just April 24, 2012

ARTS

Photos: Robyn Spector and Asher Krell/Justice File Photos and Courtesy of Office of the Arts. Design: Robyn Spector/the Justice.

presents

Art HappeningsVarious performance and visual art pieces will occur through-out the day in many locations around campus.All day, campuswide

Etgar Keret: ‘Suddenly, a Knock on the Door’Israeli writer Etgar Keret will give a reading from his new book of short stories, Suddenly, a Knock on the Door. He will also screen the five-minute film, “What About Me?” Keret is well-known for his writing for sto-ries, film scripts and graphic novels. He is currently writing a film called Jerusalem, I Love You. His work is frequently aired on the National Public Radio program This American Life.3 to 5 p.m. in the Mandel Center for Humanities Audito-rium (G03)

Rivers Are Lost in the Sea: The Dance of ‘Lucy’s Daugh-ters’In a choreographed dance inspired by Kiki Smith’s artwork in the Rose Art Museum, Rachel Klein ’12 and two other dancers will perform Klein’s interpretation of “Lucy’s Daughters,” a ink interpretation of a family tree. Read JustArts’ interview with Klein on p. 18.4 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum

Queering the RoseAs part of Pride Month, Triskelion, Brandeis’ GLBT/Queer and Allied Student Organization, is sponsoring walking tours through the Rose Art Museum focusing on the queerness present in a selection of art and art-ists.4 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum

Intersections: BEAMS at 50The Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio and the Rose Art Museum are both celebrating their fiftieth anniversaries this year. Graduate and undergraduate composers, along with other studio-affiliated musi-cians will be performing experimental pieces created on synthesizers, drum machines and with computer programs.7 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum

Boris’ Kitchen: Lot of Strings AttachedBoris’ Kitchen’s semester performance is entirely writ-ten and performed by students. Featuring video and live sketches, the yearly show always gets its audience laughing. Expect outrageous costumes, physical gags and maybe even some highbrow humor. Tickets are $5; $3 for the Brandeis community. Ages 16 and older. 8 p.m. in Carl J. Shapiro Theater, Shapiro Campus Center

Joshua Gordon: Midcentury ModernInspired by the current ex-hibit “Art at the Origin: The Early 60s,” Lydian String Quartet cellist Prof. Joshua Gordon (MUS) will perform music by composers John Cage, Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Morton Feldman and Vincent Per-

sichetti; all central in crafting music from the 1960s era. 1 p.m in the Rose Art Museum

‘Next to Normal’The Tony Award-winning musical about a fam-ily’s struggle with mental illness will be per-formed by Free Play Theater Cooperative. Di-rected by David Benger '14, music direction by Bryan Belok ’12, and stage managed by Rachel Huvard ’14 and Jessica Pizzuti ’15. Ages 16 and older. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m in the Schwartz Hall auditorium

“Beyond the Boundaries”The Brandeis Theater Company will perform an original abstract storytelling experience that converges dance, sculpture and music together all at once. Choreographer Susan Dibble and sculptor Tory Fair collaborate together for the first time to try and discover how mul-tiple art-forms interact on one stage through many audio-visual formats. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m in the Spingold Theater Center

Drag Makeup workshopReinvent yourself and learn some tips and tricks for how to apply flawless drag makeup as part of Pride Month. In a preparation for the May 1 Drag Show, members of Triskelion will help all people interested of any skill level with various makeup techniques. They request if you have your own makeup to please bring it though some basic supplies will be provided. 3 to 4 p.m. in the Intercultural Center Multipur-pose Room

Boris’ Kitchen: Lots of Strings AttachedSee Friday’s schedule.6 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater

Saturday, April 28

The Opening CelebrationThis year’s theme for the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts is “Art Acti-vates.” On a campus as active and creative as ours, it is only fitting that the festival reflects the way art activates dreams, revolution and the future.5 to 5:30 p.m. in the Carl J.

Shapiro Campus Center Atrium

Art and Angst: Is Pain Necessary? Composer Dana Maiben, poet and writer Diana Dur-ham, music scholar and viola da gambist Laury Gutiér-rez, and artist Michele L’Heureux will lead a discussion on the effects of suffering on creativity and whether pain can be inspirational or detrimental to an artist’s process. Writer Rosie Rosenzweig will moderate the panel and harpsichordist and fortepianist Vivian Mont-gomery will act as respondent.12:15 p.m. in the Women’s Studies Research Center

PonderTravis Alford, a Pd.H. candidate in Music Composi-tion and Theory, has put together a recital inspired by Handel’s water music, specially designed, with aesthet-ics and acoustics in mind, that will be performed out-side of the Brandeis chapels.6 p.m. at Chapels Pond

Brandeis Early Music Ensemble: “En las Riberas Ultimas de Espana”Under Prof. Sarah Mead’s (MUS) direction, the Early Museum Ensemble will perform a repertoire of Span-ish Renaissance music, reflecting love and the joys and troubles it can bring.7 p.m. at the Harlan Chapel

Music and Dance of GhanaAll semester, master drummer Nani Agbeli has worked with the students in his “MUS 87: Music and Dance of Ghana” to teach them everything he knows on the sub-ject. Together as the ensemble Fafali, the students and their teacher will unveil what they have studied about the Ewe tradition of West Africa through a musical per-formance.8 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center

Slam poetry performance and workshopPrize-winning slam poet Regie Cabico will perform, lead a workshop and hold a talkback on the topics of sexuality, ethnicity and nationality. Cabico’s work has appeared in over 30 anthologies and has taken three top awards in national poetry slams among other victories. 8 p.m. in the Lurias, Hassenfeld Conference Center

Feel the PulseAdagio Dance Company’s semester performance fea-tures dances in styles ranging from hip-hop to tap to contemporary. Free for Brandeis community, however a $5 donation is suggested. To purchase $15 reserved seats, email Marla Merchut (mmerchut@brandeis.edu). 8 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom

Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts

ARTActivate

Friday, April 27

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTS. DESIGN BY RACHEL BURKHOFF/the Justice.

Schedule of EventsThursday, April 26

26 TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012 ● THE JUSTICE

“Beyond the Boundaries”The Brandeis Theater Company will perform an original abstract storytelling experience that converges dance, sculpture and music together all at once. Choreographer Susan Dibble and sculptor Tory Fair collaborate together for the first time to try and discover how mul-tiple art-forms interact on one stage through many audio-visual formats. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m in the Spingold Theater Center

Drag Makeup workshopReinvent yourself and learn some tips and tricks for how to apply flawless drag makeup as part of Pride Month. In a preparation for the May 1 Drag Show, members of Triskelion will help all people interested of any skill level with various makeup techniques. They request if you have your own makeup to please bring it though some basic supplies will be provided. 3 to 4 p.m. in the Intercultural Center Multipur-pose Room

Boris’ Kitchen: Lots of Strings AttachedSee Friday’s schedule.6 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater

Feel the PulseSee Thursday’s schedule. 8 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom

‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’BORG will present the comedy-musical created by writer/director Joss Whedon and originally performed by stars Neil Patrick Harris and Na-than Fillion. Sing-Along Blog tells the story of an unfortunate aspiring super-villain, Dr. Horrible, competing for the girl of his dreams Penny with his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer. Ages 12 and older.At 8 p.m in the South Campus Commons

Brandeis-Wellesley OrchestraBrandeis and Wellesley musicians will come to-gether to perform the Walton Concerto for Viola (1929) and the classically spirited Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (1878). Featuring winners of the BWO concerto competition, Yoni Battat ‘13 and Suyun Lee, a Wellesley senior, and conductor Neal Hampton, the orchestra is considered one of New England’s premiere student orchestras.8:30 p.m in the Slosberg Music Center

Folk Festival

Located on the Great Lawn

Nicholas BogosianClassic folk artist with claw hammer, banjo, fiddle, foot percussion and enthusiastic vocals performs.1 p.m.

Heather Dale Dale’s style is a mix of Celtic folk tradition, world music and rock.1:50 p.m.

Nikolas Metaxas Metaxas has been described as a mix between a young El-vis Costello, Brandon Boyd and an early John Mayer.2:40 p.m.

Too Cheap for InstrumentsOne of Brandeis’ all-female a cappella group and hosts of the festival will be showing off its melodies and percus-sive beats.3:30 p.m.

The Four Legged Faithful Using folk and bluegrass instruments, they will cre-ate authentically touching music.4 p.m.

Tripping Lily The group is a pop vocal quartet whose use of acous-tic instrumental and vocal arrangement is unique and aurally enticing.4:50 p.m.

Sunday, April 29

Sidewalk SamCommunity artist and chalk-draw-ing extraordinaire Robert Guille-min composes original works and instruct festival-goers on the art of chalk drawing. Throughout the day outside the Shapiro Campus Center

Big FuzzyBrandeis’ own folk outfit, Big Fuzzy, will perform a set featuring numbers from singer Anneke Reich ’13 and guitarist Max Ken-nedy’s first album, All Our Enemies. Big Fuzzy has previously performed on campus at Cholmondeley’s and other venues to great success.1 to 1:20 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza

SpringFestHeadliner Childish Gambino and openers fun., Phantogram and Nite Jewel come together on Chapels Field for an afternoon of hip-hop, rock, folk and electronic music that is not to be missed. Student disc jockeys also perform, and prizes and free food and beer (for those over 21) will be available.1 to 6 p.m. on Chapels Field

Juggling ExtravaganzaThe Brandeis Juggling Club will show off their impeccable tim-ing and rhythm in this circus act.1 to 1:20 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater

Top ScoreThe six-piece student-run orchestra will perform familiar pieces from some film and theater favorites.1 to 1:20 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium

Mysteries of the Middle East: The Miras Project ISix undergraduates will perform Middle Eastern music under the training of American Council of Learned Societies New Fac-ulty Fellow in Music Ann E. Lucas.1 to1:20 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

Mysteries of the Middle East: The Miras Project IIMaster musicians from Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine come to-gether as the Miras Project to perform mystical works from the Middle East.1:30 to 1:50 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

Miss Tess and the Bon Ton ParadeGet in the swing of things with vintage jazz songstress Miss Tess. The performers, who hearken back to the days of classic Ameri-can blues and jazz, will liven up the afternoon with their big band sound, which earned them a nomination for Best Jazz Band from the 2012 New England Music Awards. The event is sponsored by the Brandeis Swingers, who will teach the audience some vin-tage moves.1:30 to 2:20 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza

Songs from ‘In the Heights’Hip-hop group Kaos Kids and other singers and dancers bring their impressive Brandeis Cares set back for another go. In the Heights, a Tony Award winning musical about urban life in New York City, features energized dance routines and dramatic songs.1:30 to 1:50 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium

Beyond the BoundariesSee Saturday’s schedule2 p.m.in the Spingold Theater Center

‘Next to Normal’See Saturday’s schedule2 p.m. in the Schwartz Hall Auditorium

IveriaProf. John Burt (ENG) and his Russian folk music group, Iveria, will perform traditional and religious Georgian works. 2 to 2:20 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along BlogSee Saturday’s schedule2 p.m. in the South Campus Commons

Animation FestivalWant to see how the creators of Up and Wall-E got their start? Check out the Animation Festival, featuring short works by artists from around the country. The Festival is curated by the award-winning animator Julie Zammarchi.2 - 5 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater

Lydian String Quartet: Tribute to President Fred LawrenceMusic professors Daniel Stepner, Mary Ruth Ray, Joshua Gor-don and Judith Eissenberg will perform string works by Prof. Yu-Hui Chang (MUS) in honor of the university’s president. 2:30 to 2:50 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

Banjo Breakdown with Nicholas BogosianHead for the hills with Appalachian banjoist Nicholas Bogo-sian. Originally from Texas, Bogosian fell in love with old-timey Americana music, and invites listeners to “catch that spirit.”2:30 to 2:50 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza

Brandeis Ballroom: Latin FormationThe Brandeis Ballroom Dance team will demonstrate its Latin flavor with cha-chas, rumbas and salsas. 2:30 to 2:50 pm. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium

Rose exhibition toursExperience one of Brandeis’ most engaging venues, the Rose Art Museum. Students will lead tours and comment on some of the museum’s newest acquisitions.3 to 3:40 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

Clavichord ConcertUlrika Davidsson, an assistant professor of organ and historical keyboards at University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music,

will play works by Bach on a clavichord, a stringed instrument similar to an acoustic keyboard.3 p.m. in the Rapaport Treasure Hall

Boston Children’s Theatre Show ChoirSome of the most talented kids at the Festival haven’t even gradu-ated high school yet. The Boston Children’s Theater Show Choir features 20 talented singers from the Boston Area. The group per-forms all types of music, including show tunes, pop and rock hits.3:00 to 3:20 p.m. around campus starting in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza

Brass Band Parade MayhemThe Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society and the What Cheer? Brigade team up for over an hour of brass band controlled chaos. Joining in the spectacle are profession hula hoopers the Boston Hoop Troupe. The Parade will travel around campus, starting at the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza. 3:30 to 4:50 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza

All About Korea: Korean Performance ArtsExplore Korean culture with traditional and K-Pop music (sung by Christy Kang ’13 and So mie Choo ’13) and the celebrated fan dance, or Buchaechum. Audience members can make their own fans after the performance. 3:30 to 3:50 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium

Freshman 15Brandeis’ newest a cappella group, Freshman 15, performs popu-lar songs from Coldplay, the Civil Wars and others.4 p.m in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

The Gentlemen’s Very High Art Society of South WalthamGraduate student composers will present their elegant brass and string compositions.4 to 4:20 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

Bella PietraThis imaginative dance performance from the Allegro Dance Company tells the story of what happens in a museum after the doors close for the evening and the statues come alive. Alumnae dancers take a page from The Nutcracker and Night at the Mu-seum in this exquisite performance.4:30 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum

A Cappella FestHosted by Starving Artists, 11 a cappella groups share the stage at this miniature festival. The performance seeks to raise chari-table funds to support local music and theater education pro-grams, so a $3 donation is encouraged.7 p.m. at the Slosberg Music Center

‘Imagine’The final event of the festival is an artistic pajama party. Molly Nathanson ’12 directs a dance-theater piece about a little girl’s dreams turning to reality. Audience members are encouraged to come in sleepwear and stay for milk and cookies after the show.10 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium

ROBYN SPECTOR/Justice File Photo

THE JUSTICE ● TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012 27

Tiny copper people, carefully crafted into detailed creations will find a home in the trees of Mandel Quad during the coming week. Balls and balls of yarn that have been transformed into knit graffiti to paint the campus with color. These are only two of the various visual art projects that student grant recipi-ents will display to transform the cam-pus during the Leonard Bernstein Fes-tival of the Creative Arts, which will begin this Thursday.

Sarah Bierman ’14, creator of The En-chanted Life of Trees project, to which the copper people belong, and Sarah Hershon ’14, responsible for the Knit Graffiti project, received funding after being selected to display their projects in the festival taking place April 26 to 29. Students applied for the grants with a proposal, which detailed their project, the purpose of the work and how much funding would be necessary.

The idea for Bierman’s project began last semester when she created two-inch copper foil sculptures to hang in trees for her “Blurring the Boundaries” sculpture class. Tasked with creating a project that interacts closely with its environment, Bierman came up what she viewed as a simple project: “little copper people, chilling out in trees.” Af-ter hearing a few weeks later that stu-dents could apply for grants to partici-pate in the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts, Bierman decided to turn her five tiny copper people into something big.

“I explained that I thought the copper people are very telling of the human ex-perience. They are the ideal version of the human experience,” Bierman said of her grant proposal. “The copper peo-ple will interact with the environment effortlessly,” she said.

In rain or snowfall, Bierman says the copper people will adapt to look more like their environment, unlike humans, who are challenged to craft unforeseen circumstances into something mean-ingful. “For me, the copper people suc-ceed in something that humans really have to try hard to succeed at,” Bier-man explained. “They age and tarnish, but still retain their character even if their shine is hidden.”

Since Bierman’s project was accepted for the festival at the beginning of the semester, she has spent hours craft-ing her copper people which will be displayed in the trees of Mandel Quad throughout the week. All engaged in different actions, Bierman has created a copper Rapunzel, a man playing an accordion to a girl on a balcony and a girl reading a book to a bunch of kids, among dozens of others.

While the ideas came randomly at first, Bierman has since started gain-ing inspiration from some of her favor-ite feature length films and TV shows. “If there are people in it, that means they’re doing something. I watched You’ve Got Mail a bunch of times and I have copper people sharing coffee,” she said. Many of the copper people, she

says, are portraits of herself, inspired by relationships with her own friends.

For Bierman, her hope is that the cop-per people will invite viewers to look more closely at their environments, and that the way they make her feel will translate into something more univer-sal for the campus.

“When I met with the entire grant recipient group in January, [Associate Director of the Office of the Arts] In-grid Schorr used the word ‘enchanted.’ I didn’t think of it when I was writing my proposal, but when she said that I thought it was the perfect word,” Bierman recalled. “Because yes, they are people doing everyday things, but they’re in trees and they’re shiny and that has a feeling of enchantment for me,” she said.

During the festival, as spectators move from Mandel Quad down toward lower campus, the art will transition from the tiny copper creations to knit graffiti, which will paint the area be-hind the Shapiro Campus Center.

“My project is called yarn bombing. It’s kind of like knit graffiti. It’s this emerging graffiti form that’s come about in the last five years. It consists of covering things, usually [outdoors], in pieces of knitted fabric. So lots of times it’s light posts or trees or park-ing meters or bicycle [racks],” Hershon explained. She sees the project as not only beautiful, but as something fun and whimsical with its bright shades of pink and orange.

A double major in Women’s and Gen-der Studies and African and African American Studies, Hershon explained that though she’s never had any fine arts training, she began knitting six years ago and has always been inter-ested in crafts.

Since being selected for the grants in January, Hershon has spent hundreds of hours knitting with others in prepa-ration for the project.

“I wanted to make it as community-involving as possible. The main goal of this entire project was just to get people on campus to knit and to get people on campus who do knit to come together and do it,” she explained.

Hershon therefore began organizing weekly meetings where students and faculty gather to knit for the project. With eight others helping Hershon knit for the upcoming festival, she says she’s done about 60 percent of the knit-ting on her own while the others have helped her cover the rest.

“I think that it’s absolutely some-thing that starts a conversation. One of my big things is starting a conversation about what is art versus craft,” Her-shon explained of the project.

For both Bierman and Herson, the hope is that their projects will cause people to stop and look, enjoying the aesthetics of the work displayed during the festival.

“I hope to inspire the glance of an eye or two. I hope to allow the viewer a chance to stumble upon discovery. Art is transformative, sites are moving, and when I get that feeling I need to pass it on,” Bierman wrote in her proposal.

Festival-sponsored artists reinvent areas of campus

By dafna fineJUSTICE SEnIor wrITEr

JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice

GORGEOUS GRAFFITI: Sarah Hershon ’14 knits part of her yarn-bombing project for the Festival of the Arts.

JENNY CHENG/the Justice

LIFE IN MINIATURE: Sarah Bierman ’14 sets up her art exhibit made of copper, “The Enchanted Life of Trees.”

JENNY CHENG/the Justice

TAKE A RIDE: one of Bierman’s copper structures balances on a tree branch in the middle of campus.

Outdoorart

THe JUSTiCe ● TUeSdaY, april 24, 2012 28