Bureau for Open Culture is an institution on-the-go that initiates the overlap of art, science, ecology, and design. In a variety of locations, BOC helps foster collaborations that explore cultural, social, economic and political conditions.

We are so happy that BOC has landed here in North Adams for the summer and fall as part of our upcoming show The Workers. BOC’s series titled, I Am Searching for Field Character (after a Joseph Beuys essay), invites artists and thinkers to explore North Adams’ historical roots and current relationship with MASS MoCA.

James Voorhies, Director and Chief Curator of Bureau for Open Culture, met with us on Sunday to discuss the ideas for North Adams...You know, because we really like ideas here at MASS MoCA. Get it? The project is an exploration of a community that evolved from an industrial society into a cultural getaway.

When we met with James, he told us about three projects that will take place this summer from May 26 – September 30. First, there’s Beer Garden, a center for conversation AND beer nestled alongside the Hoosic River. Starting on May 26 (let’s hope the snow is gone by then!!), Beer Garden will open for intellectual conversations about community and cultural work over locally brewed beverages every Thursday and Friday night from 5pm-10pm!

Another project is Work Site, a lovely office space in the formerly un-renovated Building 8 at MASS MoCA which will be open to freelancers who would like to bring their laptop to a new workspace and meet some new colleagues! (Think of a coffee shop without the coffee).

James also introduced me to one of the artists, Sarah Cowles, professor of landscape at Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University and mastermind behind Elegantly Wasted: a Fashion-Forward Ecosystem for the Hoosic River. Sarah was joined by some of her brightest architect and landscape students from OSU. The group spent the weekend in the Berkshires becoming familiar with the area.

They visited the Natural Bridge State Park, local restaurants, the Hoosic Tunnel, and even tried their luck with Trivia Night at the PNA in Adams!

Made into a concrete channel in the 1950s, the Hoosic River has not always been a “dead-zone�. The 66-mile long river once provided ecological strength to the Berkshires and industrial power from the 1700’s to the 1900’s. Today there is a disconnect between the community and the river. Sarah and Bureau for Open Culture are here to change that.

The students split into three groups and surveyed the four-mile channelized section of the Hoosic River that runs through NAMA; sketching and observing the area. Their goal was to contemplate and discover a possible relationship between the North Adams community and the Hoosic River.

Two suggestions were thoroughly discussed: One was creating a sound-piece that would be affected by the changing water levels in the River; another was creating smaller ecosystems off of the channelized river to support wildlife.

Bureau for Open Culture is looking forward to connecting with the North Adams community through natural, scientific, and cultural development. Keep reading to see what they come up with!..or visit Bureau for Open Culture’s website!

(Look how happy they are to be in NAMA…)

We’ve teamed up with our friends at Taylor’s to offer a special package for Chautauqua! Just $35 gets you a delicious dinner and a delicious show.

Stop by Taylor’s before Chautauqua! and choose from a special three-course prix fixe pre-theater menu:

Start with a garden salad

Then choose from

• Cheese ravioli with spinach and sun dried tomatoes in a cream sauce
• Baked cod with mashed potatoes
• Chicken picatta with mashed potatoes

Finish it off with a piece of yummy chocolate cake.

You have to reserve in advance but you can do so up until 5 PM on Friday, April 8. Reserve by calling MASS MoCA Box Office at 413 662-2111, then press 1.  We’ll take care of the rest. (Well everything but the gratuity.  Please don’t forget to tip your server generously!)

Well look what we found! Enjoy these pics from our patrons. Want your MASS MoCA pictures on our blog? Add your pics to our Flickr account!

BradKellyPhoto

BombCity

noteventhepie

girlinthegreendress

koshka4

mdomdol

#anne#(busy!!)

Nari Ward has transformed Building 10 at MASS MoCA! We are very excited for this installation and wanted to share the progress with our hard-core blog readers.

The skeleton of a giant Jamaican fish-catcher is harboring an incredible amount of potential for awe and imagination.

The boat for Nu Colossus arrived at MASS MoCA today (very exciting)! The 30-foot boat will appear alongside the giant fish-catcher. The boat will look as though it is suspended in midair. (Note: The artist had to split the boat into smaller pieces to load it into our gallery.)

You could literally smell the hard work in Building 10 today. The aroma of sawdust and paint whisked in the air along with Nari and his busy assistants. Tools and materials were sprawled across the floor while a calm chaos was pushing the workers through this gigantic task. (That’s our amazing visual art intern, Rosalia, as she paints the sound-piece named, Stall.)

Stall allows it’s viewers/listeners to interact with the piece. Patrons will be able to walk onto the platforms and view textiles from Arnold Print Works while hearing noises from an actual Jamaican market filtering through the air.

Mango Tourist is nearing completion! The yellow material is burnt mattress foam- filled with mango seeds and hundreds of Sprague Electric capacitors! This piece is visually delicious. An unforeseen smile spreads across one’s face when you see these playful shapes.

The installation will open on April 3rd along with Memery; a retrospective that explores our relationship with the internet and how it affects our memory. In the meantime, check out Kidspace’s new exhibit, Color Forms II, this Saturday!

Dear Danelle Cheney, thank you for the photos. Love, MASS MoCA

Combining two music genres often happens naturally. For example:  Genres such as country and folk or pop and hip hop are practically in the same family.

What are two types of music that are not generally laced together? Reggae and polka? Techno and bluegrass? How about disco and metal?? \m/

This Saturday (March 26^th) Tragedy: The All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees will bring the house down at MASS MoCA!

Tragedy was formed by four brothers in 2007. Since then they have been delivering quality Bee Gees metalization services! Tragedy embraces farcical elements from disco and metal, but there are additional parallels with the two genres.

Metal Music

-Began emerging in the 1960’s

-Critically detested

-Roots in psychedelic rock

-Male musicians had luscious locks!

-The innovative sounds still influence music to this day.

Disco

-Began emerging in the 1960’s

-Critically detested

-Roots in psychedelic rock

-Male musicians had luscious locks!

-The innovative sounds still influence music to this day.

Don’t miss the opportunity to witness these guys pull off this bizarre musical mishmash. Put on your polyester pants, grab your black eyeliner, and get ready for some SERIOUS entertainment!

Click here for more info and tickets.

While you’re at it: Check out these videos from Tragedy, Beatallica, and Mini Kiss.

Sub Mirage Lignum by Nari Ward will open April 3, 2011…but we couldn’t wait to talk about it! We chatted with Nari the other day to get an idea of what to expect for the new installation at MASS MoCA!

What you’re looking at in this picture are mango seeds…

Originally from Jamaica, Nari is using the installation to combine the past and the present. In the sculpture Mango Tourist, Nari uses materials such as mango seeds (a material from his past), and recovered Sprague Electric capacitors (as a reference to MASS MoCA i.e. the present).

Nari is giving “visual life to a creative force”. He is creating “visual energy” to juxtapose the image of reality and illusion.

You would think this installation would consume all of Nari’s time, but believe it or not, he’s ALSO studying for his U.S. citizenship test! Go Nari!

In the sculpture, Nu Colossus, Nari will use broken furniture pieces, a giant replica of a Jamaican fish trap, and a 30-foot boat that will look as though it is suspended in mid air!…MASS MoCA patrons will NOT be disappointed!

(New Colussus is a sonnet by Emma Lazarus that is engraved on a plaque in the Statue of Liberty.)

The installation will also include a sound piece that will feature actual recordings of a Jamaican market place. Patrons will hear the noises as they wander through a series of fabrics that were originally printed through the textile company that BUILT the MASS MoCA site, Arnold Print Works!

Sub Mirage Lignum by Nari Ward is “striving for illusion”. He’s trying to explore “what is there and what one desires.” Don’t miss the opening of this exciting new installation on April 3rd! And keep checking the blog for more updates!

Thanks to Danelle Cheney for the photos!!! =]