MASS MoCA - 10th Anniversary Ball Auction

Celebrate 10 years of contemporary art in North Adams at our 10th Anniversary Ball with dancing to Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, the opening reception for three exhibitions (Guy Ben-Ner: Thursday the 12th, George Cochrane: Long Time Gone, and This is Killing Me), and a gala dinner and live auction in the galleries. All proceeds from this event will support the creation of new art at MASS MoCA.

Even if you cannot attend, you can still place bids for the auction. Download an Absentee Bid Form (PDF) for the MASS MoCA 10th Anniversary Ball Benefit Auction.

During the day, you get to demolish a house (with the help of Petricca Industries) with a backhoe and other heavy construction equipment—it could be the adventure of a lifetime or a great birthday gift for a kid (big or small). Plus, a cameraperson courtesy of Gobbo Films will shoot the demolition, so you’ll have a short DVD to commemorate your experience with these “big boy” (or girl!) toys. (If you’ve ever watched ROAD CONSTRUCTION AHEAD with a child, you know it’s guaranteed for many of hours of entertainment. There’s something in us that just loves to tear things down.)

Then, while your child is riveted to the film, you can sneak off to Blantyre in Lenox for a luxurious overnight stay that includes an elegant dinner for two (with wine chosen by Blantyre’s sommelier) and complimentary massages. An exclusive Relais & Chateau mansion and luxury spa set on 100 park-like acres in Lenox, Blantyre was named one of the “10 Most Romantic Hotels in the World” by Forbes. (Includes all gratuities and taxes for a 1-night mid-week stay, September through June; no expiration date.)

Courtesy of Blantyre, Gobbo Films, and Petricca Industries.

Estimated Value: $3,500

Between 2001 and 2005, the Patriots became the second team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years. Under quarterback Tom Brady, the New England Patriots have compiled the two longest winning streaks in NFL history. The winner receives two tickets to a Patriots game in the 2009 season (game to be determined by winner—October 4 Ravens vs. Patriots should be a good one) and a parking pass. Plus winner receives a Tom Brady (#12, quarterback) autographed football and a Rodney Harrison (#37, safety) autographed authentic game-day jersey.

Courtesy of Visa Inc.

Estimated Value: $800

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Uncle Lionel Baptiste Sr. and Benny Jones Sr. in front of Benny’s FEMA Trailer, Treme

Called “immensely talented” by The New York Times, artist Pawel Wojtasik’s videos are visionary and poetic reflections on our environment and culture. His work has been exhibited at venues ranging from Lincoln Center to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Now on view at MASS MoCA is Below Sea Level, a panoramic depiction of New Orleans, at that great city’s watery edge of existence. Visitors enter a 35-foot diameter, 12-foot tall cylindrical structure, and, once inside, experience a video panorama of a revolving landscape set against a backdrop of New Orleans. Complementing the video are 6 light boxes that highlight iconic images of the New Orleans story. The fortunate winner of this item may choose one of the light boxes (to take home after the show closes next spring): either Lake Pontchartrain Causeway or Uncle Lionel Baptiste Sr. and Benny Jones Sr. in front of Benny’s FEMA Trailer, Treme.

Gift of Pawel Wojtasik.

Estimated Value: $3,200

What mysterious things happen after the museum doors close at night?

Find out for yourself on a nocturnal adventure exploring the hidden corners of MASS MoCA. Your child (and up to 7 friends) will watch the newly released (May 22) comedy adventure film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, starring Ben Stiller and Robin Williams, and then explore the museum on a night-owl tour that includes the Sol LeWitt exhibition, Matt Bua’s CRIBS installation in Kidspace, and a behind-the-scenes tour through a labyrinth of underground passageways. The package includes dinner for the kids and their chaperone (burritos, hot dogs, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and ice cream), camping out in sleeping bags in Kidspace, and working with Kidspace staff to create their own found-art sculpture to add to CRIBS.

Courtesy of MASS MoCA, Lickety Split, and Kidspace.

Estimated Value: $1,500

The lucky winner of this package will receive Sentry (a collage of book cuttings on paper, from the “Pornithology” series), by artist Michael Oatman, whose richly detailed collages and intricate installations that fuse art, architecture, and science have been exhibited widely. Plus, the winner will go on an adventure with Oatman:

When MASS MoCA went solar (5% of our electric power now comes from panels on Building 5’s roof), the museum commissioned Oatman to help with the installation by arranging the panels into a work of art. He embedded a hidden message into the panels using mirrors, the full organization of which is only discernible from the sky. Further, he proposed a companion piece to the solar installation (opening at MASS MoCA in 2010), based on the life and work of a fictional former Sprague employee-cum-inventor—a modern day Icarus—who in the ’70s built an orbiting laboratory out of an Airstream trailer and has returned to earth 30 years later to herald a new vision. The winner will take a plane ride over MASS MoCA with Director Joe Thompson and Oatman (in character as the inventor) and, perhaps, be the first to discover the secret coded message. Following the ride, you’ll have lunch with them at Café Latino.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy said of Oatman: “The range of his imagination dazzles. He is a relentless seeker after what is new, and…has given us a body of work that is bountifully diverse and original.”

Courtesy of Michael Oatman, Joseph and Jennifer Thompson, and Mezze.

Estimated Value: $3,000

…but not just any villa.

Torre dell’Artista is Sol and Carol LeWitt’s artist’s retreat in Spoleto, Italy. The lovingly restored farmhouse tower sits tranquilly amid olive groves on a hillside with magnificent views, just a stone’s throw from hiking paths that wind through a forest renowned since Roman times.

Filled with books and art, the Torre has a living room with fireplace, eat-in kitchen with fireplace, original pizza oven, two baths, garden, hot tub, and an outdoor vine-shaded terrace for al fresco dining. Suitable for a couple and two older children (there’s a master bedroom plus a sleeping loft with two single beds), the villa is available for a week in the spring or summer of 2010 (or in 2009, depending upon availability). Located two hours from Rome and a ten-minute taxi ride from the Spoleto train station.

Includes a copy of MASS MoCA’s just-published catalogue, Sol LeWitt: 100 Views, which you can read on the plane, and a personal tour of MASS MoCA’s LeWitt retrospective (named the best exhibition of 2008 by Time Magazine) with the catalogue’s editors Susan Cross and Denise Markonish. (Transportation not included.)

Courtesy of Carol LeWitt.

Estimated Value: priceless

Watching movies in ski boots?

In a nutshell, Sundance is magical; it’s a unique experience to ski a few runs, have breakfast, ski a few more runs, and clomp into a film screening in your ski boots… not to mention the sybaritic pleasures of fresh powder, new films, excellent food and wine, great company, roaring fires, and hot stone massages.

Two guests will join a small MASS MoCA group heading to Utah for four days (January 28–Februray 1, 2010) to the wonderful festival founded by Robert Redford to showcase new independent cinema. Leading the charge is MASS MoCA’s performing arts curator Rachel Chanoff—feature film consultant to Sundance—who will steer us to some of the best films. You’ll take in many screenings, have dinner with directors and writers, and enjoy great skiing or relaxing. Package includes 4 nights at Redford’s cozy Sundance Resort (named by Conde Nast Traveler one of the “Top 100 World’s Best Places to Stay”), 4 dinners, 4 breakfasts, numerous screenings, 4 spa treatments, and 4 activity passes (downhill or cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or an art class), plus VIP festival credentials, which entitle us to first dibs on films. (Transportation not included.)

Courtesy of MASS MoCA.

Estimated Value: $7,000 (for 2 people)