At the end of a whirlwind day in Cambridge and Framingham (client visit), Karen and I barely made it to an opening for a show of black and white photographs by Frank Tadley of the Community Garden at Edgerton Park (New Haven CT) (more here about the park) and color drawings of flowers and plants by his sister Betty. The art was great and we caught up with a number of friends. Frank has the whole series on display at his website.
Last night we went to a kick off event for Hudson’s Arts Walk weekends. This was an opening cum party for two artists.
GRAND OPENING AT BASILICA INDUSTRIA
110 South Front Street Artists:
Arthur Price and Earl Swanigan
5:00pm – 10:00pm
Entertainment: Walking the Dog Improv Ensemble Theater
The OFF LEASH! Improv Ensemble will take audience suggestions and explore the art of spontaneous imagination. Look out to be entertained in unexpected ways!
7:30pm – 8:00pm
The Mother Fletcher Band
8:00pm – 10:00pm1
Earl Swanigan’s work is engaging for its simplicity and currency. Here is a shot of one of his paintings 2
painting by Earl Swanigan
There were lots of people including a few who we already know. They introduced us to more. It was a friendly event.
As we were leaving the opening we realized that these large old industrial buildings down the hill near the railroad tracks had no real outdoor lights. As we felt our way through the cars towards the streets I turned back and took this photo:
Karen had an opening today for her new series The McCann Family. Here is the announcement appropriated from the museum’s website:
GRIFFIN GALLERY THE MCCANN FAMILY – PHOTOGRAPHS BY KAREN DAVIS Sept. 11 – Nov. 2, 2008 Karen Davis photograph Mother Dreams – Image © Karen Davis When Karen Davis was small, her younger sister, Cheryl, had a set of four mechanical dolls she called the McCann Family. After Cheryl died a few years ago, Davis inherited the dolls and made them the subject of a series of photographs.
The McCann Family is featured in the Griffin Gallery of the Griffin Museum September 11 through November 2.
The photographs are part of a visual memoir by Davis that is a work in progress. The mechanical dolls, she says, were “a thinly disguised version of the Davis family. 
There was a boy doll, girl doll, man and woman doll.” The Davis family had a mother and father and two girls, so Cheryl decided she was the boy doll, Tom McCann. Karen Davis was the girl doll, Mary Ann McCann.
When Cheryl, who was born with spina bifida, died, the McCann Family and all their possessions went to Davis. “It has taken most of my lifetime to appreciate the courage and imagination of my sister,” Davis says. “Placing the McCanns on stage – directing their actions, brings me back to our childhood and to memories of an extraordinary woman.”
“The McCann Family is a poignant visual tribute to the Davis family,” says Paula Tognarelli executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography. “Karen Davis spins her familial tale through the poetic capacity of her photographs. Her images move and charm the viewer all at the same time.”
Davis, of Cambridge, MA, is a photographer, book artist, and educator. Her work is featured at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA);] Houghton Rare Books Library, Harvard University; Boston Drawing Project at Bernard Toale Gallery; and in corporate and private collections.
Her work can be seen on her website, www.YesThatKarenDavis.com.
Davis teaches photo-based and word-image courses for Lesley Seminars at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She is also a principal in artistmarketing.biz, which specializes in websites and other marketing services for artists.
An opening reception with the artist is Sept. 11, 7-8:30 p.m. It is open to all. The reception is preceded by a members-only talk with Davis at 6:15 p.m. Please RSVP by September 4.
Sept. 11 – Nov. 2, 2008
(borrowed from press release by Griffin Museum)
When Karen Davis was small, her younger sister, Cheryl, had a set of four mechanical dolls she called the McCann Family. After Cheryl died a few years ago, Davis inherited the dolls and made them the subject of a series of photographs. The McCann Family is featured in the Griffin Gallery of the Griffin Museum September 11 through November 2. The photographs are part of a visual memoir by Davis that is a work in progress. The mechanical dolls, she says, were “a thinly disguised version of the Davis family. There was a boy doll, girl doll, man and woman doll.” The Davis family had a mother and father and two girls, so Cheryl decided she was the boy doll, Tom McCann. Karen Davis was the girl doll, Mary Ann McCann. When Cheryl, who was born with spina bifida, died, the McCann Family and all their possessions went to Davis. “It has taken most of my lifetime to appreciate the courage and imagination of my sister,” Davis says. “Placing the McCanns on stage – directing their actions, brings me back to our childhood and to memories of an extraordinary woman.” “The McCann Family is a poignant visual tribute to the Davis family,” says Paula Tognarelli executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography. “Karen Davis spins her familial tale through the poetic capacity of her photographs. Her images move and charm the viewer all at the same time.” Davis, of Cambridge, MA, is a photographer, book artist, and educator. Her work is featured at the Massachusetts
Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA); Houghton Rare Books Library, Harvard University; Boston Drawing Project at Bernard Toale Gallery; and in corporate and private collections. Her work can be seen on her website, www.YesThatKarenDavis.com. Davis teaches photo-based and word-image courses for Lesley Seminars at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She is also a principal in artistmarketing.biz, which specializes in websites and other marketing services for artists. An opening reception with the artist is Sept. 11, 7-8:30 p.m. It is open to all. The reception is preceded by a members-only talk with Davis at 6:15 p.m. Please RSVP by September 4.
April 4, 2005
a site/non-site installation by Karen Davis and John Tagiuri CAC Gallery exhibition, March 17 – April 22, 2005 Opening Reception: Monday, April 4, 2005, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Go to the Cambridge Arts Council website (opens in new window).
Some abstract works by KCD.
Some earlier B&W works by KCD.
One of John Tugiuri’s pieces
