Cultural History of Late Tokugawa Japan Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-10-18 | Cultural History of Late Tokugawa Japan
Why Frank Bowling Now? Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2023-01-06 | In celebration of the exhibition “Frank Bowling’s Americas,” art historian Darby English moderates a conversation on the abstract painter’s journey of artistic self-determination in New York, and his significance today. English is joined in discussion by artist Firelei Báez, for whom Bowling’s work provides a touchstone.Firelei Báez, award-winning multimedia artistModerated by Darby English, Carl Darling Buck Professor of Art History at the University of ChicagoDeborah and Martin Hale Visiting Artist LectureThursday, December 1, 2022
Where Art and Life Sciences Meet Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2023-01-04 | How can Dutch art from the 17th century propel conversations and inspire creative thinking today, especially when it comes to managing the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis? At this event, copresented by the Center for Netherlandish Art and Netherlands Innovation Network, join a conversation between professors from different disciplines to explore art, health, and disease in society and times of pandemic—then and now—and take a closer look at the pivotal roles the Netherlands and Greater Boston have played in health innovation through the centuries.Marisa Bass, professor of the History of Art, Yale UniversityDavid S. Jones, A. Bernard Ackerman Professor of the Culture of Medicine, Harvard UniversityModerated by Cristela Guerra, arts and culture reporter, WBURThursday, September 22, 2022
Turner, Forerunner Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-11-04 | The painter J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) embraced the great issues of his day more than any of his contemporaries. He was not only an artist of his time, but in many ways ahead of his time. His radical approach to painterly handling—both in oils and watercolor—anticipates by several decades the loose brushwork of the French Impressionists and by a century the expressive strokes of the Abstract Expressionists. Frederick Ilchman explores what makes Turner modern and the artist’s influence on later generations.Frederick Ilchman, Mrs. Russell W. Baker Curator of Paintings and chair, Art of Europe.Sunday, May 22, 2022Robert J. Boardingham Memorial LecturePresented with the support of Scott and Isabelle Black.
Center for Netherlandish Art: Dutch and Flemish Masterpieces in Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-09-29 | After a transformative gift in 2017, a new research center and an astonishing collection have made Boston a hub of Dutch and Flemish art. Discover the Center for Netherlandish Art, dedicated to the study and appreciation of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish Art, and the recently renovated galleries at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.Get inspired by the greatest masters—including Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Gerrit Dou, Frans Hals and Anthony van Dyck—in addition to works on paper and decorative arts such as silver and Delft ceramics. The new galleries examine a variety of themes: women artists and patrons; the growth of the art market; and the unexpected connections between still life paintings, the sugar trade and slavery.Hear from Christopher Atkins, Van Otterloo-Weatherbie Director, Center for Netherlandish Art; Ronald Carroll, Director of Teen Programs at the MFA; MFA Teen Arts Council Members; Molly Douglas, Energy Innovation Consultant; and doctoral candidate Rachel Kase, who makes use of the extensive Library and study facilities of the Center for Netherlandish Art.mfa.org/collections/center-for-netherlandish-artThis video was commissioned by the Press & Cultural Department of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in New York, 2022.
Portraits of Leadership Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-09-23 | Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of President Barack Obama and Amy Sherald’s portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama inspired the MFA to invite others to think about leaders in their own lives. Hear from Mayor Michelle Wu, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, and more community leaders in Boston.mfa.org/exhibition/portraits-of-leadership
Globalization and Netherlandish Art Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-06-20 | Dutch and Flemish works of art often illuminate complex histories of globalization. Examine how the impact of colonialism, and the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans on 17th-century Dutch society manifests in art from this period. Also learn about the newly-opened Center for Netherlandish Art and the expanded and reinterpreted galleries featuring this collection. SpeakersChristopher Atkins, Van Otterloo-Weatherbie Director, Center for Netherlandish ArtAntien Knaap, assistant curator, Art of EuropeModeratorsDalia Habib Linssen, head of Academic EngagementEmily Scheinberg, head of Educator Resources and Professional DevelopmentThe Founders of the Center for Netherlandish Art are Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo and Susan and Matthew Weatherbie.Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Figures in Red: Red-figure technique in ancient vase painting Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-06-10 | In this five-minute animated video, journey back to the 6th-century BCE workshop of the Athenian master Andokides and witness an ancient artist’s moment of creative ingenuity. For generations Athenian vase painters had employed black-figure technique, in which the figure is painted in a mixture of clay and water called slip and details are incised with a sharp tool.At some point—we don't know precisely when or why—a vase painter had the idea to reverse the scheme, leaving the figures the color of the clay and painting details with a brush. We now call this red-figure technique. Learn how ancient vase painters created vases in both styles and marvel at the technical virtuosity of the multi-step firing process that contributed to their distinctive, high-contrast look.
Athena Reveals Her True Colors Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-06-06 | Did you know many of the white marble sculptures you see in the Greek and Roman galleries were originally painted? For more than one hundred years, the MFA has been a leader in studying this ancient practice, today known as polychromy. In this three-minute video, learn about the latest technology the Museum is using to make new discoveries about the appearance of ancient sculptures, and see the MFA’s statue of Athena Parthenos in dazzling color! Produced by Black Math.
Curating Guston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-06-06 | Join the “Philip Guston Now” curatorial team as they discuss their collaborative process, the significance of the exhibition’s postponement for reimagining museum practices, and the meaning of Guston’s work today.Megan Bernard, director of MembershipEthan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the AmericasKate Nesin, guest curator, “Philip Guston Now”Terence Washington, guest curator, “Philip Guston Now”Friday, May 6, 2022
Vincent Valdez: In Conversation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-06-06 | Artist Vincent Valdez is recognized for his monumental portrayal of the contemporary figure. His drawn and painted subjects reveal narratives of struggles within the margins of American history. He aims to help us remember, stating, “My aim is to incite public remembrance and to impede distorted realities that I witness, like the social amnesia that surrounds me.”In conversation with “Philip Guston Now” guest curator Terence Washington, Valdez describes Guston’s influence and speaks as Guston’s peer among artists working to bear witness to the complexities of American life.Vincent Valdez, artistTerence Washington, guest curator, “Philip Guston Now”Saturday, May 7, 2022
Musa Mayer: In Conversation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-05-26 | To celebrate the opening of “Philip Guston Now,” Musa Mayer, Guston’s daughter and president of The Guston Foundation, joins Ann and Graham Gund Director Matthew Teitelbaum to discuss the artist’s life, how the foundation is working to make his legacy accessible to the public, and how they’re honoring his desire for a more equitable world.Musa Mayer, president, The Guston Foundation, and daughter of Philip GustonMatthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director, MFA BostonSaturday, May 7, 2022
Hidden Cost of Luxury Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-05-09 | Osias Beert’s "Still Life with Various Vessels on a Table" (about 1610) exudes decadence, but what lies behind ornate display of pewter, oysters, blue-and-white porcelain, and sugary sweets? In this five-minute video, hear from Antien Knaap, assistant curator of Paintings, Art of Europe; and Mary Hicks, assistant professor of History at the University of Chicago, as they explore the impact of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade on 17th-century Dutch society—and how it manifested in art from the period.The Center for Netherlandish Art propels the engagement with the MFA’s world-class collection of Netherlandish Art. This video is part of the presentation in the MFA’s Dutch & Flemish galleries.
Why Make a Self Portrait Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-05-09 | In this four-minute video, hear from artist and MFA graphic designer Eben Haines as he compares 17th-century Dutch and Flemish self-portraits to his own work. Haines draws a direct line from the self-portraiture of Rembrandt, De Heem, and others to his present-day practice. But whereas artists of the past depicted power in their self-portraits, Haines attempts to portray vulnerability.The Center for Netherlandish Art propels the engagement with the MFA’s world-class collection of Netherlandish Art. This video is part of the presentation in the MFA’s Dutch & Flemish galleries.
Wealth in Miniature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-05-09 | In this five-minute video, join Courtney Harris, assistant curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture, Art of Europe, for a tour of a doll’s house modeled after a 17th-century Dutch home. Traditionally created and cared for by women, a Dutch doll’s house featured a combination of objects made domestically, like silver miniatures, and imported goods like porcelain, reflecting Dutch society at the time on a small scale.The Center for Netherlandish Art propels the engagement with the MFA’s world-class collection of Netherlandish Art. This video is part of the presentation in the MFA’s Dutch & Flemish galleries.
Portraying an African King Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-05-09 | In this six-minute video, hear from Antien Knaap, assistant curator of Paintings, Art of Europe; and Nasser Rabbat, professor and director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, as they discuss Peter Paul Rubens’s "Mulay Ahmad" (about 1609). Based on a print made a century earlier, the figure in "Mulay Ahmad" appeared again in a later Rubens painting as the artist attempted to create an authentic portrayal of an African king.The Center for Netherlandish Art propels the engagement with the MFA’s world-class collection of Netherlandish Art. This video is part of the presentation in the MFA’s Dutch & Flemish galleries.
Celebrating Harriet Powers and Quilt Stories Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-03-10 | Celebrate the life and work of Harriet Powers to mark the unique opportunity in which her Bible quilt and Pictorial quilt are on display together for the first time in the exhibition “Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories.” Hear from artists, historians, and curators as they discuss and reflect on the art and achievements of Harriet Powers.Speakers:Bisa Butler, artistKyra Hicks, author, quilter, and quilt historianDr. Carolyn Mazloomi, NEA Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellow, United States Artists FellowDr. Tiya Miles, professor of History, Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard UniversityJennifer Swope, David and Roberta Logie Associate Curator, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.December 7, 2021Artworks discussed in depth include: Harriet Powers, Pictorial Quilt, 1895–98. Cotton plain weave, pieced, appliqued, embroidered, and quilted. Bequest of Maxim Karolik. collections.mfa.org/objects/116166; Harriet Powers, Bible Quilt, 1885-1886. Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_556462Michael C. Thorpe, Untitled (Quilt: Black Man), 2020. Printed cotton plain weave and batting; machine quilted. Anonymous gift in honor of Makeeba McCreary and Jennifer Swope. © Michael C. Thorpe collections.mfa.org/objects/692606Carolyn Mazloomi, Strange Fruit II, 2020. Cotton, silkscreened; machine quilted. The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection and Gallery Instructor 50th Anniversary Fund to support The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. © Carolyn L. Mazloomi collections.mfa.org/objects/693068Bisa Butler, To God, and Truth, 2019. Printed cotton; pieced, appliqued, and quilted. John H. and Ernestine A. Payne Fund, The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection, and Arthur Mason Knapp Fund. © Bisa Butler and Claire Oliver Gallery. collections.mfa.org/objects/685493Carla Hemlock, Quilt: Survivors, 2011-2013. Cotton plain weave and glass beads; pieced, appliquéd, beaded, and quilted. The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection. Reproduced with permission. collections.mfa.org/objects/683843
Sky and Sea: Understanding Climate Resilience and Innovation through Dutch Art Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-01-11 | Art from the past—showing the ingenuity of people from across time and place—can propel conversations and inspire creative thinking, including about our changing environment. Pairing an air historian and expert in hydraulic engineering, we look together at the role of water in our world and the centrality of the Netherlands and Boston in helping us think through the importance of sky and sea to our world in the past, present, and our future.This virtual event, hosted by the MFA's Center for Netherlandish Art, was held on March 24, 2021.
Contemporaries Curators Circle: Nell Painter and Black Power in Print Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-01-10 | Scholar and artist Nell Painter engages in dialogue with MFA curators about “Black Power in Print,” a digital archive project on mfa.org: mfa.org/beyond-the-gallery/black-power-in-print
Black Power in Print: Dana Chandler in Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-01-10 | In this online, public conversation, artist and activist Dana Chandler—who rallied the MFA to support work by Black artists in 1970—speaks with former Boston-area Black Panther Party captain Doug Miranda, and Northeastern University professor Margaret A. Burnham about his Black liberation activist history and the power of visual art within movements for social change.This virtual event was presented in conjunction with the MFA's digital archive project "Black Power in Print": mfa.org/beyond-the-gallery/black-power-in-print
Picture Book Power: Current Perspectives on Contemporary Children’s Literature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-01-10 | Connect with the power of contemporary children’s literature in this panel discussion featuring Boston-area leaders from the children’s book publishing industry. In conjunction with the exhibition “Paper Stories, Layered Dreams: The Art of Ekua Holmes” this conversation between an artist, a publisher, and an educator looks at the evolving literary and artistic landscape of children’s picture books, highlighting the importance and potential of inclusive narratives for all readers.This panel discussion was held on November 10, 2021.
Museum Careers Panel: Conservation and Collections Management Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2022-01-10 | Join us for a panel discussion that engages MFA staff members from the Conservation and Collections Management division to explore this area of museum work. Uncover surprising aspects of object display, hear from former Conservation interns, and learn about the MFA's new state-of-the-art Conservation Center.This panel discussion was held on October 22, 2021.
Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-12-01 | We’re thrilled to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, virtually this year with our longtime partner Jewish Arts Collaborative!Tune in on December 1 to hear from Simona Di Nepi, the MFA’s Charles and Lynn Shusterman Curator of Judaica, who will share our Judaica collection in a whole new way—connecting eight Hanukkah lamps with eight women (artists, musicians, dancers and more) representing Jewish communities from across the world.
Paper Stories, Layered Dreams: The Art of Ekua Holmes Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-09-24 | In this video, artist and community activist Ekua Holmes shares memories and experiences that influenced her distinctive vision and commitment to Black imagery: growing up in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, going to the MFA as a child, and visiting family in Arkansas. See Holmes’ vibrant artwork revealing stories of self-determination, love, and community through January 23, 2022, in “Paper Stories, Layered Dreams: The Art of Ekua Holmes.”
Youthful Ambition: Anthony van Dyck’s ‘Self-Portrait as Icarus’ Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-08-23 | Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck was not yet 20 years old when he painted Self-Portrait as Icarus with Daedalus in about 1618. The artist announced his abilities and ambitions in the painting, depicting himself as a classical symbol of youthful transgression.In this virtual program organized by the Center for Netherlandish Art, join leading experts on Flemish art to take a closer look at the recently rediscovered work, which is a promised gift to the MFA from the Van Otterloo Collection. Explore Van Dyck’s motivations behind the painting and the pictorial traditions from which it emerged. Also learn about other paintings by Van Dyck at the MFA—including Portrait of a Senator, a promised gift from the Weatherbie Collection—and preview the Museum’s plans for displaying works by Van Dyck and other Flemish masters in the new galleries of Dutch and Flemish art, opening fall 2021.Yves Wantens, General Delegate of Flanders to the USAChristopher Atkins, Van Otterloo-Weatherbie Director, Center for Netherlandish ArtKatlijne Van der Stighelen, professor of Early Modern Art History, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), BelgiumLarry Silver, James and Nan Wagner Farquhar Professor Emeritus, University of PennsylvaniaRoundtable conversation moderated by Antien Knaap, assistant curator, Art of Europe, MFASupported by the Delegation of Flanders to the USA.This virtual event was held on June 8, 2021.
Before Boston: Black and Native Histories of Place Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-08-10 | The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was built on Native land, obscuring what had previously existed on this site. Black and Native narratives have long been erased or buried, as forces of urbanization and gentrification make visible only the top layer of a deep history of Boston and New England. In this conversation, Elizabeth Solomon (Massachusett at Ponkapoag) and Dr. Jean O’Brien (White Earth Ojibwe Nation) explored the ways that this place and the people who have called it home—iespecially those with ancestral connections to the area—have shaped each other.Speakers:Elizabeth Solomon (Massachusett at Ponkapoag)Dr. Jean O’Brien (White Earth Ojibwe Nation)Moderators: Martina Tanga, Curatorial Research Associate, Art of the Americas DepartmentMarina Tyquiengco, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Contemporary Art Land Acknowledgement: Tess Lukey, Curatorial Research Associate, Art of the Americas DepartmentMay 18, 2021
Community Crossroads: Black and Native Experiences in Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-08-10 | Native American and Black people are often invisible in museums and public monuments, though they are integral to this nation’s history and future. Speakers Mary McNeil (Mashpee Wampanoag), Professor Morgan “Mwalim” Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag) and Dr. Tiffany Lethabo King discussed how Black and Native communities have overlapped and intersected historically through events and monuments and in contemporary experiences of individuals and communities.Speakers: Mary McNeil (Mashpee Wampanoag)Professor Morgan “Mwalim” Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag) Dr. Tiffany Lethabo King Moderators:Martina Tanga, Curatorial Research Associate, Art of the Americas DepartmentMarina Tyquiengco, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Contemporary ArtJune 1, 2021
Planting Together: Conversation with Ekua Holmes and Elizabeth James-Perry Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-08-10 | "Garden for Boston" artists and activists Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag, born 1973) and Ekua Holmes (African American, born 1955) speak about their respective installations, "Raven Reshapes Boston: A Native Corn Garden at the MFA" (2021) and "Radiant Community" (2021).Speakers:Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag, born 1973) Ekua Holmes (African American, born 1955) Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas DepartmentReto Thüring, Beal Family Chair, Department of Contemporary ArtModerators:Martina Tanga, Curatorial Research Associate, Art of the Americas DepartmentMarina Tyquiengco, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Contemporary Art Tess Lukey, Curatorial Research Associate, Art of the Americas DepartmentJune 22, 2021
The Silver-Tongued Taste of Progress,” by Maria Hupfield, May 16, 2018 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-08-04 | In connection with the exhibition “Collecting Stories: Native American Art,” Anishinaabek of Wasauksing First Nation, Ontario Canada transdisciplinary artist Maria Hupfield presents a new performance that reimagines narratives about artists and collectors. This work responds to the “Progress Vase,” a monumental work of silver, created for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition and covered in intricately cast figures and engraved images representing stereotypical American origin stories. In this performance, Hupfield uses her signature “sound tools”—hand-made objects that are worn, carried, and activated through performance. Through sound, objects, and her body, Hupfield aims to expand interpretations of the pursuit of progress and silver as a material. Presented as the Kathryn C. Buhler Lecture series
“(Curtains) Vidas Perfectas” by Sarah Crowner, October 15, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-27 | Artist Sarah Crowner draws inspiration from mid–20th-century avant-garde artists whose work combined dance, theatre, fine arts, and design. Crowner based her piece Curtain (2012) on a 1956 theatre backdrop by Polish artist Maria Jarema, composing it from large pieces of fabric she painted then sewed together. For the artist, this “highly physical way of creating paintings” brings the body into the work, an element that is pushed further by using the work as a backdrop for performance. Dancers from Boston Ballet activate Sarah Crowner's Curtain by performing a choreography by Boston Ballet principal Yury Yanowsky, courtesy of Boston Ballet. Together with the painting, they activated gallery space, noting how body language and other forms of artistic expression are powerful tools for communication. Performance Art at the MFA is supported by Lorraine Bressler.
“Gesture II: Between two breaths” by Shinique Smith, February 11, 2015 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Shinique Smith stages “Gesture II: Between two breaths,” her second performance in a three-part series created for the exhibition “Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER.” This exhibition surveys 30 key works from the past decade while debuting more than a dozen new pieces, including painting, sculpture, full-room installation, video, and performance. Working with performing dancer Marisa Arriaga, Shinique Smith choreographed this dance, which reenacts the gestural marks of her paintings using the movements of the human body in space.Performance Art at the MFA is supported by Lorraine Bressler.
“Gesture I: Unraveling” by Shinique Smith, September 7, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Shinique Smith stages her debut performance, “Gesture I: Unraveling,” a choreographed dance that builds upon layered aspects of her work and dance sequences featured in her video “Breath of Life.” Part of “Shinique Smith: BRIGHT MATTER,” the dance explores how the body itself can translate degrees of density or momentum as expressed in Smith’s art. With choreography developed in collaboration with performing dancer Marisa Arriaga and sound design by Gary Pennock, this first “gesture” is part of a series of performances through which Smith explores the body as an extension of her creative process.MFA Community Day: Celebrating 20 Years of Ann and Graham Gund Director Malcolm Rogers is supported by the Malcolm Rogers 20th Anniversary Fund. Sponsored by Celebrity Cruises. Presented with generous support from the Robert and Jane Burke Fund for Exhibitions, The Contemporaries, the Callaghan Family Fund for Contemporary Exhibitions. Additional support provided by the Eugenie Prendergast Memorial Fund, made possible by a grant from Jan and Warren Adelson. Performance Art at the MFA is supported by Lorraine Bressler.
“Living Quipu” by Cecilia Vicuña, January 9, 2019 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Chilean-born, New York–based artist Cecilia Vicuña stages a participatory, meditative performance inside her exhibition “Cecilia Vicuña: Disappeared Quipu.” Her performance “Living Quipu” represents a rebirthing of the quipu, an ancient Andean system of knotted cords that served as a mode of writing, record keeping, and remembering that was banned by the Spanish in colonial times. Vicuña weaves and wraps the audience in raw wool, poetry, and song, channeling the power of the quipu as a vehicle for connection. For Vicuña, each person becomes a knot and vessel for memory in her “quipu for the future.”“Cecilia Vicuña: Disappeared Quipu” is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Brooklyn Museum.Generously supported by the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund.
“Sonic Blossom” by Lee Mingwei, March 11-April 9, 2015 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Lee Mingwei is internationally renowned for projects that prompt connections and invite trust, creativity, and self-awareness. The MFA presents the U.S. debut of “Sonic Blossom”, a performance that invites MFA visitors to receive the personal gift of song from an opera singer. Wearing a custom-designed costume, the singer approaches individual visitors and offers spontaneous one-on-one performances. The singer leads the individual to a special chair and then sings short Lieder (art songs) by Franz Schubert. Lee Mingwei’s “Sonic Blossom” is supported by the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund. Performance Art at the MFA is supported by Lorraine Bressler.
“Pharmasphere” by Pedro Reyes, July 19, 2013 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Pedro Reyes stages “Pharmasphere,” a theatrical history of the production, distribution and consumption of prescription and illegal drugs in the Americas from prohibition times to the present day. Performers playing farmers, gangsters, drug lords, politicians, soldiers, doctors, and pharmacists demonstrate how the chemicals that we consume connect and impact us all. Reyes engages the audience with issues that are too often avoided or filtered to us through the perspectives of the media, politicians and corporations. Audience members help shape the narrative as it is performed. “Pharmasphere” is the first iteration of a workshop and performance that form part of “The People's UN (pUN),” an exhibition and event by Pedro Reyes at Queens Museum, New York. Funded by the generous support of members of the Contemporary Visiting Committee.
“Living Quipu” by Cecilia Vicuña, October 19, 2018 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Chilean-born, New York–based artist Cecilia Vicuña stages a participatory, meditative performance in the Shapiro Family Courtyard. Her performance “Living Quipu” represents a rebirthing of the quipu, an ancient Andean system of knotted cords that served as a mode of writing, record keeping, and remembering that was banned by the Spanish in colonial times. Vicuña weaves and wraps the audience in raw wool, poetry, and song, channeling the power of the quipu as a vehicle for connection. For Vicuña, each person becomes a knot and vessel for memory in her “quipu for the future.”“Cecilia Vicuña: Disappeared Quipu” is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Brooklyn Museum.Generously supported by the Museum Council Artist in Residency Program Fund.
“Onto Objects: Performances by Patty Chang and Jeffrey Gibson,” January 29, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Patty Chang and Jeffrey Gibson stage new performances as part of the one-night exhibition, “Onto Objects.” By layering their personal interpretations onto the Museum context, Chang and Gibson recast works they selected from the MFA’s collection as receptacles for individuals’ stories.In “Timeline 1.29.14,”2014, Gibson choreographs a conversation between himself, a Jackson Pollock painting, and an ancient Puebloan bowl. He invites an art critic to play the role of a therapist who moderates the session. The performance draws from research on spiritualism and struggle in Pollock’s life, and from Gibson’s personal experience as a Native American artist navigating tradition and experimentation in his own art.In “Flash Burn in Uzbekistan,” 2014, Chang builds a story using images, language, objects, and performance—set within a period room that evokes a home from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). To create this work, Chang collaborated with curators who care for the MFA’s vast Asian holdings. Their conversations highlight the emotional attachments, scholarship, conservation, and other modes of representation layered onto objects. From this mix, Chang employs her lactating body to make the Museum space feel warm, alive and “lived in.”Funded by the generous support of members of the Contemporary Visiting Committee.
“Big Bang” by Regina Jose Galindo, June 25, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Guatemalan artist Regina José Galindo’s performance “Big Bang,” addresses the increasingly interconnected dynamics of our global age, presented with the exhibition, “Permission To Be Global/Prácticas Globales: Latin American Art from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection.” It responds to the automobile industry giant General Motors’s June 2009 filing for bankruptcy amidst the market crash already taking effect in the United States. The fall of this transnational corporation deepened the financial collapse in the US and beyond, demonstrating how economic globalization connects us all to ensure that crises reverberate globally. In Big Bang, she sits immobile in a car while a crew of men disassemble it around her, a metaphor for the breakdown and ripple effects of the US automobile industry. This performance is funded by the generous support of the members of the Contemporary Visiting Committee.
“Reanimation” by Joan Jonas by November 13, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Foundational video and performance artist Joan Jonas presents her first major performance in Boston, “Reanimation,” inspired by the novel “Under the Glacier” by Icelandic author Halldór Laxness. Jonas uses drawings, objects, closed-circuit video projections, choreographed actions, and music to create an icy, otherworldly atmosphere. Award-winning jazz pianist Jason Moran worked with Jonas to compose the score for the piece, which he performs live. Combining ancient and contemporary technologies— from tree branches and chalk as drawing tools, to live projections of her actions—Jonas’s imagery is infused with a tension between the natural world and humankind’s attempts to render it.The performance is made possible through the generous support of Francis H. Williams. Performance Art at the MFA is supported by Lorraine Bressler.Promoted in partnership with New England Conservatory.
“Odd Spaces” by Marilyn Arsem, John C. Gonzalez, Phillip Fryer, David Levine, and Sandrine Schaefer Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | “Odd Spaces” launches the MFA’s new performance art program in May 2013. Probed by the questions, “Where is performance art’s place in the museum? How can it expand the ways we experience and define art?” participating artists Marilyn Arsem, David Levine, John C. Gonzalez, Sandrine Schaefer and Philip Fryer stage performances in places where art might not typically appear at the MFA. The five participatory performances invite community members to share their vision about what the performance could look like at the MFA.Performances include: “Family Meal” by John C. Gonzalez in the Garden Cafeteria and Bravo Restaurant “With the Others”by Marilyn Arsem in the Egyptian Galleries “durance” by David Levine, Druker Classroom in the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art “Untitled View” by Sandrine Schaefer and Philip Fryer in the Shapiro Rotunda and throughout the MuseumWith generous support from The Contemporaries.
“WHAT DOES FLUXES HAVE TO DO WITH IT” by Raphael Montañez Ortiz, March 27, 2013 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Raphael Montañez Ortíz invites Boston-area performance artists, students and the audience to engage in a new performance, “WHAT DOES FLUXES HAVE TO DO WITH IT,” 2013, followed by a video screening of rarely seen works. Since the late 1950s, Ortiz has directly engaged with the violent and destructive tendencies of society through found objects and action-based art. A veteran of Fluxus and the Destruction Art movement of the 1960s, Ortiz is best known for his piano destruction concerts beginning in the 1960s, but his practice is multimedia and interdisciplinary.Funds provided by the generous support of Carolyn Fine Friedman and Jeremiah Friedman.
“Egocentrismo funerario (Funerary Egocentrism)” by Lázaro Saavedra, May 26, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | Lázaro Saavedra has consistently used performance art to prioritize the public’s relationship with art over the ownership of art objects. His dark sense of humor is a strategic tool to share critical ideas with broad audiences. Saavedra’s series of drawings “Historias para historiadores (Stories for Historians),” 1989–91 document his own artworks—some of them unrealized due to bureaucratic roadblocks in Cuba. “Egocentrismo funerario (Funerary Egocentrism)” was prohibited by cultural authorities in Havana and is finally realized as part of the exhibition “Permission To Be Global/Prácticas Globales: Latin American Art from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection.” The performance first existed as a sketch, depicting a casket in which he intended to lie, paying a sarcastic homage to the “death of the author” (i.e., himself). This project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Generously supported by the MFA Associates/Senior Associates.
Now, Speak!” by Amalia Pica, January 20, 2014 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-07-16 | On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, members of the MFA’s Teen Arts Council (TAC) and local community leaders deliver historic political speeches for the inaugural performance of Amalia Pica’s “Now, Speak!” a cast-concrete lectern that prompts live performance. The first performance art piece acquired by the MFA (2013.1829), this interactive sculpture explores how our voices can activate art objects, create social space, and reinterpret history over time.Museum purchase with funds donated anonymously. This event took place January 20, 2014, as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Open House.Martin Luther King Jr. Day Open House is underwritten by Citizens Bank Foundation. Teen Arts Council is funded by the Pamela D. and Robert W. Adams Fund, the Dorothy and Owen W. Robbins Teen Arts Council Fund, the Endowment for the Teen Arts Council, and Robert E. Schiesske, and the William E. Schrafft and Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust and the Paul and Edith Babson Foundation.
Disruption by Design: A New Path to Liberation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-06-17 | In celebration of Juneteenth, join us for a virtual conversation with BIPOC leaders. Panelists will discuss the need for disruption in their industries, their personal stories of seeking and achieving liberation in their careers, the impact they hope to make with their own positive disruption, and what liberation looks like on individual and collective levels.Panelists include:• Bithiah Carter, president, New England Blacks In Philanthropy• D’Wayne Edwards, founder, PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy• Betty Francisco, CEO, Boston Impact Initiative• Makeeba McCreary, Patti and Jonathan Kraft Chief of Learning and Community Engagement, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston• Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, artist and co-founder, Street TheorySponsored by Chase. Additional programming support is provided by The Lowell Institute.
What is American?: Native American Art at the MFA Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-06-10 | During this program, Tess Lukey (Aquinnah Wampanoag), Curatorial Research Associate, Art of the Americas, frames for educators the many different contexts for talking with students about these works of art, and the importance of elucidating the presence of Native American communities and cultures in New England and across the country. The session highlights works of art from the MFA's collection featured in the “Of This Land: Native American Woodlands Art” online slideshow. We will discuss integrating these works of art into teaching with an in-depth conversation on three of the works featured.
Artist | Student | Curator: How Museums Work - Exhibitions Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-05-21 | During this live interactive program, we’ll learn about who conceptualizes and implements the environments that frame artworks in museums. Panelists include Eben Haines, artist and co-founder of Shelter in Place Gallery, MFA intern and Bunker Hill Community College student, Adriona King who will share her perspective on museum exhibitions through a remote internship at the MFA, and Kyla Hygysician, MFA exhibition designer.
A Rediscovered Mughal Master Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-05-13 | Hear the fascinating story of an obscure Mughal artist who has claimed his rightful place as a late 17th-century master. Ilyas Bahadur was active at a time when Emperor ‘Alamgir (r. 1658–1707) radically curtailed royal support of the arts. In light of many newly attributed paintings added to his body of work, it is now clear that several of the emperor’s sons were alternative sources of patronage for the artist, and Ilyas Bahadur emerged as the foremost Mughal artist of his time. In some respects, he was destined for greatness, for he was the son of a highly accomplished painter and father of an artist who created one of the Museum’s most renowned Indian paintings.John Seyller, professor of Art History, University of VermontWednesday, April 14, 2021Ananda Coomaraswamy Annual Lecture
Community Arts Initiative: Patterns of Greatness Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-05-06 | “Patterns of Greatness” is a collaborative project encouraging young people to reflect on the relationships that have had a positive impact on their lives. Beauty and meaning can be found in the patterns of life, and unprecedented times often spark ingenuity. In response to the pandemic, the MFA’s Community Arts Initiative launched its first socially distanced Artist Project. Over a six-month period, artist and educator Chanel Thervil met virtually with young Boston-area artists, facilitating discussions and art-making activities that focused on creating visual patterns to affirm their life experiences and capacity for greatness.“Patterns of Greatness” marks the 16th year of the Community Arts Initiative, through which the MFA partners with community organizations to introduce young people ages 6 to 12 to the Museum’s collection and the art-making process. For this exhibition, through the Community Arts Initiative, the Museum is proud to partner with the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club, the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester, the Edgerley Family South Boston Boys & Girls Club, the Jordan Boys & Girls Club, the Orchard Gardens Boys & Girls Club, United South End Settlements, the Vine Street Community Center, the West End House Boys & Girls Club of Allston-Brighton, and the Yawkey Boys & Girls Club of Roxbury.The Community Arts Initiative is generously supported by the Linde Family Foundation.
Bostonians on Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-04-26 | In March 2021, we invited our Outside the Box collaborators to experience "Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation." Here, they share their reactions to the exhibition and discuss why it means so much to Boston."Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation" brings together more than 120 works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and 11 of his peers—A-One, ERO, Fab 5 Freddy, Futura, Keith Haring, Kool Koor, LA2, Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones, Rammellzee and Toxic—all artists whose techniques share a conceptual approach rooted in early hip-hop practices. The exhibition is on view at the MFA through July 25, 2021: bit.ly/2S1oM7z
MFA Community Celebration: Nowruz Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-03-22 | Join us to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year—an ancient celebration signaling the beginning of spring.The free event features:• Women / Immigration / Fight or Flight, a mini opera composed by Shooka Afshar that depicts the challenges faced by women who had to immigrate to another country to follow their dreams, have a normal life, and fight for their basic rights. Inspired by the true story of Afshar, who immigrated to Boston from Iran to pursue her dream of being an opera singer. This is a mixed media project with a stage act by Bahareh Safarani and virtual reality by Asma Khoshmehr and Anna Liesenfeld. Due to COVID-19 limitations, the score, instruments and singers have been reduced to a concert version. • An artist talk from photographer Gohar Dashti on her "Home" series, which was featured in the 2020 exhibition “Reimagining Home: Photographs by Bahman Jalali and Gohar Dashti.” With an introduction from Laura Weinstein, Ananda Coomaraswamy Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art.Nowruz is presented with support from Azi Djazani. Sponsored by Chase. Additional Programming support is provided by The Lowell Institute.
Museum Careers Today Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021-03-18 | During this program, MFA staff members from across the institution discuss the many types of professions that exist in art museums. Join us to examine how current social and cultural challenges are impacting museums now and in the future.Speakers include:- Kevin Cotter, Benefits Coordinator- Megan Bernard, Assistant Director of Membership- Marina Tyquiengco, Curatorial Assistant, Contemporary Art- Charlotte Seifen Ameringer, Conservator
