From the Publisher – July 2024
Summer Time
Now is the summer of our discontent. Wait, wrong season. Although…
It’s barely mid-June as I write this and I’ve already received my first “Plan Your Holiday Party” marketing email. It reminded me that planning parties can be stressful and to not wait until the last minute. Good to know. It also reminded me of the time warp we live in. How many of us are obsessed with the passage of time? Or at the very least uncomfortable. We fear how quickly it moves; berate ourselves for falling behind with work or life stuff; for not accomplishing everything we told ourselves we should accomplish. Summer invites us to slow down. To move more softly in the heat or escape it entirely in a museum like the Shelburne or Fuller Craft or summer theater and performances, indoors and out, like those found at Windhover or Theatre By The Sea; to relax under a tree with a book, Carl Little recommends In the Company of Art by Perry T. Rathbone; to wander a sculpture park like Storm King, or stroll through a botanical garden, perhaps New England Botanic at Tower Hill. Finding the summer vibe is challenging and we—perhaps, most especially, those of us in the arts—are not so far along with our pandemic recovery that we allow ourselves the grace and freedom to slow down a little and rest. And find the beauty.
This issue brings the beauty to you. All of the aforementioned references are found in this annual Summer of Joy Issue. These and so many more. Note the irony here though. Summer encourages wanderlust and relaxation yet this issue will create a to-do list a mile long. The Summer of Joy feature will take you across the region for a peek into what’s happening over the next few months. It’s so much fun to pull together. Summer also reminds us that we’re terrible when it comes to balancing… and yet it desperately wants us to try.
And so we will. We’ll steal a few Fridays, request late check-outs, actually use the vacation time we’ve accrued and pause. Wherever it feels best and wherever you feel most alive as you rest. For some, like myself, it’s being near the water. Fortunately, from Rockland, Maine, to Rockport, Massachusetts, to Newport, Rhode Island, you’ll find galleries and museums and art centers with dazzling summer programming. Speaking of Newport, hop on the new trolley tour—courtesy of the Newport Artists Collective—that’s connecting arts patrons to art salons and galleries across the city. Photographer/gallerist Curtis Speer has revitalized the Collective and through partnerships with Newport businesses is creating opportunities, sales, and great excitement. This theme of partnering arts and businesses for their mutual benefit—not to mention the creative economy—will be further discussed in the September/October Gallery Issue.
I’m as guilty as anyone of not being present in the moment and rely on art to stop me in my tracks. Earlier this spring I was at The Current in Stowe, VT, for the final moments of In the Garden and was moved to tears. It was one of the most beautiful, most impactful, installations I’d experienced. Recently, I was at an opening where a patron feared the painting he had his eye on had been sold to someone else. His visceral reaction at its potential loss prompted an immediate conversation with the gallerist and he purchased the work with relief and joy. It was quite a moment, witnessed by the artist herself. When a piece of art finds its home, when it speaks to someone so clearly, well, time just stops for a moment. Everyone was happy. No one wanted to be anywhere else. I wish many moments like that for New England’s artists and galleries.
We can also all take a lesson from our cover artist, The Button Man, Beau McCall, whose Buttons On! exhibition at Fuller Craft Museum is a glorious celebration of McCall’s life and art. It is wondrous and joyful, tinged with loss and grief in places, yet bursting with life and hope. His button works are intensive and meticulous, each shares a story, and all are created with as much love as they are buttons.
“Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly,” wrote Van Morrison. As often as possible this summer, through exhibitions, music, dance, poetry readings—wherever you are the most happy—let art be your guide and companion. Let it be a summer of great contentment.
In gratitude,
Rita A. Fucillo
Publisher
ON THE COVER: Beau McCall is The Button Man. Many of the buttons shown here are from McCall’s artworks.
Insects, which celebrate nature, also recall joy from his childhood when he and siblings and friends would catch lightning bugs, butterflies, and bees—and then set them free. See page 30.