Wednesday Night at the Museum

This new MAC program will offer a wide range of reflective and forward-looking conversations based on our exhibits and collections, as well as contemporary culture, history, art and film. Wednesday Night at the Museum partners include Spokane Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology, Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF), and the Visiting Artist Lecture Series. Contact:  David Brum, 509-363-5324  david.brum@northwestmuseum.org

September 1    Experience the new 100 Curious Things exhibit that talks to you with its inventor Charles Simon and curator Marsha Rooney in a special exhibit opening September 1. 6:30PM Location: MAC Galleries No cost to MAC Members

September 8    Jack Smith & the Destruction of Atlantis  Perhaps America's most important artist from the past fifty years, Jack Smith is simultaniously hailed as the grandfather of performance art, a groundbreaking photographer, and the 'William Blake of film'. In her feature-length film, director Mary Jordan combines Smith's rare and unseen films and photographs with rare audio recordings, acting appearances, and other relics squeezed in from Smith's vaulted archives. This documentary portrait pays homage to New York's ulitmate anti-hero and the original King of the Underground. Tickets $5.00 Cash or check only, please.  6:30 PM in the Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  95 mins. Presented by Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF)

September 15  "Deconstructing the Lore of Lewis and Clark"  Author and historian David Nicandri will discuss his book, River of Promise that fills the gaps in our understanding of Lewis and Clark's legendary expedition. Nicandri is the director of the Western WA State Historical Society.   6:30 PM  in the Eric A. Johnston Auditorium

October 6   “Korea and the Silk Road” The Korean peninsula was almost the Asian end of the “Silk Road,” nevertheless exotic objects from the Mediterranean world are found in Korean burials beginning in the first century BC. In studying how these objects came to be deposited in Korean burials, it becomes clear that object arrive in Korea by at least three different routes. The Steppe Route north of the Altai Mountains, the Silk Road through Xinjinag, and a Sea Route are all discussed, along with the objects that arrived in Korea from as far away as the Mediterranean world. Presented by Spokane Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology. 6:30 PM Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  No admission fee

October 13  Painters Painting  The New York Art Scene: 1940-1970   Originally released in 1973 but never before available on DVD, PAINTERS PAINTING is the definitive documentary on the New York School of painters, from 1940-1970. Director Emile de Antonio (Point of Order and Millhouse) interviews artists in their studios about their art from the period of Abstract Expressionism, through Hard Edge and Color Field painting to Pop Art. Among the featured painters are Robert Rauschenberg, William de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Helen Frankenthaler, Frank Stella, Barnett Newman, Hans Hoffman, Jules Olitski, Philip Pavia, Larry Poons, Robert Motherwell, and Kenneth Noland. Tickets $5.00 Cash or check only, please.  6:30 PM in the Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  116 mins. Presented by Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF)

November 3  “Wine for Bread: Economy of Greek Colonists and their Trading Ventures”lrike Krotscheck (Evergreen State College)   At the time of its foundation (ca. 600 BCE), the colony Marseilles was isolated from other Greek settlements and located in a unique geopolitical environment. In contrast to Greek colonists in Sicily, who were able to wrest control of fertile agricultural land from the Sikels, Massiliotes were ringed by autonomous local towns (oppida) that ultimately maintained power over agricultural resources. This not only limited Marseilles’ ability to expand, but also its access to grain. Archaeological evidence shows that the two parties reacted to this situation with great ingenuity. First, Massiliotes quickly founded satellite colonies nearby, ensuring their access to important trade routes. Second, through import and then by initiation of viticulture around Marseilles, they produced a surplus of wine that was traded to surrounding communities. This is documented by archaeological evidence of wine amphorae and cups in indigenous settlements. By creating trade links with new Greek colonies and by tapping into already existing indigenous trade networks, Massiliotes enabled their rise to become the primary port of trade between northwestern Europe and the Mediterranean. Presented by Spokane Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology. 6:30 PM  Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  No admission fee.

November 10  Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF ) film TBD

November 17   Mark Pauline presents Acts of Action  Survival Research Laboratories was conceived of and founded by Mark Pauline in November 1978. Since its inception SRL has operated as an organization of creative technicians dedicated to re-directing the techniques, tools, and tenets of industry, science, and the military away from their typical manifestations in practicality, product or warfare. Since 1979, SRL has staged over 45 mechanized presentations in the United States and Europe. Each performance consists of a unique set of ritualized interactions between machines, robots, and special-effects devices, employed in developing themes of socio-political satire. Humans are present only as audience or operators. Part of the Visiting Artist Lecture Series   6:30 PM  Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  No admission fee.

December 28  Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF ) film TBD

January 12, 2011  Contemporary Arts Alliance (SpIFF ) film TBD

January 19, 2011 Hell Hath No Fury: How the Looting of the Iraq Museum Changed the Way Archaeologists Think About Armed Conflict” Corine Wegener(Minneapolis Institute of Arts and President of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield):  In 2003, the archaeological community united in shared outrage over the tragic looting of the Iraq Museum. Later, damage and looting of archaeological sites also became apparent in Iraq, including preventable damage to sites at our near Coalition bases. With a renewed determination to prevent such damage in future conflicts,, archaeologists began to think about how they could contribute to the preservation of collections and archaeological sites during armed conflict. Wegener will talk about her experiences working with archaeologists, both while in Iraq and later, developing cultural preservation training for the U.S. military and lobbying for U.S. ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed conflict. Presented by Spokane Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology. 6:30 PM   Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  No admission fee.

March 16, 2011  “Lightning, Livers and Lore:  Myth and Ritual in Ancient Etruria”  Nancy de Grummond (Florida State University)   Study of the religion of the Etruscans is made difficult by the lack of texts in the Etruscan language. But with the aid of archaeological excavations, inscriptions, Latin and Greek texts, and representations in art, it is possible to reconstruct some of the striking rituals of Etruscan religion, especially in regard to prophecy and divination. Various mythoritual elements in Etruscan art and archaeology will be explored. Presented by Spokane Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology. 6:30 PM   Eric A. Johnston Auditorium  No admission fee.