Berkshire Weekend Cultural Preview, Dec 21-23, 2012

“Pairing”: Ammi Phillips, Mrs Goodrich and Child, c. 1812, oil on canvas; Artist Unknown, Russian Icon, 16th century, tempera on wood panel with silver

PAIRED ARTWORKS from COLLECTION, CHOSEN by ARTIST MAGGIE MAILER, DISPLAYED at BERKSHIRE MUSEUM

 

(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Wink: Pairings from the Berkshire Museum’s Collections, on display at the Berkshire Museum through early spring, is the interpretive brainchild of guest artist/curator Maggie Mailer, who chose to bring pairs of artworks – paintings, photography, and prints from the Berkshire Museum’s permanent collection – together in ways that illuminate surprising shared elements found in common between two works of art. The intention of the show is to encourage viewers to develop the habit of looking for connections in unexpected places, both in the world of art, and in everyday life.

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HOLIDAY MUSIC and DANCE PARTIES at HELSINKI HUDSON

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Club Helsinki Hudson kicks off the long leadup to Christmas beginning on Friday, December 21, at 9pm, with Everett Bradley’s Holidelic, a Christmas-infused funk show, followed the next night (Saturday, December 22 at 8pm) by Mistletoe Martinis with Musty, a Christmas cabaret featuring Musty Chiffon, her frisky elves, a bevy of voluptuous belles called The Kookettes, musical director Michael Holland and cello diva Melora Creager (of Rasputina). Following the cabaret, at 10pm, is XMess Kook, a holiday-themed dance party.

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John Constable, Landscape Sketches with Trees and Church Tower (verso), c. 1811–13. The Clark. Gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton

ARTWORKS REVEAL HIDDEN STORIES at THE CLARK

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass..) — A painting is a three-dimensional object, but often visitors to art museums are only privy to one aspect, and thus are deprived of the whole story the artwork can tell. In the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute’s exhibition Backstories: The Other Side of Art, the hidden aspects of works of art are exposed, revealing when and how they were made, how they have been cared for by collectors, and the many changes they have undergone. Spanning five centuries, the exhibition includes paintings, works on paper, sculpture, silver, and porcelain. Most of the objects in the exhibition will be displayed on pedestals, allowing visitors to view them from all sides. Special inscriptions and other details that may have gone unnoticed in a typical exhibition setting will be highlighted. Backstories is on view at The Clark from Saturday, December 22, 2012 through April 21, 2013.

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MAHAIWE CELEBRATES ‘HOLIDAYS’ with SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Olga Borodina as Amneris in Verdi’s ‘Aida.’ (photo Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera)

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present a festive array of offerings this holiday season, ranging from the Metropolitan Opera “Live in HD” production of Aida to classic Looney Tunes cartoons to Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer in the title role in Barrymore to a free screening of Frank Capra’s Christmas classic, It’s A Wonderful Life.

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XU BING: PHOENIX, FEATURING MONUMENTAL SCULPTURE, at MASS MOCA

(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Phoenix Project, two spectacular and massive birds fabricated with construction and demolition debris from Beijing, will be shown in their premiere exhibition outside China as the dramatic centerpiece of a major exhibition of Xu Bing‘s work on view in MASS MoCA‘s signature space — Building 5 — from December 22, 2012, through October 31, 2013. Installed in the 300-foot main gallery, the two great phoenixes — each nearly 100 feet long and weighing nearly 20 tons in all — were inspired by the artist’s observations of the dramatic changes in Chinese society upon his return from a long stay in the United States. The multitude of glass skyscrapers rising in the major urban centers was a potent symbol of China’s rapid accumulation of wealth and its astounding new development. Xu spent two years creating the mammoth birds, collecting and purchasing materials from construction sites in Beijing between 2008 and 2010.

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David Josef Hansen is Crumpet the Elf in Shakespeare & Co.’s “Santaland Diaries” (photo Scott Barrow)

DAVID SEDARIS’S ‘SANTALAND DIARIES’ at SHAKESPEARE & CO. for 3rd and FINAL YEAR

(LENOX, Mass.) – Shakespeare & Company’s annual – and final – run of David Sedaris’ irreverent Christmas memoir, The Santaland Diaries, continues through Sunday, December 30, 2012, in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. This year, longtime company member David Joseph Hansen plays Sedaris’s less-than-merry autobiographical self, Crumpet the Elf. Once again, artistic director Tony Simotes directs. The Santaland Diaries is the occasionally subversive, alarmingly clever, engagingly poignant, and rib-tickling account of David Sedaris’s time as a Christmas elf in the famous Macy’s Santaland.  The essay on which the play is based propelled Sedaris into the national spotlight when it was first published and is now a modern holiday classic.

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Alex Ross

COMIC BOOK ARTIST ALEX ROSS HAS SHOWCASE at NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM

(STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) — Acclaimed comic book artist Alex Ross, whose work has appeared in print, on film, on album covers and in video games, is the subject of a retrospective exhibition opening at the Norman Rockwell Museum running through February 24, 2013. The show, Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross, will present a comprehensive look at the career of the artist who has been called “the Norman Rockwell of the comics world.” Organized by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa., the exhibition features more than 130 works, including paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures from Ross’ personal collection.

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Carnival by Karen Andrews

DRAWINGS BY KAREN ANDREWS ON DISPLAY IN HOUSATONIC

(HOUSATONIC, Mass.) – It’s A Chaotic, Fabulous World, a series of recent drawings by Karen Andrews, will be exhibited through December 30, 2012, at the little gallery at Deb Koffman’s artspace at 137 Front St. in Housatonic. The gallery will be open Saturday afternoons in December from 2 to 4 pm. or call for an appointment 413-232-4027 or send email to kaa100@aol.com.

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