Where Dragons Roam is an art exhibition by Eben Schumacher, a graduating artist at Green Mountain College. Come to the opening on Friday, Dec. 9 from 5-7 p.m. at the Feick Fine Arts Center. The exhibition contains ceramic sculptures and oil paintings, as well as drawings, writing and music that together form a detailed and cohesive account of a fantastical world in which dragons have lived and evolved for ages. Pushing the limits of the media used, the work creates a visual, tactile, and conceptual experience that redefines the fantasy genre, utilizing an emphasis on narrative and scientific observation while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of the imagination. The exhibition will be on display until Dec. 20th. For more information, email: eben.schumacher.art@gmail.com
Art & Furniture Gallery Show Open at the Feick
Christine Schultz and Marc Deloach, a husband-wife team of self-taught artists, make their living making amazing things from found objects. In their first two months as artists-in-residence at Green Mountain College, they’ve been inspired by the beauty and materials of the Vermont landscape. Much of the work in this show, on display now at the Feick Fine Arts Center, was made from reclaimed local materials in the last few weeks. The bed, bench, dining table, lap tables, painted fish and slate paintings are all from salvaged materials found on campus or within a few miles of Poultney. Christine painted landscapes based on her local photographs using the Feick as her studio space. Marc built his pieces at the REED workshop. “We hope the show gets you thinking about what you can create from what’s at hand,” the artists say. The opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 12 from 4-7 p.m. at the Feick Gallery features live music, food and drink. The show is up until Nov. 15th. Gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Seniors Present Exhibitions
Two students will unveil senior shows in the Feick Fine Arts Center and in the Surdam Gallery this Friday. Deirdre Graham’s exhibition of ceramic work titled “Impermanence” will be on view at the Feick Friday, Nov. 18 through Dec. 6. The opening reception is Friday from 6-8 p.m. Deirdre is an anthropology/sociology major. Cristina Tamarez presents her show “Assimilation: the Creation of a New Identity,” her senior capstone exhibition, on Friday at Surdam from 6-8 p.m. She is an interdisciplinary studies major with a primary focus in art and a secondary focus in anthropology. Her show will also be on view through December 6.
GMC Faculty Exhibit Shows at the Feick
The biennial GMC Faculty Art Exhibition is on display at the Feick Art Center through October 28. The exhibition features work by Jennifer Baker, Kevin Bubriski, Valerie Carrigan and Karen Swyler, all faculty members in the GMC art department. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 1-5 p.m.
Champlain Philharmonic Performs at GMC
Green Mountain College has the rare treat of hosting The Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra at Ackley Hall, Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The program features a rousing set of works by some of the great Russian composers: Tchaikovsky, Borodin, and Prokofiev. The orchestra will be led by guest conductor, Matthew LaRocca. Featured on the program will be Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by 18-year-old piano virtuoso, Gareth Cordery. As a rising young artist he has performed on both piano and cello and was recently the guest soloist (on piano) with the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra in Bemidji, Minn. The orchestra will also perform In the Steppes of Central Asia by Borodin, Montagues and Capulets from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italienne. The Champlain Philharmonic is a community orchestra that performs regularly in the Addison and Rutland regions of Vermont. Tickets are available at the door for $15 general admission, $10 seniors, and $5 students.
Prof. Paula Mann Portrays Emily Dickinson in “Belle of Amherst” Sept. 14
The great 19th-century American poet Emily Dickinson was known as a hermit, never venturing far from the confines of her Amherst, Mass. homestead. But Wednesday, September 14, the so-called “virgin recluse” will dominate the stage at Ackley Theater in William Luce’s classic one-woman play “The Belle of Amherst.” Prof. Paula Mann, director of the College’s theater program, plays Dickinson in this ambitious one-woman performance lasting 80 minutes without intermission. The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are free for GMC students, staff and faculty.
Dickinson (1830-1886) was largely unrecognized in her lifetime, and treated as an eccentric loner and lovelorn spinster.
“Yet she was a modern woman who, instead of being victimized by the constricted social mores of the time, created the life she wanted in order to fulfill her life’s work, which was her poetry,” Paula remarked of the poet. “Also, her issues in the poems are very modern themes, wrestling with why we’re here on this earth, what comes next, and the ecstasy and desolation of love, life and death.”
This is a reprise of Mann’s performance last spring at The Oldcastle Theatre. She is also performing the play Saturday, September 17 at the Dorset Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office in Dorset at 802-867-5570 or online.
GMC Artist Featured in Maine TV News Broadcast
Norajean Ferris ’15 obtained a BFA in fine art during her four-year Green Mountain College career. It was during this time period that she became an entrepreneur, selling her art in her home state of Maine.
Norajean continues to paint bold, colorful canvasses and loves to use her art as a form of social commentary. She is a member of the Union of Maine Visual Artists and recently hung a show at the Southern Maine Workers Center, a non-profit that seeks to improve the lives, working conditions, and terms of employment for Maine workers, especially low-wage laborers, young people, immigrant workers, and people of color.
This spring, Norajean was interviewed on CTN (Community Television Network) in Portland, Maine. She showcased her artwork, and spoke about the Southern Maine Center show. “The works of the show were all political, about modern communities and inequalities that are still all too present,” she said. She also speaks authentically about her GMC experience. See the interview here (starting at the 12:25 mark).
Two GMC Students Receive Film Awards
Two Green Mountain College students took home awards for film projects at the second annual Vermont Freedom and Unity 2016 Film Contest.
In the arts and culture category for young adults, Martha Howe ’16 won first place for her film “Hunting & Fishing in Vermont.” The film features two Green Mountain College students sharing their experiences growing up hunting and fishing and the reasons why they love these activities so much.
In the young adult contemporary issues category, Andrew Woodman ’16 won second place for “Shame on Me,” a short film dramatizing the moral dilemmas faced by students surrounding issues of prejudice, and the tragedy of public shaming in the internet age. This is a repeat visit to the competition for Andrew, as he tied for first place in last year’s Freedom and Unity Film Competition for his film “Brewtopia,” a documentary of the microbrew industry which he produced with Russell Stone ’15.
Young people aged 14-30 from around Vermont submitted nearly 100 films to the competition.
Prof. Paula Mann in Oldcastle Solo Show
GMC professor Paula Mann (theater) will be performing the role of Emily Dickinson in the solo show “The Belle of Amherst” at the Oldcastle Theatre in Bennington from April 1-April 3. Showtimes are Friday April 1 and Saturday April 2 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday April 3 at 2 p.m. The play is described by the New York Daily News as “full of passion, poetry and heart.” Oldcastle is offering student rates of $10 a ticket for all GMC faculty, staff and students! Just bring your GMC ID with you to the box office.
Feick Exhibit on Display through March 3
Students from prof. Kevin Bubriski’s documentary photo course spent this past fall semester looking at photographer Neil Rappaports work from Pawlet in the late seventies. Students then visited Pawlet themselves to recreate a contemporary body of work to compare and contrast with the deceased photographer’s. This is a series of student work with some of Rappaport’s original prints of Pawlet, also featuring Vermont artist, George Bouret. The show is open through March 3 from 1-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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