Of the Hilltowns
LecturesMarty Lasker Lecture Series -2010
Chasing the Muse
Monday evenings at 7:30 pm
All programs are free and will be held in the air-conditioned Philip Barber Gallery (upstairs gallery) at the Becket
Arts Center.
Seating for all presentations is on a first-come, first-served basis. Refreshments are available following each lecture.
Each night there will be a 50 - 50 raffle drawing.
50% of the cash collected will go the the person with the winning number which is selected out of a box.
Approaching Unconventional Art
Monday, July 5th • 7:30pm
A panel of accomplished artists will share their views on defining unconventional art, along with some frequently asked questions about it. Does it deserve our respect? Is it appropriate to pair Bang on a Can All-Stars with the Boston Symphony Orchestra? How does Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup stack up against Claude Monet’s Water Lillies? Judith Koppel, visual artist and retired art teacher, will moderate a provocative discussion of these and other questions.
Panel participants will include:
Abby Dubow, artist and art educator. Abby works in a wide array of mediums including painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, and mixed media. Her work is widely exhibited in this country and abroad.
David Giannini, poet. David is well recognized in the area, having had over 33 collections published, his most recent being AZ II. He has won numerous grants and awards including the Osa and Lee Mays Award for Poetry.
Norton Owen, Director of Preservation for Jacob’s Pillow. Owen has worked in various capacities at the Pillow since 1976. He divides his time between his Becket home and New York City, where he has had long time affiliations with the Jose Limon Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts.
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What’s the Story?
Monday, July 12th • 7:30pm
Looking for inspiration from Roy Cohn to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Doro Bachrach, film producer. Doro Bachrach's website.
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The Cutting Edge
Monday, July 19th • 7:30 pm
Luis Zambrano, chef at Viva Restaurant in Glendale, will speak about how foods from around the world have influenced his popular and creative menu at Viva. He will also discuss how some of his culinary specialties can be adapted for the home cook.
Having arrived in the Berkshires 8 years ago from New York City, he has worked at Wheatleigh in Lenox, Gedney Farm Inn in New Marlborough, and the Peninsula Hotel in New York City.
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“Up, Up, and Away”
Monday, July 26th • 7:30pm
A group of four merit scholarship winners from Berkshire Music School will perform a variety of vocal and instrumental musical selections. Come and hear some “up and coming” young musicians from our area.
Participants will include:
Alfred Brewer, on trombone, from Great Barrington;
Elaina Pullano, vocalist, from Dalton;
and two others who will be announced at a later date. They will be accompanied by Tracy Wilson, Executive Director of the Berkshire Music School
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And Now . . . Mark Twain
Monday, August 2nd • 7:30pm
Richard Clark, performing artist in theatre. Richard will entertain us with a delightful look at the life and work of America’s foremost humorist, Mark Twain. This one-person play is full of wit and wisdom and the special brand of storytelling that has made Twain a legend in his time.
Richard has spent over 30 years in New England regional theatre. His “Keeping History Alive” series brings the life and work of such figures as Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, John Barrymore and others to life. His TV credits include “The Kennedy’s of Massachusetts” and Saturday Night Live, among others.
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Berkshire Splendor: The Great Estates of the Berkshires
Monday, August 9th • 7:30pm.
Susan Frisch Lehrer, former Curator of Education at Chesterwood Museum in Stockbridge, presently Coordinator of Volunteers and the PJ Library for the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires.
She will offer a slide lecture presentation on many of the county’s “cottages” for a glimpse of the past, present, and future. The presentation will focus on the interiors and exteriors of the mansions, on the artists who designed and built them, and on the families who lived in them.
Susan was at Chesterwood, the Stockbridge summer estate of sculptor, Daniel Chester French, for over 30 years. She coordinated the educational, interpretive, and visitor services.
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Special thanks to Barbara Lasker, administrator of the Marty Lasker Fund. Without the support of this Fund, the local Cultural Councils of Becket, Chester, Hinsdale-Peru, Otis, and Washington, and the Lasker Committee members: Barbara Barron, Theresa Hanford, David Giannini, Judith Koppel, Barbara Lasker, Lesley Oransky, and Sally Soluri, Chairperson, this free lecture series would not be possible!
Program for 2010