Daily Archives: June 19, 2017

The New Inflatable Moment May 3September 3, 2017

BSA Space 290 Congress St #200 Boston, MA 02210 USA

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The New Inflatable Moment (through September 3, 2017) explores inflatable structures used in architecture, art, and engineering since the emergence of the hot air balloon. While celebrating their practical applications, the exhibition focuses on the role some of these revolutionary works of imagination have had in envisioning utopia.

Inspired by the 1998 exhibition and book, The Inflatable Moment: Pnuematics and Protest in '68 by Marc Dessauce and The Architectural League of New York, BSA Space examines key historical moments during which inflatables kindle visionary aspirations. Through a series of installations, photographs, videos, and models, The New Inflatable Moment contextualizes the renewed interest in inflatable structures for architectural and artistic experimentation as expressed among established, emerging, and student architects and artists. Featuring Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Grimshaw, Anish Kapoor/Arata Isozaki, Otto Piene, Graham Stevens, Chico MacMurtrie, and raumlaborberlin, among others. It will also showcase the earlier, pioneering visions of Buckminster Fuller and Frei Otto; the utopian collectives of the late 1960s such as Haus-Rucker-Co, Utopie, and Ant Farm; and the use of inflatable technology for space exploration by Foster and Partners and ILC Dover.

Curated by Mary E. Hale AIA and Katarzyna Balug, The New Inflatable Moment anchors the present moment with an interactive timeline informing the parallel evolution of the medium with key moments of sociopolitical change. With this exhibition, we revisit the moment of the 1960s explored by Dessauce to suggest that utopian thought is re-emerging today in architecture and art as evidenced in projects involving inflatables, say Hale and Balug.

Laura Wernick FAIA, chair of the BSA Foundation adds: The exhibition reveals some of the most visionary architectural minds working with new methods of display and communication. Its premiere at BSA space will empower designers to similarly think and work in new ways to create a better future and motivate the general public to believe in it.

The New Inflatable Momentison display at BSA Space, (290 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210), through September 3, 2017. Admission is free. Opening hours: 10am6pm on weekdays, and 10am5pm on weekends and holidays.

About BSA Space BSA Space, Bostons leading cultural institution for architecture and design, is home to the Boston Society of Architects/AIA (BSA) and the BSA Foundation. The BSA is one of the oldest chapters of the American Institute of Architects. The BSA Foundation, a charitable organization, supports activities that illuminate the ways that design improves the quality of our lives. All exhibitions at BSA Space are supported by the BSA Foundation. BSA Space is open Monday through Friday from 10am6pm, and on weekends and holidays from 10am5pm. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information visit architects.org/bsaspace.

Curators bios Mary Hale AIAs passion for inflatable structures began as a student at MIT, where she developed her first inflatable structure: The Monumental Helium Inflatable Wearable Floating Body Mass. Since then, she has continued to explore wearable inflatable structures, at multiple scales from clothing to shelters.One notable project, Itinerant Home, is an installation commissioned by the New Orleans Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for their annual Descours Festival. In addition to artistic practice, Mary has been deeply involved in organizing design-oriented community events, exhibitions, and teaching architectural design studios at the Boston Architectural College and at Northeastern. Mary founded ROYHALE Design in 2014 as a channel for these projects. Marys work has been recognized in international art, design, and technology publications ranging from the MIT Technology Review to Arcade to Clam, a Parisian fashion and culture magazine.Mary holds a Bachelors Degree in Urban Studies from Brown University, and a Masters of Architecture from MIT.

Katarzyna Balug explores the place of imagination in the city, and the possibility of utopia in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Inspired by science-fictional worlds and informed by studies in urban history and theory, her work involves research, curation, performance and collaborative installations in public space. Those installations are often inflatable. Past projects have been shown at the Muzeum Sztuki in Lodz, Poland, at the Boston Arts Festival, and at FARO Tlhuac in Mexico City, among others. She is co-founder of Department of Play, a lost city department that facilitates collaboration between residents and urban systems through momentary fictions in public space. Kate is a PhD student in urban and architectural history and theory at Harvard Graduate School of Design.

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BSA Space - E-Flux

By Celia Wren By Celia Wren June 19 at 1:05 PM

Roller coasters are my favorite! a character exclaims as he sits onboard a climbing, plunging amusement-park ride in This Is the Big One, a 10-minute drama featured in this years Source Festival. The remark may strike a chord with hearers: After all, a festival that focuses on new works can be like a roller coaster, with abrupt, vertiginous ups and downs. People who attend such events may have a tolerance for variability.

But dependable attractions are much in evidence at this years Source Festival, running through July 2. To start with, in honor of the festivals 10th year, the lineup includes a new production of Topher Paynes Perfect Arrangement. After debuting at the Source Festival in 2013, the play went on to national success, including a major award and an off-Broadway run.

Set in a Georgetown duplex in 1950, Perfect Arrangement tells of two gay couples who have worked out marriages of convenience with each other so as to pass as straight. Bob and Millie Martindale (Jon Reynolds and Danielle Scott) appear to be the next-door neighbors of Jim and Norma Baxter (Jack Novak and Mary Myers). In fact, Bob and Jim are partners, as are Millie and Norma. The masquerade allows the four to maintain a comfortable private domesticity until the State Department, where Bob and Norma work, embarks on a purge of suspected homosexuals. (The play is based on the real events of the Lavender Scare.)

On opening night this month, director Nick Martins production displayed a few moments of hesitation and stiffness, suggesting that the actors were still acclimatizing to their roles. Still, the action clipped along at a pleasantly brisk pace, honoring both the plays bubbly comedy and its serious themes. In a fun touch, every now and then a stretch of dialogue, or a stage picture, would archly echo 1950s sitcoms and advertisements.

Scott and Myers are particularly persuasive as the ebullient but canny Millie and the wearier, more cynical Norma. In a smaller role, Toni Rae Salmi displays ace comic timing as Barbara Grant, a State Department translator who knows her own mind. Jessica Cancino designed the set, a bright, decorous 1950s living room an ideal spot for serving cocktails and canaps.

Perfect Arrangement isnt the only festival offering to reprise the tried-and-true. Of the two 10-minute play showcases, one revives some of the best short scripts from the past decade. I caught the other showcase: an enjoyable group of six playlets with the umbrella title Covert Catalyst. Highlights include This Is the Big One, Chelsea Marcantels artful portrait of six people who experience a roller coaster in drastically different ways. (Kevin Boudreau plays the aforementioned fan.)

Also delightful is local playwright John Bavosos Threat Level: Cream, a droll and twisty tale of two Washingtonians (Chloe Mikala and Jonathan M. Rizzardi) who encounter a suspicious gallon of milk on the Metro.

A couple of the Covert Catalyst pieces are slyly political. For instance, in Lori Fischers bold, surreal Gotta Gethere Whatever Itakes Versus Mr. Chaos, two people (Zoe Walpole and Carol Spring) are so shocked by an election that they embark on a nonstop jumping routine, essentially aiming to bounce their way to utopia.

The festival also includes two artistic blind dates, collaborations between artists of different disciplines. This reviewer cannot attest to the quality of the readings or blind dates. But bracing for the ride can be part of the fun.

Source Festival Through July 2 at Source, 1835 14th St. NW. Tickets: $15-$32. Call 866-811-4111 or visit sourcefestival.org.

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Brace for fun in Source Festival's new plays - Washington Post