New exhibitions on view at Bennington Museum

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BENNINGTON, VT - A new installation at the Bennington Museum is dedicated to a diverse and engaging display of fine art from the museum's permanent collection. Art of the Region features works that represent regional artists or national artists presenting Vermont themes. Roughly split along its axis right and left, the exhibition presents people and places. The new gallery should surprise and delight the visitor with lesser-known artists, while still presenting some of the paintings that visitors return to see again and again. Artists represented include such well-known personages as Norman Rockwell, Frederick McMonnies, Lorenzo Hatch, Sister Mary Veronica, Simon Moselsio, Oliver Tarbell Eddy, and Luigi Luccioni. Other fine artists worth further exploration included in the show are John Lillie, James Knox, A. Hale Johnson, Arthur K. D. Healy, W. S. Reynolds, Francis Colburn, and Gene Pelham. Small focus areas within the exhibition allow a closer examination of certain artists. The visitor may explore the story of Norman Rockwell's first years in Vermont and see his process for creating a painting, or learn how Sister Mary Veronica left Bennington to join a convent and become one of America's most celebrated sacred artists. Another focus area displays the abstractions of Simon Moselsio and background on how this longtime Bennington College professor escaped Hitler's Germany to practice his art in the United States. In so many cases, history museums wait for events to pass before they address them in exhibition format. By focusing on the stunning imagery of local photographer Kevin Bubriski, a new exhibition, Independence of Thought, Freedom of Speech presents history as it's happening. Bubriski's photographs of local citizens engaged in political expression should speak to every visitor who walks through the museum's doors. Though the photographs were almost all taken on Main Street in Bennington, Vermont, they could be Main Street in any town or large city. Though the subjects in the photos are espousing a number of different causes and ideas, their expression is a universal definition of American freedom. Kevin Bubriski has exhibited worldwide; his work is in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the International Center of Photography, all in New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven; the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, and many other venues. To ground the viewing experience in Vermont history, Independence of Thought includes two kiosks that present the fantastic story of Vermont Representative Matthew Lyon and the Bennington newspaperman Anthony Haswell. In the 1790s the young United States was in a fever pitch over a perceived threat from France. Citizens were afraid that French spies and agents were among them and plotting their downfall. In 1798 Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Sedition Act forbade an individual to "write, speak, or utter" anything seen as disparaging of the Congress, the President, or the government at large. Though this law went relatively unenforced for obvious reasons, it was invoked in the state of Vermont. Used as a partisan political tool, charges were brought against Representative Matthew Lyon of Fair Haven. After a quick trial he was sentenced to jail for his "crimes." Seeing this action as a political move, and an encroachment on the first amendment, Anthony Haswell started publishing editorials in the Vermont Gazette in support of Lyon. Soon Haswell himself became a victim of this act. Jailed in Bennington, Haswell became somewhat of a celebrity as he received visitors and continued to publish his paper from his jail cell. When Thomas Jefferson became president he wisely let the acts expire in 1801. Thus one of the first tests of the freedom of speech was fought in Vermont. Independence of Thought, Freedom of Speech will provide seed for discussion and thought. The photos provoke a wide range of emotions, though they all reinforce the freedom of expression. The exhibition is on view through November 12. The Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main St. (Route 9) one mile west of the intersection of Routes 7 and 9 in downtown Bennington, Vermont. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; it is open an additional hour until 6 p.m. from June 1 through October 31. Admission is charged; museum members and children under twelve are admitted free. For more information about the museum, visit the website at www.benningtonmuseum.org or call 802.447.1571.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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