North Adams - MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) has commissioned a new work by artist Don Gummer for the plaza outside the T. William Lewis Building on Marshall St. The work, entitled Primary Separation, was first designed by Gummer in 1969, and has existed up to now only in maquette form: this is its first full-scale realization.
The installation consists of a massive granite boulder, 10' long by 6' tall, sawed in half. The stone halves -- separated by just a 4-foot gap -- are dramatically suspended 10' above ground, within a system of stainless steel supports and cables. A newly made plaza will form the base for the sculpture. Gummer's original inspiration for Separation was a stone that he felt resembled Brancusi's Fish. In using the stone, Gummer had Duchamp's "Readymades" in mind, substituting for Duchamp's manmade objects an object found in nature.
"We are delighted to be able to create a permanent home for this signal work from Gummer's early career," said Joseph C. Thompson, Director of MASS MoCA. "Don first showed me the work in the form of a small model. We were just beginning work on the Northern Berkshire District Court, and, though Don was probably not thinking of issues of justice when he conceived the work (though perhaps he was, given the societal unrest of 1969), Primary Separation seemed to me a strikingly apt metaphor for the scales of justice - massive weight sustained in balanced repose.
The stone could be rising, or falling; separating, or re-joining. The thin margin between the two parts of the whole is charged with a powerful force, and it's not clear whether the force is repellent or attractive. We chose the placement of Primary Separation quite carefully, aligning it with MASS MoCA's entry corridor, the Clocktower, and Tree Logic. We hope that the siting will help to visually mark the Courthouse on Marshall Street, while also linking that complex with the rest of the MASS MoCA campus."
The stainless steel uprights and stone will be set in place on August 11 and 12. Plaza construction and final landscaping will begin after those elements are in place and should be completed by September 1. One lane of Marshall Street may be closed during parts of the installation in the middle of the week.
"One of the nicest features of the new plaza will be the removal of the chain link fence that has been such an eyesore and a terrible symbol since it was installed during the labor strikes of the early 1970's," said Mayor John Barrett III. "Once completed this plaza will enhance not only the Marshall Street frontage of the T. William Lewis Building, but also the entrance to MASS MoCA."
Accompanying the dedication of Primary Separation in October, MASS MoCA will organize an exhibition titled Don Gummer: Early Work, featuring five models of Gummer's large-scale projects from the late 1960's and early 1970's.
Gummer was the subject of a recent profile in Art in America. The magazine said 1969's Separation (which Gummer has recently retitled Primary Separation) "anticipated Gummer's recurring concern with the integration of the manmade and the natural, the geometric and the organic - and more generally, the fusion of opposites, most notably in his constructions of the last two decades."
Don Gummer was born in 1946 in Louisville, Kentucky, but grew up in Indiana. From 1966 to 1970 he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and then completed his studies at Yale University where he received his BFA and MFA. His early work concentrated on tabletop and wall-mounted sculpture, but in the mid 1980's he shifted his interest to large free-standing works, often in bronze. In the 1990's he added a variety of other materials, such as stainless steel, aluminum and stained glass.
His interest in large outdoor works also led him to an interest in public art. Gummer's first solo show was in 1973. Since then, his works have been featured in over two dozen solo shows at museums and galleries. His work has also been exhibited in many group shows. Gummer's commissioned works have included Primary Compass (2000), a site-specific outdoor permanent sculpture at the Butler Art Institute, Youngstown, Ohio, and a sculpture/fountain in Historic New Harmony, New Harmony, Indiana. One of his most recent works is a stainless steel and stained glass sculpture titled Southern Circle, standing 25 feet tall and weighing approximately 20,000 pounds, commissioned by the city of Indianapolis and dedicated in October 2004. The installation is made possible by a grant from William Simon.
MASS MoCA's galleries are open 10 - 6 every day through September 6, then 11 - 5 every day except Tuesdays. Gallery admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students, $4 for children 6 - 16, and free for children under 6. Members admitted free year-round. For additional information, call 413 662 2111 or visit www.massmoca.org .
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
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