BCHS to Present Exhibit at Lichtenstein Center for the Arts

09:21AM / Sunday, July 24, 2022Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society will present an exhibition of works by contemporary artists Jim Jasper and Christopher Volpe, beginning August 5.

The exhibit explores several themes, including the effect of industrialization on the natural world, ethnic stereotypes, queerness and disability. The exhibition runs through August 26 and is being presented at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in downtown Pittsfield.

"Moby-Dick remains a classic novel because its themes are universal and inspiring," said BCHS Executive Director Lesley Herzberg. "This exhibition allows the public to see the novel through the eyes of two contemporary visual artists whose work explores some of the same themes, each in their own way."

Exhibition Curator Erin Hunt worked with Jasper and Volpe to choose works from two of the artists' large series of works. Jasper’s Moby Dick is a single work comprised of 140 drawings meant to be shown together with each representing a single chapter from Melville’s novel.

Some drawings, such as The Affidavit and The Chart, use imagery from whaling captains’ logbooks and sailors’ journals. It is based on Owen Chase’s drawing of the Essex after it was rammed by a sperm whale. Going Abroad references the stereotypical descriptions of ethnically diverse sailors on the Pequod and other whaling ships of the time. Jasper’s drawing flips the perspective by focusing on the act of viewing as opposed to who is being viewed.

In addition to works from Volpe’s Loomings series of paintings that combine tar, oil paint and occasionally gold leaf, the artist has created new works for the exhibition. The title of Volpe’s Loomings paintings quote or reference Moby-Dick and represents the novel’s apocalyptic vision of the American quest.

"From feature films to Far Side cartoons, there is no lack of visual representations of Melville's enduring novel," said exhibition curator Erin Hunt. "Jasper’s and Volpe’s powerful explorations of the story of the great white whale add unique perspectives to the existing canon of interpretations, and I’m excited to be able to bring their work together here in Pittsfield."

The exhibition and related events are sponsored by Berkshire Bank.

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Social Service Organizations Highlight Challenges, Successes at Poverty Talk

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
08:04AM / Sunday, April 05, 2026

Dr. Jennifer Michaels of the Brien Center demonstrates how to use Narcan. Easy access to the drug has cut overdose deaths in the county by nearly half.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Recent actions at the federal level are making it harder for people to climb out of poverty.

Brad Gordon, executive director of Upside413, said he felt like he was doing a disservice by not recognizing national challenges and how they draw a direct line from choices being made by the Trump administration and the challenges the United States is facing.

"They more generally impact people's ability to work their way out of poverty, and that's really, that's really the overarching dynamic," he said.

"Poverty is incredibly corrosive, and it impacts all the topics that we'll talk about today."

His comments came during a conversation on poverty hosted by Berkshire Community Action Council. Eight local service agency leaders detailed how they are supporting people during the current housing and affordability crisis, and the Berkshire state delegation spoke to their own efforts.

The event held on March 27 at the Berkshire Athenaeum included a working lunch and encouraged public feedback.

"All of this information that we're going to gather today from both you and the panelists is going to drive our next three-year strategic plan," explained Deborah Leonczyk, BCAC's executive director.

The conversation ranged from health care and housing production to financial literacy and child care. Participating agencies included Upside 413, The Brien Center, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, MassHire Berkshire Career Center, Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Child Care of the Berkshires.

The federal choices Gordon spoke about included allocating $140 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investing $38 billion to convert warehouses into detention centers, cutting $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years, a proposed 50 percent increase in the defense budget, and cutting federal funding for supportive housing programs.

Gordon pointed to past comments about how the region can't build its way out of the housing crisis because of money. He withdrew that statement, explaining, "You know what? That's bullshit, actually."

"I'm going to be honest with you, that is absolute bullshit. I have just observed over the last year or so how we're spending our money and the amount of money that we're spending on the federal side, and I'm no longer saying in good conscience that we can't build our way out of this," he said.

Upside 413 provided a "Housing Demand in Western Massachusetts" report that was done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Donahue Institute of Economic and Public Policy Research. It states that around 23,400 units are needed to meet current housing demand in Western Mass; 1,900 in Berkshire County in 2025.

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