Annual Clark Family Day Inspired By Pissarro Paintings
'Jeanne Pissarro, Called Minette, Sitting in the Garden, Pontoise,' ca. 1872
This year's Clark Family Day will focus on farming and rural life, inspired by the current exhibit 'Pissarro's People.'
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Inspired by the Camille Pissarro exhibition running at the Clark from June 12 to Oct. 2, Family Day will take on the feeling of the show, said Ronna Tulgan Ostheimer, head of educational programs and organizer of the annual event.
Approximately 40 oil paintings and 50 works on paper comprise the exhibition "Pissarro's People," which examines how Pissarro's work was influenced by his personal relationships, his social and political views and his anarchist beliefs.
"Summer Family Day always celebrates one of our summer exhibitions," Ostheimer said, adding that she has been doing Family Day for a dozen years. Clark Executive Director Michael Conforti is credited with conceiving the idea of Family Day. "He wanted the Clark to be a place that serves the community and to make it a family destination," Ostheimer said.
Ostheimer and colleagues began planning and preparing in October, devising a program that calls for the Clark campus to be transformed into a farm.
"We always try to provide at least some activities that will be old-fashioned fun," said Ostheimer. And to that end, the "Free Family Fun Down on the Farm" will include a hay-bale maze, haystack, marionette shows, a rugelach contest, musical performances, a petting zoo, face painting, straw sculptures, a roving troupe of troubadours, pigs, chickens and cows, art making and pony rides.
The "Great Haystack" will give guests an opportunity to jump into hay. "Where else would they be able to do that?" Ostheimer said adding that the hay is organic and fresh cut. The haystack and hay-bale maze are a nod to Pissarro's paintings "Haystacks" and "Haying."
Courtesy photo
Musician Mr. G, aka Ben Gundersheimer, will perform family-friendly songs under the tent.
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In one of the tents dotting the lawn of the Clark, the Tanglewood Marionettes will present "Le Cirque des Marionettes," with performances at 12:30 and 2:30. "Basically, the show is done from a fairy's point of view," Anne Schaefer, co-founder of Tanglewood Marionettes, said, and then explained that there is a mouse tamer instead of a lion tamer in the show.
"The show is a series of acts all set to music," said Schaefer. All the marionettes — jugglers, ballerinas, contortionists — are equipped with mechanisms that enable them to perform tricks.
"In the long ago, when this type of show first became popular, marionette masters guarded tricks," Schaefer said.
Mr. G., who has 20 years experience as an award-winning musician, will sing and more to the delight of audiences in the tent. He is scheduled to perform at 11:30 and 1:30. "I will get the kids to write songs related to the Pissarro exhibition," Ben Gundersheimer (Mr. G) said, speaking via phone from his office in Northampton. Recently, Mr. G. led a songwriting workshop with youngsters in London, and gave concerts in Mexico and Guatemala.
Because Pissarro included figures of animals in his paintings, Mr. G will render such songs as "Pony With a Problem," "Sneaky Chihuahua," "Bugs" and "Shark in my Bathtub."
If hunger strikes, there'll be plenty to eat at the food court. A variety of dishes for sale will be prepared by Clark Cafe Grille and Creperie, Hot Tomatoes Pizza, Madjack's Barbecue Restaurant, Cricket Creek Farm, Samel's Deli and Lickety Split.
Nearby will be a graffiti board for eventgoers to express emotions, create art or just scribble meaningless marks. And all that can be done without fear of being reprimanded as often is the case when one is caught tagging.
Guests' creativity will flow freely as they paint aprons for the hanging display or decorate books. Both these art-making projects tie in with Pissarro's paintings of women wearing peasant aprons and of his children reading books, such as "Ludovic-Rodolphe Pissarro Reading," circa 1899.
 Pony rides! |
A rugelach contest will be held, and anyone who purchases a ticket will be able to wrap their mouth around several of those Jewish pastries and then judge the entries. The winner of this contest, which honors Pissarro's Jewish heritage, will be announced at 3:30.
All the delectables in the "Pastry Market" come from local bakeries: Klara's Gourmet Cookies, Haven Cafe and Bakery, Patisserie Lenox, A-Frame Bakery and Crazy Russian Girls Bakery.
For children and the young at heart, a celebration may not be complete without a balloon, so Ken Getz will be selling those.
"It is about the 13th year we've participated in Family Day,” said Getz, who together with his wife, Michele, owns Where'd You Get That!? "In the very beginning, we decided to use this wonderful day to generate funds for local charities by selling balloons and donating the proceeds to the Berkshire Food Pantry and Williamstown Food Pantry. We are grateful to the Clark for providing us with an opportunity to contribute $6,000 over the years."
Family Day is supported by funding from the officers and employees of Allen & Co. Inc.
The Sterling and Francine Art Institute is located at 225 South St. For more information, call 413-458-2303 or visit clarkart.edu.
Tags: Clark Art, family,
