This weekend, you can catch the first virtual recital, made necessary by COVID-19 regulations. You can also see a mural that is being painted all week and can be viewed on Saturday in Davis, and you can make a fishing pole out of a toilet paper tube. Really. You can also go to a real art event at Verge in Sacramento if you sign up for a clay workshop. Read on to see how art inspires, even and perhaps especially in these days of isolation.
Compiled by UC Davis Media Relations Intern Leigh Houck
Tune in Saturday for student’s senior recital Saturday
UC Davis Music student Jennifer Zhang will give her senior recital on Saturday, July 25 at 5 p.m. The solo piano performance will be live streamed from the stage of the Pitzer Center via YouTube.
Click here for more information and the recital program. Click here on Saturday to watch the recital live.
Manetti Shrem Museum At Home: ‘Dive In’
The theme for this week’s Manetti Shrem At Home newsletter is “Dive In.” The Museum invites you to “take the plunge” and “...dive deeper into your everyday surroundings, swim in the details, and take a moment to just float.”
The museum asked faculty of various departments, and others, to dive into art and spend two minutes looking closely at a work of art in the university’s collection and share their responses. Read the results of their deep dive.
Said one faculty member about the featured piece, “For this particular painting, I liked the symmetry/complementarity and the echoing of shapes: the upward pointed, alert ears of the bigger canine/alpha, the floppy downward pointing ears of the smaller dog, the curve of their backs and of their tails.”
The Manetti Shrem also offers the opportunity to reel in a new activity. Craft a fish and fishing pole from a toilet paper tube and other common supplies in the latest installment of “Build It With Brandon.”
What does summer sound like to you? Check out museum staff’s eclectic picks on this special Spotify playlist to get inspired. Email your own picks to manettishremmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
Local artist creates outdoor mural at the International House
This week, local artist shyboytoto will be creating a pavement mural called “Imagine A World” on the Terrace at the International House in Davis. Stop by to see the artist in action, or attend the physically distanced viewing party this Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“Imagine A World” is part of a local public art project called #Plan4Resilience. This project is spearheaded by UC Davis alumna and artist Danielle Fodor, and asks artists to answer the following questions via pavement murals. On her web site, she says: Pandemic getting you down? Take a journey in your imagination…Take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine: “What can we learn from this moment? What has the pandemic taught us? What can we carry into the future, that can make us more resilient? ... We can build a better world, together.”
Fodor comments that “...each of the murals in #Plan4Resilience is temporary, and fades with sun, rain, and wind — just like the lessons we’ve learned during the pandemic fade into memory, unless we etch them on our hearts.” The project is funded by the City of Davis Arts and Cultural Affairs Program. Learn more about the #Plan4Resilience project and its other pavement murals here.
“Imagine A World” is being painted this week, July 15-25, by local artist shyboytoto at the I-House.
Art therapy lifts spirits at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital
During art therapy sessions, pediatric patients at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital create digital art. This art, along with photos of the patients’ loved ones, is then transformed into 8- by 8-inch wall adhesives by company Mixtiles. These masterpieces are then displayed at the hospital. “With the help of Mixtiles, [patients] are able to display their artwork and personal photos of family and friends, which helps them relate to their peers in the hospital and members of their community at home.” said art therapist Katie Lorain. Read more here.
Verge Center for the Arts moves clay lab outside
Verge’s weekly clay lab will now be held outside in the courtyard area to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. The clay lab, held every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m, is open to prospective sculptors of all experience levels. The lab provides all materials including up to eight pounds of clay and use of tools, rollers, wheels, and glazes. Clay lab costs $15 for Verge members and $25 for nonmembers. Read more details and purchase your pass here.
See fantastical images of birds from the 2020 Audubon Photography Award
Hyperallergic’s Hrag Vartanian shares photos from the 2020 Audubon Photography Award in a recent article. Vartanian says “The National Audubon Society annually rewards excellence in nature photography; the 2020 winners offer a stunning array of aviary photographs that continue to amaze with their vivid colors and curious behaviors.” Click here for the photo essay.
Social media of the week
See some sketching done in the arboretum here.
Inspired by this sketching? Visit the UC Davis Arboretum and sketch your own. Just remember to wear a mask and follow social distancing. Or, if you prefer art appreciation over art creation, explore the myriad art pieces scattered throughout the grounds. Read about the art located in the West side of the Arboretum here, and the art in the East side here in these Arts Blog pieces.