Concrete Actions will take place Thursday, May 25th at Boston City Hall, from 5-9 p.m
Not long after artist began throwing paint on their canvases, architecture took a similar turn in shedding its artifice, and so we have our city hall: stocky concrete blocks sinking in the ground like Hatshepsut’s Burial Temple. Much of the concrete as been poured in place, with the structures exposed. In his optimism, one of its three architects, Gerhard M. Kallman, points to its “existence to counter the modern fear of nothingness.” And while many in the city are still trying to figure out how to be comfortable in a space with “interpenetrating solids and voids,” business continues and artists move on to face new fears like technological labyrinths, political vulnerability, and interpersonal negotiations.
View from “Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston” The book by which the show was inspired.
Above: Hatshepsut’s Temple
I spoke with two artists who will be presenting work at this Thursday’s free event. If you head down there you’ll see sound art, sculpture, visuals, and interactive performances by artists from Mobius Arts Group.
“Wait/Weight” photo credit: Winston Inoway
This is rare, June says, only the second time she’s worked in a political context like this. The way that doing political art demands taking a position and defending it is often contrary to the felt exploration and openness required for creative work. How do these walls protect or define us? Is protection even possible? But what June will be feeling on Thursday is very physical. Carried/wrapped/hung on her body will be the same materials used to construct the building, and all this weight will change and affect her movement, her speed, and the shape of her body.
Still from Sara June’s “Pleo III” – photo credit: Bob Raymond
