Because of special events the week after 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis spring break, we are publishing a special Arts Blog this week on Tuesday. Enjoy. Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor
Events mark the Year of the Eggheads starting Thursday, April 4
Art Spark
April: Eggheaded Ideas
What kind of Egghead sculpture would you design? Make a miniature model out of clay, inspired by the maquettes Robert Arneson created as part of the process of designing the public sculptures on campus. Come visit us on Picnic Day to see a temporary installation of visitors models.
Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4 p.m.
Through June 23, 2024
Drop in for an afternoon of art making at the Carol and Gerry Parker Art Studio. Explore a different activity inspired by art on view each month. All ages and skill levels are welcome!
The Year of the Eggheads begins with a birthday celebration marking the 30th anniversary of the last Egghead installations of the Egghead sculptures by Robert Arneson.
A foundational member of the esteemed 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis Arts Department, Arneson was the pre-eminent sculptor and 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis professor who created the Eggheads at the end of a stunningly influential career.
The Year of the Eggheads campaign preliminarily launched April 1 with a month of Egghead-themed events, hosted by units and departments across the university, that not only celebrate the spirit of the Eggheads but also encourage learning about art and artists of 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis.
It also marks the launch of the new Arneson Egghead Collection, an assortment of Eggheads-licensed products, including shirts, jewelry, bucket hats, tote bags, blankets, kitchenware and much more. Some items will be limited editions, meaning once theyre gone, theyre gone. A percentage of sales will go toward the preservation of the Egghead sculptures.
The April 4 campus-wide celebration will feature a new display providing a look behind the scenes at the Eggheads creation, plus live music and discounts on games and food. Egghead-themed apparel and merchandise will be available at locations across campus.
The festivities will continue in ensuing weeks with other events, giveaways and more. Sign up here to receive Egghead email updates.
See a full list of events, including Egghead lattes, and mini exhibits in the full story here by Jos矇 Vadi. See the full news release, with more photos and video here.
'I Exist Project' with Nick May on the saxophone
Thursday, April 4, 12:05 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, free
T堯梗 amplifies the richness and diversity of queer life, culture, and artistry by partnering with a broad spectrum of talented queer composers and performers. Our mission is to inspire the creation and promotion of innovative queer repertoire that celebrates the unique experiences and voices within our community, fostering greater understanding, connection, and visibility for all.
Program
Nathan Froebe: Array
Zachery S. Meier: with love, from the other side
Tray Makler: jouissance, or learning to let go (WORLD PREMIERE)
Harold Arlen: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
arr. Kevin Taylor
Sharing perspectives: A participatory performative score with DorteBjerre Jensen
Friday, April 5, Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, invitation only
Danish artist DorteBjerre Jensen (DBJ) hosts the interactive work Sharing Perspectives as a collaborative artistic experience. If you are interested in receiving an invitation to participate, please contact Audrianna Escobedo at aescobedo@ucdavis.edu.
A performative score, Sharing Perspectives stages and explores boundaries, uncertainty, togetherness and the relationship in between bodies and between bodies and the vibrant space. The score is grounded within dance/choreography (contact improvisation) and score design, giving a rare insight into the world of the other by embodying another persons perspective. In 2019, Sharing Perspectives was performed in relation to the Olafur Eliasson exhibition In Real Life at the Tate Modern in London.
The Triplets of Belleville Cine-Concert
Friday, April 5, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall at The Mondavi Center, tickets starting at $25
Transport to the exciting streets of 1920s Paris and Le Jazz Hot with a screening of the beloved French film featuring Beno簾t Charest leading Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville in a live performance of the original score.
The Triplets of Belleville 眩ells the story of a Tour de France cyclist who is kidnapped by mysterious, square-shouldered henchmen and spirited across the ocean to the teeming metropolis of Belleville. But the true star of the animated film is the hot jazz score written by Canadian composer Charest.
Read the
Get tickets here:
Re-evaluating gender through materiality
Art history graduate symposium
Friday, April 5, noon-5 p.m., Everson 266, 300 Hutchinson Dr, free
The Second Annual Art History Graduate Symposium will explore how past and present expressions of gender through objects illuminates the intersections between material and gendered self-image.
Some of these reflections we wish the world to see and identify, others we wish to remain hidden. Nonetheless, those hidden elements can still act as subtle signals to a broader audience across space and time.
Witnessing and identifying the hidden iconography within materials has been a traditional concern in Art History. However, current events have pressed issues of gender into the limelight. Wishing to support efforts of inclusion, we are hosting a symposium to highlight novel approaches to studying gender through material culture.
Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Joshua Bell at Mondavi
Saturday, April 6, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall at The Mondavi Center, tickets starting at $55
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is one of the worlds finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the worlds greatest orchestral music.
Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 the orchestra, now led by Joshua Bell, has gained an enviable international reputation for its distinctive, polished and refined sound. This program features Mendelssohns violin concerto, a true romantic masterpiece, and Brahmss uplifting second symphony.
This program runs for 2 hours including an intermission.
Get tickets here:
Read the
The Power of Printmaking: Curators and Printmakers
Saturday, April 13, 2-4:30 p.m., the Manetti Shrem Museum
Mark your calendars for this engaging and immersive event, where well explore the politics and art of printmaking and come together to gain a deeper appreciation of the rich tapestry of artistic expression.
The program begins with a conversation that will look closely at Montoyas remarkable work and will provide insights into the curatorial approach to the exhibition. Dont miss this thought-provoking conversation, shedding light on the curatorial processes and the power of printmaking.
Following the talk, there will be a book signing and sale of Tere Romos book, Malaquias Montoya (A Ver).
Student artists from the print center Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer in Woodland will be present to demonstrate their skills by pulling unique screenprints that are available to take home.
Kismarton String Trio
Thursday, April 11, 12:05 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, free
Kismarton Piano Trio
Ian Jessee, violin
Istv獺n Pol籀ny穩, viola
Susan Lamb Cook, cello and 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis lecturer in music
Featuring Roger Xia, piano, and Hrabba Atladottir, violin
Program
Beethoven: Serenade for String Trio in D Major
Zolt獺n Kod獺ly: Intermezzo for String Trio
Ernst von Dohn獺nyi: Piano Quintet No. 1
Coming Up:
Artist Talk with Sarah Sense
Friday, April 12, 3 p.m., The Gorman Museum of Art, free
Chitimacha and Choctaw artist Sarah Sense will discuss her current projects and provide insight into her artistic practice. Sense began photo-weaving in 2004. Using traditional basket patterns from her Chitimacha and Choctaw heritage, she combines photographs, maps and texts from her archival research to present biographical, tribal, and international histories.
In recent projects, Sense combines contemporary photographs of her tribes ancestral home land with landscape scenes of her current California home location and colonial maps and manuscripts. In creating the weavings with these diverse elements, she says her process of weaving together past, present, and future broadens the visual experience to something that is felt and not seen.
The 20th Annual HellaCappella
Friday, April 12, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center, tickets starting at $38
Presented by 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis premier all-female-identifying, award-winning a cappella group, The Spokes, HellaCappella is an exciting collaboration between a cappella groups of all shapes, sizes, and sounds.
For the past twenty years, HellaCappellas audience has continued to grow, attracting music lovers across generations from the greater Davis and Sacramento communities. The Spokes are proud to present their show once again in the beautiful Mondavi Center. This years show is especially exciting as they are celebrating the twentieth anniversary of HellaCappella.
Get tickets here
Ongoing Exhibits
Dark edge of nature: literary archives of Jordan Fisher Smith exhibit
Feb. 26 - May 3, Shields Library (located in the lobby - left side of main staircase)
At the age of 22, Jordan Fisher Smith decided to become a park ranger, a job he describes as protecting the land from the people, the people from the land, the people from each other, and the people from themselves. His career took him to the Grand Tetons, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, the California coast, the Alaskan bush, and finally the American River canyons northeast of Sacramento.
Smith began to write about his experiences as a ranger, and was soon a published author with an elegant command of environmental writing. His works capture the startling beauty of natural places, but also their darker edges; areas of conflict and danger where human activity encroaches into the natural world.
Smiths work tells the story of one rangers path to professional writing, and demonstrates the types of resources a literary archive holds for researchers and students of the writers craft.