April Events Scheduled at the Clark
WILLIAMSTOWN - The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute has scheduled a number of events and exhibits during the month of April.Through April 20: The Clark recently acquired 16 drawings by 17th-century French landscape artist Claude Lorrain. The acquisition makes the Clark holder of one of the most important collections of Claude drawings outside of Europe. The focused exhibition "Claude Lorrain: New Acquisitions" marks the first time these 16 drawings will be on view at the Clark.
Through May 4: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Frederic Remington shaped America's vision of the West with illustrations, sculpture, and painting. "Remington Looking West" brings together the Clark's iconic works by the artist with those from public and private collections to explore how he came to this vision and how it evolved throughout his career. Also included in the exhibition are photographs, drawings, and scrapbooks from his personal collection that allow you to "look over Remington's shoulder" and understand his working process.
April 1: Clark Fellow Aruna D'Souza, assistant professor of art history and women's studies at Binghamton University, State University of New York, will present the lecture "Strange Bedfellows: Félix Vallatton, Marriage, and the Dreyfus Affair." Admission is free, held at 5:30 p.m.
April 5: Catch a free screening of "The Searchers"(1956, 119 min., not rated) at 2 p.m. Director John Ford transcends himself in this depiction of John Wayne as an Indian hunter and hater, who travels long and far to find a niece abducted by Indians. But when he finds her, Natalie Wood had been acculturated into the tribe, which creates a memorable internal conflict.
April 5: Over the a weekend, scholars will discuss the complex and controversial subject of the relationship between homosexuality, queer theory and queer studies, and the discipline of art history. The group includes many of the scholars who were pioneers of thinking about how sexual identity inflects the way we write art history and the way art is made and understood. A public conversation, "How Queer Is Art History?", will be a summary of the group's findings of the previous two days. The conversation is free and will be held at 5:30 p.m.
April 6, 20, 27: Williams College music students will perform Arts Break Concerts at 1 p.m., filling the Impressionist Gallery with melodies.
April 6: The Biava Quartet, winner of the 2003 Naumburg Chamber Music Award, have quickly established themselves as one of the top young American quartets. The quartet will perform at 3. Dedicated to the performance of the classical repertoire, the quartet maintains a strong commitment to the commissioning and performance of contemporary works. Tickets are $15 ($12 members). Call 413-458-0524 or visit www.clarkart.edu for tickets.
April 10: Lunchtime Gallery Talk - Discover "The Louvre from the Pont Neuf" by Camille Pissarro with Sarah Lees, associate curator of European art. Free, held at 12:30 p.m.
April 12: The Klezmatics, superstars of the klezmer world, will bring their world-renowned sound to the Clark at 8 p.m. for "The Klezmatics/Wonder Wheel: The Jewish Songs of Woody Guthrie." Working with Nora Guthrie, the Klezmatics have set music to more than two dozen of Woody Guthrie's lyrics; not strictly klezmer music, but whatever music fit. The result, the Grammy-winning "Wonder Wheel," provides the inspiration for this concert. Tickets are $24 ($20 members). For tickets call 413-458-0524, visit www.clarkart.edu, or purchase them in the Museum Shop.
April 13: Horse around at the Clark during a free family afternoon inspired by the "Remington Looking West" exhibition. From noon to 4, saddle up and ride a pony, create bucking bronco sculptures, be entertained by Cowboy Rudy, visit the miniature horse petting zoo, and more.
April 15: Clark Fellow Kobena Mercer of Middlesex University will present the lecture "Romare Bearden's Visual Modernism: Critical Dialogues in the Diaspora Imagination." Free, held at 5:30 p.m.
April 16: The Williamstown Jazz Festival presents Gabriela Montero at 8 p.m. at the Clark. Argentinian virtuoso pianist Montero is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest pianists of her generation. She is also an accomplished improviser, and during this concert she will demonstrate her talent. Call 413-662-2111 or visit www.williamstownjazz.com for tickets and information.
April 17: Hear Michael Govan, chief executive officer and Wallis Annenberg director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in conversation with Michael Conforti, director of the Clark. This event is part of the Director's Perspective series. During the series, directors of major museums in the U.S. and abroad whose work is expanding and transforming the museum field present lectures. Free, held at 7 p.m.
April 23: During "Oh Say Can You See," celebrated critic and art historian Leo Steinberg will talk about how reading about a picture before we see it influences the way we perceive it. He will explore topics such as how reading about a picture can lead us not to see it, to miss its important details, to see it differently, or to assume things about it that are not actually true when we come face to face with the image. Held at 7 p.m.
April 25 and 26: "Art History and Diaspora: Genealogies, Theories, Practices," a Clark Conference, will bring together artists, curators, and art historians to investigate the impact of the field of diaspora studies on art historical scholarship. Speakers will include John P. Bowles, Hamid Naficy, Richard J. Powell, Nikos Papastergiadis, Kobena Mercer, Simon Njami, Pamela R. Franco, and Lubaina Himid. Tickets are $30 ($20 members and students; free for Williams faculty and students). For tickets visit www.clarkart.edu and more information call 413-458-0460.
April 27: Noted author and garden designer Gordon Hayward will discuss the visual language shared between painters and garden designers during "Fine Paintings as Inspiration for Garden Design" at 2 p.m. By juxtaposing a painting and a garden image, Hayward explores the many levels of similarity between how the painter and garden designer construct their images. From establishing a style to the use of color, depth, and texture, Hayward will show how artists such as Thomas Cole, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, and Jean Arp can inspire garden design. A book signing follows this free lecture.
April 29: Clark Fellow Michael Sappol, curator and historian in the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine, will present the lecture "Industrializing the Human Body: Fritz Kahn and the Visual Rhetoric of Modernity, 1922-1950." Free, held at 5:30 p.m.
The Clark, at 225 South St., is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free through May 31. For more information, 413-458-2303 or www.clarkart.edu.
