Colby College - Events | Arts & Culture

Colby College is pleased to announce the following February events. All are free and open to the public.

Light and Spirit in Art: Andy Warhol
Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Chaplain Alice Anderman will discuss Andy Warhol’s “Jackie” as part of an ongoing program looking at spiritual and theological themes in artwork and the artist’s use of light as a way of communicating the movement of spirit and the presence of God.
Contact: Alice Anderman, 859-4273, aanderma@colby.edu

First Thursday at the Museum: Opening Reception
Thursday, Feb. 3, 4:30 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Opening reception for Clemens Kalischer: Displaced Persons and Scott Reed: Characters, with live music by the Maine Jazz Cooperative.
Contact: Colby College Museum of Art, museum@colby.edu, 859-5600

Putting It Together
Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 3-5, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 5, 2 p.m.
Strider Theater, Runnals Building
Colby celebrates Stephen Sondhiem's 80th birthday by staging Putting It Together, his widely admired revue featuring some of the most important songs of the musical theater canon. Two New York and Hollywood veterans—our own Lauren Sterling and very special guest Doug Jabara—appear alongside an ensemble of Colby’s up-and-coming triple threats. No advance reservations. Tickets are free and distributed at the door beginning 30 minutes before curtain time. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; directed by Lynne Conner; musical direction by Paul Machlin.
Contact: Deb Ward, djward@colby.edu, 859-4521

Armen Donelian Trio
Saturday, Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m.
Lorimer Chapel
Armen Donelian is known for masterful playing rooted in classical, jazz, and Middle Eastern studies and characterized by clean articulation, a deft, swinging touch, access to a broad dynamic spectrum, a virtuosic harmonic vocabulary, and a boundless source of creative ideas. For more than three decades, his sweeping imagination has spanned American, European, and Armenian compositional, improvisational, and folk idioms on recordings and in concerts in 23 countries.
Contact: Vivian Lemieux, vlemieux@colby.edu, 859-5671

Armen Donelian Trio: Master Class
Sunday, Feb. 6, noon
Given Auditorium, Bixler Art and Music Center
In this interactive workshop, students and local musicians will work with world-renowned professionals on technique, finger positions, and more.
Contact: Vivian Lemieux, vlemieux@colby.edu, 861-5671

Israeli Society Through the Lens of Film: Life According to Agfa
Monday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m.
Room 205, Lovejoy Building
Join Israeli cinematographer Yoav Kosh for screenings and discussions of recently released Israeli films that reflect facets of contemporary life in Israel. In the tragic drama ?Life According to Agfa, the characters are all denizens of Tel Aviv’s nightlife, and the action takes place in  an all-night bar owned by two women with difficult romantic relationships.

Additional films in the series this month:
My Father, My Lord?
Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.
Room 205, Lovejoy Building
This film by David Volach won the Tribeca Film Festival 2007 Top Award. It depicts a man, devoted to a life of study and worship, who hopes to impart his faith to his young son. It is a journey to the innermost world of the believer as he comes face to face with the still silence of God.

Vasermil
Monday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.
Room 205, Lovejoy Building
This film by Mushon Salmona, named after the soccer stadium located in Be’er Sheva in southern Israel, tells the story of three teenagers who pin their hopes on soccer as a way out of an unforgiving environment.
Yoav Kosh, the Schusterman Visiting Artist Program artist-in-residence at Colby this semester, has been an active filmmaker and teacher in Israel for 25 years. His cinematography credits include about 25 feature-length movies and dozens of television shows, drama series, and documentaries. Kosh has won numerous honors for his work, including two awards for "Best Cinematography" from the Israeli Film Academy, that country's counterpart to the Oscars.
Contact: Barbara Spangle, bspangle@colby.edu, 859-5319

Hollis Lecture—The New Work of Environmentalism: Preparing Colby Students to Lead
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.
Room 1, Olin Science Center
Conservation is at a threshold and so is our country. How do those who care about the land join others working on social justice, hunger, and climate change to create stronger movements for change and a culture of belonging in America? For ten years, Peter Forbes has led a bold experiment in transformational leadership that is blurring the lines between environmentalism and social justice. With alumni in 47 states, Forbes's Center for Whole Communities is transforming the landscape of activism in our country.
Contact: Lia Morris, lmmorris@colby.edu, 859-5356

Light and Spirit in Art: William Couper
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Mirken Curator of Education Lauren Lessing will discuss William Couper’s “Vision” as part of an ongoing program looking at spiritual and theological themes in artwork and the artist’s use of light as a way of communicating the movement of spirit and the presence of God.
Contact: Alice Anderman, 859-4273, aanderma@colby.edu

Waypoint Namibia?
Thursday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m.
Room 122, Diamond Building
Majka Burhardt is a writer, climber, guide, author, and filmmaker. She has traveled and guided throughout the world by bike, canoe, and foot. Her book Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa was short listed for the Banff Book Award. Her second book, Coffee Story: Ethiopia, will be released in 2011. In 2009, Majka produced the film Waypoint Namibia, which is currently touring film festivals around the world.
Contact: Barbara Spangle, bspangle@colby.edu, 859-5319

Get Up Downtown: Chocolate Tasting at Maynard's?
Thursday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m.
10 Water Street, Waterville
Contact: Barbara Spangle, bspangle@colby.edu, 859-5319

Ensemble Chanterelle Master Class
Friday, Feb. 11, 2 p.m.
Given Auditorium, Bixler Art and Music Center
In this interactive workshop, students and local musicians have the opportunity to work on technique with world-renowned professionals.
Contact: Vivian Lemieux, vlemieux@colby.edu, 859-5671

Art to Heart: Valentine Printmaking Workshop
Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.
Colby College Museum of Art and Freshwater Arts, Waterville
Learn about prints and patterns at the museum, then, at Freshwater Arts, create stamps to print Valentine cards. This event is free and open to all ages, but attendance is limited and preregistration is required. To register, please call 859-5613.
Contact: Colby College Museum of Art, museum@colby.edu, 859-5600

A Musical Valentine: Love Songs from the 17th Century
Saturday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Lorimer Chapel
The award-winning trio Ensemble Chanterelle (Sally Sanford, soprano; Catherine Lidell, lute and theorbo; Brent Wissick, viol and baroque cello) specializes in the dramatic, passionate music of the early Baroque. Their program for Valentine's Day will look at love in its many guises. Become enchanted by the spell of Amor/Eros and sample a confection of dazzling florid songs, sweet and humorous airs, and inspiring instrumental interludes. Works by Monteverdi, Purcell, and others. This concert is dedicated to Clifford "Bump" Bean '51.
Contact: Vivian Lemieux, vlemieux@colby.edu, 859-5671

Artist Talk: Scott Reed
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 12:30 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Associate Professor of Art Scott Reed will discuss the exhibition Scott Reed: Characters. Complimentary lunch will be served at noon to the first 40 visitors.
Contact: Colby College Museum of Art, museum@colby.edu, 859-5600

Light and Spirit in Art: Ansel Adams
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Photographer and pastor David Anderman will discuss Ansel Adams’s “Arched Doorway” as part of an ongoing program looking at spiritual and theological themes in artwork and the artist’s use of light as a way of communicating the movement of spirit and the presence of God.
Contact: Alice Anderman, 859-4273, aanderma@colby.edu

Journalism and Internet Use in Russia
Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.
Room 122, Diamond Building
Beth Knobel worked for two decades as a reporter before joining Fordham University in 2007. From 1999 through 2006, she was the Moscow bureau chief for CBS News. She received an Emmy award for coverage of the 2002 Moscow theater siege and Edward R. Murrow and Sigma Delta Chi awards for coverage of the 2004 Beslan school siege. Knobel lived in Moscow for 14 years, also working for the Los Angeles Times and news production companies. Eariler in her career, she worked for the New York Times.
Contact: Barbara Spangle, bspangle@colby.edu, 859-5319

Jazz TV Themes and More
Saturday, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Given Auditorium, Bixler Art and Music Center
The Colby Faculty Jazz Quintet and guest artists—pianist Jonathan Mastro and soprano Lauren Sterling—will present famous jazz-inspired tunes that have been themes from Mission Impossible, The Flintstones, Charlie Brown, The Untouchables, "Hikky-Burr" (The Bill Cosby Show), "It’s A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood," The Price Is Right, and Spiderman. Also featured will be tunes written by Colby faculty with the instruction, "If I composed a TV theme it would sound like… ." Eric Thomas, clarinet/saxophone; Mark Tipton, trumpet; Carl Dimow, guitar; Rick Bishop, bass guitar; and Mark Macksoud, drums
Contact: Vivian Lemieux, vlemieux@colby.edu, 859-5671

Climate Change Avatars
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.
Room 1, Olin Science Center
Tired of hearing 50-plus-year-old people say "We screwed up the planet, we're sorry, but now you have to fix it"? Eban Goodstein, director of the environmental studies program at Bard College, will discuss the science, economics, and politics of global warming, and show how, if the older generation will first deliver, then students today really do face a brilliant opportunity to vastly enrich the future.
Contact: Lia Morris, lmmorris@colby.edu, 859-5356

Light and Spirit in Art: Fitz Henry Lane
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m.
Colby College Museum of Art
Museum docent Carol Welch will discuss Fitz Henry Lane’s "Sunrise on the Maine Coast" as part of an ongoing program looking at spiritual and theological themes in artwork and the artist’s use of light as a way of communicating the movement of spirit and the presence of God.
Contact: Alice Anderman, 859-4273, aanderma@colby.edu

Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi Hunter: The Man Who Refused to Forget
Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.
Pugh Center, Cotter Union
At the annual Lipman Lecture, Tom Segev will discuss his book Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends and topics related to the Holocaust, Israel, and current affairs in the Middle East. Segev is an Israeli historian, author, and active journalist at the prestigious Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He is the author of many books including The Seventh Million: Israelis and the Holocaust; 1967: Israel, the War and the Year That Transformed the Middle East, and, most recently, his bestselling volume on the famous Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends, which has been translated into several languages and was listed by the New York Times as one of the top ten books of 2010.
Contact: Professor David Freidenreich, dfreiden@colby.edu, 859-4646

Literary Delights: Colby Faculty Woodwinds
Saturday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.
Lorimer Chapel
Soprano Suzanne Nance will join faculty members flutist Nicole Rabata, oboist Michael Albert, clarinetist Eric Thomas, and pianist Yuri Funahashi for an evening of eclectic selections tackling storytelling in music. Compositions include Lester Trimble's The Canterbury Tales, Telemann's Cantata for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, and Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen.
Contact: Vivian Lemieux, vlemieux@colby.edu, 859-5671

Ongoing Exhibitions at the Colby College Museum of Art

Alex Katz: Drawings
January 27 - October 2
Selected from the Alex Katz Collection, this exhibition offers an overview of Alex Katz's drawing practice, from ink and oil sketches to carefully finished graphite drawings constituted by the effects of light and pose.

Clemens Kalischer: Displaced Persons
January 13 - June 12
In 1947 and 1948, Clemens Kalischer (b. 1921, Germany) photographed World War II refugees from Europe as they awaited immigration processing in New York City. These photographs became Kalischer's Displaced Persons series, one of his first assignments as a young photojournalist. Having entered the United States via the same route in 1942, Kalischer understood his subjects well. Drawn from the Lunder Collection, this selection from the series shows travelers in varying states of weariness and expectancy at the threshold of a new life.

Scott Reed: Characters
January 13 - March 20
Associate Professor of Art Scott Reed describes the imagery in his ink drawings as comprising "worlds within worlds, personalities within personalities, characters all."

Inspired by Buddhism: Asian Art from the Permanent Collection
Through June 12, 2011
This exhibition showcases Colby's strong holdings in Asian art, including works from the Lunder Collection, with objects from throughout the region: Cambodia to China to Tibet to Korea and Japan.

Little Elegies: The Art of Nineteenth-Century Mourning
Through April 3, 2011
Drawn from the museum's collections, this exhibition presents paintings, texts, and objects created to assuage grief, memorialize the dead, and remind viewers of religious truths during a period when death was an ever-present part of American daily life.

Currents 6: Gina Siepel
Through February 13, 2011
The sixth Currents exhibition presents process- and performance-based works by Gina Siepel, including the artist's hand-built workboat based on the traditional river bateau, video documentation of her trips down the Kennebec River with a variety of guides, and photographs inspired by Winslow Homer's iconic paintings and watercolors.

Photographs from the Collection of Norma B. Marin
Ongoing
Organized in collaboration with Assistant Professor of Art Gary M. Green, this exhibition presents black-and-white photographs by American modernists from the collection of Norma B. Marin. Featured artists include Berenice Abbott, Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, Imogen Cunningham, Alfred Stieglitz, and Paul Strand, among others.

Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art
Ongoing
On view is a dynamic group of new acquisitions in a wide range of media, including paintings by Bob Thompson, David Salle, Helmut Federle, and Nicole Wittenberg, all gifts from the Alex Katz Foundation; print purchases by Julie Mehretu, Vija Celmins, and Lee Bontecou made possible by Lindsay Leard Coolidge '78; sculptures by Louise Nevelson and Kiki Smith from the Lunder Collection; and a sculpture by Louise Bourgeois on loan from Barbara and Ted Alfond.

The Colby College Museum of Art is open Sunday noon to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month during the academic year. For more information, visit www.colby.edu/museum or call 859-5600.