The Institute of Contemporary Art

Last week, I visited the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston. A couple of years ago, the ICA moved from its former location on Boylston Street to its present location at 100 Northern Avenue along the Boston Harbor. On Thursday nights, the Institute offers free admission. When I visited the ICA it happened to be on a Thursday night. I had only been to the new location of the ICA once (in June of 2007) before to see a modern dance performance. I had also been to the former location of the ICA. The new location has a larger building and many more amenities. I was very impressed by the varied works of art, including: paintings, artistically oriented video clips, sculptures, and furniture. At the exhibit on the fourth floor, there were works by Gerard Byrne, Paul Chan, and Kader Attai. The latter of the three had a video on display called Oil & Sugar. The video showed a set of small sugar cubes in the beginning, followed by oil being poured down onto the cubes, consequently melting the cubes. The description of Oil & Sugar explains how our current society is over using natural resources and this has led to the excessive use of food and oil.
At the exhibit I picked up a pamphlet listing the finalists of The James and Audrey Foster Prize. Each of the four finalists (Catherine D’Ignazio, Rania Matar, Andrew Witkin, and Joe Zane) had their artistic work on display.
The ICA is just one of the many museums that are in Boston. I had a great time visiting the ICA. It was founded in 1936 and at the time the ICA was one of America’s first museums devoted solely to contemporary art.

Comments

  1. SMSChicaFebruary 4, 2009 at 8:48 PM

    Yes! I do have to agree that the ICA is a "one-of-a-kind" museum. There is just so much to see and so many talented artists. I had the joy of experiencing this museum likewise :-)

    P.S. That Oil & Sugar video display was simply the best for sure!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Recovery Month supports addiction treatment programs and services

F or twenty-three years Americans have celebrated the month of September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.   The purpose of Recovery month is to educate Americans about mental health services and addiction treatment programs that can help people struggling with substance abuse.   Recovery month also raises awareness about specific challenges that people in recovery face.   Although drug and alcohol addictions are complex problems with the correct treatment and support people who struggle with these addictions can recover. In a Presidential Proclamation On August 31, 2012, President Barack Obama declared September 2012 as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.   In his proclamation Obama said: “Over the past 3 years, we have worked to strengthen substance abuse prevention and treatment programs, and to support Americans in recovery… Drug and alcohol abuse continue to take a tragic toll on millions of lives across our country. ...
Read more

The Life and Art of Allan Rohan Crite

Image
The Boston Public Library was one of three locations in the city of Boston to display the art work of longtime Bostonian and artist Allan Rohan Crite. Beginning in the fall of 2007 until February 3, 2008, the BPL, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists exhibited collected works of art from Crite’s storied career in The Life and Art of Allan Rohan Crite: 1910-2007 . Funded in part by the Boston Public Library Foundation, the exhibit offered onlookers a view into Crite’s lengthy artistic career. When I visited the exhibit on January 19, 2008, over fifty collages, drawings, paintings, and sketches adorned the Wiggins Gallery in the McKim Building of The Boston Public Library. Crite was born on March 20, 1910, in Plainfield, New Jersey. In that same year, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Crite would later make Boston his home as an adult. Over the course of his distinguished career he promoted visual art as a lecturer, p...
Read more

Political legislation brings attention to US Dental Care Crisis

A ccording to a report created by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) there is a national crisis in American dental care.   On June 7, 2012 Cummings and Sanders – the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, introduced legislation to address the inefficiencies in the American dental care system.   Approximately 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance.   ¼ of American adults 65 and older have lost all of their teeth.   More than 75% of American adults over 30 have gum disease.   Additionally, about 17 million low-income children do not go to the dentist every year. On June 26, 2012, PBS aired a documentary about the U.S. dental care system on the investigative news program FRONTLINE .   The 50 minute documentary, Dollars and Dentists , analyzes current economic trends and patient access in the dental care industry.   The documentary is a joint investigative pie...
Read more