Save the Bongers!!

I'm not the only one who has noticed the decline of the Kendall Band, the interactive musical sculpture by Paul Matisse at Kendall/MIT. So has the artist--and he's put in a lot of very late nights to fix it, according to a story by Mac Daniel in today's Globe.

Trouble is, Matisse is getting along in years. Understandbaly, he's worried about the future of the band. Understandably, the T says it has no money to kep it up:

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesaturo acknowledges that the artwork is not a high priority for the cash-strapped agency.

He said the T does not have the expertise to repair the art work, which officially became the MBTA's property after it was installed as part of the first program in the nation to put works of art in public transportation systems.

The T found $10,000 for recent repairs to the sculpture, but told Matisse it cannot pay to fix anything else.

Matisse wonders if a little charitable foundation might be established to endow the Band's maintenance. I'm in... Maybe the Cambridge Arts Council could accept donations and administer it?

Photo by Evan Richman, Globe staff