Thursday afternoon the George Eastman House announced the appointment of its new director at a press conference held on the front steps of the East Avenue mansion. Dr. Bruce Barnes will serve as the 8th Ron and Donna Fielding Director of the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film starting in October. The […]
Art
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ART REVIEW: Where art lives
After four years, 1975 Gallery finally has a home of its own. The inaugural show at this permanent, white-walls location is a celebration of Rochester art and a lesson for those who think world-class art is only being created by a handful of established individuals in our city. For “Home is Where the Art Is,” […]
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Guardians of the great and glorious
The shapes and scopes of our cities are constantly shifting around us, and at times, great losses occur with a callous lack of consideration toward preserving valuable aspects of art and history. Transition is inevitable, and it’s often left to grass-roots groups to become the guardians of these potential casualties. Such is the case with […]
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Art Feature: Out of place
Immediately following its annual fundraising, crowd-pleasing “6×6” exhibition, Rochester Contemporary has deftly shifted gears to present the annual “State of the City” show, during which the art space transforms into a forum for discussing the status of Upstate New York cities as they move toward an uncertain future. Last year, the exhibit explored urban planning and the impact of the Inner Loop on Rochester (and how similar roadways impacted other cities), as well as the disputed future of the roadway. This year, the show focuses on how artists and activists are redefining public space.
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Emerging artists 2012
Much has happened to better serve Rochester’s fledgling artists over the past year. The area’s young, fresh, motivated art scene has expanded to include new pop-up galleries, collaborative art spaces such as The Yards, and 1975 Gallery, which serves fresh new talent as well as local mainstays, has gained a better foothold in the professional […]
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Disturbing the universe
Though we rant and rail against it — or refuse to acknowledge it until forced — humans must learn that change is the only constant. The best and wisest way to deal with it is to adapt. This is the echoed-through-the-ages sentiment that introduces “Transformation/Revelation: The Art of Change,” the current exhibit in the Memorial […]
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Medics, muses, murals: Wall Therapy for Rochester & beyond
If you’ve taken North Union Street on your way to the Rochester Public Market since last July, it’s possible that you’ve noticed the beautiful, serene girl hanging out under the railroad overpass. Her eyes are lowered and she won’t return your gaze, but even the wheeling sparrows adore her, and trail her from a distance. […]
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Ghosts in our cells
The art chosen for the Memorial Art Gallery’s “5th Rochester Biennial” exhibit seems to reflect something like a sampling of the different breeds of ghosts carried by artists. These include the aesthetic influences of other times; the spirit of artistic materials; the specters of once-thriving domiciles; the eternal striving of human will against all manner […]
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Textual tension
The ways in which we realize that we are powerful beings through sexual expression are manifold and complex, but can probably be filtered down into two groups. The most basic, of course, is yielding to the undeniable animal drive to eject our genetic material (more immediately for men, then later for ladies, via birth). The […]
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Unveiled developments
It’s common knowledge that the George Eastman House of International Photography and Film has a phenomenal and growing collection. In particular, I swoon for the large GEH collection of work by my art crush, Edward Steichen. You may also know that Eastman House is home to the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, and […]
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ART FEATURE: The Art of Controversy: Inside MAG’s sculpture-park protest
In April 2010, the MemorialArtGallery announced a major commission with Brooklyn-based sculptor Tom Otterness to act as the cornerstone of its planned CentennialSculpturePark. Otterness is currently working on the sculpture, and MAG is preparing the site; the gallery anticipates that it will be installed in the fall of 2012. But a Democrat and Chronicle article […]
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ART FEATURE: “Transitions-Rochester”
Like countless other post-industrial cities suffering from ongoing decline – such as Detroit, Michigan, and Oakland, California – Rochester has a bit of an identity crisis. Meaning, the city is limping along economically, with seemingly very little vision for our current state, let alone our future, while our humiliating mountain of failed projects keeps rising […]
