"100 Hours" Artist Bina Altera
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| Artist Bina Altera [Photo by Matt Wilson] |
Her friendship with city-based artist Danny O has a more humble beginning, she said during a Jan. 14 telephone interview.
"I remember the first time I met Danny," Altera said. "It was 1996, and I met him in a Kinko's at three in the morning. We were both doing collage."
Altera is among the 18 artists expected to participate during a Jan. 25-30 MCLA [Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts] Gallery 51 event that will feature a human collage of artists creating individual works, some of which will be the highlight of a gallery exhibit titled "100 Hours In The Woodshed."
The event was organized by O and MCLA Director of Special Projects Jonathan Secor after O participated at a similar venue hosted at the ZieherSmith gallery in 2006.
A "Right Combination"
Altera, O, and several additional "100 Hours" artists formed a tightly-knit circle of friends during the 1990s, when they lived and created in the Boston area.
"I am so excited about [the 100 Hours event]," she said. "When Dan called, I almost shed a tear of joy. To be around my old support group and create art...that time in Boston was really a charged time. It was a right combination of time, place, and people. And Danny O is a creative force full of positivity."
A State Of Mind She Enjoys
Altera is a graduate of The Art Institute in Boston and currently resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.. She spent her childhood in Jersey City, N.J., and said she cannot recall a time when her artistic nature was silent.
"I was always creating, for as long as I can remember," she said. "I was always drawing, constructing, and as I got a little older, I realized that when I was creating, I entered a state of mind that I enjoyed."
She began her artistic career with hand-made collage but has worked mostly with digital imagery and collage during the past few years. Her desire to create without technical assistance is now blooming again, she said.
"This is an interesting time for me. For a long time, I've been focusing on digital collage. Now I'm going back to my hand-made work and I don't know what will happen."
Time Impacts Art
Most artists create work from an inner self and Altera said that as she resumes her hand-made art, the passage of time is likely to influence her work.
"It's been eight years and I am a totally different person," she said. "I'm back to my original place and it's a spiritual experience. I am looking forward to seeing what comes out of me."
Altera said she will arrive at the MCLA Gallery 51 with "sort of a plan."
"My starting point is my hands-on style, and I have a unique style," she said."But I am very interested in the moment and I want to create and work within the moment."
A Place To "Go And Create"
The blossoming of the city as an arts community has also captured Altera's attention, she said.
"I am looking forward to coming to North Adams and seeing it as an arts community," she said. "I know that I need a place to go and escape. I am looking for a place to go and create."
Additional information about Bina Altera is available at a www.binaalteraimaging.com Internet web site.
A public reception for the artists is planned for 5:30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at the gallery.
The public may also watch artists work from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. beginning Jan. 26 - Jan. 28, and during Jan. 29 10 a.m.- 8 p.m..
A gallery-hosted reception is scheduled to kick off the Jan. 30 exhibit. The reception is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m..
Information about the exhibit is available by calling 413-664-8718 or visiting a www.mcla.edu/Gallery51 Internet web site.
