Misstropolis | Arts

Julia Barello’s X-Ray Art

2009-10-09T02:15:35-05:00

Emily and Teddy Greenspan have been collecting contemporary art by emerging artists for over two decades. Their success has been chronicled in the press and admired by friends. After being asked for advice on acquiring art for years, they started their own consulting business, Tag Arts. Recognized by the New York Times among others, Tag specializes in finding artists early in their career and continuing to buy them as they develop into the mid-career stage. In this piece Emily shares a recent find: the artist Julia Barello who works with discarded x-rays and MRI film.Barello has been using X-ray and unusable MRI film as a material since she was a graduate student in the early 1990s. The idea came to her when one area hospital agreed to provide her with the medical images that were destined for the trash due to errors in processing. But there was one condition: she was required to delete the patient’s name from the top of the sheet of film to comply with the HIPPA laws protecting patient privacy. Hence, her act of dissecting and cutting was born.

The September Issue: The REAL Devil Wears Prada

2009-10-08T18:29:47-05:00

If you thought you had an idea what it’s like dealing with fashion immortals Andre Leon Talley, Grace Coddington and Anna Wintour in order to release a 4 pound magazine destined to impact the entire 300 billion dollar fashion industry, think again. And then go see this film.If “fashion is a religion and Vogue is its Bible” wouldn’t you love a look inside the Goddess’s empire? The September Issue is the much anticipated, limited release documentary about Goddess in Chief Anna Wintour and the seemingly immortal Vogue staffers who produce fashion’s preeminent glossy. Thanks to director R.J. Cutler’s unprecedented access, the film does for fashion what the documentary The War Room which he produced, did for campaign politics, taking the viewer deep inside a world they only thought they knew.

Discovering My Inner Carpenter

2009-09-21T18:55:17-05:00

Sanding the dull grey paint off the floor in the Waltham Mills loft she shares with designer Larry Sampson was more than just renovating for Rebecca Dorr, it was a metaphor for busting through layers of stubborn old fears and learning to love working with her hands.To see the progress Rebecca and Larry have made on their studio, visit them at this weekend’s Waltham Mills Open Studios where they will be showcasing work from their film company Devilfish Films, alongside 70 other talented visual artists. Ann Marie O’Dowd’s paintings, featured in Misstropolis in May, will also be on display.

Movies, Music and Books to Get You in the Mood

2009-08-24T19:12:11-05:00

Summer picks to keep your summer hot, inside and out.What turns you on? Is it predictable - an afternoon rainstorm on a summer Sunday? An out of the blue compliment in a deep intimate voice, a glimpse of torso? Or unpredictable - an unexpected vulnerability or a look seen a hundred times come suddenly to life? Whether its Madonna’s “Justify My Love” (song and video) or Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven with Richard Gere and Sam Shepard (my picks) however, there’s no denying that when you want to get worked up, works of art work.

The Time Traveler’s Wife: VIP Film Experience

2009-08-03T14:57:10-05:00

You need freebies, ways to escape the heat and a shot of romance now and again. We need more subscribers who can take advantage of Misstropolis stuff - more inside scoop, more smart writing, more prizes, more tickets (like these). Share Misstropolis with friends and be eligible to win free VIP tickets and film prizes to THE TIME TRAVLER’S WIFE starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. Read on to learn how to win! Imagine if you could travel in time meeting past and future versions of yourself and the people you love. What would you explore? What would tempt you most? What would you be excited or afraid to find? Lucky for you - you don’t need to be a time traveler to score free VIP tickets to the film adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger’s acclaimed novel The Time Traveler’s Wife.

The Dreamland: Get Involved, Save a Treasure

2009-07-15T14:16:24-05:00

The Dreamland is a Nantucket gem, part of what distinguishes its nostalgic downtown from that of other island destinations and a source of memories long-time residents hold dear. But like many historic theaters across the country, the Dreamland is in trouble, only standing today because of an intrepid posse of summer residents and locals who refused to let it go. Misstropolis is joining the fight to save the Dreamland and support the renovation currently taking place. To learn how to get involved, and to find out what is happening at the Dreamland this summer, read on.Looking to create the island’s only performing arts and community center, the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation is a non-profit organization set on invigorating the downtown historic district. In collaboration with historic preservationists and local artisans, the Foundation plans on rebuilding the Dreamland Theater and restoring it to its original splendor as an island institution, while creating new construction that will serve the island year-round as a performance, education and community center. Our plan is to break ground in September and open by summer 2010, but we need your help. We must raise $15 million by September 15th to complete construction! Contribute to the Dreamland vision by joining us at our many events this summer on the lawn, or stop by our shop at 12 Oak Street to learn more about Nantucket’s community arts center.

Away We Go

2009-06-17T02:35:00-05:00

Apprehensive about their impending parenthood and cursed with indifferent, self-centered parents, sweet, humble, interracial couple Burt and Verona set off on a quest to find the perfect place to raise their baby. Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes, does not come off quite as cute as it tries to be for film critic (and soon to be dad) Tom Meek. Wondering why, in this economic climate, any couple would want to head off in pursuit of a romantic, unattainable version of perfect happiness, when all the writing on the wall says stay home(!) Meek takes Away We Go to task.A celebrated and familiar outsider looking in, British director Sam Mendes continues to dig into the dysfunctional underside of Americana with his new film Away We Go.

The Hangover

2009-06-10T20:42:12-05:00

Plunk a few guys down with a few beers and plenty can go wrong. There’s no exact science to it, but with each beer the maturity level winds back about five years. There is only the freedom of the moment; until the next day when there is only “What the *&!% happened?“ Here we go. Tom Meek reviews The Hangover.Mature men behaving badly, or more to the point, incipiently has long been a source of bawdy farce in current cinema. Pack ‘em up for a golf getaway, college reunion or worse, a bachelor party, and watch the wheels come off. For each beer, the maturity level regresses five years and invariably nakedness, projectile vomit and a run in with the law ensue. You know the lot, the studly jock and instigator, the nice guy who’s the group’s connecting hub and the social misfit or two who overcome their shortcomings and rise to the occasion when the chips are down.

The Arts in June

2009-06-03T14:01:10-05:00

The arts come alive this month in and around Boston. Misstropolis shares our favorite picks from a wonderfully rich variety of shows and events taking place at museums, galleries, theaters and outdoor spaces. Check out what’s happening and book your tickets early, and make plans to stand in lines when necessary. If we don’t have what you are looking for, scour your favorite sources and get arts on your calendar. Remember, a creative glow beats a suntan any day.It’s not easy picking out the best arts events in and around Boston during the month of June. The options are many and, after a bit too much Shepard Fairey this winter, refreshingly compelling. What a nice problem to have. Here are some June must-sees that we know will make your month vibrate with creative energy, and if all you want to do is lie on the beach all July and August, will banish any possible guilt.

Swine Art

2009-05-27T13:41:10-05:00

With panic about the H1N1 virus spiraling out of control around the world, it’s hard to tell fact from fabrication, data from delusion. In guerrilla fashion on the streets in Mexico and sartorial subversion in downtown Detroit, artists are confronting the fear and reminding people that sometimes in a crisis, laughter can be effective medicine. “Terminal Illness” and “Snoutbreak” (which come in gift boxes reading “Nice Package”) do not lie quietly against a collared shirt or get thrown over the shoulder during lunch. These ties speak loudly, they can stop oncomers in their tracks.