>> Part of the message of Artists Call was, we can't be indifferent, we can't create culture if we participate in the destruction of others' cultures.

>> BOWEN: I'm Jared Bowen, coming up on Open Studio, the nearly forgotten moment in the 1980s when artists took action against U.S. intervention in Central America.

Then a music group that wants to make concerts available for home delivery-- as in, performed in your home.

>> We've had audience members so close that when a player drops their page of music, they can pick it up and hand it to them.

>> BOWEN: And it's off to Ohio, where graphic artist Bryan Moss draws inspiration from his surroundings.

>> That'll make this into this Hitchcockian, like, masterpiece comic.

(laughing) You're like, "All right, uh, we build it while we fly!"

>> BOWEN: It's all now on Open Studio.

♪ ♪ First up, in the 1980s, as Americans became increasingly aware of the role the U.S. government had in conflicts in Central America, a vast network of artists sprang into action.

They used art to protest.

But then, the movement became a moment, largely forgotten, until now.

By the mid-1980s, Central America was awash in war.

With the U.S. government sending money and weapons to militant forces, tens of thousands of people were slaughtered.

In Guatemala, Indian villages were leveled.

Soldiers waged guerilla warfare in Nicaragua.

Death squads patrolled El Salvador.

Artist Beatriz Cortez was a child at the time.

>> It was the most terrible experience because there were massacres, and there was complete destruction of entire villages, et cetera, but I was in the middle class in San Salvador, and my parents were really great at protecting me.

>> You know, I found all these Che-type revolutionaries.

You see these banners?

>> BOWEN: The violence was so horrific, protests rose up across North America.

One of the most forceful, and fleeting, was a movement called Artists Call Against U.S.

Intervention in Central America, a grassroots effort that quickly coalesced among artists, galleries, and museums from January to March of 1984.

>> Part of the message of Artists Call was, we can't be indifferent, we can't create culture if we participate in the destruction of others' cultures.

>> BOWEN: Cortez is one of the contemporary artists featured in the show "Art for the Future" at Tufts University.

It's as much excavation as it is exhibition.

Five years in the making, it's the first time the Artists Call efforts have been comprehensively reexamined.

>> This exhibition is really focusing on the activities that happened in New York, but in fact there was 27 cities that participated as part of Artists Call.

>> BOWEN: Erina Duganne is the show's co-curator.

It launched when she discovered that 12 tucked-away boxes at the Museum of Modern Art's library in New York held a trove of Artists Call history.

>> It was, like, a kind of awakening, you know, it was, like, oh, wow, this is, like, way bigger than anyone has made it out to be.

>> BOWEN: The Artists Call effort spread rapidly across the U.S. and Canada, with some 31 exhibitions.

In New York alone, 1,100 artists pitched in to raise awareness and aid.

They marched and sold work.

They performed, recited poetry, and produced films.

>> They wanted to just kind of ignite, you know, ignite actions.

There's a procession for peace, where everyone walked with the names of the disappeared.

And then they read the name, and they tied it to a balloon, and let the balloon fly into the sky, as this kind of recognition of those who had been disappeared.

>> BOWEN: With the searing images of photographer Susan Meiselas as an early prompt, the Artists Call was trumpeted by teams of organizers and committees making phone calls, sending letters, and distributing fliers.

>> I think there was a lot of direct pointing to violence and the expression of U.S. power.

>> BOWEN: Abigail Satinsky is the show's co-curator, and says the call and response was so thunderous, it took the organizers by surprise.

>> They were overwhelmed with the response.

And so that was why it spread to all these different cities, is basically, they just said, "Okay, all you have to do is take our letterhead, add your own listings, and do your own thing."

And this is not about a unified expression.

This is about artists together.

>> BOWEN: Claes Oldenburg was among the high-profile artists who galvanized the effort, designing a widely-distributed poster.

He and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, also conceived a monument.

Though never built, it was a symbol of hope: a pencil that, while broken, still writes.

Leon Golub offered up a piece he made to protest the Vietnam War, echoing a 1980s refrain that El Salvador was Spanish for Vietnam.

And Alfredo Jaar appropriated a Fortune magazine ad, with a halting twist.

>> We see here this sort of layered understanding of how artists are pushing against institutions to do better, and pushing against media representations to do better, and really building that conversation.

>> BOWEN: The curators have continued the conversation into the present.

They've invited artists to plumb the movement's archives for their own contemporary response to Artists Call.

Beatriz Cortez designed a geodesic dome home for the archives.

>> It also speaks of the shelter and the homelessness of immigrants in the middle of the pandemic.

And so it's a shelter for this archive that preserves a moment when the war in El Salvador connected with migration and with the art world.

>> BOWEN: For the several months the movement took hold, the artists' call was heard.

Art was made.

Funds were dispatched to Central America.

Its impact was big, broad, and brief, all by design.

>> Part of the organizing committee really argued that it needed to be ephemeral.

That it needed to just dissipate and that people would go on to take those experiences and do other things with them.

>> BOWEN: And they did.

Because virtually at the same time, there was another looming tragedy that warranted artists' attention.

That was the emerging AIDS crisis.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (performing upbeat classical piece) >> BOWEN: That's a performance from the Sheffield Chamber Players-- complete with cat, if you noticed.

They're a young music group whose mission is to restore the intimacy of chamber music, with performances often taking place in classical music lovers' homes.

I recently sat down with the group just as they're unveiling a world premiere composition.

Welcome to both of you.

Christina English of Sheffield Chamber Players, Kevin Day, composer, whose work we're about to be hearing.

Welcome to the show.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you so much.

>> BOWEN: Well, Christina, let me just start with you to reacquaint us with a little bit of the history of music and what the purpose, what the intent of chamber music is.

>> So chamber music is named after the chambers, or the rooms, in which it would have been performed for smaller forces, smaller ensembles.

So the string quartet, in this case, is what we're dealing with.

And it's really meant to be experienced up close, and to be heard even inches, sometimes, depending on where we're performing, away from the performers.

>> BOWEN: So what is the intent here?

I love the home delivery aspect of this, of literally bringing music into people's homes.

>> Of course, Sheffield Chamber Players started about eight years ago now with that mission exactly in mind, is to go into people's homes and sit in their living rooms, their dining rooms, wherever they have space, just a few feet away from their friends, their neighbors, their communities, and bring this music directly to them.

So we really love the interaction that we get to have with the audience because of that, and the fact that the players can see and feel and sense the reaction that they're getting from the audience members is just really special.

>> BOWEN: Well, given all that, Kevin, I'm wondering, as you're composing, and this is an opportunity to talk about the world premiere of your piece String Quartet Number 5... (playing slowly and gently) Are you mindful of that tight, intimate environment as you're composing?

>> Yes, and it's a thing that I really took into account when I was writing this piece, because a lot of my work is, is for larger groups.

And so for this, I mean, being that Sheffield does a lot more in-person things that are more intimate, I really wanted to capture that with this piece of music.

And so, the, the music was written with that in mind.

>> BOWEN: So tell me, just describe your piece for us.

>> String Quartet Number 5 is, is a, it's a work that's in two movements, one that is more slow and lyrical, and one that is more up-tempo.

And these, these represent sort of two parts of myself that I'm beginning to accept and discover, and it's, it's sort of a piece about where I am now as a composer, and, and about sort of where I am on my path.

(playing gentle section) >> BOWEN: Do you often put yourself into your work?

Is there, is there a biography in all of your pieces?

>> Yeah, I feel like with each piece I write, it's, it's a part of Kevin that is, is coming out more and more and more.

And this is where 26-year-old me is at and, with each piece I write, I hope to show progression as far as where I am in my life.

>> BOWEN: Just like Adele.

>> Yes-- I love Adele, by the way.

>> BOWEN: So do I.

(all laughing) >> Yes.

>> BOWEN: Well, Christina, tell me about how Kevin has come into the picture, I mean, and this, this is part of your larger mission, that, that you're playing the full history of music here.

>> Yeah, we've actually just started our first year of a five-year commissioning project.

So we have three other great composers lined up for the next few years, and a fourth one to be determined.

So we really were happy to get Kevin now, before he really explodes on the scene and, and is too busy for us.

>> (laughs) >> BOWEN: I did take note of the momentum you were talking about.

That's happening with your career, absolutely.

>> Yeah, Sasha and Leo, two of our players, actually met Kevin at the Gabriela Lena Frank Academy, which is a training program for composers, so we're really thrilled to have him here with us.

>> BOWEN: And Kevin, I'm wondering how you got here.

I read that your mother is a gospel singer, father a hip-hop producer.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> BOWEN: So clearly, music fundamental in your home.

>> Yes.

>> BOWEN: And how did you land with classical music?

>> Yeah, so, I didn't get into classical music until I joined the orchestra as a tuba player when I was in high school, and one of the first pieces we played was a piece by Tchaikovsky, and I was just, like, I, it, like, something about it, I guess, drew me.

And that piece was really what got me, like, interested in classical music.

>> BOWEN: So how does this work?

Do people reach out to you?

Do you find homes?

>> Yeah, we actually have a great host network.

And anybody who thinks their house isn't big enough, we can probably prove you wrong.

We'll, we'll make it work.

(laughing) And we just take a look, and decide where we're going to set up the chairs, and then we ask that the hosts invite their friends, their neighbors, co-workers, their community, and join us, and we'll play the concert.

We'll have a reception-- that's what we love, is to get to talk to you about the music that you've just heard.

>> BOWEN: We all laughed when you said, "There's no home too small," but why does any home work?

>> Well, it's really about that feeling of being at home for these house concerts, that we can make the space work anywhere.

We've, we've had the players in a dining room, and some people in a kitchen, and some people in a living room watching from different angles.

We've had, you know, audience members so close that when a player drops their page of music, they can pick it up and hand it to them.

So, you know, those, those moments are really, make it special and unique from sitting in a concert hall very far away from the players.

>> BOWEN: Yeah, Kevin, I'm wondering what experiences you've had, too, especially as a musician, and now as the composer-- I'm sure you're there for your music, you're talking about your music-- what that, what that intimacy is like, what it feels like.

>> Being close to, to the audience is really something that is captivating, because it's, like, the energy that, that we put out as musicians, it's almost like they can sort of feel that, too, and they can feel connected to the music.

So, I mean, I love that.

>> BOWEN: You're aware of the audience the entire time?

>> Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, especially if they're, like, like, right there.

(laughing) But it's, it's really cool to have that interaction.

I mean, I love that.

>> BOWEN: What about writing in this time?

How we interact with audiences, of course, has changed considerably.

Has that had an impact on how you compose?

>> Yeah, it's made me actually slow down my process.

People who know me, they're used to me writing things very quickly, and I, I've, that's just the way my mind has worked all these years, but I think as, especially the last two years, I've gotten slower, but it's been more intentional as far as what I want to write.

I'm being more intentional with where the music is going.

>> BOWEN: I'm curious when you say you write fast, is that because you, you do have a constant flow of music running through you?

>> Yes.

(laughs) I think about music all the time.

I'm listening to it all the time.

So it's, I... >> BOWEN: Sorry to interrupt, but can you hear it right now?

>> Oh, yeah, yeah, I can... (laughs) I can hear a little bit of music and my, my process works where, like, I get an idea for something, I'll go to the computer or I'll go to the piano.

I'll sit and I'll play or I'll write, and I'll just kind of get into a zone where I can just write large chunks of music, like, in one time.

But it's like, I get an idea in a random moment and I'm, like, "Oh, my God, I need to write this, like, now or I'm just going to forget what this was about."

(playing upbeat section) >> BOWEN: How exciting is this to be able to share, share these stories, share this process, share the music?

>> It's so exciting.

And it's really what, I think, we were looking for in having this commissioning project, is to really be able to say, this is a great new voice, an inspired voice that we want to bring to our audiences and really broaden their horizons, make sure that they know that there's more out there than, you know, the chamber music that they already know.

>> BOWEN: I just want to end by asking you something I think is so fundamental-- you do pay what you can, which is free if, if that's what people are most comfortable with, or can only do.

Why is that important?

>> It's really important because we want to make sure that nobody has a reason to say, "That's not for me."

You know, we're always striving to be in more neighborhoods, in more areas in and around Boston, where people can invite their friends and say, "This is for you, you can come here "and share this experience with me.

"We can talk about it, and, you know, we can all learn and grow and have that wonderful experience together."

>> BOWEN: Well, congratulations, and thank you both for being here.

>> Thanks so much.

>> Thank you.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: Spring comes early, at least in music.

It's among the highlight events in Arts This Week.

Sunday, see Grammy-nominated ensemble A Far Cry.

They offer music that beckons an early spring in their Cambridge concert.

On view at the McMullen Museum of Art, an exhibition of photographer Martin Parr's work.

Monday, see how he's documented the radical evolution of Ireland over 40 years.

Thursday, puppets put a modern twist on classic Jewish folktales.

Log on to see the Jewish Arts Collaborative's rollicking show To Catch a Thief.

People, Places, and Things opens at SpeakEasy Stage Company Friday.

The drama centers on an actress on the rebound from rehab.

Saturday is the opening of the exhibition American Roadsides at the Fitchburg Art Museum.

See photographer Frank Armstrong's picture of America.

♪ ♪ Artist Bryan Moss might color inside the lines, but he thinks very much outside the box.

He's made his mark with graphic novels, public art, and even product design for White Castle.

But despite his successes and universal reach, he's committed to staying in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

>> How many comic books do you own?

>> (laughs) Okay, let's put it like this.

Um, how many comic books do I own?

♪ ♪ I own 20 bookshelves of graphic novels.

(laughs) I think I might fill a library one day.

♪ ♪ So I was born in 1981 on the South End of Columbus.

So, born and raised.

Now that I reflect back on it, I grew up really poor.

When you say it, it sounds pretty triggering, but actually I learned a lot.

That's how I, like, figured out how to do art through, like, a grassroots process.

Like, I signed up for art classes at Schiller Park.

That's when I discovered and understood that I was going to be an artist.

After that, it was more just, like, drawing, drawing, drawing.

So just nonstop.

Just obsessed with it.

So when I was, like, ten or 11, that's when I discovered comic books.

And then that's when it shifted, so that I was just drawing comics all the time.

♪ ♪ The current project I just finished up, and that I'm still working on a little bit here and there, is a comic book called Eightfold Path.

It's a 225-page comic.

The turnaround time for the book was six months.

So it was a team of us, about six to eight people, just working around the clock on this book.

I'm the beginning and the end of it.

Which means that I approve what goes through and what doesn't.

So it's almost as, like, a director.

The idea of converting a script into a comic book is actually a very difficult process.

You start penciling, we go through this process called thumbnailing, which is where you just literally sketch off the idea.

And then after that, you go into, like, your official pencil, which is, like, where you're, like, "Okay, this works.

"Now let's do the paneling and actually draw it in pencil and make that work."

♪ ♪ After that, we ink it.

The inking part's kind of, like, the fun, it's kind of, like, the jazz of it.

And then after that, we scan it in, digitally color it.

That'll make this into this Hitchcockian, like, masterpiece comic.

You're, like, "All right, uh, we build it while we fly."

♪ ♪ So another project that I worked on that was super-awesome, super-epic, a dream come true-- White Castle and Coca-Cola called me and was, like, "Would you like to do the art for our hundredth anniversary?

Would you be interested in designing a cup?"

And I was, like, "Yeah."

And then I was, like, "We should do, like, three cups."

(laughs) So it's like a collector thing.

♪ ♪ Now, I don't know about you guys, but I always wanted to design something like this.

And even from when I was a kid... Because what I really have a lot of passion about is actually, like, making products cool.

And so we developed a narrative from the beginning, and the original Billy Ingram, the founder.

It shows, like, the diner of the first location.

What the first gift card looks like.

So, yeah, this is all my narrative, all my storytelling I came up with.

And then obviously me there at the end as any great Renaissance painter would do, which is include themselves into the masterpiece.

So, yeah, so if you get a chance, look for those cups online, you know?

(laughs) ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) For me, lifting up other people within the community through my work, I would say it's a very critical part of what I do.

♪ ♪ The mural I recently completed was one of, the one and only Hanif.

It's actually on a law firm on Miller and Main.

Hanif is a writer.

Hanif is a famous writer.

Hanif and I went to middle school together.

There's a bit of an age difference, but there's this indirect relationship that we've always had.

♪ ♪ With Hanif, the cool thing about it is that he stayed.

That builds up Columbus.

That was my personal goal, too.

I could move, but I choose not to because the idea of building up Columbus.

♪ ♪ We end up calling the mural The People's Mural because of how the community got behind it.

The process for the The People's Mural was to show Hanif as a mosaic.

A reason I wanted to really inject a lot of color in it has more to do with the quote.

"There is something about setting eyes on the people who hold you up instead of simply imagining them."

♪ ♪ The idea of this is where the characters in the background, and these are people that are in the community, too, I put them all in black and white, and I put Hanif in color because we realize as artists that we're, like, isolated, in the sense we think we're isolated.

And it's actually not the case.

We actually have people who support us and that care, but just going through that process, you get kind of lost and it's pretty exhausting.

So it has a lot of personal meaning, when I designed this.

♪ ♪ So in the summer of 2020, I moved into Aminah Robinson's home through the Columbus Museum of Art.

♪ ♪ Now, what I served as was as the manager, but there's kind of, like, a duality to it, which was that Aminah Robinson was my mentor.

I met Aminah Robinson when I started at the Columbus Museum of Art in May of 2001.

So, it had a, like, a higher purpose for me.

It's a curated museum space, so you're essentially inside Aminah Robinson.

The spirit's definitely there.

The energy is there.

It was probably the least art-productive I was, but the most healing process I've had.

I was able to slow down and, like, actually, like... (exhales) Relax, you know?

Because of the residency, not having to worry about, you know, the finances and stuff like that.

It's the only space where I can, like, really, like, fly.

Where I can, like, just, like, do whatever I want.

You know, it's, like, a healing space, I would say.

♪ ♪ The one thing Aminah said to me that still resonates with me today is, "Keep drawing, don't stop drawing."

And at the time, I'm, like, "Pfft, don't tell me that.

"I draw all the time.

Like, that's absurd, I'll never stop drawing."

But then what happens is that life happens.

(laughs) Life occurs and then you get older and drawing becomes harder.

So that message-- just, like, keep drawing-- has more importance to me now than when she told me that when I was 22 years old, you know?

I mean, but that's just, like, a master teacher, right?

(laughs) So, yes, so that was pretty cool.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: He has such a great laugh.

That is all for this edition of Open Studio.

Next week, as painter Christopher Volpe shows us, Moby-Dick is very much a tale for our time.

>> I saw the parallel between the hubris of Ahab and the peril of America, and I wanted to tap into the mood and the sort of foundational myth of America that I see there.

>> My eyes, I want them blue.

>> BOWEN: And Toni Morrison's debut novel, The Bluest Eye, comes to life courtesy of playwright Lydia Diamond.

>> I can only imagine for Toni Morrison that she wrote it so much longer ago, and it stayed relevant and is something that people love and find and see themselves in is both beautiful and heartbreaking.

>> BOWEN: As always, you can visit us online at GBH.org/OpenStudio.

And you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter, @OpenStudioGBH.

And I'm @TheJaredBowen.

We leave you now with some of the murals dotting the waterfront and beyond in East Boston.

They're part of an initiative by public art group Harbor Arts in homage to the ocean.

I'm Jared Bowen.

Thanks for joining us.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪