Goodbye, Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn of Auburndale, Massachusetts – the World War II bombardier who protested the Vietnam War, the Boston University historian whose 1980 book "A People's History of the United States" told the other side of our great country's history, from the crimes of our establishmentarians to the often hidden heroism of our striking workers, civil rights activists, feminists and on and on – died today while traveling in California. He was 87.

Massachusetts Cultural Council announces fellows

The Massachusetts Cultural Council has announced $120,000 in grants for drawers, painters and traditional artists. Congratulations everyone.

Drawing:
Cree Bruins, Cambridge, $7,500
Jan Johnson, Lowell, $7,500
Daniel Ranalli, Cambridge, $7,500
Cristi Rinklin, Dorchester, $7,500
Evelyn Rydz, Jamaica Plain, $7,500
Stacey Alickman, Somerville, $500
Arlene Bailey, Roxbury, $500
Ambreen Butt, Lexington, $500
Sheila Gallagher, Jamaica Plain, $500
Mary O'Malley, Danvers, $500

Painting:
Christopher Faust, Boston, $7,500
Masako Kamiya, Dorchester, $7,500
Yanick Lapuh, Brookline, $7,500
Joshua Meyer, Cambridge, $7,500
Monica Nydam, Jamaica Plain, $7,500
Harold Reddicliffe, Waltham, $7,500
Matthew Rich, Jamaica Plain, $7,500
Michael Zelehoski, Lee, $7,500
Liza Bingham, Cambridge, $500
Rebecca Doughty, Cambridge, $500
Scott Listfield, Somerville, $500
Rachel Mello, Somerville, $500
Anne Neely, Milton, $500
Helena Wurzel, Newton, $500

Traditional Arts:
Harold Burnham, Essex, $7,500
Balla Kouyaté, Medford, $7,500
Sophia Bilides, Natick, $500
Ivelisse Pabon de Landron, Ashland, $500
Sunanda Sahay, Acton, $500
Sridevi Ajai Thirumalai, Westborough, $500

Pictured: Mary O’Malley, “Bird Bouquet #1,” ink on paper, 2007.

ICA Foster Prize finalists announced

Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art has announced nine finalists for its 2010 James and Audrey Foster Prize: Robert de St. Phalle, Eirik Johnson, Fred Liang, Rebecca Meyers, Matthew Rich, Daniela Rivera, Evelyn Rydz, Amie Siegel and Steve Tourlentes.

The biennial prize exhibition, which is being expanded from four finalists to nine this year, recognizes "Boston-area artists of exceptional promise." It will run at ICA from Sept. 22, 2010, to Jan. 30, 2011. One artist will win the $25,000 prize. The winner is expected to be announced in January 2011.

Pictured from top to bottom:
Steve Tourlentes, "Fallsburg, NY State Prison," 2009, digital pigment print; Amie Siegel, stills compilation from "My Way 1," 2009, video, 9 minutes, color/sound; Evelyn Rydz, "Blue Foam with Barnacles," 2009, graphite and color pencil on Duralar, 11 x 14 inches; Matthew Rich, "Combination," 2009, latex paint on cut paper, linen tape, 31 x 58.5 inches, image courtesy of the artist and samson; Robert de St. Phalle, "Lean To," 2007, fiberglass rock prop with wood framing, daylight fluorescent bulb, wiring, 8 x 4 x 4 feet; Eirik Johnson, "Early Morning Rain Breaks in Palm Grove, Blanquillo," 13.20 minutes exposure, 2008-2009, led light box with synchronized stereo audio recording.

2009 New England Art Awards Ball is Feb. 8

Last week more than 1,880 people voted in the 2009 New England Art Awards. Now the winners will be announced at the New England Art Awards Ball at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, at the Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts. And you are invited!

We are very proud to announce that the event will include music by The Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Admission is free. Creative attire is encouraged.

The awards are a contest organized by The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research to honor the best art made in New England and exhibits organized here in 2009. More details about how it works here.

And thanks to Kari Percival for making the great woodcut poster above.

Taro Shinoda

From our review of Taro Shinoda's "Lunar Reflections" installation at the Gardner Museum:

Tokyo conceptual artist Taro Shinoda invites you to relax on a pair of beanbag chairs set upon a low platform to watch his 45-minute video "Lunar Reflections" at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The shots alternate between cityscape footage of Tokyo, Istanbul, Limerick, and Boston at night and a wall-filling shot of the moon, craters and all, slowly floating by.

The museum reports that during his 2007 residency, Shinoda "was inspired by the moonlight and the sense of calm that reigns in the Gardner Museum courtyard." So he fashioned a meditative experience that, he says, is about "all of us sharing the planet together. I look at the moon, and, a few hours later, you look at it in some different country."

Read the rest here (about halfway down).

Taro Shinoda “Lunar Reflections” Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston, Nov. 9, 2009, to Jan. 31, 2010.

Pictured: Taro Shinoda, "Lunar Reflection Transmission Technique," 2007-2009, sound installation: wooden platform, fabric, loudspeakers, video projection. Photo by Clements/Howcroft, 2009.