Brad Story, “Marsh Hawk,” c. 2000. Wood, epoxy, fiberglass, wire, found objects; acrylic paint
The new Cape Ann Museum campus—CAM Green—opens its first official public exhibition this month with “Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, Brad Story, and the Great Marsh.”
Through Monnelly’s serene black-and-white photographs, and Story’s fanciful aeronautical sculptures, the exhibition focuses attention on the Great Marsh, the wide corridor of wetlands extending from Cape Ann into New Hampshire.
The Great Marsh, surrounded by development, threatened by climate change and overuse, determines the natural identity of the North Shore. While some refuges get cordoned off, protected from development and potential ruin, the beauty and future of the vast Great Marsh is woven into our daily activities.
Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, based in Ipswich, has photographed the Great Marsh for decades. Her 2006 book, “Between Land and Sea: The Great Marsh,” has recently been re-issued by Marquand Books, and provides extensive documentation. In this exhibition, sixteen black-and-white photographs hint at the breadth of these wetlands.
© Dorothy Kerper Monnelly. Salt Hay, First Light, Stoney Cove, Gloucester, MA
Her photographs illuminate the Great Marsh both with a grand sweep, and with concentrated details. Humans and their activities remain invisible. “Stillness at Dawn” sees the marsh as it defines our horizon—alluring in its immense simplicity. “Melting Ice”—part of a series of frozen close-ups—turns our focus to the equally alluring minutiae.
Brad Story’s sculptures soar over the Great Marsh—over all natural life—in their fashion. They certainly soar over this gallery—a square, well-lit room with high ceilings, which keeps the focus on the art.
The sculptor, part of generations of shipbuilding Storys from Essex, turned his own woodworking expertise to airborne creations decades ago.
His antic sculptures—nineteen in all, of painted wood, epoxy and found objects, filling the corners and soaring above visitors—seem at the same time stylized, but also dense with authentic attributes. “Ancient Bird” could be any generic flying creature, but the implied dynamism, and the precise elements in wing features and in posture, show that the sculptor has spent hours studying hawks and waders in the marsh.
Story’s fancy also extends past natural reality. “Marsh Hawk” is half bird, half bi-plane, complete with landing gear. Flight becomes Story’s real subject—the results simply emerge with his practice.
Monnelly’s photographs show the Great Marsh for what it is—at least, if we don’t erase it entirely. Story’s sculptures inhabit the space that the marsh lets us imagine.
Together, they help introduce CAM’s newest public space. Positioned just off Grant Circle, CAM Green is a large tract with three historic structures, including the White Ellery and Babson-Ailing houses.
The new center, designed principally for storage, creates opportunities for visitors to experience some of the un-exhibited CAM collections, especially in educational settings. The warehouse-style building—officially, the Janet & William Ellery James Center—will also increase the museum’s relevance for working artists, allowing the museum to add to and exhibit its contemporary collection.
“Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, Brad Story, and the Great Marsh” runs through July 2021 at the CAM Green, 13 Poplar St. (Grant Circle), Gloucester. CAM Green is open Thursday through Sunday. Admission is free, by timed reservation only, at capeannmuseum.org or 978 283-0455.
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Leonore Overture and Opera News. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.