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!

David Hilliard

I know, I know, the blog has been dark the last couple weeks, but hopefully the posts will start being more frequent and regular again. If art imitated (my) life, I certainly wouldn't want to buy it right now.
Anyway, some big stuff has been happening this month. David Hilliard, who currently has a show at Carroll and Sons in the South End, will be doing the Benefit Print for the MFA Summer Party in June (shown here). Although Hilliard's photographs are in major museum collections across the US (including the MFA, Boston), I was most impressed when I went to an Elton John concert in Boston about 5-6 years ago and Sir Elton John himself gave him a big shout out, saying that Hilliard was a "brilliant" Boston-based photographer and that he collects his work.
At the opening at Carroll and Sons last week, Hilliard said that he studied film and video at MassArt as an undergrad, but was drawn to photography because the images are longer lasting and viewers can look at them as long they like. He feels that his film background influences his photography, in which he creates multiple images to be shown together as diptyches, triptyches, etc. Each photo is taken separately and they can be separated by distance, time, and/or perspective. The result does seem cinematic- and quite beautiful.
If you are interested in buying the Benefit Print, do so ASAP. Last year the print sold out.

Wow! Researching Prints in the MFA's Morse Study Room

The MFA's Morse Study Room for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs is an absolutely amazing resource available to collectors eager to learn more about their collection or potential acquisitions. When working with a dealer, it is often possible to have a print sent to the MFA on approval to allow you to compare the work to one or more similar ones at the MFA. Older prints in particular vary widely in terms of impression quality and condition -- which greatly impact value. Even prints within the same edition may have been produced inconsistently.
We had an appointment yesterday with Stephanie Stepanek, an expert in the area we are researching; and we were also lucky to have a chance to chat with the head of the department, Cliff Ackley.

We started our research with the catalogue raisonne, which describes what is known about each print -- typically listing trial proofs, working proofs and each edition -- documenting what is known about each round including paper, changes to the plate, number in the edition, etc. The MFA is a great resource for these are dealers and even the Boston Public Library. (Although...they are not always in English). (although we did benefit from additional hand annotations by MFA researchers). These books help you to identify the edition of the print you are researching.

The really amazing part of our visit was the fact that the MFA had 6 different versions of the print we were comparing to our potential acquistion, which they had out on display for our examination. In this case, we were able to see several that would be considered to be better, one worse and a few that would really depend on your personal preference.

Cliff mentioned that many people tell him that they don't stop by because they don't want to "bother" the staff, but that they really hope people utilize their resources so that they can make educated purchases.

J.

Lalla Essaydi at MFA

Lalla Essaydi, a SMFA alum, will be giving a visiting artist lecture on Thursday, 1/22/09, at 12:30 PM in the Riley Seminar Room at the MFA. She also currently has work on view in the new Herb Ritts Gallery at the MFA. She is known for her staged photographs of Moroccan women covered with calligraphy. While they may seem to be simple images at first, they are actually quite radical. Supposedly in Islam, women are not allowed to write using this calligraphy. A few years ago we bought one of her photographs of 3 women writing on each other, a very defiant act. I especially liked the performance aspect. In Boston, she is represented by Howard Yeserski Gallery.

Rachel Whiteread at MFA, Boston

When I lived in NYC in 1999, I would make special trips to SoHo just to see Rachel Whiteread's Watertower piece. It is a clear resin cast of the inside of one of the ubiquitous watertowers in Manhattan, installed on a watertower base on the top of a building. Amidst all of the bustle and commotion of the street below, it was like a secret oasis of calm, still water- frozen. It could also be quite spectacular when hit by the sun.
Last week, Rachel Whiteread opened a show at the MFA, Boston and gave two lectures about her work. Although her work looks very simple, it is deceptively thoughtful and emotional. Everyone needs to go see her installation, Village, as soon as possible. It is an arrangement of hand-made dollhouses that she has been collecting over the last 20 years. The room is dark and each dollhouse is lit from within, resembling a village at night. You might at first associate to a Christmas display in some shop, but when you stand there in the dark and reflect on the fact that each house was made by an individual- the piece represents the lives of possibly hundreds of people- it can give you goosebumps.