FINE ART SERIES ACADEMIC CONNECTION
2019-2020
Visual Arts Series Jill Evans- Heart Bright Dark
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INVITATION Fine Arts Programming at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University invites faculty and staff to integrate the Fine Arts Series into your coursework by bringing students to performances and utilizing the work performed on stage in the classroom curriculum. Student tickets are available at our most discounted rate, never more than $10. We are committed to equity and accessibility in our spaces through creative, intentional practices and partnerships, including departmental ticket purchases and group discounts. The Fine Arts Series creates opportunities for intentional reflection and amplifies the values of our liberal arts and sciences education. Fine Arts Programming is committed to providing exceptional art experiences that invite conversation, share the diversity of world cultures, and contribute to our students' discovery of themselves and their place in the world. As we prepare the next generation of students, the arts allow them to see the fullness of the world, while learning to nourish themselves. This guide was created to invite meaningful associations between coursework, the 2019-2020 Fine Arts Series, the personal growth of our students, and connection to the values of our Liberal Arts & Sciences Education. If you would like to integrate the Fine Arts Series into your coursework, please contact Grace Davidson-Thooft, our Campus Outreach Manager, or Leslie Hanlon, Director of Community Engagement, to discuss the different access points you can create for your students. They are available to brainstorm different ideas, discuss reflection points, and are already dreaming about ways to engage your students. We invite you to look through the performances this upcoming fall and begin envisioning how you might integrate these performances with your coursework. A new guide will come out this fall for connections in Spring of 2020. There really is something for everyone this year -- we look forward to working with you.   3
STRENGTHENING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Through student engagement, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University are preparing students for success in a complex, dynamic and diverse world. The academic experience supports the full student learning experience, empowering them to create meaningful connections between their coursework, career aspirations and communities inside and outside of the classroom. The CSB/SJU Institutional Learning Goals are meant to create a clear vision of what students should be experiencing in and out of the classroom. The Fine Arts Series aligns with these goals in many ways. Engaging with the Fine Arts Series directly connects to the following goals:
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THINK DEEPLY Students are encouraged to think critically, creatively and with complexity when attending a Fine Arts Event. Students engage with the performance experience and have the opportunity to utilize reflective learning to ask deep questions. Performance allows us to enjoy the artistic expression while providing us examples of creative ways to approaching complex situations and themes, giving us the tools to approach problems in integrative ways from multiple perspectives.
EMBRACE DIFFERENCE Everyone should have the experience of seeing themselves reflected on stage. We intentionally invite artists from diverse backgrounds, experience, genre, gender, sexuality, cultures, and abilities to share their talents with our community. This commitment impacts students’ ability to embrace the differences in the world and in their community here on campus. FAP intentionally programs so that over four years students have the opportunity to engage with artists across genre, culture, and geographic lines, expanding their connection to the world and building a breadth of arts knowledge.
ENGAGE GLOBALLY Artists from around the world are invited to be a part of the Fine Arts Series, pro viding students the unique chance to dive into different world cultures from right here on campus. Exhibits and performances allow stu- dents to engage and share in cultures they may not be familiar with from the lens of the arts. Students are provided the opportunity to participate in cultural learning experiences, regardless of whether they study abroad.
SERVE GRACIOUSLY Our artists serve the CSB/SJU community and the greater Central Minnesota Community through powerful residency and educational opportunities. We believe in stewardship and working to create a more accessible arts community. Through accessibility partners we provide tickets, transportation, and opportunity to connect our community to transformative performance experiences. By engaging with the arts on a personal level, students are more likely to connect with their communities through the arts in the future and understand their impact.
LIVE COURAGEOUSLY Fine Arts Experiences push students into the uncomfortable – most students are unfamiliar with the kinds of fine arts events we ask them to attend. This contributes to a liberal arts education; to get students more comfortable with being uncomfortable and experiencing the unfamiliar. Students are challenged to explore and discover the arts on an individual level, developing the tools to understand the world they live in through an artistic lens. 5
JOINING US TICKET PURCHASES The easiest way to participate is to encourage performance attendance in your syllabus or as an additional opportunity during the semester. If you are committed to connecting your course with a performance, the box office is available to hold seats for your group to sit together. Tickets can be purchased individually by the students as required material for the course, or as a departmental purchase. To learn more, please email the Fine Arts Box Office.
RESIDENCY ACTIVITIES Almost all our artists have additional engagement opportunities that take place in individual classes, public forums, or in a scheduled large group setting. Fine Arts Programming works to create connections across genre and disciplines in order to find the best match for each opportunity. Fine Arts Programming also holds public workshops, open for everyone. These are great ways to encourage students to engage with an artist outside of the classroom. These opportunities are listed on our website and posted on the bulletin board. Here are a few of the public activities for this fall: 100 Years of Broadway: Singing with the Stars! Ballet Hispanico Public Class Ballet Hispanico Latin Dance Social Nature of Forgetting: Post Performance Discussion Cherish the Ladies Audio Divina If you would like to learn more about possible residency activities, please reach out to Leslie Hanlon at lhanlon@csbsju.edu. 6
HOW TO INTERACT WITH THIS DOCUMENT In the following sections, we’ve gathered information related to our fall performances and provided suggested discussion questions as a starting place for how to use the Fine Arts Series to support the classroom experience. A useful access point for engaging students in arts experiences is utilizing Critical Response Process. The process was originally designed as a tool for artist feedback but can readily be adapted to deepen dialogue and enhance student learning. Based on neutral questions, this process invites discussion as there are no right or wrong answers and provides students with a point of entry when processing work they are unfamiliar with.
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NEIL BERG’S
100 YEARS’ OF BROADWAY
SAT., SEP. 14 @ 7:30 PM • ESCHER AUDITORIUM, CSB 100 Years of Broadway recreates the greatest moments from the finest shows of the last century featuring the actual Broadway stars of shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, CATS, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jekyll & Hyde. These amazing performers light up the stage with songs from the hit shows in which they starred. Award-winning composer, lyricist and producer Neil Berg presents brilliantly revived arrangements of classics as well as thrilling numbers from Broadway’s newest hit shows. 8
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: Musical Theatre American History
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: Neil Berg Bio 100 Years of Musical Theater
BRILLIANCE
The Impact of the Broadway Theatre on the Economy of New York City
ENGAGE Which songs contain themes that resonate with American culture today? If you had no idea what period these songs were written in, would you be able to pick which era they were written in? Why or why not? What cultural issues were being addressed in the various Broadway shows? Broadway is often considered very acces- sible as an art form, but has a very high ticket price. What does this say about arts access? Musical theater brings together the work of great actors, musicians, composers, designers, writers, technicians, directors and more to create your experience as an audience member. What has been your experience with musical theater? What elements of performance do you react to immediately? Which elements stay with you as memories?
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BLACK VIOLIN
ENERGY
SAT., SEP. 21 @ 7:30 PM • ESCHER AUDITORIUM, CSB Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste are two classically trained violinists who smash musical stereotypes with their high-energy fusion of classical, hip-hop, blues and R&B while encouraging people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds to join together to break down cultural barriers. In the past 12 months, the band has performed for over 100,000 students in the US and Europe, and has partnered with Yamaha and NAMM (National Association of Music Manufactures) to continue supporting music education. Black Violin, alongside artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Elton John, recently joined with Turnaround Arts to bring arts education to struggling schools in underserved communities. Turnaround Arts is a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts founded by President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in 2012. 10
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: Music Classical String Hip Hop
Cultural Identity Media and Society Rhetoric & Culture
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: Black Violin With ‘Stereotypes,’ A Duo Raised On Hip-Hop And Classical Has It Both Ways Bio Black Violin Black Violin joins Turnaround Arts
ENGAGE Sylvester and Baptiste define a stereotype as an “often unclear and untrue belief… a standardized mental picture”. What stereotypes are they breaking with Black Violin? About the type of music? About the artists? What familiar styles do you hear in their music? What is unique to their music? What is familiar? How does their message relate to campus discussions about diversity and inclusion? The duo has also stated that their “mantra has always been to engage the audience to look at things from a different perspective”. How can you look at your work differently? How does this statement relate to the liberal arts? How do you take the different life perspectives you have gained into your major courses? If you were to create a mantra, what would it include?
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BALLET HISPANICO ¡CELEBRACIÓN!
SAT., OCT. 12 @ 7:30 PM • ESCHER AUDITORIUM, CSB PROGRAM Con Brazos Abiertos by Michelle Manzanales’s, an exploration of iconic Mexican symbols that Manzanales was reluctant to embrace as a Mexican-American child Línea Recta by Belgo-Colombian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, a work pairing the hallmark passion of flamenco dance with highly inventive and intricate partnering, set to music by flamenco guitarist Eric Vaarzon Morel Catorce Dieciséis by Tania Pérez-Salas, one of Mexico’s most noted contemporary choreographers
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Experience dance as dynamic as its rich culture. With stunning dancers and adventurous choreography, Ballet Hispánico fuses classical and contemporary techniques with the passion of traditional Latin dance. For this performance, Ballet Hispánico brings an all-Latina choreographed program with works by Michelle Manzanales, Tania Pérez-Salas, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. The program will explore iconic Mexican symbols, the circularity of the human condition and the fire of flamenco dance. The performance will be the culmination of a week-long residency dedicated to arts education and community engagement.
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH:
Global Education Hispanic Studies Peace Studies World Dance & Music
Art History Cultural Identity Rhetoric & Culture Social Movements
Gender, Voice & Power Physiology, Kinesiology and Human Movement
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: About Ballet Hispánico Ballet Hispánico History Review: Latina choreographers lead the way at Ballet Hispánico in Santa Monica
Review: Ballet Hispánico’s Expanded, Expanding Map Meet the Dance Company: Ballet Hispánico NYC-ARTS Profile: Ballet Hispánico
ENGAGE What power does dances carry as part of a cultural tradition? How do these dances become reinterpreted and/or preserved across generations? Ballet Hispánico’s mission is to bring communities together to celebrate and explore Latino cultures. How does this experience inform your interpretation of your own identity? How do you make space for others to share their own story and cultural identities? What does it mean to look at culture in a contemporary way? How do we take the past with us into the present? When exploring culture, many of the choreographers chose to play with the exploration and manipulation of cultural stereotypes and the power they hold. What causes a cultural element to become a stereotype? How do you see this concept portrayed on stage? How is the definition of being Latinx today represented through the perceived meaning of these elements? The members of Ballet Hispanico Dance Company all come from different artistic backgrounds, allowing the choreographers to create a fusion of cultures and styles through their pieces. What is the impact as an audience member of seeing the convergence of a cultural movement and the physical movement of the dancers?
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STEFON HARRIS & BLACKOUT
GOOD VIBES
FRI., OCT. 25 @ 7:30 PM • GORECKI FAMILY THEATER, CSB Against the blur and visual fireworks of his flying mallets, musical phenom Stefon Harris is forging a trail-blazing sound. Heralded as “one of the most important artists in jazz” by The Los Angeles Times, Stefon Harris performs with passionate artistry and astonishing precision. His exceptional band, Blackout, defies traditional jazz definitions. Together, they embrace sleek, slinky soul, funk, R&B and hip-hop - like Stevie Wonder rubbing elbows with George Gershwin. This sought-after bandleader, sideman (for Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, Ry Cooder, Common and others), teacher, and TED Talk thought leader was called “the standout vibraphonist of his generation” by The New Yorker.” His most recent album Sonic Creed chronicles the story of a people and their time on the planet. It is a reflection of African-American life in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Furthermore, it is a sonic manifestation and creed of family, community and legacy. The album explores afresh the music of masters such as Bobby Hutcherson, Abbey Lincoln, Wayne Shorter and Horace Silver. 14
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: Music- Jazz Communication Analysis Philosophy Computer Science
Economics Global Business Leadership Social Science
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: Stefon Harris
Introduction to the Harmony Cloud App
Stefon Harris: There are no mistakes on the bandstand
Stefon Harris On Piano Jazz Stefon Harris’ Nurturing Spirit
Conversations with Stefon Harris
ENGAGE
Jazz is defined as an “American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre.” What is your personal definition of Jazz music? How was this redefined by this performance? Harris is known as a veteran and leader in the world of Jazz music. You can see this through the longevity of his career, many accolades like the Doris Day Artist Award, and his dedication to his community and the arts through education and innovation. As a bandleader on stage, what did you notice about his presence and the way that he works with his band? What would others notice about your leadership style? What is your personal commitment to your community? As a thought leader, Harris leads transformative presentations on corporate leadership development and team empowerment to Fortune 50 companies using jazz as a metaphor. What does it mean to challenge the typical thought process in your industry? What parallels can you draw between this and liberal arts education? How are you using your talents to serve the greater community? Sonic Creed, the most recent album from Harris, is a reflection of African-American life in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. How are you able to self-reflect on your culture through others music? How can we reflect on the human experience through this lens?
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THEATRE RE PRESENTS:
THE NATURE OF FORGETTING CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY GUILLAUME PIGÉ POIGNANT
FRI., NOV. 8 @ 7:30 PM • STEPHEN B. HUMPHREY THEATER, SJU Heralded as breathtakingly beautiful, visually stunning and thoughtfully engaging, The Nature of Forgetting merges evocative movement with compelling live music to tell the story of a middle-aged father struggling in the early stages of dementia. Collaborating with London neuroscientist Kate Jeffery, Theatre Re performs a moving articulation of the countless dimensions of memory and amnesia. This life affirming journey into a weakened mind is about the resilience of humanity, the celebration of a life well lived and the eternal spark we all share and is still there when memory is gone. 16
Panel discussion and Q&A after the show.
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: • Theater • Movement Theory • Psychology • Memory Studies
• Neuroscience • Cultural Memory/Story Telling • Biology • Nursing
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: The Nature of Forgetting
Alzhheimer’s Association
The Hippocampus: From Memory, to Map, to Memory Map
A Memorable Show for Kids of All Ages
ENGAGE
Uses theatre to explain everything you didn’t know about dementia
Much of this story is told through music, sound effect, and movement, rather than language to move action forward. In what ways did the use of music and sound change your understanding of what you were seeing play out on stage? How did they use of movement and body language move the story forward? When used, why do you think dialogue was incorporated back in the way that is was? What did it represent to you? Director Guillaume Pigé and the cast of Nature of Forgetting searched for the answers to the following questions when developing this performance: What is eternal? What will always be true about you, about me, about human beings? What is left when memory is gone? How did you see these questions, and the answers, interpreted in the performance? How can performance be a good space for the public discussion of ideas? How does this apply to cultural memory, and reclaiming stories and the history of events we’re not present for? London neuroscientist Kate Jeffery was brought into this project throughout its development to help the company understand the cognitive function of memory and how it would play out on stage for someone living with dementia. What does it mean to forget? What does it mean to remember? How do you see the sciences and the arts interelating in this performance?
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SCRAP ARTS MUSIC INNOVATION
SAT., NOV. 16 @ 7:30 PM • STEPHEN B HUMPHREY THEATER, SJU Scrap Arts Music in an internationally renowned percussion ensemble based in Vancouver, Canada. The ensemble transforms industrial scrap metal into instruments; all the instruments featured in this performance have been created by hand from reclaimed materials. Their performances are high energy, athletic, and innovative. They have performed in 16 countries, in addition to performing at the Closing Ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Children of Metropolis, takes its inspiration from Fritz Lang’s iconic 1927 film, Metropolis. The ensemble worked with filmmaker Andrew Struthers to create their own version of the city of Metropolis, constructing a landscape of retro-futuristic skyscrapers from their scrap instruments. 18 Children of Metropolis debuted in 2018 and is now touring the world.
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: Environmental Studies/Sustainability Fusion Music Human Movement Film Studies Technology and Innovation
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: Scrap Arts Music Metropolis (1927) Film
ENGAGE What is the impact of seeing scrap metal on stage in this way? How do you see different disciplines represented in this work? What does this performance remind you of? How are service and sustainability related? Scrap Arts Musics performance Children of Metropolis is based off of Fritz Lang’s inconic 1927 film, Metropolis. This was a significant cultural influencer. What connections do you see between film and this performance? What connections do you see to science fiction in this performance? Art can come in ways we don’t expect. Where else have you seen this represented in your life? How does design theory apply to the work in your major?
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KEVIN KLING & FRIENDS NOSTALGIA
SAT., NOV. 23 @ 7:30 PM • STEPHEN B HUMPHREY THEATER, SJU Get primed for the holidays with Kevin Kling’s celebrated show and Guthrie staple, Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log. Kling is a well known storytelling, playwright, and Minnesotan, best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” Kling delivers hilarious, often tender stories that have delighted audiences around the country. The National Endowment for the Arts, The McKnight Foundation, The Minnesota State Arts Board, The Bush Foundation, The Jerome Foundation and others have recognized Kling’s artistry. Kevin was born with a congenital birth defect — his left arm is about three-quarters the size of his right arm, and his left hand has no wrist or thumb. In 2001 Kevin was in a motorcycle accident and suffered brachial plexus injury (BPI). The brachial plexus nerves in his right arm were pulled completely out of their sockets. Currently, he has partial use of his left arm and cannot use his right arm at all. With Yule Log, the Minnesota native captures the essence, merriment and humor of family holiday traditions. Wry tales of Midwestern Americana take surprising turns from the offbeat to the insightful. Yule Log features Simone 20 Perrin, SJU alum Dan Chouinard and other surprise, familiar guests.
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: Storytelling Creative Writing Theatre Communication Theory Human Interaction
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: About Kevin Kling Stories by Kevin Kling ‘Just one more second’ with Kevin Kling
ENGAGE
Kevin Kling is best known for his delivery of hilarious, often tender stories. What do you hear of your own stories in Kevin’s stories? If you don’t hear your own story, is there a story that feels like you and connects to you? What power does story telling have to the way that you remember a person, a space, or a time in your life? How do you use story telling in your field of study? How does it change the way that you think about your past? How do the holidays and traditions create an opportunity for us to reflect? How do these experiences help us to carry forward meaning? Kling tells his “Accident Story” in his bio on his website, claiming the way he relates to the phrase “‘can do’ attitude in a ‘can’t do’ body”. What roll, if any, does this experience play into his performance?
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CHERISH THE LADIES
FESTIVE
THU., DEC. 5 @ 7:30 PM • ESCHER AUDITORIUM, CSB Cherish the Ladies mesmerizes audiences with a blend of stellar music, beautiful vocals and stunning step dancing.
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There’s a reason this group sells out every time it returns. In their beloved Celtic Christmas program, the Ladies put their signature mark on classic carols such as O Come All Ye Faithful and Silent Night. All-Ireland flute and whistle champion Joanie Madden leads the performance filled with holiday magic. Hailed by The New York Times as “passionate, tender and rambunctious,” the group has collaborated with The Boston Pops, Vince Gill, Pete Seeger, Don Henley, Arlo Guthrie and more.
CONNECT TOPICS AND THEMES THIS PERFORMANCE ENGAGES WITH: Dance Irish Culture Holiday Culture World Music/Dance
DISCOVER ARTICLES AND VIDEOS RELATED BACK TO THE PERFORMANCE: Cherish the Ladies
ENGAGE Holidays hold deep connection to our identities and culture. In what ways are the Irish holiday traditions represented similar or different from your own experience? If you are Christian, does the celebration of Christmas nourish your faith? What celebrations do you see on our campuses that honor other traditions?
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VISUAL ARTS SERIES
Benedict and Dorothy Gorecki Gallery Benedicta Arts Center, CSB Academic year gallery hours: Tues. - Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
CHLOE BRIGGS
Close May 28, 2019 - Oct. 6, 2019, Gorecki Gallery, CSB Artist Reception: Sep. 12, 2019. 5 - 7 p.m Artist Talk beginning at 6 p.m.
JAMES A. BOWEY
When Home Won’t Let You Stay Oct. 22, 2019 - Dec. 6, 2019 Gorecki Gallery, CSB Artist Reception and Presentation: Thursday Nov. 7, 6 - 9 pm. Gallery Reception from 6 - 7 p.m. Artist Talk to follow in Room 204, Gorecki Dining & Conference Center, CSB beginning at 7:15 p.m. This exhibit is presented in partnership with Asian Studies Department, Mellon Grant Becoming Community, CSB/SJU Honors Program, Intercultural & International Student Services, Gender Studies and CSB/SJU Libraries
LIST OF VISUAL FAE EVENTS Please contact Jill Dubbeldee-Kuhn with any questions.
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Alice R. Rogers and Target Galleries Saint John’s Art Center, SJU Academic year gallery hours: Tues. - Sat. noon to 6 p.m.,Thurs. noon - 9 p.m.
MICHAEL CROUSER
Mountain Ranch: Traditional Images of Traditional Lives Jun. 17, 2019 - Oct. 20, 2019 , Alice R. Rogers Gallery & Target Gallery, SJU Artist Reception: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. 5 - 7 p.m. Artist Talk beginning at 6 p.m.
JIL EVANS
The Heart’s Bright and Dark Light Nov. 5, 2019 - Dec. 6, 2019, Alice R. Rogers Gallery & Target Gallery, SJU Artist Reception: Thursday, November 14, 5 - 7 p.m. Artist Talk beginning at 6 p.m.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
What do you notice first? What do you see after looking for a couple of minutes? Does it remind you of anything? What questions does it raise in you? What do you like about it? Why? What are you unsure about? What is memorable about this piece? 25