“Legends Breathe,” a series by Allison Maria Rodriguez ’03, has been reviewed by the Boston Globe in an article titled “Fantasy is a place to retreat, recharge in these artist videos.”

Cate McQuaid, Globe Correspondent writes,

“The videos are gorgeous to look at, as compulsively gratifying as candy corn. But what are they about? Society often frowns on fantasy as an escapist retreat, and Rodriguez offers a corrective: Fantasy as salvation, a source of solace, a place of regeneration. More than that, and maybe especially for artists, it is a superpower.”

Rodriguez’s installation called “Subversive Dream” is one of AREA CODE Art Fair’s special projects and runs between 6 PM and midnight each night in the windows of Emerson College’s Media Art Gallery. As Rodriguez explains,

“Subversive Dreams reclaims the concept of fantasy as a tool of empowerment for social change, not as a method of escapism. Declared worthless in a capitalist society centered around white patriarchal notions of productivity, fantasy and play are the building blocks in creating something new – they are exercises in resistance and in the possibility of reimagining our world. Operating at the intersection of environmental and social justice, this work also illustrates a harvesting of strength and transcendence through a deep connection to the natural world. It conveys a link between the trauma and healing of our planet to that of the individual. Ultimately, Subversive Dreams emphasizes the interconnection of our universe and celebrates the power of the imagination and its crucial role in the process of actualizing new ways of being.”

Visit Boston Globe to read the full review.

See also: Allison Maria Rodriquez ’03 Featured in AREA CODE Art Fair