Contemporary Intrigue: An Evening at the BCA
November 30, 2007
This past weekend, I traveled to the South End to visit the Boston Center for the Arts. Only a ten-minute walk from Copley Square, the BCA is an artist village nestled within a residential neighborhood of brownstones, providing a welcome relief from the nearby skyscrapers and bustling traffic. Indeed, Tremont Street is full of numerous BCA-sponsored events and attractions that can turn any urban evening into an intimate exploration of art and culture.
While visiting, one might consider exploring the BCA’s performing arts scene. The Boston Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker will make its debut on November 29, and the show runs well into the Christmas season. The BCA also offers a range of independent plays and musicals performed by local theater troupes. Currently, the SpeakEasy Stage Company is performing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a whodunit musical based on a dysfunctional Victorian family.
But perhaps the easiest and least expensive way of enjoying the BCA’s thriving arts scene is by visiting any number of its permanent galleries of contemporary and traditional art. I attended the Boston International Fine Art Show at the Cyclorama, and a contemporary art exhibition at the Mills Gallery. While these events could not have been more different, they both contributed to an air of urban trendiness and progressive style that sets the Boston Center for the Arts apart from most other local attractions.
The Boston International Fine Art Show at the Cyclorama
The Cyclorama is a multipurpose venue whose expansive circularity and high ceilings are ideal for accommodating a large crowd eager to appreciate the works of the Boston International Fine Art Show. The room was sectioned into booths, each showcasing the paintings of a particular American or European art gallery. By the time I arrived, the evening’s festivities were already in full swing as middle-aged socialites in black cocktail dresses and stiletto heals perused the selections with champagne in hand.
The styles of the paintings ranged from contemporary realism to impressionism, and the subjects from New England landscapes to European kings. Some of the works seemed to reflect the classic tastes of the upscale crowd that dominated the event. Blazer-clad gentlemen congregated near booths that showcased marine art from Maine and oil canvas depictions of sunsets in Connecticut woods.
However, many of the paintings embodied the progressive style and message the BCA’s galleries are known for. Karen Hollingsworth’s “Afternoon Light,” from the Wynne-Falconer Gallery in Chatham, MA, offered an interesting look at seclusion and confinement. It depicted two chairs whose varnish remained unpenetrated by the sun’s rays because they were wrapped in white sheets resembling straitjackets.
Such thought-provoking images made it clear that the Boston International Fine Art Show was far more than a social gathering of elites, but rather, a sincere expression of artistic inquiry.
Contemporary Art at the Mills Gallery
The contemporary concepts highlighted in many of the Cyclorama’s paintings came full circle at the Mills Gallery. The Mills’ artists also introduced innovative ways to express these ideas, as the works moved away from the traditional medium of paint and canvas towards fascinating uses of paper, fabric, and even Scotch tape.
Rosana Castrillo-Diaz’s untitled display of transparent tape consisted of hundreds of pieces of looped tape stuck together to form a series of organic shapes resembling bath bubbles and sea turtles. Also featured was a mural-sized depiction of numerous farm and cityscapes drawn with a thin black marker and draped with multicolored yarn that seemed to mark the interconnectedness of the world.
The menagerie of attendants further accentuated the unique personality of the event. Fifty-something patrons draped in Stevie Nicks-like dresses mingled with college students in Converse sneakers and neon hair, and many migrated to a room in the back of the gallery.
There, both generations enjoyed several short films. My personal favorite featured a series of pencil-sketched portraits of diverse characters. After each figure appeared on the screen, something embarrassing about them was revealed. A portrait of a young woman followed with this text: “She has the most delicate neck and the finest moustache.” Truly, at the Mills Gallery, contemporary art was elevated to a new level of intelligent creativity and fun.
After dinner at a one of the many cafés on Tremont Street, I forced myself back into the frigid New England air and walked towards the T. But as I looked back at the BCA’s brightened street lamps and tranquil brownstones, I knew that I would soon return to experience another night of intriguing art. O
The Boston Center for the Arts is accessible by the Green Line to Copley station. The Mills Gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m., and opens until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Image on top left: Karen Hollingsworth’s “Afternoon Light” at the Boston International Fine Art Show. Courtesy of Wynne-Falconer Gallery.