Open MINDS Institute

Open MINDS Institute is an exploratory ‘classroom without walls ’ presenting topical seminars and workshops with master professors. We invite you to enroll in our stimulating, enriching, state of the arts courses.

Combining academic excellence with open-ended lectures and interactive conversations, classes will be held on Fairfield University’s campus and the Pequot Library in Southport, maximizing the resources and facilities of these world-class institutions.

Open MINDS Institute courses are $290 each. Quick Members price per course is $275. Enroll in two or more courses and enjoy a discounted price of just $250 per course.

Philip Eliasoph, PhD

“Jewish Art & Spirituality From Sinai to Szyk: Defying Idols/Inventing Icons”

Tuesdays • October 3, 10, 17, 24

12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Fairfield University Art Museum Classroom

In the footsteps of Moses and the Exodus passages [31:3-5], we learn of Judaism’s first visual artist: Bezalel of the tribe of Judah. Re-enacting the Hebrews’ flight to freedom across the Sinai wilderness, this class surveys how Yahweh endows Bezalel with the gifts of “craftsmanship to do mastery weaving, working with gold, silver, wood and stone to create every manner of work.” As a panoramic art historical overview of Judaism’s rich visual heritage, we are inspired by the unity of spirit connecting the story of Jewish art spanning the millennia from the construction of the ancient Temple of Solomon to the resistance in the 20th century witnessing the murder of six million victims of Nazi barbarism.

Presented in conjunction with this fall’s special Fairfield University Art Museum’s exhibition about the Polish Jewish artistic hero Arthur Szyk [1894-1951]. Special attention is given to the Christian masters of the Hebrew Bible.

Orin

Grossman, PhD

“High/Low: Classical Meets Popular Music”

Mondays • October 2, 9, 16, 23

10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Pequot Library

Classical and popular music are often seen as opposing one another—classical appealing to the “high brows” and popular to—the others. Yet great composers have always borrowed, or stolen, directly from popular music for many reasons. This class takes a look at some of the ways composers have used popular music over the centuries. Each class will feature music performed by Dr. Grossman to illustrate his presentations.

Trained as both a classical musician and an academic, Dr. Grossman’s continuing focus has been on creating and presenting a wide variety of musical events. From full-blown concerts, with and without accompanying musicians, to tightly focused presentations that combine musical performances with informative descriptions of the composition and the times when the music was created, to more intimate presentations for smaller interest groups, Dr. Grossman constantly amazes and enthralls—and is usually rewarded with a standing ovation.

Brian Q. Torff

“Seize the Beat: A Look Inside American Music”

Mondays • February 1, 8, 15, 22

10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Pequot Library

Brian Q. Torff’s new book follows the development of American music from its African roots to the juke joint, club, and concert hall, revealing a culture perpetually reinventing itself to suit the next generation.

The story of American popular music is steeped in social history, race, gender, and class, its evolution driven by ephemeral connection to young audiences. From Benny Goodman to Sinatra to Elvis Presley to the Beatles, pop icons age out of the art form while new musical styles pass from relevance to nostalgia within a few years. At the same time, perennial forms like blues, jazz, and folk are continually rediscovered by new audiences.

Michelle DiMarzo, PhD

“Dürer, Raphael, Rembrandt: Tradition and Innovation in European Prints”

Thursdays • February 26, March 11, 18, 25 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Diffley Board Room

Join Michelle DiMarzo, PhD to discover the rich history of European printmaking from the 15th18th centuries through the lens of some of the greatest masters of the craft.

Beginning with woodcuts and engravings in 15th century Germany, printmaking offered artists exciting possibilities: with this new technology, artists could not only produce work without a patron, they could also reproduce it, reaching a broader public than ever before. Old Masters like Dürer, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Canaletto – as well as some Old Mistresses – embraced the power and fluidity of the printed line as a vehicle for their artistic expression. This course explores the social function of prints alongside their technical innovation, as artists refined existing processes, as in the development of the chiaroscuro woodcut, and invented new ones, such as etching, mezzotint, and aquatint.

Dr. Michelle DiMarzo is curator of education and academic engagement in the Fairfield University Art Museum, and assistant professor of art history & visual culture in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. A specialist in Italian Renaissance art, she has curated a number of exhibitions for the museum, including Prints from the Age of Rodin (2019), Out of the Kress Vaults: Women in Sacred Renaissance Painting (2022), and an upcoming exhibition of Old Master prints on loan from the Wetmore Collection of Connecticut College (2024).