Tag Archives: Art and Film

$1 Billion spent by Boston area museums

Posted on January 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

The winter months are my favorite time of year to visit local museums.  They provide a respite from the cold and snow as well as a great way to interact with friends.  According to the Boston Magazine daily blog, several of Boston’s leading cultural institutions have raised and spent significant amounts of money to upgrade their collections and infrastructure in the past 10 yrs.

Institute of Contemporary Art (Photo via ThinkStock)

Some of these projects have made national headlines such as the opening of the new Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) museum on Boston’s south waterfront in 2006.  This was the first new art museum to be built in the city in nearly 100 years and the iconic building has drawn 1,000,000 visitors.

Museum of Fine Arts New America’s Wing (Photo via NBMAA)

At the same time, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) embarked on an audacious expansion, raising more than $500 million to build the New America’s wing; a four story building that has 51,000 square feet and houses 53 new galleries.  The new wing opened November 2010. 

Isabella Gardner Museum (Photo via WBUR)

Last week, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum completed a $114 million expansion, opening a very modern looking new glass building that adds 70,000 square feet of exhibit space.  The new space is a stark contrast to the original building which is a replica of a Venetian palace.

Across the river in Cambridge, Harvard University is re-building the school’s three art museums to bring together the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum into one state-of-the-art facility. Construction is expected to be completed in 2013.

If you are visiting the Boston area or if you happen to live here and have not visited one of these venerable institutions, won’t you consider checking them out? These institutions have built some world class facilities that are housing incredible works of art.  Good art evokes emotion and generates dialog – you may be surprised by how much you enjoy yourself.

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Posted in Architecture, Art & Film, Boston

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James Dean film: Joshua Tree 1951

Posted on January 19, 2012 | 6 comments

Later this year Joshua Tree, 1951, a new movie that takes a look at 1950s Hollywood hunk, James Dean, will hopefully be released.

Dean’s role is being played by the very good looking James Preston.  If you watch the two minute video below you will notice the filmmaker plays up the rumors of Dean’s bisexuality and by casting the very handsome Dan Glenn as James Dean’s roommate, Robert Gant (remember him from Queer As Folk) as “the famous director” and a host of other equally attractive men, it is sure to appeal to the gay community.

I have no idea how far these rumors are pursued in the film but I’m intrigued. 

According to the Out.com article, which first made me aware of the film, a distributor has yet to be signed so keep your fingers crossed that this will be visiting an independent theater in your town soon.

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Posted in Art & Film, Pop Culture, Video

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Chihuly’s Lime Green Icicle Tower to stay at the MFA

Posted on October 14, 2011 | 3 comments

Photo by: Erik Jacobs from The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe is reporting Dale Chihuly’s 42-foot-tall “Lime Green Icicle Tower’’ will remain at The Museum of Fine Arts’ (MFA) Shapiro Courtyard.  The piece was part of a recent exhibit featuring the Seattle-based glass artist’s work. In response to the public’s support of this unique exhibit, this summer the MFA told visitors that if they wanted this piece to remain they would need help raising funds to purchase the piece and the public responded, with more than 1,000 people sending in cash or stuffing bills into a box near the sculpture.  According to the Globe’s article, $760,000 was contributed to buy “Lime Green Icicle Tower’’ from donors who are not trustees or overseers of the MFA.

I was fortunate enough to see the exhibit when it came to Boston this spring / summer, and I am so pleased that this will remain as part of the museum’s permanent exhibit.  It is really breathtaking.

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Posted in Art & Film

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Gold Dust Orphans present: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Posted on September 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

Starting next month (Oct 14th to be exact) and every Friday night thereafter The Gold Dust Orphans will be performing The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Oberon Theater in Cambridge.  According to Ryan Landry (the Orphans ring leader), “My version of ’Rocky Horror’ is heavy rock ’n roll, and dark.  All the songs are thinly veiled about getting high. Many of the songs are flat out about heroin addiction. There is nothing pretty about that. I really cannot stand the Toys ’R Us version of the musical. Let me say this: I’m bringing the cock and balls back to ’Rocky Horror’.”

Live performances start Friday, October 14th and tickets cost $25. Purchase your tickets today here.

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Boston Ballet Season 2011-2012

Posted on September 7, 2011 | 3 comments

Last week I wrote about how many fantastic local theater companies there are in Boston in my post, 2011-12 season for local Boston theater companies. This week I wanted to encourage people to consider visiting and supporting the Boston Ballet. Many may not realize this but the Boston Ballet is considered one of the major ballet companies in North America and among the top companies in the world.

Ballet can sometimes be a tough sell for people unfamiliar with it, but it is an amazing dance form that beautifully blends athleticism and art. The Boston Ballet’s 2011-2012 season starts in just a few weeks with Romeo & Juliet (Nov. 3-13), followed by The Nutcracker (Nov. 25 – Dec 31).

To see their full season or to purchase tickets visit their website www.bostonballet.org.

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Free stuff to do in Boston this Friday

Posted on August 4, 2011 | 1 comment

Although I’m off to Gotham this weekend, that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of all the fun things happening in Boston. If you don’t have plans this Friday or if you are tired of doing the same thing, consider one of these options.

Shakespeare on the Common Once again this year, The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. is providing free performances. This year they are performing All’s Well that Ends Well through August 14th down by the bandstand on the Boston Common. Invite that special someone to join you Friday evening under the stars and enjoy some great local theater.
ICA Boston Thanks to the Highland Street Foundation, this Friday (August 5th) Boston’s premiere contemporary art museum is free to the public as part of their FREE FUN FRIDAYS series. Be sure to check out their “The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl” exhibit. For a small cover charge after taking in the exhibit you can partake in their waterfont dance party “DJs on the harbor: Classic DJ Throwdown”.
Of course there are more options such as First Fridays Open Studios, Boston Guerilla Queer Bar which will be overtaking a straight bar in the theater district this month, or joining guys for a drink at Fritz Bar in the South End to watch the Red Sox kick off a hometown series against the Yankees.

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Posted in Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Free Stuff

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Adam

Posted on July 17, 2011 | 3 comments

With the exception of my visit to the movie theater in December to take my nephews to see Yogi Bear in 3-D, I’m not even sure if I saw a movie in the theaters in 2010. At home I may have seen as many as 3-4 movies on demand or on television. So I suppose what I’m saying is that I’m no movie reviewer.

However, tonight I settled on an HBO channel while eating dinner – the movie which had just started was called, Adam. I had never heard of the independent film written and directed by Max Mayer, about a young man who suffers from Asperger Syndrome and becomes interested in an attractive neighbor living in his apartment building. But I am really glad I watched the movie… and should you see it – I hope you enjoy it too.

More about Adam.

Tracey – should you watch it… bring your tissues.

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Posted on June 21, 2011 | 5 comments

I’ve been a bit disappointed by the past few books I’ve read, but that all ended when on impulse I picked up Kathryn Stockett’s 500+ page book, The Help.

This book had me regularly reading late into the night. For those unfamiliar with the book which I understand has been made into a movie that will star, Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, it takes place in Jackson, MS during the early 1960s.

For those not familiar with modern US history, it may be shocking to realize the evil that was called segregation. The story centers around a college educated, single woman in her early 20s who’s returned home after getting her degree and is struggling to start her career as a journalist / writer as well as two maids who work for different white families in Jackson.

Comparisons with Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird are easy to make. Both authors are southern woman, both address the racism that was rampant and the social injustices that seem inconceivable to us today. Unlike Lee’s novel though, Stockett’s story balances tension with humor and I found myself regularly laughing out loud. This may go down as my favorite book of 2011.

Looking for some summer reading? Don’t be put off by the deep nature of the subject matter; this book is an absolute page turner. For those who are not of the reading variety, I’ve included the official movie trailer.

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Posted in Video, What'cha Reading

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Next stop wonderland

Posted on June 16, 2011 | 1 comment

Last week I posted a quick video of some filming that took place outside my apartment. Ever since Massachusetts signed into law a tax credit for filming crews, the state and Boston in particular have had what seems to be a never ending stream of movies filmed here.

Long before the tax credit a small, independent film called Next Stop Wonderland was filmed here by B.U. alum and film director Brad Anderson. The trailer below shows Erin Castleton played by Hope Davis, talking with her meddling mother, played by Holland Taylor. Using Boston as a backdrop and a bossa nova inspired soundtrack, the movie asks the audience do you think love is driven by fate or circumstance.

So enjoy the clip and let me know what you think. Is finding love a matter of serendipity?


*For those too young to know, before there was manhunt, grindr or scruff there was something called the personals which most local papers carried. Watch the movie and you can see what dating and single life was like before the internet really took off.

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Posted in Video

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Mark Wahlberg filming "Ted" (part 2)

Posted on June 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Earlier this week I mentioned that Seth McFarlane (creator of The Family Guy) is filming in the neighborhood with local boy, Mark Wahlberg, and Mila Kunis. While filming will continue throughout Boston and much of the South End, they were able to capture the scenes they needed out in front of my apartment.

Last night Sergio joined a throng of onlookers as they filmed another scene. They had to film this at night, but it is a day scene so they had the entire block filled with giant lights flooding the streets with artificial sunlight.

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Mark Wahlberg filming "Ted"

Posted on June 7, 2011 | 2 comments

Movie Director Seth McFarlane is filming outside my apartment for his movie Ted, which stars both Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. This movie has been filming in Boston and in particular the South End for the past few months, but tonight they are filming a “day” scene at Gaslight. For those who have read my blog for awhile you may recall this restaurant was used for several weeks in the fall of 2009 for the Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz film “Wichita” which was later renamed Knight & Day.

Its not clear to me if Mark or Mila will be appearing tonight. I had hoped I would be able to capture some photos of the stars like I did of Tom & Cameron, but it seems unlikely so instead I’ve posted a picture of the view outside my window. If something more exciting manifests, I’ll be sure to share.

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When was your gay adolescence?

Posted on June 4, 2011 | 12 comments

Have you heard of the movie Beginners directed by Mike Mills and starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer? The movie is based on Mike Mill’s real life and his relationship with his Dad who at the ripe age of 70 (and 6-mos after his wife’s passing) reveals that he’s gay. The movie chronicles the father’s exuberant embracing of his ‘new gay life’ and Mike’s relationship with his Dad as well as his new girlfriend.

It got me to thinking when I first came out in my late 20s and the ‘exuberance’ or rush that I felt. I could totally relate to this 70 year old man played by Christopher Plummer. Watching an interview with Mike Mills, he referred to the phenomenon as a second or ‘gay adolescence’, which I thought was a perfect term. For many people who come out later in life it does seem like they go through a second adolescence filled with boy crushes, drama and a lot of emotional energy.

Regardless of whether you’ve heard the term second adolescence or gay adolescence. Did you come out after your teenage years? And if so, did you also enjoy an intense second ‘gay adolescence’? Do tell…
Thanks to Jen on twitter who alerted me to a NPR interview of the director you can watch here.

The handsome guy posted at the beginning of the post has nothing to do with the movie but would be just the kind of guy who would have stopped me dead in my tracks. I’ve been looking for an excuse to post this picture and it seems that although my ‘gay adolescence’ is some years behind me now; some things never go away. I like that I remain a bit boy crazy.
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Posted in Video

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Australia: Hot Stuff

Posted on November 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Keeping with the theme of my previous post, I figured I’d add another number from last year’s Drag! Camp as Christmas show that I saw at the Sydney Opera House. Feel free to load in HD as the resolution is a bit better and it only takes a minute and of course enjoy the creative interpretation of the Donna Summer classic, Hot Stuff.

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MFA Art of the Americas wing opens

Posted on November 13, 2010 | 1 comment

The largest museum in Boston is the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). This week the museum unveils its massive new Art of the Americas wing, celebrating the completion of a $504 million expansion that took place during one of the country’s worst economic downturns.

More than 25,000 people made donations to make this wing a reality. The success of the MFA and widespread support is all the more impressive when you consider other, much larger cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago that have fallen shy of their own fund raising expansion campaigns.

The new addition is a striking four-story glass and granite structure filled with thousands of precious American artifacts and artworks and includes 53 new galleries with 51,000 square feet of new space.

The Boston Globe has included a floor-by-floor interactive map showcasing the new expansion which you can check out here. Definitely put visiting the new wing on your short list of “must see” during this winter when going outside is no fun.

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Posted in Philanthropy

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Support your local theater and artists

Posted on October 17, 2010 | 2 comments

Ministry of Pleasure blog recently referenced one of my favorite musicals of all-time, Avenue Q. It is no longer on Broadway but continues to tour, and although seeing a broadway show is not quite the same as supporting your local theater scene – I still hope it inspires you to purchase tickets to a local play or musical.

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Posted in Music, Video

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