January 5, 1998
Middlebury College Scott Symposium on Religion
and the Arts
Taking place Jan. 23-24, Middlebury College’s Scott
Symposium will explore the intersection of the arts and religion
across many different cultures and in many different times. The
symposium’s lectures and panel discussion will occur as part of
a month-long series of arts events throughout January pertaining
to the same theme. Funded by the Scott Endowment, the symposium
honors Middlebury Professor and Chaplain Emeritus Charles P. Scott.
All symposium and arts events are open to the public, and, with
the exception of one arts event, are also free of charge.
The symposium’s five lectures and panel discussion
will take place in the Concert Hall in the Middlebury College
Center for the Arts on South Main Street (Rt. 30). The first event
begins at 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 23 with a lecture on “Judaism
and the Arts” by Richard Brilliant, a professor of history
and archaeology at Columbia University. At 8 p.m., Oleg Grabar,
a professor at Princeton’s School of Historical Studies, will
speak about “Islam and the Arts.”
At 9 a.m. on Jan. 24, the symposium continues with
a lecture on “Buddhism and the Arts” by Susan Huntington,
who is both professor of history of art and dean of the graduate
school at Ohio State University. At 10:30 a.m., John Cook, president
of the Henry Luce Foundation and professor emeritus of religion
and the arts at Yale, will discuss “Christianity and the
Arts.” His lecture will be followed by a talk by Cynthia
Atherton, associate professor of art history at Middlebury College,
at 1 p.m. on “Hinduism and the Arts.” From 2:15-3:30
p.m., the final event of the symposium will take place-a panel
discussion on “Religion and the Arts” by the five scholars
who have given symposium lectures. Larry Yarbrough, Middlebury
College professor of religion, will serve as moderator.
Among the events that will take place earlier in
January are three lectures that will explore the relationship
between religion and the arts-all in the auditorium of Twilight
Hall on College Street. On Jan. 15 at 4:15 p.m., Kym Pinder, professor
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will lecture on
“Testifyin’ Pictures: Religion and African-American Art.”
Trudier Harris, the J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of English
at the University of North Carolina, will speak about “Christianity’s
Last Stand: Visions of Spirituality in Post-1970 African-American
Art” at 8 p.m. on Jan.15. On Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m., “Images
and Relics in Buddhist Religion: The Case of Early Medieval China”
will be the topic of a lecture by Robert Ford Campany, professor
of religion at Indiana University.
Other events include several performances and an
art exhibit which will offer additional ways to view the relationship
between the arts and religion over the centuries. Forces of Nature,
a dance troupe from the New York City Cathedral of St. John the
Divine, fuses African dance and concern for the environment. The
group will appear at 9 p.m. on Jan. 17 in McCullough Student Center
on Old Chapel Rd. off South Main St. (Rt. 30).
At 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 22 in the Concert Hall in the
Center for the Arts, Aurora Nova, a women’s choir from London,
will present a program of music from around the world and across
the ages. The program will feature works written in honor of the
Virgin Mary, including several by Brahms and Verdi. Their Middlebury
performance will be part of the group’s first tour in the United
States.
Following the symposium’s panel discussion, Aurora
Nova will lead a choral evensong at 5:00 p.m. on Jan. 24 in Mead
Chapel. At 8 p.m. on Jan. 27, a concert of Negro spirituals led
by François Clemmons, director of the Harlem Spiritual
Ensemble, also will take place in Mead Chapel.
An exhibit that draws upon past and present Eastern
and Western traditions, “The Artistic Imagination and Ecological
Values” will open at the Middlebury College Museum of Art
on Jan. 6. On display through April 26, the exhibit provides examples
of the various ways in which artists have endeavored to communicate
spiritual and aesthetic values involving a deep appreciation of
nature.
Tickets for the Aurora Nova performance in the Concert
Hall are $9.00 general admission and $7.00 for senior citizens.
A pre-performance dinner at 6:00 p.m. at the Rehearsals Cafe in
the Center for the Arts is also available. To order tickets or
make dinner reservations, please call the College box office at
802-443-6433. Admission to the choral evensong, the concert of
Negro spirituals, and the Middlebury College Museum of Art is
free.
Events Calendar Listings
Pre-Symposium Lectures and Arts Events:
Tuesday, January 6-April 26
Museum of Art, Center for the Arts, South Main St.
(Rt. 30) Exhibit:
“The Artistic Imagination and Ecological Values.”
Provides examples of the various ways in which artists
have endeavored to communicate spiritual and aesthetic values
involving a deep appreciation of nature.
Thursday, January 15
4:15 p.m., Auditorium, Twilight Hall, College St.
Lecture: “Testifyin’
Pictures: Religion and African-American Art.” Kym
Pinder, professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
8 p.m., Auditorium, Twilight Hall, College St.
Lecture: “Christianity’s
Last Stand: Visions of Spirituality in Post-1970 African-American
Art.” Trudier Harris, J. Carlyle Sitterson Professor of
English at the University of North Carolina
Friday, January 16
7:30 p.m., Auditorium, Twilight Hall, College St.
Lecture: “Images
and Relics in Buddhist Religion: The Case of Early Medieval China.”
Robert Ford Campany, professor of religion at Indiana University
Saturday, January 17
9 p.m., Social Space, McCullough Student Center,
Old Chapel Rd. off South Main St. (Rt. 30). Dance
Performance: Forces of Nature Dance Theatre
Company. A dance troupe from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
in New York City which fuses African dance and concern for the
environment
Thursday, January 22
7:30 p.m., Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, South
Main St. (Rt. 30). Concert:
Aurora Nova. A women’s choir from London
performs a program of music from around the world and across the
ages written in honor of the Virgin Mary, including works by Brahms
and Verdi. This performance will be part of Aurora Nova’s first
tour in the United States. Tickets are $9.00 general admission
and $7.00 for senior citizens. A pre-performance dinner at 6:00
p.m. at the Rehearsals Cafe in the Center for the Arts is also
available. For tickets or dinner reservations, call the College
box office at 802-443-6433.
(All events, except for the Jan. 22 concert, are
free.)
Scott Symposium on Religion and the Arts:
Friday, January 23
4:15 p.m., Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, South
Main St. (Rt. 30). Lecture:
“Judaism and the Arts.” Richard Brilliant, professor
of history and archaeology at Columbia University
8 p.m., Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, South
Main St. (Rt. 30). Lecture:
“Islam and the Arts.” Oleg Grabar, professor at Princeton’s
School of Historical Studies
Saturday, January 24
9 a.m., Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, South
Main St. (Rt. 30). Lecture:
“Buddhism and the Arts.” Susan Huntington, professor
of history of art and dean of the graduate school at Ohio State
University
10:30 a.m., Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, South
Main St. (Rt. 30). Lecture:
“Christianity and the Arts.” John Cook, president of
the Henry Luce Foundation and professor emeritus of religion and
the arts at Yale
1 p.m., Concert Hall, Center for the Arts, South
Main St. (Rt. 30). Lecture:
“Hinduism and the Arts.” Cynthia
Atherton, associate professor of art history at Middlebury College
2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Concert Hall, Center for the
Arts, South Main St. (Rt. 30). Panel discussion:
“Religion and the Arts.” The five symposium lecturers-Richard
Brilliant, Oleg Grabar, Susan Huntington, John Cook, and Cynthia
Atherton-will take part. Larry Yarbrough, Middlebury College professor
of religion, will serve as moderator.
(All symposium events are free of charge and will
take place in the Concert Hall in the Middlebury College Center
for the Arts on South Main St/Rt. 30.)
Post-symposium Arts Events:
Saturday, January 24
5 p.m., Mead Chapel, Hepburn Rd. off of College St.
(Rt. 125). Choral Evensong:
Aurora Nova. A women’s choir from London will lead an evensong.
Tuesday, January 27
8 p.m., Mead Chapel, Hepburn Rd. off of College St.
(Rt. 125) Concert: Negro Spirituals. François Clemmons,
director of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble, will lead a concert
of Negro spirituals.