The San Francisco Zen Center Art Lounge Presents: TYPES OF KARMIC FORMATION – running from September 2-30, 2011

An opening reception for this new art exhibition by Bay Area artist Laurie Justine Szujewska will be held on September 2 at 6pm.

To be followed by a reading by poet and Zen priest Norman Fischer, from his new book conflict, from 7:30-9 pm.

For Bay Area artist and typographer Laurie Justine Szujewska, the word is the image. She creates one-of-a-kind prints using the mediums of vintage wood type, oil paints and inks on a Vandercook letterpress. Szujewska (shoe yév skä) employs this antiquated technology not for its nostalgic value, but to bring letterforms forth from their familiar contexts around us into surprising, playful, and sometimes jarring relief. Approaching the letterpress as a singular, mark-making tool instead of its customary function as a reproducing machine, Szujewska works with type the way a painter works with a brush, inviting the imperfections and past associations of worn and obsolete wooden letterforms to offer fresh new insights on the largely ubiquitous and invisible role type plays in our everyday surround.

WHEN: Friday, September 2, 1011, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

VENUE: San Francisco Zen Center Art Lounge, 300 Page Street, at Laguna Street, San Francisco

INFO: Admission is free. Visit www.ensatinapress.com/news for more information.

About Laurie Justine Szujewska:

Ms. Szujewska’s artwork has been exhibited in galleries in Chicago, New York City, Portland, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been a guest artist at the San Francisco Art Institute, and has taught design and typography at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has also been a guest lecturer at many universities. Ms. Szujewska (shoe yév skä) received her masters degree from the Yale School of Art. She later served as an art director for the type division of Adobe Systems, where she was responsible for the design of numerous award-winning projects, including the popular typeface Giddyup.

Ms. Szujewska has focused almost exclusively on the letterpress as an artistic medium since establishing Ensatina Press in 2005. A love of words, type, and all things typographic has always been central to her work. Writing in The Education of a Typographer (2004), edited by Steven Heller, Ms. Szujewska noted that: “Working with the press…provides me with a visceral experience of letterforms as shapes and sculpture moving in space.”

Ms. Szujewska’s home and studio is located on Sonoma Mountain in Sonoma County.

About the San Francisco Zen Center:

Established in 1962 by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (1904-1971), San Francisco Zen Center is today one of the largest Buddhist sanghas outside Asia. It has three practice places: City Center, in the vibrant heart of San Francisco; Green Gulch Farm, whose organic fields meet the ocean in Marin County; and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center—the first Zen training monastery in the West—in the Ventana Wilderness inland from Big Sur. These three complementary practice centers offer daily meditation, regular monastic retreats and practice periods, classes, lectures, art exhibits, and workshops.

San Francisco’s Palace of the Legion of Honor partners with the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music for a live concert by Musica Pacifica, San Francisco’s sizzling baroque ensemble, consisting of Judith Linsenberg, recorders; Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin; Shirley Hunt, cello/viola da gamba; and Charles Sherman, harpsichord.

This concert (free with museum admission) will take place on September 11, 2011 at 12:00pm and is held in conjunction with the exhibition, Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (July 9, 2011 – October 2, 2011).  The program is free after museum admission. Seating is limited and first come, first served, and is held in the Rodin Gallery (Gallery 10), at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, 100 34th avenue, San Francisco.

The group will perform a program of works by Jacob van Eyck (1589-1659), Nicolao a Kempis (1600-1676), Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), Philippe van Wichel (1641-1673), Carolus Hacquart (1640-1701), Tarquinio Merula (1594-1665), Johannes Schenck (1660-1725), and Johann Jakob Walther (1650-1725).

One of the finest collections of 17th-century Dutch Old Masters belongs not to a museum, but to Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, who have been called “the most important collectors you’ve never heard of.” Masterworks from this collection are constantly sought-after for American and international exhibitions. The selection of paintings includes premier examples of quintessentially Dutch subjects—from portraits and still lifes to landscapes and charming scenes of everyday life. Collectively these works chronicle a 17th-century Holland that served as a model for early American society and culture.

Musica Pacifica has, since its founding in 1990, become widely recognized as one of America’s premier baroque ensembles, lauded for both the dazzling virtuosity and the warm expressiveness of its performances. They have been described by the press as “some of the finest baroque musicians in America” (American Record Guide) and “among the best in the world” (Alte Musik Aktuell). At home in the Bay area, the artists perform with Philharmonia Baroque and American Bach Soloists and appear with many other prominent early music ensembles nationally and abroad.

Musica Pacifica has recently announced that cellist/violist da gamba Shirley Hunt has joined the ensemble. Hunt performs regularly as a member of Agave Baroque and with such groups as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the American Bach Soloists, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Musica Angelica, Archetti, and Bach Collegium San Diego. She also performs jazz and contemporary works with the new music ensemble AnyWhen, and has been featured on numerous pop/rock albums and film scores for major motion pictures.

Sparks fly when these high-energy performers get together! Musica Pacifica combines world-class musicianship with a spirited and communicative performing style and brings exuberant vitality to the intimate chamber music of the Baroque.

(NOTE FROM PETER: I am particularly excited about this program as it features three women I know well and respect immensely: Caitlin Strokosch, Julia Rhoads, and Erica Mott; and it is held at my old stomping grounds – the Chicago Cultural Center!)

Monday, July 18, 6–8 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington – Be Our Guest: Finding Creative Time + Space for Artist Residencies, presented in partnership with the Alliance of Artist Communities

Think there aren’t many residency programs for dance? Think again! There are more than 160 residency programs in the U.S. and Canada open to dancemakers and dozens more around the world. Whether you’re a solo choreographer looking for a quiet place to conduct research or a dance company polishing the production of new work, there’s a residency program for you.

Find out what distinguishes these programs, the best way to apply, and how to maximize your experience. Ask questions, meet the directors, and pick up literature from artists’ residencies in your region and beyond.

Speakers:

Caitlin Strokosch | Alliance of Artists Communities (moderator)

Julia Rhoads | choreographer – Chicago; former artist-in-residence | Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography – Tallahassee, FL

Jennifer Wright Cook | The Field – New York City

Erica Mott | Links Hall – Chicago

Regin Igloria | Ragdale Foundation – Lake Forest, IL

At Work Forums are free and open to the public. More info.

Chicago’s Chinese Fine Arts Society Presents: RHYTHMS OF CHINA  on July 31, 2011.

Showcasing works by 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music Winner Zhou Long (World Premiere), Neil Rolnick (Midwest Premiere), and Tan Dun.

Featuring performances by pipa master Yang Wei & members of Cheng Da Percussion Ensemble, Spektral Quartet, Dal Niente, Amethyst Quartet, and Third Coast Percussion.

Explore the world of Chinese music at Chicago’s architectural masterpiece! The Chinese Fine Arts Society presents its Rhythms of China at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago. This eclectic concert showcases lively contemporary chamber music for percussion, strings, traditional Chinese instruments, electronics, piano, saxophone, and chorus, and includes works by internationally acclaimed composers Tan Dun, Zhou Long (2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music Winner), and the Midwest premiere of Neil Rolnick’s “The Economic Engine,” scored for traditional Chinese quartet, string quartet, and electronics. This performance of The Economic Engine is sponsored by the American Composers Forum through its Encore program, supporting repeat performances of new works.

WHEN: Sunday, July 31 from 6:30 – 7:45 p.m.

VENUE: Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph St. between Michigan Ave. and Columbus Ave., Chicago

INFO: Admission is free. Visit www.chinesefinearts.org or www.millenniumpark.org for more information

PROGRAM INCLUDES:

• Tan Dun: Elegy: Snow in June for four percussionists – Third Coast Percussion

• Neil Rolnick: The Economic Engine (Midwest Premiere) – Yang Wei, pipa; Alexander Li, erhu; Karen Hong, Yangqin; Claire Deng, Guzheng; String quartet – Andrew McCann, Dave Moss, Jeremy Ward and Austin Wulliman; Neil Rolnick, electronics; Michael Lewanski, Conductor

• Zhou Long: Rhyme of Taigu III (World Premiere of this adaptation) for Saxophone, Cello, and Two percussionists – special adaptation written for this concert – Masa Sugihara, Saxophone; Robert Dillon, Clay Condon percussion; Sophie Weber, cello

• Gu Guan Ren: Lady Hua Mulan for Pipa and Piano – Yang Wei, pipa; Katherine Jui Chang, piano

• Also featuring Cheng Da Percussion Ensemble and works by CFAS Chorus under the direction of Lori Ho.

This program was curated by violinist MingHuan Xu and pianist Winston Choi, who together form Duo Diorama, CFAS Artists in Residence for 2011-12. This concert is presented by the Chicago Fine Arts Society and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, in partnership with the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture.

>> NOTE: A Preview of this concert will take place on 98.7 WFMT on July 18 at 4:00 PM.

>> NOTE: The Economic Engine will be previewed in Live from Chinatown Concert Series on July 23 at 1 PM in Ping Tom Park, 300 W. 19th St. in Chicago.

About the Chinese Fine Arts Society:

For 27 years, this professional, small, fully-independent arts organization has brought together people from diverse backgrounds over a common goal: to celebrate the beauty and majesty of traditional and contemporary Chinese music and art. CFAS is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of Chinese culture, enhancing cultural exchange and pursuing excellence in Chinese music, dance and visual arts. www.chinesefinearts.org

Funding for this concert is provided, in part, by the America Composers Forum’s Encore Grant Program, The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, The Sara Lee Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City Arts Grants, and The Arts Work Fund and SMARTGrowth, initiatives of the Chicago Community Trust and Affiliates.

American Airlines is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Fine Arts Society.