Connecting Art and Science with Zammuto

quick updates:

Some great local arts stories:

Nick Zammuto, probably the best regional artist integrating art and science, is featured by John Mitchell.

[Photo credit: The North Adams Transcript]

Lumens Project opens in Adams and North Adams. See the Lumens website here, including stories of each lamp that is on display. You can catch more notes and news about this project at Greylock Art’s Blog.

We have Liftoff: New Art Major is Here

It’s now official — the new Art Major is here! We’re very excited to offer a broader course of study in the visual arts. From the press release:

NORTH ADAMS, MA – Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has announced that the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education on Wednesday unanimously approved two new Bachelor of Arts degree programs – in art, and in political science/public policy.

According to MCLA Art Professor Gregory Scheckler, the new art major differs from art programs at other state colleges not only because advanced students can design their own pathway through the program, but because of the regional arts scene, which includes Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and the Clark.

“We started building towards this kind of program in the fall of 2000, incrementally increasing our arts courses and offerings until we could support an arts management degree, MCLA Gallery 51 and now the new art degree,” Scheckler said. “The combinations are very exciting because as students learn to master their craft in the art major, they can also learn the best of business savvy in the arts management program by double-majoring or minoring. The art major is an important building block towards the college’s larger goals of creating new programs with unique emphases and possibilities that link with the Berkshires.”

Scheckler said the program will facilitate students’ entry into careers as creative innovators. Courses will include those in a wide array of media such as drawing, painting, graphic design, photography, film, broadcast communications, computer graphics and costume design.

For those of you interested in which courses will count towards earning the Art Major, there’s two main sequences for the degree, foundations and your own student-designed upper-level concentration area:

Part 1: Art Major Foundations: all students complete the following: Intro Drawing, Intermediate Drawing, Intro Painting, Form & Composition, Intro Graphic Design or Photo or Computing, Intermediate Graphic Design or Photo or Computing, Great Monuments 1, Great Monuments 2, Intro to Mass Media, Intro Art History Seminar, and Senior Art Project

Part 2: Student-designed concentrations: select seven courses, five in artmaking and two in cultural contexts. Studio courses include: cartooning, storytelling in words and images, landscape painting, figure drawing, intermediate and advanced art lab, the concrete poem, broadcast communications, computer graphics, photojournalism, film-making, costume design, etc.; cultural contexts courses include: intermediate and advanced art history seminars, museum studies, film studies. Art Majors will also be eligible for internships and independent studies. The full list of eligible courses from which you can build your concentration is a lot longer than written here.

New Modernist Reports on Sol Lewitt at MASS MoCA

Just a quick note for those seeking behind-the-scenes pictures and information about the Sol Lewitt project at MASS MoCA. The best blog report I’ve seen to date is now at

The New Modernist: Edward Lifson: Sol LeWitt Drawings

Many great pictures, and a video of Aaron Andrews patting red paint in place.

Professor Christensen in the News

Professor Laura Christensen appears in today’s Transcript, in an article by John Mitchell.

That’s Laura muscling stone for one of her sculptures. Here’s a close-up of a recent artwork that appears in the North Adams Artist’s Cooperative down on Main St. :

Excellent work!

Downstreet Art on iBerkshires.com

a little re-blogging… Tammy Daniels provided a lovely article this morning about last night’s Downstreet Art event, which was very successful, drawing a good crowd downtown.

Here’s Tammy’s video report:

To learn more about what you can see, check out DownstreetArt.org

Making History with Thursday Art Openings

It’s the biggest group of art openings in North Adams at one time, bigger than ever in known history: Thursday evening June 26^th.

MCLA Gallery 51 presents Terms of Surrender, by Rich Remsberg. Rich is well-known in the community, our very own bearded photo and film-archivist for numerous documentary productions, as well as author, photojournalist, and collector of the unusual. Here’s Rich and one of my cats, Masaccio, when M. was a wiggly kitten:

Rich is presenting some new video art, as well as some of his better-known works such as his short film, “Jeweler’s Eye,” which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year, and “Common Pictures: A Journey Through the Eyes of Found Photography,” which was an opening act for the electronic music duo, “The Books,” on their spring 2007 tour.

The entire Downstreet Art event kicks off – with Maya III, by Jarvis Rockwell courtesy of MASS MoCA (Despite the belief that the museum doesn’t show local artists, here again MASS MoCA is again presenting the work of another local artist. In another of their current exhibits, Badlands, the Williamstown painter Michael Glier presents a set of fabulous contemporary paintings.)

Another notable opening downtown will be Lumens, and internet-enable installation by Ven Voisey, Sean Riley and Matthew Belanger.

In Main St. 107 is the new North Adams Artist’s Cooperative opens its doors – including works by Kay Canavino, Sharon Carson, Cynthia Lewis, Laura Christensen, Deborah Combs, Karen Combs, Carmen Cuccia, Andrew Davis, Martha Flood, Jen Flores, Jaye Fox, Emily Gold, Barry Goldstein, Karen Kane, Leslie Kearsley, Erin Ko, Steve Levin, Susan Manley, Barbara May, Melanie Mowinski, Lisa Nilsson, Debi Pendell, Sarah Pike, Gregory Scheckler, Diane Sullivan, Thor Wickstrom, Julie Wigg, Rodney Wilkinson, Colleen Williams and Mary Wright.

At IO Gallery, new environmental works (opened on Saturday)

There’s a lot more going on – check out DownstreetArt.org for more information.

B-HIP Interns Rock the Art World

This just released by MCLA’s team:

June 19, 2008

NORTH ADAMS, MASS – Students from across the county are taking part in Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts’ Berkshire Hills Internship Program (B-HIP) this summer as nearly three-quarters of them attend other colleges or universities.

Joining four MCLA students in B-HIP are others enrolled in bachelors and masters programs or recent graduates of institutions including those in Indiana, New Jersey, Minnesota, Vermont and West Virginia, as well as other colleges in Massachusetts – such as Westfield State and Merrimack College.

B-HIP unites non-profit arts organizations – including the Berkshire Opera Company, the Berkshire Museum, the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center in MCLA Gallery 51, the Mahaiwe Theatre, Images Cinema and Kidspace at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) – with college and graduate students interested in a career in arts administration.

Last summer’s interns included those from Japan, Italy and Romania.

“There are reasons folks come from colleges and universities from all over the world to MCLA to enroll in the B-HIP program,” said Jonathan Secor, MCLA director of special programs. “MCLA is in the unique position of having a top-notch arts management program, while situated in the culturally rich Berkshires. Add the fact that, as a state college, the tuition is more than reasonable, and that you are in the Berkshire Hills for the summer, and you have the reasons why students and graduates attend the B-HIP program.”

A recent graduate of Westfield State College, Caroline Collins of Lee is following up her bachelor’s degree in fine arts with an internship at the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center in MCLA Gallery 51.

“Westfield State just has a fine arts department. There are not many other options there, except in graphic design,” Collins said. “I thought the B-HIP program would be good because I’d like to work in a gallery or in education.”

Erin Dougherty, who is working on her master’s degree in art education at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., is interning at Kidspace in MASS MoCA.

“I wanted an internship program where I could do some hands-on teaching and practice some art skills,” Dougherty said. “I want to go into museum education, so this program offered an arts management component, along with the educational experience.”

Eva Lin, who studies telecommunications at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is interning with the Chuck Davis Documentary Project, at Williams College’s ’62 Center.

“I see the arts as a form of communication,” Lin said. “The B-HIP program just spoke to me as it saw that connection as well. It also seemed perfect for me because I’d like to produce documentary films.”

Although each B-HIP intern stays at his or her chosen cultural institution throughout the program, each Tuesday morning, the aspiring arts administrators meet as a class with MCLA arts management professors to discuss and dissect what they have been working on. They also meet with cultural leaders from throughout the County for informal art talks, where the leaders to discuss their jobs and talk about the history and running of their cultural institutions. Each Thursday, the interns travel to see various performances and art at not only the program’s participating venues, but also at places like the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Berkshire Fringe Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Club Helsinki, Ferrin Gallery, Tanglewood and the Norman Rockwell Museum.

“I’m enjoying it,” said Joe Gross, a Williams College student interning at the Berkshire Opera Company. “It’s been a good experience so far. I’ve learned a lot.”

The 13 students participating in this summer’s 12-week program are Erin Dougherty from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., at Kidspace in MASS MoCA; Ellen Dahill-Brown of West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, W.V., at the Berkshire Museum; Joe Gross of Williams College at the Berkshire Opera Company; Colleen McDonald of The College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J., at Skyboro Sound/Windsor School of Music; Kerrilee Knights of Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., at the Mahaiwe Theatre; Eva Lin of Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., at the Chuck Davis Documentary Project at the ’62 Center; Halli Chamberlain of MCLA at the Kolok Gallery; Mary Domenichelli of MCLA at the Williams College Department of Dance; Elizabeth McWhirk of MCLA at Northern Berkshire Creative Arts; Caroline Collins of Westfield State College at the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center; Abbi Hermosa of Merrimack College in North Andover at Greylock Arts; Darren Fitzgerald of MCLA at Images Cinema; and Angela Zammarelli of Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis, Minn., at the Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development.

For more information, 413-664-8718, or go to [ http://www.mcla.edu/b-hip ]www.mcla.edu/b-hip .

Down Street Art: Four New North Adams Galleries

Reported today in the papers…

Down Street Art will begin June 26 and run until Oct. 31.

View Larger Map

Scott Stafford of the Berkshire Eagle reported that the four new galleries are:

• Maya III, 73 Main St., which will feature a third incarnation of Jarvis Rockwell’s translation of ancient Hindu pyramids with a 9-foot-tall stepped pyramid lined with toys, action figures and dolls. He also will be there this summer creating an original wall drawing.

• North Adams Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, 107 Main St., which will features local artists working in a variety of media, including painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, textiles and hand-blown glass.

• Primary Secondary Volumes 1 & 2, 28 Holden St., which will feature the work of artists currently employed at Mass MoCA to create the conceptual Sol Lewitt paintings at the upcoming Lewitt Gallery. These artists have works of their own that will be featured on Holden Street in two editions - the first from June 26 to July 25, and the second from July 31 to Aug. 29.

• Lumens, 61 Main St., which will be an interactive installation in three locations - the North Adams space, in Greylock Arts on Summer Street in Adams and on the Internet at turbulence.org. The installation will consist of dozens of donated household lamps. Through a complex series of proximity sensors, a group of lights will come on as a visitor approaches, as will some of the lamps in the Adams gallery, and vice versa. Many of the lamps have stories behind them on the Turbulence Web site, and when someone is reading the story on the Web, that lamp will illuminate in the gallery. Lumens will open July 10.

Other galleries promoted as part of Down Street Art include the Brill Gallery, Eclipse Mill Gallery, River Hill Pottery, Kolok Gallery, Art Space, Widgitz, , Chapel for Humanity, North Adams Antiques & Gallery, MCLA Gallery 51, Suncatcher Glass, Hudsons at MASS MoCA.

According to Tammy Daniels at iBerkshires.com, “An individual may create art but it takes a village to create a platform for its appreciation.” Even the Mayor piped in and said:

Arts is an economic factor unto itself. It plays the single most important role in changing the image of our community.

Thank you to everyone who is helping make the arts possible in North Adams! See also the article in today’s Transcript, by Jen Huberdeau.

For online maps, a printable map, and many arts links, go to DownStreetArt.org

Berkshire Gallery Guide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

First Countywide Guide to Berkshire Galleries Debuts

Berkshire County, Mass. — June 2, 2008 — The first countywide guide to Berkshire County’s contemporary art galleries has been published just in time for the summer 2008 cultural season, through a collaboration among Berkshire Creative, Berkshire Living magazine and the Berkshire Visitors Bureau.

The full-color guide includes a brief description, address and contact information for fifty-two galleries; the five museums in Berkshire County with art exhibits are included as well. A convenient map showing the county’s towns, cities and major roads also is provided.

Berkshire Living provided the design and editorial content of the brochure, which will be featured as a pullout in the magazine’s June edition. Quality Printing produced 75,000 copies of the guide, which Berkshire Brochure will be distributing at drop-off points throughout the region this summer and fall.

The Berkshire Visitors Bureau will distribute 25,000 copies of the Gallery Guide at its two visitor centers, in information packets requested by visitors, at Southern New England AAA offices, and at Massachusetts Turnpike information centers. A downloadable version of the Gallery Guide will be available online with the Visitors Bureau’s monthly gallery column, The Red Do on Berkshires.org. The guide will also be available electronically on the Berkshire Creative website at BerkshireCreative.org; download it here.

Berkshire County is home to a growing number of contemporary artists and the for- and non-profit galleries that represent their products. This guide aims to help the major members of the Creative Economy support the sale of art, the galleries, and the artists who produce it in the region.

The guide is an initiative of the Berkshire Creative’s working group, the Creative Marketplace, led by Jonathan Secor, director of special projects for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Megan Whilden, director of cultural development for the city of Pittsfield. The group’s main mission is to increase market access for existing Berkshire County creative products, particularly those of individual artists.

The Berkshire Creative Economy Report states, “Individual artists and craftspeople form the foundation of the creative sector of the Berkshires. They make the Berkshires one of the nation’s leading regions in the visual arts, and make a significant contribution to the identity and strength of the creative economy sector in the Berkshires.”

Copies of the Gallery Guide are available from Berkshire Creative at 413.822.8324, in the June edition of Berkshire Living, and at distribution sites around the county. For more information, contact Helena Fruscio, Berkshire Creative Director of Operations, at 413.822.8324, or Helena.Fruscio@berkshirecreative.org.

Welcome New Professors!

Welcome new professors!

The Fine and Performing Arts Department and MCLA are delighted to announce the hiring of two new professors who will be joining the arts full-time for Fall 2008: Ms. Melanie Mowinski in Visual Art, and Dr. Michael Dilthey in Music.

Melanie Mowinski: Prof. Melanie Mowinski is a marvelous artist with an international record of exhibit and award, in both traditional and nontraditional approaches to drawing, graphic design, and interdisciplinary arts. Prof. Mowinski has taught at the college level in numerous venues, including at MCLA as visiting assistant professor and at winter session courses in the book arts at Williams College. Recently she has served as Public Programs Coordinator for the Berkshire Museum. She is also a licensed Teacher of Art, who taught for half a decade at the Buxton School. In addition to her graduate degree in art from the University of the Arts she earned a graduate degree in Religion from Yale. Prof. Mowinski served in the Peace Corps in the West Indies, developing arts curricula and community-centered arts programs. Her artworks are owned by luminaries such as the Tate Modern Museum of Art, the Newark Museum, and the U.S. Library of Congress. She is the winner of numerous awards, scholarships, and artists residencies. For example for this summer she won a US National Parks residency to create artworks at Denali National Park. Prof. Mowinski’s expertise as a teacher and artist will be of great help to MCLA students who’d like to become art teachers, designers, and fine artists.

Michael Dilthey: Prof. Michael Dilthey is a dynamic teacher with a national record of composition, conducting, and college service with interests in music appreciation, theory, conducting, and technology. He joins us after having served as Associate Professor of Music at Norwalk Community College, and previously as Associate Professor and department chair of music at Fordham University / Marymount College. He was instrumental in developing the electronic and computer music labs at Bridgewater State College, Marymount College’s Computer Music Laboratory, and Norwalk Community College’s music lab. He published papers on teaching technology in music, and wrote for Music and the Humanities, Prentice-Hall Publishers. He recently won a fellowship with Yale University’s Program in International Educational Resources. In addition to his teaching work, as a composer, conductor, and performer, he participated in over a dozen performances in the last five years. He holds the degree of Doctor of Music in Composition from Northwestern University, and degrees from University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University. Prof. Dilthey’s expertise as a teacher and musician will be very helpful for all students interested in Music and liberal arts vocations.

Please join us in welcoming Professor Mowinski and Professor Dilthey to the FPA team!