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| Utopian
idyll: An untitled work from the AIHA’s Byrdcliffe exhibition. |
UTOPIAN
ARTIFACTS: The concept of utopia doesn’t have the best reputation
these days, what with the general discrediting of the whole
notion of the “perfectibility of man.” This isn’t really fair,
though, is it? So we know we can’t attain perfection—big deal.
Dreaming of perfection has a certain nobility in itself. Which
brings us to Byrdcliffe, the utopian artists’ colony
founded in Woodstock in 1903, and the current exhibit at the
Albany Institute of History and Art. Byrdcliffe:
An American Arts and Crafts Colony is, according to
the AIHA, the “first major traveling show and publication about
Byrdcliffe,” and showcases the variety of works created there,
including highly decorative ceramics, painted furniture and
art. (Pictured: Untitled, 1904, by Lovell Birge Harrison;
photo by R. Lorenzson.) This Sunday (Jan. 23) at 2 PM, the AIHA
will host a lecture presentation on Byrdcliffe by Nancy E.
Green, senior curator at Cornell University’s Herbert F.
Johnson Museum of Art, and the organizer of this exhibit. Following
this presentation, there will be a reception from 3-5 PM. The
program is free with museum admission. For more info, call 463-4478
or visit www.albanyinstitute.org.
TRAVELING
BAGS: Lost Cases, Recovered Lives: Suitcases
from a State Hospital Attic, the recent exhibit at
the New York State Museum [“Out of the Past,” Aug.
19] will soon be going on tour. The Community Consortium,
an Albany-based nonprofit organization, has received a $55,000
grant from the van Ameringen Foundation to produce
a traveling version of the acclaimed exhibit. As with the
original exhibit, this version will use photographs and text
to show the lives of the people who owned the suitcases—cases
that were salvaged from an attic in a building at the former
Willard State Hospital (Willard, N.Y.) before its closing
in the mid-1990s. The contents of the cases were often the
only items left from the lives of their owners, Willard patients
who, in most cases, were lifelong residents of the hospital.
Reached by phone, co-curator Darby Penney said that
the idea for a traveling exhibit was formed early on: “We
were thinking of it when the exhibit was still up, last spring.”
While the traveling version is in the earliest planning stages,
Penney explained, there is already significant interest in
hosting it: “We’ve heard from as far away as Alaska.”
Certainly, the unique nature of the exhibit is responsible
for the widespread interest; mental health, and our treatment
of the mentally ill, is still a vital issue. Of course, the
powerful impact of the exhibit is central to its appeal. When
it was at the NYSM, Penney remembered seeing “people standing
in there, crying.” The traveling exhibit will be available
for loan to “public libraries, historical societies, human
service agencies, schools and community centers.”
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: In case you missed it, the Court
of Appeals tossed New York’s death penalty statute last July,
owing to improper sentencing guidelines. This sent the issue
back to the state Legislature for a rewrite. The Senate and
Assembly are about to hold a joint public hearing to “examine
the future of capital punishment in New York state.” To coincide
with this, Arts Engine Inc. and New Yorkers Against
the Death Penalty will host a screening this Tuesday (Jan.
25) at 6 PM at the Albany Public Library (161 Washington Ave.,
Albany) of Deadline. This documentary looks
at the events surrounding former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s
controversial decision to commute the sentences of all 167
prisoners on the state’s death row. Katy Chevigny,
Deadline’s director, will be on hand for a panel discussion
along with newsman-author Bill Kurtis of A&E’s
American Justice and NYADP executive director David
Kaczynski. A large turnout is anticipated; reservations
are suggested. To RSVP, call or e-mail Beth Davenport at (646)
230-6228 or beth@bigmouthproductions.
IN THE SPIRIT OF ROGER CORMAN: Beginning this Saturday, the
New York State Museum (Empire State Plaza, Albany)
is hosting the Dead of Winter Free Film Festival in
the Museum Theater. This weekend and next, Dead of Winter
will showcase independent horror films made right here in
New York by Capital Region filmmakers. This Saturday (Jan.
22), beginning at 10 AM, three films by Bruce G. Hallenbeck
will be featured, including the world premiere of his
latest, London After Midnight. On Sunday (Jan. 23,
10 AM), films by Joe Bagnardi, including last year’s
The Edge of Reality, will take the spotlight. The following
weekend, directors Jeff Kirkendall (Jan. 29, beginning
at noon) and the team of Brandon Bethmann and Eric
Szmyr (Jan. 30, 10 AM) will be shown. A panel discussion
with all of the filmmakers will be held Jan. 30 at 2 PM. These
are horror films intended for an over-17 crowd, so bring Grandma
along to keep the kids company over at the Adirondack Park
exhibit. For more information, call 474-5877.
COME SEE ABOUT US: Beginning in March, the Albany Institute
of History and Art will be hosting The Mary Wilson
Supreme Legacy Collection. Yep, it’s that Mary
Wilson and those Supremes, the great ’60s Motown
group who were bigger than anyone else in pop music, save
the four Brits with bad hair. More than 50 costumes and rare
memorabilia will be on display. To give the show a local flava,
AIHA curator of history Doug McCombs is putting out
a “call to the community” to create The Supremes: A Community
Album. As per the official announcement: “If you have posters,
photographs, autographs, collectables and other materials
including stories about the Supremes that you would be willing
to loan and share for the exhibition from Feb. 1 through June
30,” contact McCombs at 463-4478 ext. 428, or by e-mail at
mccombsd@albanyinstitute.org. Hmm . . . maybe I should dig
out my old copy of Floy Joy.
—Shawn
Stone
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