Upon entering MASS MoCA, look up in the sky.  You’ll see upside down trees and the Berkshire Mountains.  You may also notice our clock tower, resident of the Marshall Street Complex since 1895.

This clock is unlike any other time-teller—it depends on chance.  The clock, named The Clocktower Project, rings every 15 minutes, yet each time it rings produces a new sound.  This is because the ringing of the bells depends on both the quality of light and time of day. Read the rest of this entry »

MASS MoCA and the Williamstown Film Festival (WFF) live down the street from each other, were both born in 1999, and are considered major artistic centers—obviously they have become good friends with one another.

This weekend marks the beginning of the 13^th Williamstown Film Festival, with two films premiering at MASS Moca, We Need to Talk About Kevin on Saturday, October 22 at 8pm and Never Stand Still on Friday, October 28 at 8pm.

In honor of these events, let’s examine the history of the MASS MoCA + WFF relationship, taking a look at which films and events we have hosted as a part of the festival! Read the rest of this entry »

Below is a video update from John Kelly about the work-in-progress showing, Find My Way Home, that’s happening this Saturday, October 15, at 8 PM. Find My Way Home retells the Myth of Orpheus & Eurydice in the Great Depression time period adding elements of opera, period dance, cinematic acting, projected film sequences, extravagant costume and set design, and a company of dancers for a performance art piece not to be missed. Check out the clip below for a further understanding of the work put into this particular showing.

Who else drinks coffee to keep the work day going and caps off the night with wine? Don’t we all?

Our managing director Sue Killam offers this background information for John Kelly’s video.  Stay tuned from more videos from John about the residency.

Performance and visual artist John Kelly is currently in residence at MASS MoCA.  He’s created over 30 pieces to date, and he is in the process of re-mounting his Bessie Award-winning work Find My Way Home.  Created in 1988 during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Find My Way Home deconstructs genres of opera, period dance, and cinematic acting, and includes scenes and arias from Gluck’s baroque opera Orfeo Ed Eurydice.

While we host a lot of artists-in-residence, what’s most interesting about this residency is that as John re-visits this work, reviving backdrops, props, character dummies, choreography, and movement from the original.  As he explained, the piece has been in storage for over 10 years and time has left its mark.  For example, only a third of the original painted backdrop (pictured above) was found so now it has to be pieced together from old photographs and reconstructed.  It’s become a group effort to bring the backdrop back to life, adding more layers of those who this piece has touched.   And as this resurrection commences, it’s natural to reflect on the original creators who have since passed.   Breathing new life into Find My Way Home is a mash-up of old and new, present and departed, original ideas and evolution.  Please join us on Saturday at 8pm and become a part of the story of this piece.

On the roof of MASS MoCA lies a 230-foot long grid of solar panels, providing the museum with 7% of our power.  These panels go by the name of Codex Solis, part of All Utopias Fell by artist Michael Oatman, which also includes The Shining and The Library of the Sun.  Codex Solis does more than supply us with energy—it presents us with a message, a hidden message.

The solar panels are organized to create a phrase relating back to the sun and solar energy.  The quote is by a well known author, but Oatman won’t tell us who.   Each solar panel represents a letter.  Mirrors scattered among the panels represent spaces between words.

Read the rest of this entry »

What do Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, and Sarah Silverman have in common?  They all have performed with comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade! The Upright Citizens Brigade TourCo will bless us with their humor at MASS MoCA on Saturday, October 8 at 8pm!

A small history lesson on UCB:

-1996: Comedians Matt Besser (Reno 911), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Ian Roberts (Anchorman), and Matt Walsh (Old School) leave Chicago’s ImprovOlympic to move New York, forming the Upright Citizens Brigade to teach and perform improv

-1998-2000:  The TV series “Upright Citizens Brigadeâ€� airs on Comedy Central for 3 seasons, featuring popular comedy sketches from their live performances, as well as new material.  The show follows the Upright Citizens Brigade, an organization “with no government ties and unlimited resources,” allowing for chaos to ensue… Read the rest of this entry »