Event 1: Black Mountain College

Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College Performance April 23, 2016

Two weeks ago, I visited the Hammer Museum to see the exhibit Black Mountain College and watched an in gallery performance, “Changeling” by Silas Riener and music influenced by Christian Wolff and John Cage. The performance was done by the L.A. Dance Project and was highly influenced by similar style of teaching at Black Mountain College. This performance took place in the middle of the exhibit and the dance style was influential since it reflected many artists that actually attended Black Mountain College during the 1930s-1960s.

Geodesic Dome: Black Mountain College

Black Mountain College was a liberal arts school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The school was an experimental approach by John Andrew Rice and many other influential artists including John Cage and Buckminster Fuller, who designed the geodesic dome. The geodesic dome reflects on what Professor Vesna discussed in lecture about this distinction of two cultures of art and science. C.P. Snow explains that the curricular of schools and universities are the main reason for this separation of these two cultures. The students enrolled in this arts school were all visual artists, composers, poets, and designers and later on became influential artists. The school closed in 1957 after 24 years and now Black Mountain College is preserved as a museum and art center in North Carolina.

This exhibition was a very eye opening experience of how this art school changed history for artists and the art culture. During the exhibit you could see a variety of writings, art pieces, sketches, pottery and music that many famous artists created or composed. The Black Mountain College exhibit ends may 15^th so I would highly recommend all students to go see it and learn more about influential artists that changed the American art scene. 

Resources 

1. "Black Mountain College: A Brief Introduction - Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center." Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Wed. 25, May 2016.
2. "Black Mountain College." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Apr. 2016.

3. Drolson, Karly. Hammer Museum Pamphlet. Photograph. 23 May. 2016.

4. Drolson, Karly. Hammer Museum John Cage. Photograph. 23 May 2016. 

5. "In-Gallery Performances." The Hammer Museum. https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2016/leap before-you-look-black-mountain-college-1933-1957/ Web. 25 May 2016

6. Vesna,Victoria. “Two Culutres Part 1.” YouTube. 30 Mar 2012.