If there is something to desire…

If there is something to desire

Cover of Pavlova's poetry collection, If There is Something to Desire, Knopf, 2010

Pavlova’s poetry says it all.

A friend of mine told me about a class she took in college. The professor read a poem in Russian, and then asked the class what the poem was about. Despite the fact that no one spoke the language, apparently the whole class correctly identified the topic of the poem. Tomorrow, Pavlova is coming with her husband; she will read her poems in Russian, and he will translate in English. I can’t wait to experience her poems in both languages tomorrow at the Newhouse.

posted in fall 2011, Newhouse Center for the Humanities, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Biodiversity goes artsy

I keep looking at the cover of the fall arts calendar, and discovering new, little details (can you tell I liked Where’s Waldo as a kid?). My current favorite detail in this tableau is the staring contest going on between the snake and the fish in the fish bowl in the bottom right corner.

Isabella Kirkland is the painter who created this stunning work. Her process is fascinating. She follows the naturalist tradition of going out in the field and sketching flora and fauna, usually in their natural setting. She then creates life-sized paintings, grouping her subjects thematically. The painting above, Back from the series Taxa depicts plants and animals that have come back from the brink of extinction.

Kirkland has a great website where you can see a species key for each of her paintings. Turns out my buddies the fish and the snake are actually an Owens pupfish and an Antiguan racer!

posted in Davis Museum, fall 2011 | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Making bookish hip (literally)

Self Portrait as a Stack of Books, Jess Wheelock, digital print, 2009

Jess Wheelock, Multimedia Content Producer extraordinaire in the Communication & Public Affairs Office at Wellesley, is going to be part of the Brandt Gallery’s Brandt 21 exhibit in Cleveland next month. Here’s how the Brandt describes her work:

When Jess was young, she thought that she didn’t have enough problems to be an artist. Now she realizes that she has all sorts of problems. Maybe it’s a bad idea to say that she has “problems” because that is sort of a vague and loaded word. I mean, when a person says “problems” maybe you imagine something really big and awful. But sometimes little problems are big problems, if you know what I mean. And anyways, not all problems are bad. Well, problems are bad, but they’re also occasions for opportunity. Or that’s what people like to say when its time to make the best out of a situation.

Maybe this is getting confusing. Let’s try this again. Jess is interested in making fun out of problems – making fun with failure and calamity.

She has done some fantastic and whimsical work for Wellesley. My favorite is this video she did inspired by Francis Alys’s piece Sometimes Making Something Leads to Nothing

posted in fall 2011, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

take a flip through fall 2011

The fall 2011 arts calendar is online!

posted in fall 2011 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Music in the clouds

Musicians playing at Lake Agnes in Banff

Musicians playing at Lake Agnes in Banff

ArtSee has been quiet these past few weeks because I have been away on a lovely, multi-generational family vacation in Alberta, Canada.

I love family vacation. As a child, every summer my grandparents, parents, sister and I would take summer trips together. My father can tell some great stories about driving a lime green dodge neon minivan through the narrow streets of Italy with five backseat drivers. This year, we had family vacation 2.0., as my husband and I traveled with my sister, her boyfriend, and my parents (and yes, we rented a minivan, although this time it was a sedate silver). I donned my hiking boots, and we had a wonderful week of walks in the mountains, roasting marshmallows, and spotting wildlife.

In Banff National Park, we parked at Lake Louise and hiked up to the teahouse at Lake Agnes. To everyone’s surprise and delight, two musicians had hiked up the mountain (it’s a 3.8 km hike) with their instruments, and were playing Bach in the open air. The combination of the view, the mountain air, the ones I love, and, of course, beautiful chamber music, was divine.

(it’s hard to see in the picture, but the cellist has a can of bear spray next to her pack)

posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

the composers are coming!

Every July, Wellesley’s relatively quiet summertime campus gets a shot of energy when the Composers Conference comes into town. I used to be acutely aware of their arrival, because my office was right next to the percussion ensemble rehearsal room (acoustic insulation can only do so much!). It’s a wonderful program that has been going on for decades. Professional musicians, amateur musicians, and ten composer fellows get together for two weeks of coaching and comraderie. During the conference, new music by all ten composers is performed by the professional musicians, who also serve as the coaches for participants.

The concerts are a wonderful opportunity to hear new works by emerging artists. I am looking forward to hearing Yu-Hui Chang’s new piece, because I just loved her composition for Wellesley’s Choir and Triple Helix Piano Trio that debuted at the college last spring.

posted in Concert Series | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

sounds of summer at Wellesley

This summer, the Wellesley College Guild of Carillonneurs is hosting a summer concert series. Every Saturday, from 6:00-6:30 PM, a carilloneur will climb up Galen Tower and give a short performance.

Full series info is on the Events page of the Wellesley website.

I’m planning on heading out to Wellesley at least once this summer with picnic and blanket in hand!

posted in Wellesley traditions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Bay State Banner reviews El Anatsui exhibition at the Davis

The Bay State Banner just gave a glowing review of El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, which is in its final two weeks at the Davis.

posted in Davis Museum | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wellesley alums in the arts being fabulous

There SO MANY Wellesley alumnae making a difference in the arts. It’s always a blast going to conferences, because every time I leave Wellesley to mix and mingle with colleagues in the field, I have a chance to meet fantastic alumnae (Michele Oshima, Director of the Sorensen Center for the Arts at Babson College, Catherine Peterson, Executive Director of ArtsBoston, Catherine Stephan, Managing Director at Yellow Barn, Chris Santos, who oversees Arts Live at Boston University, and Louise Basbas, Director of Music Before 1800 to name a few).

A colleague just sent me this article about Wellesley alumna Carrie Hammond, who has just been appointed interim CEO of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Congratulations Carrie!!

posted in Wellesley alumnae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ARTsee is hitting the road for the summer!

This is not my car (but I wish it was).  I was driving home in the nasty rain Boston has been hit with all week, stuck in traffic, and I stopped behind this car.  I thought it was the perfect imagery to accompany this post/I am more than a little jealous of this person’s vanity plate!

ARTsee is hitting the road for the summer, but will be back in August.  Check back then, and best wishes for a great summer!

posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment