Elaine Reichek Elaine Reichek is a conceptual artist
who uses embroidery as a means to examine beliefs and preconceptions
about aesthetics and culture. Reichek investigates images,
texts and objects seeking out stories that she can retell
through her art. She used her residency at the Gardner
to explore and research her current project: 20 embroideries
relating to the story of Adam and Eve, from the Genesis
until the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. While researching
the theme of "Adam and Eve" in the Gardner's
archives and at area museums, Reichek gave a lecture on
her work and held a Sewing Circle for artists, curators
and scholars.
In 2003, Reichek’s
returned to the Gardner to begin work on her virtual exhibition madamimmadam.
In this unprecedented project, Riechek installed sixteen
embroideries, which explore themes of creation and reproduction,
in the Museum’s galleries and courtyard. Reichek’s
virtual and interactive exhibition first premiered on-line
in conjunction with the Museum’s Centennial and the
2003 Boston Cyberarts Festival (April 26 to May 10). The
final project was released in May 2004 on CD-Rom. Click
here to view madamimadam.
Alessandro Baricco Author Alessandro Baricco was born
in Turin in 1958 and still lives there today. His first
international bestseller, SILK, has been translated into
twenty-seven languages. His novels have won numerous literary
awards, including the Prix Mèdicis in France and
the Selezione Campiello, Viareggio, and Palazzo del Bosco
Prizes in Italy. Ocean Sea was published in the US and
in the UK in 1999 and his novel City will be forthcoming
in the US in Winter 2002. Baricco has also written essays
in the field of musicology and several theatrical works.
He is highly regarded in Italy for his television programs,
one on opera, the other on literature. His monologue, Novecento,
was made into a film by Oscar Winner, Giuseppe Tornatore,
entitled The Legend of 1900. Baricco is currently working
on a screen adaptation of his novel Silk and on a theatrical
adaptation of his latest book, City (Knopf, June 2002)
While in residency at the Gardner, Baricco spent time writing
and held a reading from City for visitors and staff in
Italian and English.
Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey Artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan
Harvey have been collaborating since 1990, exploring themes
of growth, transformation and decay through sculpture,
installation, photography and landscape design. Their recent
work has focused on investigating the capacity of grass
to record simple shadows and complex images. In an effort
to learn more about a grass strain that would allow their
photographs to last longer, the artists began working with
scientists at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental
Research in Wales. Funded by a NESTA grant, this research
lead to remarkable results for both the artists and the
scientific community. In March, Ackroyd and Harvey spent
two weeks at the Gardner as artists-in-residence. During
this time they researched Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection
of early manuscripts and textiles to prepare for their
exhibition at the Museum in late October. When they returned
to the Museum in Fall 2001 to install their exhibition,
Ackroyd and Harvey also spent time with a class of fifth-graders
from the Farragut School in Boston. During a series of
visits in both the Museum and the classroom, the artists
described their technique of fixing photographic images
in growing grass and assisted students as they "planted" and
grew their own grass images. Ackroyd and Harvey are winners
of the first Wellcome Trust's siart competition and have
exhibited their work in the UK, Germany, US, Italy, France,
Australia and New Zealand.
Read more about Ackroyd and Harvey's exhibition Presence.
