FEATURING TALENTED LOCAL ARTISTS
The Berkshire Woodworkers Guild
One of the standard images in introductory art history classes is Rembrandt’s Syndics of the Cloth Guild, a 17th century portrait of six distinguished gentlemen who shared a common vocation and were proud members of the local guild. In existence since the early days of the Roman Empire, guilds had become the professional refuge of artisans of like mind and interest. Traditionally independent in business, they were bound in interest and skill.
Flash forward to the 21st century, and the concept of a guild lives on, […]
Renaissance Man with a Camera
We live in a strange time – a moment when some of our trusted norms and traditions seem to evaporate with the slide of a “mouse” or the flick across a phone screen. Word processing allowed everyone to become a writer – no more laboring with pens, pads, typewriters and carbon paper. Finish the screed and hit “send.”
And, as for photography, the notion of lugging around the family Pentax and a tripod or hiring the local wedding photographer to memorialize the family reunion has evaporated […]
History in a Flash: Local Photographer Documents the People of a Pandemic
In April of 1936, a young photographer by the name of Arthur Rothstein arrived in Boise City Oklahoma for the purpose of taking pictures on behalf of what was then known as the Federal Government’s Resettlement Administration. Agency higher-ups believed photographs could be used as a powerful tool to show not only the economic problems the nation was facing, but what the government was doing about them. What followed over the next seven years were some of the most striking images, taken by Rothstein and […]
The Berkshires get Creative In Response to Virus
In response to the many stay-at-home orders across the area as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the local arts and artisan community of the Berkshires has responded in a variety of creative ways. From tangible to imaginative, the Berkshire arts community has come together to provide resources for businesses and residents to protect themselves as well as family activities for stay-at-home and self-quarantined households.
Putting the Imagination to Work while Staying Put
Suzi Banks Baum, an inspirational artist and speaker for Rising Forth and New Illuminations, […]
