THE VINE Spring 2013 News from Wistariahurst Museum
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Volume 8 Issue 2 THE VINE Spring 2013 News from Wistariahurst Museum Restoration of Famed Skinner Family Bedroom The Phoenix Bird Decoration, purchased by Belle Skinner in 1927, appears in the Chinese Bedroom on the second floor of Wistariahurst. Having suffered water damage, the wallpaper has recently been repaired. The wallpaper is a reproduction of a Chinese design in the South Kensington Museum in England. It reveals not only the 19th‐ century interest in scenic wallpapers and large scale floral and pictoral designs, but also the Victorian fascination with the Eastern aesthetic experience of the natural world as a realm of purity, order, and serene contemplation. The pattern incorporates brilliant birds, trees, and flowers in a harmonious composition. The phoenix and the peony together Wallpaper Restoration symbolize wealth, with two mythological birds embodying images of rebirth and immortality The 12 panels extend over 28 feet and require over 800 blocks to produce. Fine‐grained wooden blocks were inked with one color at a time, then printed on the paper with a hand press. This process was repeated with each block for each color, with tiny dots made by brass pins to guide the placement of the blocks. The time and labor involved in hand printing promoted a close relationship between the artist who created the design and the craftsperson who carved it into wood. The wallpaper, imported by W.H.S. Lloyd Co. Inc., “importers of Wallpapers of the Better Sort,” was produced and marketed as a decoration and artistic asset to the finest home. As the company slogan proclaimed, “Lloyd wallpapers are not made to merely cover the wall.” 1873 Tool Chest of Frederick Coffin The latest addition to the Wistariahurst Museum Collection is the Carpenter’s Tool Chest of Frederick Coffin of Westfield, MA, dated 1873. The chest measures 37” wide by 23” deep by 21.5” high with dovetail joints and is in fairly good condition. Its exterior tells a story of craftsmanship and hard work with its layers of paint chipped and scratched and gouged surface. It has 3 separate interior compartments which drop into the box and slide seamlessly along side rails. It contains several tools like files, chisels, brass nails and other small effects, and a small clutch of architectural drawings, mostly framing plans, one of Toolbox of Craftsman Frederick Coffin which is for a building owned by A.C. Hitchcock at 128 Beech Street, Holyoke, MA. Joshua Lane of Old Deerfield researched Frederick Holland Coffin’s life and noted that he was born in 1845 and raised in St. Peter’s Bay, Prince Edward Island, one of 8 children born to James Coffin (1810‐ 1877) and Elizabeth Davidson Coffin (1813‐1888). He apparently moved to Westfield sometime in the 1860’s and established himself as a house carpenter by the 1870s. Two of Frederick’s siblings, a brother and sister, all settled in Westfield Massachusetts. Frederick married Sarah Jane Winters of Russell, MA and they had one daughter. Frederick died in 1901. Wistariahurst Museum Twitter 238 Cabot Street, Holyoke, MA 01040 @Wistariahurst facebook.com/Wistariahurst 413‐322‐5660 www.wistariahurst.org Massachusetts Green: Building Holyoke’s High Performance Computing Center January/February Gallery Exhibition Opening Reception Thursday, January 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. Informal Talk and Discussion with Greg Saulmon and UMass Professor James F. Kurose Saturday, January 26 at 2pm Local journalist and photographer Greg Saulmonʹs new show at Wistariahurst is a photo essay documenting what some believe may be one of the cityʹs most significant economic development projects since the building of its paper mills. A partnership between private technology companies and world‐class institutions of higher education, the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center represents a turning point as the city attempts to reimagine its urban core ‐‐ a transition from a manufacturing economy to one rooted in technology and creative industries. High Performance Computing Center The High Performance Computing Center is a two‐story 90,000 square foot academic research center that is a complex of brick, precast concrete and glass built on the former Mastex Industries site on Appleton Street. Saulmon’s photos on view in the gallery lead viewers on a journey from the original status of the site, to the building process, to a detailed look at the new buildingʹs features and ʺgreenʺ infrastructure. A resident of downtown Holyoke, Greg Saulmon works by day as an online editor at The Republican / MassLive.com. Outside of his work in the world of breaking news, he is the writer and photographer behind The Birds Downtown, a blog about urban birding, and an avid documentary photographer. On Thursday, January 17 from 6 to 8pm, meet Greg Saulmon and view his photographic essay of the Holyoke High Performance Computing Center. Works on view through February. Admission to the gallery $3 On Saturday, January 26 at 2pm, Greg Saulmon will give a brief talk about his High Computing Performance Center photographic essay. Distinguished Professor James F. Kurose of the University of Massachusetts Computer Science Department will also be on hand to comment on UMASS’s involvement as one of the partnering institutions of higher education at the HPCC. Both Saulmon and Kurose will take questions following the talk. Admission to the gallery $3 REACH April and May Collaborative Exhibition between Holyoke and Easthampton Opening Reception Saturday, April 13 from 12 to 4 p.m. REACH is a multi‐city exhibition of contemporary practitioners in an alliance between the cities of Easthampton and Holyoke, MA. REACH will showcase over 25 local and national artists working in a variety of non‐traditional formats. The exhibition at Wistariahurst will feature installation, interactive sculpture, found media (the reuse of archived or appropriated video, documents, photographs, etc.) performance and future‐media (media currently and soon‐to‐be‐used under the umbrella of contemporary art practices). REACH aims to bridge the arts and spaces in the neighboring communities by encouraging interactive experimentation. Community members are invited to experience and participate in an array of contemporary art practices, which will be exhibited in traditional, non traditional and underutilized spaces. Among the artists exhibiting at Wistariahurst are Chris Nelson, Dave Sinaguglia and Alicia Renadette. Admission to the exhibition at Wistariahurst $3 On Saturday, April 13, REACH will open at Wistariahurst and other collaborating downtown Holyoke venues from 12 to 4pm with live performances by Marilyn Arsem and other artists. Following the Holyoke opening receptions, a shuttle with performances on board will be available from Wistariahurst for transportation to Easthampton. The Easthampton opening receptions will take place from 3 to 9pm at Easthampton City Arts, an arts organization focused on creating a strong cultural identity for Easthampton and improving opportunities for artists in the Greater Easthampton area, and at Eastworks ‐ a revitalized mill housing several city blocks of industrial artisans, small businesses and creative entrepreneurs. From 9 to 11pm, Popcorn Noir ‐ a theater and event location in Easthampton that offers free movies, a full range of popular studio films and all kinds of movies for all kinds of people, will be featuring a REACH One‐Minute Video Film Festival. Screening of Film “The Work of 1000″ with Trustees of Reservations Thursday, January 10 at 6:30 pm Join us at Wistariahurst for an inspiring evening with citizen leader and environmental pioneer, Marion Stoddart. The program will offer a chance to learn more about Trustees of Reservations and to watch a 30‐minute documentary that provides a gripping profile of an ordinary person who realized her power to make a difference. The film, The Work of 1000, shares Marion Stoddartʹs exhilarating effort to clean‐up the Nashua River, a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire; once one of the 10 most polluted rivers in America. Marion Stoddart has been invited to answer questions and to share her experiences about rescuing the Nashua River by advocating for legislation to Nashua Ran Red fight pollution at the state and federal level, including lobbying successfully for the Massachusetts Clean Water Act. In the mid‐1960s, Stoddart campaigned to restore the Nashua and its tributaries by building coalitions with labor and business leaders. With help from the federal government, multiple treatment plants were built or upgraded along the Nashua River and by the end of the twentieth century, many areas of the river were once again safe for swimming. Marion Stoddart’s work is the subject of the documentary The Work of 1000. A ʺQ & Aʺ about the environment/ conservation/ the Connecticut River in Holyoke will follow the screening. This program is Free and Open to the Public. I Love Wine! A Wine Tasting to Benefit Wistariahurst Friday, February 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. Learn about wine, try new flavors and meet new and old friends at Wistariahurst’s annual I Love Wine Event. Guests will enjoy a sampling of various wines from different regions. Vendors will be on hand to discuss the appearance, aroma and the “finish” of the wines at the tasting. One can find out about the complexity and the character of the wine, look at the color and clarity, study tannins and terroir, or just enjoy a very fun and flavorful evening! Light refreshments will be served. All proceeds will benefit Wistariahurst Museum. Cheers! The event is sponsored by Liquors 44 and Historic Holyoke at Wistariahurst. Reservations are required and can be made online. Advance tickets are $25 each/$40 couple; Door admission is $30 each/$50 couple Tango! Milonga and Performance Friday, March 8 from 8 to 11 p.m. Step into a nightlife that evokes the elegant tango salons of Buenos Aires, where two bodies move as one, dancing in a current of couples, immersed in a mesmerizing connection with each other and the sweet, nostalgic sound of tango music.