Outtakes from our photo shoot with Susan Schwalb, at her studio in Watertown, Massachusetts. All photos by Izzy Berdan.

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Harmonizations VIII by Susan Schwalb. Photo by Izzy Berdan

Susan Schwalb has been called the Pied Piper of metalpoint, her chosen medium. The technique, at its core, is drawing with a metal point—but of course, there’s much more to it than that. “I hope more artists take it up,” Schwalb says. “If I’m able, with colleagues, to put out a technique book that will give more people information about the medium, then hopefully with enough images of non-figurative work, more artists will think this is something they want to play around with.”

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On July 16, 2017, SPACE Gallery in Portland, Maine, hosted a fundraising bash to help finance a new roof for Lupinewood, a majority-trans living, arts, and organizing collective in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Providing sweet-ass sounds that encouraged total abandonment on the dance floor were bands Diva Cup, Paper Bee, and DJ Kobold, aka Andrew Huckins.

Portland, Maine and Greenfield, Massachusetts
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The Peabody Essex Museum threw a fabulous block party called Historic House Crush on July 20, 2017. The all-ages, come-as-you-are event included a scavenger hunt, tasty local summer fare, seasonal brews and ciders, dance music from Bim Skala Bim, and tours of PEM’s historic Salem, Massachusetts, houses and gardens.

Salem, Massachusetts
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All photos by Mike Duhgus Johnson

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While painting a self-portrait as both a monk and a nun in the Middle Ages, Boston-area queer artist Ria Brodell got to thinking, “What would I have done if I had been born in a different era? What did people do? How did they get by?”

That’s how the project Butch Heroes was born. Painted in the style of Catholic holy cards, Butch Heroes tells the true stories of people assigned female at birth who rejected traditional gender roles and—in many cases—assumed a male identity. There’s D. Catalina “Antonio” de Erauso (1592–1650), a military captain and devout Catholic who got permission from the pope to dress as a man; Biawacheeitche or Woman Chief (1800–1854), an adept hunter and warrior known for her bravery; and Jeanne or Jean Bonnet (1849–1876), who was arrested multiple times for wearing men’s clothing and led a shoplifting gang of ex-prostitutes.

Katherina Hetzeldorfer (c. 1477), who was convicted of passing as a man (including the use of a phallic “instrument”) and sentenced to drown. By Ria Brodell

Brodell spent countless days combing the queer aisles of libraries, learning to search primary sources for archaic terms such as “female husbands.” Just like the stories found on holy cards, the histories that accompany each image can be funny, sad, grotesque, or inspiring.

Though the first 25 heroes have been immortalized in a book, Brodell continues to search for more—now investigating stories from underrepresented parts of the world, such as the Middle East, China, and India. “I want to find people from these regions that are difficult,” explains Brodell, “and I’m still really excited by all these stories. Each story is new, each process is new—so it keeps you going.”

Ria Brodell – artist
Boston, MA
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Top images by Ria Brodell; courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, from the Davis Museum at Wellesley College permanent collection
Right: Clara aka “Big Ben” c. 1926 United States | gouache on paper, 11 x 7 inches, 2014
Left: Captain Wright c. 1834 England | gouache on paper, 11 x 7 inches, 2016

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Ever since the Rockwood Sprinkler Company moved out of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1981, its namesake factory building has attracted local creatives. The space was first discovered by an artists’ collective, later known as the Worcester Artist Group, that put on rock shows (including—in one memorable, room-capacity-busting night—Fugazi). A wide variety of creative endeavors called the location home over subsequent years, and in 2010, nonprofit arts organization the Sprinkler Factory turned the building into a more focused and organized home for Wormtown’s artists. Now, two literally cavernous gallery spaces—each 3,000 square feet with 24-foot-tall ceilings and 360 degrees of natural light—are balanced by numerous artist studios and maker spaces, which offer classes in glassblowing, ballet, printmaking, pottery, and even muscle building (courtesy of the Weight Room, a personal training studio).

Photo by Michael Hendrickson

About those galleries: they’re filled by, well, anyone. Apply online, and if your proposed exhibition is approved, it’s all you. “I encourage the artists to take ownership of their show, and sort of steer it in the direction they imagine,” says Luis Fraire, the Sprinkler Factory’s gallery director, of his hands-off approach.

Last year, the Sprinkler Factory expanded its program to host live performances and events. The busy schedule has already included a dance performance inspired by Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist; an Armenian film festival; a sitar and tabla concert; and several plays, presented through a collaboration with 4th Wall Stage Company. The Sprinkler Factory’s foray into the performing arts has involved “a lot of experimentation, trial and error,” says Fraire. “But so far, so good!”

Sprinkler Factory – Luis Fraire, director
Worcester, Masschusetts
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Photos by Michael Hendrickson

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Klausland: The Life and Work of Klaus Postler, by Eileen Claveloux with Meghan Piercy, tells the story of this relatively unknown New England collage artist through personal essays that depict a man full of joyful generosity and intense focus. Claveloux, Postler’s longtime partner and an artist in her own right, wrote the following tributes for the book.

On January 6, 2013, Klaus Postler died very suddenly in his studio in Conway, Massachusetts, at the age of 61.

An artist who worked diligently and devotedly throughout his life, he spent the last five and a half years in Holyoke, Massachusetts, with me. Before that Klaus had lived in New York City, and for many years before that he resided in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and the Brattleboro, Vermont, area.

Klaus left many friends and family members who still cannot comprehend how such a powerful life force could have slipped away so quickly.

Klaus in his studio in Romania, summer of 2007. Photo courtesy of Small Batch Books.

Born in 1951 in Yonkers, New York, Klaus grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, where the family moved when he was six. Fairfield was a relatively rural place in the 1950s and ’60s, and Klaus roamed free with his siblings and friends. That freedom and constant interaction with the natural world informed his artwork for the rest of his life. He was also a child of his time, exposed to a great deal of commercial images, both still and moving. Klaus was a vast repository of the most obscure jingles and sound bites imaginable, able to pull out appropriate and inappropriate bits at will for any and every occasion.

Although Klaus exhibited his work internationally, and kept Mail Art correspondences with people around the world, his work is not well known. This book is meant to introduce the life and work of Klaus Postler to a larger audience. It is also intended to bring together some of the work he left behind for those who loved and treasured Klaus and his art.

Untitled, mixed media, 18 × 24 in. Photo courtesy of Small Batch Books.

Klaus was a consummate artist. He constantly drew, scribbled, collaged, and wrote. He told me that he had to draw continually in school—it was the only way he could concentrate. He had ADHD with dyslexia, and drawing and making art focused him so that the hours flew by without his realizing it. When he died, he left almost 35 years’ worth of sketchbooks, filling a good-sized bookcase along with more in boxes. They span the ’70s to the end of his life in January 2013. The sketchbooks include everything—detailed accountings of his finances, dreams, life events, cut-out pieces from everywhere and anywhere that caught his attention. There are drawings, copies of drawings, collages, copies of collages, notes on exhibitions and art he’d seen, lists of galleries to apply to, letters and Mail Art from friends and strangers, receipts and musings. He also stored pieces he planned to use for Mail Art, often the covers to be glued onto large manilla envelopes. The books, all shapes and sizes, were also his way of organizing and filing things he might need, including addresses and phone numbers. They are not in a true chronological order; one might span a few years and have a kind of theme, finances, or dreams, but not necessarily exclusively. I’ve helped him try to find some important paper or phone number that was stored in a notebook, both of us going through decades of books to try to find the desired item. There was a kind of order to them, but not order in a way that most people would understand or be able to tolerate. Klaus’s books are a wonderful reflection of the alive and vividly imaginative brain that drove him.

Klaus was fun. Always. His artwork reflects his playfulness and exuberance. It also shows his remarkably sophisticated eye and sensibility. The artwork and sketchbooks remain to attest to his development as an artist and human being, and to his dedication to his work.

Pop, 2005, mixed media, 8.75 × 12 in. Photo courtesy of Small Batch Books.

Klaus Postler – artist
Holyoke, Massachusetts
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The result for nine years and counting is the “surrealist cabaret,” an interactive, walkable performance set in the fields of western Massachusetts, punctuated by crisp autumn air, framed by the setting sun, and characterized by multiple takes in multiple media around a single unifying theme. Last year’s theme was “home,” a resonant, deeply personal concept that can be both comforting and dark. Members of the Royal Frog Ballet Corps scatter to do their various work and art for most of the year, but they trek back to the Pioneer Valley each fall to undertake large-scale performances and installations. Here are snapshots of some key members.

Sophie Wood

Wood studied theater for social change at Hampshire College, and the work she did then was overtly political. But around the same time that Wood began thinking about making art with her housemates, she had an epiphany. “Social change, those two words—social is one of them,” she says. “And dialogue is a huge part of how inclusive change happens. My hope is that this whole shebang is where artists can have conversations with each other, but it’s also happening with the audience.” Wood is acutely aware of how powerful art can be but doesn’t believe it has to be sharp-edged. In fact, at its most effective, its borders can blur. “I think there’s a softness about making things a little dreamlike. People can connect things.” For last year’s “home”—themed cabaret, installations included egg-based breakfasts and laundry hanging from a line—deceptively simple tropes meant to evoke losing home, not having a home, missing home. But there was no narrative, so audiences—and actors—were left to figure out what their subconscious was telling them. “You wake up and you’re like, ‘That didn’t make sense—but it all made perfect sense in your dream.’ ”

Julia Read

Read set the idea of “home” to music, writing a waltz. “The words were from the perspective of a house that missed the people that had lived in it,” she says. But she brought another piece to the cabaret as well, thinking about her mother who had passed away years prior. “I found a dress that was my mom’s—a beautiful long blue dress with flowers on it—and we hung it from a branch of a tree. I would go up to the dress and smell it, imagining my mom was inside it and what it would feel like to touch her and see her.” Then Annie Burdette and Molly Greene, two more members of the Corps, approached. “Annie came up behind me and took my shirt and began doing the same thing, except that my body was inhabiting my shirt, and Molly Greene came up and did the same to Annie’s shirt.” One didn’t need to know anyone’s backstory to sense the intimacy of the moment. “The audience was really quiet. I feel like it helps drop me into being present, having the audience nearby, to see people’s faces.” On any given night, Read may recognize some audience members, but not all—and she likes it that way. More than anything, she appreciates the precipice of performing. “I love the moments right before. As the audience is gathering, people are bundled up and chattering, and the light is usually dramatic. I love those moments. It sort of feels like we don’t know what will happen yet as we move into this world.”

Chelsea Granger

Granger is up for almost any kind of project, but she’s most excited about the ones she undertakes with other people. This is not an accident. “My first few years [with RFB] it was hard to find my footing as a visual artist who makes smaller works on paper,” she says. “It took a while to understand what my work could be outside in a large field setting with big crowds.” But eventually she got it. Her project for “home” was truly collaborative—and truly huge, compared to the small-scale work she was used to. “I wanted to make a really big painting, a cantastoria, with Sophie.” A cantastoria, or “story-singer,” is an ancient melding of visual art and theater where a series of paintings are narrated by a live performer. “Eventually I made a huge painting of a vase of flowers, and Sophie wrote a prayer for flowers to go with it.” Because several members of the Corps had recently undergone loss and were processing grief in various ways, the prayer held special meaning. “It was about creating rituals, showing up for each other in the time and space. I wanted rituals, needed rituals.” Religious expression can be deeply personal, but many of the most powerful rituals happen in community—or collaboration. “I think that’s the thing. It’s not just your voice, your ideas, but your voice and ideas meeting someone else’s voice and ideas. Sitting alone in a room drawing is nothing compared to the alchemy that happens when people make things together.”

Jazer Giles

The natural, outdoor theater is central to the RFB experience, but Giles has fond memories of a rare indoor moment: a monthlong installation at the APE Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts, when the troupe created a boat-shaped stage in the space. “We spent most of the time building it,” says Giles. About a week before the show, they realized they still needed to come up with a performance. “I had built an artist posing figure, a puppet that mimicked my movement, and I hooked up to it with four coat hangers attached to my limbs with leather straps. I built a small bird outfit for him, and we made this event happen out of the ether.” Some performers might have been daunted, but Giles is less attached to the outcome, more interested in the process. “You’re always pulling art out of the air.” With its outdoor performances, RFB is “harnessing the magic of the place, distilling it, setting it up in a certain way—or just framing it. Of course, sometimes it rains. Often it’s freezing! But you can’t fake things like space. When you put people out in a field, 50 feet away from people, and put them in costumes, you can’t translate that to an inside space with a stage.”

Mike Gundlach

Gundlach began as the mess cook for the Corps, but he quickly found his role morphing. “Sophie asked me to collaborate to make an outdoor-feast show. The food was interspersed with two or three acts in between each course of people popping out of the ground and having dinner.” After that, Gundlach was both company cook and performer, and has been contributing edible art ever since. “We’ve made a pepper-infused, chocolate-covered asparagus as an aphrodisiac course that was served on spires. We’ve hung Turkish delight from trees for people to pick and eat,” he recalls. “Molly and I performed a piece with soft-boiled eggs and volkenbrat, this German rye bread that people would make in the fall and survive on all winter.” They garnished the peasant food with chives and edible flowers, then dumped freshly squeezed grapefruit juice on top and served [the dish] in small planter trays. “For one show we had a bunch of rain and made pizza in the rain. We just figured it out,” he shrugs. “If people can see you be excited, you get that energy.”

Molly Greene

In her other life, Greene is completing a PhD at Yale University in American studies—an interdisciplinary field that explores how elements in society intersect. One could argue that RFB does the same. “The themes of the cabaret are always threads that weave in and out of aspects of our lives,” Greene muses. “Sometimes they congeal into a single idea, but usually it’s a constellation of terms that connect, then get kind of carried off in various trajectories, then get rewoven into something we hope is coherent.” Greene’s printmaking work is solitary and quiet. “I’m kind of a hermit. Being in front of people performing . . . there’s a little bit of tension in it for me, but it’s also rich and nourishing. One of my favorite moments is when we’re literally hiding in a ditch somewhere as your next costume is being assembled or whatever, and the sky is doing something incredible, and it’s fall in New England. You’re listening with one ear for your cue, but you’re also just conscious of being outside, and there’s a heightened sense of purpose and consciousness and collective awareness of just being in that place. I have that moment every year, and it is always all-consuming.”

This story originally appeared in the June/July 2016 issue of Take, which is available here.

Royal Frog Ballet
Amherst, Massachusetts
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All images by Candace Hope

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An impressive lineup of vintage gear and raw talent thrusts this western Massachusetts band’s third album, Let’s Do Lunch, into the 21st century. Comprised entirely of songs tracked with vintage equipment on a Tascam 4-Track cassette recorder (remember those?!), they manage to sound new and familiar at the same time—but there’s no denying the modern, indie-pop DNA. “This record is different for us,” explains keyboardist Gabe Bernini, “because while recording we used such limited technology that we were able to be much more productive. Without the luxury of having endless recording options, we found that we really like the sound that comes out of us just playing together as a band. Most of the record is made up of second and third takes that were recorded in the same sitting as the writing.” With no place to hide amidst an analog backbone, their expertly performed musicianship is front and center. “I Love You I Love You” is a standout, as is “Scrapsy.”

LuxDeluxe imports many of music’s most popular roots and those influences are interpreted cleanly. Far from sounding dated, the warm sound has a contemporary, catchy vibe and rock quality. The drums are a real standout, crashing and crunching along the rich vocals, spot-on harmonies, and smart lyrics, all woven through some serious musical talent. A bright sounding Clavinet keyed by Gabe Bernini pings fluidly alongside solid guitar chops by Caleb Rosazza, and a steadfast bass line courtesy of Jacob Rosazza.

LuxDeluxe live

The your-in-the-room feel to the album is replicated in energetic live performances; this band puts on an extraordinarily fun show. “New England is a great place to be a touring band,” says Bernini. “Our touring strategy for the past year has been to stop touring all the way to Colorado and back and instead keep hitting cool music cities that are closer to us, more often. We’ve been playing Boston, New York City, Burlington, Philly, Washington DC, and other close-by cities over and over to build our audience, which has been a really great way to make fans and keep them busy!” Fronted by dynamic showman Ned King, LuxDeluxe is engaged and polished like only a band that’s played together for ages can be. Come prepared to participate and dance your ass off, because this is a band having a good time. Catch them on their upcoming tour with a swing through some of New York’s finest joints, finally landing in New England with a Massachusetts gig at Festival at the Farm in Canton.

LuxDeluxe is: Ned King – vocals, Jacob Rosazza – bass, Caleb Rosazza – guitar, Gabe Bernini – keys, Jake Edwards – drums
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At least three TV news crews were on the scene, along with a police detail, but the expected crowds did not materialize.

Yesterday, a cheerful and determined group of artists gathered to protest the current administration and, hopefully, strengthen Boston’s creative community. Due to a number of possible factors—the mid-week, just-after-work schedule; the unending barrage of news items that feel more pressing than anything related to the arts—the New England edition of the Artist March was sparsely attended. Those who were there, however, were unbowed and not discouraged. Those who weren’t should read the following quotes from attendees. They might inspire you to take action. . .next time.

Muhammad, a performer at the Boston Artist March

“As artists, I think we play the role of making resistance fun. Part of the problem is that it’s hard to attract people, especially when people are so busy, have to work so many hours just to make ends meet, it’s hard to get people together for something that feels so serious and depressing. We as artists have so much to offer, in terms of our creativity and inspiration—these are the things that make movements, and the things that will make a successful resistance to the policies we are now seeing from the Trump administration.” —Muhammad Seven, singer/songwriter

Leigh, a puppeteer/performer at the Boston Artist March

“I’m newly involved in politics, but I have been to more marches and rallies and meetings since November 9th than in my whole life. Making things relevant, but still fun—I think that’s the way to go in terms of getting a mass movement going. A lot of people don’t see themselves as political, but they see themselves as artists, or just people who like to sing and dance and have fun. I don’t see why we can’t have both. Tapping on people’s talents is a way to really build a movement. Everyone’s creative in some way or another, and it helps to bridge differences too. I was hoping there’d be more people, but it is just the first one. Sometimes things take a little bit of time to build. I’m happy the people that are here are here.” —Leigh Baltzer, puppeteer

Nino speaks at the Boston Artist March held on the steps of the Massachusetts State House

“I was very inspired by artists growing up, particularly Paul Robeson, folks like Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def… During the Algerian Revolution, they said the most dangerous revolutionary was the poet, because the poet was able to distill all these complex ideas about war and colonialism, imperialism, into poetry, so that everyday folks could understand and be armed with their own experiences.” —Nino Brown, speaker

Nino, a speaker at the Boston Artist March

“We’re facing a lot of arts cutbacks. I teach fourth grade at a public school in Mattapan, and public schools are under attack. You see all of this technology going into schools, but they’re taking out all the arts and music and dance, which is actually taking out the humanity, you know? Artists have a role in society, and it’s to not just reflect that society truthfully, but to deconstruct it, and to build a new society. I’ve been to marches of ten people, fifteen. . .so you know, I’m not discouraged. It’s like okay, well, we’ll do better next time. The message is correct; we just have to get it out there.” —Nino Brown, speaker

Tom, a speaker at the Boston Artist March

“Artists are some of the first people to be gone after in a totalitarian type of government. [Art] causes people to become aware of what’s going on around them. Sometimes social change can happen very quickly, sometimes it takes a long time. Sometimes it might take forever, but you don’t stop. You keep at it. You keep trying to make that change happen.” —Tom Tipton, speaker and gallery owner

Virginia, a protester at the Boston Artist March

“Well, I’m an artist, and I believe what I’ve been reading, that artists are among the first to be repressed when repression comes. I just saw a very moving piece at the ART in Cambridge, Arrabal, a tango ballet about the dirty war in Argentina. I lived in Argentina ten years before the dirty war, and it was the most democratic, progressive, highly educated, liberal place. If you had told me they would be dropping my classmates out of helicopters into the river ten years later, I never would have believed it. As an artist, I feel it is important that we organize and stand up because as [the other speakers] said, artists are about making change, and are about being on the forefront of social change, and therefore we are more subject to repression. So we need to get more organized.” —Virginia Zanger, protester

Boston Artist March, June 14

“I’m an activist, so I’m so busy—I do a lot of work. Like Nino, I’m involved with PSL, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a socialist party here in the city. I do a lot of work with COMBAT [Coalition to Organize and Mobilize Boston Against Trump] too.” —Kristin Turgeon, protest singer and chant leader

Betsy, a protester at the Boston Artist March

“I’m a craft store owner, and I support 140 local artists. I think that’s the best answer to the question [of why I’m here]. I had three choices tonight: I could go to a party, get free food and beer; I could go hear live music; or I could come here, where, who knows what could happen! And I watched Wonder Woman last night, and so I said, I gotta do what my conscience says, and that’s why I chose to come here.” —Betsy, protester  

Dan, a protester and documentarian of the Boston Artist March

“I’m an artist, and I’ve been sketching all the protests I can get to. It’s my way of dealing with the current political climate.” —Dan Jay, protester

Harmony, the Boston Artist March’s fearless organizer

“I’m a cofounder of Massachusetts Artists for Change. We’ve had a few fundraisers and art shows. We raised over $1,200 for the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights; we had an art show based on the Women’s March protest, with posters and photos; and we had an event for International Women’s Day in which we had poetry and collaborative art. This march happened because I stumbled upon a Facebook post where they were looking for people to organize Artist Marches across the country. This wasn’t the only march tonight—there was a march in Miami, Mar-a-Lago, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, New York City, and Wichita. So I saw that and said, Ooh, I’d like to try to organize that, that seems like something I could do.”—Harmony Witte, event organizer

The small but sincere crowd at the Boston Artist March

“Yeah, I’m a little disappointed in the turnout. It seemed on Facebook that more people would be coming. . .but you never know, it’s so hard to tell. I’m still kind of new to Boston and to the organizing scene, so I don’t have the connections that would have come in handy. But, first time for everything. I think it’s just that people don’t want to get off work and go to a march. If it were up to me, I would’ve had it on a Saturday. I’m probably going to take a little break [from organizing], because I put a lot into this. But I’d like to keep organizing, for sure. It seemed like people were having a good time.” —Harmony Witte, event organizer

Harmony speaks on the steps of the Massachusetts State House for the Boston Artist March

“It’s so easy [as artists] to turn inward and focus only on yourself all the time. It’s important to focus on the world around us. Arts funding is potentially going to be cut; there’s so many things that artists SHOULD be banding together to fight for. So if you can get them out of their houses and focus on something, that’s really good!” —Harmony Witte, event organizer

Boston Artist March
Boston, Massachusetts
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Top Image: Kristin Turgeon at the Boston Artist March
All images by Debbie Way

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