Review

We saw your boobs, and your boobs, and your boobs, Seth MacFarlane sang – his teeth so white and his privilege so resplendent – embracing among these opportunities to peek at the breasts of actresses scenes of violence and rape, such as Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry or Jody Foster in The Accused. I had spent a lot of time cutting up onions and peppers and apples and pickles for my potato salad – I had even ironed my cloth napkins, in preparation for the arrival of my Oscars posse, a group of less than a half dozen who have been watching the Academy Awards together for years and years.

The exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston, should disabuse anyone who clings to the notion that art in museums is removed from the real world. “This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics of the 1980s” is a visual history of the decade roughly sandwiched between the election of Ronald Reagan and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Welcome to the glamorous world of the New York art scene. What, you don't have famous artist friends to meet in New York? Not to worry. You're invited to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where "Alex Katz Prints," the featured summer exhibition, will introduce you to the artist's sophisticated circle of family and friends.

The Institute of Contemporary Art on Boston’ waterfront is an ambitious museum and, so far, its reach has not exceeded its grasp. Case in point, the two exhibitions installed within weeks of each other, plus a showing of new acquisitions. It’s a bonanza for museum goers.

Figuring Color opened in February and will be on view through May 20. The paintings and works on paper by German artist Charline von Heyl will be around until July 15.