Join NOW + THERE, along with the City of Boston’s Public Art Fund and the Paula Cooper Gallery on July 26 from 5:30 – 7:30 for the public celebration of Liz Glynn: Open House, at Kenmore Mall on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, near Kenmore MBTA Bus Station, close to 499 Commonwealth Avenue. Refreshments will be provided by Island Creek Oyster Bar and Eastern Standard. Logistical support and water provided by Cornwall’s, Hotel Commonwealth, and Boston University. Rsvp to NOW + THERE at http://www.nowandthere.org/openhousecelebration?mc_cid=4360ef39db&mc_eid=1b30ed92a6
At the turn of the 20th century, New England’s wealthy elite gathered in opulent private salons and ballrooms in Boston to define their social status. These gathering spaces were the seat of power, privilege, and politics in the city. In contrast was a growing movement to create more democratic gathering spaces through the development of public parks. The founding and incorporation of parks like Boston Common (established 1660; park status 1850), and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall (dedicated in 1888 as a promenade for public enjoyment), were milestones in American urban planning, representing an early effort — still on-going today — to grant democratic access to public space. The artist will be in attendance.
Open House, an installation created by Los Angeles-based, Boston-born artist Liz Glynn, is organized for the Commonwealth Avenue Mall by Now + There. Originally commissioned by the Public Art Fund in cooperation with the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, Open House was first presented at Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park, New York (see below). This new installment of Open House transforms the Commonwealth Avenue Mall West into an open air ruin of a ballroom. In this work the artist highlights class distinctions and the dynamics between public and private space and beckons you to take a seat and linger. Bringing this work to Boston during a time of rapid development, we are sparking a dialogue about economic inequality and supporting Glynn’s desire to incite future action. Glynn’s lavish Louis XIV sofas, chairs, and footstools evoke these extravagant late nineteenth century interiors, but with a twist — these objects feature sculpted additions and are cast in concrete, a utilitarian material more commonly seen in modern architecture. With this revision, the artist invites the public to enjoy a previously exclusive interior space that is now open and accessible to all.
The work highlights historic class distinctions and references the architecture and interior design of New York’s William C. Whitney ballroom, a magnificent, now demolished, interior designed by Gilded Age architect Stanford White, the architect of the Boston Hotel Buckminster and numerous Commonwealth Avenue mansions.
This fully-functioning furniture will offer residents and visitors alike a place of respite and reflection while also evoking the history of leisure in Kenmore Square and the often-manipulated wetlands of Charlesgate.
