Just a quick note to let you all know that I haven’t forgotten about the next episode of NEAT— I’ve been in Vegas photographing the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, then introducing the amazing Aline Smithson at the Griffin Museum’s Focus Awards, and today I am performing in and co-producing the special Pride Edition of To Infinity and Beyonce! Then I leave for a week to teach photography at an arts conference in the middle of nowhere… but we’ll be back in July! I’m dedicated to bringing you more interviews with a variety of New England artists, gallerists, and resources (and I have a lot lined up!) Thanks for hanging in with me!
Episode 5: Jesseca Ferguson
NOTE: The sound in this interview is a little funky— I’ve purchased a new recorder and future interviews should be much smoother. There’s still a lot of good stuff in this interview so please download and thanks for listening!
“…The art world can be very competitive. Of course, it’s a small pie and there isn’t room for everyone or there might not be a slice for everyone. But could we redefine it and have it be that it’s more about sharing things and connecting? I don’t know. I’d rather connect with people than judge them.”
-Jesseca Ferguson in our interview
Download the interview here: NEAT_JessecaFerguson.mp3 (55 min)
Jesseca Ferguson currently works with pinhole photography, 19th century photo processes and collage. Her pinhole photographs and collaged “photo objects” have been included in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Europe. Museums holding her work include the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, France; the Museum of the History of Photography, Krakow, Poland; Brandts Kladefabrik, Odense, Denmark; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; and the Ransom Center for the Humanities, Austin, TX among others. Ferguson has received grants to support her work from the LEF Foundation; the Engelhard Foundation; Art Matters, Inc.; Polaroid Corporation: and the Trust for Mutual Understanding. Artist residencies include MacDowell Colony and 3rd International Artists’ Colony of Debrecen, Hungary. Her work has been published in a number of books, catalogues, and articles on the subject of handmade photography in the US and abroad. Since 1998 she has been engaged in cultural exchange with Poland, through the medium of pinhole photography. She has exhibited her own work in Poland and has also facilitated and organized exhibitions of work by contemporary Polish photographers in the US.
Jesseca lives and works in Boston, MA, and teaches at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She is represented by Panopticon Gallery.
Episode 4: Petey Gibson
BONUS EPISODE— 2 in one week? What? I’ve published this interview early to give you a chance to see Petey before she moves to LA. Listen to the interview, watch some of her videos, then see her at Happy Trails: A Send Off to Mary Dolan.
“… in those times I feel almost like a conductor. The room is electric; the room is alive. You’ve got people having a human experience. You’ve got a hundred, two hundred strangers in a room all sharing one experience and all pulling at it in slightly different ways. Because of who they are and what they think and what their experiences are they’re seeing it slightly differently but they’re all feeling that same surge. You can actually feel the energy coming up and greeting you on stage and you give it back. Everyone’s breathing this big beautiful sigh together. Everyone’s in that air at the same moment and it’s live theater. You’ll never have that moment again. […] So in that moment, yes, I’m an artist.”
-Petey Gibson in our interview
Download the interview here: NEAT_PeteyGibson.mp3 (50 mins)
Comedian and character actor Petey Gibson is the creator of beloved 86-year old character Mary Dolan. As Mary, Petey has hosted Boston’s hit series, Bent Wit Cabaret, for two years; originated the role of Auntie Drosselmeyer in bawdy ballet satire The Slutcracker; and performed stand-up at Gotham Comedy Club, NYC’s Comix Comedy Club, Mottley’s, ImprovBoston, and The Women in Comedy Festival 2010-2012 among many other venues. As a member of the award-winning comedy troupe All The Kings Men, Petey has traveled internationally and brought a whole cast of characters to diverse audiences. In Boston, Petey has produced, written, and performed in countless shows, including the sold-out smash The Mary Dolan Show. This summer, Petey heads to The Groundlings School in Los Angeles.
Episode 3: The Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston
“There will be an audience who likes your particular flavor. You can’t go changing your flavor to suit a particular audience. And that’s marketing— figuring out who you are, what your work really is trying to say, finding out who is receptive to that and then learning what the channels are that connect those two dots. That’s all it is.”
-D’Lynne Plummer during our interview
Download the interview here: NEAT_ABC.mp3 (61 mins)
D’lynne Plummer is the Director of Professional Development for the Arts & Business Council, where she oversees educational programming and the Essential Training for the Arts program. Previous to joining the A&BC, D’lynne was a freelance arts journalist and essayist for various regional and national publications, including Art New England, and later worked as a marketing consultant and copywriter for clients large and small. D’lynne has taught writing and marketing courses since 2007, presenting her workshops at the National Arts Marketing Conference and for arts agencies throughout New England.
Upcoming ABC Event:
June 13th – Martinis & Masterpieces
Pre-event Gallery Walk on Thayaer Street, 5:00 – 6:00pm
Main event at Mohr & McPherson, 6:00 – 9:00pm
features live music, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres created by local chefs, and a silent auction featuring art and gift packages.
Episode 2: Raul Gonzalez
“I think every person should always say yes.”
-Raul Gonzalez during our interview
Download the interview here: NEAT_RaulGonzalez.mp3 (63 mins)
Raúl Gonzalez was born in El Paso, Texas and grew up going back and forth between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, México. In 2011 Beautiful/Decay in collaboration with Canson awarded him a Wet Paint Grant. In 2009 Gonzalez received an award from the Artadia Foundation for Art and Culture. He was voted Boston’s best visual artist for 2010 by readers of The Boston Phoenix. His work has been exhibited widely in the northeast including The Drawing Center in New York, the Aidekman Gallery at Tufts University in Medford, MA and The Mills Gallery at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, Ogunquit Museum of American Art as well as on the west coast at SCION Installation, San Francisco Art Institute and Self-Help Graphics in Los Angeles. In 2010 he worked on his first large scale mural sponsored by the Boston Arts Commission installed in the neighborhood of East Boston. Gonzalez is committed to introducing youth to the visual arts and has taught in the education departments of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 2011 Gonzalez collaborated with over 125 kids from all over the city of Boston to create a work titled “and their Families” for the Linde Family Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gonzalez lives in Somerville, MA, with his wife Elaine Bay and their infant son Raúl, IV. He is represented by Carroll and Sons, Boston.
You can find out more about Raul at http://www.artbyraul.com
Paris Visone T-Shirt Giveaway Contest
Because I think Paris’ shirts are neat (see what I did there?), she and I coordinated to give one away to a lucky listener. All you have to do is 1) listen to her episode and 2) based on what you learn about her there, determine which of these three statements is a lie. She has provided all three statements, and I promise that two are true and only one is false. Then, 3) email me at info@artisneat.com with your name and guess by April 9th. Out of those who correctly respond, I’ll randomly select a winner and announce them on the blog on April 10th!
Statement 1: I photographed a naked Judah Friedlander.
Statement 2: The baby on the cover of the Morrissey album “Years of Refusal” is my step brother.
Statement 3: Debbie Harry yelled at me to “Stop leaving my underwear around” while we were on tour.
Take a look at this awesome shirt that Paris will personally mail you, right to your home, should you be the lucky winner:
Episode 1: Paris Visone
“I’m trying to keep the real in photography… as real as photography can be.”
-Paris Visone (during our interview)
Download the interview here: NEAT_ParisVisone.mp3 (55 mins)
Paris Visone is is a documentary photographer based out of Boston. She graduated from the Art Institute of Boston where she currently teaches. Paris was chosen as a 2010 Getty Images Editorial Photography Grant recipient for her series “Gender Roles and Appearance”. She recently finished touring with and photographing the legendary punk/new wave band, Blondie. Visone is best known for her ever continuing documentary work on her family and friends. She has been featured in multiple publications including AMP magazine, F-stop Magazine, and Performer Magazine. She is currently working on a book titled “18 Boulevard” which showcases a 2 year period where she lived in a 3 bedroom apartment with a revolving cast of 16 different people.
You can find out more about her work at parisvisone.com
Stay tuned for a Paris Visone T-Shirt Giveaway Contest!
What is NEAT?
I started New England Art Talk with the goal of creating a podcast that would allow me to talk with local artists, art resources, and others involved in the local art scene and share those conversations with the world.
I’m interested in asking some questions:
- How do artists go about making their work and why do they do what they do? Why make art?
- How do artists make sense of success? of failure?
- What makes the New England art scene unique, both from other areas of the country but also between the cities within the region?
- What resources are available to New England artists? Where can they find support?
And more, but that’s a start. My goal is to have a new podcast out every two weeks and some supporting posts happening in between. I’d love to hear from you if you have ideas about what the podcasts and blog might become— this is a work in progress.
My name is Caleb Cole and I hope you enjoy NEAT.