Lincoln and Zen

UArts' Graphic Design Senior Exhibition
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Artemide, 232 N. 2nd St., Philly, PA 19106
FREE

As someone who communicates in concrete concepts, I think one of the most interesting things about moderate to far -Left visually-driven people is listening to them talk (as they will during the presentation portion of this event). Flash presentation of the UArts Seniors' portfolios here.

Lecture: "Abraham Lincoln: A Place in Time"
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 6:30PM
Hamilton Auditorium, Historic Landmark Building
PAFA, 118 N. Broad St., Philly, PA 19102
$15

Dr. Alexander Nemerov, Professor in the History of Art and American Studies from Yale University, will talk at length about "one of the boldest and most distinct voices of our country".

"In addition to being a wise politician, Abraham Lincoln was also a wise humanist. [I want to] talk about Lincoln's aesthetics, specifically Lincoln's thoughts about the pleasure and the sadness, the exhilaration and the loneliness, of certain moments of being alive."

If I wasn't already RSVP'd for another event, I'd so be a Lincoln biographical groupie this evening.

East West South North: Beijing Photos
Thursday, May 21, 2009, 4:00 - 6:00PM
Charles Addams Fine Arts Gallery
200 S. 36th St., Philly, PA 19104
FREE

Fairly interesting photos taken by UPenn students. Don't go just to stop by, go to ask them about their experiences in Beijing, China.

Brandywine River Blues Festival
Chaddsford Winery, Chaddsford, PA (Directions)
Saturday - Monday, May 23/24/25, 12:00 - 6:00PM
$25

If you aren't doing the annual Ocean/Eastward migration to the shore, consider a shorter, local trip out of town to the iconic rural land of Andrew Wyeth, Brandywine Valley.

Garden of Sounds: John Cage's Ryoanji
Saturday, May 23, 2009, 3:00PM
The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., Philly, PA 19104
FREE

"Brooke Eplee, a recent graduate of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, will illuminate the musical and philosophical dimensions of Cage’s work in the context of Zen Buddhism and Japanese aesthetics. Drawing from scholarly research and her firsthand experience of Ryoan-ji, the lecture will feature photographs of the garden as well as a recorded performance of the composition."

Ryoanji: A "meditative exploration of presence and absence, sound and silence.

If I weren't already meditating on how old I am getting while watching my nephews destroy the sound of silence while my siblings drink wine, I'd be lurking in the audience.

Sun Ra Arkestra Special Performance
Sunday, May 24, 2009, 8:00PM
Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. Philly, PA 19125
$10

From the solitary and influential class on Jazz Appreciation I took at college, I feel that Sun Ra is to Jazz like Willy Wonka is to Hershey. Willy Wonka is fiction and Sun Ra could qualify as fiction. He's eccentric to the margins. Maybe it helps to be under the influence when you listen to his stuff. Come in celebration of the coming of the 95th anniversary of Sun Ra's arrival on Earth.

Credit: Creative Commons Photo by Robert Swier