ARTS EVENTS Oct. 04 – Oct. 10
ARTS EVENTS Oct. 04 – Oct. 10 Friday (4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) SYRIA: The Mainstream Media and Its Role in the War, photo exhibit and discussion — E40-496 (5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) Architecture Computation Lecture: Paul Kaiser, “Drawing on the Past,” — 7-429 (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) European Short Film Festival — 10-250 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Ipswich Moving Company presents GROUND, Aerial Dance Concert — Boston University Dance Theater, 915 Commonwealth Ave. Saturday (6:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) Comedy Night with Fuyun Chinese Comedy Club — W16-035 (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) European Short Film Festival — 10-250 (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) The Boston Composers Coalition presents: the female vocal quartet Anthology — Killian Hall (8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Ipswich Moving Company presents GROUND, Aerial Dance Concert - Boston University Dance Theater, 915 Commonwealth Ave. Sunday (7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) European Short Film Festival — 10-250 (8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing — Sala de Puerto Rico Monday (12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Michael Wetter, “Quo Vadis Building Simulation: New Generation of Computational Tools,” — 7-429 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Charles Atlas: Instantaneous! and Everywhere? — E15-001 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Fantasies from Verdi’s Operas La Scala Chamber Orchestra — Kresge Auditorium (7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Folk Music of the British Isles & North America — Killian Hall Tuesday (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) Contra Dance with live music by The Free Raisins — W20-491 Wednesday (7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Israeli Dance beginner’s night — Sala de Puerto Rico Thursday (5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Born Digital Lecture — E14-633 (7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Urban Films: Cape Spin! An American Power Struggle (2011) — 3-133 (7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) Ampersand Concert Series — E15, Bartos Theater Send your arts events to arts@tech.mit.edu.
An interview with the Queen of the Night
This year, the Boston Lyric Opera (BLO), New England’s largest opera company, has an exciting season lineup. Their first production, a new English adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, marks the highly anticipated debut of soprano So Young Park, currently a student at the New England Conservatory (NEC). She will be interpreting the iconic role of the Queen of the Night.
Exploring the unknown spaces of the known
For the Los Angeles-based experimental musician Julia Holter, having creative blocks and receiving only sporadic artistic epiphanies does not seem to be an option. Her debut album Tragedy was released in 2011, immediately accompanied by the sophomore follow-up Ekstasis in 2012 and the third full-length album Loud City Song released this year. Keeping in mind that many critically acclaimed contemporary musicians take more than a few years between releasing their albums, it might be tempting to assume that Holter prefers quantity over quality. Yet, at only twenty-eight years of age, Holter — a musically-trained CalArts alumna — delivers stronger and richer material with each subsequent album.
Mapping Vietnamese sidewalk life and street vending
Last Thursday you might have noticed a red-tape line running through campus. The line ran from Lobby 7 up to the third floor Wolk Gallery for the opening of Sidewalk City, a mini-exhibit by Urban Studies Professor Annette Kim and her group SLAB, the sidewalk laboratory. The Tech caught up with Professor Kim about the new exhibit.
Love in the digital age
In his directing debut, Joseph Gordon-Levitt tackles the complex issues of our illusions about sex and true love. Gordon-Levitt also stars as the titular Jon Martello, nicknamed Don Jon by his friends for his ability to pull “dimes” every night at the bar.
Bringing jazz from all over the world to Boston
Each year in Boston’s South End, thousands of people — from all around Boston and all around the world, aged six to sixty — gather around for one reason: jazz. Tents line several blocks along Columbus Ave., with vendors for ethnic art pieces, t-shirts, cotton candy, and potato tornadoes. Most of the attention, however, is directed towards three stages, where rising jazz giants lay down the real goods on stage.
Presidential dilemmas
Take the T to Harvard Square, walk down Brattle Street just far enough to escape the loud bustle of tourists, and you will find yourself at the Loeb Drama Center, home to the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.). It’s difficult to imagine that such a star-struck theatre could exist on such a quiet street, but the building — a typical example of modern architecture, and easily overlooked — has housed many well-known names and acclaimed performances. Zachary Quinto played Tom in a staging of The Glass Menagerie that ran this April and March; in June, the A.R.T.’s production of Pippin claimed ten nominations and four wins at the 2013 Tony Awards. And on Sept. 20, I had the opportunity to view a play of similar casting and literary caliber: All The Way, written by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, and starring Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame.
Play Me, I’m Yours
The piano is decorated like a child’s dream — papered with dancing figures and uncoiled dragons. The upright Baldwin stands fully clothed, not a grain of wood peeking from under its fantastical wrapping. I found a sign for thearmyoftoys.com plastered across the back, and a postcard of Kermit the Frog waving at me near the pedals. I waved back.
Even the dancing seems cliché
Jason Blake (Josh Holloway), a once successful basketball coach who turned to alcohol after the death of his wife and son, is recruited by his hip-hop big shot friend Dante Graham (Laz Alonso) to form a “Dream Team” of the best b-boys from cities all over the U.S. to compete in the largest international breaking competition, the eponymous Battle of the Year.
arts Events SEPT. 27 – OCT. 3
arts Events SEPT. 27 – OCT. 3 Friday (5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: Inaqui Carnicero, “Second Hand Spaces,” — 7-429 (6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) ”In the Family” Film Screening and Discusion with the director — 32-155 (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.) LSC presents Much Ado About Nothing. Free admission — 26-100 (8:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) Fred Fest — East Campus Courtyard Saturday (9:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.) Hacking Arts event — MIT Medialab (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.) Futuristic movie showing with pizza and popcorn — MIT Museum (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.) LSC presents Much Ado About Nothing. Free admission — 26-100 (8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents Measure for Measure. Free admission — W16-035 Sunday (9:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.) Hacking Arts event — MIT Medialab (2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Rumba and Samba Workshops — Sala de Puerto Rico (4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.) MITHAS presents: Violin Maestro Padmashri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman Memorial Concert & Biography Book Release — Wong Auditorium (7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents Measure for Measure. Free admission — W16-035 (8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) International Folk Dancing — Sala de Puerto Rico Monday (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Foxtrot Workshops — Lobdell Tuesday (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.) MIT Folk Dance Club presents Contra Dance with live music by Larry Unger and Julie Metcalf — Student Center 491 (8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Students perform modern Korean Adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew — Killian Hall Wednesday (7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) Israeli Dance beginner’s night — Sala de Puerto Rico Thursday (10:00 a.m. – 9:45 p.m.) Think Pink Exhibit Opens — MFA Loring Gallery (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Architecture Lecture: Rafi Segal, “One Line is Given” — 7-429 Send your arts events to arts@the-tech.mit.edu.
Saving the world from sentient food mutants
I walked into this movie determined that I would not laugh harder than the eager, soda-sipping, snot-flinging kids that surrounded me. I walked in with my head high and my ego puffed, confident that I would not shed a tear at the emotions on screen until little Timmy and his barely coherent sister next to me were bawling with sentimentality. I walked in, steadfastly thinking that this was a silly animated flick that had no power over me.
Go, but not for the dumplings
One of the most underrated assets of MIT is its location. A 10-minute bridge walk takes you into the heart of Boston, and a 10-minute bus ride gets you to that other university. What this means is that great food is never too far away. As company info sessions wind down, it is time to go out and explore the restaurants that our city has to offer.
Back with swagger
“Comin’ off the last record, I’m gettin’ 20 million off the record.”
Dancing under the stars
The Boston Ballet opened its 50th season before an estimated audience of over 45,000 ballet aficionados, performing the dazzling Night of Stars in Boston Common last Saturday. The free one-night performance featured excerpts from Boston Ballet’s entire repertory of classical, neo-classical and contemporary ballets. Multiple giant screens, a velvety state-of-the-art sound system and the gigantic stage, which at times dwarved soloist and pas de deux performances, made for an enchanting evening of highbrow artistry.
Arts Events SEPt. 20 – SEPt. 26
Arts Events SEPt. 20 – SEPt. 26 Friday (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MITOC and LSC present Radical Reels, short films about outdoor sports — 26-100 (All Week) RSVP for Fantasies from Verdi’s Operas by La Scala Chamber Orchestra performance on Oct. 6. Advanced online registration required, closes Sept. 27. The event is free and exclusive to MIT Community members. Saturday (12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) Family Day at the List Visual Arts Center — E15, Upper Atrium (7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) Chinese cultural performances — 50-Morss Hall (7:30 p.m. - 11:59 p.m.) Masquerade Ballroom Social — Sala de Puerto Rico, W20 Sunday (12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Middle-East-Style Sukkah — Kresge Oval (2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Rumba and Samba Workshops — W20 (5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.) MITHAS presents Sandipan Samajpati, Khyal — Wong Auditorium (8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) Folk Dancing with live music by the Cambridge Folk Orchestra — Sala de Puerto Rico Monday (7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.) Folk Music of the British Isles & N. America, Fall 2013 concert series — Killian Hall (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) MIT Ballroom Dance Club Foxtrot Workshops — Lobdell Tuesday (10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.) Media Lab Conversations Series: Daniel Suarez — E14-3rd Floor Atrium (8:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.) Contra Dance with live folk music — W20 Wednesday (12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.) Poetry Reading by Nina Olff — 14W-111 (7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) Katsura Sunshine presents Japanese Rakugo comic story-telling — 32-123 Thursday (7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.) Urban Films: 5 Broken Cameras (2011) — 3-133 (8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.) Ellipsis Trio — 14W-111 Send your arts events to arts@the-tech.mit.edu.
Too many bodies, not enough laughs
Near the beginning of The Family, Giovanni (Robert De Niro) narrates his life story. A former mafia boss who snitched on the mob, Giovanni is forced to become “Fred Blake” and enter witness protection in Normandy with his wife “Maggie” (Michele Pfeiffer), daughter “Belle” (Diana Agron) and son “Warren” (John D’Leo). Though he’s committed untold numbers of murders, tortures, and other devious schemes, he somehow sees himself as a misunderstood “good guy” living with his own moral code. And this absurd delusion seems like an apt metaphor for The Family, a movie convinced that gruesome murders and thin laughs can create a good gangster movie.
Ceci N’est Pas Une Déconstruction Artistique
In the introduction to Cannibals and Kings, the anthropologist Marvin Harris wrote that “cultures on the whole have evolved along parallel and convergent paths which are highly predictable from a knowledge of the processes of production.” This belief is the crux of his greatest contribution to anthropology, the theory of cultural materialism. Over the course of his career and many books (of which I own all), Harris applied this principle to explain many of the seemingly irrational practices and tenets of the world’s varied cultures, notably including cannibalism and prohibitions on consumption of pork. In a contemporary context, however, I think it can be equally well applied to the phenomenon of so-called modern art.
Janelle Monáe’s android-inspired saga continues with The Electric Lady
“Also, I wanna say The Droid Control can kiss the rust of the left and the right cheek of my black metal ass,” says the voice of a female caller during a radio call in Monáe’s interlude “Good Morning Midnight.” The radio station WDRD, led by DJ Crash Crash, receives comments and thoughts from various callers, who discuss their opinions on Monáe’s heroine alter-ego, android Cindi Mayweather.
Lessons from the good love stories
Hey, you. Yes, you, at MIT with the glasses and the projected science degree. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has relationship advice for you. And it is nerdy.
Ethics and Consequences
Perhaps the most terrifying thing about disaster is the idea that it can strike at any time. Prisoners, a harrowing tale of kidnapping, is about two average families in an eerily beautiful suburbia.