Rocky Neck residencies kick off Saturday
Aug. 17—The profile of the Rocky Neck Art Colony continues to rise in the 18th year of the Goetemann Artist Residency program with a slate of public events starting this weekend.
The two artists coming for the Cape Ann residencies are Amber Scoon, who was awarded the Distinguished Artist/Teacher in Residence, and Jonathan Latiano who was awarded the residency as the Environmental Installation Artist.
The first residency program starts with Scoon, who will give a public artist talk at Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester, this Saturday, Aug. 20, at 3 p.m.; the event is free but registration is required at https://www.capeannmuseum.org/events/goetemann-distinguished-artist-teacher-lecture-amber-scoon.
This will be the artist's first visit to Gloucester. She lives in western Massachusetts.
Scoon's recent work involves the experience of women and children, including, in her words, "the daily labor of living, the process of migration and the experience of violence. The paintings are also about mourning and allowing for fear and pain." She will speak on these aspects of her work at the Cape Ann Museum talk.
"As a professor and mother of a small child in school, I am routinely faced with the physical and psychological effects of terror: the threat, the memory, the preparation and what happens. It is difficult to sit with these feelings and often seems necessary to push them away," according to an artist statement. "I'm also living with an intense and joyful curiosity, I easily step outside of time. I watch the world as if my body has no outlines. I feel the swooping line of a bird in flight, the hieroglyphic-looking marks that bark beetles leave behind on trees...I point my toe or hum one note. I catch my friend's moment of surprise. I hear the sound of rain — all these things create an indescribable sensation..."
As an author, she wrote "Quantum Art: Mimesis, Uncertainty and the Infinite," with an introduction by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Paul Salopek. Scoon also published "Letters to John Berger"; "Question Mark," co-written with artist Glenn Goldberg; and "Conversations and Uncertainty."
As a teacher, she said she seeks to guide her students through their individual processes, and encourages them to approach their work with curiosity, sensitivity and presence. As an artist, she works in multiple media including watercolor, pencil and found materials.
Scoon will conduct a workshop at Montserrat College of Art, from Aug. 22 through Aug. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when students will work on self-directed projects with input from Scoon through individual meetings and a final group critique. To register, go to Eventbrite/Rocky Neck Art Colony.
A teacher, artist and author, Scoon brings to her work a powerhouse of diverse thought.
After earning a degree from New York University, she went on to earn an MFA in Painting from American University in Italy. She then earned a doctorate in "Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought" from the European Graduate School in Switzerland, where she is the John Berger Fellow. Her latest exhibition, "The Abandoned Phone Booth," was funded by the Northampton Arts Council.
Up next will be Latiano, who will create an environmental installation throughout September in partnership with Ocean Alliance. During the month, he will explore Cape Ann's geology and ecology as part of his research on this site-specific installation.
"Environmentalism, ecology, and the natural sciences are a constant in my work, and fields such as geology, taxonomy, paleontology, and evolutionary biology, are commonly employed as catalysts in my practice. My artwork weaves between science-fact and science-fiction, alluding to the more elusive qualities of our environment, and our own uncertain future on this planet," he wrote in an artist statement.
Latiano is the director of the Art and Art History program at Merrimack College in North Andover. He earned his BA in Studio Art from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and his MFA from the Mount Royal School of Interdisciplinary Art at the Maryland Institute College. A solo exhibition of his work will be on view at Boston Sculptors Gallery from Aug. 31 through Oct. 2.
He will give an introductory talk about his residency on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Rocky Neck Cultural Center, 6 Wonson St. in Gloucester, and a closing presentation on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. at Ocean Alliance, 32 Horton St., Gloucester.
All talks are free to the public.
Gail McCarthy can be reached at 978-675-2706, or at gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com.
