-17, 2017.
This is a Payomet Performing Arts Center production with performances at the Provincetown Theater. Looking for union and non-union actors. Housing provided. Please send resume and headshot to: Kevin Rice: ricenow@yahoo.com
What a lovely surprise gift from my friend, Pauline, and an even more surprising matrix I had to share! Pauline painted a tender piping plover mom with 2 chicks and an iconic Cape Ann vista directly on a vintage bag with bamboo – rattan handles. I’m gobsmacked. Twin chicks. Twin Lights. Love it!
Pauline’s Gift Shop, 512 Essex Avenue, Gloucester, MA. Check out Pauline’s work and her creative solutions for a range of commissions!
Laura Harrington’s New Novel, A Catalog of Birds, will be released on July 11 by Europa Editions. Two back to back special book launches in Gloucester:
“Harrington’s ‘Alice Bliss’ was a big hit, and you won’t want to miss out on this one either!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Harrington is an award-winning playwright, lyricist, librettist and author. She teaches at MIT and lives in Gloucester, MA. And she sings! Alice Bliss, her first novel, grew out of Harrington’s one-woman musical Alice Unwrapped, which ran off-Broadway in New York and in the Minneapolis Fringe Festival in 2009. Her novel Alice Bliss (Viking/Penguin) won the 2012 Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction. Playwrights Horizons has commissioned her to create Alice Bliss the musical which is in production 2017.
Read the great press release issued by MIT
June 17, 2017 stage review — preparation continues.
(and how it looked June 8, 2017)
St. Peter’s Fiesta 2017 poster with traditions and…Ravioli eating contest! Cape Ann Big Band! The volunteers are so amazing and on top of things; see next year’s dates printed along the bottom margin of the poster.
The grand opening for Rusty+Ingrid Creative Company’s new digs in Rockport continues through Sunday. Don’t miss the chance to stop by and see their work in their new studio and gallery. Their prints are vibrant, original, and completely handmade (including the frames). Also, they’re offering popcorn in different flavors. Who knew chocolate-drizzled popcorn was delicious? Not me.
The good news is that if you miss the grand opening, you can just stop by during regular gallery hours, or check them out in Boston at SoWa on Sundays, or find them online (especially their very cool Instagram).
Having Rusty and Ingrid relocate to Rockport is a great asset to the burgeoning makers and artists’ scene in town, and Rockport is truly lucky to have them right on Main Street. The space is live/work, so the entire family is making Rockport their home — another way they’re investing in the community. More and more downtown Rockport merchants are also Cape Ann residents, which has obvious implications for the level of investment our local merchants make the community. This shift is making a huge difference in town, and good things are happening all over. That is, if summer ever shows up and the MBTA doesn’t shut down the train.
Growing up in Schenectady, NY, John Sayles didn’t have an art theater in his hometown, but we do. Sayles himself will be here to present 2 movies 2 nights in a row at Cape Ann Community Cinema 22 Main Street, Gloucester MA!
MBTA Mitigation Public Forum June 5 at 6:30pm in Gloucester City Hall-Kyrouz 2nd floor
One of the most celebrated and beloved American artists of the twentieth century, Edward Hopper, frequently traveled by public rail from New York to Gloucester. Usually it’s fairly simple to experience Gloucester as Hopper and other notables did–by train and on foot. Hopper walked to lodgings just a short jaunt from the train station in downtown Gloucester and to the many sites he sketched and painted. The result was more than 110 works of art, including views of the Annisquam River Bridge to Cape Ann, the boarding house in downtown where he stayed, the railroad gates, and numerous other subjects still visible.
Today, the MBTA route that Hopper took not only serves weekday commuters, but brings visitors to this historic port. Trains connect New England history, the arts, and natural beauty. Summer or winter, trains make it easy to reach a beach, historical site, or favorite restaurant, to get out of the bustle and enjoy lingering in our coastal towns. They offer a real allure, crossing some of the most incredibly scenic vistas of our special New England landscape, and seasonally charming riders.
There’s no question that planned closures in the busiest of seasons will have negative impact for commuters and visitors. Desperate infrastructure needs will regrettably impede long lasting economic developments tied to Massachusetts’ cultural assets, out door recreation opportunities, and other attractions. The necessary closures do offer an opportunity to think about how to increase MBTA ridership including promoting New England’s historical, artistic and natural riches–MBTA as “Massachusetts’ green go-Between for the Train and Arts scene.”
photo captions: There are more than 110 Edward Hopper works of art inspired by Gloucester, MA. Four reference trains: that’s how he rolled. Above Untitled Edward Hopper drawing in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art (catalogue “Landscape with Bridge.”) It is Gloucester, MA. I hope the new bridge design can add a little yellow bridge house reference. Below: Allegra Boverman, Gloucester Daily Times, 2012.
Sign up for city notices like this News Flash from Chris Sicuranza, Office of the Mayor Romeo Theken, posted on May 30, 2017:
Rockport’s going to be a happening place on Saturday, with the Rockport Elementary School Motif No.1 Day 5k & Fun Run kicking off at 9am, immediately followed by the Motif No. 1 Day Festival!
Tons of live music, great food, interactive art-making, a Seaside Circus, and a Rockport Art Colony pop-up art exhibit are all taking place right downtown from 11 to 7pm. Just outside the downtown area the YMCA’s Ben Beyea Youth & Teen Center celebrates its 10th anniversary with a party from 10:30 to 1pm with activities and food so good stuff is taking place throughout Rockport! Eastern Point Lit House is hosting an Open Mic for writers, and there will be plenty of opportunity to make art, whether as part of the Sidewalk Chalk art event or contributing to the community mural.
The Schedule of Events:
The 2017 Commemorative Poster from Rockport artist David Arsenault:
Motif No.1 Day is organized by the community nonprofit Rockport Exchange. For more on the festival itself or how you can get involved, go to www.rockportexchange.org. See you in Rockport on Saturday!
Inhabitations is a beautiful exhibition and solid first show from this young artist, Andrew Manning at The Hive, 11 Pleasant Street Gloucester MA . The show was extended and is closing tomorrow. Several works have been sold. Manning teaches at Art Haven where you can reach him with any inquiries.
After major renovations to 120 Main Street, HUDSON GALLERY joins a great strip of businesses downtown. The ambitious inaugural exhibition features MJ Caseldon (sound sculpture) and Donna Caseldon (painting). Scroll down to see images of their art work and here’s a link to the Press release for the two person show.
Continue reading “What’s behind the papered windows: 120 Main Street reveal on May 13th”
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JUNE 9
Links for: 2017 Poet Laureate application (digital format) or 2017 Poet Laureate application (PDF format submit 5 copies).
The City of Gloucester’s Committee for the Arts announces the release of the 2017 Call for Applications for the four year position of Gloucester Poet Laureate.
The position of Gloucester Poet Laureate is dedicated to building community through poetry and encouraging a love of poetry among people of all ages. The position was most recently held by the late Peter Todd, appointed in 2014. During Peter’s time as Poet Laureate, he generously shared his talents with his beloved City of Gloucester.
Under City Ordinance, the process to select the Poet Laureate is administered by the Committee for the Arts and will involve a Selection Panel including representatives from the local literary community thanks to Eastern Point Lit House and The Gloucester Writers Center. A recommendation from the Selection Panel will be forwarded to the Committee for the Arts for review and then forwarded on to the Mayor for nomination, subject to confirmation by the City Council.
The Call for Applications is available for download at the Committee for the Arts page on the City website: http://gloucester-ma.gov/index.aspx?nid=102. Copies also are available at the Sawyer Free Library, the City of Gloucester Mayor’s Office, Eastern Point Lit House, the Gloucester Writer’s Center, and other locales. Applications must be submitted by 12 pm on Friday, June 9th , 2017. Contact Judith Hoglander, Committee for the Arts with any questions.
In 2014, the Massachusetts labor force was 3,570,000 (vs 3,626,800 in February 2017 ); and the North Shore accounted for 6.3%. Yesterday, the US Dept of Commerce Bureau of Economics announced the state by state breakdown of arts and culture employment –for the first time ever– based on the 2014 national data. MA arts and culture jobs were reported to be 128,350, and 3.6% total MA labor. Various reports overlap categories. Sometimes “Health and education” are packed together or “arts, entertainment, recreation and leisure”. In MA top industries such as Financial services (20%), Technology, Medicine and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Fishing, and Tourism (125,000–note how similar in size this is to the arts and culture jobs) are discussed.
Massachusetts Work Force and Labor Area Review (2015). pp44-45
US Dept of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis reports the following MA stats: “The states with the highest concentration of arts and cultural jobs, with their location quotients: New York (1.47), Wyoming (1.30), Washington (1.28), California and Utah (both 1.17), Rhode Island and Colorado (1.13), Alaska (1.11), Massachusetts and Oregon (both 1.09)…The Location Quotient (LQ) is a measure of an industry’s concentration in a state or region relative to the industry’s national concentration. • As for compensation, in 2014 Massachusetts and NEFA had an LQ of 1.02 and 0.94 respectively. • In 2014, Massachusetts had a location quotient of 1.09 for ACPSA employment. In Massachusetts, therefore, ACPSA employment was 9 percent above the national average. By comparison, the LQ for arts-and-cultural employment in all states belonging to the U.S. regional arts organization NEFA (of which MA is a member) was 1.03 or 3 percent above the national average.
Well deserved. See wonderful story by Ray Lamont in today’s Gloucester Daily Times: GHS Engineering program wins national award, Photo by Mike Springer shows Kurt with students Austin Monnell and Conor Williamson.
NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
TEACHER EXCELLENCE AWARD
It’s close to Kurt’s 20th anniversary at Gloucester High School. Here’s a throwback photo I took in February 2012 at East Gloucester Elementary. Kurt brought the high school students in to the elementary school to lead science and robotic stations for all the kids. He told me then about his approach:
“For too long; students who could memorize facts were considered highly intelligent. In my classes students must learn to apply the knowledge and prove that they learned the topics. This is a different kind of intelligence (kinesthetic – hands on intelligence) that for so long has gone unappreciated and unrecognized. Mixing the two types of intelligences (multi level) in a class just makes common sense and great products (student work).”-Kurt Lichtenwald
Emrah Arslan the owner of Paprika Grill wants to help area artists by featuring solo exhibits. He and his customers will have the chance to see what’s happening in the community, sip some tea and appreciate art in this casual new hopping Mediterranean spot. Arslan’s art is…the food.
Paprika Grill will select the art. Exhibits will change every few months. Three months is a nice long time to have your work on display. To be considered for a sign up sheet rotation, interested artists should email Arslan with 3 or 4 examples. He’ll let you know if you’re in the queue. “I keep hearing Gloucester has a lot of artists.”
photo caption: Interior views of Paprika Grill and approximate 14′ length of available wall space. (The mirror and items can be rearranged.)
Paprika Grill, 185 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA
We were told that yesterday’s Cape Ann Symphony’s 65th Anniversary Season concert “Romantic Masters” was the orchestra’s most sold out March concert, ever. Great job, Heidi Dallin, on promotion!
My son spotted Heidi’s name in the playbill and Yellow Sub, along with many other local names and arts supporters. It takes a village.
By the way– kids tickets are $5 at these concerts. Area schools benefit from Cape Ann Symphony performance outreach.
Cape Ann Symphony’s next concert is: SCANDINAVIAN SPECTACULAR Saturday, March 20, 2017 8PM
Before setting off into the next piece, Musical Director & Conductor Yoichi Udagawa breaks down a mini music lesson excerpt with the orchestra. He has a signature foot lift when he conducts.
Here’s a snippet of glorious music. Can you name that tune?
Featuring
Juni Van Dyke | Paige Farrell
Mathilde Iervolino | Bobbi Iervolino Kovner
Jane Crotty | Anne Marie Crotty
Esther Moss Proctor | Eliza Proctor
Constance Rhinelander | Mary Rhinelander McCarl
Helen Burgess | Valerie Sadler
see more photos from Juni
Continue reading “Scenes from Mothers and Daughters art opening at Jane Deering Gallery”
Photo by Federica Valabrega. Temporary public art bronze sculptures: Kristen Visbal Fearless Girl installed for International Women’s Day March 8, 2017 faces off Arturo Di Modica’s Charging Bull installed December 15, 1989. Fearless Girl was commissioned by State Street Global Advisory Stuart Weissman and part of McCann’s creative campaign
Robert D. McFadden coverage in the New York Times about the Wall Street Bull by Arturo Di Modica the day after it was stealthily installed (and removed then reinstalled, evermore)
The Fisherman’s Memorial screen print by Rusty + Ingrid Creative Company on the cover and featured in North Shore Magazine’s April 2017 issue– which also includes articles on Cape Ann’s iconic sculptors, plus Manchester by the Sea and filming on Cape Ann
October 2013 Willow Rest, 1 Holly Street, Gloucester, MA, window filled with Rusty and Ingrid Kinnunen screenprints –the first time I saw their work. I love how so many stores and restaurants feature creative arts. This one is a great case study and success story for creative exposure.
Look for Wikipedia-edit-a-thons (especially this week surrounding International Womens Day) encouraging everyone to add content and push women to be contributors. No previous Wikipedia experience is necessary –training help at the events or editing Instructional videos at your convenience
Good Morning Gloucester 