Mass MoCA to Remove 'Training Ground' materials

By Tammy DanielsPrint Story | Email Story
A house from Houghton Street was cut up to fit into Building 5 for 'Training Ground.' (Mass MoCA)
NORTH ADAMS - The detritus that was to be Swiss artist Christoph Buchel's first major American installation is being hauled out of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Describing the unfinished "Training Ground For Democracy" as "abandoned materials," museum officials said the massive Building 5 gallery will be cleared for a new exhibition in November. “With several hundred tons of materials and thousands of objects and partial constructions sitting abandoned in our galleries, we carefully considered what we could do,” Joseph C. Thompson, Mass MoCA’s director, said in a statement late Tuesday."We obviously cared a great deal for the work and had expended extraordinary effort and energies to try to bring it into existence; we did not want to act precipitously in either dismantling or displaying it. With no other options, and wanting to move forward as the situation continued to draw resources away from other artists and public programming, we sought a declaration of our respective rights by an impartial party – a federal judge.” The museum spent more than $300,000 - double the estimated budget - on the installation, which was to include a wrecked North Adams Police cruiser, a house moved from Hougton Street, one of the theaters from the old North Adams Cinema and numerous items donated by local residents. But the museum balked at trying to get the fuselage of a jetliner and Buchel walked off in late 2006 and never returned. The exhibit, which was to open last December, was covered with yellow tarps as the two sides tried to settle the dispute, only to land in court. Judge Michael A. Ponsor of U.S. District Court in Springfield on Friday rejected Buchel's claims that the museum had violated his rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 by allowing the public to see parts of the exhibit. Buchel cited a tour of the exhibit by Gov. Deval Patrick as evidence. The judge, however, ruled the act didn't apply to unfinished work. In his summary judgement, Ponsor said the museum had the right to display the work or not since it had supplied funding and labor. If the installation was put on display, Buchel had the right to request a disclaimer. According to The Boston Globe, Buchel has decided to appeal the decision. Museum officials said they had "explored every possible avenue in an effort to re-engage the artist, and when those efforts proved futile, the museum offered him the opportunity to retrieve the materials from the museum galleries (reimbursing the museum for its costs), which he declined to do." The exhibit was canceled in May and the museum requested a declaratory judgment from the court on its and the artist's rights over the unfinished work. "We are deeply appreciative of the court’s thoughtful scrutiny of this matter," said Thompson in the statement. "After giving careful deliberation to the interests of many constituents, including the artist’s own views, and factoring in the limited time window available given our normal exhibition cycle - together with other considerations both logistical and philosophical - we have decided to begin removing the materials immediately without placing them on public display." A new exhibition, Jenny Holzer’s "Projections," will open in the space Nov. 17. The museum also said it would co-host a symposium with the Clark Art Institute devoted to the issues raised by this case. The symposium will be held later this fall. Meanwhile, Buchel will open a new installation later this month at the Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions that is described as "a commentary on past and present military agendas." It will include replicas of missiles, bombs, and other military equipment stashed away as if hidden and forgotten in a small waiting room, discovered only after walking through a series of adjacent rooms and doors.
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North County Welcomes New Veterans Agent

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has appointed Kurtis Durocher as its new veterans agent, and he hopes to connect with as many veterans as possible.
 
"I have been deployed five times, and so I can speak on that level. I can speak on the disability level. I can speak on many levels that these guys coming in here can relate to," he said. "Whether it's the vent or just to let somebody hear their voice. I definitely gravitate towards that, and I let them know that I have been in their shoes."
 
Durocher, a retired master sergeant with 20 years of military experience, assumed the role in February, succeeding former agent Mitchell Keil. He was most recently director of learning and employee development at BFAIR.
 
His military career includes multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and his decorations include the Purple Heart and bronze star medals among others.
 
"I joined the Army in 2001. My first day was actually the day the towers fell," he said. "So I did 20 years as an infantryman and retired as a master sergeant in 2021."
 
Durocher, originally from Williamstown, said he has settled into the position but is still learning. He said he is familiar with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system.
 
"I understand the VA portion of it really well, Chapter 115," he said. "So it's just kind of one of those muscle memory, repetitive things. I love it. It's great. It's kind of what I wanted to do when I got out so it's perfect."
 
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