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By Sue Harrison - April 17, 2008 iBerkshires Intern
A breakout of the three-story LeWitt exhibit. Courtesy Mass MoCA.
NORTH ADAMS – More than 27 artists, draftsmen and students are hard at work at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts implementing the drawing plans of the late Sol LeWitt.
Mass MoCA Director Joseph C. Thompson and Anthony Sansotta, head of the Sol LeWitt Studio, discussed the installation of the massive exhibit at Massachusetts College of Liberal's recent "Artist Talk Series" at Gallery 51.
MoCA will be the new, permanent home of 100 large-scale drawings by LeWitt, often referred to as a founding father of minimal and conceptual art. The colorful, geometric drawings are being reproduced through plans made the artist, who died last year not long after the exhibit was announced.
The nearly one-acre of drawings, made over 40 years of LeWitt's career, will be created on the walls of the newly refurbished 27,000 square feet of space in the museum's center. The installation will be in place for at least 25 years.
"Sol did the layout of the walls, as well as the order of progression of the drawings and paintings," said Thompson.
Museum officials said this new addition is expected to increase tourism and further establish Mass MoCA and the Northern Berkshires’ reputation as a destination for contemporary art.
Both Thompson and Sansotta seemed excited about the prospect of bringing new business to North Adams and the greater Berkshire area. Thompson has noticed "a steady rise of artists [in the area] in the past 12 years."
During the next six months, Thompson expects about 50 people from outside the area will be living here while they’re working on the project.
The group includes experts who had worked with LeWitt for 20-plus years, and a mix of professional artists and graduate students. Some of the participants scheduled to take part in the project over the summer are local college students.
The long-term, landmark exhibit is also expected to bring more visitors to Mass MoCA. It will open in November.
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