This week, the Hatch Shell comes alive, Boston Ballet brings us something old and something new, and Jared tells us about Expressive Digital Imagery as conceived by photographer Steve Koppel.
“Hatched: Breaking Through The Silence,” a multi-sensory installation nightly from 5pm-9pm at the Hatch Memorial Shell through February 21
Ordinarily, Boston’s Hatch Memorial Shell is closed during the winter after a busy summer of live music. This year, in response to the cancelation of live performances, the Esplanade Association has partnered with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to present “Hatched: Breaking Through The Silence.” Created by multimedia artist Maria Finkelmeier of MF Dynamics, “Hatched” is a multi-sensory experience that projects patterns of light and instruments on the Hatch Shell itself. The projections sync to music that audiences can hear on their phones by visiting the Esplanade website or scanning QR codes on-site.
“I really want you to feel like the shell is making music for us," says Finkelmeier, "as opposed to us making music under the shell.”
Steve Koppel, photographer, author, and founder of the EDI Institute
Is it possible for art to be used as therapy? Can creative imagery express what words cannot? For Steve Koppel, photographer and author of The Brewster Flats and The Cape Cod National Seashore, the answer is “yes!” Koppel is the founder of the EDI Institute, which promotes the healing power of Express Digital Imagery — a practice in which patients who are at a literal loss for words use images to communicate their feelings, anxieties, pain and more. Koppel has seen real-world benefits as the practice has been employed in Boston-area hospitals with patients using EDI to work through trauma and illness, and hopes to one day make the practice common in therapy regiments around the globe.
“People who are dealing with illness or substance use disorder or cancer or dealing with stress, they say, ‘I just can't really express what this feels through words,’” says Koppel. “An image allows such a deep and visceral connection with those who are there trying to share these feelings.”
“BB@yourhome: Look Back, Focus Forward,” presented virtually by Boston Ballet through January 31
Boston Ballet continues it’s “BB@yourhome” series of virtual performances with “Look Back, Focus Forward.” The hour-long program takes audiences through some of Boston Ballet’s best performances as selected by Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. “Look Back, Focus Forward” features ballet from Leonid Yakobson and rare footage of Boston Ballet’s international performances, and also includes a preview of Ken Ossola’s new work.
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