{"id":26491,"date":"2025-08-01T21:41:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T01:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=26491"},"modified":"2025-08-01T21:41:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T01:41:16","slug":"triennial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2025\/08\/01\/triennial\/","title":{"rendered":"First Boston Public Art Triennial: An Afternoon Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first Boston Public Art Triennial officially opened on May 22. For a decade, the nonprofit Now+There had been installing one-off temporary public art around Boston. It rebranded as the Triennial to produce a burst of simultaneous installations designed to make a bigger splash every three years, and \u201csignal who we are as Bostonians in a different way,\u201d Triennial Executive Director Kate Gilbert told The New York Times<\/a> in the flurry of press attention the festival\u2019s debut attracted. \u201cWe wanted to concentrate it in a not-to-be-missed, festival-type experience. We really want to see a more open and equitable city through people having extraordinary art experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a recent Sunday, we drove around Boston trying to see as many of Triennial artworks as we could in one afternoon. We picked Sunday for our experience because we thought Boston\u2019s free parking on Sundays might help us visit more spots\u2014though bicycling is probably the best way to tour the widely distributed sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alan
Alan Michelson, “The Knowledge Keepers,” 2024, at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1)<\/strong> As we drove by Boston\u2019s Museum of Fine Arts, we glimpsed the silvery, realistic indigenous figures standing on plinths beside the grand front stairs, which have been there since last November (and I\u2019ve seen up close a number of times previously). They\u2019re part of the museum\u2019s ongoing response\u2014a corrective\u2014to the statue of a stereotyped indigenous man on horseback with his arms thrown open, Cyrus Dallin\u2019s \u201cAppeal to the Great Spirit,\u201d which has been an icon at the front of the museum since 1912.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These new temporary sculptures, \u201cKnowledge Keepers\u201d by Boston-raised, Museum School-educated, New York-based Alan Michelson<\/a>, a Mohawk member of Six Nations of the Grand River, depict two contemporary local Indigenous cultural stewards\u2014Aquinnah Wampanoag member Julia Marden and Nipmuc artist Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines Jr.\u2014cast in bronze, gilded with shimmering platinum. The point is that they\u2019re rigorously specific and now and individual\u2014rather than the generic, White-gaze symbol of the Native American man on the horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is a statue of an anonymous Plains rider doing in front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston? Why is he wearing a war bonnet yet unarmed, and also a Navajo necklace? Why is he supplicating? I often asked myself these questions when passing the statue on the trolley while attending the nearby Boston Latin School in the 1960s and the Museum School a decade later,\u201d Michelson said in a museum announcement<\/a>. \u201cIn 1909, when Cyrus Dallin cast Appeal to the Great Spirit in Paris, the image of the noble but defeated Plains warrior as an exemplar of the ‘vanishing race’ was popular worldwide. In 2024, I hope my site-specific installation will challenge ingrained stereotypes and racial myths by presenting a story of survivance and agency, not defeat or appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nicholas
Nicholas Galanin, “I think it goes like this (pick yourself up),” 2025, at Evans Way Park, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2)<\/strong> We double-parked around the corner, at Evans Way Park in front of the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, to see a bronze statue set along the paths at the middle of the park: Alaska-based Ling\u00edt and Unangax artist Nicholas Galanin\u2019s \u201cI think it goes like this (pick yourself up).\u201d<\/a> A friend described it as a totem pole Transformer with chunks falling off. Triennial artworks often are driven by concept and backstory\u2014and often that backstory isn\u2019t apparent until you read the signs. Galanin\u2019s sculpture is \u201ccast from chopped-up imitation totems,\u201d according to the Triennial. \u201cThe bronze logs form a kneeling figure, gathering itself from a pile. The form reflects damage to Indigenous culture and technology inflicted by colonization. The work acknowledges the difficulty of repair following generations of outside interference and homogenization of culture and settler-colonial fantasy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We missed Boston artist Yu-Wen Wu\u2019s artwork \u201cReigning Beauty,\u201d<\/a> which was installed a few days later as the new billboard on the facade of the Gardner: \u201ctransforming individual blossoms [from the Gardner Museum\u2019s flowers] into a windswept shower blooming bright against dark storm clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Caledonia
Caledonia Curry a.k.a. Swoon, “In the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction,” 2025, at Boston Central Library. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3)<\/strong> From there we drove over to Newbury Street, parked and walked to the Boston Public Library at 700 Boylston St. Inside the central library\u2019s main atrium is New York artist Caledonia Curry a.k.a. street artist Swoon\u2019s \u201cIn the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction,\u201d <\/a>which feels modest in its creative ambitions, but still probably the best piece in the Triennial. It evocatively resembles a ramshackle cabin, pieced together from various recycled odds and ends, seemingly floating on a sort of pan boat\u2014like a dream. There are three figures\u2014women, girls\u2014two looking out of doorways, one wearing a Dolly Parton shirt sitting inside on a chair amidst low, leafy green plants like you find along the shady floor of a forest. (The shack is built atop an existing planter at the library.) The sculpture, the Triennial explains, is \u201cderived from the artist\u2019s novella, \u2018Sibylant Sisters,\u2019 a story about two sisters who live with a witch beholden to a noxious substance brewed in the well of toads. Through a charming story of girlhood imagination, Swoon challenges how drug addiction is perceived, explained, and often misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Patrick
Patrick Martinez, “Cost of Living,” 2025, at 63 Franklin St., Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4)<\/strong> Then we drove through Downtown Crossing, where we briefly blocked traffic to glimpse Los Angeles artist Patrick Martinez\u2019s \u201cCost of Living,\u201d<\/a> a pair of neon signs in storefront windows at 63 Franklin St. One reads \u201cNo Jobs, No Homes,\u201d the other says \u201cAffordable Housing Now.\u201d Then we drove across the Zakim Bridge, over the Charles River, toward the obelisk of the Bunker Hill Monument and the masts of the USS Constitution at Charlestown Navy Yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Triennial artworks are distributed throughout Boston neighborhoods, which makes it a challenge to see many of them on one day. It\u2019s probably better to visit them just one or a few at a time across the months-long run of the Triennial, through Oct. 31, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Evelyn
Evelyn Rydz, “Convergence: Porous Futures,” 2025, at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5)<\/strong> Our last stop was to see three artworks displayed at 1 5th St., on a lawn in the Navy Yard. Boston artist Evelyn Rydz\u2019s \u201cConvergence: Porous Futures\u201d<\/a> is a minimalist sculpture made from a grid of mirror strips standing on low posts above winding lines of stones cut into the lawn suggesting rivers. \u201cA reflective sculpture, modeled after a storm drain, hovers over a living garden featuring bioswales shaped to mirror the geography of the two rivers,\u201d the Triennial says. The site is near the confluence of the Mystic and Charles Rivers. \u201cThis design draws attention to the often-overlooked water infrastructure and its environmental impact amidst increasing weather extremes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alison
Alison Croney Moses, “This Moment for Joy,” 2025, at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6)<\/strong> Boston artist Alison Croney Moses\u2019s \u201cThis Moment for Joy\u201d<\/a> is another minimalist sculpture\u2014a curving wall of slanted wooden planks. \u201cA trained woodworker, Moses investigates themes of craft, community, identity, and motherhood through the intricate forms and delicate impressions of the natural world and the human body,\u201d the Triennial says. \u201c\u2019This Moment for Joy\u2019 is inspired by the great pleasure and warmth of the Black women in the artist’s life. Composed of wooden slats in a gradient curve, the sculpture is designed for gathering and exploration. The warm hues beckon for fingers to touch the wood, while the inner nook of the curved form offers a sense of safety and shelter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Andy
Andy Li, “Today is The Day,” 2025, at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7)<\/strong> Andy Li has been stitching charming pennants with personal thoughts and slogans for some time now. Inspired by the Navy Yard\u2019s flags, here the Boston artist installs a pole ringed by numerous rectangular flags in bright blue, yellow, orange and green. \u201cFlying up top on the main flag, \u2018Today is The Day\u2019<\/a> serves as a beacon and prompt for reflection,\u201d the Triennial says. \u201cBelow, a pulley system displays 12 smaller flags, each appliqu\u00e9d with different everyday achievements, allowing one to choose how to finish the sentence on the top flag.\u201d Among the options: \u201cI acknowledged my ego and turned it off again,\u201d \u201cI let myself rest,\u201d \u201cI wanted to celebrate survival,\u201d \u201cI disrupted negative thoughts I had about myself,\u201d \u201cI walked my dog and did not forget poop bags,\u201d \u201cI celebrated starting over,\u201d \u201cI decided to continue working on all my projects and not give up on my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by\u00a0contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And\u00a0sign up for our free, occasional newsletter<\/a>\u00a0so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2025 or the respective creato<\/em>rs.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Andy
Andy Li, “Today is The Day,” 2025, at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Caledonia
Caledonia Curry a.k.a. Swoon, “In the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction,” 2025, at Boston Central Library. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Caledonia
Caledonia Curry a.k.a. Swoon, “In the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction,” 2025, at Boston Central Library. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Caledonia
Caledonia Curry a.k.a. Swoon, “In the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction,” 2025, at Boston Central Library. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Caledonia
Caledonia Curry a.k.a. Swoon, “In the Well: The Stories We Tell About Addiction,” 2025, at Boston Central Library. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Boston
Boston Public Art Triennial artworks at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Alan
Alan Michelson, “The Knowledge Keepers,” 2024, at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. For the Boston Public Art Triennial. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first Boston Public Art Triennial officially opened on May 22. For a decade, the nonprofit Now+There had been installing one-off temporary public art around Boston. It rebranded as the Triennial to produce a burst of simultaneous installations designed to make a bigger splash every three years, and \u201csignal who we are as Bostonians in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,105,112],"tags":[1268,1322,390],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26491"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26499,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26491\/revisions\/26499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}