Inaugural Exhibition for the new CAC Gallery
MIKE GLIER
Town Green and Backyard
February 23-April 30, 2004
Opening: Thursday, March 4, 2004
Artist talk: 4:00 pm
Premiere screening of a film produced by City TV8 about the
making of Town Green: 4:45 PM.
Reception: 5:30 - 7:30 PM.
CAC tour of Town Green and Backyard: Thursday, March 11,
2004
6:30 - 7:30 PM
Town Green is a permanent wall drawing installation for the
two-story atrium of the City Hall Annex at 344 Broadway.
Backyard, a selection from the paintings that inspired Town
Green, is the inaugural exhibition for the new CAC Gallery.
Town Green murals herald "green" rebirth of
Cambridge City Hall Annex
Artist Mike Glier available for interviews
For tour information, contact Lillian Hsu at 617-349-4389
For additional images/copy: visit "Of Special Interest:
City Hall Annex Project" at the City's website: www.cambridgema.gov
Cambridge, MA…Mission statement as Muse? Yes. Artist
Mike Glier (www.williams.edu/Art/glier) went straight to mission
statements of five City of Cambridge departments for inspiration
for Town Green, his mural cycle for the soon-to-be-reopened
City Hall Annex built in 1871. According to Lillian Hsu of
the Cambridge Arts Council Council (www.cambridgeartscouncil.org),
which commissioned Glier to create the wall paintings, "Mike
Glier's permanent public art for the Cambridge City Hall Annex
is conceptually tied to the function and mission of the building.
His evocative paintings are derived from the mission statements
of the City departments that will occupy the building - Community
Development; Traffic, Parking and Transportation; Arts Council;
Animal Commission; and the Conservation Commission. He structured
his paintings around four themes: Transparency, Flow, Growth,
and Pleasure. The images depict urban views: birds and roses;
porch vines climbing the walls; a girl lying in the grass,
reading; a view from above of office workers on a coffee break.
These murals cover four large walls in the building's two-story
atrium and transform the space into an indoor 'garden.'"
According to Glier, "I enjoy looking closely at things
that are very near and celebrating them. Sometimes I think
this simple act of looking carefully at the surrounding world
is the most profound thing an artist can do." Glier has
had solo exhibitions in New York's Museum of Modern Art, the
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Drawing
Center in New York. His work has been in numerous group exhibitions
at such institutions as the Whitney Museum of American Art,
New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and
the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art. The Annex will
be his first work in the Boston area.
Hsu's comment that "Mike's murals - known collectively
as Town Green - fill the space with a visualization of the
word "Green" as it is used in the phrase 'Green
building'" is a direct reference to the Annex's rebirth
as a valuable public showcase of renewable energy technologies,
much of which is funded by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
(MTC), the state's development agency for renewable energy
and the innovation economy. MTC manages the Renewable Energy
Trust, which is an essential part of the state's strategy
to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources by encouraging
the use of renewable resources such as wind and solar power.
Rounding out the restoration/renovation team with the City
of Cambridge, the Arts Council and MTC are HKT Architects
and Consigli Construction. HKT, a Somerville based architectural
firm, is most well known for its mission-driven green design
for municipalities and institutions. HKT clients include the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Trustees of Reservations,
and the Massachusetts State College Building Authority, as
well as dozens of cities and towns throughout Massachusetts,
and New Hampshire. Consigli, an almost 100 year old New England
construction firm based in Milford, has been receiving accolades
for its leadership in environmental practices in the construction
industry, specifically for its construction waste recycling
program.
Rich Rossi, Cambridge deputy city manager, couldn't be more
pleased with the project. "The City of Cambridge has
long been a leader in municipal innovations, including best
practices in environmental planning, urban design and public
art. Such innovations enhance the city's longstanding tradition
of providing the highest quality of services to its residents."
The building will be open to the public in early 2004. The
murals were commissioned by the City of Cambridge through
the Cambridge Arts Council's Public Art Program. Visit www.cambridgeartscouncil.org
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