Just the Thing!: The Object in Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture
The indoor gallery exhibits at the DeCordova Museum are of such high quality that it’s often easy to overlook the fact that the grounds of the Museum are also an exhibition space. In addition to the permanent collection of sculptures that are always on display, the DeCordova presents a temporary, year-long exhibition called ‘Just the Thing!: The Object in Contemporary Outdoor Sculpture’, featuring works that incorporate everyday objects like furniture, clothing, household appliances and jewelery, by a dozen artists, including Meredith Bergmann, Shaun Cassidy, Ed Shay, and Leslie Wilcox.
Suzanne Vega
Rumours abound that Suzanne Vega is actually the mother of MP3. The music format was apparently inspired by the cool-voiced folk singer when the inventor heard her sing ‘Tom’s Diner’ and realised a voice that good needed something special. Through five albums, Vega’s folk roots remain, but not also reflect the influences of jazz, bossa nova and clubby pop-rock. Irish fans get a chance to hear her observational, detached lyrics for two nights only when she lands at HQ, as part of a wider European tour.
Masters at Work Present ‘Little Louie’ Vega
‘Little Louie’ Vega built his reputation as New York City’s leading House DJ back in the early 1990s. He always maintained a passion for fusing House with deeper Latino traditions such as Salsa – his wife, La India, is the leading Salsa diva of the new generation – as well as with hip hop, jazz and soul. As the moving spirit of the Masters at Work collective, he’s assembled an impressive cross section of musicians from a wide variety of traditions, from jazz giant Roy Ayers and soul diva Jody Watley to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Nuyorican Soul Orchestra for an afternoon in the park that’s guaranteed to get you sweating.
Boston Harborfest
Once of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations in the US takes place between June 28 and July 4 in downtown Boston, featuring everything from historic reenactments to music and dance performances to fireworks and tall ships. Some of the more popular events include a chowderfest on July 2, which is a competition to find out which local restaurant has the best clam chowder, a fireworks ‘Skyconcert’ on June 29 over Boston harbour, and a ‘Children’s Day’ festival on Boston Common on June 29.
Magic: The Science of Illusion
Learn card tricks and mind reading illusion in this new exhibition, which reveals the ancient arts of magic and entertainment. With the help of such legendary magicians as Penn & Teller, Jade and Goldfinger & Dove, the illusions are bared to show that these performers use a lot of physics, engineering and perhaps even a little bit of magic to perform their tricks. There’s plenty of interactive experiences and the museum-goer experiences the magic from two perspectives, that of the audience and then that of the magician’s apprentice. Not everything will be revealed and you’ll still go home baffled by all the illusions you see.
Crown Prince Rudolph
The Imperial Apartments of Hofburg have assembled an exhibition dedicated to Crown Prince Rudolph. Most famous for the 1889 suicide pact with his lover Maria Vetsera, the exhibition brings to life aspects of Rudolf’s grim childhood, avid interest for ornithology and belief in the inevitable fall of the House of Habsburg. Personal objects such as the encoding kit used for writing his pseudonymous political articles, numerous paintings and photographs and a splendid reconstruction of his ‘Turkish Room’ help to create a fascinating portrait of the enigmatic prince.
