Channing Penna exhibit at the Boston Public Libary

With the way the economy is going, we're going to have to learn to live on the cheap for years to come. And one of the best deals is still the Boston Public Library. I've never been disappointed, and many times amazed, by the quality of the exhibits the BPL puts on. And the current one, Movingline, drawings by Channing Penna, ranks right up there as being one of the best I've seen.

This is a series of 68 extraordinarily detailed pencil sketches depicting the force and the power of nature, plus some of her earlier portrait work of local celebs and everyday Bostonians tagged on at the end, which I could have done without them because, for me at least, they undercut the majestic feeling I felt throughout the main part of the exhibit.

The focus of the exhibit is Penna's sketches that, while detailed, are not precise renderings; rather, they are the visual representations of how Penna feels for the three main subjects she portrays: ocean waves, birds in flight, and horses. Think abstract expressionism meets the Audubon. This is Penna's own personal world we're seeing, and that's underscored by the personal writings that accompany each work, giving Penna's thoughts and reasoning for and about each image. The personal backstory coupled with the images give not only a powerful visual experience but also critical insight into the creative process of the artist.

Here is a video of Penna explaining her work and the exhibit. You'll get a good idea of the exhibit from this. You'll be able to view Channing Penna's work at the BPL until November 30.

Copley Square or BPL...you decide

They're at it again. The brass at the Boston Public Library are lobbying to get the name of the T stop there changed from Copley to Boston Public Library or Copley/BPL or some such malarkey. This is promotional hooey at its worst, in the same family with the idiotic, unmemorable corporate names sports stadiums are given around the country.

Citing other stops like Symphony, MFA, and Aquarium, Bernard Margolies, the library systems' president, was quoted in the press as saying that you can see all the important institutions in a listing for T stops. The Aquarium's an important institution? Well, I guess it is if you're a penguin.

Listen, those stops are named that way because tourists go there. Sorry, (and I love the BPL) but tourists don't go to the library. Given the BPL's argument, it would make just as much sense to name the stop, Trinity Church. Or isn't that a prominent enough institution, you arrogant bunch of intellectuals?

And think about the cost of updating maps and signs and schedules and everything connected to a name change. That would be money better spent on improving the T's service. Library officials have told the MBTA they would be happy with a name change, and for the MBTA to change the maps and info later. Oh, there's a really good suggestion from the keepers of facts and truth in our society. So the name of the stop is BPL, but on the map it says Copley? Great, just what we need around here: more lost tourists.