Summer Party Silent Auction Teaser

If you haven't boght your tickets to the MFA's Summer party on 6/13, you need to do so ASAP. The benefit print by David Hilliard looks like it will be selling out very soon. Also, last night was the jury meeting for the silent auction. Approximately 30 pieces were chosen from almost 300 submissions. It was a hard process to deliberate and narrow the selections down to a size that could be shown in the MFA's rotunda. However, I think people will be very pleased with the results. There are a variety of media including painting, prints, photographs, and jewelry and a price range that goes from about $250 to $4,000. Starting bids are either half of the retail price or $1,000, whichever is less. You may be hearing more about specific pieces over the next few weeks, but that's it for now- the selected artists haven't even been notified yet!

David Hilliard Benefit Print on sale now

We've previously blogged about the awesome David Hilliard benefit print for this years Summer Party at the MFA. Well, the link is up and you can buy it now before it runs out!
Ticket levels which include the print are as follows:

• Oro Guest: $525 (Museum Council members receive a $50 discount, limit one per member)
  Benefits include:
  Two tickets to the Party, including VIP lounge access
  One exclusive limited-edition benefit print by David Hilliard*
  Individual recognition on event program (listing deadline, May 15)
  $250 is not tax deductible
• Argento Guest: $375 (Museum Council members receive a $50 discount, limit two per member)
  Benefits include:
  One ticket to the Party, including VIP lounge access
  One exclusive limited-edition benefit print by David Hilliard*
  Individual recognition on event program (listing deadline, May 15)
  $150 is not tax deductible

All indications are that we will sell out again this year. Don't miss out!

Suara Welitoff at Barbara Krakow

On October 2, the Barbara Krakow Gallery held a special event for those of us who had supported the MFA Counsel’s Summer P(art)y by purchasing the benefit by Suara Welitoff. Suara, who we had a chance to see last year at Alston Skirt Gallery, has been picked up by Barbara Krakow. We had the opportunity to hear from Suara and view a dozen of her video works. Her

works include videos that she shot herself, as well as works based off of found footage. Her works were included in the MFA’s exhibition War and Discontent in 2007. In fact, Suara’s works make up 3 out of the 6 video works in the MFA’s contemporary collection. One of the MFA works, “Say Yes” was a crowd favorite. Some of her works are entirely silent. Several of these which include war or military images are especially eerie without sound. Suara has paired others, including “Tell Me” with music which in some cases makes them seem overly sentimental. Suara explained that she doesn’t start out with a plan for including or excluding sound or music, but rather experiments with several options to determine if the audio adds to the composition. Another crowd favorite was Lasts Longer, 2008, which although only 1 minute 46 seconds, includes a complexity of motion and design which makes it feel substantially longer. The scene -- a photographer shooting photos of a model-like women invokes a feeling of being in Warhol's Factory. Not surprisingly, Wharhol is one of Suara's inspirations

Thanks to Suara, William Stover and the Barbara Krakow gallery for this amazing opportunity.

Boston Common Magazine includes the MFA Summer Party

Lookout for the Late Fall issue of Boston Common magazine.  Several great photos from the MFA's Summer Party (including a shot of one of the BostonPrintCollectors).  

When I was checking out the online edition (still Early Fall edition photos), I discovered that the publisher, Niche Media, also puts out a special Art Basel Miami Beach edition.  Web site currently links to the main ABMB website (http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/ca/cc/ss/ ), but I'll be checking back before I head down to Miami.