WILLIAMSTOWN - How the political, artistic, and cultural present shapes the writing of art history will be the topic debated by fellows from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, scholars from the Getty Research Institute's residential program, and outside invitees on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12 and 13, during a Clark/Getty Workshop.
On Saturday, Oct. 13, at 5:30 p.m., the public is invited to listen to a summary of the group's findings of the previous two days during the Clark Conversation "Art History and the Present." Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Art history is often seen as a discipline that seeks to explore the past, but the present - the here and now of any given society, its art and its culture - usually shapes questions about objects and the kinds of histories of art that are written. Recently, the explosion of interest in contemporary art and the relative neglect of the art of past epochs is a growing trend among students and even scholars. Why should this be? And how did certain forms of art in the past become privileged by histories of art?
Participating Clark Fellows are Johanne Lamoureux, professor of art history, McGill University; Kobena Mercer, professor of art history and theory, University of Middlesex; Erica Naginski, associate professor, art history and theory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Michael Taylor, curator of modern and contemporary art, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Getty Scholars include Susan Buck-Morss, professor of political philosophy and social theory in the department of government, and a member of the graduate fields of German studies and history of art, Cornell University; Leonard Folgerait, professor at Vanderbilt University, department of the history of art; Ian Balfour, associate professor of English, department of English, York University, U.K.; Paul Smith, chair in the history of art, University of Warwick, U.K.
Outside invitees are Lynne Cooke, curator, Dia Foundation; Jonathan Harris, University of Liverpool, department of art history; and Tina Takemoto, California College of the Arts.
The Clark is one of the country's foremost art museums, as well as a dynamic center for research and higher education in art history and criticism. The institute is one of only a few art museums in the U.S. that is also a major research and academic center, with an international fellowship program and regular conferences, symposia, and colloquia, and an important art research library. The Clark, together with Williams College, jointly sponsors one of the nation's leading masters of arts programs in art history, which has been part of the professional development of a significant number of directors of art museums, curators, and scholars.
The Clark is at 225 South St. The galleries are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission June 1 through Oct. 31 is $12.50 for adults, free for children 18 and under, members, and students with valid ID. Admission is free November through May. For more information, call 413-458-2303 or visit www.clarkart.edu
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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