Selected list of texts written for scholarly and museum journals, art and culture magazines, newspapers, and blogs
“A Handmade Wonderland: Paula Wilson and Mike Lagg have transformed their New Mexico home and studios into a haven for creativity,” American Craft (Spring 2025)
In a small rural town in the high desert of south-central New Mexico, artists Paula Wilson and Mike Lagg are crafting a home where art and nature are woven into every facet of their daily life. A rug is a painting—or a print, or both. A door is a sculpture—so is a bench, a swing, a light switch, a lamp. There are rock stacks, chairs with humanlike spines, hand-printed clothes, mural-scale artworks on canvas (painting, print, and collage all at once), and paintings on the exteriors of time-worn buildings. Bare feet connect to the earth. Insects incite curiosity. Simple wooden bands encircle the artists’ left ring fingers. It is all intertwined.
“Looking Is Presence: A Conversation with Paula Wilson and Rebecca McNamara,” in Paula Wilson: Toward the Sky’s Back Door (Saratoga Springs, NY: Tang Museum and New York, NY: DelMonico/DAP, 2025), 126–55
“Lenore G. Tawney Fellow Shares Her Research Journey,” JMKAC Member Magazine, 2025
Exhibition essay for Deborah Zlotsky: Today Is Yesterday and Tomorrow, McKenzie Fine Art, NY, March 31–May 7, 2023
“Shape, Machine, Brain, Body, Community: An Introduction,” introduction to Radical Fiber: Threads Connecting Art and Science (Saratoga Springs, NY, and New York, NY: Tang Museum and Delmonico/DAP, 2023), 13–22
Humans first developed string—drawn and twisted plant or animal fiber—more than 120,000 years ago. Since then, we have learned to knot, weave, knit, crochet, and stitch, developing societies that fish, hunt, build shelter, wear clothing, carry objects large and small, and complete all manner of tasks, thanks to this technology of string.
“The Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef: Crocheting Eco-Consciousness in Community,” Radical Fiber: Threads Connecting Art and Science (Saratoga Springs, NY, and New York, NY: Tang Museum and Delmonico/DAP, 2023), 185–93
“Kintra Fibers: Synthetic Textiles for a More Sustainable Future,” Surface Design Journal 46 no. 1 (Spring 2022): 30–35
“Infinite Histories: Threading Venetian glass beads into large-scale wall hangings, Marie Watt explores the complexities of her own multicultural heritage,” Glass: The UrbanGlass Art Quarterly, no. 162 (Spring 2021), 45–51
A single seed, fertilized and tended, matures into a plant bearing fruit, edible leaves, beauty, shade, oxygen—life-sustaining nourishment. Buried in moist soil, the seed roots down, grounding itself in the earth before it sprouts skyward. The bounty develops more seeds, replenishing itself as time cycles forward. Multimedia artist Marie Watt’s latest work—wall hangings comprised of Venetian glass seed beads meticulously threaded into fields of color and language—evoke such rhythms as they speak across cultures and centuries.
Book review of Cindi Strauss, Damian Skinner, and Susan Cummins, In Flux: American Jewelry and the Counterculture, Metalsmith 41, no. 2 (2021); invited
“Exhibiting and Teaching Challenging Material,” in Teaching & Learning with Museum Exhibitions: Innovations across the Disciplines, ed. Ian Berry, Mimi Hellman, and Rachel Seligman (Saratoga Springs, NY: Tang Teaching Museum, 2020)
The purpose of asking the question, “How do/can/should we exhibit and teach challenging material?” is not to elicit a single answer, but rather, to sustain the question, as well as myriad other questions about what it is we are exhibiting and teaching, why, how, and whose voices are being considered […] Our public presentations, which real people interact with, can and should breathe (progress, shift, transform, mature, react) as living things—a notion that seems both radical and obvious.
Exhibition review of Domestic Matters: The Uncommon Apron, Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ, Metalsmith 40, no. 1 (2020); invited
Catalog entry on Nancy Grossman’s Rust & Blue (Yuma), 1967, Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at the Tang Teaching Museum 3 (2019)
“Wendy Red Star and Beatrice Red Star Fletcher” (essay on Wendy Red Star’s Four Seasons, an interactive museum installation, dioramas, and questions of display), Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum 2 (2018)
Interview with Wendy Red Star, Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum 2 (2018)
Interview with Deborah Roberts, Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum 2 (2018)
Catalog entry on Willie Cole’s To get to the other side, 2001, Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum 1, (2017)
Interviews with Tim Rollins & K.O.S. members Angel Abreu and Rick Savinon, Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum 1 (2017)
Interview with Willie Cole, Accelerate: Access and Inclusion at The Tang Teaching Museum 1 (2017)
“Narratives of the Deceased in Relics and Postmortem Photographs,” Objective 2 (2016); book review of Deborah Lutz, Relics of Death in Victorian Literature and Culture (2015), and Jack Mord, et al., Beyond the Dark Veil: Post-Mortem & Mourning Photography from The Thanatos Archive (2014)
“In Favor of Function: How the Dutch Went Modern in the Mid-20th Century,” May 17, 2016, Pamono Stories Blog
Ornament was out; clean lines, monochromatic fabrics, and unpretentious utility were in. So even if De Stijl’s philosophies no longer applied in the postwar period, its material objective of geometric shapes and reduction of form endured.
“Diminutive Deco: Cigarette Holders in the Jazz Age,” Art Deco New York (Journal of the Art Deco Society of New York) 1, no. 1 (Spring 2016)
In the narrative of Jazz Age smoking and its accoutrements, the cigarette (and its holder) played a surprisingly significant social role.
“American Artworks Digitized through Luce Grant,” Fall 2016, IMA Magazine
Photographing fashion arts poses unique challenges. Although now carefully stored as museum artworks, these garments once experienced everyday life, appearing at parties, work, weddings, on city streets, or on the runway.
“Pop Art: Visit Andy Warhol’s U.S.A.,” VisitTheUSA.com, n.d. (2016).
“Digitizing the American Arts and Design Collections: Recent Discoveries,” September 2015, IMA Magazine
“California Dreamin’: Paul László Pioneered California Modern in the Golden Age of Hollywood,” June 27, 2014, L’ArcoBaleno History Lessons Blog (now Pamono Stories Blog)
László attended to every interior detail of a house, from draperies to ashtrays and built-in tissue holders; at the end of projects, he turned down bed covers and put toothbrushes in their places.
“Precious Jewelry of Hair: A Brooch and Bracelet Set for Mourning,” March 9, 2014, Cooper-Hewitt Object of the Day Blog
“The Valentine as Art,” February 14, 2014, Cooper-Hewitt Object of the Day Blog
A valentine from graphic designer Marian Bantjes is more than just a valentine—it is an artwork, to be cherished and displayed year-round.
“Vasco Vieira of Arqui + Arquitectura,” May 14, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
The built-in swimming pool has always been a staple of luxury homes, at least those in warm climates. And in recent years, the infinity pool is almost a necessity for luxury homeowners. But the bar has been raised: Vasco Vieira of Arqui + Arquitectura has turned the notion of the in-ground infinity pool on its head.Casa Vale do Lobo, built on the Vale do Lobo golf resort in Southern Portugal, includes a swimming pool in a concrete base, cantilevered over a reflecting pool below.
“James Dyson: Designing Out Annoyances,” May 2, 2013, Cooper-Hewitt Object of the Day Blog
“Benjamin Garcia Saxe,” April 4, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
Young creative types are often viewed as idealistic, expecting to stamp the world with their art. Architect/sculptor/designer Benjamin Garcia Saxe already has, and one presumes he will continue to do so in increasing degrees . . . His low-cost housing projects prove that there are more solutions to housing the poor, and buying without entering into debt than are frequently used.
“Branded in Early Twentieth-Century Vienna,” March 30, 2013, Cooper-Hewitt Object of the Day Blog
While it may seem that logos and brand identities today are most concerned with profits, the bottom line was not always the reason behind marking one’s goods.
“William Lescaze’s Townhouse Blueprint: Creating a New Look for New York Residences,” March 22, 2013, Cooper-Hewitt Object of the Day Blog
“Italian Architect Plays with Degrees of Minimalism,” Profiling work of Andrea Oliva/Studio Cittaarchitettura, March 15, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
“Hironaka Ogawa’s Interior Trees,” March 12, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
“Santiago Calatrava: Drawing Across the Sky,” March 11, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
“Severely White: Fran Silvestre’s Minimalist Houses and Wind Tower,” March 5, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
Starkly minimalist, his projects, often with sharp, though not overbearing or unpleasant, angles, are covered in smooth, white materials inside and outside.
“Pete Bossley’s Architecture for Good,” March 4, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
“Richard Meier’s Vision of White Above Waters,” February 19, 2013, KMP Furniture Blog
“UNStudio’s Swooping Lines Extend from Seats to Theaters,” December 26, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
“Korean Firm Samoo Enliven’s World’s Streetscapes,” December 18, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
“Russian Architecture Firm Redefines Cutting-Edge,” Profiling work of Asadov Architectural Studio, December 13, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
Moscow-based architecture firm Asadov Architectural Studio isn’t afraid to think outside the box—truly. Many of their works have a character that can only be described as unique. The forms are just as alive as the people who use them, and the ideas are fresh and exciting.
“Elias Rizo Arquitectos Adds Comfort to Modernism,” November 30, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
“Max Strang’s Sustainable Tropical Modernism,” November 21, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
“Feldman Architecture’s Living Roofs,” November 26, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
“A Young, Modern Firm Finds Its Individuality,” Profiling work of Atelier RZLBD, November 18, 2012, KMP Furniture Blog
“A Metal ‘Lace’ Chandelier: Tord Boontje’s Modern Twist on Centuries-Ago Style,” October 3, 2012, Cooper-Hewitt Object of the Day Blog
The chandelier reinvented. The lightbulb redecorated. Stainless steel brought to life. Moving patterns stopped in motion […] Boontje has compared the intricately cut paper to lace of earlier centuries, but this shimmering, elaborate metal is certainly not your grandmother’s lace.
“Allan Shulman Brings Old Buildings Back to Life,” not dated, KMP Furniture Blog
“Rene Gonzalez Architect,” not dated, KMP Furniture Blog
“Problem-Solving Steel and a Floating Stone Wall: Modern Architecture and Interiors by GASS,” not dated, KMP Furniture Blog
“The Steinway Family Helped Create Modern Astoria,” August 30, 2011, online, BORO Magazine
Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant and master cabinetmaker Henry Engelhard Steinway in Lower Manhattan. Before he and his three sons developed the modern piano, concert stages were equipped with four or five pianos because they fell apart during performances . . . The Steinways wanted to change this: they believed that people should come to hear the music, not watch a theatrical performance of breaking pianos.
“Off-Off-Broadway Theater in Astoria,” July 2011 print issue, BORO Magazine; posted online June 29, 2011
“Astoria’s Seville Michelle Anastos is Designer to the Stars,” June 25, 2011, online, BORO Magazine
“LIC Artist Helaine Soller’s Exhibition at Riverview Restaurant,” April 16, 2011, online, BORO Magazine
The series of acrylic paintings at Riverview Restaurant in Long Island City—collectively titled “Water Environments”—evokes the drama of our ever-changing natural environments.
“Long Island City Artists Promotes Local Artists to Community,” March 12, 2011, online, BORO Magazine
“Art House Astoria Offers Arts Classes and Workshop Salons,” January 19, 2011, online, BORO Magazine
“Museum of the Moving Image Reopens After a Two-Year Renovation and Expansion,” January 2011 print cover story; posted online January 6, 2011, BORO Magazine
“On Monsters, Myths, and the End of the World: COM Senior’s Published Comics Get Industry Attention,” March 6, 2008, BU Today
“Home is Where the Art Is: BU’s Liza Abelson Opened an Art Gallery in Her Home Last Fall to Exhibit Her Paintings and Those of Friends,” March 3, 2008, BU Today
“Gesundheit,” reviewing Heide Fasnacht’s Sneeze IV (2003) and Sigmar Polke’s Untitled (2008) at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, March 2008, For Art’s Sake Media
The most astounding aspect of curatorial decisions is that they allow for interpretation – and misinterpretation – of art that otherwise may not have been considered.
“A Close Encounter with Genius: Painter Chuck Close and Curator Robert Storr in Conversation,” November 1, 2007, BU Today
“Administrator by Day, Artist by Night: MET’s Jeannie Motherwell Exhibits Her Paintings in a Solo Show,” August 9, 2007, BU Today
“A Midsummer Night in the Park: Shakespeare Expert William Carroll on the Bard’s Best-Loved Comedy,” July 24, 2007, BU Today
“New Bodies/New Views,” exhibition review of “Nora Lehmann: Corpora Nova,” 2007, For Art’s Sake Media
“Photography exhibition rediscovers historic Boston,” March 1, 2006, print, BU Source
Rebecca McNamara 