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Program Packet
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Light in Winter 2008: Identity
January 18–20, 2008
Where do we draw the line between humans and our creations?
We all have overlapping identities—how do we represent ourselves to the world?
How do our forays into the world change our understanding of our place in it?
Click here to see free events only.
Take the TCAT shuttle to all Cornell and Ithaca College events!
Friday, January 18, 2008
All events Downtown
1:00–3:00 p.m.
The Big I... A Writing Circle
Break down boundaries with pen, paper, and complicit companions
Led by Irene Zahava
Bookery II Reading Room, Dewitt Mall, corner of North Cayuga and Buffalo Streets, free admission
Sponsored by Bookery I Used and Rare Books and Bookery II New Books
Where does your story end and the world begin? Join a circle of strangers to create a group autobiography. Supplies provided, no writing experience needed. Save a seat by contacting zee@twcny.rr.com.
1:30–3:30
The Seeing Ripple: a workshop on moments
Identity is an enduring ripple on a fast-moving stream
Led by Paul Hamill, Poet Laureate of Tompkins County
Community School of Music and Art conference room, 330 East State Street, free admission
This workshop on starting poems is for anyone (of any age) who can imagine his/her identity as a lens through time. Save a spot by contacting hamill@ithaca.edu.
4:00–5:00 p.m.
A Musical Dim Sum
A taste of China with American seasoning
St. Paul's Methodist Church, corner Aurora and Court Streets, $10/$5
Sponsored by Jim and Terry Byrnes
The Yings, four Chinese–American siblings who form the resident string quartet at the Eastman School of Music, offer a smorgasbord of short works by contemporary Chinese–American composers, peppered with stories about the composers and about the Yings' own lives.
5:00–7:00 pm
Art Gallery Receptions
Festival–inspired shows at downtown Art Galleries
Free admission
Clinton House ArtSpace corner of North Cayuga and Seneca Streets
Identities. 13 fine artists join together to exhibit work that speaks to the idea of "Identities". Watercolors, photographs, paintings, digital prints and mixed media are represented. Visit www.artspartner.org to find out more about the show.
Community School of Music and Art 330 East State Street
Time Lines. Is there a constant self or are we each an ever–changing work of art? How does our image or awareness of ourselves change as we grow and age? The Community School of Music and Art presents visual and performance art by students and local artists on changing identities across the life span. Performances 6–7 pm.
The Ink Shop 102 West State Street
The Birth Portfolio, a collection of 36 prints by women printmakers from all over the world visualizing and writing about the experience of giving birth. The portfolio was organized by Pat Hunsinger and Sylvia Taylor and includes four Ink Shop artists.
State of the Art 120 West State Street
States of Identity: Real and Imagined. In this country we tend to identify ourselves by what we do rather than who we are. Artists are no different: we say "I am an artist" rather than "I make paintings" or "I make sculpture" or "I make prints". But who are we really? Don't we all identify with different aspects of ourselves at different times? The twenty–four member–artists of Ithaca's co–operative fine art gallery will explore this theme through a variety of media.
Solá corner of North Cayuga and Buffalo Street
Drawings of Children: an international notebook. Solá has always had pen in hand during her international travels. In these drawings of the young you will see universals as well as the stamp of national identity.
Tompkins County Public Library North Cayuga and Green Streets
Unnamable Name is a group exhibition organized by the Ithaca/NYC based installation artist Todd Ayoung that includes works by visual artists working
locally and internationally and using a variety of different media.
Artists were asked to create work for underused non-art spaces inside the Tompkins County Public Library that addresses the repetition, persistence and
notion of the "unnamable", as a sighting between identity, or the naming of a category.
Participating artists include: Martha Rosler, Phill Niblock, Johan Grimonprez, Elisabeth Cohen, Jane Jin Kaisin, Ayisha Abraham, Greg Sholette,
Rit Premnath, Kim Asbury, Buzz Spector, Janet Koenig, Toby Greenberg, Katherine Liberovskaya, Kenseth Amstead, David Diao, Jacob Tell, Mierle
Ukeles, Jenny Polak and Jeff de Castro with a Catalogue essay by Jelena Stojanovic and opening music by Chris White.
Upstairs Gallery corner North Cayuga and Buffalo Streets
Small Works and Miniatures featuring work by five Ithaca artists: Nerys Gregory, Harry McCue, Paul McMillan, Betty Boggs, and Marsha Van Vorce.
7:30 p.m.
First Person: Stories from the Edge of the World
Exploring the limits of endurance and knowledge
State Theatre, 107 West State Street, $25/$20
Sponsored by Tompkins Trust Company
Through the ages, adventurers have tested their physical and mental limits to discover new worlds — and to teach the rest of us about our place in the universe. In this multimedia celebration of exploration and discovery, NPR's Neal Conan reads first–person accounts of great explorers, illustrated by maps and pictures and backed by a rousing musical score. Ibn Battuta recounts his travels to 14th Century Iraq. George Mallory writes home before attempting the summit of Mount Everest. Charles Darwin confesses his doubts on a voyage that will change everything. The music of Ensemble Galilei with Celtic Harp, fiddle, recorders, whistles, viola da gamba and percussion evoke the mystery and sorrow, elation and hilarity of these journeys that changed the world.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Choose one morning program:
10:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.
Uni/dent/ity Performance/Workshop
The essence of Being through movement, spirituality and science
Women's Community Building performance space, corner of Seneca and Cayuga Streets, Downtown, $10/$5
Sponsored by the Hilton Garden Inn
"Who Am I?" is the universal question of spiritual seekers, philosophers and scientists alike. This workshop will encourage you to explore your essential nature and its relationship to the larger universe. Led by local yogadance performers The Pranadhanas, musicians Joe Smellow, Jeff Lehman and Sara High Speiser, and Cornell Professor of Biophysics David Shalloway. Come prepared for some gentle movement.
OR
10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Digital Deception
Everybody plays with the truth. Does technology make it worse?
Statler Auditorium, Cornell University, $10/$5
Sponsored by The Hampton Inn
Cornell Communication Professor Jeffrey Hancock does research on all sorts of "identity shifting," from business hiring practices to online dating to national security tracking. New technologies fundamentally change the ways we communicate, give rise to important questions about deception in the digital age. Among Hancock's findings: People lie less online than on the telephone or in person. The typical lie for men? Their height. For women? Their weight. Learn how, when we present ourselves to the world, the medium alters the message.
11:00 am–5:00pm
"Hall of Identity"
Statler Atrium, Cornell University
Sponsored by M&T Bank
- Sketching superheroes with Jim Houghton, 11:00am-1:30pm
- Worlds of Difference listening booth, ongoing
- LEMUR musical robot demonstrations, 11:00am-1:00pm
- Guided Tours of Computer Aided Virtual Environment (CAVE) at Cornell's Center for Advanced Computing, 12:00pm-2:30pm
- The History Center "Sense of Place"—exploring the roots of Tompkins County, ongoing
- Kevin Ernste Electronic music demonstration, 2:30pm-3:30pm
- Code Red High School Robot Team, 2:30pm-3:30pm
Code Red Robotics (FIRST Team 639) is a high school robotics team based at Ithaca High School. They compete annually in the FIRST Robotics Competition, designing and building a robot to play a game, which is reminiscent of a sports match, against robots from other schools. Competition emphasizes teamwork, cooperation, and sportsmanship, with all FIRST teams playing the game with each other rather than against each other. Mentors include teachers, engineers and other professionals from the community. The team's goal is to inspire the next generation of engineers by teaching valuable, practical skills and providing students with the opportunity to experience a true engineering environment. For more information about FIRST Robotics, visit www.usfirst.org/robotics and www.team639.org. - Robot playground—bring your favorite robot, ongoing
- Electron Explosions
View colorful displays produced by the collision of high-energy electrons and antimatter positrons at Cornell's Laboratory for Elementary-Particle Physics. For more information about the Lab and upcoming events at the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory, visit: http://www.lepp.cornell.edu. - DNA Files from NPR.
12:00–1:00 p.m.
Lunch Panel: Balancing Acts
Four feisty women take on color, gender, culture and sexual orientation
Statler Atrium, Cornell University, free admission
Sponsored by Nancy and Joe McAfee and Lila Fox Olson
Michelle Berry (night writing momma, passionate poet, charismatic catalyst), Zillah Eisenstein (in–body traveler, fluid thinker, global activist), Lis Maurer (gender rebel, ally/activist, and voice for those without one), and Gail Holst–Warhaft (mother, poet, Greek dreamer) discuss the joys and challenges of multiple identities.
1:30–2:30 p.m.
Imagined Identities
Why you can't fly—and why superheroes can
Statler Auditorium, Cornell University, $10/$5
Sponsored by Sprague and Janowsky Accountants
Science helps expose the fake behind the fun and the reality behind comic book heroes. University of Chicago biologist Michael LaBarbera, University of Minnesota condensed matter experimentalist Jim Kakalios and comic book writer Roger Stern turn the scientific method on some of history's most perplexing questions: How did Superman get so strong? How fast can The Flash really run? Can monsters exist in our world?
3:30–4:45 p.m.
What Do Robots Dream Of?
Redrawing the lines between us and machines
Statler Auditorium, Cornell University, $10/$5
Sponsored by Chemung Canal Trust
Robots could one day demand the same rights as people -- and test our
understanding of what it is to be human. Cornell engineer Hod Lipson's cutting-edge research may be the first step toward robots who can think; but
philosopher Lee Bailey says they're only extensions of ourselves. How do we
move forward together? With music from the League of Electronic Musical Urban
Robots, including music written especially for the 'bots. Discussion
moderated by Homelands Production's Jon Miller.
3:30–4:30
Identities, Identities
Community School of Music and Art, Main Gallery, 330 East State Street, free admission
The line is by James Dickey, the theme endless for poets
County Poet Laureate Paul Hamill and friends explore "identity" in middle and elder age in this session of the Ithaca Community Poets series. Open reading follows.
8:00 p.m.
Hugh Masekela's Chissa All–Stars
The spirit, soul and sensation of South Africa
Bailey Hall, Cornell University, $25/$20
Presented by Light in Winter and Cornell Concert Series
Sponsored by David Kuckuk and Sheila Danko and The Statler Hotel
Renowned jazz and world music master Hugh Masekela is both a citizen of the world and one of the most prominent citizens of his native South Africa. A flugelhorn and cornet player, he was exiled to the United States in 1961 because of his anti–apartheid activities. He has played in jazz and pop ensembles, collaborated with musicians from around the world, and made guest appearances on albums by The Byrds and Paul Simon. His 1987 hit single "Bring Him Back Home" became an anthem for the movement to free Nelson Mandela.
Free shuttle from Cornell Parking Garage to Bailey Hall
Sunday January 20, 2008
10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon, free admission
Family events at Discovery Trail Sites
» Identifying With Trees
Cornell Plantations Botanical Garden area (inside and out), Plantations Road
All trees have stories to be told, from the myths and fables of ages past to today's natural histories. This program will explore our human relationship with trees through both folklore and science. Come inside our heated tent to hear area storytellers Lee–Ellen Marvin, Kevin Moss, and Regi Carpenter share folk tales and myths about the magic and mystery of trees. Then bundle-up and join naturalists outside to discover the real–life trees of the winter world. We will become bud detectives, using keys to unlock the mysteries of tree identification. Storytelling and tree identification are half–hour programs starting at 10:10am, 10:50am and 11:30am.
» Collage Your Self Workshop with Pamela Moss
Tompkins County Public Library, Green Street, Downtown
Sponsored by Wegmans
Explore who you are and why you're here through guided journaling, then create a collage self–portrait that expresses your higher self. When life gets busy, your collage will remind you of who you love to be — and can be at any moment. For adults, teens and reflective older kids.» DNA, Fingerprints, Voiceprints
Sciencenter, 601 First Street, Downtown
Sponsored by Sue and Scott Hamilton
Extract some DNA. Record and classify your fingerprint. See on a computer what makes your voice unique. Designed for families, this hands–on session will let you test various ways that science helps us determine the identity of people.» Who were they? The faces and Identities of Human Ancestors
Museum of the Earth, 1259 Trumansburg Road (Rte. 96 north)
Artist/anatomist John Gurche demonstrates how to rebuild a face over ancient skulls as a powerful way to make contact with individuals who have found their way into our time.
1:00–2:00 p.m.
Red Dogs and Pink Skies: A Musical Celebration of Paul Gauguin
How Gauguin shed his suit and became an artist
Ford Hall, Whalen Center, Ithaca College, $10/$5
Sponsored by Mack and Carol Travis
Paul Gauguin left a comfortable life in the 19th century Paris suburbs to look for his "true" self in the South Pacific. His writing and art reveal much about culture and creativity. Composer and public radio personality Bruce Adolphe narrates this engaging testament in music, images and text. With faculty musicians of the Ithaca College School of Music Elizabeth Simkin, Richard Faria, Wendy Herbener Mehne, Rebecca Ansel, and Nick Walker.
2:30–3:30 p.m.
Who Are We?
Do we choose who we are, or do our genes choose for us?
Hockett Recital Hall, Whalen Center, Ithaca College, $10/$5
Sponsored by Triad Foundation
We're all members of families, communities, organizations and nations, not to mention ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. Do we choose these affiliations, or do they choose us? Explore the science of group identity with the celebrated evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson, author of Darwin's Cathedral. A collaboration with the Ithaca group Water Bear and "name music," which maps the letters of the alphabet to musical pitches to create music that expresses the personal qualities of people's names.
4:30–5:30 p.m.
Shaping Nature
How we change the world around us to reflect the world within
Ford Hall, Whalen Center, Ithaca College, $15/$10
Sponsored by the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport
Composer Michael Gandolfi and the Ithaca College Symphony, led by Jeffery Meyer, close out the weekend with a multimedia exploration of how humans shape the land, and how the land shapes us. Gandolphi's work is inspired by The Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Scotland, where black holes, symmetry breaks and the whole story of the universe is woven into the landscape.
8:00 p.m.
Special Presentation: Cyro Baptista and Beat the Donkey
State Theatre, 107 West State Street, $16.50 in advance, $21.50 day of show
Presented by Light in Winter and the State Theatre
Sponsored by Schlather, Geldenhuys, Stumbar & Salk
Beat The Donkey is a multicultural, polyphonic, highly creative and entertaining group that takes rhythms beyond their natural frontiers and creates a brand of music too innovative and varied to be labeled. It is a wild, unstoppable and torrid world beat percussive ensemble that blends and beats a bewitching stage stew of untamed percussion, tap dance, martial arts, samba, jazz, rock and funk.
