The College of the Arts is a major contributor to Montclair State’s Chinese Festival that takes place on the Montclair State University campus and in the town of Montclair from February 24th to April 25th.  The Festival pays homage to China’s remarkable cultural legacy and its strong global impact. Events include over twenty concerts, lectures, exhibitions, symposiums, discussions, and workshops by artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers, College of the Arts faculty and scholars from China and the United States demonstrating various aspects of China’s culture. While pondering China’s ability to maintain its distinctiveness and individualism, they will examine China as a continuum from an ancient society to a modern culture with recurring and contemporized motifs that intersect and influence the world.  The College of the Arts is proud to take a leading role in this unique celebration.

 Below are selected events presented by College of the Arts faculty. To view all events that are part of the festival, click here.    

 Tuesday, March 2 -7:00 p.m.

University Hall, Room 1040

Film Series: Dark Matter (2007)

Directed by Chen Shi-Zheng

A film based on a true story of a Chinese physics student, this work stars Liu Xing as a humble but brilliant Chinese student at an American university. It describes his bumpy transition into American life with the help of a wealthy university patron (Meryl Streep). Xing joins a select cosmology group under the direction of his hero (Aidan Quinn), but encounters unexpected obstacles when he begins to make scientific breakthroughs of his own. The screening will feature Billy Shebar, screenwriter, as guest speaker.

Moderator: Roberta Friedman, Department of Art and Design

Free Admission

 

Thursday, March 4 – Friday, April 9

Segal Gallery

Exhibition: The Enduring Art of China

Co-curated by Zhiyuan Cong (Professor of Art, William Paterson University) and Teresa Rodriguez (Director, Montclair State University George Segal Gallery), the exhibit will feature 50 scrolls by eight leading artists from China, showcasing current renditions in traditional materials – ink, brush, and rice paper. Segal Gallery Hours: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Thursdays 12:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. The Segal Gallery is closed Sundays, Mondays, and all major holidays.

Free Admission

 

Thursday, March 4 - 2:00 p.m.

Segal Gallery

Symposium: The Enduring Art of China

A panel of featured artists will discuss their work with illustrations and a question and answer period. Speakers include Chen Lusheng (Research Director, National Art Museum of China); Cheng Dali (Editor-in-Chief of General Fine Arts Publishing House of China); Fan Yang (Dean, College of Fine Arts, Nanjing Normal University); Li Yang (Professor, Chinese Central Fine Arts Institute, Beijing); and Wang Huangsheng (Director, Guangdong Art Museum).

Moderator: Zhiyuan Cong (Professor of Art, William Paterson University) Call 973-655-6941 or 973-655-3382 to register.

Free Admission

 

Thursday, March 4 - 5:30 p.m.

Segal Gallery

Opening Reception: The Enduring Art of China

Free Admission

 

Tuesday, March 9 – Saturday, March 20 5:00 p.m.

Finley Hall Gallery

Exhibition Opening and Reception: Global Images – Focus on China

An exhibition of photographs by faculty and staff from Montclair State University and its international partner universities focusing on images of China.

Free Admission

 

Tuesday, March 9 - 7:00 p.m.

University Hall Room 1040

Film Series: Inside/Outside: An Evening of Short Videos from China

Join us for a series of short films by young Chinese filmmakers and video artists introduced by curator and artist Ellen Zweig. Also included in the program are a number of videos made by American and European visitors to China.

Moderators: Roberta Friedman, Department of Art and Design, and Beverly Peterson, Department of Broadcasting

Free Admisson

 

Thursday, March 11 - 7:30 p.m.

Leshowitz Recital Hall

Concert: Music from China Ensemble

Founded in 1984, the New York-based ensemble Music from China, comprised of 4-6 musicians, will perform works that extend Chinese music and instruments beyond traditional boundaries. Led by Wang Guowei, Artistic Director; Zhou Long, Music Director; and Susan Cheng, Executive Director, they will present innovative works that mix Chinese and Western instruments forming part of their exciting repertoire.

Free Admission

 

 Wednesday, March 24 - 2:30 p.m.

Cali School of Music, Chapin Hall

Seminar: Rhapsody in Red: How Western Classical Music Became Chinese

Author Jindong Cai (Director of Orchestral Studies, Stanford University and guest conductor of several major orchestras in China), and Sheila Melvin (journalist and author of numerous articles on Chinese arts) will discuss the history of classical music in China – how Western classical music entered China, and how it became Chinese. They are joined by Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, a Boston-based flutist and editor of Ludmila Korabelnikova’s Alexander Tcherepnin: The Saga of a Russian Émigré Compose.  Hershman-Tcherepnin is the daughter-in-law of the Russian composer who lived in Shanghai during the 1930s, and is renowned for educating young Chinese musicians and composers.

Moderator: David Witten, John J. Cali School of Music

Free Admission

 

Thursday, March 25 - 7:30 p.m.

Leshowitz Recital Hall

Concert: Chinese and Chinese-Influenced Music

Cali School of Music students and faculty, along with guest flutist Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, will perform Chinese-influenced chamber music by both Chinese and Western composers.

 

Tuesday, April 6 - 7:00 p.m.

University Hall, Room 1040

Film Series: Autumn Gem (2009)

This film explores the extraordinary life of the Chinese revolutionary heroine and women’s rights activist Qiu Jin (1875–1907). At a time when women’s lives were often marked by foot binding, arranged marriages, and denial of education, she envisioned a future where women would free themselves from the confines of tradition and emerge as strong and active citizens of a new and modern nation. Produced in HD video, this biographical documentary offers a fresh perspective on women in China and a remarkable chapter in the history of modern China. The screening will feature filmmakers Rae Chang and Adam Tow as guest speakers.

Moderator: Roberta Friedman, Department of Art and Design

Free Admission

 

Thursday, April 8 - 5:00 p.m.

Segal Gallery

Symposium: Contemplating China’s Past and Future

Lily Wei, curator, essayist, critic, and contributor (Art in America, ARTnews, and Art Asia Pacific), Richard Vine (Senior Editor, Art in America), and artist Wei Dong will discuss the continuum of style and cultural themes in Chinese art through contemporary post-Cultural Revolution “avant-garde” art from a global perspective. Panelists will contrast the new wave experimental art being practiced with the more conservative “enduring” themes, and compare the difference between a Chinese perspective and that of Chinese-American artists or ex-patriots living in the United States.

Moderator: Catherine Bebout, Department of Art and Design

Free Admission

 

Tuesday, April 13 - 7:00 p.m.

University Hall Room 1040

Film Series: RMB City—An Evening in Second Life with Cao Fei, aka China Tracy, and short films

Artist Cao Fei lives in Second Life as China Tracy. Join her as she takes you on a tour of RMB City and discusses her experience in this virtual world. Introduced by artist Ellen Zweig.

Moderator: Roberta Friedman, Department of Art and Design

Free Admission

 

Thursday, April 22 - 7:30 p.m.

Alexander Kasser Theater

Concert: Montclair State University Symphony Orchestra with

guest soloist Weigang Li of Shanghai Quartet

Conducted by Paul Hostetter (Director of Orchestral Studies, John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University), this concert features the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto, written in 1959 by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao while at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. The concerto became popular after the Cultural Revolution, when it became an embodiment of China in transition, heard in both concert halls and figure skating arenas. It is now often performed with Chinese instruments both by the soloist and the orchestra. Peak Performances@montclair: 973-655-5112, online: www.peakperfs.org

Admission $15

 

Sunday, April 25 - 3:00 p.m.

Alexander Kasser Theater

Concert: Shanghai Quartet, with special guest Christian McBride, double bass

Renowned jazz bassist Christian McBride joins the Shanghai Quartet in an eclectic program that will include selections from ChinaSong, a piece that celebrates the group’s rich Chinese heritage.

Peak Performances@montclair: 973-655-5112, online: www.peakperfs.org

Admission $15

 

On-going

Video Vignette Interviews with Chinese Artists

A series of vignettes will be aired in conjunction with the selected events. Produced by Montclair State University Broadcasting Department, the interviews will feature Chen Lusheng (scholarly style painter, Research Director, National Art Museum of China); Cheng Dali (landscape artist, the Editor-in-Chief of General Fine Arts Publishing House of China); Fan Chuxiong (flower painting artist, Professor and Associate Dean of Fine Art School, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou); Li Yang (figurative painting artist, Professor, Associate Dean of Collegeof Chinese Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing); Sun Yumin, (female figurative painting artist, Professor, Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University, Beijing), Wang Huangsheng (ink painting artist, Director, Guangdong Art Museum) as well as Zhiyuan Cong (color painting artist, Professor, William Paterson University, NJ)

Producer: Marc Rosenweig, Department of Broadcasting