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Gauguin’s Tahiti, ‘eVolution,’ and ‘Project: AIR’
BY RANDI HOPKINS
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Colorful French painter Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) viewed himself as a wild character, a barbarian and a pirate: "You know that I have Indian blood, Inca blood in me," he wrote to Theo van Gogh in 1889, "and it’s reflected in everything I do. It’s the basis of my personality; I try to confront rotten civilization with something more natural based on savagery." His mother was of Peruvian descent; he himself was born in the midst of revolution and uproar in Paris on June 7, 1848, spent his toddlerhood in Peru before returning to France in 1855, and at 17 enlisted in the Merchant Marine to sail the world. The romantic image of self-as-buccaneer took a back seat for a while after 1873, when Gauguin married, had five children, and worked as a successful stockbroker in Paris. During this period, he began collecting art, and eventually he picked up the paintbrush himself, exhibiting in the Impressionist exhibitions at the invitation of his pals Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro. But Gauguin dreamed of living and painting in a world unspoiled by Western civilization, where he would be free of bourgeois constraints like marriage and money, a dream he attempted to realize in 1891 when he made his first visit to Tahiti, where he created the exotic, questioning paintings and sculpture that are the focus of the Museum of Fine Art’s "Gauguin Tahiti," which opens on February 29. "Gauguin Tahiti" includes more than 150 examples of Gauguin’s fascinating paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and illustrated manuscripts, alongside works of art and sculpture from the South Seas that he may have studied while still in Paris. But the centerpiece of the show is the MFA’s own 1897-’98 masterpiece D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous? ("Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?"), which exceeds 12 feet in width and was completed by the artist after a failed suicide attempt. Also noteworthy in this exhibition is the inclusion of Gauguin’s Noa Noa, an illustrated manuscript on view outside France for the first time since entering the Louvre’s collection in 1927. The wonders of technology allow viewers to peruse reproductions of the entire manuscript, page by page, while the delicate original lies protected in a vitrine, open to one of its countless amazing pages. The romantic Gauguin might have turned up his nose at the idea of artificial life, but here’s a heads-up for 21st-century art viewers: Art Interactive has kicked off 2004 with "eVolution: The Art of Living Systems," which explores man/machine symbiosis and other aspects of our interaction with our increasingly autonomous machines. Exhibition organizer Christiane Paul, adjunct curator of new media arts at New York’s Whitney Museum, will be on hand February 28 at 5 p.m. to talk about the show and hang out at the reception that follows. And Dudley Square’s Berwick Research Institute is expanding its innovative programming westward. Some talented alumni of its Berwick Artist-in-Research (AIR) residency are temporarily relocating to Smith College’s new student center to produce art, and they’re inviting the public to watch and participate. Starting March 1, John Osorio-Buck, Christy Georg, Jessica Rylan, and Meg Rotzel will attempt to lay bare the artmaking process as part of "Project: AIR," with work ranging from kinetic sound sculpture to hand-sewn gifts. "Gauguin Tahiti" is at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue in Boston, February 29 through June 20. Exhibition tickets are required; call (617) 542-4632. "eVolution: The Art of Living Systems" is at Art Interactive, 130 Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge, through April 11. Curator Christiane Paul talks on February 28 at 5 p.m.; that’s followed by a reception. Tickets are $5 for non-members; call (617) 498-0100. "Project: AIR" is at the Smith Student Center in Northampton March 1 through 5, with a closing reception on March 5 from 7 to 9 p.m.; call (617) 767-8334.
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