This week, WGBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen discovers an exhibition on the Shakers at the Currier Museum of Art and reviews two new films in theaters now.
“The Shakers and the Modern World: A collaboration with Canterbury Shaker Village,” on view at the Currier Museum of Art through Feb. 16
Discover the secrets and innovations of the Shakers at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire. Through the craftsmanship and historic documents provided by Canterbury Shaker Village, “The Shakers and the Modern World” presents hundreds of years of Shaker history and products, examining how the utopian society stayed true to its mission of communal living while embracing modern techniques like mass production and commercial branding.
“From the early 1800s, the Shakers had a very intentional marketing system,” said Andrew Spahr, the Currier’s director of collections and exhibitions. “They utilized print, they utilized advertising, they utilized photography and other public media to promote their brand. And the Shaker brand was about quality. It was about simplicity, it was about value, all things that I think resonate with us today.”
“Little Women,” in theaters now
Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel “Little Women” is back on the big screen. Written and directed by Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"), this adaptation portrays Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth Marsh in different stages of their lives as they look back on the home and family that made them who they are.
“I might never make a more personal movie than this,” said Gerwig. “This is my inner landscape, and this is the thing that I felt like ... not only empowered me and inspired me, but allowed me to be.”
“Greta Gerwig has crafted a gorgeous and lyrical adaptation of the classic novel,” said Jared. “Rather than feel like a classic though, the film crackles with a 21st century sense of urgency and agency. Alcott’s unbridled sense of spirit prevails.”
“Bombshell,” in theaters now
A formidable cast takes on the brutal true story of sexual assault within one of America’s most powerful media empires. In “Bombshell,” Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie play Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson and the fictional Kayla Pospisil, three Fox News personalities and employees whose complaints of sexual assault and harassment led to the downfall of Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.
Jared describes the film as “profoundly disturbing for how intricately it charts the construction and protection of one all-powerful man’s unchecked campaign of assault.”
What exhibitions are you excited about in 2020? Tell Jared about it on Facebook or Twitter!
