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By Kerri Provost, February 21, 2010 10:50 am

After the Red Carpet segment, I have always just shut the television off because the award portion of the Oscars felt pointless. The types of films I see in the theatre tend not to be the blockbusters that everyone talks about or nominates for awards. This year, I could have reason to pay attention to at least one category.

On Saturday I got to see the animated short films that have been either nominated or given praise. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen the Real Art Ways theatre this full. Having kids in the audience (quite the change from the typical demographic there) was fun. During Matter of Loaf and Death there is a reference to Ghost, which everyone was laughing at, but the child behind me blurted out, loudly, ‘What is so funny? Why’s everyone laughin’?” which provoked more laughter, since there were amazingly people on the planet whose brains were not wired to associate a pottery wheel and “Unchained Melody” with anything. Only one of the films, the last, was dubbed to be not child-friendly, and I feel for the loss of the parents who missed out on the experience due to having to shuffle their innocent progeny out the door before obscenity could rain upon the little ones’ ears. Continue reading 'Animated Shorts at Real Art Ways'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 18, 2010 4:34 pm

Free events that feature family activities make the Wadsworth Atheneum buzz with life. The museum was a good kind of busy. It was not silent like it usually is when I go mid-week. That’s uncomfortable, to be the only person on a floor, to have five security guards able to follow me at any given time. It was also not as busy as the larger museums in New York City that make the experience deafening and stressful. I don’t mind waiting for a few people to observe a painting and then move on, but I never want to wait in a line to catch a glimpse of something. Today’s WAMA population was a happy medium.

For the kids, there were hands-on art projects, like postcard creation. Maybe my timing was perfect, but while I was there, I was not forced to endure the screaming or crying of any kids (or their parents). The children seemed amused by the museum and the activities.

After checking out the Digging Deeper exhibit for the billionth time, I wandered off to explore the rest of the museum. I noticed that the mummy was moved. Not only was he removed, but his exhibit left some small holes in the floor. I was disappointed, mostly because it’s a tradition of mine to visit him and marvel at how the henna dye in his hair lasted thousands of years, but if I go to the salon and dye my hair, it disappears in weeks.

Continue reading 'Monday at the Museum'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 2, 2009 4:02 pm

Crude, a documentary, will finish its run at Real Art Ways tomorrow evening. It’s worth seeing, if for no other reason than that it does not fixate on Iraq, hybrid cars, or George W. Bush. The film documents the long, arduous, and frustrating class action lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco for allegedly contaminating the drinking water of indigenous Ecuadorians.

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By Kerri Provost, November 3, 2009 3:50 pm

The online Hartford Courant published a wacky news item that at first I thought had to be part of an April Fool’s edition:

Keney Park Bust Nets 35 Summonses, 4 Pounds Of Pot

12:01 p.m. EST, November 3, 2009

HARTFORD — - Halloween night, officers with the Hartford police northeast conditions unit shagged trespassers at Keney Park. They issued 35 summons to people or being in the park after it was closed.

In the process, they seized 4.1 pounds of marijuana that had been stashed in places on the cricket field at the park, said Sgt. Christene Mertes, a police spokeswoman. The marijuana was hidden and would be retrieved by sellers for people buying it, Mertes said.

“We do get a lot of complaints about that area,” Mertes said, referring to the Tower Avenue/Barbour Street side of the park. “It’s a big area to patrol. They went in and hit it.”

— David Owens

For fun, count the typos. For extra fun, think about how it is possible that someone might have never heard of the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

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By Kerri Provost, August 30, 2009 8:38 am

Despite not being a fan of Sol Lewitt’s works — Cleve Gray is more my speed — I can’t think of a more appropriate place within the walls of the Wadsworth Atheneum for the monthly First Thursday cocktail event to be held in view of. “Wall Drawing #1131, Whirls and Twirls” is a visual echo of the frenetic chattering that characterizes gatherings of artists and art aficionados. There will be an interactive art activity inspired by this mural; this will involve t-shirts and movement, and will be both filmed and photographed.

Other Art After Hours activities include music by The Bus Drivers and an outdoor screening of Running Fence, if the weather permits.

Art After Hours begins at 5pm on Thursday, September 3rd.

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By Kerri Provost, August 7, 2009 11:09 am

When my friend David told me he’d secured a reservation for a trip to the top of the Travelers’ Tower, I had no choice but to invite myself along. This would bring me downtown in the late morning, and since I had plans to be less than a block from there later in the afternoon, I figured I would just spend the time in between downtown.

At eleven we zoomed to the 21st floor. I did not think about the logistics of this. After having walked 2.5 miles to get downtown, the three flights of stairs did not seem so fun. The view was worth the panting. From the street, the tower does not look like it can hold more than two people. We had six people up there, and there was plenty of room for more. I had no luck locating my apartment.

Continue reading 'Staycation 2009'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 1, 2009 12:29 pm

This Thursday, for the great price of free, you can catch a documentary about Tibet, see photos from the Neighborhood Studio Summer Youth Program, hang out with other bloggers, and get a temporary henna tattoo.

The Wadsworth Atheneum event Blog This! is wedged inside of the regular First Thursday Art After Hours, a calmer, less pretentious version of a similar local cocktail hour. I received this message from them:

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art invites you to join us at our inaugural Blog This! event, on August 6, from 4:30 – 6:30 pm.

Blog This! will provide a forum for social media writers from throughout the state to connect with each other, while connecting with great art! We also hope to gain insights into how we can better work together to position both Hartford, and Connecticut, as a premier cultural destination (and not just someplace between New York and Boston!)

The agenda includes an update from the Director, Susan Talbott, an overview of The Amistad Center for Art & Culture by Director, Olivia White and a Docent led highlights tour of the museum’s permanent collection.

Come for the formal part – but stay for the fun part - join us from 6:30 – 8 pm for our First Thursday festivities which will include temporary tattoos, the opening of Skin!, an exhibition of photographs created by teens in The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’s Neighborhood Studio summer youth program, and original hip-hop beats performed by Connectbeats. Food and cocktails will also be available.

• Date:          August 6, 2009
• Time:         4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
• Location:   Wadsworth Atheneum of Art
600 Main St., Hartford, CT

Just down the road, you can catch a free screening of Tibet’s Cry for Freedom at 7:30,  at La Paloma Sabanera Coffee House, 405 Capitol Avenue. The Director, Lara Damiani, will be in attendance to answer questions. Here is a trailer for the documentary:

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By Kerri Provost, July 14, 2009 12:31 pm

There will be a free screening of The Black List (volumes one and two) at the Wadsworth Atheneum on July 15th at 7pm.  The project is described as:

the brainchild of renowned portrait photographer/filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and acclaimed KCRW public radio host, journalist and former New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell, with Greenfield-Sanders directing and Mitchell conducting the interviews. [...] The actual title of the film itself, The Black List, was first conceived by Mitchell as an answer to the persistent taint that western culture has applied to the word “black.”

Greenfield-Sanders will be present for a post-film discussion. The Black List contains interviews with:

Slash, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist; Toni Morrison, author and Nobel laureate; Keenen Ivory Wayans, film writer/director, creator of TV’s In Living Color; Vernon Jordan, lawyer and former president of the National Urban League; Faye Wattleton, current President of the Center for the Advancement of Women and former President of Planned Parenthood; Marc Morial, former Mayor of New Orleans and current National Urban League president; Serena Williams, eight-time Grand Slam tennis champion; Lou Gossett Jr., Oscar®-winning actor; Lorna Simpson, artist and photographer; Mahlon Duckett, former Negro League Baseball star; Zane, best-selling erotic author and publisher; Al Sharpton, pastor, activist and 2004 Presidential candidate; Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Hall of Fame basketball great; Thelma Golden, art curator at the Whitney Museum and now the Studio Museum in Harlem; Sean Combs, mogul, actor and music producer; Susan Rice, former Assistant Secretary of State and Barack Obama’s senior campaign advisor; Chris Rock, comedian, producer and director; Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright; Richard Parsons, former Time Warner CEO; Dawn Staley, 3- time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA All-Star and current Temple University women’s basketball head coach; and Bill T. Jones, Tony Award-winning dancer and director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company; [and] activist and artist Majora Carter; activist and academic Angela Davis; producer Suzanne de Passe; actor Laurence Fishburne; Anglican Bishop Barbara Harris; Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick; pastor T.D. Jakes; physician and academic Valerie Montgomery-Rice, M.D.; filmmaker Tyler Perry; singer Charley Pride; fashion designer Patrick Robinson; actress Maya Rudolph; musician RZA; filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles; and artist Kara Walker.

The Black List Project is presented by the Amistad Center for Art & Culture and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

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By Kerri Provost,

City Steam Brewery has been my safety net for where to take non-adventurous friends out when in town, since their American cuisine is consistent and reasonably priced. They’ve recently added free movie night (Mondays) to their menu; They are showing Stand By Me on 7/20 and Dirty Dancing on 7/27.

If that weren’t enough to get you to check out the restaurant, this Sunday (7/19) at 7pm, the Sea Tea Improv troupe will be giving a free performance. The troupe consists of:

“School’s Out 4″ Summar Elguindy
“Stand-Up Joe” Leonardo
Greg “Pipes” Ludovici
Matt Neufeld AKA MC St. Louis
“Master Julia” Pistell
Dan “Bearded Fury” Russell
Kate “The Cleveland City Steamer” Sidley

The performance will be in the Richardson Room of City Steam Brewery, located at 942 Main Street in Hartford.

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By Kerri Provost, June 20, 2009 10:49 am

Last Thursday, as I sat in Real Art Ways watching Fuel, I kept thinking that if this film were an essay, I would have given it a very low score, even though I share the core belief that sustainable energy is good and necessary. Continue reading 'Inadequate Fuel'»