Gallery Plans Live Illustration of Environmental Abuses

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
Hanging artworks at IO Gallery on Main Street in North Adams.
NORTH ADAMS — A group of local artists is hoping to energize individuals into taking action on environmental issues by illustrating the problems firsthand.

"We have got to take every opportunity to manage pollution and come up with a solution," said Jason Morin, owner of IO Gallery, which will feature a half-dozen or so artists creating works on the spot on Saturday night from 6 to 9. "This is one of the most important issues we face as human beings, I think."

The art-making is part of the gallery's second seasonal opening; its first exhibit, for spring, opened in March along with Morin's IO Digital Services, which shares the space.

The Main Street office's "beautiful walls" just cried out for art, said Morin, who will participate in the art-making Saturday. But he isn't all that interested in running a gallery as he is to providing a background for local artists to express themselves.

"I'm not interested in being in the business of art as I am in the delivery of art," he said, so he's no longer charging commissions on artists' works. Instead, he's hoping that the gallery will survive on free-will donations from artists and patrons. He's still got his Web design and digital services business; the gallery is about balancing his commercial work with his artistic side.

Some 15 artists total will be represented in the new IO exhibit, including well-known local photographers Ian Grey, Kelly Lee, Gillian Jones and visual artist Jennifer Mulcahy. Also featured will be Pete Schoeffer, JenniGood, Merritt Fletcher, Chris Diamond, the Infamous Mr. Fitz, Jake Spitz, Ed Cating, Susan Rose, Dan Field and Rodney Wilkinson.

  Artists will each have their own space and plywood 'canvas' with which to work on Saturday night at IO Gallery.
The art-making will take place in the gallery's newly opened back room. Four artists will each have a cubby in the center of the room with three squares of plywood (bottom and two sides) forming a dioramalike canvas. The one or two others will occupy space in the room's corners.

JenniGood (also known as Jenni Goodhind) is planning to make a collage to illustrate the direct effects of mass consumerism on the landscape.


"I'm incorporating my photography with found objects, and corporate brands and logos," she said. Goodhind has lots of nature photography - including pictures of nature sullied. "I've taken photographs of dumping and littering. I'm going to tie them all together."

Morin sees this exhibit as a way to bring sharper focus on immediate environmental problems. Gallerygoers will be invited to write down their thoughts and resolves at each art station, becoming themselves part of the performance piece and, possibly, part of the solution.

"If you write just that you're going to give up plastic bags, that's a start," said Morin. The idea is to make people face the issues head on and force them to consider how their actions hurt or help.

And if seeing the effects of pollution can make people act, what better way than to use artists as the medium to deliver those illustrations? he said.

The flyer for the exhibit warns that "we should no longer be distracted by the advertised entitlements of life.

"Let us see beyond what is persistently placed in dominant view and instead focus on the corners to see what is being created there."

The exhibit opening and art making will run from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, to mark the start of summer. The reception is free and open to the public. The gallery is open weekdays during business hours.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Hosting Route 2 Overpass Study Walks

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city of North Adams is hosting three community walks this week to solicit input on a study of the 60-year-old Central Artery project. 
 
The focus is on the deteriorating Veterans Memorial Bridge that carries Route 2 and connections between the downtown and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The site visits will be led by Openbox, a community-centered design partner for the study, in collaboration with the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition 
 
The community walks will be held on one evening and two mornings:
 
Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 14, from 7:30 to 9 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 15, from 7:30 to 9 a.m.
 
The walks are open to all and attendees are asked to register here and indicate and accessibility needs.  Attendees should arrive within the first hour and plan to spend between 30 to 45 minutes in total during the 90-minute timeframes.
 
Meet at the UNO Community Center on River Street for a self-guided site walk around the Route 2 overpass and
return to the center for conversations about people's everyday experiences moving to, through, and around Route 2 and North Adams.
 
The city, in conjunction with Mass MoCA, has received a federal Reconnecting Communities grant of $750,000 for a planning study. North Adams was one of only 46 communities out of 450 applications to receive a grant; the $1 billion pilot program is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. 
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories