Artists in residence
By Ben Aaronson
Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Pablo Picasso once said that all children are artists, but the problem is how to remain artists once they grow up.

This is precisely the challenge being faced by eight young artists who have returned to their childhood hometown to show how their creative ambitions have remained a part of their lives even into adulthood. The work of these artists, who are all Bedford High School graduates, is currently on display at the Bedford Free Public Library as part of an exhibit devoted to art by BHS alumni.

Curator Ronnie Gould of the Arts Steering Committee said the exhibit is both a chance for the community to follow the careers of gifted former high school art students as well as an opportunity for the young artists to show their work.

“ This is not a professional gallery, but we treat it like one. For some of these artists who are showing their work for the first time, it is a great learning experience and a good place to start,” Gould said.

With access to natural light and plenty of open walls, Gould said the exhibition space along the library’s main staircase is unique for a small community. Gould said the Arts Steering Committee has been sponsoring art exhibits in the foyer since the opening of the library addition in 1998. The committee now sponsors six exhibits per year, booking shows a full year in advance, Gould said.

“ The community hates it when we’re between shows. They find it really disturbing to see nothing on the walls,” she said.

Gould said the Arts Steering Committee first sponsored an alumni art exhibit at the library in 2003 and the response was so strong that the committee decided to hold a second alumni show this year.

The eight artists featured in this year’s exhibit represent a variety of styles and experience. They are sculptors, painters, photographers, graphic artists and designers. Several are recent graduates who are just beginning to explore careers in art, while others have graduated college and are slightly more established.
Gould said the diversity of both the art and the artists themselves is one of the strengths of the exhibit.

“ We just let them do whatever it is they do. That’s one of the aspects that I think is so educational about this exhibit. There are so many choices and directions one can take in art, and the exhibit reflects the different paths taken by these young artists,” Gould said.

Gould’s son Benjamin submitted several pieces from his first two years at the Pratt Institute in New York where he is studying industrial design. Gould, who graduated from BHS in 2004, said it was nice to be able to show his work in his hometown.
“ When you’re starting out as an artist, it’s important to show your work no matter where it is. But I was happy to be able to show in Bedford because it was a chance to show some of my friends and people back home what I’ve been up to. Art is so visual — there’s really no way to tell people about it. You have to show them,” he said.

Gould said he chose to show two pieces from his freshman year at Pratt, which focused on fine art skills like drawing and painting, and two pieces from his sophomore year, which has been more centered on his major in industrial design.

“ The first two pieces summarized where I left off with my fine art. My goal is one day to be able to support my fine art with my work in industrial design,” Gould said.

Gould’s industrial design pieces in the exhibit include a working brass “touch lamp” and a garden tool designed for stay-at-home mothers called “Mommy Gardeners.”

Mike Prescott, a classmate of Gould’s at BHS, combined two of his biggest passions in life with his photographs of “Trackless Trolleys” in Boston. Prescott, who is studying professional communications at Fitchburg State College, is an avid photographer and a Boston transit historian. Prescott said the library exhibit is the first time he has displayed his artwork since high school.

“ I was very excited when I was asked to participate in the alumni show. I haven’t taken any art or photography classes yet in college, but I have been actively working on projects independently, so it was a good outlet for me to display something I’ve done,” he said. “

Prescott’s work, entitled “Trackless,” is made up of 10 prints of trolley cars in and around the North Cambridge Carhouse.

“ I chose this particular series because it represents my love for the city itself and for public transit,” said Prescott, who serves as the publications director and webmaster for the Boston Street Railway Association. “I have always had a fondness for these specific vehicles since they have many unique and photogenic features.”

Prescott also created his own company thMedia and operates several Web sites devoted to transit history, including www.transithistory.org.

Nadya Volicer, a professional sculptor and installation artist, is probably the most experienced and well-traveled off all the artists who have work on display in the library exhibit. After graduating from BHS in 1997, Volicer attended the Massachusetts College of Art and also studied at the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland and The Island School in Skopelos, Greece. Her sculptures and installations have been on display in exhibition spaces across New England, including the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, and the Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell.

Volicer was one of the artists featured in the original alumni art show at the library in 2003, installing a grand wooden waterfall spilling over the staircase.

“ I like architecture and space, and the library has such an unusual and beautiful space. And since I don’t live in Bedford anymore, it’s nice to still have a feeling that I’m from there,” Volicer said.

Her pieces in the 2006 show include a tall multi-colored mosaic arch entitled “Brick-A-Brack,” and a sculpture made from recycled wood entitled, “Don’t leave me here.” Volicer said she uses recycled wood in nearly all of her art, scrounging up materials from suburban trash piles, renovation dumpsters, and basements of friends and neighbors.

To view more of Volicer’s work, visit www.nadyavolicer.com.

Other alumni artists to show work in the exhibit include: Michael Jones, David Freedman, Benjamin Morgan-Cleveland; all BHS Class of 2001; Mingli Chang, Class of 2004; and Colleen McGovern, Class of 2005.

The BHS alumni art exhibit will be on display at the library through Jan. 17. For more information about the exhibit or upcoming exhibits at the library, visit www.bedfordlibrary.net/artexhibit