Four Perspectives Through the Lens: Soviet Art Photography in the 1970s-80s

The Lower Dodge Gallery
Oct 03, 2009 - Mar 28, 2010

This exhibition presents a selection of more than sixty photographs from the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Soviet Nonconformist Art by Francisco Infante, Vladimir Kupriyanov, Boris Mikhailov, and Aleksandr Slyusarev, four major Soviet artists working with photography in 1970 –1980s. Photography was not officially considered an art in the Soviet Union at that time, and it was not taught in art schools. On the other hand, the amateur status of artistic photography, unrestricted by professional conventions or censorship, allowed great creative freedom and presented wide opportunities for experimentation. Soviet photographers made exceedingly canny, inventive, and highly individual use of the medium, expressing ideas that were both specific and universal in character.

These four artists demonstrate four different approaches to the photograph, and testify to the range and variety of fine art photography’s development in Soviet unofficial art. Two – Slyusarev and Mikhailov – are straightforward art photographers. Two others – Infante and Kupriyanov – are visual artists, who use photography as a medium to transcribe their creative ideas. Two of the four – Kupriyanov and Mikhailov – are concerned with social issues; the other two – Infante and Slyusarev – explore abstract categories, such as the geometry of light and reflections, often with reference to Russian avant-garde and/or western modernist practice.

The exhibition presents an opportunity for multiple comparisons and cross-references in areas such as the approaches to social themes, cultural and art historical associations, and various photographic techniques and artistic effects.

Admission:
$3.00 per person for adults who are not members of the museum. Entrance to the museum is free at all times for members, all children under 18, and Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff with a valid I.D. In addition, the first Sunday of each month will be free to all.

Museum Hours:

Lalla Essaydi: Les Femmes du Maroc

Voorhees Special Exhibition Galleries
Jan 30, 2010 - Jun 06, 2010

Born in Morocco into a conservative Muslim family and educated in Europe and the United States, Lalla Essaydi is poised at the intersection of two cultures. She is one of several contemporary Islamic women artists whose subjects are informed by feminist perspectives and personal experience. Her work has garnered increasing acclaim in Europe and America; in 2011 she will be the subject of a mid-career survey at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Lalla Essaydi: Les Femmes du Maroc comprises 17 large scale photographs selected from the artist’s most recent series. The title of the series, Les Femmes du Maroc,is adapted from Eugene Delacroix’s iconic painting, Les Femmes d’Algiers of 1834. The painting by Delacroix, while based on his actual travels in North Africa, is a fictive vision of languorous women in an opulent harem. Paintings like these, which coincided with the nineteenth-century European occupation of much of the Arab world, fostered a view of the Middle East as a sensual paradise of sexually available women, rich colors and exotic tastes. Essaydi takes these Orientalist paintings of the nineteenth and early twentieth century as a point of departure for her own de-colonializing enterprise. She drains the paintings of color, removes all male figures, drapes the women and all surfaces in white fabric, and sets everything within a shallow stage-like space. All visible surface -- backdrops, floor, drapery, skin -- are inscribed with Arabic calligraphy. These texts are subversive on several levels. In Islamic cultures calligraphy is a male art form, used primarily to transcribe the Q’uran and other sacred literature, however, in Essaydi’s work, the texts -- musings on personal freedom, cultural and individual identity, memory and communication taken from her personal journals -- are applied with henna, a tradition associated with women. Her transformations of the original paintings reverberate with the historical past while revealing the colonial and gendered perspectives of historic and contemporary Orientalism.

This exhibition has been organized by the DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum, Lincoln, Massachusetts, and is funded by a generous grant from the Lois and Richard England Family Foundation.

Coordinated by Donna Gustafson, Liaison for the Mellon Program and Assistant Curator of American Art, Zimmerli Art Museum.

Admission:
$3.00 per person for adults who are not members of the museum. Entrance to the museum is free at all times for members, all children under 18, and Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff with a valid I.D. In addition, the first Sunday of each month will be free to all.

Museum Hours:

Seva's Blue Horizon: the Poet Seva Nekrasov and Artists of Unofficial Moscow

DuBrow Gallery
Nov 11, 2009 - May 30, 2010

Seva (Vsevolod) Nekrasov (1934-2009) was the youngest and probably the most talented of the generation of poets and artists grouped around Lianozovo – one of the earliest and most important centers for underground culture in the Soviet Union. His entire life was closely connected with the arts and the artists of “unofficial Moscow,” and his poetry often reflected upon the visual works of his friends. And vice versa, artists found inspiration in his poetry, and produced works clearly based on his verses . This exhibition, entitled Seva’s Blue Horizon (which is a rough translation of an anagram: Sevina Sineva) commemorates through poetry and art the entire generation of early Soviet underground culture that is now vanishing by the day.

Admission:
$3.00 per person for adults who are not members of the museum. Entrance to the museum is free at all times for members, all children under 18, and Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff with a valid I.D. In addition, the first Sunday of each month will be free to all.

Museum Hours:

How We Live Now: Picturing Everyday Life in Children's Book Illustrations

The Roger Duvoisin Gallery
Dec 05, 2009 - May 23, 2010

From the 1960s onward, technical improvement in image reproduction and growing social awareness combined to produce a growing number of children’s books that reflect the diversity of American people and ways of life. Selected illustrations from the Zimmerli Art Museum’s collection exemplify this trend. Roger Duvoisin’s painterly gouache illustrations for It’s Time Now, 1969, casually capture the feeling of street life in the city. John Thompson’s realistic black and white illustrations for The Liquid Trap, 1976, a short novel for young readers, provide a more literal portrait of a girl’s visit with her family in the south. Barbara Beirne, E. B. Lewis, and Stephen T. Johnson were inspired by young people from their neighborhoods, rather than professional models, to create vibrant and authentic images of young people engaged in sport activities. Illustrations by Catherine Stock depict subjects ranging from a small boy’s relationship with neighbors, Miss Viola and Uncle Ed Lee, 1999, to the unexpected pregnancy of a teen-aged girl in Doll Baby, 2000. Books related to the illustrations are on view in the gallery, along with hands-on activities for visitors. The exhibition is organized by Gail Aaron, Assistant Curator, Original Illustrations for Children’s Books, Morse Research Center for Graphic Arts.

Admission:
$3.00 per person for adults who are not members of the museum. Entrance to the museum is free at all times for members, all children under 18, and Rutgers University students, faculty, and staff with a valid I.D. In addition, the first Sunday of each month will be free to all.

Museum Hours:

Calvin Berger

a new musical by Barry Wyner
Feb 09, 2010 - Mar 14, 2010

GSP is thrilled to produce this hilarious new musical with book, music and lyrics by Barry Wyner.

Too insecure to ask out the girl of his dreams, Calvin communicates with her through the handsome new kid in school. The result is a hip, heartfelt musical comedy re-telling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story, reset in a current-day American high school. Appropriate for ages 12 and up, this new musical, winner of the 2007 Richard Rodgers Award, is sure to delight anyone who has ever been an insecure teenager in love.

“In the tradition of premiering exciting new musicals for the American theatre, like The Spitfire Grill and last year’s The Toxic Avenger, Calvin Berger is certain to join their ranks as another new musical to be produced around the country.” said Artistic Director David Saint

Calvin Berger begins 2010 at George Street Playhouse, running February 9 – March 14, 2010. Opening night is set for Friday, February 19.

Select weeknight performances will have an earlier 7 pm curtain time (as opposed to 8 pm) to accommodate families with middle school and high school-aged students.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint and Managing Director Mitchell Krieger, George Street Playhouse is a nationally recognized theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been represented by numerous productions both on and Off Broadway – recent productions include Anne Meara's Down the Garden Paths, the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill and the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof by David Auburn which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features five issue-oriented productions that tours to more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and are seen by more than 80,000 students annually.

George Street Playhouse programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Chieftains

Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Location: State Theatre
Tickets: P $62.00; A $52.00; B $42.00; C $32.00

Six-time Grammy® Award-winners, The Chieftains are recognized for bringing traditional Irish music to the world's attention. This band has uncovered the wealth of traditional Irish music that’s accumulated over the centuries, making music with a style both exhilarating and definitive. It is today the best-known Irish band in the world. The Chieftains bring a special guest and a new repertoire each year. Stay tuned for details.