Jen Mergel

Museum hot seats

Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts announced today that it has lured away the most senior curator at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. It could signal a major curatorial rivalry brewing between the two institutions — which would only be good for Boston’s art audience.

Hey Saturday readers. Much more Phoenix coverage from Shepard Fairey's "Supply and Demand" dance party at the ICA last night - as well as on his arrest - coming soon, but for now I posted a whole bunch of links (many to Phoenix articles) on my weekend blog, JumpTheTurnStyle.com. Check here for what I'm calling "Everything You Need To Know About Shepard Fairey's Boston Arrest (So Far)."

Next time you pick up your copy of the fishwrap edition, you may end up getting a facefull of SHEPARD FAIREY. As part of his one-man museum show "Supply and Demand," which opens this weekend, his crew has been bombing Boston Phoenix newsboxes -- not to mention the actual Boston Phoenix building -- which will be on view at the ICA Boston.

DEPT. OF REINTERPRETATION
10 years ago
October 16, 1998 | Reporter Sarah McNaught interviewed conceptual artist Paul Richard about his latest “work.”
“The 36-year-old provocateur...recently climbed up on a massive billboard in Kendall Square and pasted, beside a picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a sign that read PAUL RICHARD PRESENTS APPLE COMPUTERS, SPECIAL THANKS TO JOHN AND YOKO.

I never thought I’d write such a thing, but Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art is a damn sweet place to party. Views stretch across the harbor; young folks come dressed to undress; and the third floor bathrooms make it possible to go about your post-dinner business privately.

To be honest, I’ve even had fun there without alcohol; so when I heard that Cambridge multimedia geek squad SoSoLimited was hosting its first ever presidential debate remix party dubbed ReConstitution at the South Boston monument of minimalist excess, and that they would be serving booze, beer and wine, I figured the evening would even impress jerks like me who are eternally skeptical of the intersection where politics and pop culture collide.