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Two
centuries old, but still brand new: Delacroix’s Two
Horses.
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Art
Beat
DELAYED
DEBUT: The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass.,
just added a work to their collection that has been waiting,
oh, approximately 178 years for its public debut. French romantic
artist Eugène Delacroix painted Two Horses Fighting
in a Stormy Landscape circa 1828, and did not exhibit
it in his lifetime. Bought at a private auction in 1864, the
year following the painter’s death, Two Horses remained
in the same family’s collection until recently, when they
offered the work to the Clark. (The original auction sticker
is still on the canvas.) “This lively work,” explained Clark
director Michael Conforti in a press statement, “joins
the Clark’s collection of 22 prints and drawings by Delacroix,
and is our first painting by the artist.” Now, Two Horses
will have its official debut later this summer in the exhibition
The Clark Brothers Collect: Impressionist and Early Modernist
Paintings, but you can see it on temporary display at
the museum through Sunday (April 23). For more information,
call (413) 458-2303.
—Shawn
Stone
WELCOMING
WORDSMITHS: The organizers of Albany’s annual celebration
of poetry and poetic community, the Albany Wordfest,
made good use of the Internet this year with the first (that
we’ve seen at least) online open-mic sign-up list, allowing
poets to put their names in weeks in advance, along with their
desired slot (either by number or general designations like
“early” or “late”), for the two major open-mic portions of
the weekend. (The online sign-up had closed as of early this
week, but there will still be opportunities to sign up in
person). Along with the usual abundance of performances, Wordfest,
which is happening this Friday and Saturday at various venues
(check out www.albanywordfest.com for the full schedule) is
celebrating the active regional poetry scene this year in
a couple specific ways: Hosts of poetry open-mic venues have
been invited to take feature slots in the open-mic readings
as a thank-you for all their hard work and Upstate Artists
Guild gallery (247 Lark St., Albany) is opening an exhibit
by poet-about-town Dan Wilcox, who has been skillfully
keeping a photographic record of a staggering percentage of
the poetic activity in the Capital Region for a full 20 years.
Wilcox will display some of what he calls “the world’s largest
collection of photos of unknown poets.” (But hey, if you’ve
been around the area for a while, you might recognize a few.)
The exhibit will run through May 5.
—Miriam
Axel-Lute
THE
SPIRIT OF THE THING: Albany’s Palace Theatre is screening
Sideways, that comic ode to the glories of wine,
tonight (Thursday, April 20) at 8:30 PM. Well, to put you
in the proper mood for a film about the glories of the grape,
there is also a reception today at 5:30 PM, where for $75—which
includes the reception and reserved seating—you can enjoy
tasty Certified Angus Beef treats prepared by Classe
Catering and a specially selected wine tasting. Proceeds from
the reception will be divided by the Palace and the Center
for Disability Services. Even if you don’t go to the reception,
a portion of the screening proceeds will go to the cosponsors;
movie-only admission is $5. For more info, call the Center
for Disability Services at 437-5611 or the Palace at 465-3334.
REMEMBER ST. LAWRENCE CEMENT? Also tonight (April 20) at 7
PM, the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy will
host the Capital Region premiere of Two Square Miles,
a documentary about the attempt to build a newer, bigger cement
plant in Hudson, and the grass-roots response that stopped
it. Coproduced by Niijii Films with WMHT-TV, and funded by
the Independent Television Service, Two Square Miles
is an attempt to chronicle the conflicts among the people
of Hudson as the battle over the plant develops. Filmmaker
Barbara Ettinger and Friends of Hudson cofounder Sam
Pratt will appear, too. The Sanctuary is in a funky former
church building in the wilds of Troy a few blocks north of
where Route 7 splits the city, at 3361 6th Ave. Call 272-2390
for info; free-will donations are, well, strongly suggested.
C’mon, help an indie venue out, will ya?
THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! RUN! The Schenectady Museum &
Suits-Bueche Planetarium will host “a dynamic day of discussion
and activity” Saturday (April 22) about “the ethics of robot
design and use.” Yikes: We’ve always been certain that the
robots would win in the end, so this might be too important
to miss. The keynote address will be by Chico MacMurtrie
of Amorphic Robot Works, there will be a panel discussion
will local robot experts, and—here’s the really fun part—a
robot “show & tell,” featuring students and hobbyists
showing off their homemade ’bots. Admission is $19 ($14 for
students and museum members), and walk-up registration is
at 9:30 AM. The Museum is at 19 Nott Terrace Heights in Schenectady;
call 382-7890 for more details.
—Shawn
Stone
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