MCLA, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA.

"MCLA’s location provided me with endless opportunities to gain professional experience in the arts. I had a lot of fun working as a tour guide at MASS MoCA and in the education department at the Berkshire Museum, which allowed me to figure out what kinds of jobs I would like and to meet a lot of interesting arts professionals along the way. MCLA’s small size helped me develop close working relationships with my favorite professors who always took time to advise me on academic and professional concerns. I really felt like they were with me all the way."

Monica Henry ’07
Education Coordinator, Clark Art Institute

Greg Scheckler

Artist’s Statement

The Relativity of Wrong

By Greg Scheckler

In 1654 the artist Carl Fabritius (Vermeer’s teacher) painted a marvelous image of a goldfinch sitting on a small wall-box. On close inspection, in the original painting you can see that Fabritius’ finch, chained to the box, cannot fly away. Here I have reproduced and then altered Fabritius’ composition, by adding a second bird on the left who is holding the chain. The first finch is no longer trapped. This serves as a good visual metaphor for how a strong education eventually sets you free.

I’ve also added numerous hints regarding how people refine knowledge and theories over time. The title, for example, comes from Isaac Asimov’s essay “The Relativity of Wrong” published in the always marvelous magazine, The Skeptical Inquirer (Fall 1989). Asimov’s essay related to growth, learning, and the clarifying of one’s ideas through excellent critical thinking.

The wood frame is recycled from the found desk from Murdock Hall, an institution of learning. But the focal point of this artwork is the image of the birds, and so I downplayed the found-object nature of the frame and designed it to help bring attention back to the two lovely finches.