The McMullen Student Ambassadors are pleased to present Art in Focus, featuring an informal discussion between professors from various academic departments at Boston College. With each new episode, we aim to uncover a unique perspective on the works on display, informed by research and methodologies in areas of study across the University. In addition, each conversation will bring the exhibition’s works “into focus” to highlight art’s expansive reach and interdisciplinary nature.
The following podcast is the third installment in the Art in Focus series, where we explore different photographs and themes from the Martin Parr: Time and Place exhibition. For this episode, we have invited Assistant Professors Greer Muldowney and Asher Anderson of the Art, Art History, and Film Department to discuss six photographs from Martin Parr’s ongoing series “Small World.” In these photographs, Parr offers a unique perspective and critique of our global world economy in the 80s and mid-90s through the tourist industry.
Welcome back to the McMullen Museum and The Terrace! As this year’s chair of the Publications Committee, it is my honor and privilege to extend my welcome to all visitors and readers, returning and new. As we descend into the fall, I wish that all members of the community include the McMullen Museum in their seasonal plans.
Through December, the museum will display Gateway to Himalayan Art, a special exhibition courtesy of New York’s Rubin Museum. This exhibit explores the vast array of Himalayan art and artifacts and examines the various connections to the region’s cultures, histories, and religions. Primarily featuring Buddhist symbols and traditions, the pieces work to educate and demonstrate what Buddhism means within the Himalayan region.
Additionally, the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection will permanently be on display beginning in October. This impactful gift of 19th- and 20th-century paintings will furnish the University Conference Center and be open to the public. The collection features 27 paintings and drawings by 20 revered artists, which will transform and elevate what the museum has to offer.
As for The Terrace, our upcoming year looks to emphasize and develop the strong scaffolds from previous years. Our spotlight on local artists, ‘Artists Across Comm Ave,’ will continue to appreciate and accentuate the work of artists in our community. Additionally, we aspire to stay focused on our mission of social justice by continuing to examine ‘Problematic Visual Culture’ in terms of the museum and beyond. Finally, we hope that our writing and work continue to inspire, educate, and reach our readers in new and exciting ways.
As always, we are looking to collaborate throughout the greater Boston College community, especially in terms of our current exhibit and the new Lynch Collection. If any and all groups are interested, please reach out to Rachel Chamberlain with further questions and proposals.
Again, I am beyond grateful and excited to lead the Publications Committee this year and welcome everyone back to The Terrace! I look forward to the fantastic work that my fellow Student Ambassadors will do. For a full calendar of events, please visit this page. As always, the museum is free and open to the public seven days a week.
Thank you for being a part of The Terrace and for being an amazing and crucial part of the McMullen community!
Sincerely,
Liam Conner, ’25
Liam Conner, the Chair of the Publications Committee.
Few things can get me out of bed early on the weekend, but when I heard that Boston University would be hosting the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (MICE), I set multiple alarms. MICE has been bringing comic artists and fans together for 13 years, but this is the convention’s first meeting in person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as BU’s first time acting as host. Stepping off the T on a chilly Saturday, unneeded pointed me toward an endless stream of students, adults, and parents with children in tow towards the Thurman Center, known as the “cultural hub” of Boston University.
Over two days of operation from October 22-23, MICE artists, writers, and publishers in the independent comics world spoke on panels, and led hands-on workshops on everything from character design and lettering to printing. All sessions were free of charge, making the event economically accessible. One of the panels I attended was titled “(Not-So) Funny Animal Comics.” Tak Toyoshima moderated the panel, which hosted four contemporary comics artists whose works feature “delightful and off-beat animal stories.” The roundtable discussion began with a short history of animal characters in comics, from early 1900s newspaper strips to Art Spiegelman’s 1980 graphic novel Maus, pages of which the McMullen Museum’s American Alternative Comics exhibition currently feature. Then, as the title suggests, the panel discussed both the funny and the not-so-funny, examining animal characters in comics as vehicles both for comedy and social commentary.
MICE’s biggest draw was, arguably, its vendor hall. The hall gives space to hundreds of independent artists with a wide range of styles, subjects, and notoriety. Boston College senior Michal Miller said of her experience at MICE: “As I walked onto the convention floor, I was initially shocked by the number of artists in attendance and even more appalled when the first person I spotted was an author I’d met years earlier (at another convention) in New York City!”
Included in the mix was a storyboard artist from Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, Boston University students displaying their works, and independent artists from all over the east coast. “Every single vendor there was so incredibly passionate about their work, and so much of it was incredibly strange and avant-garde and unique,” said Boston College junior Tommy Chen. The vendors sold not only comics but posters, prints, stickers, pins, even tabletop games of their own devising, and much more.While they have yet to set a date for 2023, you can learn more about MICE on their website and join their newsletter to receive updates. Can’t get enough of indie and alternative comics? Even if you missed MICE, you can still get a healthy dose of indie and alternative comics at the McMullen Museum’s American Alternative Comics exhibition, which will be open for the rest of the semester.
