Moca westport infinity room12/16/2023 ![]() ![]() The new museum got another big push in its expansion when an anonymous Greenwich couple promised to give their own collection as a bequest in April 2022. The Bruce was founded in 1912 to promote “the understanding and appreciation of art and science to enrich the lives of all people.” This Greenwich institution recently embarked on an ambitious expansion - set to open in Spring 2023 - that will more than double its size, presenting its art and science collections in expanded galleries as well as add a sculpture garden, a restaurant, and a new education wing. Greenwich A rendering of the new Bruce, scheduled for completion in 2023. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. ![]() Gallery hours are Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m., Thursday from noon to 7 p.m., Friday from noon to 4 p.m. “Punk is Coming” is on view through June 5 at MoCA Westport, 19 Newtown Turnpike, Westport. So the exhibit may be as fleeting, frantic and in-your-face as a punk club show - living fast, dying young and leaving indelible memories. Mannes says MoCA Westport would love to send the “Punk is Coming” exhibit out on tour, but it would take a mammoth organizational effort. Schwindeman co-curated the show with Mannes, Bayley and MoCA Westport director of exhibitions Liz Leggett. “She is a huge supporter of ours, and a close friend of Patti Smith.” The idea for a punk art exhibit came from local artist and arts patron Marian Schwindeman, Mannes says. “Untitled” by Tony Hope (acrylic, spray foam, resin on wood panel) is on display as part of the “Punk is Coming” exhibit at Westport MoCA. ![]() “Pat Ivers and Emily Armstrong do this sort of work for a living, doing punk exhibits everywhere. “We wanted to highlight women not only onstage but behind the scenes,” Mannes says. Mannes points out that a deliberate attempt was made to include female artists, especially among the photographers and filmmakers. People are coming from all over - New York, London, Paris,” she said. MoCA Westport executive director Ruth Mannes calls “Punk is Coming” an “amazing explosion of work, some of it never seen before. Punk legend Richard Hell is scheduled there on April 28 at 6 p.m., and Ivers and Armstrong appear in person on May 5 at 6 p.m. Melnick, The Ramones’ tour manager, who wrote one of the best books about the band, “On the Road with The Ramones,” speaks at 6 p.m. Long-lived East Coast punk/pop band The Figgs perform April 16 at 7 p.m. Pioneering punk video jockey Merrill Aldighieri screens some of her work on April 7 at 6 p.m. The exhibit also has special live events scheduled for April and May. So is a photo of The Heartbreakers (the Johnny Thunders one ? Tom Petty has no place here) where the bands’ hearts appear to have been ripped out of their chests. Reid’s work, including his groundbreaking “God Save the Queen” defacing of a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is framed and hanging on the gallery walls. The boots styled after the work of Jamie Reid, who designed most of the art for Sex Pistols record covers. This writer, who embraced the movement as a high school student in mid-1970s Massachusetts and still abides by its guiding principles, donned his recent vintage special edition Sex Pistols Doc Martens boots, emblazoned with the words “Boredom” and “Nowhere,” for the occasion. Those who dressed in accepted punk styles for the opening were ogled and photographed by other attendees, just as they might have been in the bygone days celebrated on the gallery walls. Well-heeled martini sippers in fancy suits and bow ties leaned in close to examine photographs of young men who scarred their chests with broken beer bottles on New York club stages nearly half a century ago. The opening reception for “Punk is Coming” at MoCA Westport was as much of a culture clash as one could hope for. ![]()
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