Museum

Summer of Love Exhibit at the MFA Boston

I recently attended the Opening Night Party for the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Museum Council.  Every guest was randomly assigned to a half hour tour with a curator.  I have to be 100% honest and say that I groaned a bit when I found out that I was on the "Summer of Love" tour.  It wasn't an exhibit that seemed particularly interesting to me.

SummerOfLove-wm
But…as always, when you get to meet a curator — a person who is geeked out about the exhibit — everything becomes interesting!  

Curator-wm

It's a small exhibit — mostly posters and album covers…

Records-wm
…along with some photographs from the time period.

I, of course, was drawn to some of the artwork by a favorite motif:

Eye-wm
Eye-wm
I appreciated that the exhibit gave some information on historical art that led to this style of work.

JosefAlbers-wm

(Check out more of Josef Albers work here.)  A poster in similar colors:

Colors-wm
My biggest take away from the exhibit was the typography of Wes Wilson.

WesWilsonWall-wm
WesWilsonWall-wm

Wilson became famous for his psychedelic lettering, which was based on lettering by turn-of-the-century artist, Alfred Roller.  You can download fonts based on both Roller and Wilson's (also here) typography work.

I love the way he fills the space with type.  This…

BEST-BG18
…is probably his most famous typography poster.  No photographic or drawn image, but using the type to create the image of fire.  It's an idea that I want to play with in my own work!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Based outside of Boston, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is a painter, printmaker, and collage artist who constructs vibrant compositions. Her artwork investigates the interplay of identity and perception, inviting viewers to take a longer look. Julie works in layers, both physically and metaphorically, exploring what is visible and what is concealed. Passionate about connecting with and inspiring other artists, she shares her expertise through in-person workshops and her online classroom at MyArtPractice.com. Julie's achievements include high-profile clients, multiple publications - including her book, “Carve Stamp Play” - and exhibits in New York City and throughout Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Brown University.

30 thoughts on “Summer of Love Exhibit at the MFA Boston

  • We recently bought a house with a large white wall and a high ceiling… and I find the arrangement of these pieces of similar artwork to be so interesting on a wall… loads of ideas here…. thanks again for inspiring.

    Reply
  • We recently bought a house with a large white wall and a high ceiling… and I find the arrangement of these pieces of similar artwork to be so interesting on a wall… loads of ideas here…. thanks again for inspiring.

    Reply
  • We recently bought a house with a large white wall and a high ceiling… and I find the arrangement of these pieces of similar artwork to be so interesting on a wall… loads of ideas here…. thanks again for inspiring.

    Reply
  • We recently bought a house with a large white wall and a high ceiling… and I find the arrangement of these pieces of similar artwork to be so interesting on a wall… loads of ideas here…. thanks again for inspiring.

    Reply
  • We recently bought a house with a large white wall and a high ceiling… and I find the arrangement of these pieces of similar artwork to be so interesting on a wall… loads of ideas here…. thanks again for inspiring.

    Reply
  • We recently bought a house with a large white wall and a high ceiling… and I find the arrangement of these pieces of similar artwork to be so interesting on a wall… loads of ideas here…. thanks again for inspiring.

    Reply
  • Wow, wow, wow! I would have given ANYTHING to see this exhibit. Having lived the era, this was such a punch in my memory to see these. Thanks so much for sharing it. Such great art!

    Reply
  • Wow, wow, wow! I would have given ANYTHING to see this exhibit. Having lived the era, this was such a punch in my memory to see these. Thanks so much for sharing it. Such great art!

    Reply
  • Wow, wow, wow! I would have given ANYTHING to see this exhibit. Having lived the era, this was such a punch in my memory to see these. Thanks so much for sharing it. Such great art!

    Reply
  • Wow, wow, wow! I would have given ANYTHING to see this exhibit. Having lived the era, this was such a punch in my memory to see these. Thanks so much for sharing it. Such great art!

    Reply
  • Wow, wow, wow! I would have given ANYTHING to see this exhibit. Having lived the era, this was such a punch in my memory to see these. Thanks so much for sharing it. Such great art!

    Reply
  • Wow, wow, wow! I would have given ANYTHING to see this exhibit. Having lived the era, this was such a punch in my memory to see these. Thanks so much for sharing it. Such great art!

    Reply
  • Love it; love it; love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Love it; love it; love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Love it; love it; love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Love it; love it; love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Love it; love it; love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Love it; love it; love it. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • My husband is a collector of Wes Wilson and others of that period’s poster art, so I have grown to love this kind of art. The colors and imagery are amazing, and there are some posters that are nearly illegible due to the lettering style! Love this and glad you came around to appreciating their value!

    Reply
  • My husband is a collector of Wes Wilson and others of that period’s poster art, so I have grown to love this kind of art. The colors and imagery are amazing, and there are some posters that are nearly illegible due to the lettering style! Love this and glad you came around to appreciating their value!

    Reply
  • My husband is a collector of Wes Wilson and others of that period’s poster art, so I have grown to love this kind of art. The colors and imagery are amazing, and there are some posters that are nearly illegible due to the lettering style! Love this and glad you came around to appreciating their value!

    Reply
  • My husband is a collector of Wes Wilson and others of that period’s poster art, so I have grown to love this kind of art. The colors and imagery are amazing, and there are some posters that are nearly illegible due to the lettering style! Love this and glad you came around to appreciating their value!

    Reply
  • My husband is a collector of Wes Wilson and others of that period’s poster art, so I have grown to love this kind of art. The colors and imagery are amazing, and there are some posters that are nearly illegible due to the lettering style! Love this and glad you came around to appreciating their value!

    Reply
  • My husband is a collector of Wes Wilson and others of that period’s poster art, so I have grown to love this kind of art. The colors and imagery are amazing, and there are some posters that are nearly illegible due to the lettering style! Love this and glad you came around to appreciating their value!

    Reply

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