Shakespeare meets Star Trek
The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble’s rendition of The Tempest was an infusion of the Bard and Star Trek. I’m usually not the biggest Shakespeare fan but I am a sci-fi nerd, and I enjoyed the many tributes to popular science fiction franchises throughout.
Artist and theoretical physicist present kinetic sculpture
This past Monday, Kim Bernard, artist in residence at Harvard, visited the MIT List Visual Arts Center to speak on her sculpture, which had been inspired by the “predictable patterns in matter and motion.” Jacob Barandes, a physics lecturer from Harvard, accompanied Bernard to provide a physicist’s perspective on her artwork. Bernard and Barandes presented as part of the Catalyst Conversations lecture series, which hosts speakers who explore the intersection of visual art with science and technology.
Maya Beiser reimagines classic rock with her cello
Last Friday, I made my way to the front row of Kresge Auditorium to witness Maya Beiser’s Uncovered concert. Jherek Bischoff stood on the left of the stage with his Hofner bass (similar to Paul McCartney’s but with F-Holes), the drummer, Matt Kilmer, was all set with his sticks, and Maya Beiser positioned herself in the center, with her electric cello.
Stand-up comedy and science collide at BAHFest
This past Saturday, students and visitors filled MIT’s Kresge Auditorium for the third annual Festival of Bad Ad Hoc Hypotheses. Created by Zachary Weinersmith, author of the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal webcomic, BAHFest featured the outlandish theories of six speakers who competed to give the best argued, most nonsensical scientific presentation.
Video and board game fans flood athletic center in celebration of indie games
The 4th annual Boston Festival of Indie Games (FIG) took place this past Saturday at the MIT Johnson Athletic Center, where more than 100 independent game developers, studios, artists, and animators gathered to showcase their work. The celebration attracted thousands of visitors who ranged from casual gaming enthusiasts to video game scholars.
Arts on the Radar
Arts on the Radar, a “block party for the arts” hosted by the List Visual Arts Center in collaboration with MIT’s Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) and Arts at MIT, took place on Sept. 4.
A glimpse behind the curtains
At the beginning of every fall semester, the MIT Musical Theater Guild (MTG) takes the stage in Kresge Little Theater to deliver a charming musical performance. This summer, MTG has been working on a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, a musical comedy telling the story of six middle schoolers as they compete to become a spelling champion.
Inmost Thoughts, a cautionary tale
This summer, the MIT Student Cable Club (Radical Rat Studios) put out an 11-part web series called Inmost Thoughts. The series was filmed on MIT’s campus and the setting has a sort of hackathon-project-presentation feel to it. The story revolves around a mind reading device, and the qualms privacy advocates have with such a technology. The story follows Vivian (Sally Guthrie ’14), Melanie (Carolyn Vasko), Daniel (Ari Smith ’14), and Wendy (Nicole Dalton). Vivian spends a good deal of the series trying to convince Melanie that the mind reading device will help humanity, and conversely, Melanie spends most of the time trying to convince Vivian that such a device is a huge breach of privacy (although Melanie’s feelings towards the device do seem to fluctuate between revulsion and mild interest). Overall, the series is a thought-provoking and humorous reminder of the morally gray areas that accompany cutting-edge technologies.
Elena Ruehr’s “Cassandra in the Temples”
Elena Ruehr, who has been a lecturer at MIT in the Department of Music and Theater Arts since 1992, is premiering three new works this fall. Two of those, “Eve” and “It’s About Time,” had their openings in Boston and San Francisco this month, while the third one, an opera titled “Cassandra in the Temples,” will have its opening night in Kresge Auditorium at MIT this Friday.
Infinite record: archive, memory, performance
On November 14 and 15, MIT will host Infinite Record: Archive, Memory, Performance, an international artistic research project led by Østfold University College/Norwegian Theatre Academy. The project is done in collaboration with York St. John University in U.K, Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Germany, and MIT, which was chosen to host the final installment of the series. This will be one of the most significant events for MIT’s arts community, as it will bring some of the most prominent international artists on campus and expose research in performance arts to the student population.
Joan Jonas to be the US representative at the next Venice Biennale
Joan Jonas, a professor emeritus at MIT and a prominent contemporary artist, has been chosen to represent the United States at the 2015 Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions. Venice Biennale (Biennale di Venezia in Italian) takes place in Venice every two years and brings new exciting art to hundreds of thousands visitors. The 56th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (May 9 — November 22, 2015) will be directed by Okwui Enwezor, writer, art critic, curator, and the Director of the Haus der Kunst, Munich.
MIT group joins Rueda de Casino event
On March 29, 2014 Salsa groups and dancers from all over New England joined together to enjoy a full day of Cuban-style dancing and a flash mob in Harvard Square in celebration of the first International Rueda de Casino Day. The Tech had the opportunity to speak with Or Gadish, vice president of MIT Casino Rueda, about this style of dancing and about the flash mob organized in Cambridge in celebration of it.
Garcia-Dominguez discusses music at MIT
The Emerson Scholars and Emerson Fellows program helps recognize the many talented musicians at MIT. The Tech had the opportunity to talk to Dario Garcia-Dominguez ’15 about what it’s like to be an Emerson Fellow, his Advanced Music Performance Student Recital this Wednesday at Killian Hall at 5 p.m., and music at the MIT. Garcia-Dominguez plays the piano and will be performing the following at his recital: Beethoven, Bagatelles, Op. 33, Sonata in E Major, Op. 109; Chopin, Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38; Prokofiev, Sonata No. 3 in a minor, Op. 28; and Liebermann, Gargoyles, Op. 29.
Henry Jenkins returns
Around the world Henry Jenkins is known as a prolific force in media studies and as a champion of fandom and fan culture. He has written thirteen books — canonical texts for media scholars — including Textual Poachers and Convergence Culture. At the Institute, Jenkins is known for establishing and directing the Comparative Media Studies program and for his time as a Senior House housemaster. Jenkins left MIT in 2009 to become the Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.
Museums, miniatures, and the Met
Last weekend the MIT Art Scholars, a group of about 30 students with interests in various artistic disciplines, traveled to New York City. The weekend included an exploration of Indian art, a performance of Rusalka at the Metropolitan Opera, and a tour of a special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was the Art Scholars’ fourth annual trip to NYC, supported by Council for the Arts at MIT.