JP artist remembered with exhibit

Robert A. “Bob” Raymond, a Jamaica Plain photographer and videographer who died on Feb. 27 after a short illness, is being remembered with an exhibit at Cambridge’s Mobius gallery through May 5.

Raymond, 59, was involved for 30 years with the Mobius Artist Group, which was founded by his wife, Marilyn Arsem. He documented its work with more than 15,000 slides and 10,000 digital images.

Born and raised in the French-Canadian community of Woonsocket, R.I., Raymond earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Rhode Island and later completed work for a master’s degree in communication theory at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

He was an early advocate of public access television. Soon after college, he worked as assistant director at the Boston Film/Video Foundation. He went on to work in the television industry for 30 years, serving as a well-respected engineering manager and a regional field producer.

But it was his photography for which he was most admired and will be long remembered. His work constitutes a vast archive of performance in Boston, much of it focused on the work created by Boston’s Mobius Artist Group, of which he was a member for more than 30 years. Exhibitions of his photographs have been shown at galleries both here and abroad, and they have been published internationally in artist books and periodicals.

When not behind the camera, he could be found in his Jamaica Plain kitchen, where he demonstrated artistic skills of an entirely different manner—as a chef and lover of great food. His time in the kitchen went beyond the ingredient list to researching and understanding the history and culture of the foods he prepared.

Surviving are his wife, the performance artist and teacher Marilyn Arsem, and a large extended family, including cousins and their children in Florida, Rhode Island and Quebec; sisters- and brothers-in-law; nieces and nephews; the many artists with whom he collaborated over the past three decades; and especially the members of the Mobius Artist Group.

The exhibit “this moment: missives from another world and other works” runs through May 5 at Mobius, 55 Norfolk St., Cambridge, MA 02139. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be made to Mobius at the same address. For more, see the Mobius website at mobius.org and Raymond’s website at moeboyd.net.

From press materials provided by Mobius.

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