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Boston Globe
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
At the Peabody Essex Museum, tracking the American Experiment through more than two centuries of art
SALEM — 'Making History,' the immodest title of a somewhat more modest exhibition newly opened at the Peabody Essex Museum, promises much and delivers some of it. Gleaned from the considerable collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts are 86 works by American artists across eras and generations, some wildly famous and many not at all so. What's more American than make or break? Past the marquee names — Winslow Homer, Alice Neel, Georgia O'Keeffe, Andrew Wyeth, Stuart Davis — a theme emerges; or should I say, is driven home? 'Making America' isn't subtle and can feel simplistic in its corrective effort to wedge neglected branches of American art history into a canon that's still too narrow. Even so, it's a worthy cause, especially this weekend, as America looks at itself and tries to decide if it likes what it sees. 'Making History' is a reminder that the American Experiment is a forever-unfinished work in progress, and offers a broader base to build on. PAFA, in Philadephia, has its own story to tell, too. Established in 1805, it was one of the first academies to admit women and Black artists. 'Making art is a process of making history,' a block of text on the wall proclaims; in national mythmaking, artists matter. 'Making History,' with fewer than 100 pieces, can't offer much more than a skim of a complex and fractious national narrative still being fought over — and maybe never more than right now — but it's a meaningful one. Advertisement Horace Pippin, 'John Brown Going to His Hanging,' 1942. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia In the first gallery, competing visions of an uneasy country rub up against each other: Benjamin West's 'Penn's Treaty with the Indians,' 1771–72, a shining vision of revisionist history — colonists kneeling before their Indigenous hosts in gratitude and respect — shares space with Horace Pippin's 'John Brown Going to His Hanging,' 1942, and Alice Neel's 'Investigation of Poverty at the Russell Sage Foundation,' 1933. Advertisement Myth, meet reality: West's beatific scene was painted a century after the British colonist William Penn's Alice Neel, 'Investigation of Poverty at the Russell Sage Foundation,' 1933. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. © The Estate of Alice Neel, Courtesy of The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner The painting's golden glow further tarnishes against its gallery mates. Neel's, a dun and gloomy scene of Depression-era suffering — the woman at the frame's center, Neel wrote, was living in an overturned car in New York with her seven children — is an unflinching document of urban poverty. Pippin's, dense, claustrophobic and bleak, depicts the final moments of the firebrand abolitionist John Brown, who tried to mount an anti-enslavement revolt in 1859. Pippin, who was Black, was also self-taught, making his inclusion in the esteemed Academy collection all the more poignant. Painters like West have long been pillars of the canon; for generations, they held it up on their own. Recent years have seen a broader, more enlightened view begin to inflect its standard fare. Examples are many and close at hand, from the Advertisement Charles Willson Peale, 'The Artist in His Museum,' 1822. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia That display is just downstairs, and withers 'Making History' a little by comparison; fuller and more deliberate, the stories it unpacks are a model of what a museum collection should look like in this fractious moment. 'Making History,' as a traveling show, feels more general and rootless, because it is. And though it can feel like supplementary reading, there's a richness not to be ignored. Mid-exhibition, it labors a little; Charles Willson Peale's 'The Artist in His Museum,' 1822, a self-portrait of the PAFA founder literally raising a curtain on the many wonders of the collection he's assembled, is a gesture of self-aggrandizing pride. It lifts the veil, if you'll pardon the pun, on early museum-making as a practice of pilfering, rounding up exotic bits from far-flung cultures deemed as primitive as a gesture of dominance and ownership — critical for a young nation's sense of itself. I would have liked to see that explored — indeed, the exhibition is begging for it — but Peale's self-portrait is paired with a 1977 self-portait by Joan Brown, same-scaled and similarly self-declarative, which makes another very valid point about the exclusion of women from the American canon. Barkley L. Hendricks, 'J. S. B. III,' 1968; and Gilbert Stuart, 'George Washington (The Lansdowne Portrait),' 1796. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia But the show comes to life in other matchups: Gilbert Stuart's iconic 'George Washington (The Lansdowne Portrait),' 1796, sharing space with portraits by contemporary Black painters James Brantley and Barkley Hendricks. There are so many ways to go with this — Washington, paragon of freedom, crafting a nation of freedom denied to both men's ancestors, for one — but let's stick with the pictures. Stuart's portrait has the sheen of stiff aristocratic hagiography — Thomas Gainsborough and the British Royals, say — with the ornamentation of Republican Rome, the classical democratic ideal. Brantley paints himself in shadow — 'Brother James,' 1968 — wrapped in a grimy American flag; he had just returned from the war in Vietnam, waged in the name of a freedom far from ideal. Hendricks, meanwhile, is just cool, cool, cool — his 'J. S. B. III,' 1968, has a relaxed and confident swagger, an avatar for the frank depictions of self-possessed Black subjects to which he devoted his painting life. The counterpoint he makes with Washington is just as powerful as Brantley's: He meets fusty myth with the indomitable joy of his own now. Advertisement The show is never quite so socially powerful and vibrant as it is right here — its apex, come too soon. From there, we follow what's essentially a long denouement, through old favorites and themes of quotidian American life and on to the landscape — inseparable, city or countryside, from the nation's self-imagining. Myth pervades here, too — Homer's beloved 'Fox Hunt,' 1893, with its red fox struggling through snow to evade hungry crows, an allegory of the elemental cycle of life and death — and nudges up against the anxiety of modern progress. Nearby, Childe Hassam's 'The Hovel and the Skyscraper,' 1904, captures rapid, inexorable change: From his apartment window on the Upper West Side, construction scaffolding frames a riding stable in the near distance — soon, you can guess, not to be. Advertisement I would have loved to linger long and more deeply on this theme, bound up as it is in every aspect of American history and art. There's a continuum hinted at, but unexplored: From the Hudson River School with More friction means more truth, not to mention a better story. 'Making History' hints at frictions, but mostly defers. Its deference is largely in favor of beauty, I'll give it that. I'll never turn down a chance to see the soft focus of an Arthur Dove landscape, more feeling than fact, and his 'Naples Yellow Morning,' 1935, loose and dreamy, is pure pleasure. But pleasure is far too easy, and especially right now. History is being rewritten as we speak. Don't look away. MAKING HISTORY: 200 YEARS OF AMERICAN ART FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS At Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex St., Salem. Through Sept. 21. 978-745-9500, Murray Whyte can be reached at
Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
Peabody Essex Museum reopens Korea gallery
The Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, US, has reopened the Yu Kil-Chun Gallery of Korean Art and Culture. The gallery, receiving visitors since Saturday, is named after Yu Kil-chun, a reformist leader and diplomat who met Edward Sylvester Morse, the PEM executive director, while on Korea's delegation to the US in 1883. Their ties led to the US museum keeping a rich Korean collection, according to the National Museum of Korea, which had supported the reopening. The gallery displays over 100 items, spanning everyday items and contemporary artworks from the 19th to 21st century. Objects of significance include traditional chairs Korea showcased at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and a Western top hat made of Korean horse tail that was gifted to the museum by Percival Lawrence Lowell. Lowell was a US entrepreneur who authored "The Land of the Morning Calm: A Sketch of Korea" after extensively traveling throughout Korea in the 19th century. Also featured are Korean artifacts donated to the museum by the family of Edwin V. Morgan, the US deputy consul general of Korea in 1905. Among the artifacts is a family photograph of Lee Beom-jin, the minister at the Old Korean Legation whom Morgan had befriended. Works by contemporary Korean artists including Paik Nam-june, a pioneer of video art, are on display, according to the Peabody Essex Museum, which added that Korean communities in Massachusetts had contributed toward the latest expansion.
Time Out
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
K-Pop Dance Party at PEM
There's a vibrant K-pop dance party on deck on May 15 from 9pm-midnight, as Peabody Essex Museum celebrates the openings of its Korean Art gallery and Jung Yeondoo: Building Dreams. With strobe lights and electronica as your guide, dance the night away to tunes by DJ Gamma Vibes. Dancers from Boston's own StyleMe Dance Studio get you on your feet during their special pop-up performances in the crowd, while the featured galleries will be open all night for partygoers to explore. Enjoy Korean snacks for purchase and sip on a creative cocktail from the cash bar. This is an 18-plus event.
Boston Globe
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Between bylines and banter, a romance unfolds
'Kerri went for a laugh right out of the gate, and it absolutely crushed,' says her new husband, Sam Mintz, 32, of their March 15 ceremony at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. The rest of their vows took a more serious turn. 'I brought it full circle,' says Kerriann, 31, who goes by Kerri. They promised to 'do the work,' to seek personal fulfillment and provide mutual support, to commit to authenticity and honesty in their marriage. Though they wrote their vows separately, their intentions closely aligned when read aloud for their 135 guests. Tears were shed. Advertisement Kerri and Sam married at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, liking that the museum "does great work and has so much history in it,' Kerri says. Solare Wedding Photography Before they exchanged vows, their officiant had referenced Kerri's dislike of the term 'my other half.' 'Why are you splitting yourself in half?' Kerri explains. 'You should be a whole person, and so should your partner.' After all, the 'whole person' is whom each had fallen in love with nearly a decade prior. In May 2015, both were starting roles at Kerri, then an undergrad at Boston University, was a second-summer intern. She'd become known for writing experiential features — including ranking every ride at the Barnstable County Fair. Advertisement Neither was searching for romance. Sam was focused on his first reporting job, Kerri was prepping for her senior year at BU. But soon, colleagues noticed some flirtatious banter exchanged from their face-to-face cubicles. Following a sizing mishap, Sam originally proposed with a diamond ring that had belonged to Kerri's grandmother. The ring that eventually made its way onto her finger had been designed by the couple and inspired by Princess Diana's diamond-framed sapphire engagement ring. Solare Wedding Photography The younger newsroom staff was friendly, frequenting happy hours after work. Kerri, a Sagamore native, volunteered her deep Cape knowledge as Sam got his bearings from his new Hyannis apartment. They drove to Provincetown one Saturday in July. Kerri tallied signs of 'friendship' versus 'something more,' throughout the afternoon — it rapidly tipped toward the former when Sam suggested splitting the lunch bill and asked if she'd pay for parking, since he had covered gas. Despite a parting hug, 'I was like, 'I guess I just misinterpreted this whole month. Clearly he just wants to be friends.'' On Monday — when Sam was off — Kerri found a letter on her desk. ('I thought I [was] getting fired for going on Facebook too much.') It was a handwritten note from Sam, confessing his interest in her and asking for a date — and 'if you don't feel the same way, just pretend like I never wrote this letter.' 'I get a lot of credit from people for that romantic gesture,' says Sam, who had the idea after Kerri had told him she loved handwritten mail. 'But I'd say 70 percent of it was being really nervous to ask Kerri out in person.' Their first date was days later at Advertisement While the proposal was not a total surprise — the two had plans to marry — Kerri surprised her betrothed with a watch that features the phases of the moon. On the back is an inscription, "To the moon and back" — a sentimental phrase for the couple. Solare Wedding Photography Future dates mixed work and play — they attended concerts at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, taking turns writing reviews for the paper for the following morning. It was after a Rick Springfield concert that Sam told Kerri he loved her for the first time. Related : While their evenings were filled with reporting and rapport, summer's end loomed. 'It definitely could have had really classic 'summer fling vibes' since there was such a specific location and time [for it to end],' says Sam. But neither wanted that. And after seeing David Sedaris — Kerri's favorite writer — at the Melody Tent, they agreed to try 'quasi-long distance' once the school year began. The following years brought similar crossroads — Sam began a reporting fellowship with environmental policy outlet E&E news in Washington, D.C., in November 2016, while Carrie explored a research opportunity with the Suffolk County House of Correction. They relied on 48-hour visits, once a month, via inexpensive Spirit Air flights. She moved to D.C. in April 2018, eventually deciding on Boston College for grad school and a career in social work. And in late spring of 2021, Sam joined her, moving into their first shared apartment in Coolidge Corner, where the couple currently resides. 'That's a theme in the last decade of our relationship,' says Kerri. 'Sam and I always making the choice to be together. ... we've had a lot of points where we've looked at our relationship and said, 'You're worth the work.'' The couple describes their wedding as a Jewish ceremony with Catholic traditions, representing Sam and Kerri's upbringings respectively. They walked down the aisle to 'Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis and exited to the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Solare Wedding Photography The milestone ushered in a foster-turned-family tabby named Smokey and talk of marriage. They felt settled in their careers — Kerri is an ICU Social Worker at Boston Children's Hospital, Sam is a founding editor of local news startup, Advertisement 'Our careers and living situation were in a good spot, and we could really have a wedding that we wanted to have, like [the one] that we had always envisioned,' says Kerri. Sam proposed at Ladies View, a scenic spot on the Ring of Kerry in Killarney, Ireland, where they were vacationing in fall of 2023. 'A ring for Kerri in the Ring of Kerry,' her subsequent Instagram post had said. The couple arranged for a Yyichud, a Jewish wedding tradition that allows the newlyweds a brief time in private after the ceremony. The couple remembers their 20-minutes fondly; they spent them eating appetizers and relishing the newness of being married. Solare Wedding Photography They chose the Guests flowed between three spaces for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. The couple arranged for the Their wedding coordinator Leslie Cregg-Hyder of Sam -gria before diving into stations for tacos and short ribs. The couple arranged for a Yyichud, a Jewish wedding tradition that allows the newlyweds a brief time alone after the ceremony. The couple spent their 20 minutes eating appetizers and relishing the newness of being married. Solare Wedding Photography Their favorite moments were too many to count — when Sam's grandfather's tallit that was draped over their shoulders during the ceremony, or when Sam's mom and dad performed Don Williams and Emmylou Harris's 'If I Needed You' during the speeches. Or when both sets of parents read the same prayer, Kerri's in English, Sam's in Hebrew, during what she deemed their 'Jew-ish' ceremony. Advertisement Both remember spying on their guests from the second floor balcony above the dance floor, before the reception began, waiting for their entrance song to play. '[It was] peeking out and seeing all of our favorite people in this room,' says Sam, 'and the anticipation that we're about to go start the biggest party of our lives.' Read more from , The Boston Globe's new weddings column. Rachel Kim Raczka is a writer and editor in Boston. She can be reached at
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Peabody Essex Museum to Stage Andrew Gn Exhibition
This fall the Peabody Essex Museum will unveil 'Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World,' which will be making its North American debut. The exhibition will sharpen the focus on the Singapore-born fashion designer and visual artist's fashion, art and design philosophy. The show reenvisions what was the designer's first retrospective, which debuted in Singapore at the Asian Civilisations Museum in the fall of 2023. The U.S. version is being organized by PEM in collaboration with the ACM in Singapore. The Paris-based designer will host an opening night party at PEM on Sept. 11 in Salem, Mass. More from WWD Penhaligon's Debuts Exhibition Centering Britishness With Local Artisanal Touch in Shanghai Meet Oude Waag, Where Avant-garde Meets Eastern Sensibility Viktor & Rolf Are Ready for First U.S. Exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta Nearly 100 of Gn's works including clothing, accessories, original illustrations and digital media will be on display. In December 2023, the designer stepped back from his namesake company to focus more on art. One point of differentiation from the Singapore show is Gn's pledge to donate approximately 90 works from his Paris-based archive to PEM, which will 'allow the museum to exhibit a unique presentation that will draw substantially from its own holdings,' according to Petra Slinkard, director of curatorial affairs and the Nancy B. Putnam curator of fashion and textiles at PEM. She said Gn's house belied its size as an independent label. 'With an ethos centered on empowering women, the House of Andrew Gn [which is now closed] created refined, maximalist looks combining Southeast Asian and Asian motifs with inspiration drawn from art and fashion history and nature. Executed with bold and unexpected color combinations, each of Gn's robust fashion collections is visually sophisticated and meticulously designed,' Slinkard said. While ACM's presentation focused on celebrating 'an extraordinary Singaporean life and his major contributions to the nation,' PEM will celebrate Gn's 'unique and impactful career,' she said. The show will also 'lay more groundwork' about who Gn is, 'as he is less well-known to American audiences, and about Singapore as a city-state,' Slinkard said. The latter will 'draw connections for visitors between Singapore and Salem's shared histories as port cities that celebrating diversity and global reach.' PEM's 10,000-square-foot show is meant to introduce new audiences to Gn and offer an inclusive and contemporary representation of Asia, South East Asia and fashion 'that is sure to inspire the next generation of designers,' Slinkard said. Gn's designs have been worn by such notables as Lady Gaga, Lily Collins during the third season of the Netflix series 'Emily in Paris' and by Queen Rania of Jordan. His global perspective is engrained in his upbringing, have lived in Singapore, Paris, London, Milan and New York. The designer started his company in Paris in 1995 with an emphasis on opulence, intricate embellishment and ultra-luxe craftsmanship. Visitors at PEM will take in Gn's work and art in thematic sections that highlight his blend of Western aesthetics, art history and Asian decorative art and design that relay cross-cultural forms of Asian and Western art. His fashion blends artistic traditions, bold patterns, technical innovation and cultural influences. 'As one of the oldest continually operating and collecting museums in the United States, Gn's design practice and creative spirit closely align with our museum's celebration of art, culture, history and intellectual curiosity,' Slinkard said. 'For centuries, Asian artists have catered to varied markets around the globe, adapting and combining design motifs, and materials and techniques, to create new artistic expressions. From translucent porcelains and lustrous lacquers to sumptuous fabrics, these transcultural objects defy easy categorization.' A self-described 'citizen of the world,' Gn is more than interested in art and history. He is also an avid collector of European and Asian furniture, porcelain and textiles, including many items that 'mirror PEM's collections,' according to Slinkard. The U.S. museum holds the largest and most comprehensive collection of Asian export art in the world and its diversity is in line with Gn's personal collection, she added. The exhibition is being made possible by The Colby Foundation Ltd., Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation. Slinkard added that PEM is also excited to help its exhibition partner, the ACM, celebrate Singapore's 60th anniversary of independence. Best of WWD Abby Champion's Style Through the Years: From Runway Model to Red Carpet Fixture With Patrick Schwarzenegger [PHOTOS] Prosthetics in Fashion: 25 Years of Transforming Beauty Standards on the Runway [PHOTOS] Supermodel Iman's Iconic Fashion Journey: Celebrating 50 Years [PHOTOS]
