Arthur Jafa to give Plonsker Lecture on Nov. 10

On Thursday, November 10, at 5:30 p.m., artist Arthur Jafa (b. 1960, Tupelo, Mississippi) discusses his dynamic practice comprising films, artifacts and happenings that reference and question the universal and specific articulations of Black being. Jafa’s lecture will be preceded by a reception in the museum lounge from 4:45–5:30 p.m.

Underscoring the many facets of Jafa’s practice is a recurring question: how can visual media, such as objects, static and moving images, transmit the equivalent “power, beauty and alienation” embedded within forms of Black music in U.S. culture?

The Plonsker Family Lecture Series in Contemporary Art, established in 1994 by Madeleine Plonsker, Harvey Plonsker ’61 and their son, Ted Plonsker ’86, examines current issues in contemporary art. Past lecturers include artists Lynda Benglis, Kenturah Davis, Sharon Hayes, Senga Nengudi, Clifford Owens, Trevor Paglen, and Cara Romero.

Join us at the museum for this annual event or register here for access to the virtual program via Zoom. The lecture will also be live-streamed to our YouTube channel.

Learn More and Register

Tour Of Mary Ann Unger Exhibition On Nov. 12

On Saturday, November 12, at 10:30 a.m., Eve Biddle ’04 presents a tour of the exhibition Mary Ann Unger: To Shape a Moon from Bone. The exhibition is a full reconsideration of the multidisciplinary practice of Unger, one of the twentieth century’s great artists, and also features work by Biddle, who is an artist and Unger’s daughter. Join us afterwards for food and drink on the patio.

To Shape a Moon from Bone

Women Shaping Space symposium now online

We are delighted to share a series of videos from the October 6–7 symposium Women Shaping Space: Feminism and Materiality. Organized in conjunction with the exhibition Mary Ann Unger: To Shape a Moon from Bone, this two-day event looked outward from the work of pioneering artist Mary Ann Unger to the contemporary landscape of curators and femme artists working at the intersections of large-scale sculpture, public art, material experimentation, and feminist practice.

The symposium featured an opening keynote address by artist Heather Hart, an introduction to Unger's work by Allison Kaufman, Director of the Mary Ann Unger Estate, and a solo drum performance by Diego Mongue ’25, inspired by Unger’s magnum opus Across the Bering Strait.

Two panel discussions explored “A Dialogue of Feminist Dimensions: Sculpture in an Expanded Field” and “Materiality and Public Art: How We Make Stuff with Things,” with participants Leigh Arnold, Associate Curator at Nasher Sculpture Center; Molly Epstein, Senior Partner, Goodman Taft; Horace D. Ballard, curator of Mary Ann Unger: To Shape a Moon from Bone; Heather Hart; Lisa Iglesias, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Studio Art, Mount Holyoke College; and Eve Biddle, artist and Founding Co-Director, Wassaic Project. Ivana Dizdar, Curatorial Fellow at the Mary Ann Unger Estate, offered closing remarks.

You can find all of the videos on our YouTube channel by clicking the link below.

Symposium Playlist