Visual Arts KETCHUM
Sun Valley Center for the Arts Nov 12, 2010 – Jan 7, 2011
A visual arts exhibition features work by artists who consider both the poetic and scientific aspects of the human relationship to astronomy. Charles Lindsay is transforming The Center’s Project Room with an entirely new installation combining a light panel array, focused sound domes and an ultra-violet activated sculpture to create his vision of an alternate universe, both macrocosmic and microcosmic in scope. He is intrigued by concepts regarding the origins of life and what it might look or sound like elsewhere in our galaxy. Lindsay is the recipient of a 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship awarded for the development of his unique carbonbased camera-less process. Anna Von Mertens has made a series of quilts that chart the rotation of the stars at particular moments in history. She uses a computer program, Starry Night, to pinpoint the exact location of stars from a particular vantage point on a given date in the past, and then stitches these stars’ paths onto huge panels of hand dyed cotton. Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!, for example, traces the paths of stars at sunset on January 24, 1848, as seen from Sutter’s Mill, Coloma, California. Her work bridges the gap between the domestic and the high-tech, blending handicraft with historical research. Like von Mertens, Matthew Cusick grounds his work in deep historical research. His paintings explore the intersections between history, capitalism, war and religion. Cusick often paints over layers of materials related to the ideas at the heart of his work: maps, textbooks, novels. One series of paintings, Constellations, charts the night skies on top of the collaged pages of illustrated bibles, their images of suffering and epic battles subtly visible under layers of sumi ink. Russell Crotty makes ink drawings based on his own observations as an amateur astronomer. The exhibition features several of these drawings along with two of his drawings of night skies on globes. These threedimensional renderings of the stars above us reverse our notion of planet and sky and create small models of the universe contained in a sphere. Gordon Onslow Ford, a participant in Andre Breton’s surrealist movement in Paris in the 1930s and a founder of the Dynaton group in San Francisco in the 1950s, spent much of his career painting the cosmos in a desire to link outer space to what he referred to as the “inner worlds.” Over the course of several decades he produced a series of paintings, Voyagers in Space, that gave an astronomical context to the human exploration of consciousness. Painter Lee Mullican also participated in the Dynaton movement, exchanging ideas with fellow painters Gordon Onslow Ford and Wolfgang Paalen. Like Onslow Ford, he spent his career depicting “inner” space as well as outer space. His luminous and highly textured paintings both literally depicted his interpretations of the cosmos and conveyed his interest in the spiritual and metaphysical possibilities inherent in the universe.
Opening Celebration and Membership Party Fri, Nov 12, 5:30–7pm Join us for our annual membership party and the opening celebration for Cosmic! Artist Charles Lindsay will speak about his work at 6pm. We’ll be serving drinks that are out of this world … and making tinfoil hats for kids of all ages. Gallery Walks Fri, Nov 26 and Wed, Dec 29, 5–8pm, FREE Join us for drinks and appetizers as you view Cosmic. Artist Charles Lindsay will attend the Dec 29 Gallery Walk and will speak about his work at 6pm.
TEEN WORKSHOP Cosmic: Artists Consider Astronomy Sat, Nov 13, 12–4pm The Center, Hailey $10 pre-registration required. Thousands of years ago the legends behind the constellations we know today were defined all over the world. These tales differ from culture to culture. We come to depend on these star patterns to show us our way and make us feel familiar with the night sky when we locate them. Come learn a little about the history of astronomy with Boisebased artist and professor of graphic design Jennifer Wood. Learn about the myths behind Orion and Corona Borealis and bring your own stories. Students will make pinhole light drawings and astroscopes to view them through, embellishing their astroscopes with crystals, felt and other materials.
Special Evening Gallery Tour Thu, Dec 16, 5:30pm, FREE Enjoy a glass of wine while you tour Cosmic with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. Free Exhibition Tours Tue, Dec 28, 2pm and by arrangement Trained gallery guides offer insight into artwork on display in free tours of our exhibitions. Favor de llamar al Centro de las Artes para arreglar visitas guiadas en español.
Visual Arts HAILEY
An Installation by Jennifer Wood The Center, Hailey Nov 19, 2010 – Jan 14, 2011 Boise-based artist Jennifer Wood’s installation at The Center, Hailey, focuses on our understanding of constellations. She has created a set of what she calls “astroscopes,” viewfinders containing pinhole light drawings, to narrate Greek and Roman tales surrounding the constellations Corona Borealis and Lyra. The installation also explores cultural variations in the interpretation of the constellation Orion. Using materials as varied as light, Swarovski crystals and drawings, Astronomical invites viewers into an environment in which they can physically experience a constellation and consider the meanings, myths and legends we associate with patterns of stars in the sky.
Lecturer
FAMILY DAY
Neil deGrasse Tyson Thu, Nov 17, 6:30pm Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum $25 / $35 nonmembers Dr. Tyson is the Director of the Hayden Planetarium and author of the New York Times bestselling book Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries. He is the host of PBS’s NOVA Science Now, cohost of the radio show Star Talk, the most frequent guest on The Colbert Report (as of now, he’s appeared seven times), a regular contributor to Natural History, and recipient of NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal. His groundbreaking work has not only helped to encourage and popularize scientific discussions and research but it helped him receive the honor of “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” from People Magazine.
Cosmic: Artists Consider Astronomy Sat, Dec 4, 3–5pm The Center, Hailey, FREE Families will tour the exhibition Astronomical: An Installation by Jennifer Wood. They will then have the opportunity to learn about Greek myths whose stories are written in the night sky. Children will use this information to create their own constellations with their own stories and figures.
This lecture made possible in part by Stephen and Marylyn Pauley and by Lecture Series Sponsors, the Castellano-Wood Family
images clockwise from lower left: Charles Lindsay, detail image from 4 panel Carbon Array, 2010, courtesy the artist; Lee Mullican, Untitled, 1949, courtesy the Estate of Lee Mullican and Lucid Art Foundation; Matthew Cusick, Untitled Wave (Black and Blue), 2008, Private Collection, New York; Jennifer Wood, Astronomical, 2010, courtesy the artist
ADULT CLASS Star Gazing with Chris Anderson Thu, Dec 9, 6–8pm $20 members / $25 nonmembers The Center, Hailey Registration deadline: Wed, Nov 24 Join Chris Anderson, the Production Specialist from the Faulkner Planetarium, as he discusses the winter sky of the Wood River Valley. The first portion of the evening will be an orientation to the late fall/early winter sky, including our place in the Milky Way galaxy, as well as some of the most interesting celestial targets currently visible above the valley. Participants will then travel to Quigley Canyon (weather permitting) where they will have the opportunity to look for themselves. Hot chocolate will be provided and participants are encouraged to bring their own telescopes.
For millennia, we have looked to the night skies seeking answers to questions about our origins and our futures. Astronomers use enormous telescopes, one even orbiting the Earth, to peer ever deeper into space. They literally look into the past as they attempt to explain the beginnings of our universe. Scientists broadcast signals into space as part of a search for life on other planets. Astrologers chart the paths of constellations in order to make predictions about our lives. In the past,
Nov 12, 2010 – Jan 7, 2011 Sun Valley Center for the Arts
the appearance of comets, eclipses and particular stars triggered anxiety, wonder, and religious interpretation. We look to the stars for a reflection of ourselves. Through visual arts, lectures and classes, this multidisciplinary project explores the human fascination with the cosmos and the way our relationship to the stars has
images clockwise from upper left: Russell Crotty, NGC 7000, The North America Nebula, 2004, courtesy the artist and Hosfelt Gallery, New York and San
PERMIT NO. 679
BOISE ID
PAID
U S POSTAGE
Francisco; Gordon Onslow Ford, Untitled, 1952, Gordon Onslow Ford Collection, courtesy of Lucid Art Foundation; Anna Von Mertens, Dawn (Anna Zerissa Morse Thurston, born February 6, 1841, Surry, Maine), 2008, courtesy the artist
Center hours & location in Ketchum: M–F, 9am–5pm 191 Fifth Street East, Ketchum, Idaho Center hours & location in Hailey: W–F, 2–6pm 314 Second Ave. South, Hailey, Idaho Sun Valley Center for the Arts P O Box 656 Sun Valley, ID 83353
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
shifted as our knowledge of the universe has grown.
Sun Valley Center for the Arts P.O. Box 656, Sun Valley, ID 83353 208.726.9491 www.sunvalleycenter.org