Retrospective at UMASS Boston

CCT Program Commemorates

Artist Bill Oakes’ Vision

From April 1 - 30, the Healy Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston will present Mindleaps: The Art, Imagination and Vision of Bill Oakes. This is the first in-depth retrospective of Oakes, who was an innovative artist, illustrator, educator, inventor, children’s book author, and publisher.

Sponsored by the Critical and Creative Thinking Graduate Program, the exhibit will showcase Oakes’ work over the course of his 35-year career during which time he evolved from an illustrator to an abstract artist. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, April 8 from 1:00 – 5:00 PM in the Healy Library 5^th floor gallery.

This collection presents a comprehensive look at the great diversity of Oakes’ art and creative thinking. It includes the illustrations he did for The Washington Post while he was a courtroom artist for the historic Watergate hearings, samples of art done for books and magazines, numerous sketches and paintings, and the stunning abstract art he was inspired to pursue following a painting excursion to Mexico in 1990. Oakes described his abstract paintings as coming from “the intuitive side of thought.”

After five years of exploring and experimenting with color, texture, dimension, and sound, Oakes developed a multi-media art exhibit, "Life Signs: Other Worlds, Other Voices" that was installed at the Museum of Science in Boston during one of the Cyber Arts Festivals. The paintings/constructions had individualized and correlated sound environments. Using infrared technology and cordless headsets viewers were transported on a trip through the universe. Hovering above fascinating aerial views of imaginary civilizations, they saw and heard hints of life on other planets. Oakes followed this series of work with “Fauxtography from Space” and hundreds of digital photographs. Examples of this unique work will also be on display.

Oakes earned a Master’s Degree in Critical and Creative Thinking from UMass Boston where he taught creativity workshops and made special presentations after graduating. One of his great passions was nurturing creativity and inquisitiveness in children and adults. He did this through his own great enthusiasm for life, through his art and books, and by conducting numerous workshops and art classes. He felt his role and that of other educators was to be “facilitators of discovery.” Earlier in his career, he was an art instructor at the New England School of Art & Design and at the Art Institute in Boston. Since 1980, he has been listed in Who’s Who in Art in America. A resident of Hampton, New Hampshire for the last seven years of his life, Oakes passed on in October 2005.

The exhibit can be viewed at Healy Library on the UMass Boston campus, 100 Morrissey Blvd., April 1 – 30. The library hours are: Mon. – Thur. 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM; Fri. 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM; Sat. 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sun. 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (note: the library is closed on Easter Sunday, April 16; please check the library website for changes in hours).

RSVP: March 31

Nina Greenwald, Director

Critical and Creative Thinking Graduate Program

Phone: 617-287-6523

Email: nlgreenwald@comcast.net