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In my own little biosphere
Vaughn Bell at Berwick, and African American Murals in Boston and Cambridge
BY RANDI HOPKINS

Portable" and "nature" are not terms that usually sit well together, since the whole point of nature, in the most comforting sense, would seem to be its rootedness, and its specificity of place. But city dwellers crave the great outdoors as deeply as the next guy, and sometimes it is not right at our fingertips. Artist Vaughn Bell has examined the intersection of our man-made environment and our need for Mother Nature in several wonderful art projects over the past years, and the latest one is growing up a storm right now at the experimental Berwick Research Institute’s studios in Roxbury. You are invited to visit anytime — just call for an appointment — or drop by unannounced next Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., when the Berwick throws open its little red door so the public can experience Vaughn’s enchanting "Moss Biosphere" and even adopt a little portion of it to take home.

Founded in January 2000 in a former Whoopie Pie factory, the Berwick has a tiny but high-quality Artist-in-Research program that allows (encourages!) artists to explore really out-there media and ideas. Vaughn, whose former projects include personal terrariums (worn as headgear) and movable lawns and forests (growing in shopping carts), has used her April/May residency to make a "Moss Biosphere" that will knock your socks off. Extending her ideas about urbanites and their intense, if somewhat mutant, relationship with nature, she’s created an indoor, fully enclosed moss garden designed for one-at-a-time viewing and dependent upon constant maintenance by humans. The Biosphere sits inconspicuously inside the Berwick, a circular tent 10 feet in diameter that’s made up of white plastic PVC pipes and semi-opaque plastic sheeting, with a bit of tape holding its "door" closed. You have to take your shoes off to enter; you may go in either barefoot or wearing the provided slippers. Bell requests that visitors help maintain the biosphere by removing any dead leaves or debris they see, but in my case, I was so transfixed by the heady aroma, the damp coolness, and the weird bugs flying around that I forgot my pruning duties. However, if you wish to possess your own bit of the Biosphere, you must agree, in writing, to take very good care of it. In particular, the "Biosphere Adoption Form" instructs owners, "Use care in traveling with the environment. In case of accident, rebuild the environment with care." Always good advice.

Public murals are some of the best examples of our direct interaction with the built environment, as is evident in "Walls of Heritage, Walls of Pride: African American Murals," which is now up at the Cambridge Arts Council Gallery. The show features bold work by artists from around the country, including Bostonians Paul Goodnight and Dana Chandler. What’s more, this Tuesday at 8 p.m., the Cambridge Center for Adult Education will host a slide show and panel discussion led by exhibition co-curator and mural pro Robin Dunitz, artists Chandler and Goodnight, and the fabulous founder of Boston’s Museum of National Center for Afro-American Artists, Barry Gaither. And on June 5, Gaither will be leading his own bus tour of local murals, an outing that promises to reveal under-seen wonders in our very midst.

"Vaughn Bell, Artist in Research" is at the Berwick Research Institute, 14 Palmer Street in Roxbury, through May 31, with an Open Studio and Plant Adoption on May 28 from 7 to 9 p.m. Call (617) 442-4200. "Walls of Heritage, Walls of Pride: African American Murals" is at the Cambridge Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, through June 30. A related free slide talk and panel discussion will take place on May 25 at 8 p.m. at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 56 Brattle Street in Harvard Square (advance registration is encouraged). And on June 5, Barry Gaither will lead the Boston Mural Tour, which will depart from 42 Brattle Street at 10 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. This event costs $15; call (617) 547-6789 extension 1 for information about CCAE events.


Issue Date: May 21 - 27, 2004
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