Nicholas R. Clifford Symposium:
Creativity and Collaboration
September 27–29, 2012
The Clifford Symposium kicks off each academic year by giving the campus community rich opportunities to discuss and experience timely topics from many perspectives. This year’s symposium is hosted by Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts in honor of its 20th-anniversary season.
Sponsored by the Arts Council, Office of the President, Academic Enrichment Fund, Committee on the Arts, Project on Creativity and Innovation in the Liberal Arts, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Hirschfield International Film Series, Program in Environmental Studies, and Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest.
Read the Symposium Participant Biographies>>
Read the press release>>
Schedule of Events:
September 27, Thursday
Woodin Colloquium Series: Creativity and Collaboration
12:30-1:20 PM, Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest, The Orchard (room 103)
At the weekly Howard E. Woodin ES Colloquium Series events, students, faculty, staff, and members of the community gather over lunch to hear from a broad range of speakers—students, faculty, alumni, and environmental professionals—on conservation and environmental topics. This week features Steve Trombulak, Professor of Environmental and Biosphere Studies; Chris McGrory Klyza, Stafford Professor of Public Policy, Political Science & Environmental Studies; and Dan Brayton, Associate Professor of English and American Literatures. Please bring your own lunch and beverage to enjoy during the talk. Free
September 27, Thursday
Keynote Speech: Julie Burstein
7:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Burstein is a Peabody Award-winning radio producer, best-selling author, and public speaker who has spent her working life in conversation with highly creative people—interviewing, probing, guiding, and creating public radio programs about them and their work.
In her book Spark: How Creativity Works, she offers a tour through some of creativity’s essential byways. She shines a beam onto its mysterious workings, helping us find more of that dimension within ourselves and putting it to good use. Burstein will talk about some of the essential qualities for successful creative collaborations -- which are not much different from what we each need to be creative on our own. With stories from artists, musicians, and writers, Julie explores how we can open ourselves up to experience, learn to harness our differences to find innovative solutions, and why conflict can lead us to new ideas. Whether we're working with a partner, on a team at work, at home participating in the ongoing creative endeavor we call our families, Julie's talk offers insight into the elements that can make everyone a creative collaborator. Introduced by Director of the Arts Pieter Broucke; a reception and book-signing by Ms. Burstein immediately follows the keynote. Free
Photo Pavlina Perry
Watch a video about this event>>
September 27, Thursday
wire2
8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, LobbyA short, original show integrating music, dance, circus, and theatricality by Rachel Schiffer ‘06.5 and Ben Schiffer ‘10.
Brother and sister team up as R&B Productions to highlight their specialties of sound design, dj-ing, wire walking, and dance. In this first collaboration, they have created a performance experience “wound around” the behavior of wires and cables. Their collaboration—with not only each other, but also with the equipment they use and their individual disciplines—gives way to an inventive, outside of the box, funny and heartfelt show. Free
Watch a video about this event>>
September 28, Friday
Kinesthetic Empathy as a Creative Practice in Film, Fiction, Music, and Dance
10:15–11:00 AM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 232
Presentation by Dr. W. P. Seeley, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Bates College, and professional sculptor. Kinesthetic empathy—the capacity to use our own bodies to model, interpret, and understand the emotions and behaviors of others in social contexts—is a form of social cognition that has been appealed to in explanations of musical expressiveness, kinetic transfer in dance, narrative understanding, and our emotional engagement with characters in movies and novels. In each of these cases, the same embodied neurophysiological proceses through which we orient ourselves to the actions, emotions, and intentions of others in social contexts are harnessed as expressive devices to communicate the content of an artwork. Artistic communication can thereby be thought of as a collaborative exchange, a collective project in which spectators and audience members reconstruct the rich expressive content of artworks from sparse formal and compositional cues. Perhaps more importantly, creative activity in the arts can be thought of as a dynamic exchange between artists and spectators. Dr. Seeley discusses the role kinesthetic empathy plays in the creative process and our engagement with artworks in a range of media. Introduced by John Spackman, Associate Professor of Philosophy, with comments by Ariele Faber '13. Free
September 28, Friday
Symposium Lunch
11:00 AM–12:15 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Lower Lobby
September 28, Friday
Off the Wall: Informal Discussions about Art
12:15–1:00 PM, Middlebury College Museum of Art
Charles A. Dana Professor of Art and Architecture Kirsten Hoving discusses her collaboration with students in the art history course Alfred Stieglitz and Camera Work, which resulted in the current exhibition Camera Work: Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand, and Company. Lunch is served prior to the talk, at 11:00 am. Free to College ID cardholders; community donations welcomed.
Pictured: Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864–1946), Two Towers—New York from Camera Work XLIV, 1911, published 1913, photogravure on paper, 11 x 7 7/8 inches. Collection of Middlebury College Museum of Art, purchase with funds provided by the Walter Cerf Art Acquisition Fund, 2008.030. Photo Tad Merrick
September 28, Friday
International Studies Colloquium: "Why Is Peacekeeping So Hard? The Ups and Downs of a Collaborative Process"
12:15 PM, Robert A. Jones ’59 House, conference room
A lunchtime presentation by Amy Yuen, Assistant Professor of Political Science. Peacekeeping is a modern technique for managing international and civil conflicts with a mixed record of success. In some cases, long term peace has persisted, while others have proved to be spectacular failures. Because peacekeepers are usually invited as part of a peace process, we expect missions to help that process move smoothly. So why do so many missions end in renewed violence? Amy Yuen's research offers different levels of explanation, from the peacekeeping institution to the strategic incentives of belligerents to explain why the peacekeeping mission is just the beginning of a long process towards stable peace. Sponsored by the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs. Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP by Monday, 9/24, by emailing cfia@middlebury.edu or by calling 802-443-5324.
September 28, Friday
Social Entrepreneurship Talk with Christal Brown
12:30 PM, Axinn Center, Room 219
The Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship hosts Christal Brown, Assistant Professor of Dance. Using Project: BECOMING as a model, Brown will speak to the broader work of community engagement projects across artistic disciplines and how the role of social entrepreneurship is used by artist to build community capital as a currently un-commodified reciprocal investment. Free
September 28–29, Friday–Saturday
A Curious Invasion/Middlebury
PearsonWidrig DanceTheater
12:30 and 4:30 PM each day, Mahaney Center for the Arts
The audience embarks on an elaborate journey in and around the Mahaney Center for the Arts in this sweeping, site-specific performance event by award-winning U.S. dance company PearsonWidrig DanceTheater, in collaboration with the Dance Company of Middlebury. Live music is played by David Schulman. The work includes snippets of the Alumni Solos Project, choreographed by Peter Schmitz, with Paul Matteson ’00, Simon Thomas-Train ’09, Pamela Vail ’90, and Otto Pierce ’13. A Curious Invasion has been performed in China, Korea, Japan, India, and New Zealand. Introduced by Andrea Olsen, Professor of Dance, John C. Elder Professor of Environmental Studies. Free
Photo Tom Caravaglia
Watch a video about this event>>
September 28, Friday
The Creative Process, Art Making, and Entrepreneurship
1:45–2:45 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Keynote speaker and author Julie Burstein talks with dance program chair Penny Campbell and associate professor of economics Jessica Holmes about details that are the key to creative work—details that are often assumed, and therefore overlooked, but could be the guide into a very different experience, perception, and way of thinking. Students from Campbell's Creative Process class and Holmes' MiddCORE class also take part in the panel discussion. Introduced by Elizabeth Robinson. Free
September 28, Friday
Symposium Breakout Sessions
3:00–4:15 PM, various locations (see listings)
Telling Collaborations: The “Life Stories of Middlebury College” Project
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 125
Introduced by Christal Brown, Assistant Professor of Dance. The Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity’s “Life Stories” is a collaborative project that trains teams of faculty, staff, and students to conduct filmed oral history interviews of other Middlebury College community members. Interviews particularly reflect on experiences at Middlebury of diversity (including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability). Films and transcripts are available through the Special Collections and on Middlab, encouraging scholars to draw on our rich histories for research across the disciplines. This interactive roundtable includes team members and interviewees since the program began in 2009. Free
Finding the True, Singing Words: A Reading with Comments on Poetry’s Creative Process
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 126
College and Vermont Poets Gary Margolis, Paige Ackerson-Kiely, Ray Hudson and Karin Gottshall will read from their work and discuss how a poem comes into being. Free
Playwriting
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221
Introduced by Dana Yeaton, Visiting Assistant Professor in Theatre. While some playwrights hibernate as they create, many others use public collaboration to invent or fine-tune their developing works. Actors, directors, designers, and dramaturges are essential collaborators in this process. This workshop by Andrew Smith ‘97.5 displays how collaboration and creativity work hand-in-hand in the playwrighting process. Free
Improvisation Workshop with Lisa Velten Smith
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 232
Introduced by Alex Draper ’88, Assistant Professor of Theatre. The first rule of improv is to always say yes to your partner. In this workshop New York and Chicago actress Lisa Velten Smith--along with members of the group Otter Nonsense--will demonstrate how this fundamental rule of collaboration leads to instant creativity. Free
Recent Student Work in Large Format Painting and Glass: Open Studios
(ongoing throughout the day) Davis Family Library, Johnson Memorial Building Gallery, and Mahaney Center for the Arts, Lower Lobby
The Program in Studio Art presents creative student visual art in three venues. At the Mahaney Center for the Arts, the first floor gallery area features a wide array of class work including prints, photographs, paintings, and sculpture. Collaborative art created with Cameron Visiting Artists in blown-glass and silkscreen-printing is on view in the Davis Family Library main lobby. Come see the art process behind-the-scenes as Johnson Building studios are open to the public during the day on Friday. The open studios are accompanied by an exhibition of large-scale drawings in the Johnson Pit. Free
Pictured: Mandy Kwan '12 creating a house in the class Sculptural Architecture
Alumni Solos Project: "This Is How It Looks"
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Peter Schmitz creates one solo with three distinct artists: Pamela Vail '90, Paul Matteson ’00, Simon Thomas-Train '09, and current student Otto Pierce ’13.5. Music by Michael Chorney, costumes by Maile Okamura. Introduced by Simon Thomas-Train. Also on Saturday at 3:00 PM. Free
September 28, Friday
A Curious Invasion/Middlebury
PearsonWidrig DanceTheater
4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts
Also at 12:30 PM Friday, and 12:30 and 4:30 PM Saturday. See details above.
Photo Tom Caravaglia
Watch a video about this event>>
September 28, Friday
The High Line: Adrian Benepe '78, P '09 '13 and Peter Mullan*
7:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line, which is elevated above the streets of Manhattan’s West Side. Founded in 1999 by community residents, Friends of the High Line fought for its preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was threatened with demolition. Hear how Friends of the High Line Vice President for Planning and Design Peter Mullan and former New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe collaboratively established the High Line as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy. Introduced by Director of the Arts Pieter Broucke. Free
*Please note revised speakers.
Pictured: The High Line:looking North toward West 29th Street, where the High Line begins a long, gentle curve toward the Hudson River. ©Iwan Baan, 2011
Read more about this event>>
September 28, Friday
Jazz Conversations: Trading Fours
9:00 PM (or immediately following the keynote), Mahaney Center for the Arts, Lower Lobby
"Trading fours" is one of the main components of small group jazz. It’s a musical conversation: composition on the fly, done collaboratively by two or more players. The results are exciting to hear and fun to do. Join Director of Jazz Activities Dick Forman and several of the College’s best jazz players for a demonstration of the technique, and a chance to try it yourself! Bring an instrument, or your voice—or just come to listen. The music and a reception start in the MCA lower lobby immediately following the High Line presentation. Free
Photo Brett Simison
September 29, Saturday
Intrinsic Collaboration in Film Art Direction with Rick Heinrichs
11:00 AM–12:15 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Film design veteran Heinrichs speaks about his work with long time collaborator Tim Burton, as well as directors Ang Lee, Gore Verbinski, and the Coen Brothers. Heinrichs won an Oscar, a BAFTA, and Art Directors Guild award for his work on Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow and an Art Directors Guild Award for Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. His other film credits include Dark Shadows, Captain America: The First Avenger, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Big Lebowski and Fargo. Free
September 29, Saturday
A Curious Invasion/Middlebury
PearsonWidrig DanceTheater
12:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts
Also at 12:30 and 4:30 PM Friday, and 4:30 PM Saturday. See details above.
Photo Tom Caravaglia
Watch a video about this event>>
September 29, Saturday
Symposium Lunch
1:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts
September 29, Saturday
PearsonWidrig DanceTheater Conversation: Cross-Cultural Collaborating
1:45–2:45 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig discuss the process of creating A Curious Invasion and performing it in different cultural contexts, including India, Japan, Peru, New Zealand, and South Korea. Free
Photo Tom Caravaglia
September 29, Saturday
Alumni Solos Project: "This Is How It Looks"
Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Peter Schmitz creates one solo with three distinct artists: Pamela Vail '90, Paul Matteson ’00, Simon Thomas-Train '09, and current student Otto Pierce ’13.5. Music by Michael Chorney, costumes by Maile Okamura. Introduced by Simon Thomas-Train. Also on Friday at 3:00 PM. Free
September 29, Saturday
One Work from Two Traditions
3:00–4:15 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221
In this presentation, Professors Damascus Kafumbe and Jeff Buettner share their collective strategies to teach a Ugandan four-movement song cycle entitled “Omwenge mu Maka”/Alcoholism in a Home (comp. Damascus Kafumbe). This collaboration will conclude with a joint performance by members of the Middlebury African Music and Dance Ensemble and the Middlebury College Choir during the academic year 2012-2013. As Professor Larry Hamberlin emphasizes during the presentation, the collaboration reflects the music department’s goal to support projects that promote a comprehensive understanding of world music through musicultural theory and practice. Free
September 29, Saturday
Pina
3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium
Few choreographers have had more influence in the world of modern dance than the late German artist Pina Bausch. This incendiary documentary film by Wim Wender explores Bausch’s life and work while we see her company perform her most notable creations, where basic things like water, dirt, and even gravity take on otherworldly qualities. Pina “should be read less as a polite memorial than as a palpitating act of resurrection”— The New Yorker. The 3:00 PM screening is introduced by Daniel Houghton '06, visiting lecturer in film and media culture; with a post-show discussion led by Professor of Film and Media Culture Leger Grindon and Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Catherine Cabeen. Free
September 29, Saturday
A Curious Invasion/Middlebury
PearsonWidrig DanceTheater
4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts
Also at 12:30 and 4:30 PM Friday, and 12:30 PM Saturday. See details above.
Photo Tom Caravaglia
Watch a video about this event>>
September 29, Saturday
Emerson String Quartet
Eugene Drucker, violin
Philip Setzer, violin
Lawrence Dutton, viola
David Finckel, cello
8:00 PM, Mead Memorial Chapel
The Emerson String Quartet has amassed more than 30 acclaimed recordings, 9 Grammy Awards, 3 Gramophone Awards, and the coveted Avery Fisher Prize, among other achievements. The list of the quartet’s connections to Middlebury is nearly as long: 31 performances, 4 honorary degrees, and a performance at the Mahaney Center’s opening gala in 1992. Honoring cellist David Finckel’s last season with the Emerson, the Performing Arts Series presents the quartet in Mead Chapel, where they made their campus debut in 1981. The program includes works by Schumann, Shostakovich, and Beethoven (his first “Razumovsky” quartet). Associate Professor Larry Hamberlin offers a preconcert lecture at 7:30 PM. President Ronald. D Liebowitz and his wife Jessica graciously host a reception for the quartet in the McCullough Social Space. All audience members are invited to attend immediately following the performance. Concert tickets: $25/20/6* Go to the Box Office>>
*Special Quartet Package offer: Purchase tickets to both the Emerson and Takács (October 2) string quartet concerts at $20/15/5 each
Photo J. Henry Fair
Further Events
September 30, Sunday
The Incredibly Dramatic Life of Science and Mathematics
4:30–6:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre
The success of Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia in the mid 1990s opened a door for playwrights to explore and exploit science and mathematics as source material. The result is a rich and expanding collection of new plays that, at their best, bring insightful perspectives to bear on the sometimes elusive ideas from the mathematical sciences that shape our understanding of the world: Newtonian physics, evolution, quantum mechanics, computer science, chaos theory, and infinity.
This rich interplay between theater and science has been the topic of a regular teaching collaboration between Steve Abbott, Professor of Mathematics, and Cheryl Faraone, Professor of Theatre and Women and Gender Studies—centered around the proposition that science and art are worthy partners. This presentation offers a brief but authentic view into their team-taught course, incorporating students from the most recent edition of the class performing scenes and discussing various plays they studied. Free
September 30, Sunday
Buddha Prince Backstage
7:30 PM, Dana Auditorium
Film screening, discussion, and workshops with Markell Kiefer ’96.5, Tyson Lien ’98, and Tenzin Ngawang. Buddha Prince Backstage is a documentary film on the creation and staging of their outdoor walking play “The Buddha Prince,” celebrating the extraordinary life and teachings of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Additional workshops on theatrical collaboration and traditonal Tibetan dance and music will be held on Sunday afternoon and Monday. Registration required for some events.
Read more>>
October 1, Monday
Screening and Discussion of Lotus Lives with Su Lian Tan and Tim Bartlett ‘98
7:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 125
Watch a film screening of the original chamber opera, performed here at Middlebury in fall 2011. The composer and video set designer give an informal talk together about creating and composing Lotus Lives. From the initial inspiration to the rendering of ideas in musical and visual form, they elucidate the process, including the important communication between them. Following this presentation, there will be the opportunity to ask questions of the artists. Introduced by Pieter Broucke, Director of the Arts. Free
October 2, Tuesday
Takács String Quartet
Edward Dusinberre, violin
Károly Schranz, violin
Geraldine Walther, viola
András Fejér, cello
7:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Recognized as one of the world’s great ensembles, the Takács Quartet plays with a unique blend of drama, warmth, and humor, combining four distinct musical personalities to bring fresh insights to the string quartet repertoire. While in Middlebury, this audience-favorite ensemble performs Schubert’s Rosamunde quartet, Britten’s Quartet no. 2 in C Major, and Dvořák’s “American” quartet. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series and an anonymous Performing Arts Series Society (PASS) member, in honor of Paul Nelson. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $25/20/6*
*Special Quartet Package offer: Purchase tickets to both the Emerson (September 29) and Takács string quartet concerts at $20/15/5 each. Go to the Box Office>>
Photo Ellen Appel
Please note: All performances and programs are subject to change. Check back here or call 802.443.3168 for updates.
About the Clifford Symposium
The annual Clifford Symposium is named after College Professor of History Emeritus Nicholas R. Clifford, who taught history at the college from 1966 to 1993 and who in his many years as a member of the faculty and administration cultivated critical inquiry.
2012 Planning Committee
- Steve Abbott, Professor of Mathematics
- Pieter Broucke, Director of the Arts, Professor of History of Art and Architecture, and Associate Curator of Ancient Art
- Shannon Bohler-Small, Arts Event Manager, Mahaney Center for the Arts
- Larry Hamberlin, Associate Professor of Music
- Cheryl Faraone, Professor of Theatre and Women's and Gender Studies
- Liza Sacheli Lloyd, Director, Mahaney Center for the Arts
- Andrea Olsen, Professor of Dance, John C. Elder Professor of Environmental Studies
- Elizabeth Robinson, Director, Project on Innovation in the Liberal Arts
Advisors / Pre-Planning Committee
- Christa Clifford, Associate Director of Operations and Finance, Mahaney Center for the Arts
- Peter Hamlin, Christian A. Johnson Professor of Music
- Dana Yeaton, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre
