Harris Barron
Encyclopedia
Harris Barron is an artist, educator, writer, pilot, and adventurer who founded both the ZONE visual theatre group and the Studio for Interrelated Media
(SIM) at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 1970. The SIM is one of the few programs of its kind that fosters a unique blend of interdisciplinary study, collaboration, and civic engagement within a Fine Arts context. Since its inception this program has grown - spawning computer arts, animation, and video programs - and is still one of the most innovative areas at the College.
Barron enlisted in the US Navy in 1944 as a flyer, based at the Pearl Harbor
Naval Air Station. After being discharged in 1947, he entered Vesper George Art School
in Boston's South End. In 1949, he was exposed to many artists from New York City at a summer painting program on Nantucket Island. Barron moved to New York City and worked as a graphic artist. He met his wife, Ros at Massachusetts College of Art, in 1951, married in 1953. Both graduated with BFA's
in 1954 as two of Professor Charles Abbott's six initial majors in his new Ceramic Art
program. Barron also completed academic course requirements in Harvard's University Extension program
.
, Hugh Stubbins, and Percival Goodman
.
His work is found at the Mount Holyoke College
theatre; Temple Israel in Boston
; the West Hartford
Community Center; Choate Rosemary Hall
; the Wilmington
Community Center; the Washington Park WMCA in Boston; The Parkside School in Columbus
; and the Fitchburg Savings Bank, among many other places.
Barron's smaller-scaled sculptures have been shown in several solo exhibitions, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Ward-Nasse Gallery
and Sidney Kanegis Gallery, Boston; three shows with New York dealer, Bertha Schaeffer Gallery; at Clemson University, and in many group exhibitions in this country, including the Portland Museum of Art
.
Harris and Ros Barron were Rockefeller Artists-in-Residence at WGBH
—2, in the late 1960s, and involved with WGBH’s New Television Workshop in the 1970s. Their experimental "visual theater" company, ZONE—formed with former studio assistant Alan Finneran— performed a major work, The Yellow Sound
, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City
, and seeded the ideas behind the formation of the SIM program at MassArt. ZONE was active from 1968 to 1972 and produced a ten campus ZONE on Tour of New York State colleges, as well as six discrete works at venues such as MIT's Kresge Theatre
(Computer Theatre); Harvard University
(Grope Fest, a memorial to Walter Gropius); Ohio State University
; and Brandeis University
(Beyond Bauhaus Theatre), each of which was a major undertaking involving live performers with elaborate electronic costumes, large mobile set pieces, complicated original sound, text, and projection systems, custom hardware, and a knowledgeable technical crew. Fundamentally, ZONE was a laboratory for the exploration of art in a real-time/space context.
Since 1988, Barron works primarily as a writer of poetry, short fiction and a memoir—The Birth of Eagle Air. In 1988, along with another pilot from the MIT Soaring Association Frank Scarabino, flew an antique, open cockpit biplane from Massachusetts to California over a seven day period. That unusual flight initiated a book, Spaces in the Air about "crossing America, at sometimes rather low altitudes, with nothing between me and the landscape below but air."
Barron was provocative and inspirational in the classroom. He had high expectations of his students and nothing went unnoticed. For many years, Barron's message to his students, "Shared experience creates community." was painted on the back wall of SIM's Longwood Theater on Brookline Avenue
in Boston. This concept still infuses the Studio today.
After joining the MIT Soaring Club in 1975, Barron, as an instructor-in-training, taught student pilots to appreciate "motorless flight"—sailplane soaring—"using the mind and acute observation of atmospheric changes to sustain the self at altitude."
Studio for Interrelated Media
The Studio for Interrelated Media is an academic concentration within the Multimedia and Performing Arts Department at the Massachusetts College of Art . It was founded by Harris Barron in 1969 ....
(SIM) at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 1970. The SIM is one of the few programs of its kind that fosters a unique blend of interdisciplinary study, collaboration, and civic engagement within a Fine Arts context. Since its inception this program has grown - spawning computer arts, animation, and video programs - and is still one of the most innovative areas at the College.
Early life and education
Harris Barron was born in 1926 in Boston, Massachusetts.Barron enlisted in the US Navy in 1944 as a flyer, based at the Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
Naval Air Station. After being discharged in 1947, he entered Vesper George Art School
Vesper George Art School
The Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, closed in 1983.For many years the school contributed to the Boston art community, training many talented artists, many of whom are still active in both commercial art and fine arts...
in Boston's South End. In 1949, he was exposed to many artists from New York City at a summer painting program on Nantucket Island. Barron moved to New York City and worked as a graphic artist. He met his wife, Ros at Massachusetts College of Art, in 1951, married in 1953. Both graduated with BFA's
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in 1954 as two of Professor Charles Abbott's six initial majors in his new Ceramic Art
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
program. Barron also completed academic course requirements in Harvard's University Extension program
Harvard Extension School
Harvard University Extension School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the thirteen degree-granting schools of Harvard University and is part of the Division of Continuing Education.-Origins:...
.
Artistic Practice
Harris Barron began as a sculptor and painter, evolving into a performance artist, poet and writer. From 1956 to 1969 he was commissioned to design and execute many large scale architectural sculptures for new public buildings, collaborating with several prominent architects, including Walter GropiusWalter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, Hugh Stubbins, and Percival Goodman
Percival Goodman
Percival Goodman was an American urban theorist and architect who designed more than 50 synagogues between 1948 and 1983. He has been called the "leading theorist" of modern synagogue design, and "the most prolific architect in Jewish history."-Biography:Percival Goodman was born in New York City...
.
His work is found at the Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
theatre; Temple Israel in Boston
Temple Israel (Boston, Massachusetts)
Temple Israel is a Reform synagogue in Boston.-History:Temple Israel, originally known as Adath Israel, was founded in 1854 when Jews of German ancestry seceded from Ohabei Shalom, then the sole synagogue in Boston, because so many Polish Jews had joined the congregation. The congregation...
; the West Hartford
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
Community Center; Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
; the Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
Community Center; the Washington Park WMCA in Boston; The Parkside School in Columbus
Columbus, Indiana
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census, and the current mayor is Fred Armstrong. Located approximately 40 miles south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th largest...
; and the Fitchburg Savings Bank, among many other places.
Barron's smaller-scaled sculptures have been shown in several solo exhibitions, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Ward-Nasse Gallery
Ward-Nasse Gallery
The Ward-Nasse Gallery is a nonprofit artist-administered art gallery space for visual, spoken and performing artists in New York City.- History :...
and Sidney Kanegis Gallery, Boston; three shows with New York dealer, Bertha Schaeffer Gallery; at Clemson University, and in many group exhibitions in this country, including the Portland Museum of Art
Portland Museum of Art
The Portland Museum of Art is an art museum in Portland, Maine. Founded as the Portland Society of Art in 1882, it is located in the downtown area known as The Arts District, and is the largest and oldest public art institution in the U.S...
.
Harris and Ros Barron were Rockefeller Artists-in-Residence at WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
—2, in the late 1960s, and involved with WGBH’s New Television Workshop in the 1970s. Their experimental "visual theater" company, ZONE—formed with former studio assistant Alan Finneran— performed a major work, The Yellow Sound
The Yellow Sound
The Yellow Sound is an experimental theater piece originated by the Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky. Created in 1909, the work was first published in The Blue Rider Almanac in 1912....
, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
, and seeded the ideas behind the formation of the SIM program at MassArt. ZONE was active from 1968 to 1972 and produced a ten campus ZONE on Tour of New York State colleges, as well as six discrete works at venues such as MIT's Kresge Theatre
Kresge Auditorium
Kresge Auditorium is an auditorium building for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the noted architect Eero Saarinen, with ground-breaking in 1953 and dedication in 1955...
(Computer Theatre); Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(Grope Fest, a memorial to Walter Gropius); Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
; and Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
(Beyond Bauhaus Theatre), each of which was a major undertaking involving live performers with elaborate electronic costumes, large mobile set pieces, complicated original sound, text, and projection systems, custom hardware, and a knowledgeable technical crew. Fundamentally, ZONE was a laboratory for the exploration of art in a real-time/space context.
Since 1988, Barron works primarily as a writer of poetry, short fiction and a memoir—The Birth of Eagle Air. In 1988, along with another pilot from the MIT Soaring Association Frank Scarabino, flew an antique, open cockpit biplane from Massachusetts to California over a seven day period. That unusual flight initiated a book, Spaces in the Air about "crossing America, at sometimes rather low altitudes, with nothing between me and the landscape below but air."
Teaching
Harris Barron retired from his professorship at MassArt in 1988. His original inspirations and ideas are still the foundation for many of the curricular decisions made within SIM in its effort to combine performance, innovative technology, sound, light, projected image, considerations of space, wherein idea-based art-making is stressed. Barron's thesis maintains that original art originates in the mind; all else is application.Barron was provocative and inspirational in the classroom. He had high expectations of his students and nothing went unnoticed. For many years, Barron's message to his students, "Shared experience creates community." was painted on the back wall of SIM's Longwood Theater on Brookline Avenue
Brookline Avenue
Brookline Avenue is a principal urban artery in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, terminating in the town of Brookline. The Landmark Center, Fenway Park, Emmanuel College, Longwood Medical and Academic Area and Kenmore Square are sites along its length...
in Boston. This concept still infuses the Studio today.
After joining the MIT Soaring Club in 1975, Barron, as an instructor-in-training, taught student pilots to appreciate "motorless flight"—sailplane soaring—"using the mind and acute observation of atmospheric changes to sustain the self at altitude."
External links
- Harris and Ros Barron's website
- Eagle Air Video biography of Harris Barron by Ros Barron
- The Studio for Interrelated Media
- The Massachusetts College of Art and Design
- Alan Finneran
- Ros Barron's "Headgame" on the WGBH series The New Television Workshop