Syracuse University presents 'Rethinking Michelangelo: A Series of Lectures, Concerts, and Special Events'
28 July 2008
Targeted News Service
Michelangelo Buonarroti has been celebrated for more than 450 years as a sculptor, painter, architect, poet and patriot. This fall, members of the Syracuse University and Central New York communities will have an opportunity to experience his genius firsthand through "Rethinking Michelangelo: A Series of Lectures, Concerts, and Special Events." Featured guests include award-winning soprano Anita Johnson, the Schola Cantorum of Syracuse and William Edward Wallace, the Barbara Murphy Bryant Distinguished Professor of Art History at Washington University, among others.
"Rethinking Michelangelo" complements "Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth," an unprecedented exhibition at the SUArt Galleries Aug. 12-Oct. 19. The exhibition will include more than a dozen of the Renaissance master's original drawings and writings on loan from the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, Italy. Some of the works have never been exhibited in the United States. The exhibition will also appear at the Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery at SU's Joseph I. Lubin House in New York City from Nov. 4-Jan. 4, 2009.
Further information about the exhibition and related events is available on the "Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth" website at http://michelangelo.syr.edu/.
CONCERTS
The concerts are open to the general public. Discounted paid parking will be available in the Irving Garage.
Sunday, Sept. 21
2 p.m.
Hendricks Chapel
Cost: Free
"From Sonnets to Spirituals," featuring award-winning soprano Anita Johnson, who will present a program of vocal gems -- settings of Michelangelo sonnets by Schubert, Wolff and Britten, followed by a generous offering of heartwarming spirituals. The concert is a joint presentation of the Malmgren Concert Series, Pulse performing arts series, Syracuse Symposium and The College of Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Office of Alumni Relations.
Sunday, Oct. 19
3:30 p.m. Viol prelude
4 p.m. Schola Cantorum of Syracuse
Setnor Auditorium, Crouse College
Cost: $12 general public; $8 students
Tickets are available at the door; cash only. "Music to Michelangelo's Ear," featuring the Schola Cantorum of Syracuse, directed by Joyce Irwin. The concert will include carnival songs, laude and madrigals from Michelangelo's era in Florence; sacred music from his time in Rome; and works representing the Protestant and Catholic reformations of the 16th century.
Schola Cantorum of Syracuse is a chamber choir of about 16 members, both amateur and professional, devoted to the performance of music from the Medieval, Renaissance and early Baroque eras -- that is, music composed from about 1000-1700 AD. Schola Cantorum annually presents a three-concert subscription series in Central New York and sponsors a summer choral workshop with invited conductors.
RAY SMITH SYMPOSIUM
Friday, Oct. 3, and Saturday, Oct. 4
Life Sciences Auditorium
Cost: Free
"Rethinking Michelangelo," a symposium and opening night keynote address that will explore questions and issues associated with the drawings and graphic materials in the exhibition "Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth." The symposium will feature leading scholars from across the United States and Europe. Areas of focus include: "Men and Women in the Art and Life of Michelangelo," "Michelangelo Draws" and "Michelangelo in Word and Print." The symposium is free and open to the general public. Discounted paid parking will be available in the Irving Garage. Registration information and a complete schedule of events are available at http://michelangelo.syr.edu. Information is also available by e-mailing Rethink@syr.edu or by calling the Department of Fine Arts at (315) 443-4184.
The Ray Smith Symposium, presented by The College of Arts and Sciences Humanities Council, was established in 1989 as the result of a bequest from the estate of SU alumnus Ray W. Smith '21 to support symposia on topics in the Humanities. Travel support for invited international scholars is being provided by a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
PUBLIC LECTURES
The following lectures are free and open to the general public. Discounted paid parking will be available in the Irving Garage.
Friday, Sept. 19
10:30 a.m.
Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Cost: Free
"Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth," a lecture and gallery visit presented by SUArt Galleries Director Domenic Iacono and Dean's Professor of the Humanities Gary Radke. This two-part lecture will include the story of the exhibition and how it is being presented in Syracuse and in New York City. Guided tours of the exhibition are available at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Registration information for the guided tours can be found on the 2008 Homecoming + Reunion Weekend website at http://homecoming.syr.edu.
The lecture and art gallery tours are sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations and the SUArt Galleries and are included in the 2008 Homecoming + Reunion Weekend activities.
Wednesday, Oct. 1
7:30 p.m.
Life Sciences Auditorium
Cost: Free
"Drawing a Life of Michelangelo," featuring SU's 2008 Jeannette K. Watson Visiting Professor William Edward Wallace. Wallace, the Barbara Murphy Bryant Distinguished Professor of Art History at Washington University, will discuss the historical and personal contexts surrounding Michelangelo's drawings and documents held by the Casa Buonarroti and on exhibit at the SUArt Galleries. Wallace is an internationally recognized authority on Michelangelo and his contemporaries. In addition to more than 40 articles and two works of fiction, Wallace is author and editor of four books on Michelangelo.
The College of Arts and Sciences Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Humanities brings to campus scholars and writers whose work is esteemed throughout the humanities. The professorship was made possible by the generosity of the late Jeannette K. Watson. The family of Jeannette K. and Thomas Watson has long been a friend and supporter of the University.
Thursday, Oct. 2
4 p.m.
Life Sciences Auditorium
Cost: Free
"Restoring Michelangelo," featuring Diane Kunzelman '67, G'72, conservator, Uffizi Galleries, Florence, and adjunct professor at SU Florence. A Fulbright fellow and painting restorer, Kunzelman began her career as a student in SU's Florence graduate program in Renaissance art. She has been involved in major conservation projects on works from the principal museums and churches in Florence. She will discuss her work restoring one of Michelangelo's most important panel paintings and her experiences caring for other Renaissance masterpieces. The lecture is presented by SU Abroad and the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Friday, Oct. 3
5:30 p.m.
Life Sciences Auditorium
Cost: Free
Ray Smith Symposium Keynote Address: "Michelangelo Reverses the Rules," featuring Jeannette K. Watson Visiting Professor William Edward Wallace. This lecture will survey Michelangelo's sculptures -- every one a unique work of art -- and examine how the artist first cultivated, then manipulated, the terms and expectations of Renaissance patronage, thereby reversing the rules. In the process, Wallace will explore why and how Michelangelo became a sculptor and the dynamics between Michelangelo, the willful creator, and the opportunities afforded him by patrons.
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS
The events below are open only to SU students, faculty and staff, and invited scholarly experts.
Monday, Sept. 29
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Hall of Languages, Room 500
"Writing a Biography of Michelangelo," a seminar presented by Jeannette K. Watson Visiting Professor William Edward Wallace, who will explore the challenges of writing a biography of one of the most famous and complicated artists of all time.
Monday, Oct. 6
9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Hall of Languages, Room 500
"Michelangelo Engineer and Entrepreneur," featuring Jeannette K. Watson Visiting Professor William Edward Wallace, who will discuss how account books and other 16th-century records reveal Michelangelo's entrepreneurial spirit and provide insight into his collaborations with stonemasons, quarry workers and others.
"Rethinking Michelangelo" events are made possible by SU's College of Arts and Sciences, SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Humanities, the Malmgren Concert Series, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Schola Cantorum of Syracuse, the SUArt Galleries, SU Abroad, the Syracuse Symposium, Pulse performing arts series, and your student fee at work.