Blog: Author: Dora St. Martin

Massachusetts Must Read Author Series: Barry Van Dusen – Finding Sancturary

Enjoy a virtual talk on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22  7:00—8:00 PM  with writer and artist Barry Van Dusen, recently recognized by the Massachusetts Center for the Book as one of Massachusetts’s must-read authors of the year. Join Van Dusen for a presentation on his latest book, “Finding Sanctuary: An Artist Explores the Nature of Mass Audubon,” via Zoom. Presented virtually by the Tewksbury Public Library, the State Library of Massachusetts, in collaboration with a number of Massachusetts libraries.

Over the course of four-and-a-half years, nature artist Barry Van Dusen visited all 61 of Mass Audubon’s public wildlife sanctuaries, nature centers, and museums, producing drawings and paintings at each location. Follow his travels and share in his adventures—from the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket to the mountain peaks of the Berkshires. Learn about hatching turtles on Cape Cod, rare orchids in the Connecticut River Valley, and a bear encounter in a western Massachusetts forest.  Birders, naturalists, conservationists, gardeners, artists, art appreciators, and all outdoor folks will enjoy this presentation.

Barry W. Van Dusen is an internationally recognized wildlife artist living in central Massachusetts. His articles and paintings have been featured in Bird Watcher’s Digest, Birding, and Yankee magazines and he has illustrated a variety of natural history books and pocket guides in association with the Massachusetts Audubon Society. In 1994 Barry was elected a full member of London’s Society of Wildlife Artists. His work has been exhibited regularly in the prestigious Birds in Art Exhibition (Wausau, Wisconsin) as well as in many galleries in the United States and Europe. At the invitation of the Artists for Nature Foundation, Barry has travelled to Spain, Ireland, England, Israel, India and Peru, working alongside other wildlife artists to raise money for conservation of threatened habitats. Learn more about Van Dusen.  Presented in collaboration with a number of Massachusetts libraries.

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1fcshIDoRDipgiXQtt6Abg

Extended to Nov 30 – Acclaimed Artist John Day’s Work Comes Home to Malden

Following a successful solo show in Geneva, Switzerland, the work of Malden born artist John Day comes to the Malden Public Library’s Converse Galleries for a month long exhibition: John Day: A Glimpse of Color.

John Day was born in Malden on May 27, 1932 and sold his first painting at the age of fifteen.  His father was an anesthesiologist and his mother was a classical pianist and music teacher. After graduating from Malden High School (class of 1949) where he had already exhibited his talent for, and commitment to, painting, he spent a year at Syracuse University‘s School of Art, before transferring  to Yale University’s School of Art & Architecture. During his years at Yale, he studied with legendary teacher and color theorist Josef Albers. In 1970 he became a Professor of Art at William Paterson College in New Jersey.

Over the next three decades, Day tested and explored a number of different artistic styles, ranging from impressionistic landscapes, to collages, to precisely-blended color meditations.  Many of his early collages were torn-paper landscapes that reference the work of the nouveau réalistes such as Raymond Hains from the 1960’s. His surrealist “Erebos” series illustrates his interest in the art and life of Ancient Greece. The abstract paintings from the last phase of his life evoke the spiritual intensity of Mark Rothko’s work. John Day won recognition with numerous awards, prizes and grants including stays at Yaddo and the McDowell Colony, an Ingram Merrill Foundation grant, numerous first prizes at judged exhibitions.  From 1961 through 1984, he had an annual one-man exhibitions at galleries in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Paris. He was also included in numerous group exhibitions, including those at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum in New York City; the American Embassy in London; the Musée Pompidou, the Foundation Maeght, and Marseilles’ Musée Cantini in France; the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York; the Montclair Museum in New Jersey; the Harmon Gallery in Naples, Florida.  He continued his devotion to serious art until his death in New York City on April 15, 1982, one of the early victims of the AIDS epidemic.

His paintings are found in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Musée Pompidou in Paris, and in corporate collections around the world.

Until November 15, gallery hours are Wednesday and Saturdays 2-4 and by appointment.  Due to Covid limits, please contact the Library at info@maldenpubliclibrary.org or by phone at 781-324-0218 to schedule an individual or group visit.

 

Weekly Movie Watch – Native American Heritage Month

With your Malden Public Library Card you can watch many great movies at home. Every week the Movie Librarian will recommend some of her favorite titles. “From the award-winning PBS series American Experience comes We Shall Remain, a provocative multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history.” Not Rated (394 min.) (2009)

The Joy of Fine Art Prints

Elizabeth Rudy, curator at the Harvard Art Museums, will present “The Inexhaustible Joy of Prints,” a discussion of her daily work of teaching and talking about fine art prints.  This one hour, virtual talk will be held on Wednesday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Elizabeth Rudy is the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints at the Harvard Art Museums. She is responsible for the objects in the museums’ print collection, which spans the Renaissance to the contemporary era. Her research focuses on prints of the 18th and 19th centuries, with particular interests in etching, book illustration, and works by the artist Pierre-Paul Prud’hon.

The series is part of the Malden Public Library’s current exhibition “The Fine Art of Prints and Printmaking,” now on display in the Converse Memorial Building’s Giso-Nutall Gallery. The program is supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvfuGtqTwpHdwCImdGQnV4Wnr1PBCyC1Xy

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Learn to Deal with Pandemic Weight Gain

On Wednesday, October 27, at 6:00 p.m., the Malden Public Library will present a talk by Julio Salado, founder of the Fitness Foundry.  Have you experienced pandemic weight gain and the negative effects of lockdown?  According to experts, weight gain and disordered eating spiked during the stress of the pandemic.

Learn health ways to reach your weight loss goals. Learn how to overcome the roller coaster of weight loss and gain. BREAK out of breaking even is the FIRST system to address the phenomenon of “breaking even”!  You will develop skills and self-awareness for long term weight loss management. The program is designed to be sustainable, flexible, and customized to fit your lifestyle and goals.

Julio Salado is Malden’s award-winning National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Recognized Certified Personal Trainer with Distinction, and the founder of Fitnessfoundry.net, a leading online resource for health and wellness.

The program is free. This program will be presented virtually via Zoom.  To register at the Link below:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtf-6orzouEtzD5xlOvuRkh3xuWFeFoGXs

or call the Malden Public Library for more information at 781-324-0218.

International Story Time For Children

It’s Welcoming Week! Join us for International Storytime on the front lawn/portico area of the Library on Thursday, September 16th: 3:30-4:30 pm.
Stories for ages 5-7 years will be read in Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Haitian-Creole, and Brazilian-Portuguese. Free book for kids while supplies last. & pick up a fun Grab & Go craft!
Masks are required for this event.

The Fine Art of Printmaking : A Talk with Artist Liz Shepherd

Join us on Wednesday, September 22, at 6:30 for a talk with artist and printmaker Liz Shepherd. Liz Shepherd has been exploring the possibilities of contemporary printmaking for the past 15 years, moving beyond two-dimensional traditional etchings, woodcuts, and monoprints, to sculptural forms. She has produced large scale installations, filling a 60-foot gallery with silkscreen prints on fabric for example, hanging cast papier mâché chairs made from silk screened handmade Japanese paper, and hand printed corrugated cardboard furniture. Shepherd will show examples of this work and explain how it is made.

Zoom Meeting – Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArf-usqzojG9EbJ7eByiDM76fnVcoh-18d

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

This program is presented as part of the Malden Public Library’s current exhibition, the Fine Art of Prints and Printmaking. The programs are supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

The Fine Art of Printmaking : A Talk with Carolyn Muskat of Muskat Studios

Join us on Wednesday, September 15, at 6:30 for a one-hour virtual talk by with Carolyn Muskat of Muskat Studios in Somerville.  Carolyn Muskat’s work has been in local, national, and international exhibitions, including solo exhibitions “Here & Now: Prints by Carolyn Muskat” at the Irving Art Center in Dallas, TX and “Waystation” in Hanoi, Vietnam, plus numerous group exhibitions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, and Serbia to name a few. A Tamarind Master Printer, Carolyn owns and operates Muskat Studios, a professional printmaking studio in Somerville, MA where she collaborates with artists to produce original fine art prints. Carolyn has been invited to teach at several colleges including the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Hartford Art School, and Lesley University College of Art & Design as well as internationally in Vietnam and South Africa. She was recently awarded the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Printmaking Award at the SGCI conference.  The series will continue with a talk with print maker Liz Shepherd on September 22 at 6:30 PM.

To register go to link below or send an email request to info@maldenpubliclibrary.org

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrc-urqz4pH9OAjxcXdVECSWtGbBKKJYkr

This program is presented as part of the Malden Public Library’s current exhibition, the Fine Art of Prints and Printmaking. The programs are supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

System Outage Update

The Boston Public Library is experiencing a system wide technical outage. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes and will let you know when the issue has been resolved. The Library remains open for book checkout/pickup and computer use.  Internet and wifi are available. Due to this situation, some online resources are not currently available. We hope this issue will be resolved soon. For more information on current services, please call the Library at 781-324-0218.

Boston Public Library Update https://www.bpl.org/news/statement-technical-outage/