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Dwelling:
Memory, Architecture and Place
at historic Forest Hills Cemetery
June 24 through October 31, 2006
- A
house made of gathered branches, overflowing with living sunflowers
- A
flying carpet pieced together – like a giant jigsaw puzzle
– from fragments of demolished homes
-
A series of doorknockers, each with its own tone, inviting viewers
to send a signal to another world
- A
sound collage composed of music interlaced with collected words
and phrases, accessed by visitors via cell phone or iPod
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Introduction
Forest Hills Cemetery has become one of Boston's most fascinating exhibition
venues. Created in 1848 as Boston's first park as well as its most beautiful
cemetery, Forest Hills offers an environment for contemporary artists
to explore themes of nature, memory, identity, family, and the cycle of
life. Through the Trust's innovative exhibition program, visitors discover
contemporary art woven into a grand Victorian landscape, sheltered by
majestic canopy trees and juxtaposed with one of the finest collections
of 19th century memorial sculpture in the nation.
Dwelling
For the Trust’s fourth exhibition of contemporary art, 15 artists
have created site-specific pieces responding to Forest Hills as a final
home and a place for lingering reflection. They have constructed inviting
outdoor rooms for rest and thought, using gathered branches, growing vines,
and living sunflowers. They have transformed a tombstone with mirror,
a grassy lot with a colorful oriental carpet, the silent air with a sound
collage. These works and more will be on view through October 31, 2006.
Go to list of artists and description
of projects.
A home
for eternity
For Boston’s Victorians, Forest Hills Cemetery was the ultimate domestic
space: a home for eternity. They transplanted the architecture and furnishings
of their 19th century homes into a romantic park, creating a pastoral
landscape filled with marble staircases, balustrades and ornmental urns,
gothic spires and miniature mansions. In a 250-acre greenspace just minutes
from downtown Boston, they created a sanctuary separated from the city,
an oasis of nature and art that continues to offer visitors a haven for
contemplation.
The Jury
A jury of accomplished arts and design professionals selected 12 installation
pieces by a total of 15 artists from over 200 proposals. The jury consisted
of: Robert Campbell, architecture critic for the Boston Globe; Pieranna
Cavalchini, Curator of Contemporary Art for the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum; Carole Anne Meehan, Vita Brevis Director for the Institute of
Contemporary Art; and Douglas Reed, landscape architect and principal
of Reed Hilderbrand.
Opening
Reception and Events
The exhibition opens with a festive public reception on the afternoon
of Saturday, June 24, from 3 to 6 pm (raindate: June 25). The celebration
will include short performances from The Water Project, a powerful blend
of ritual, myth, visual art, and dance developed by collaborators Christine
Bennett of Christine Bennett Dance Company and Michael Dowling, artist
and director of the Medicine Wheel. A walking tour with participating
artists starts at 4 pm.
Walking tours
will take place monthly throughout the exhibition with participating artists
joining historians who specialize in the Victorian era.
Go to:
Dwelling
is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Additional funding provided by the Boston Foundation for Architecture
and individual donors.
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