In Lewiston, ‘critical inquiry’ and weird Kora Temple

“Fires of Blaine County” (oil on canvas), by Amelia Hawkins, in the show “Senior Thesis 2024,’’ at the Bates College Museum of Art, Lewiston, Maine.

— Image courtesy: Bates College Museum of Art

The museum explains:

The museum says that the show is “the culmination of eight students' time at the college. Soon-to-be graduates Amelia Hawkins, Yuri Kim, Avery Mathias, Miguel Ángel Pacheco, George Peck, Olivia Rabin, Emma Upton and Joseph Vineyard present their work in painting, performance, digital animation, mixed media and more. The emphasis of the program is on creating a cohesive body of related works through sustained studio practice and critical inquiry.’’

The Kora Temple, in Lewiston, built in 1908 by the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, a fraternal organization affiliated with Freemasonry and are known for their charitable works such as the Shriners Hospitals for Children, which provide free medical care to children. The Kora Temple serves as a ceremonial space and clubhouse for the Shriners. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 for its distinctive Moorish-inspired architecture.

Portion of large mural in the Kora Temple’s dining hall.

— Photo by SarekOfVulcan

Throw it all out there

“Hey Mommy!” (watercolor, acrylic, hay, child's toy and staples on Arches paper), by Vermont-based Renee Bouchard, in her show “Allegory of Prudence,’’ at LAArts Gallery, in Lewiston, Maine, through Jan. 14.

The title of the show is a homage to a painting by the great Venetian painter Titian (c 1506-1576) She tells the gallery:

“I am constantly playing with this idea {of high art} by allowing nontraditional materials like natural and human made objects into my paintings. Aiming to transcend the materials, I walk over them to flatten them, staple and glue them on the surface. "

She gives her bio:

“Born in 1976 to French Canadian parents, Bouchard has lived throughout New England for most of her life. She studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and graduated from the Maine College of Art in 1999. She received her MFA in visual art from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2021, when she was nominated for fellowships from the Dedalus Foundation and the College Art Association. She has received grants, awards, and residencies from institutions including the Maine College of Art, the Vermont Arts Council, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Cooper Union, the Kate Millett Art Colony for women, and the Vermont Studio Center.’’

The Kora Temple is an historic Masonic building in Lewiston. It was built in 1908 by the Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. “The Shriners’’ are a fraternal organization affiliated with Freemasonry and known for their charitable works, such as the Shriners Hospitals for Children, which provide free medical care to children. The Kora Temple is a ceremonial space and clubhouse for the Shriners. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 for its distinctive Moorish-inspired architecture.

Lewiston, an old mill town, is best known as home of the prestigious liberal-arts institution Bates College.