UW News

February 2, 2012

Arts Roundup: Dance, music at Meany; photography at UW Tower — and School of Drama opens ‘Emma

UW News

This fun photo is titled 'Darth in the Park,' and is part of a faculty-staff photography exhibit at UW Tower that runs through April.

This fun photo is titled "Darth in the Park," and is part of a faculty-staff photography exhibit at UW Tower that runs through April.Coleen Guadalupe Sablan

Its the sort of lively week that shows off UW arts well. Theres dance, art, a variety of musical performances, cool photography at UW Tower, workshops at the Henry — and the School of Drama begins its production of Jane Austens classic novel, “Emma.”

Lets get in the mood, shall we? It begins, “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her…”  And Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. and dont conflict with “Downton Abbey” — whew!

UW Tower photo exhibit, reception Feb. 9: UW Art in the Tower presents the 2012 UW Faculty and Staff Photography Exhibit, in the Towers Fourth Floor Mezzanine Gallery,  through April, featuring a collection of 38 photographs taken by 30 UW faculty and staff from across campus.

There will be an artists reception 2 to 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, in the gallery. The exhibit includes themes from northwest scenery and life to industrial and architectural perspectives, social commentary, familial snapshots and light-hearted serendipitous sightings.

Art in the Tower — a committee of volunteers — hosts rotating and permanent exhibits in five gallery spaces in the UW Tower complex.  The group also sponsors the “Kidz Wall” (artwork by children of UW staff); exhibits by notable UW and northwest artists such as Ray Hill and Mary Randlett; and shows by UW affiliates. To learn more, email TowerArt@uw.edu.

Shen Wei Dance Arts will perform at Meany Hall.

Shen Wei Dance Arts will perform at Meany Hall.Shen Wei Dance Arts

Shen Wei Dance Arts, “Limited States,” Feb. 2-4. Hailed by The New York Times as “startlingly imaginative,” Shen Wei Dance Arts creates interdisciplinary, cross-cultural performances that incorporate visual and storytelling elements from the theater, Chinese opera, Eastern philosophy, traditional and contemporary visual art, and sculpture. The group will perform “Limited States,” a piece that received its world premiere at the American Dance Festival in July. Contains partial nudity throughout the program. Meany Hall. Tickets are $42, students/seniors $20.

Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., Feb. 3. Students of Michael Partington will perform guitar works for solo, duo, and group arrangements in the Guitar Ensemble in Brechemin Auditorium. Tickets are $5, cash or check at the door. Call 206-685-8384 or visit online.

Russian Masters, 3 p.m., Feb. 5. Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers, under the direction of Eric Garcia, will present a concert of orchestral and choral music by Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Alexander Borodin and Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky. Meany Hall. See Brown Paper Tickets or call 1-800-838-3006.

“How to Make a One Minute Sculpture” workshops, Feb. 5, 10. During the Henry Art Gallerys presentation of Erwin Wurms “One Minute Sculptures” visitors will have the opportunity to engage in participatory experiences designed to explore concepts introduced in the piece. Join Seattle choreographer and experimental dance filmmaker Karn Junkinsmith for a workshop 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5, and Cat Clifford from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10. Learn more and register online. The Henry also holds its annual gala at 6 p.m. Saturday,  Feb. 11. Learn more online.

Scholarships for Scholars XII, 6-8:30 p.m., Feb. 7. The UW School of Art will hold its 12th annual “Scholarships for Scholars” celebration 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the UW 3D4M Studios CMA Building, 4205 Mary Gates Memorial Drive. The 3D4M workspace will be converted to a venue for revelry and fundraising, with a raffle and silent auction to fund scholarships for future graduate students. 3D4M stands for Three Dimensional Forum, covering ceramics, glass and sculpture. This years grand raffle prize is a suite of five heads made by art professors Doug Jeck, Amie McNeel, Akio Takamori, Jamie Walker and Mark Zirpel. Silent auction items will be posted for bidding as they arrive and will include creations by the 3D4M faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends. Tickets are $30, available online, and include a unique, handmade cup of your choice, dinner, beverages, music, and parking. Watch a video about 3D4M and Scholarships for Scholars.

“Emma,” School of Drama, Feb. 8-26. Guest director Victor Pappas returns to present this staging of the Jane Austen classic, adapted by Michael Bloom. With her characteristic wit and style, Austen introduces us to a young woman who is about to learn a few lessons on love. In Michael Bloom’s adaptation, Emma is a confident matchmaker whose single-minded purpose sometimes gets in the way of kindness, to her own chagrin. Her doting father feels content that she will never marry. Emma believes this to be true. Jones Playhouse. Tickets are $10-$20.

Jan Lisiecki Recital, 8 p.m., Feb. 8. This piano prodigy was only 9 when he made his orchestral debut. Now at 16, the Calgary-based pianist has performed as a soloist with orchestras throughout Canada and around the world. Demonstrating extraordinary musicality and flawless technique he is leaving international audiences in awe wherever he goes. Tickets $32, $20 for students, UW World Series, Meany Hall.

“Miss Representation,”  6-8:30 p.m., Feb. 8. The UW Womens Center will have a free screen of the documentary film “Missreprestation,” in Room 147 of Architecture Hall. The screening will be followed by a discussion and reception. Learn more about the film online.

Studying Japanese emaki, and more. A common form of Japanese painting is the handscroll, or emaki, a horizontal, illustrative narrative form created during the 11th to 16th centuries depicting stories of battles, religion, the supernatural, romance and folk tales.

Students from Cynthea Bogel's art history seminar, 'Japanese Medieval Handscroll Painting, Highlight Ritual, Display Culture and Food Culture,' visit Umai-do Japanese Sweets,a bakery in Seattle's International District.

Julia Harrison

This quarter, 10 UW students are studying emaki in a seminar titled “Japanese Medieval Handscroll Painting, Highlight Ritual, Display Culture, and Food Culture.” The seminar is co-taught by Cynthea Bogel, UW associate professor of  art history; and two visiting art historians from Japan, Satomi Yamamoto (Kyōritsu Womens University, Tokyo) and Akira Takagishi (Tokyo Institute of Technology). Julia Harrison, a Seattle cultural anthropologist, also assists.

The class is offered by the art history department with support from the Japan Foundation and the Simpson Center for the Humanities, and is taught in Japanese with English translation. A series of public events has been organized in conjunction with the seminar. “Objects, Displays, and Edible Arts in Historical Japan and Japanese-American Seattle” centers on the production and display of confectionary arts in Japan and Japanese-American Seattle.A free public lecture series, “Food and Faith in Japan,” is being held evenings at 7 p.m. at the Seattle Art Museum. Harrison speaks on Feb. 2, Yamamoto on Feb. 9, and Takagishi on Feb. 16.

    Bogel and Harrison will also give free public talks at Kobo at Higo, a gallery and store located in Seattles International District, on Feb. 4 and March 10. Learn more online.