Welcome to
ThurstON Radio
#1: Eleanor Norcross - A True Fitchburg Artist
Eleanor Norcross was an artist and the founder of the Fitchburg Art Museum. She was born in Fitchburg, MA in 1854. Norcross was fortunate enough to have been educated at Fitchburg High, Wheaton Seminary College, and the Mass College of Art and Design. From there, Norcross continued to pursue art and created pieces, which lead to it being shown at other museums. She decided to travel to New York to focus and study art. In 1883, she traveled to Paris and studied with Alfred Stevens. Throughout her life, there were many opportunities for her to display her artwork, like New York, Boston, and Champ de Mars’ Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She never sold any of her artwork. Norcross’
#2: Global Africa
Ottie and Rebecca take on the Global Africa exhibit at the Fitchburg Art Museum. In this podcast, listeners get an inside look into the exhibit and a take on two first-time Fitchburg Art museum-goers’ experience and awe. The exhibition praises itself on multimedia visuals, sounds, and displays of art. The art is derivative of traditional forms and shows just how impactful traditional art can be on the modern art of today. The exhibition exceeds itself by incorporating tradition and modern art and showing the transcendence and growth of Africa. From the statues of African tribal dancers to the modernistic version of African sculptures made entirely from bike parts, the Global Africa
#3: Nayda Cuevas
Nayda Cuevas is a local artist with a focus on portraits. Her goal is to show individual voices through her work, and Latina voices in particular. A set of her paintings showed victims from the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando through portraits. She also has painted some self-portraits. She is of Puerto Rican heritage, which she is proud to show and encourages other Latinas to be proud of theirs. Nayda is very active in her community--an example being her contribution to Puerto Rico Relief Events. Her paintings are traditionally abstract, have a good use of color, and some texture. Nayda created a blog five years ago. On the blog, she counteracts the stereotype that Latinas are hypersexualized by encouraging real, Latinas to post selfies to her blog. These selfies
#4: Susan White Brown
#5: Ancient Egypt
ultimate objective was to provide opportunities to others and give them a chance to experience other cultures’ art, like Europe. She bought different materials like textiles and furniture in the hopes of bringing it back to the states. Norcross would paint what she would see. She wanted to open up a cultural center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Norcross was unable to be present when the Fitchburg Art Center transitioned to the Fitchburg Art Museum due to her passing in 1923. She left one hundred thousand dollars behind for the museum. Norcross’s name will surely live on. Her pieces are now considered some of the top artwork and are located in the number one museum, Louvre, in Paris and many other museums in North America. The legacy she left behind are her paintings and her dedication to culture. She kept her roots when she was in Paris and sent some of the paintings back to Fitchburg. This was wonderful and it allowed visitors that came to the museum to appreciate her work and also the art itself. Some of her paintings were portraits. Her artwork was family-centered and community oriented, which is everything the Fitchburg Art Museum stands for. Norcross paved the way for more women to have an interest in the arts.
-Rebecca Chin
exhibit tells a story that started in the 15th century. Traditional and contemporary works have been displayed next to one another to show the contrast as well as the inspiration of old vs. new. The 8 x 8 slave cabin, structured in the corner of the room of the Global Africa exhibit, struck interest as it is covered in hand dyed indigo fabric. This paid homage to an old Haitian tradition of dyeing fabric. As the highlight of the exhibit of African art, the Indigo Project was a piece of work that left a tremendous impact. The artist and a team of volunteers banded together, led by a civil rights activist, to build this structure from the bottom up. The Global Africa exhibit showcases not only the structure itself, but celebrates the life and culture of the African culture. Additionally, modern and old traditions mix and mingle in the exhibit. From the bike parts that have been transformed and molded by inspiration of traditional African art, to the life-sized tribal costumes and artifacts, you don’t have to be an active museum goer to enjoy the art.
-Isabel Rodriguez
range from pictures with caps and gowns to 1st generation Latina women. She decided to combine the digital world with portraits. In 2016, she created mini paintings, 5 x 3 inches, around the size of a cell phone. In her paintings, she paints women who are seen how they want to be seen. This work is titled #Latina: ReclaimingTheLatinaTag, which is currently on display in the People Watching Exhibit at the Fitchburg Art Museum. She wrote a book called Puerto American: The Untold story of Pedro Albizu Campos, Angel Ramos Torres and the United States. Her website states that the book “introduces us to this period in PR and US relations through her personal family narrative and artwork, which bring alive the actual players in the drama that occurred during Puerto Rico’s Nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s” (naydacuevasart). She didn’t know the relationship between the United States and the island when she was growing up. As an adult, she wanted to know more, so she began looking into the tragic effects of that history on her very own family. For more information about her book you can go to: http://www.naydacuevasart.com/about.php?psi=39
-Ben Ferris
case of old ancient Egyptian makeup. The makeup was made up of different materials like kohl, which is made up of different ingredients that are used nowadays. Some other captivating artifacts in the exhibit include the mummies, a replica rosetta stone tablet, and the paintings of Egyptians on the walls. Check out the exhibit at the Fitchburg Art Museum to find out more.
-Rebecca
Tune in to Podcast #4 to hear a conversation with Susan White Brown about her work and career. John Colaianni explores her beginning and values through this enlightening conversation. Susan learned the craftsmanship and techniques of art at an early age from her mother, a very creative woman. Susan, born in Germany, grew up in many places including Hawaii and Texas due to her father’s enrollment in the army. She attended Purdue College, where her brother also attended. Susan has always brought her identity with her, no matter where she lived or who her friends were, she found comfort in who she was. Some of her pieces include the idea of a hidden identity. She created portraits with the subject holding up a blank white rectangle,
PODCASTS
From artist interviews to exhibit explorations, we created a podcast series called ThurstON Radio. Tune in to an episode that interests you to hear a new perspective.
choosing what to reveal with purpose. Susan believes that one of the great joys of art is to hear what connections people make from viewing her work, rather than trying to get a specific message across. At times, she has been told she should add objects to some of her pieces to move the eye and create a scene. Some objects are placed as uncanny objects that add a mystical feel and some objects are placed to make very specific references within the painting. She doesn’t necessarily become attached to her paintings, perhaps to the people she creates in a sense. She is fortunate enough to have painting be her occupation now, rather than working a job on top of it. Ultimately, she paints to have her work be in a viewed space, since that creates a whole new context for the painting. Susan describes a universal state that people experience at some point when viewing a painting. For a moment, the viewer is outside of themself. She drew life-size charcoal drawings for a long time before getting into painting as a medium. Before having kids, she worked for years as a graphic designer. She would go to the MFA occasionally with her son in his stroller, but then started attending a free evening class Monday nights 6-9 at the Museum of Fine Arts: Drawing in Galleries. She began taking continuing ed. Classes at the MFA reconnected her with art and colleagues. One class was lithography, which was rigorous and eventually she felt as if the plate was in the way. So, instead of painting asphalt on plate, she decided to try painting. She fell in love with color, and now has been painting for six years. She took inspiration from Wayne Teboe with colorful edges and shadows. She currently has a fellowship from the MFA at Tufts to help her continue to create. In her installations, the paintings give off a certain energy when they are together. To see some of her work, follow Susan on instagram @susanwhitebrown. Or come see her work in the People Watching exhibit at the Fitchburg Art Museum for the full experience.
-Emily Floyd
Come check out our 5th podcast as we explore the variety of content within the Egypt exhibit. Just walking in, the environment feels as if you are in an ancient Egyptian tomb. There are different sections and interactive activities for all ages to engage in. One fascinating diorama within the exhibit shows viewers the lifestyle of the Egyptians and helps viewers visualize the scene with miniature figurines. Moving forward with engaging activities, there is a table where visitors look for certain images, a table with interview questions, and a small crawl through space to experience what it may feel like to enter a tomb, or even trying out the Pharaoh's throne. How cool would it feel to be royal for a minute? Passing the interactive interview table, there is a display