Friday, January 19, 2007

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

Visual Arts Showcase #58
CNY Arts

Price: Free
WCNY
415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Visual Arts Showcase Committee of the CRC is pleased to present an eclectic offering, featuring work of state and local grant winners since 2000. Special viewing arrangements can be made through the Cultural Resources Council at 315-435-2155.

John Thompson: A Traveler's Glimpse of India
Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Price: Free
VPA Dean's Gallery
Room 200, Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dean's Gallery at Syracuse University will host an exhibition of paintings, drawings and pastels by VPA professor John Thompson. The exhibition is open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Thompson is professor of illustration and coordinator of the illustration program. The works shown in his exhibition are the result of research from a trip he took to India in fall 2005.

Thompson works as a painter and illustrator, and has been featured in numerous art magazines. An internationally known illustrator, he has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, the New Jersey Art Director's Club, the Denver Art Director's Club, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and the CEBA Award for Communication Excellence in Black Publishing and Advertising. Other accolades include awards of excellence from Communication Arts Magazine and Print Magazine.

Thompson is the recipient of the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for best illustration of the year. As a children's book illustrator, he has also won three American Library Association Notable Book Awards.

For more information, contact Susan Tooley in the VPA Dean's Office at 315-443-5889.

Photography to Help Bridge the Relationship Between People and Place
Westcott Community Center

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The photographs of Andrew W. Burdick are a visual testimony to time spent in Europe and North Africa, traveling across the United States, and extensive travel in the Pacific Northwest near his home and studio in Portland, Oregon. His photos speak to the essence of human relationship with our environments.

Burdick is a 1998 graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School (Verona, NY), The Peddie School and St. Lawrence University. Following his college graduation Burdick lived in Europe and North Africa for about six months. During this time he traveled and worked on a remote organic farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, documenting the change in relationship between human and natural systems. When he returned to the United States he worked for a year and a half as the Land Steward at The Center for Whole Communities, an organic farm and education center in Vermont. He then joined his friends of the blues and roots band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood Records) as Tour Manager and Photographer logging more than 35,000 road miles and driving coast-to-coast four times. While on tour, the band performed with such musical acts as blues legend Taj Mahal, The Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio (Phish), The North Mississippi All-Stars, and Robert Cray.

His photographs have been used for album graphics, posters, web designs, office and home decoration, and have appeared in literary magazines and newspapers across the country. Burdick has recently published a book of photography, There and Back Again: Across The Country With Grace Potter And The Nocturnals. He also co-directed a Vermont Public Television live video recording of Grace Potter And The Nocturnals that has subsequently been released on DVD. Currently, Burdick splits time between his Portland, OR and Sherrill, NY studios where he owns and operates freelance photography businesses. In addition, Burdick has recently accepted the position of Director of Photography for Seanchai Productions, a documentary film company based in Portland focused on covering local and global issues that are environmentally and socially pressing in nature.

A Connection with Time
Edgewood Gallery

Price: Free
Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Large, panoramic photos of the world of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Underground Railroad Made Visible: Photos by William Earle Williams
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

The photographs are of sites that were once part of the Underground Railroad, including many here in Central New York.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work also featuring Williams' photographs: "Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War."

William Earle Williams received a B.A. degree in History from Hamilton College and an M.F.A. degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. He is a Professor of Fine Arts at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and also a Curator of Photography. Williams participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2003.

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Faux Naturel
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cheerfully dark exhibition of young Canadian and American artists ponders deceit, nature, temptation and excess. Seven artists in Philadelphia, Montréal, Syracuse, and Toronto have created stunning visions of larger-than-life sculpture, tragicomedic video, striking collages, and intricate printmaking.

The exhibit contains recent works by Alex Da Corte (Philadelphia), Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (Syracuse), Nick Lenker (Philadelphia), Annie MacDonell (Toronto), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), and Andrea Vander Kooij (Montreal).

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Michael Matthews: Out of India
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

This collection of Expressionist style landscape paintings were executed in India by this Canadian born artist. Matthews' states that his love affair with the art of India began over 15 years ago when he was drawn to the Islamic galleries of the Persian, Moghul and Rajput collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time he has made three visits to India, culminating in several months of immersion into the culture, flavor and appeal of the people and surroundings. It is apparent that Matthews was overwhelmed by the grand architecture of India, which form the core of this exhibition.

These works on paper are very reminiscent of Indian textiles, and the various techniques used to bleed and run natural pigmented dyes, like batik and block printing. Matthews' spontaneous way of working exemplifies his expressive style and is enhanced by his use of water-based paints on paper. The melding together of the paints with the paper forms a rich surface in these quickly rendered compositions. Each painting epitomizes Matthews' enchantment with India while celebrating the splendor of Indian architecture and textile through his simple color choices, strong outlines, and an energetic use of pattern.

In Woman Veritas
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

In Woman Veritas is a selection of photography from the Point of Contact Collection, including works by Burt Barr, Maureen Connor, Marta Chilindrón & Eduardo Costas, Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin, and Joseph Kugielsky.

The exhibit is a reflection on women, giving visitors a chance to examine different processes by which art is created and to ask questions about the ways in which truth is manifest in women. Seeing the works of art, which were created for publication in the Point of Contact journal series, in their raw and original forms along with their polished, published forms, invites a comparison between reality and what we, and the artist, perceive as reality, or truth. In fact, truth can arise from a process of searching, or, conversely, can be expressed in an instant. The exhibit revolves around this idea of truth and perspective, and visitors are encouraged to explore both the artists' perspectives of truth and their own.

Guided visits can be scheduled outside of regular hours by appointment.

Folkus Project
The Wiyos

Price: $10
May Memorial Unitarian Society
3800 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Delightfully zany, sometimes even manic, The Wiyos play old-time American music inspired by the American musical idioms of the 1920s and '30s. Gleefully subverting genre distinctions, their music comes from a time before commercial formatting separated blues from country, ragtime from gospel, and swing from hillbilly.

A trio comprised of three voices, washboard/harmonica/kazoo, guitar, and upright bass, The Wiyos transport listeners back to a time before TV and mass-media were the main sources of entertainment, to the days when music could be heard on live radio and at community dances, juke joints and house parties.

The Wiyos are passionate about infusing old-time American music with new blood and having a darn good time doing it. The band performs acoustically whenever possible, or in front of two condenser stage microphones to preserve a lively performance style. The infectious exuberance of their on-stage physical comedy creates an interactive show in the tradition of performers such as Fats Waller and Spike Jones.

Formed in New York City in 2002, The Wiyos took their name from the toughest gang to prowl the streets of old New York (The Whyos, circa 1890). Like the traveling bands of the depression era, they have taken to the road full-time. They've toured extensively in the USA, Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom playing theaters, bars, street corners, parks, art auctions, pig roasts, and listening rooms. They were selected to participate in the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series, and have played at notable festivals throughout the country including the 2004 Newport Folk Festival, the Piccolo Spoletto Festival, the Annual American Music Festival and the Rhythm and Roots Festival.

The Wiyos unique charisma transcends typical social boundaries. They appeal to everyone from hipsters to seasoned music connoisseurs, from children to bikers. Everywhere they play, The Wiyos charm and amuse audiences with their exuberant style of old-timey music, passionately carrying this rich musical heritage into the 21st century.

For reservations, email tickets@folkus.org or phone 315-440-7444.

Classics Series: Mahler's Symphony No. 7
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Hege, conductor

Crouse Hinds Concert Theater, Mulroy Civic Center
411 Montgomery St., Syracuse

Mahler Symphony No. 7

Read a review!

Disney's High School Musical
The Talent Company
Christine Lightcap, director

Price: $25 regular, $22 students/seniors, $14 children 12 and under
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

The Disney Channel smash hit original movie that topped the Billboard music charts and broke video and CD sales records within weeks of its premiere comes to life on stage with the antics of East High students as they audition for the school musical, compete in a scholastic decathlon, and play the championship basketball game. Troy (Tim Quartier), captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Ana Thornton), the brainy, shy new girl at school surprise themselves and others by trying out for the lead roles in the musical. They face the objections of Sharpay (Rachel Mulcahy), the thespian queen and president of the drama club, and Ryan (Chris Cory), her brother and vice-president of the drama club, who covet the roles for themselves, and friends Chad (Maoti Gborkorquellie), number two on the Wildcats Basketball Team and Taylor (MiKayla Hawkinson), president of the scholastic club, who want Troy and Gabriella to stick to what they do best - basketball and academics. Other characters in the various cliques at East High are Zeke (Stephfond Brunson), a jock with a secret passion for baking, Martha Cox (Jodie Baum), a brainiac with a secret passion for hip hop, Kelsi Neilson (Paige Goldberg), the composer-pianist of the school musical, and Jack Scott (Alex Allport), the smart-mouthed student P.A. announcer known as the Velvet Fog of East High. Ms. Darbus (Christine Lightcap) the drama teacher, Coach Bolton (Jeff Paduano) the basketball coach, and Ms. Tenny (Dorothy Lennon) the science teacher, preside over the competing school activities.

The stage version features the original musical score including The Start Of Something New, We're All In This Together, Get'cha Head In The Game, Stick To The Status Quo, Bop To The Top, When There Was Me And You, What I've Been Looking For, and Breaking Free, plus three new songs Cellular Fusion, Counting On You, and the song not in the movie but heard on a bonus track of the original cast recording entitled I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.

Read a Review!

Chess
Simply New Productions

Price: $25
Carrier Theater, Mulroy Civic Center
411 Montgomery St., Syracuse

Read a Review!

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $45, $40, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

A Connection with Time
Edgewood Gallery

Price: Free
Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Large, panoramic photos of the world of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century.

Faux Naturel
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cheerfully dark exhibition of young Canadian and American artists ponders deceit, nature, temptation and excess. Seven artists in Philadelphia, Montréal, Syracuse, and Toronto have created stunning visions of larger-than-life sculpture, tragicomedic video, striking collages, and intricate printmaking.

The exhibit contains recent works by Alex Da Corte (Philadelphia), Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (Syracuse), Nick Lenker (Philadelphia), Annie MacDonell (Toronto), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), and Andrea Vander Kooij (Montreal).

Underground Railroad Made Visible: Photos by William Earle Williams
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

The photographs are of sites that were once part of the Underground Railroad, including many here in Central New York.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work also featuring Williams' photographs: "Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War."

William Earle Williams received a B.A. degree in History from Hamilton College and an M.F.A. degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. He is a Professor of Fine Arts at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and also a Curator of Photography. Williams participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2003.

Pride and Perseverance: Civil Rights Paintings by Charly Palmer
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

An artist with a passion for history, Palmer's works chronicle important social and political events, focusing on African American historical subjects and the Civil Rights Movement in particular. Palmer's works make use of bold colors, textures and layers to bring his subjects to life. He has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and his work can be found in several prominent public and private collections. Palmer has received several major awards and commissions. He has also worked as an educator, instructing students of all ages in drawing, painting, design and illustration.

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Michael Matthews: Out of India
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

This collection of Expressionist style landscape paintings were executed in India by this Canadian born artist. Matthews' states that his love affair with the art of India began over 15 years ago when he was drawn to the Islamic galleries of the Persian, Moghul and Rajput collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time he has made three visits to India, culminating in several months of immersion into the culture, flavor and appeal of the people and surroundings. It is apparent that Matthews was overwhelmed by the grand architecture of India, which form the core of this exhibition.

These works on paper are very reminiscent of Indian textiles, and the various techniques used to bleed and run natural pigmented dyes, like batik and block printing. Matthews' spontaneous way of working exemplifies his expressive style and is enhanced by his use of water-based paints on paper. The melding together of the paints with the paper forms a rich surface in these quickly rendered compositions. Each painting epitomizes Matthews' enchantment with India while celebrating the splendor of Indian architecture and textile through his simple color choices, strong outlines, and an energetic use of pattern.

Artist Reception and Gallery Talk
Community Folk Art Center
Featuring Charly Palmer

Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

CMM Youth Concerto Competition, Preliminary Round
Civic Morning Musicals

Price: Free
Coyne Center for the Performing Arts
LeMoyne College, Syracuse

Thirty-three talented young musicians will compete in the Preliminary Round of the 37th Annual CMM/SSO Youth Concerto Competition. There is ample free parking adjacent to the Coyne Performing Arts Center, which is fully accessible. All are invited!

Scholastic Instrumental Jazz Jam
CNY Jazz Arts Foundation

Price: $6 regular, $3 with student ID
Jazz Central
441 E. Washington St., Syracuse

Aspiring jazz instrumentalists and vocalists can "learn the ropes" of public performance backed by the area's finest professionals. Play the tunes of your choice in a supportive atmosphere. All levels of experience are welcome!

**POSTPONED** Classical Concert Series
Redhouse
Featuring Tai Murray, violin

Price: $22 regular; $18 senior; $15 student
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Due to tendon damage in Ms. Murray's wrist, this concert is being postponed until Mar. 10. Tickets for the Jan. 20 will be honored then.

Eugene Ysaye Sonata No. 5 and Sonata No. 6, both Opus 27
Johann Sebastian Bach Partita No.2 in d, BWV 1004
Georg Phillipp Telemann Fantasie No. 5, TWV 40:18
Fritz Kreisler Recitative and Scherzo

Classics Series: Mahler's Symphony No. 7
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
Daniel Hege, conductor

Crouse Hinds Concert Theater, Mulroy Civic Center
411 Montgomery St., Syracuse

Mahler Symphony No. 7

Read a review!

Snow White
Magic Circle Children's Theatre

Price: $5
Spaghetti Warehouse
689 N. Clinton St., Syracuse

Interactive adaptation of the well-known tale.

Disney's High School Musical
The Talent Company
Christine Lightcap, director

Price: $25 regular, $22 students/seniors, $14 children 12 and under
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

The Disney Channel smash hit original movie that topped the Billboard music charts and broke video and CD sales records within weeks of its premiere comes to life on stage with the antics of East High students as they audition for the school musical, compete in a scholastic decathlon, and play the championship basketball game. Troy (Tim Quartier), captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Ana Thornton), the brainy, shy new girl at school surprise themselves and others by trying out for the lead roles in the musical. They face the objections of Sharpay (Rachel Mulcahy), the thespian queen and president of the drama club, and Ryan (Chris Cory), her brother and vice-president of the drama club, who covet the roles for themselves, and friends Chad (Maoti Gborkorquellie), number two on the Wildcats Basketball Team and Taylor (MiKayla Hawkinson), president of the scholastic club, who want Troy and Gabriella to stick to what they do best - basketball and academics. Other characters in the various cliques at East High are Zeke (Stephfond Brunson), a jock with a secret passion for baking, Martha Cox (Jodie Baum), a brainiac with a secret passion for hip hop, Kelsi Neilson (Paige Goldberg), the composer-pianist of the school musical, and Jack Scott (Alex Allport), the smart-mouthed student P.A. announcer known as the Velvet Fog of East High. Ms. Darbus (Christine Lightcap) the drama teacher, Coach Bolton (Jeff Paduano) the basketball coach, and Ms. Tenny (Dorothy Lennon) the science teacher, preside over the competing school activities.

The stage version features the original musical score including The Start Of Something New, We're All In This Together, Get'cha Head In The Game, Stick To The Status Quo, Bop To The Top, When There Was Me And You, What I've Been Looking For, and Breaking Free, plus three new songs Cellular Fusion, Counting On You, and the song not in the movie but heard on a bonus track of the original cast recording entitled I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.

Read a Review!

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $40, $36, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Disney's High School Musical
The Talent Company
Christine Lightcap, director

Price: $25 regular, $22 students/seniors, $14 children 12 and under
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

The Disney Channel smash hit original movie that topped the Billboard music charts and broke video and CD sales records within weeks of its premiere comes to life on stage with the antics of East High students as they audition for the school musical, compete in a scholastic decathlon, and play the championship basketball game. Troy (Tim Quartier), captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Ana Thornton), the brainy, shy new girl at school surprise themselves and others by trying out for the lead roles in the musical. They face the objections of Sharpay (Rachel Mulcahy), the thespian queen and president of the drama club, and Ryan (Chris Cory), her brother and vice-president of the drama club, who covet the roles for themselves, and friends Chad (Maoti Gborkorquellie), number two on the Wildcats Basketball Team and Taylor (MiKayla Hawkinson), president of the scholastic club, who want Troy and Gabriella to stick to what they do best - basketball and academics. Other characters in the various cliques at East High are Zeke (Stephfond Brunson), a jock with a secret passion for baking, Martha Cox (Jodie Baum), a brainiac with a secret passion for hip hop, Kelsi Neilson (Paige Goldberg), the composer-pianist of the school musical, and Jack Scott (Alex Allport), the smart-mouthed student P.A. announcer known as the Velvet Fog of East High. Ms. Darbus (Christine Lightcap) the drama teacher, Coach Bolton (Jeff Paduano) the basketball coach, and Ms. Tenny (Dorothy Lennon) the science teacher, preside over the competing school activities.

The stage version features the original musical score including The Start Of Something New, We're All In This Together, Get'cha Head In The Game, Stick To The Status Quo, Bop To The Top, When There Was Me And You, What I've Been Looking For, and Breaking Free, plus three new songs Cellular Fusion, Counting On You, and the song not in the movie but heard on a bonus track of the original cast recording entitled I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.

Read a Review!

Chess
Simply New Productions

Price: $25
Carrier Theater, Mulroy Civic Center
411 Montgomery St., Syracuse

Read a Review!

Without a Hitch
Opening Night Productions

Price: $18 for show; meal optional
Glen Loch Restaurant
4626 North St., Jamesville

Interactive comedy murder mystery. For more information, phone 315-469-6969.

Read a Review!

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $44, $39, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Second Annual Asian Shorts Film Festival
Redhouse

Price: $6
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

This inventive film festival showcases independent works from world-wide Asian connections not readily available in the commercial theatre. These films capture the colorful diversity and cultural richness of the Asian global experience, reflecting the abundant talent, resourcefulness, and unique creativity at work.

Two Girls
Two girls - one Chinese, one American - randomly meet at an NYC street corner in the middle of the night. Here they share a phone booth, a stoop, the nicotine in the air, and a moment of grieving together. Tonight, both of them have said the same thing to their loved ones. Directed by Ming Kai Leung. USA/Hong Kong, 2005, 14 mins, English/Mandarin with English subtitles, narrative

Air
What's that on the radio? An incident of radio racism leads to a mobilization of Asian American social consciousness. Pretty soon, the APA voice floods the airwaves with a message of unification. Directed by Patti Sakurai. USA, 2005, 5 mins, documentary.

Dry Clean Only
No one hides more secrets than a dry cleaner. A disillusioned dry cleaner has his night interrupted by a blood-covered couple who demand a late night cleansing. What the couple don't know is that this young man has seen more than his fair share of dirty laundry. Directed by J.P. Chan. USA, 2005, 6 mins, narrative.

Thicker Than Water
Blood is supposed to be thicker than water - this short documentary tests the cliché as it takes an inside look at three families and their stories of coming out within the family. Honest, provocative, and engaging, these intergenerational stories will appeal to viewers of various ages. Directed and produced by Jennifer Miller, Ricky Sim, Zoubin Tang, Long Tran, Lusheena Warner. USA, 2005, 11 mins, English/Mandarin with English subtitles, documentary.

Port Authority Incident
How can one be bad at being racist? In this lyrical animation, a Korean American girl educates a snarling old woman about the finer differences of racist terminology in a dirty Port Authority bathroom. Directed by Evelyn Lee. USA, 2005, 3 mins, animation.

Lost Sole
Sometimes, the best way to find something is to lose something. After prayer at mosque, a grumpy old man discovers that his favorite sandals are missing. As he wanders the city barefoot, he begins to realize that he has lost touch with the world around him and his own spirituality. Directed by Sanif Olek. Singapore, 2005, 18 mins, Malay with English subtitles, narrative.

Blush
The cat simply will not leave Sara's apartment. When Sara gazes into the mirror, she sees a younger, much younger version of herself. In fact, she sees a little girl with too much make-up. In this hall of mirrors, Sara flips between the real and the imaginary in search of her own identity. Woman or child? Maybe the cat can tell. Directed by Jerome Austria. USA, 2005, 17 mins, narrative.

Quietly
How does a pebble make waves? Convinced that his family has become "frogs in a well", an elderly grandfather leaves them an important departing message. This calm, peaceful film will spark thoughts about the wisdom of the aged and the beauty of death. Directed by Jit Fong Oon. USA, 2006, 9 mins, BETA, Japanese with English subtitles, narrative.

Modern Day Arranged Marriage
In today's fast-paced world, even marriage is just a click away. Two singles meet in a restaurant to check their compatibility. Even though they meet each other's requirements, it becomes clear that love isn't what they are looking for. Directed by Rehana Mirza. USA, 2005, 5 mins, comedy.

A Cavalcade of Popular Music
CNY Jazz Arts Foundation
Featuring Phil Klein, piano

Price: $10
Jazz Central
441 E. Washington St., Syracuse

One-man show highlighting the best in American song of the last 125 years.

Reservations are recommended -- phone 315-469-4675.

Society Sounds
Society for New Music

Price: $15 regular; $12 students/seniors
May Memorial Unitarian Society
3800 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Sally Lamb Subito
Dan Trueman Acting as if...
Judith Shatin Cherry Blossom and A Wrapped Thing, 2004
Rob Paterson The Thin Ice of your Fragile Mind, 2004
Dan Godfrey Luna Rugosa
Mark Volker Deep Winter

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $40, $36, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Disney's High School Musical
The Talent Company
Christine Lightcap, director

Price: $25 regular, $22 students/seniors, $14 children 12 and under
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

The Disney Channel smash hit original movie that topped the Billboard music charts and broke video and CD sales records within weeks of its premiere comes to life on stage with the antics of East High students as they audition for the school musical, compete in a scholastic decathlon, and play the championship basketball game. Troy (Tim Quartier), captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Ana Thornton), the brainy, shy new girl at school surprise themselves and others by trying out for the lead roles in the musical. They face the objections of Sharpay (Rachel Mulcahy), the thespian queen and president of the drama club, and Ryan (Chris Cory), her brother and vice-president of the drama club, who covet the roles for themselves, and friends Chad (Maoti Gborkorquellie), number two on the Wildcats Basketball Team and Taylor (MiKayla Hawkinson), president of the scholastic club, who want Troy and Gabriella to stick to what they do best - basketball and academics. Other characters in the various cliques at East High are Zeke (Stephfond Brunson), a jock with a secret passion for baking, Martha Cox (Jodie Baum), a brainiac with a secret passion for hip hop, Kelsi Neilson (Paige Goldberg), the composer-pianist of the school musical, and Jack Scott (Alex Allport), the smart-mouthed student P.A. announcer known as the Velvet Fog of East High. Ms. Darbus (Christine Lightcap) the drama teacher, Coach Bolton (Jeff Paduano) the basketball coach, and Ms. Tenny (Dorothy Lennon) the science teacher, preside over the competing school activities.

The stage version features the original musical score including The Start Of Something New, We're All In This Together, Get'cha Head In The Game, Stick To The Status Quo, Bop To The Top, When There Was Me And You, What I've Been Looking For, and Breaking Free, plus three new songs Cellular Fusion, Counting On You, and the song not in the movie but heard on a bonus track of the original cast recording entitled I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.

Read a Review!

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $35, $31, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

Visual Arts Showcase #58
CNY Arts

Price: Free
WCNY
415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Visual Arts Showcase Committee of the CRC is pleased to present an eclectic offering, featuring work of state and local grant winners since 2000. Special viewing arrangements can be made through the Cultural Resources Council at 315-435-2155.

Gallery Exhibit: Kente Cloth
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

W.E.B. DuBois Traveling Exhibit
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

In Woman Veritas
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

In Woman Veritas is a selection of photography from the Point of Contact Collection, including works by Burt Barr, Maureen Connor, Marta Chilindrón & Eduardo Costas, Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin, and Joseph Kugielsky.

The exhibit is a reflection on women, giving visitors a chance to examine different processes by which art is created and to ask questions about the ways in which truth is manifest in women. Seeing the works of art, which were created for publication in the Point of Contact journal series, in their raw and original forms along with their polished, published forms, invites a comparison between reality and what we, and the artist, perceive as reality, or truth. In fact, truth can arise from a process of searching, or, conversely, can be expressed in an instant. The exhibit revolves around this idea of truth and perspective, and visitors are encouraged to explore both the artists' perspectives of truth and their own.

Guided visits can be scheduled outside of regular hours by appointment.

John Thompson: A Traveler's Glimpse of India
Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Price: Free
VPA Dean's Gallery
Room 200, Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dean's Gallery at Syracuse University will host an exhibition of paintings, drawings and pastels by VPA professor John Thompson. The exhibition is open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Thompson is professor of illustration and coordinator of the illustration program. The works shown in his exhibition are the result of research from a trip he took to India in fall 2005.

Thompson works as a painter and illustrator, and has been featured in numerous art magazines. An internationally known illustrator, he has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, the New Jersey Art Director's Club, the Denver Art Director's Club, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and the CEBA Award for Communication Excellence in Black Publishing and Advertising. Other accolades include awards of excellence from Communication Arts Magazine and Print Magazine.

Thompson is the recipient of the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for best illustration of the year. As a children's book illustrator, he has also won three American Library Association Notable Book Awards.

For more information, contact Susan Tooley in the VPA Dean's Office at 315-443-5889.

Photography to Help Bridge the Relationship Between People and Place
Westcott Community Center

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The photographs of Andrew W. Burdick are a visual testimony to time spent in Europe and North Africa, traveling across the United States, and extensive travel in the Pacific Northwest near his home and studio in Portland, Oregon. His photos speak to the essence of human relationship with our environments.

Burdick is a 1998 graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School (Verona, NY), The Peddie School and St. Lawrence University. Following his college graduation Burdick lived in Europe and North Africa for about six months. During this time he traveled and worked on a remote organic farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, documenting the change in relationship between human and natural systems. When he returned to the United States he worked for a year and a half as the Land Steward at The Center for Whole Communities, an organic farm and education center in Vermont. He then joined his friends of the blues and roots band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood Records) as Tour Manager and Photographer logging more than 35,000 road miles and driving coast-to-coast four times. While on tour, the band performed with such musical acts as blues legend Taj Mahal, The Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio (Phish), The North Mississippi All-Stars, and Robert Cray.

His photographs have been used for album graphics, posters, web designs, office and home decoration, and have appeared in literary magazines and newspapers across the country. Burdick has recently published a book of photography, There and Back Again: Across The Country With Grace Potter And The Nocturnals. He also co-directed a Vermont Public Television live video recording of Grace Potter And The Nocturnals that has subsequently been released on DVD. Currently, Burdick splits time between his Portland, OR and Sherrill, NY studios where he owns and operates freelance photography businesses. In addition, Burdick has recently accepted the position of Director of Photography for Seanchai Productions, a documentary film company based in Portland focused on covering local and global issues that are environmentally and socially pressing in nature.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Syracuse Set List: Rock
Redhouse
Featuring Hamell On Trial

Price: $10
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

Visual Arts Showcase #58
CNY Arts

Price: Free
WCNY
415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Visual Arts Showcase Committee of the CRC is pleased to present an eclectic offering, featuring work of state and local grant winners since 2000. Special viewing arrangements can be made through the Cultural Resources Council at 315-435-2155.

Gallery Exhibit: Kente Cloth
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

W.E.B. DuBois Traveling Exhibit
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

In Woman Veritas
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

In Woman Veritas is a selection of photography from the Point of Contact Collection, including works by Burt Barr, Maureen Connor, Marta Chilindrón & Eduardo Costas, Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin, and Joseph Kugielsky.

The exhibit is a reflection on women, giving visitors a chance to examine different processes by which art is created and to ask questions about the ways in which truth is manifest in women. Seeing the works of art, which were created for publication in the Point of Contact journal series, in their raw and original forms along with their polished, published forms, invites a comparison between reality and what we, and the artist, perceive as reality, or truth. In fact, truth can arise from a process of searching, or, conversely, can be expressed in an instant. The exhibit revolves around this idea of truth and perspective, and visitors are encouraged to explore both the artists' perspectives of truth and their own.

Guided visits can be scheduled outside of regular hours by appointment.

John Thompson: A Traveler's Glimpse of India
Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Price: Free
VPA Dean's Gallery
Room 200, Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dean's Gallery at Syracuse University will host an exhibition of paintings, drawings and pastels by VPA professor John Thompson. The exhibition is open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Thompson is professor of illustration and coordinator of the illustration program. The works shown in his exhibition are the result of research from a trip he took to India in fall 2005.

Thompson works as a painter and illustrator, and has been featured in numerous art magazines. An internationally known illustrator, he has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, the New Jersey Art Director's Club, the Denver Art Director's Club, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and the CEBA Award for Communication Excellence in Black Publishing and Advertising. Other accolades include awards of excellence from Communication Arts Magazine and Print Magazine.

Thompson is the recipient of the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for best illustration of the year. As a children's book illustrator, he has also won three American Library Association Notable Book Awards.

For more information, contact Susan Tooley in the VPA Dean's Office at 315-443-5889.

Photography to Help Bridge the Relationship Between People and Place
Westcott Community Center

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The photographs of Andrew W. Burdick are a visual testimony to time spent in Europe and North Africa, traveling across the United States, and extensive travel in the Pacific Northwest near his home and studio in Portland, Oregon. His photos speak to the essence of human relationship with our environments.

Burdick is a 1998 graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School (Verona, NY), The Peddie School and St. Lawrence University. Following his college graduation Burdick lived in Europe and North Africa for about six months. During this time he traveled and worked on a remote organic farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, documenting the change in relationship between human and natural systems. When he returned to the United States he worked for a year and a half as the Land Steward at The Center for Whole Communities, an organic farm and education center in Vermont. He then joined his friends of the blues and roots band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood Records) as Tour Manager and Photographer logging more than 35,000 road miles and driving coast-to-coast four times. While on tour, the band performed with such musical acts as blues legend Taj Mahal, The Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio (Phish), The North Mississippi All-Stars, and Robert Cray.

His photographs have been used for album graphics, posters, web designs, office and home decoration, and have appeared in literary magazines and newspapers across the country. Burdick has recently published a book of photography, There and Back Again: Across The Country With Grace Potter And The Nocturnals. He also co-directed a Vermont Public Television live video recording of Grace Potter And The Nocturnals that has subsequently been released on DVD. Currently, Burdick splits time between his Portland, OR and Sherrill, NY studios where he owns and operates freelance photography businesses. In addition, Burdick has recently accepted the position of Director of Photography for Seanchai Productions, a documentary film company based in Portland focused on covering local and global issues that are environmentally and socially pressing in nature.

A Connection with Time
Edgewood Gallery

Price: Free
Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Large, panoramic photos of the world of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Pride and Perseverance: Civil Rights Paintings by Charly Palmer
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

An artist with a passion for history, Palmer's works chronicle important social and political events, focusing on African American historical subjects and the Civil Rights Movement in particular. Palmer's works make use of bold colors, textures and layers to bring his subjects to life. He has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and his work can be found in several prominent public and private collections. Palmer has received several major awards and commissions. He has also worked as an educator, instructing students of all ages in drawing, painting, design and illustration.

Underground Railroad Made Visible: Photos by William Earle Williams
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

The photographs are of sites that were once part of the Underground Railroad, including many here in Central New York.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work also featuring Williams' photographs: "Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War."

William Earle Williams received a B.A. degree in History from Hamilton College and an M.F.A. degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. He is a Professor of Fine Arts at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and also a Curator of Photography. Williams participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2003.

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Faux Naturel
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cheerfully dark exhibition of young Canadian and American artists ponders deceit, nature, temptation and excess. Seven artists in Philadelphia, Montréal, Syracuse, and Toronto have created stunning visions of larger-than-life sculpture, tragicomedic video, striking collages, and intricate printmaking.

The exhibit contains recent works by Alex Da Corte (Philadelphia), Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (Syracuse), Nick Lenker (Philadelphia), Annie MacDonell (Toronto), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), and Andrea Vander Kooij (Montreal).

Dreams: Between the Sky and the Earth: Collaborations with Children at Ed Smith School
The Warehouse Gallery

The Warehouse Link Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

"Between the sky and the earth emerge paths to a new way of life where people journey together to a cleaner, safer, more beautiful world." So reads the inscription on a photograph by fifth-grader Shivhari Chathrattil describing his dream and image. It is one of more than 80 photographs -- in addition to a video documentary -- on display in the exhibition, which explores the dreams and visual imaginations of fifth-grade students in the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and is the culmination of the efforts of an innovative course -- Literacy, Community and Photography -- offered through Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

On the Edge of Pop
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

On the Edge of Pop presents a selection of paintings, sculpture and prints that examines the pop art movement's later years in the 1970s. Included in the exhibition are works by Pop icons like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. These originators were joined by later participants including Robert Cottingham, John Clem Clark and Mel Ramos.

Pop established a new order of symbols, images and content that evolved over time. The style began in the late 1950s as a reaction to the intensely personal and gestural look of Abstract Expressionism. Pop artists de-emphasized their role in making art by often using more mechanical techniques usually associated with mass market processes. Their images were often appropriated from popular culture and, as a result, the general public greeted the new work enthusiastically.

By 1970 Pop had evolved into a more mainstream art form as the style broadened its scope. Andy Warhol did a series of paintings and prints of celebrities and other important figures. He took a famous publicity photograph of Marilyn Monroe and made a series of differently colored screenprints. Installed as multiples, the prints reinterpreted the starlet's place in American culture. Robert Rauschenberg had gained such a reputation that in 1969 NASA invited him to Cape Canaveral to witness the launch of Apollo 11 and to use its images in his work. His color screenprint Signs, 1970 prominently features the astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon along with a host of other iconic figures and events from the preceding decade.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Syracuse Strings Plus One
Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music

Price: $10 adult, $5 students, $20 family
Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church
5299 Jamesville Rd., Dewitt

Compositions for strings plus one woodwind instrument, featuring musicians from Central New York.

Telemann Suite for Flute and Strings in E minor, featuring John Oberbrunner, principal flute of the Syracuse Symphony from its first concert in 1961 until his retirement in 1994
Mozart Quartet for Oboe and Strings in F major, K. 370, featuring Patricia Sharpe, assistant first chair oboe of the SSO
Brahms Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B minor, Op. 111, featuring Gerald Zampino, former SSO principal clarinet

The string players, all from the SSO, are violinists Jeremy Mastrangelo and Alexandra Dotcheva LeDoux, violist Li Li, and cellist Lindsay Groves.

This concert will continue a Friends of Chamber Music tradition of giving an emerging young talent the opportunity to take the stage with professionals. Flutist Stephanie Dawes, a home-schooled high school senior and student of John Oberbrunner, will be heard in the "Theme and Variations" from Beethoven's Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola.

Faculty Organ Recital
Syracuse University Setnor School of Music
Featuring Olukola "Kola" Owolabi, organ

Price: Free
Setnor Auditorium, Crouse College
Syracuse University, Syracuse

The program includes works by Georg Böhm, Pablo Bruna, William Bolcom, Charles-Marie Widor and an improvisation by Owolabi. Owolabi is interim organ instructor in the Setnor School of Music and University Organist at SU. He is currently studying for his doctoral degree at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.

For more information, phone 315-443-5892.

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $35, $31, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

Visual Arts Showcase #58
CNY Arts

Price: Free
WCNY
415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Visual Arts Showcase Committee of the CRC is pleased to present an eclectic offering, featuring work of state and local grant winners since 2000. Special viewing arrangements can be made through the Cultural Resources Council at 315-435-2155.

Gallery Exhibit: Kente Cloth
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

W.E.B. DuBois Traveling Exhibit
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

In Woman Veritas
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

In Woman Veritas is a selection of photography from the Point of Contact Collection, including works by Burt Barr, Maureen Connor, Marta Chilindrón & Eduardo Costas, Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin, and Joseph Kugielsky.

The exhibit is a reflection on women, giving visitors a chance to examine different processes by which art is created and to ask questions about the ways in which truth is manifest in women. Seeing the works of art, which were created for publication in the Point of Contact journal series, in their raw and original forms along with their polished, published forms, invites a comparison between reality and what we, and the artist, perceive as reality, or truth. In fact, truth can arise from a process of searching, or, conversely, can be expressed in an instant. The exhibit revolves around this idea of truth and perspective, and visitors are encouraged to explore both the artists' perspectives of truth and their own.

Guided visits can be scheduled outside of regular hours by appointment.

John Thompson: A Traveler's Glimpse of India
Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Price: Free
VPA Dean's Gallery
Room 200, Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dean's Gallery at Syracuse University will host an exhibition of paintings, drawings and pastels by VPA professor John Thompson. The exhibition is open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Thompson is professor of illustration and coordinator of the illustration program. The works shown in his exhibition are the result of research from a trip he took to India in fall 2005.

Thompson works as a painter and illustrator, and has been featured in numerous art magazines. An internationally known illustrator, he has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, the New Jersey Art Director's Club, the Denver Art Director's Club, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and the CEBA Award for Communication Excellence in Black Publishing and Advertising. Other accolades include awards of excellence from Communication Arts Magazine and Print Magazine.

Thompson is the recipient of the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for best illustration of the year. As a children's book illustrator, he has also won three American Library Association Notable Book Awards.

For more information, contact Susan Tooley in the VPA Dean's Office at 315-443-5889.

Photography to Help Bridge the Relationship Between People and Place
Westcott Community Center

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The photographs of Andrew W. Burdick are a visual testimony to time spent in Europe and North Africa, traveling across the United States, and extensive travel in the Pacific Northwest near his home and studio in Portland, Oregon. His photos speak to the essence of human relationship with our environments.

Burdick is a 1998 graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School (Verona, NY), The Peddie School and St. Lawrence University. Following his college graduation Burdick lived in Europe and North Africa for about six months. During this time he traveled and worked on a remote organic farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, documenting the change in relationship between human and natural systems. When he returned to the United States he worked for a year and a half as the Land Steward at The Center for Whole Communities, an organic farm and education center in Vermont. He then joined his friends of the blues and roots band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood Records) as Tour Manager and Photographer logging more than 35,000 road miles and driving coast-to-coast four times. While on tour, the band performed with such musical acts as blues legend Taj Mahal, The Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio (Phish), The North Mississippi All-Stars, and Robert Cray.

His photographs have been used for album graphics, posters, web designs, office and home decoration, and have appeared in literary magazines and newspapers across the country. Burdick has recently published a book of photography, There and Back Again: Across The Country With Grace Potter And The Nocturnals. He also co-directed a Vermont Public Television live video recording of Grace Potter And The Nocturnals that has subsequently been released on DVD. Currently, Burdick splits time between his Portland, OR and Sherrill, NY studios where he owns and operates freelance photography businesses. In addition, Burdick has recently accepted the position of Director of Photography for Seanchai Productions, a documentary film company based in Portland focused on covering local and global issues that are environmentally and socially pressing in nature.

A Connection with Time
Edgewood Gallery

Price: Free
Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Large, panoramic photos of the world of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Underground Railroad Made Visible: Photos by William Earle Williams
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

The photographs are of sites that were once part of the Underground Railroad, including many here in Central New York.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work also featuring Williams' photographs: "Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War."

William Earle Williams received a B.A. degree in History from Hamilton College and an M.F.A. degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. He is a Professor of Fine Arts at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and also a Curator of Photography. Williams participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2003.

Pride and Perseverance: Civil Rights Paintings by Charly Palmer
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

An artist with a passion for history, Palmer's works chronicle important social and political events, focusing on African American historical subjects and the Civil Rights Movement in particular. Palmer's works make use of bold colors, textures and layers to bring his subjects to life. He has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and his work can be found in several prominent public and private collections. Palmer has received several major awards and commissions. He has also worked as an educator, instructing students of all ages in drawing, painting, design and illustration.

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Faux Naturel
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cheerfully dark exhibition of young Canadian and American artists ponders deceit, nature, temptation and excess. Seven artists in Philadelphia, Montréal, Syracuse, and Toronto have created stunning visions of larger-than-life sculpture, tragicomedic video, striking collages, and intricate printmaking.

The exhibit contains recent works by Alex Da Corte (Philadelphia), Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (Syracuse), Nick Lenker (Philadelphia), Annie MacDonell (Toronto), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), and Andrea Vander Kooij (Montreal).

Dreams: Between the Sky and the Earth: Collaborations with Children at Ed Smith School
The Warehouse Gallery

The Warehouse Link Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

"Between the sky and the earth emerge paths to a new way of life where people journey together to a cleaner, safer, more beautiful world." So reads the inscription on a photograph by fifth-grader Shivhari Chathrattil describing his dream and image. It is one of more than 80 photographs -- in addition to a video documentary -- on display in the exhibition, which explores the dreams and visual imaginations of fifth-grade students in the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and is the culmination of the efforts of an innovative course -- Literacy, Community and Photography -- offered through Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

On the Edge of Pop
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

On the Edge of Pop presents a selection of paintings, sculpture and prints that examines the pop art movement's later years in the 1970s. Included in the exhibition are works by Pop icons like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. These originators were joined by later participants including Robert Cottingham, John Clem Clark and Mel Ramos.

Pop established a new order of symbols, images and content that evolved over time. The style began in the late 1950s as a reaction to the intensely personal and gestural look of Abstract Expressionism. Pop artists de-emphasized their role in making art by often using more mechanical techniques usually associated with mass market processes. Their images were often appropriated from popular culture and, as a result, the general public greeted the new work enthusiastically.

By 1970 Pop had evolved into a more mainstream art form as the style broadened its scope. Andy Warhol did a series of paintings and prints of celebrities and other important figures. He took a famous publicity photograph of Marilyn Monroe and made a series of differently colored screenprints. Installed as multiples, the prints reinterpreted the starlet's place in American culture. Robert Rauschenberg had gained such a reputation that in 1969 NASA invited him to Cape Canaveral to witness the launch of Apollo 11 and to use its images in his work. His color screenprint Signs, 1970 prominently features the astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon along with a host of other iconic figures and events from the preceding decade.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $40, $36, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $35, $31, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

Visual Arts Showcase #58
CNY Arts

Price: Free
WCNY
415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Visual Arts Showcase Committee of the CRC is pleased to present an eclectic offering, featuring work of state and local grant winners since 2000. Special viewing arrangements can be made through the Cultural Resources Council at 315-435-2155.

Gallery Exhibit: Kente Cloth
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

W.E.B. DuBois Traveling Exhibit
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

In Woman Veritas
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

In Woman Veritas is a selection of photography from the Point of Contact Collection, including works by Burt Barr, Maureen Connor, Marta Chilindrón & Eduardo Costas, Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin, and Joseph Kugielsky.

The exhibit is a reflection on women, giving visitors a chance to examine different processes by which art is created and to ask questions about the ways in which truth is manifest in women. Seeing the works of art, which were created for publication in the Point of Contact journal series, in their raw and original forms along with their polished, published forms, invites a comparison between reality and what we, and the artist, perceive as reality, or truth. In fact, truth can arise from a process of searching, or, conversely, can be expressed in an instant. The exhibit revolves around this idea of truth and perspective, and visitors are encouraged to explore both the artists' perspectives of truth and their own.

Guided visits can be scheduled outside of regular hours by appointment.

John Thompson: A Traveler's Glimpse of India
Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Price: Free
VPA Dean's Gallery
Room 200, Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dean's Gallery at Syracuse University will host an exhibition of paintings, drawings and pastels by VPA professor John Thompson. The exhibition is open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Thompson is professor of illustration and coordinator of the illustration program. The works shown in his exhibition are the result of research from a trip he took to India in fall 2005.

Thompson works as a painter and illustrator, and has been featured in numerous art magazines. An internationally known illustrator, he has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, the New Jersey Art Director's Club, the Denver Art Director's Club, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and the CEBA Award for Communication Excellence in Black Publishing and Advertising. Other accolades include awards of excellence from Communication Arts Magazine and Print Magazine.

Thompson is the recipient of the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for best illustration of the year. As a children's book illustrator, he has also won three American Library Association Notable Book Awards.

For more information, contact Susan Tooley in the VPA Dean's Office at 315-443-5889.

Photography to Help Bridge the Relationship Between People and Place
Westcott Community Center

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The photographs of Andrew W. Burdick are a visual testimony to time spent in Europe and North Africa, traveling across the United States, and extensive travel in the Pacific Northwest near his home and studio in Portland, Oregon. His photos speak to the essence of human relationship with our environments.

Burdick is a 1998 graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School (Verona, NY), The Peddie School and St. Lawrence University. Following his college graduation Burdick lived in Europe and North Africa for about six months. During this time he traveled and worked on a remote organic farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, documenting the change in relationship between human and natural systems. When he returned to the United States he worked for a year and a half as the Land Steward at The Center for Whole Communities, an organic farm and education center in Vermont. He then joined his friends of the blues and roots band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood Records) as Tour Manager and Photographer logging more than 35,000 road miles and driving coast-to-coast four times. While on tour, the band performed with such musical acts as blues legend Taj Mahal, The Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio (Phish), The North Mississippi All-Stars, and Robert Cray.

His photographs have been used for album graphics, posters, web designs, office and home decoration, and have appeared in literary magazines and newspapers across the country. Burdick has recently published a book of photography, There and Back Again: Across The Country With Grace Potter And The Nocturnals. He also co-directed a Vermont Public Television live video recording of Grace Potter And The Nocturnals that has subsequently been released on DVD. Currently, Burdick splits time between his Portland, OR and Sherrill, NY studios where he owns and operates freelance photography businesses. In addition, Burdick has recently accepted the position of Director of Photography for Seanchai Productions, a documentary film company based in Portland focused on covering local and global issues that are environmentally and socially pressing in nature.

A Connection with Time
Edgewood Gallery

Price: Free
Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Large, panoramic photos of the world of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Pride and Perseverance: Civil Rights Paintings by Charly Palmer
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

An artist with a passion for history, Palmer's works chronicle important social and political events, focusing on African American historical subjects and the Civil Rights Movement in particular. Palmer's works make use of bold colors, textures and layers to bring his subjects to life. He has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and his work can be found in several prominent public and private collections. Palmer has received several major awards and commissions. He has also worked as an educator, instructing students of all ages in drawing, painting, design and illustration.

Underground Railroad Made Visible: Photos by William Earle Williams
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

The photographs are of sites that were once part of the Underground Railroad, including many here in Central New York.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work also featuring Williams' photographs: "Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War."

William Earle Williams received a B.A. degree in History from Hamilton College and an M.F.A. degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. He is a Professor of Fine Arts at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and also a Curator of Photography. Williams participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2003.

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Faux Naturel
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cheerfully dark exhibition of young Canadian and American artists ponders deceit, nature, temptation and excess. Seven artists in Philadelphia, Montréal, Syracuse, and Toronto have created stunning visions of larger-than-life sculpture, tragicomedic video, striking collages, and intricate printmaking.

The exhibit contains recent works by Alex Da Corte (Philadelphia), Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (Syracuse), Nick Lenker (Philadelphia), Annie MacDonell (Toronto), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), and Andrea Vander Kooij (Montreal).

Dreams: Between the Sky and the Earth: Collaborations with Children at Ed Smith School
The Warehouse Gallery

The Warehouse Link Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

"Between the sky and the earth emerge paths to a new way of life where people journey together to a cleaner, safer, more beautiful world." So reads the inscription on a photograph by fifth-grader Shivhari Chathrattil describing his dream and image. It is one of more than 80 photographs -- in addition to a video documentary -- on display in the exhibition, which explores the dreams and visual imaginations of fifth-grade students in the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and is the culmination of the efforts of an innovative course -- Literacy, Community and Photography -- offered through Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

On the Edge of Pop
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

On the Edge of Pop presents a selection of paintings, sculpture and prints that examines the pop art movement's later years in the 1970s. Included in the exhibition are works by Pop icons like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. These originators were joined by later participants including Robert Cottingham, John Clem Clark and Mel Ramos.

Pop established a new order of symbols, images and content that evolved over time. The style began in the late 1950s as a reaction to the intensely personal and gestural look of Abstract Expressionism. Pop artists de-emphasized their role in making art by often using more mechanical techniques usually associated with mass market processes. Their images were often appropriated from popular culture and, as a result, the general public greeted the new work enthusiastically.

By 1970 Pop had evolved into a more mainstream art form as the style broadened its scope. Andy Warhol did a series of paintings and prints of celebrities and other important figures. He took a famous publicity photograph of Marilyn Monroe and made a series of differently colored screenprints. Installed as multiples, the prints reinterpreted the starlet's place in American culture. Robert Rauschenberg had gained such a reputation that in 1969 NASA invited him to Cape Canaveral to witness the launch of Apollo 11 and to use its images in his work. His color screenprint Signs, 1970 prominently features the astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon along with a host of other iconic figures and events from the preceding decade.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Michael Matthews: Out of India
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

This collection of Expressionist style landscape paintings were executed in India by this Canadian born artist. Matthews' states that his love affair with the art of India began over 15 years ago when he was drawn to the Islamic galleries of the Persian, Moghul and Rajput collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time he has made three visits to India, culminating in several months of immersion into the culture, flavor and appeal of the people and surroundings. It is apparent that Matthews was overwhelmed by the grand architecture of India, which form the core of this exhibition.

These works on paper are very reminiscent of Indian textiles, and the various techniques used to bleed and run natural pigmented dyes, like batik and block printing. Matthews' spontaneous way of working exemplifies his expressive style and is enhanced by his use of water-based paints on paper. The melding together of the paints with the paper forms a rich surface in these quickly rendered compositions. Each painting epitomizes Matthews' enchantment with India while celebrating the splendor of Indian architecture and textile through his simple color choices, strong outlines, and an energetic use of pattern.

The Human Condition
Delavan Art Gallery

Price: Free
Delavan Art Gallery
501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The exhibit features photography and wood cut prints of West Africa by James Albertson, drawings on issues of forced emigration by Joan Carlon, oil paintings by William Finch, drawings on canvas and linen of West African women by Viginia Hovendon, and watercolor portraits by Stephen Ryan.

Artist Talk: Alex Da Corte
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cultural Roots & Routes
Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company

Price: Free
Storer Auditorium
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

Cultural Roots & Routes will celebrate the African American cultural roots from which we grow and prosper and the cultural routes, the paths we as people travel to reach self actualization. Through storytelling, dance and music - from classical to blues - the performance will illustrate how people choose different ways of expressing their cultural heritage.

Appearing will be nationally renowned artists including blues guitarist and storyteller Guy Davis, master percussionist Michael Wimberly, master dancers Maia McKinney and Catherine "Cat" Foster from the Forces of Nature Dance Troupe, jazz cellist Karen Patterson, and urban jazz violinist Rodney McCoy.

Cultural Roots & Routes
Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company

Price: Free
Schine Underground, Schine Student Center
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Cultural Roots & Routes will celebrate the African American cultural roots from which we grow and prosper and the cultural routes, the paths we as people travel to reach self actualization. Through storytelling, dance and music - from classical to blues - the performance will illustrate how people choose different ways of expressing their cultural heritage.

Appearing will be nationally renowned artists including blues guitarist and storyteller Guy Davis, master percussionist Michael Wimberly, master dancers Maia McKinney and Catherine "Cat" Foster from the Forces of Nature Dance Troupe, jazz cellist Karen Patterson, and urban jazz violinist Rodney McCoy.

Big Louie and the Gang that Couldn't Think Straight
Acme Mystery Company

Price: $26 plus tax and gratuities (includes meal and show)
Spaghetti Warehouse
689 N. Clinton St., Syracuse

Audience participation comedy/mystery dinner theater.

Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $35, $31, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

Read a Review!

Little Women
Syracuse University Drama Department

Price: Free (very limited seating)
Syracuse Stage, Room 243
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Faculty, staff, students and an alumnus of the Department of Drama in Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts will join forces to present a workshop production of a new musical version of Little Women, based on author Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel.

The melodic, moving, score, winner of a Richard Rodgers Award, was composed by Kim Oler and lyricist Alison Hubbard, with book adaptation by Sean Hartley. The workshop production will be directed by SU alumnus Alan Souza, with musical supervision by Nathan Hurwitz, SU Drama staff member, and choreography by Kim Hale, assistant professor of drama.

Little Women tells the timeless tale of the March family during Civil War-era America. Under the guidance of their devoted mother, Marmee, and with their father away fighting in the war, Josephine (Jo), Margaret (Meg), Amy and Elizabeth (Beth) blossom from girls into women. In a time of national division, the four sisters hold on to each other and to hope as they face the joys and sorrows of courtship, romance, illness, loss, growing up and letting go.

For more information or to reserve seats, phone the Syracuse Stage box office at 315-443-3275.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Un/Common Threads: Selections from the Light Work Collection
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

This exhibition, curated by Syracuse University graduate student Kaylen Williams, features images from the Light Work Collection. The work selected explores how contemporary artists approach issues of ethnic and cultural identity.

Atrium Exhibit: Scholastic Art Awards Show
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Whitney Applied Technology Center
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

A vast exhibit of regional high school Scholastic Art Awards competition entries featuring multimedia, painting, photography and ceramics.

Visual Arts Showcase #58
CNY Arts

Price: Free
WCNY
415 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The Visual Arts Showcase Committee of the CRC is pleased to present an eclectic offering, featuring work of state and local grant winners since 2000. Special viewing arrangements can be made through the Cultural Resources Council at 315-435-2155.

Gallery Exhibit: Kente Cloth
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

W.E.B. DuBois Traveling Exhibit
Onondaga Community College

Price: Free
Ann Felton Multicultural Center and Gallery
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

In Woman Veritas
Point of Contact Gallery

Price: Free
Point of Contact Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

In Woman Veritas is a selection of photography from the Point of Contact Collection, including works by Burt Barr, Maureen Connor, Marta Chilindrón & Eduardo Costas, Rimma Gerlovina & Valeriy Gerlovin, and Joseph Kugielsky.

The exhibit is a reflection on women, giving visitors a chance to examine different processes by which art is created and to ask questions about the ways in which truth is manifest in women. Seeing the works of art, which were created for publication in the Point of Contact journal series, in their raw and original forms along with their polished, published forms, invites a comparison between reality and what we, and the artist, perceive as reality, or truth. In fact, truth can arise from a process of searching, or, conversely, can be expressed in an instant. The exhibit revolves around this idea of truth and perspective, and visitors are encouraged to explore both the artists' perspectives of truth and their own.

Guided visits can be scheduled outside of regular hours by appointment.

John Thompson: A Traveler's Glimpse of India
Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Price: Free
VPA Dean's Gallery
Room 200, Crouse College, Syracuse University, Syracuse

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Dean's Gallery at Syracuse University will host an exhibition of paintings, drawings and pastels by VPA professor John Thompson. The exhibition is open to the public. Paid parking is available in Irving Garage.

Thompson is professor of illustration and coordinator of the illustration program. The works shown in his exhibition are the result of research from a trip he took to India in fall 2005.

Thompson works as a painter and illustrator, and has been featured in numerous art magazines. An internationally known illustrator, he has won gold and silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, the New Jersey Art Director's Club, the Denver Art Director's Club, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and the CEBA Award for Communication Excellence in Black Publishing and Advertising. Other accolades include awards of excellence from Communication Arts Magazine and Print Magazine.

Thompson is the recipient of the 2006 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators for best illustration of the year. As a children's book illustrator, he has also won three American Library Association Notable Book Awards.

For more information, contact Susan Tooley in the VPA Dean's Office at 315-443-5889.

Photography to Help Bridge the Relationship Between People and Place
Westcott Community Center

Price: Free
Westcott Community Center
Corner of Euclid Ave. and Westcott St., Syracuse

The photographs of Andrew W. Burdick are a visual testimony to time spent in Europe and North Africa, traveling across the United States, and extensive travel in the Pacific Northwest near his home and studio in Portland, Oregon. His photos speak to the essence of human relationship with our environments.

Burdick is a 1998 graduate of Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School (Verona, NY), The Peddie School and St. Lawrence University. Following his college graduation Burdick lived in Europe and North Africa for about six months. During this time he traveled and worked on a remote organic farm in the mountains of Southern Spain, documenting the change in relationship between human and natural systems. When he returned to the United States he worked for a year and a half as the Land Steward at The Center for Whole Communities, an organic farm and education center in Vermont. He then joined his friends of the blues and roots band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (Hollywood Records) as Tour Manager and Photographer logging more than 35,000 road miles and driving coast-to-coast four times. While on tour, the band performed with such musical acts as blues legend Taj Mahal, The Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio (Phish), The North Mississippi All-Stars, and Robert Cray.

His photographs have been used for album graphics, posters, web designs, office and home decoration, and have appeared in literary magazines and newspapers across the country. Burdick has recently published a book of photography, There and Back Again: Across The Country With Grace Potter And The Nocturnals. He also co-directed a Vermont Public Television live video recording of Grace Potter And The Nocturnals that has subsequently been released on DVD. Currently, Burdick splits time between his Portland, OR and Sherrill, NY studios where he owns and operates freelance photography businesses. In addition, Burdick has recently accepted the position of Director of Photography for Seanchai Productions, a documentary film company based in Portland focused on covering local and global issues that are environmentally and socially pressing in nature.

A Connection with Time
Edgewood Gallery

Price: Free
Edgewood Gallery
216 Tecumseh Rd., Syracuse

Large, panoramic photos of the world of baseball at the beginning of the 20th century.

New to You
Associated Artists of Central New York

Price: Free
Manlius Village Library
Manlius Village Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Dr., Manlius

An exhibit of the work of new guild members as well as emerging and seldom shown artists.

Underground Railroad Made Visible: Photos by William Earle Williams
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

The photographs are of sites that were once part of the Underground Railroad, including many here in Central New York.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with a simultaneous exhibition at Light Work also featuring Williams' photographs: "Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War."

William Earle Williams received a B.A. degree in History from Hamilton College and an M.F.A. degree in Fine Arts from Yale University. He is a Professor of Fine Arts at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and also a Curator of Photography. Williams participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2003.

Pride and Perseverance: Civil Rights Paintings by Charly Palmer
Community Folk Art Center

Price: Free
Community Folk Art Center
805 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

An artist with a passion for history, Palmer's works chronicle important social and political events, focusing on African American historical subjects and the Civil Rights Movement in particular. Palmer's works make use of bold colors, textures and layers to bring his subjects to life. He has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and his work can be found in several prominent public and private collections. Palmer has received several major awards and commissions. He has also worked as an educator, instructing students of all ages in drawing, painting, design and illustration.

Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War
Light Work Gallery
Featuring works by William Earle Williams

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

Until the release of the motion picture Glory in 1989, it was not well known that more than 180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War. The exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War features over 40 stunning black-and-white photographs by William Earle Williams. The images call attention to the sites made special through these soldiers' contributions, so that their story becomes a part of our American story.

Transmedia Photography Annual
Light Work Gallery

Robert B. Menschel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse University, Syracuse

The exhibition features the work of seniors and graduate students in Syracuse University's Department of Transmedia.

Faux Naturel
The Warehouse Gallery

Price: Free
The Warehouse Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

Cheerfully dark exhibition of young Canadian and American artists ponders deceit, nature, temptation and excess. Seven artists in Philadelphia, Montréal, Syracuse, and Toronto have created stunning visions of larger-than-life sculpture, tragicomedic video, striking collages, and intricate printmaking.

The exhibit contains recent works by Alex Da Corte (Philadelphia), Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby (Syracuse), Nick Lenker (Philadelphia), Annie MacDonell (Toronto), Allyson Mitchell (Toronto), and Andrea Vander Kooij (Montreal).

Dreams: Between the Sky and the Earth: Collaborations with Children at Ed Smith School
The Warehouse Gallery

The Warehouse Link Gallery
350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

"Between the sky and the earth emerge paths to a new way of life where people journey together to a cleaner, safer, more beautiful world." So reads the inscription on a photograph by fifth-grader Shivhari Chathrattil describing his dream and image. It is one of more than 80 photographs -- in addition to a video documentary -- on display in the exhibition, which explores the dreams and visual imaginations of fifth-grade students in the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and is the culmination of the efforts of an innovative course -- Literacy, Community and Photography -- offered through Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Celestial Images: Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps From the Mendillo Collection
Syracuse University Art Museum

Price: Free
Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Celestial Images celebrates the Golden Age of astronomical charts. Some of the world's earliest artistic images, illustrations of cosmologies and heavenly phenomena, entered into a new and lively phase during the Renaissance. The invention of printing in the 15th century improved the means of disseminating scientific knowledge; advances in astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the portrayal of new information. This fortuitous conjunction created printed astronomical charts of surprising accuracy and delicate beauty. Celestial cartographers combined their scientific quest with a keen aesthetic sense -- each chart had to be an object of beauty, as well as a repository of information. These charts were a celebration of aesthetics as well as scientific knowledge.

Like the twins of Gemini, art and science walked hand-in-hand for over hundred years. By the late 19th century, this unified way of seeing had split into the "two cultures" of art and science that we know today. Overwhelmed by a vast amount of data, astronomical charts of the 20th century eventually changed into functional, unadorned tools intended for the specialists. Tucked away in libraries, museums and private collections, however, are splendid remnants of a bygone era. Assembled here from the Mendillo Collection of Antiquarian Astronomical Charts and Maps are over 80 examples of some of the finest celestial cartography created. There are star charts (maps of the constellations and the full celestial sphere), charts of planetary systems (cosmologies), and a smaller third category, charts of celestial phenomena (such as nebulae, comets, and eclipses). Together, they pay homage to a time when simple systems explained the universe and humankind held friendly commerce with the skies.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

Meaning and Metaphor
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Meaning and Metaphor presents a group of 10 large contemporary paintings and two distinctly different sculptures. Made by American and British artists, the works challenge preconceived notions of what art is and its purpose.

Several pieces reject the idea that art needs to be realistic. Large paintings by Bernard Cohen and Walter Darby Bannard explore abstraction in uniquely different ways. Bannard's Sun Flood, 1972 is an excellent late example of Abstract Expressionism while Cohen's Somewhere Between, 1975 pushed Op Art to its philosophical extreme.

Other works examine the role of narration in art. Robert Birmelin's Night Driving, 1964, Sidney Goodman's Eclipse and Rico Lebrun's Lazarus, 1962 develop stories that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

War News and Strange Brews: The Art of Boris Artzybasheff
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian émigré artist who painted over 200 cover illustrations for Time magazine. His most important work dates to World War II when he depicted the politicians, military leaders and the issues that governed the course of the conflict. His unique abilities in portraiture led Time to select him to paint several Man of the Year covers including portraits of Joseph Stalin and Harry Truman.

Artzybasheff was possibly more famous for his illustrations that gave machinery human characteristics. His sly talent for choosing just the right amount of human anatomy gave each machine a personality that ranged from sympathetic to sinister. Viewers were therefore compelled to have an emotional reaction to the machine and its purpose.

Parking is available at the Marion Avenue parking lot. For further information please contact the Galleries' David Prince at 315-443-4097.

On the Edge of Pop
Syracuse University Art Museum

Syracuse University Art Museum, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

On the Edge of Pop presents a selection of paintings, sculpture and prints that examines the pop art movement's later years in the 1970s. Included in the exhibition are works by Pop icons like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg. These originators were joined by later participants including Robert Cottingham, John Clem Clark and Mel Ramos.

Pop established a new order of symbols, images and content that evolved over time. The style began in the late 1950s as a reaction to the intensely personal and gestural look of Abstract Expressionism. Pop artists de-emphasized their role in making art by often using more mechanical techniques usually associated with mass market processes. Their images were often appropriated from popular culture and, as a result, the general public greeted the new work enthusiastically.

By 1970 Pop had evolved into a more mainstream art form as the style broadened its scope. Andy Warhol did a series of paintings and prints of celebrities and other important figures. He took a famous publicity photograph of Marilyn Monroe and made a series of differently colored screenprints. Installed as multiples, the prints reinterpreted the starlet's place in American culture. Robert Rauschenberg had gained such a reputation that in 1969 NASA invited him to Cape Canaveral to witness the launch of Apollo 11 and to use its images in his work. His color screenprint Signs, 1970 prominently features the astronaut Buzz Aldrin standing on the moon along with a host of other iconic figures and events from the preceding decade.

Weekend and evening Galleries visitors can park in the Q4 lot on College Place. Notify the attendant that you are visiting the Galleries and you will be directed where to park. Parking is on a space available basis and may be restricted during events held at the Carrier Dome. If spaces aren't available the attendant will direct you to the nearest lot.

The Human Condition
Delavan Art Gallery

Price: Free
Delavan Art Gallery
501 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

The exhibit features photography and wood cut prints of West Africa by James Albertson, drawings on issues of forced emigration by Joan Carlon, oil paintings by William Finch, drawings on canvas and linen of West African women by Viginia Hovendon, and watercolor portraits by Stephen Ryan.

Michael Matthews: Out of India
Redhouse

Price: Free
Former Redhouse Theater
219 S. West St., Syracuse

This collection of Expressionist style landscape paintings were executed in India by this Canadian born artist. Matthews' states that his love affair with the art of India began over 15 years ago when he was drawn to the Islamic galleries of the Persian, Moghul and Rajput collections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Since that time he has made three visits to India, culminating in several months of immersion into the culture, flavor and appeal of the people and surroundings. It is apparent that Matthews was overwhelmed by the grand architecture of India, which form the core of this exhibition.

These works on paper are very reminiscent of Indian textiles, and the various techniques used to bleed and run natural pigmented dyes, like batik and block printing. Matthews' spontaneous way of working exemplifies his expressive style and is enhanced by his use of water-based paints on paper. The melding together of the paints with the paper forms a rich surface in these quickly rendered compositions. Each painting epitomizes Matthews' enchantment with India while celebrating the splendor of Indian architecture and textile through his simple color choices, strong outlines, and an energetic use of pattern.

Lunch Hour Film Series
Syracuse International Film Festival

Price: Free
Marriott Hotel Syracuse
500 S. Warren St., Syracuse

Dear Sweet Emma by John M. Cernak (USA); 7 minutes
At Wit's Vend by Alan Estridge (USA); 4 minutes
Mikey Powell  A Lacrosse Movie, documentary (USA); 30 minutes

The lunch hour film series will continue each Friday throughout February and March.

Guests are encouraged to bring their lunch or snack and join other film enthusiasts in watching selected films from prior festivals.

Reservations are not required, but are welcomed due to limited seating. To reserve a seat, call the festival headquarters at 315-443-8826.

Onondaga Community College
Syracuse Symphony Brass Quintet

Price: Free
Storer Auditorium
Onondaga Community College, Syracuse

Now Music: JTV and the Boombox All-Stars
LeMoyne College

Price: $12 regular; $7 seniors, free for students
Coyne Center for the Performing Arts
LeMoyne College, Syracuse

Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis presents an evening of his Boom Box works with Andrew Russo, Kevin Gallagher and the New Century Saxophone Quartet.

Disney's High School Musical
The Talent Company
Christine Lightcap, director

Price: $25 regular, $22 students/seniors, $14 children 12 and under
Empire Theater
New York State Fairgrounds, Geddes

The Disney Channel smash hit original movie that topped the Billboard music charts and broke video and CD sales records within weeks of its premiere comes to life on stage with the antics of East High students as they audition for the school musical, compete in a scholastic decathlon, and play the championship basketball game. Troy (Tim Quartier), captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Ana Thornton), the brainy, shy new girl at school surprise themselves and others by trying out for the lead roles in the musical. They face the objections of Sharpay (Rachel Mulcahy), the thespian queen and president of the drama club, and Ryan (Chris Cory), her brother and vice-president of the drama club, who covet the roles for themselves, and friends Chad (Maoti Gborkorquellie), number two on the Wildcats Basketball Team and Taylor (MiKayla Hawkinson), president of the scholastic club, who want Troy and Gabriella to stick to what they do best - basketball and academics. Other characters in the various cliques at East High are Zeke (Stephfond Brunson), a jock with a secret passion for baking, Martha Cox (Jodie Baum), a brainiac with a secret passion for hip hop, Kelsi Neilson (Paige Goldberg), the composer-pianist of the school musical, and Jack Scott (Alex Allport), the smart-mouthed student P.A. announcer known as the Velvet Fog of East High. Ms. Darbus (Christine Lightcap) the drama teacher, Coach Bolton (Jeff Paduano) the basketball coach, and Ms. Tenny (Dorothy Lennon) the science teacher, preside over the competing school activities.

The stage version features the original musical score including The Start Of Something New, We're All In This Together, Get'cha Head In The Game, Stick To The Status Quo, Bop To The Top, When There Was Me And You, What I've Been Looking For, and Breaking Free, plus three new songs Cellular Fusion, Counting On You, and the song not in the movie but heard on a bonus track of the original cast recording entitled I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.

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The Diviners
Appleseed Productions
Jon Wilson, director

Price: $15 regular; $12 seniors/students
Atonement Lutheran Church
116 W. Glen Ave., Syracuse

This marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s. When the boy was young he almost drowned. This trauma and the loss of his mother in the same accident has left him deathly afraid of water. The preacher, set on breaking away from a long line of Kentucky family preachers, is determined not to do what he does best. He works as a mechanic for the boy's father. The town doesn't have a preacher and the women try to persuade him to preach while he tries to persuade the child to wash. When the preacher finally gets the boy in the river and is washing him, the townspeople mistake the scene for a baptism. They descend on the event and, in the confusion, the boy drowns. Written by James Leonard, Jr.

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Big Wigs
Simply New Productions

Price: $22.50
Jazz Central
441 E. Washington St., Syracuse

Two female impersonators in a comedy/musical revue, spoofing famous entertainers.

For more information or to reserve tickets, phone 315-558-9124. (Seating is limited.)

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Spike Heels
Syracuse Stage
Robert Moss, director

Price: $44, $39, $22 (adults); $18 (teens); $15 (children)
Archbold Theater, Syracuse Stage
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Playwright Theresa Rebeck (of last season's comic delight Bad Dates) is fascinated with the tricky negotiations of male-female relationships. With Spike Heels, she plunges head first into the complexities of the battle of the sexes and pops up with a witty, compelling and very tart comedy. Even smart people are not so smart when it comes to love. (Adult language.)

Set in present-day Boston, the play focuses on the mixed-up, complicated relationships of four friends. Georgie is an attractive, street-savvy woman with a penchant for stiletto heels that make prizes of her legs. She lives in the same apartment complex as Andrew, a political philosophy professor writing a book. The two meet by the mailboxes one day and become unlikely friends. Andrew takes Georgie under his wing and helps her land a job as a secretary with his friend Edward, a lawyer. However, when Edward sexually harasses Georgie, the situation turns volatile. The fact that Andrew is engaged to Edward's ex-girlfriend Lydia complicates things even further.

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Little Women
Syracuse University Drama Department

Price: Free (very limited seating)
Syracuse Stage, Room 243
820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

Faculty, staff, students and an alumnus of the Department of Drama in Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts will join forces to present a workshop production of a new musical version of Little Women, based on author Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel.

The melodic, moving, score, winner of a Richard Rodgers Award, was composed by Kim Oler and lyricist Alison Hubbard, with book adaptation by Sean Hartley. The workshop production will be directed by SU alumnus Alan Souza, with musical supervision by Nathan Hurwitz, SU Drama staff member, and choreography by Kim Hale, assistant professor of drama.

Little Women tells the timeless tale of the March family during Civil War-era America. Under the guidance of their devoted mother, Marmee, and with their father away fighting in the war, Josephine (Jo), Margaret (Meg), Amy and Elizabeth (Beth) blossom from girls into women. In a time of national division, the four sisters hold on to each other and to hope as they face the joys and sorrows of courtship, romance, illness, loss, growing up and letting go.

For more information or to reserve seats, phone the Syracuse Stage box office at 315-443-3275.

The Cocktail Hour
Salt City Center for the Performing Arts

Price: $20 regular; $15 students/seniors
St. Clare Auditorium
Lodi and Isabella Streets, Syracuse

A. R. Gurney's semi-autobiographical story of an upper-class family in Buffalo in the 1970s.

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