Archives for February 2012

SPRING 2012
BROWN BAG LECTURES
AT THE UM MUSEUM

Come listen to the Spring 2012 Brown Bag
Luncheons at the UM Museum. PB&J (or honey)
will be provided.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
I’m Living in a Material World, and I am Immaterial…,
Dr. Caleb Simmons

This lecture will examine the role that material objects and their production play in the ritual practice of Daoism and Buddhism in China.  Dr. Simmons will highlight how many of the styles that later become revered in the ‘Western’ academic discourse of disinterested artistic critique were originally objects of religious practice or developed from those objects.

Friday, March 30, 2012
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
The Vasari Society Presents
Cathedrals and Parishes: Imagery Across Time in Stained Glass

Professor Virginia Chieffo Raguin of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, presents this lecture at the University Museum. Raguin is an internationally recognized scholar of medieval and nineteenth-century stained glass, including windows in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Oxford.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Sanctuary: The Exhibition
Photography by Stephen Kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick Wildlife Photography will present an audiovisual presentation based on Kirkpatrick’s award winning book, Sanctuary: Mississippi’s Coastal Plain. Photographer Stephen Kirkpatrick will provide a personal tour and discussion of the exhibition, answer questions, and sign copies of his book.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Broken Pots, Broken Dreams: Working in Jingdezhen’s Porcelain Industry
Documentary and Q & A with Dr. Joshua Howard

Broken Pots, Broken Dreams: Working in Jingdezhen’s Porcelain Industry is a documentary by anthropologist Maris Gillette about the social, economic and cultural effects of shutting down state-run porcelain factories. Gillette interviews 4 people who were previously trained and employed by the government to work in these factories. As a result of economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping, many state-run industries were forced to shut their doors because they were not profitable, thereby leaving employees without job security and benefits, and with no options other than to fend for themselves. Gillette juxtaposes generational attitudes towards the financially devastating situation and highlights the entrepreneurial spirit that has become characteristic of so many Chinese in the past two decades.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012
12 p.m. – 1 p.m. 
The Influence of Chinese Ceramics

Ceramics Professor Matt Long will talk about the influence that the Chinese culture has had on his work, and how he has used these influences to make his own voice in his art.  Long will also talk about the importance of the technical aspects of ceramics including clay, glazes and firing.

Thursdays in April
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Master Gardeners Lecture Series
Light refreshments will be provided.