May 2, 2007

Summer Calendar

In the Galleries

(North Adams, Mass.)
Spencer Finch: What Time Is It On the Sun?
Opens May 26, 2007
Spencer Finch wants us to consider the question: Is it possible to see yourself seeing? As he explains: "There is always a paradox inherent in vision, an impossible desire to see yourself seeing. A lot of my work probes this tension; to want to see, but not being able to." He explores that challenge and the mechanics and mysteries of perception in a landmark exhibition which opens May 26, 2007 including over 40 works - comprising over 160 pastels, 62 photographs, 6 major sculptural installations, plus a 30-foot long drawing - made over the last 14 years . Spencer Finch: What Time Is It on the Sun? will include four major new works, two of which are site-specific installations created for MASS MoCA. Finch blends a scientific method and a poetic sensibility to explore the nature of color, light, memory, and perception. Operating precariously in the gap between the objectivity of scientific observation and the subjectivity of creative expression, he attempts to depict the most elusive of subjects and fleeting experiences ­ sunlight, wind, candlelight, color, even the scent of Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal ­ using a range of media including pastel, watercolor, photography, glass tile, video, sculpture, and light installation as well as unexpected materials ranging from Tang to invisible ink.

The Believers
Through October 2007
Meticulously crafted animals that move on their own, healing machines that exude beneficial energy, love-filled performances, and statues that honor past and present deities - these are the works of some of The Believers, an exhibition that isn't about "belief" per se, but rather about the believers themselves, whose deeply-held personal truths fly in the face of skepticism, irony, and often, reason. Some artists in the exhibition ponder (and suggest answers for) some of the most fundamental questions that have long captivated philosophers, scientists, and spiritualists alike, from the nature of matter, the possibility of immortality and the elements of identity, to the dynamics of human interaction, the limits of physical capacity, and the power of the human mind. The exhibition will include new work by three of the artists. Artists include: Bas Jan Ader, Emery Blagdon, CarianaCarianne, Walter Cassidy, The Icelandic Love Corporation, Theo Jansen, Erkki Kurenniemi, Jonathan Meese, Yoshua Okun and Fritz Haeg, Breyer P-Orridge, Panamerenko, Sister Corita, Witch Vortex.

Stephan Koplowitz: Revealed
June 2-10, 2007
You can truly change the way you look at the world and experience of one of the world's first imaging technologies when site artist, Stephan Koplowitz installs a room-sized, walk-in camera obscura in our Scaturro Courtyard. The device has fascinated artists and scientists for centuries challenging viewers' perspective on place and scale. At MASS MoCA it promises a whole new look at our legendary upside down trees and the mountains beyond. Koplowitz and his ensemble will be in residence to create a site-specific performance event made for the camera's perspective which they'll perform several times throughout the day on June 9 or 10.

Dré Wapenaar: Pavilion
Long term installation opens June 15, 2007
Dutch artist and designer Dré Wapenaar will produce a multi-colored pavilion in MASS MoCA's Courtyard C. This outdoor social sculpture, located in the center of the 14-acre complex will be part of MASS MoCA for years to come. In association with NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires, the installation marks Wapenaar's second visit to North Adams. In 2004, as part of The Interventionists, he exhibited his Buckminster Fuller-inspired Birthing Tent (2003) and his Death Bivouac (2002). His inhabitable artworks use the tent form to suggest new social arrangements. With sail-like partitions, the courtyard pavilion will become home to MASS MoCA's outdoor performances and concerts as well as provide a shady respite for daytime visitors. NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires is coordinated by the Department of Press and Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York and Service Centre for International Cultural Activities (SICA) in Amsterdam. Initial funding for NL was provided by The Netherlands Culture Fund through SICA. Additional funding has been provided by the Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture and the Mondriaan Foundation.

Fransje Killaars
Long term installation opens June 15, 2007
Amsterdam-based textile artist Fransje Killaars will create a new large-scale installation for MASS MoCA as part of NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires. This will be the first US museum exhibition for the award-winning artist whose work has been showcased throughout Holland and Europe. Trained as a painter at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam, Killaars has been working with textiles since the 1990s. Inspired by many extended visits to India and the vibrant colors and materials used there in everyday life, the artist creates vivid, textured environments in fabric that blur the aesthetic and the functional. Re-thinking how color and space shape our experience and psychology, the artist has created bedspreads, wall hangings, and free-standing installations that merge painting, design and architecture. While working in the tradition of Mark Rothko, Ellsworth Kelly, and Sol LeWitt (who Killaars has assisted since 1984), the artist blurs the boundaries between art and craft, re-conceptualizing beds, carpets, curtains, and hammocks to create unique spaces for contemplation and meditation. The exhibition has been made possible by generous support from The Coby Foundation, Ltd.

NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires is coordinated by the Department of Press and Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of The Netherlands in New York and Service Centre for International Cultural Activities (SICA) in Amsterdam. Initial funding for NL was provided by The Netherlands Culture Fund through SICA. Additional funding has been provided by the Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture and the Mondriaan Foundation.

Performing Arts Events and Talks

Concert
Sunday May 27, 7 PM
Freedy Johnston: Can You Fly?
A Bar None Birthday Bash also with Brian Dewan & Vampire Weekend The storied Hoboken, N.J. label celebrates 20 years of fine independent music -- including MASS MoCA favorites They Might Be Giants, Yo La Tengo, and Mosquitos. Highlighting the festivities is a rare treat from the great singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston, who will recreate his astonishingly accomplished second album Can You Fly? in its entirety. Joining Johnston are two off the label's more racy prospects: Brian Dewan is a singer/instrument maker/visual artist and inventor of the Dewanatron ("a family of instruments which hazard unpredictable behaviors and self-playing tendencies"). The other is the just-signed Vampire Weekend, a clutch of young New Yorkers who play a hooky and after hours-ready brand of pop as beguiling as their name. Hunter Center. Price: $17, $21

Alt Cabaret
Friday June 15, 8:30 PM
ZAPP! String Quartet
Combining an exuberant onstage energy with a hybrid improvisational style that skitters from heavy metal to Bulgarian folk to be-bopping jazz, ZAPP! will play at MASS MoCA as part of the opening celebration for NL: A Season of Dutch Art in the Berkshires. Weather permitting; the cabaret will be outside, part of the maiden voyage of an exciting new installation by Dre Wapenaar. This Dutch artist has designed a sweeping tent structure with cozy wooden decking for the Courtyard Café area. Zapp performance will be followed by a party with Dutch DJ/VJ Micha Klein and complimentary desserts. Courtyard C. $14, $18

Kids Event: Animation with live music
Saturday June 16, 11 AM
Gustafer Yellowgold
Illustrator-singer-songwriter Morgan Taylor brings his wonderful animations to life with live story/songs about this friendly creature who came to earth from the sun. Gustafer and pals-his roommate Applecrumbie the flightless pterodactyl, a dragon named Asparagus who lives in their fireplace, and a pet eel named Slim (short for Slimothy)-are a joy for all ages. Club B-10. $5

Alt Cabaret
Saturday June 23, 8 PM
Mark Mulcahy
Pop master craftsman, local hero, and former frontman for Miracle Legion -- a singer for whom widespread fame is long overdue -- Mulcahy returns to MoCA (he collaborated here with Ben Katchor on The Slugbearers of Kayrol Island and The Rosenbach Company) fresh from recording a new album, with his band in tow. Weather permitting, outdoors in Courtyard C under the new tent. Courtyard C. $14, $18

Cinema Lounge
Friday June 29, 9 PM
ShortKorteFilm
A tasty program of shorts from Holland's vibrant film industry, shown outside in the courtyard on a giant screen. The selection includes a darkly humorous animation (Oblomov's Cat), a macabre faux-documentary about surgical implants run amok (Metelosis Maligna), and a heartbreaking auto-revenge fantasy, The Dummy. Part of NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires. Courtyard C. $10

Work-in-progress showing
Saturday June 30, 8 PM
Ulrike Quaade: The Wall
MASS MoCA artist-in-residence and one of Holland's leading visual theater artists, invites you into the midst of her work-in-progress experimentation in combining puppetry, dance, theater, live music, and visual art. The Wall is a series of portraits of individuals living in a claustrophobic contemporary space. The characters are the outline of a dream of the musician Erik Sanko - they are the tools of his song, the puppets of his mind. Part of NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires. Hunter Center. $10

Film with Live Music
Friday July 6, 9 PM
Electra and Film
Four women, four nationalities, and four instruments: violin, percussion, soprano and recorder-this internationally acclaimed new music ensemble presents a virtuosic evening of live music, film, and other media. Program highlights include Electra's soundtrack of composer Louis Andriessen and director Hal Hartley's short film collaboration The New Math(s), Andriessen's score to Betsy Torenbos's Shopping List of a Poisoner, Witches & Bitches, which cooks up choreography, film, mirrors, soundtracks, high heels, water kettles, witchcraft, girl power and Marilyn Monroe in a bubbling cauldron of mischief. Part of NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires. Courtyard C. $14, $18

Concert
Saturday July 7
Ralph Stanley, 8 PM
The bluegrass elder statesman has won multiple Grammys, was the first recipient of the Traditional American Music award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, has been named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, been inducted into the historic Grand Ole Opry, and was the cornerstone of the album that revived the music for the mainstream-the soundtrack to the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Yet Stanley continues to tour like a demon. MASS MoCA is honored to have him. Courtyard C/Hunter Center. Price: $22 in advance/$26 day of show

Film with Live Music
Saturday July 14, 9 PM
Gutbucket: Johnny the Giant Killer
Gutbucket performs (and sometimes acts out) its live original score to this wild cartoon-the first French animated feature ever (1950). Flitting from hard rock to Latin to thrash to klezmer and back, often within the space of a few bars, the group veritably attacks their music with the kind of ferocity usually reserved for punk, despite having earned their jazz bona fides. Courtyard C/Hunter Center. $14, $18

July 12-28
Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival
For the sixth year, MASS MoCA's galleries and performing arts spaces brim over with music as we welcome the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival and Institute. Students from around the world plus more than a dozen faculty comprise the institute -some of the leading composers and performers of experimental music working today. Daily recitals in the galleries and around the campus start July 12. Check massmoca.org for up-to-the-minute details.

Kids Event
Saturday July 21, 11 AM
Kids Can Too
A fun-filled morning of music for the younger set with the folks from Bang on a Can. Club B-10. $5

Concert
Saturday July 21, 8 PM
Bang on a Can All-Stars with Iva Bittova
The Bang on a Can All-Stars, New York's high-energy electric chamber ensemble premieres a new collaboration with the stunning Czech avant-folk songstress Iva Bittová. Bittová's haunting and riveting performance blends vocal and violin pyrotechnics with a theatrical flair on a par with performance art icons Laurie Anderson and Meredith Monk. Evening includes the world premiere of a work by Cornelis de Bondt, commissioned for Bang on a Can as part of the NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires, plus music by Michael Gordon, and Gregg August and film from the legendary Bill Morrison. Hunter Center. $24

Concert
Saturday July 28, 4 - 10 PM
Bang on a Can Marathon with special guest Don Byron
Bang on a Can brings its signature event back to the Berkshires! 30+ musicians and composers of the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at Mass MoCA join up with American Jazz innovator Don Byron for a six-hour non-stop concert program highlighted by music performances with this celebrated clarinetist-composer. It's a lexicon of American 20th and 21st century music as rendered completely insane. Hunter Center. $24

Alt Cabaret
Friday August 3, 8 PM
Bryan Vargas & ¡Ya Esta!
Invoking the spirits with a rumble of drums and a growl of distorted guitars, the 'Afro Latino soul' of Vargas and company is a mashup of electrified mambo and funk that gets the blood pumping. "Vargas offers a homegrown version of latino alternative music: Cuban son goes up against funk and bebop." -Time Out New York Courtyard C/Club B-10. $14, $18

Film Sing-a-long
Saturday August 4, 8:30 PM
Sing Along Fiddler on the Roof
Sing along with Tevye and the rest of the shtetl as MASS MoCA screens one of the most enduring and endearing movie musicals of all time, in a special print complete with lyric subtitles! Courtyard C/Hunter Center. $10

Dance
Saturday August 11, 8 PM
Nanine Linning: Cry Love
The last in a series of choreographer Linning's pieces inspired by the painter Francis Bacon, Cry Love delves into human instinct, mood, and emotion. This collaborative work is an energetic marriage of different disciplines: music by Jacob ter Veldhuis; video by Erik Lint and Roger Muskee; and an installation/set designed by the choreographer herself. Linning fuses these elements to create a dynamic, concentrated spectacle that brings our psychological survival mechanisms into the tightest of focus. Part of NL: A Season of Dutch Arts in the Berkshires. Hunter Center. $18

Film with live music
Saturday August 18, 8:30 PM
Laurel & Hardy with live original score by the Millennial Territory Orchestra
Classic comedy is given a rollicking musical treatment by trumpeter/slide trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, and composer Steven Bernstein, who has created new original scores to a selection of Laurel and Hardy films as a special commission for MASS MoCA. When Bernstein's incendiary Millennial Territory Orchestra - jam packed with some of New York's finest musicians - takes the stage and Laurel & Hardy hit the screen, hilarity, along with some astonishing musical invention, will ensue. Courtyard C/Hunter Center. $14, $18

Theater
Saturday August 25, 8 PM
Dood Paard: medEia
An experimental Amsterdam troupe whose collective method (the actors work without a director) has made it the talk of Holland's burgeoning theater scene, Dood Paard performs one of the strongest works of its near 15-year history. This contemporary adaptation takes on the myth of Medea -- her ultimate act of wrathful vengeance and its themes of love and tragic destiny -- with a linguistically bold approach. The play is written in a poetic, simplified form of broken English, which Dood Paard calls Euro-English, and the text is interlaced with lyrics from American and British pop songs, used as representations of modern society's collective memory. A stunning and highly accessible work. Hunter Center. $18

Alt Cabaret
Friday August 31, 8 PM
Taylor McFerrin
Combining his skills as a producer and performer, McFerrin (son of Bobby, and clearly inheritor of his astonishing vocal abilities) builds songs from scratch around Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, samples, vocals and beatboxing, creating a musical journey from his roots in '60s soul to his vision of future hip-hop. Courtyard C/Club B-10. $14, $18

African Dance Party
Sunday September 2, 8 PM
Dominic Kanza and the African Rhythm Machine
A guitarist of international acclaim who has worked with the likes of Papa Wemba and Paul Simon, Kanza comes to town with his fire-breathing band and a heavy dose of Congolese soukous (mixed with hints of reggae, rumba, and even salsa). The dance floor action promises to be fast, furious, and festive. Courtyard C/ Hunter Center. $14, $18

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org