[DAC] Corita Kent panel discussion at Open Studios

[Joyce Linehan]

For Immediate Release 
Contact:  Joyce Linehan, 617-282-2510, joyce at ashmontmedia.com
 
ART IN OUR NEIGHBOHOOD: CORITA KENT AND THE RAINBOW GAS TANK
 
DORCHESTER ARTS COLLABORATIVE AND DORCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOLD PANEL
DISCUSSION ON THE ART OF CORITA KENT AND THE HISTORY OF THE RAINBOW GAS TANK
AS PART OF ANNUAL OPEN STUDIOS EVENT
 
 
(Dorchester, MA - Sept. 25, 2007)  The Dorchester Arts Collaborative (DAC)
and Dorchester Historical Society (DHS) present a panel discussion on the
art of Corita Kent and the history of the Rainbow Gas Tank, on Saturday,
Oct. 27 from 7 to 9 pm at the Savin Hill Yacht Club, 400 Morrissey Blvd. in
Dorchester.  The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the
annual Dorchester Open Studios event being held the same weekend.  For more
information, call (617) 839-6734 or visit www.thedac.org.
 
Panelists for this unique event will be Alexandra Carrera, Executive
Director of the Corita Art Center in Los Angeles; Susan Dackerman, Carl A.
Weyerhaeuser Curator of Prints at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University;
Mickey Myers, artist, former Dorchester resident, Associate Producer of
Primary Colors: The Story of Corita, and life-long friend of Corita Kent;
former Boston Gas Company Public Relations Executive Frank Arricale and
former State Senator Paul White.  The panel will be moderated by Ricardo
Baretto, Executive Director of Urban Arts at the Massachusetts College of
Art & Design.  The panelists are expected to discuss the life and work of
Corita Kent, as well as the history of the gas tank, from its commissioning
to its repainting, including the controversy surrounding Corita's anti-war
activism and the siting of LNG tanks in such close proximity to a
neighborhood.  
 
"I love the gas tank," said DAC Board President Joyce Linehan.  "For as long
as I can remember, out-of-town guests have asked about it and been
fascinated with its illustrious history.  We've been having a lot of
discussion of public art around here, with the recent installation of Laura
Baring-Gould's piece in Edward Everett Square, and our ongoing fundraising
for Joe Wheelwright's piece in Peabody Square.  It seemed to me that we
should celebrate the fact that we have, right here in our neighborhood, the
largest piece of copyrighted public art in the world."
 
Commissioned in 1971, the original tank was torn down in 1992, and repainted
on a second tank.  It was surrounded by controversy from the beginning, with
many claiming that the blue rainbow stripe contained a silhouette of Ho Chi
Minh.  Though Corita, an anti-war activist and Boston Gas denied the
resemblance, veteran groups demanded that the second tank not bear the
reproduction of the design on the first tank.  Many believe that when the
second tank was painted, the Ho Chi Minh image was softened.
 
Corita Kent also known as Sister Corita, gained international fame for her
vibrant serigraphs during the 1960s and 1970s. A Sister of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, she ran the Art Department at Immaculate Heart College until
1968 when she left the Order and moved to Boston. Corita's art reflects her
spirituality, her commitment to social justice, her hope for peace and her
delight in the world that takes place all around us.
 
Related to the panel discussion, the Lower Mills Branch of the Boston Public
Library (27 Richmond St., Dorchester) offers multiple screenings of Primary
Colors: The Story of Corita.  The hour-long PBS documentary produced in
1990, about the life and work of Corita Kent, artist, educator, former nun
and political activist, will be shown Monday Oct. 22 at 6:30 pm; Tuesday
Oct. 23 at 2 pm and Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 11 am. FREE.
 
These events are part of Dorchester Open Studios, held Oct. 27 & 28 in
various locations.  One hundred artists who live, work and learn in
Dorchester exhibit.  For more information, visit www.thedac.org or call
(617) 839-6734.
 
 
###
 
 
 
*****************************
Joyce Linehan, Ashmont Media/Ashmont Records
10A Burt Street, Dorchester, MA 02124
617-282-2510
Public Relations, Management and Consulting
 
Current Clients/Projects: ICA/Boston, First Night Boston, Boston Youth
Symphony Orchestras, Boston Comedy Festival, Opera Boston, Boston
Conservatory, New England Foundation for the Arts, Sxip's Hour of Charm at
A.R.T.'s Zero Arrow Theatre, Dorchester Open Studios. 
 
Current press releases:  http://www.ashmontmedia.com/media_releases.html
<http://www.ashmontmedia.com/> 
 
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