MFA makes noise

    September has finally come, but there's still time left to take in the summer displays at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). Over the past few months, the museum has opened several exhibitions, each examining diverse topics — the interaction of visual and musical arts, the convergence of Chinese and Tibetan painting and the interface between American artists and Mexico in the 1900s.   
    One of the most compelling exhibitions is "Contemporary Outlook: Seeing Songs." It opened at the MFA — which is free for students with a Tufts ID — this summer and runs until Feb. 21 in the Foster Gallery. Visual artists and musicians have been intertwined, and at times in competition, with one another for centuries; the display examines the work created when the two meet, through media such as portraits of musicians and paintings with musical titles.
    Among the portraits displayed are four of the Beatles by Richard Avedon. Each shot depicts a member of the renowned group with bright colors and sharp contrast, recalling the era in which the band was so influential, and the images are very striking on the gallery's stark white walls.
    The exhibition also features photos by celebrated photographer Herb Ritts of artists including Mick Jagger, Little Richard, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and Aretha Franklin. While the representations are simple, they still display each artist's personality clearly.    
    The most noticeable work of the exhibition is Candice Breitz's "Queen (A Portrait of Madonna)" (2005). The work is made up of 30 screens that each display, according to the description in the museum materials, one of "thirty hardcore and diverse fans" belting out "the full 73 minutes of Madonna's ‘Immaculate Collection' album." The passionate and eccentric subjects of the piece are sure to catch your attention, and though the vocals are generally dissonant, the rare moments of relative harmony more than make up for it.
    Another exhibition, "Tibet/China Confluences," recently opened at the MFA and runs until May 23 in the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation Gallery. Although "confluence" is not a word that many would use to describe the two countries' recent relations, the paintings and scrolls attest to the lively artistic dialogue that took place between the two cultures over several centuries. The exhibition's introduction guides visitors to several paintings which depict Ahrats — Buddha's immediate disciples. Even though they all depict the same subjects, each piece renders the figures and surroundings very differently.
    The Chinese paintings are exceptionally detailed and include very realistic landscapes, while the Tibetan paintings are somewhat less detailed and instead focus on vibrant colors and figure arrangements. However, as the works in the rest of the exhibition demonstrate, Chinese and Tibetan artists borrowed ideas and techniques from one another over the centuries to the point where, as the introduction in the museum materials states, "The two traditions are often so closely woven … [that they] constitute new, hybrid traditions."    
    "Viva Mexico! Edward Weston and His Contemporaries" runs until Nov. 2 in the Herb Ritts Gallery. The exhibit features works by the American photographer Edward Weston and several photographers from the same period.
    The photos in the gallery demonstrate how American artists, many of whom traveled to Mexico in the early 1900s because a traditional tour of Europe had become difficult after World War I, were captivated by the country. The photos capture many different subjects and demonstrate how Weston and his contemporaries were in some cases so moved that they came to personally identify with Mexico's joys and sorrows. One example is Weston's portrait "Rose Roland (Covarrubias)" (1926). The piece is simple but dramatic, and it conveys a sense of invigoration that Roland and other Americans must have felt during their time in Mexico.
    The MFA also opened two other exhibitions, "Vida y Drama: Modern Mexican Prints," which relates nicely to "Viva Mexico!" in the neighboring gallery, and "A ‘New and Native' Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene" exploring the careers of architects Charles and Henry Greene.
    These special exhibitions complement the museum's permanent collection and serve as a wonderful introduction for any Boston newcomer to this dynamic and ever-changing museum.