Somerville: Boston’s Williamsburg

Greg Cook reports in The Phoenix: “Boston art can often seem constipated. This is an academic, institutional city…Somerville, though, has become a bastion for the wild and woolly. One sign is the city�s public festivals: the Meet Under McGrath open-air dance party this past August, held under the godforsaken overpass where the McGrath Highway bridges Washington Street; the Fluff Festival, a tribute to the corporate confection in Union Square this past September; the Honk Fest, a gathering of and performance by radical marching bands from across North America in Davis Square this past October. Another sign is the Somerville ‘art gangs’ � the Lady Cougars, the Miracle 5, and the Olde Ghosts � rounded up in the group exhibition ‘Leave the Light On’ at Somerville�s Nave Gallery. They have in common a punky illustrative goth bent, and a rascally sense of humor. ‘I don�t think any of us take ourselves too seriously,’ says the Lady Cougars� Beth Driscoll, who organized the show. It�s an uneven exhibit, but it�s energized by their attitude.” Read more. “Leave the Light On” Nave Gallery, Powderhouse Square, Somerville, MA. Through August 5, 2007 See slide show.