As I've said, lists are the lazy blogger's friend. I cheat a bit, but most people writing these things do. Obviously my list reflects a certain provincialism. Lee Bontecou nearly made it, not because I saw the MoMA show but because every museum I visited had put up at least one work on paper by her in response to it. Similar logic dictated number two. Still, for what it's worth, here's my view from the margins:
1. Halloween. Always the best holiday of the year, but better than ever in 2004.
2. Minimalism. Yeah, we didn’t get any of those shows here. Dan Flavin in DC, the two biggies in LA, Donald Judd in London – that’s not New England. The MFA did put up a room of minimalist painting and sculpture as a companion to the Cerith Wyn Evans exhibition, though, so I lived vicariously. The impact of these exhibits will be felt for a while.
3. Masters of Mezzotint: Yozo Hamaguchi and Katsunori Hamanishi at the Worcester Art Museum. Not-quite-full disclosure: I have a professional connection to this institution and helped to a small degree in the mounting of the exhibition. That said, it was one of the most art-full shows I have seen in some time, a testament to the artists' exploration of an exacting medium. Hamaguchi’s luminous work displayed an intelligence and dedication so impressive that it put most other art I saw this year to shame. Hamanishi would likely be the first to say that he has not equaled the older master, but his harder-edged pieces were deeply impressive in their own right. A privilege to see.
4. Robert ParkeHarrison at the DeCordova. This exhibition, first seen at the Eastman House and travelling to Germany soon, stands as a landmark for the rising Massachusetts photographer. Earlier works show the origins of his project, while the fully developed results dominate and some new directions are suggested. I had some quibbles when I saw it last fall, and still do; but I don’t doubt that it was one of the most important shows of the season in New England. Maybe Shana will start to get credit soon.
5. Must I Paint You a Picture?: The Essential Billy Bragg. Ok, so this came out near the end of 2003. But I didn’t have a weblog then to rave about it. I would change a few song selections, and the bonus cd of rare/unreleased tracks was the expected mix of stellar and pedestrian material typical of such collections. But still, taken as a whole, the cd makes a convincing case for Bragg as one of the most underrated songwriters of the past couple of decades. Often stereotyped as a political singer, the warmth, wit and emotion of his work extend far beyond that implied limit. Listeners to Worker’s Playtime already know this, but the tracks from his neglected mid-90’s record William Bloke stand up to anything he’s done. Oh, and the duet with Ted Hawkins on the latter’s “Cold and Bitter Tears” is great, too.
6. Jacob Isaaksz van Ruisdael, The Jewish Cemetery. Obviously not a recent work, but as the networks used to say of their summer repeats, if you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you. I landed in Detroit just too late to see the big Whistler exhibit, and most of DIA was closed for renovations. This was the highlight. A painting familiar from survey classes, it had never made a big impact on me and I was not prepared for it in person. I was surprised at how large it was (56” x 74”), but more by its tremendous surface – the light sparkles on it. Enchanting. Other Detroit standout: Lafayette Coney Island.
7. The renovated American galleries at the MFA. Making a virtue of necessity, the MFA has moved highlights from its closed decorative arts wing into the painting and sculpture galleries, spiffing them up and rehanging some works in the process. I’ve heard some people really object to mixing dec arts in with paintings in museum galleries, though I’ve never understood why. Mostly the combination works: sturdy Sandwich glass stands next to Luminist paintings while furniture with delicate Orientalist motifs sits near late-nineteenth century Aestheticist paintings. While the main hallway is a bit overcrowded the effect overall is of a unified sensibility – and the dec arts pieces look so much better out of their dingy old galleries.
8. Art Deco. Not really my thing, but with the Ruhlman exhibit at the Met and the ongoing show at the MFA, it was hard to avoid round these parts. The Ruhlman in particular made me feel like I was spending time in the home of someone's very wealthy grandmother.
9. Cerith Wyn Evans at the MFA. It’s instructive that Oliver Payne, quoted in the current Artforum, considers this the top exhibit of the year even as he admits only visiting for five minutes and seeing just two of the works on display. It's also instructive that I had a fairly negative response when I saw it and it's still on my top ten. That's because what Payne did see - the concave mirror Inverse, Reverse, Perverse - was a blast. And he didn't miss much else.
10. You. I set up the Typepad account in the spring, created the site and then didn’t post anything or make it public. Mid-summer, I decided I needed to either get serious about it or junk it all. At no time did I think that anyone would actually read it. But after a while, even though I’ve done little to promote it, a small but growing number of people do. Why, I’m not always sure (except for the tips on old school kicks), but I am grateful to everyone who has read, linked to, or mentioned it. I am also thankful for all those sites listed at right which provide me with so much to read and think about every day.
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