exhibition

WATERLINES - Somerville Museum

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WATERLINES

December 15, 2022 – March 22, 2023

Somerville Museum

For this exhibit - Georgie Friedman has created:

Confluere

Three-channel, site-specific, video installation

on existing architecture

Approx. 10 ft x 42 ft x 4 ft

Continuous loop (silent)

2022

Confluere (To flow together) is a three-channel, site-specific, video installation inspired by, and designed, for the two-hundred-thirty year old Bulfinch “flying double staircase” and the lands historically inhabited by the Pawtucket confederation of Algonquin-speaking tribes, including the Massachusetts. 1 

This installation aims to create a visual environment in which global tidal waters / the past and the present / and the distant and the local / flow together and apart / divided and rejoined / by the architectural form. 

Image from: https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/105465

This piece is dedicated to the memory of George Fifield, great friend and curator, as he flows beyond this known world.

1 Charles Bulfinch (born 1763, Province of Massachusetts Bay, a British Colony), who is regarded by many as the first American-born [of European-descent], professional architect, designed the “flying double staircase” (1792) as part of his commission for the new Charlestown house for shipping merchant, Joseph Barrell. It was relocated to the Somerville Museum for historic preservation.

Prior to colonization, the Massachusetts people did not live in settled communities, but migrated seasonally, in bands, throughout their territories. The Massachusetts do not exist in any organized band, tribe, or nation today, but many Wampanoag and Nipmuc tribal descendants claim Massachusetts ancestry. Native Americans have lived throughout what is currently known as Massachusetts and Rhode Island for over 12,000 years.

 

Exhibit programing

Check the exhibit page for more events and updates.

Private Preview Party

Saturday, December 3rd, 6-8 PM

Curator Tour

Saturday, February 18, 5–6pm 

Georgie Friedman, "Artist Hours"

Saturday, March 4, 1-3 pm

Dinosaur Annex Assembly (Performance)

Sunday, March 12, 3–4:30 pm 

Water Meditations, with Artist Faith Johnson

1. • Saturday, January 7, 11:30 AM
   

2. • Saturday, February 11, 11:30 AM
   

3. • Wednesday, March 22, 7:30 PM
   

Heather Kapplow, Water Walking Tour

Sunday, March 19, 1–2:30pm

World Water Day and Closing Celebration Event

Wednesday, March 22, 6pm 

WATERLINES:

Stories of Urban Ebb and Flow

Curated by Community Curator, Arlinda Shtuni

As human beings, we are powerfully drawn to water. Every important passage of our lives is touched by water. However, as urban dwellers, we often have an abstract connection to it, as invisible infrastructures and complex systems of water lines bring it to us. How has our need for water shaped the city over time? And as our cities densify and water cycles change, how can we envision the future? How will we navigate droughts and floods, learn to adapt to our changing environment, and move in new ways?

The exhibit also showcases, Dialogues with Water, is a site-specific installation of soundscapes and sound acousmatic works by a group of Northeastern University music students guided by Pr. Hubert Ho. From inviting us to follow the journey of underground water rise to the surface, to letting us meditate near calm waters, and thrusting us into a storm, these aesthetically eclectic pieces respond to the exhibit in myriad ways. At times, the sonic landscapes meld naturally with artworks; at others, the sounds work in counterpoint with them, prompting full immersion and deep reflection on our complicated relationship with water.

What is your relationship with water?

Fill out the water questionnaire.

Artist Websites

Ann + J Art + Design

Caitlin & Misha

Faith Johnson

Georgie Friedman

Heather Kapplow

PRESS

"'Waterlines' At Somerville Museum Mulls Our Relationship With Water," Greg Cook, Wonderland, Jan 24, 2023 (images and video)

Waterlines: Stories of Ebb and Flow, Cate McQuaid, Arts, The Ticket, Boston Globe, Jan 19, 2023

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