The Points of Interest: An Attempt to Explore Art

The 119 Gallery is located at 119 Chelmsford Street, Lowell, MA. Its shows are curated by Mary Ann Kearns. 

On their website, 119 has a small section of brief descriptions of the gallery and the atmosphere they cultivate. One of them speaks of the gallery as a space, “119 is NOT a gallery/performance space; it is a community center.”

119’s informational section begins with: 

“119 Gallery promotes contemporary and new media art, innovative ideas and cutting-edge techniques with a rich and diverse program of exhibitions, performances and community-based arts services; and welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and means to explore and experience new, innovative art.”

The 119 Gallery has a calender with events at both their own gallery and other similar events nearby.

Here is a form for submitting to 119 Gallery.

Check out 119 Gallery’s website.

Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell, MA in 1922. He lived there from 1922 until 1939. 

“He wrote about the Lowell that I love […]. He was one of us,” said Reginald Oullette, in an article titled “Nearly two decades after death, a city gives Jack Kerouac what life didn’t - recognition,” by Denise Lavoie, (found here).

Here is an cool quote from the artist, Ben Woitena, found in ”Buddhist influence on Kerouac influenced sculptor’s granite work,” an article by Doug Pizzi:

Asked what he wanted his statue to instill in the people of Lowell, Woitena gave an example. 
“During the installation I met a person who came in past the barricade. We talked and he said he never cared for Kerouac,” Woitena said. 
But after reading the inscriptions in the park, the man told Woitena he would have to reconsider his opinion, (found here).

Here is the schedule for the 2012 Jack Kerouac Literary Festival, an annual celebration run by the non-profit group Lowell Celebrates Kerouac. The festival runs from September 30th until October 21st.

street a.k.a. museum was an exhibition that ran from May 11, 2011 until September 11, 2011 in Portsmouth, NH. It was hosted by the Portsmouth Museum of Art and guest curated by L.A. based Beau Basse of LeBasse Projects.

Here is the description of the exhibit from the museum website:

“Street art has its roots in rebellion. Once considered underground, urban and graffiti art, it has over the last 30 years gained acceptance and popularity in the art community. It now exists in galleries and museums as well as on the streets, actively engaging an international audience. This exhibition presents artwork and murals by six emerging international talents: Bumblebee, Herakut, Shark Toof, Alexandros Vasmoulakis, and Andreas von Chrzanowski. This generation of street artists have distinct messages they contribute to the urban environment, creating high-quality contemporary art and adding it to the walls of cities around the world. Each artist has work represented within the Portsmouth Museum of Art. In addition, the artists have transformed the streets of Portsmouth into living museum by creating a series of art pieces around the streets of the city’s downtown, which we offer as a walking tour.”

The following piece by German street art duo Herakut features a small quote by Celia Thaxter, a Portsmouth native.

Learn more about Herakut by going on their website and, once you fall even more in love with their style, read this interview with Herakut by ARTASTY.

Stand Still by Bumblebee 

“Street art is often feared and criticized as beeing vandalism and I believe that through my work I can convince people otherwise,” (read more of this interesting Bumblebee interview).

Case and Shark Toof.

Check out the museum’s exhibition album for more street art, both in and out of the museum itself.

Article on street a.k.a. museum from Arrested Motion.

Bijan’s Circle Museum in Austerlitz, NY, is a vastly interesting piece of property covered in contemporary sculpture, seemingly made mainly from welded auto body parts and scrap metal.

Bijan Mahmoodi is the sculptor for The Circle Museum. His studio is on the property and he lives in nearby Great Barrington, MA.

Bijan came to the United States in 1976 from Persia, a former country that has been a part of Iran since 1935. “I came to America and didn’t speak English,” Bijan explained, when talking about his immigration. “I bought that book, the Godfather. Read it, memorized it, watched the movie; and that’s how I learned English.”

Right off of New York State Route 22, a road with its own mass of history, The Circle Museum hosts a small studio and a small expanse of Bijan’s creative products.

“With the nice weather, I’ve spent all winter trying to spread out, get them all away from each other,” he explained, speaking, of course, of his sculptures. “You have to keep them far apart or they begin to fight.”

The Circle Museum is located at 11005 Hwy 22 in Austerlitz, NY. The gate is sometimes locked but most times I’ve seen it wide open, with the sculptures all ready for visitors.

This is a little background on the museum from a post at alloveralbany.com, found here: “The Circle Museum is a registered Columbia County Museum consisting of over 100 large-scale works of sculpture. In this location for 25 years, Bijan Mahmoodi is the owner of the museum and the artist. His art reflects his fascination with hard-to-find Industrial Era fabricated metals and bronze casting. Inside the artist’s studio, also on the property, is a collection of Bijan’s oil paintings that explore the circle motif you see in most of his sculptures.”

The inside of the studio is covered with paintings of all sizes, also created solely by Bijan. 

Here is a page for The Circle Museum on Roadside America, including small comments and pictures by fans of the museum.

When most people in this area think of Brookline, NH, they think of cheap cigarettes. But nestled in the quiet woods just beyond the state line, Andres Institute of Art allows this area to be remembered for something more impressive.

In 1998 Paul Andres and John M. Weidman co-founded the Institute as a charitable organization. 

The mission statement of Andres Institute of Art is as follows: “Andres Institute of Art shall serve and advance the intellectual and social well being of the public by educating and training artists, by promoting the integration of art and technology, and by supporting fine arts,” (source: About Andres Institute of Art).

The Institute sponsors a themed sculpture symposium each year, allowing the artists involved to place a sculpture wherever they like on Big Bear Mountain, the home of the Institute.

The following is Memories by Jaya Schuerch. It was added to the Institute after the 2005 symposium, themed “Liberated Pedagogy.” There is a clearer photograph here, at the Institute’s website.

Andres Institute of Art sponsors guided walking tours, some scheduled, some arranged, with details found here. Volunteers are needed to maintain the plant life around the paths and sculptures and are also being recruited now for the 2012 symposium.

Take a look at the website, www.andresinstitute.org, for more information.

The Balanced Rock in North Salem, NY.

Hail to the Sunrise Park on Route 2, in Charlemont.

Deer street art on route 2! 

The Buck of Buckland.