Green Fields of the Mind
June 11 - July 23, 1993
To lead us into the ball playing months of summer, the Somerville Museum and The Sports Museum of New England proudly present a pair of exhibitions for the entire family: Green Fields of the Mind and Sandlot Success.
Green fields of the mind (Main Gallery)
Green Fields of the Mind takes its title from the words of former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti and presents the work of Boston artist Susan Miller-Havens, who creates heroic paintings of baseball players. In her work, Miller-Havens combines a classic connection of the athlete with th dreamlike environment of memory. In addition, the artist has selected poetry and prose from writers and ball players to meld wit the paintings. Ongoing play-by-play commentary by the late sports announcer and Baseball Hall of Fame Red Barber, will bring the game home to any visitor with an imagination, young or old. This audio production includes the Boston Braves vs. The Brooklyn Dodgers (1950) and the Brooklyn Dodgers vs. The New York Yankees (1949 World Series).
Sandlot Success (The Sloane Gallery)
Sandlot Success, a companion to Green Fields of the Mind, looks at the local color and history of the great American game of baseball. Somerville boasts 14 Major Leaguers and their stories are told here with photo-he and memorabilia. With images from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and the Somerville Museum we will learn about ‘Pie’ Traynor, ‘Deacon’ Danny MacFayden, ‘Shanty’ Hogan, and their fellow ballplayers. Come share the memories and inspirations of these men who started in the Somerville sandlots and made their way to the big leagues.
Sanlot Dreams (Playing continuously in the Sloane Gallery)
Sandlot Dreams, was filmed and directed by video artist Sean Perry especially for this exhibition. It is a full length video presentation combining historical photographs with interviews of Somerville residents who since childhood were involved in the sport of baseball and went on to make important contributions to amateur baseball. The video includes champions at the NCAA and Olympic levels, as well as figures in women’s softball. Sandlot Dreams was produced by Susan Kaur Kelly.
