Sculptors come to Gate City to make their footprints in the future
(Exerpted from Encore Arts, Sunday, May 10, 2009)
By MICHELLE COLLINS Correspondent
Local art organizations, museums and other area businesses are getting together to promote the arts in Nashua. The
second International Sculpture Symposium will take place in downtown Nashua, starting Sunday, May 17, and ending
Sunday, June 7. This year's symposium, titled "Footprints: Future," will be centered on four international sculptors and
their works, which will be created at the Ultima Nashua Industrial Corp. in the Millyard district.
"It relates to the fact that what we do leaves footprints. We need to keep that in mind," said John Weidman, co-founder
and director of Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, and co-founder of the Sculpture Symposium, regarding the name for
this year's symposium. "The thought relating to what we do now creates (the) future."
Weidman co-founded the Andres Institute in 1998, a nonprofit arts organization, and is a member of the Nashua Area
Artists Association. Weidman and Meri Goyette, a major arts supporter in Nashua, helped bring about Nashua's Sculpture
Symposium, the first of which was held last year.
"I proposed we do a symposium in Nashua to get artists to create artwork for the public," said Weidman. "The works speak
for the artists . . . The works that the artists create themselves are resilient and can be outdoors."
In addition to Goyette and the Andres Institute, the symposium is presented by the City of Nashua, City Arts Nashua and
the N AAA.
To decide which artists would be featured in this year's symposium, Weidman researched the artists, viewed their work
and then recommended the group to the symposium planners. Weidman even brought artists back who have featured
their work at Andres Institute or elsewhere. This year's participating sculptors include Luben Boykov, of Bulgaria; Michele
Golia, of Italy; Sarah Mae Wasserstrum, of Israel; and Weidman himself.
"I think (the symposium) will help the individual become more aware of themselves, their surroundings and how the city
functions with so many people," Weidman said. "It's something to learn from."
The sculptors featured in this year's symposium all bring a different form of talent to the table.
Boykov's work, for instance, is inspired by his everyday life in rural Newfoundland, and many of his sculptures are made
from a combination of natural objects and added-on sculpted elements. Some of his sculptures are carved from wood and
stone, while others are sculpted with grasses bound with wax. The finished sculpture is then cast in bronze using the lost
wax method, a process that allows anything modeled in wax to be completely recreated into other metals.
Wasserstrum's sculptures, on the other hand, are made from stones. Her artist statement on absolutearts.com reads:
"Turning my eyes to the stone, I can only imagine how young it is. Its years are a path connecting the profound mystery of
the Origin with future promise. Touched by these masses of nobility, I am taught the changing dimensions and fluidity of
time. I am tutored in purity."
Golia's sculpting techniques are more traditional, while Weidman's works are mostly made with stone and metal, striving to
create sculptures with a balance of technology and artist creativity.
Although public viewing for the works-in-progress at NIMCO is permitted Saturday, May 23, through Wednesday, June 3,
from noon-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4-6 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, the community will have a
chance to view the finished sculptures, which will be placed permanently around the city.
In addition to the symposium, many of the local art galleries and studios in the Picker Building will be extending their hours
from May 17 to June 7. Several arts-related events will also be taking place during the same time, at various locations in
Nashua. Gallery One will hold an opening reception from 4-6 p.m. May 17 and will hold its new "Spring Fling" exhibit
beginning Sunday, May 31.
On Saturdays from 1-5 p.m., Chimera Gallery in the Picker Building will hold Dominique Boutaud's "L'echapper Belle – A
Narrow Escape" and Art Ferrier's urban photography.
On the Net:
For more information on the symposium, visit:
www.andresinstitute.org
www.CityArtsNashua.org
(Exerpted from Encore Arts, Sunday, May 10, 2009)
By MICHELLE COLLINS Correspondent
Local art organizations, museums and other area businesses are getting together to promote the arts in Nashua. The
second International Sculpture Symposium will take place in downtown Nashua, starting Sunday, May 17, and ending
Sunday, June 7. This year's symposium, titled "Footprints: Future," will be centered on four international sculptors and
their works, which will be created at the Ultima Nashua Industrial Corp. in the Millyard district.
"It relates to the fact that what we do leaves footprints. We need to keep that in mind," said John Weidman, co-founder
and director of Andres Institute of Art in Brookline, and co-founder of the Sculpture Symposium, regarding the name for
this year's symposium. "The thought relating to what we do now creates (the) future."
Weidman co-founded the Andres Institute in 1998, a nonprofit arts organization, and is a member of the Nashua Area
Artists Association. Weidman and Meri Goyette, a major arts supporter in Nashua, helped bring about Nashua's Sculpture
Symposium, the first of which was held last year.
"I proposed we do a symposium in Nashua to get artists to create artwork for the public," said Weidman. "The works speak
for the artists . . . The works that the artists create themselves are resilient and can be outdoors."
In addition to Goyette and the Andres Institute, the symposium is presented by the City of Nashua, City Arts Nashua and
the N AAA.
To decide which artists would be featured in this year's symposium, Weidman researched the artists, viewed their work
and then recommended the group to the symposium planners. Weidman even brought artists back who have featured
their work at Andres Institute or elsewhere. This year's participating sculptors include Luben Boykov, of Bulgaria; Michele
Golia, of Italy; Sarah Mae Wasserstrum, of Israel; and Weidman himself.
"I think (the symposium) will help the individual become more aware of themselves, their surroundings and how the city
functions with so many people," Weidman said. "It's something to learn from."
The sculptors featured in this year's symposium all bring a different form of talent to the table.
Boykov's work, for instance, is inspired by his everyday life in rural Newfoundland, and many of his sculptures are made
from a combination of natural objects and added-on sculpted elements. Some of his sculptures are carved from wood and
stone, while others are sculpted with grasses bound with wax. The finished sculpture is then cast in bronze using the lost
wax method, a process that allows anything modeled in wax to be completely recreated into other metals.
Wasserstrum's sculptures, on the other hand, are made from stones. Her artist statement on absolutearts.com reads:
"Turning my eyes to the stone, I can only imagine how young it is. Its years are a path connecting the profound mystery of
the Origin with future promise. Touched by these masses of nobility, I am taught the changing dimensions and fluidity of
time. I am tutored in purity."
Golia's sculpting techniques are more traditional, while Weidman's works are mostly made with stone and metal, striving to
create sculptures with a balance of technology and artist creativity.
Although public viewing for the works-in-progress at NIMCO is permitted Saturday, May 23, through Wednesday, June 3,
from noon-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4-6 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, the community will have a
chance to view the finished sculptures, which will be placed permanently around the city.
In addition to the symposium, many of the local art galleries and studios in the Picker Building will be extending their hours
from May 17 to June 7. Several arts-related events will also be taking place during the same time, at various locations in
Nashua. Gallery One will hold an opening reception from 4-6 p.m. May 17 and will hold its new "Spring Fling" exhibit
beginning Sunday, May 31.
On Saturdays from 1-5 p.m., Chimera Gallery in the Picker Building will hold Dominique Boutaud's "L'echapper Belle – A
Narrow Escape" and Art Ferrier's urban photography.
On the Net:
For more information on the symposium, visit:
www.andresinstitute.org
www.CityArtsNashua.org
