Ute Virtuoso, 1919. Woodcut by lyol"}el Feininger. Photo: Associated American Artists, New York. EXPRESSIONISM, SIGHT AND SOUND
The Sewall Art Gallery and the Shepherd School of Music of Rice University present a program of visual arts and music which commemorates the Expressionist Era, a period of innovation in the arts in Germany early in the twentieth century. Simultaneously, and often collaboratively, radical factions in the disciplines of music, visual arts, literature, dance, theater and film experimented with new modes of expression. Pioneering in the visual arts were the members and followers of Die BrUcke (The Bridge), formed in Dresden in 1905 by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel, Fritz Bleyl and Ernst ludwig Kirchner, and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), established in Munich in 1911 by Franz Marc and Vassily Kandinsky. In music, the barriers were broken by the composer Arnold Schonberg, who also exhibited as a painter with Der Blaue Reiter. Contemporary music and literature were sources of inspiration for many visual artists, such as Conrad FelixmUIIer who illustrated Schonberg's first Expressionist musical work, Pierrot Lunaire (1912), with a series of woodcuts. Pierrot Plus, the modern music ensemble of the Shepherd School, was named in honor of the Schonberg composition. Rising to domi nance on the arts scene by the early 1920's, Expressionism died an ignominious death under the Nazi regime in the years preceding World War II. Today, the German Expressionist Movement is recognized as a major contribution to and influence on the history of the arts. ·
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The Exhibition Sewall Art Gallery Sewall Hall, Rice University 6100 S. Main, Entrance 2 Houston, Texas
Friday, January 30 through Friday, March 27, 1987 Noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and University holidays. No admission charge; accessible to the handicapped. Free tours and gallery talks by appointment. Call 527-8101, ext. 3502/3470.
Special Events Thursday, January 29, 1987 7 to 10 p.m. -Sewall Gallery, preview reception. 8 to 9 p.m. - Sewall Hall 301, 11 Expressionist Music," lecture by Walter Bailey, Assistant Professor of Music, highlighting a performance by the Pierrot Plus Ensemble, David ,I Colson, Conductor, Shepherd School of Music.
Tuesday, February 24, 1987 8 p.m. - Hamman Hall, Rice University, Entrances 8/9 off Sunset Blvd., Expressionist music, art and literature featuring the Pierrot Plus Ensemble, David Colson, Conductor, Shepherd School, with contributions by Neil Havens, Professor of Drama, and Marion Grayson, Director of Sewall Art Gallery. (
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In presenting ExpressionismJ Sight and SoundJ I am extremely grateful to have been able to draw upon the lsmar Littmann Collection, assembled during the Expressionist Era in Germany. Moreover, I am deeply indebted to my Rice colleague Paul Cooper, Professor of Music in the Shepherd School, both for suggesting the collaboration of our depart ments in this endeavor and for introducing me to the heirs of the Littmann Collection. Once I began research for the project, I soon learned of an important exhibition that preceded mine in Houston, German Expressionism: Toward a New HumanismJ organ ized by Dr. Peter Guenther in 1977 for the Blaffer Gallery of the University of Houston.
The success of the "Sight" portion of our program rests upon the efforts of Jaye Locke, Gallery Coordinator, and her student work crew; Edward Wilson, Gallery Technician; Beth Leifeste, graduate student in Art History; Susan Teller, Associated American Artists, New York; the Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio; the Arnold Schonberg Institute Archives, Los Angeles; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
For the 11Sound" portion, all praise is owed to the musicians of the Pierrot Plus Ensemble and their conductor, David Colson; Walter Bailey, Assistant Professor of Music; and Thomas Littman, Concert Manager, all of the Shepherd School; and Neil (Sandy) Havens, Professor of Drama, Department of Art and Art History.
-Marion Grayson, Director of Sewall Art Gallery