Calendar of Events

Ijams Nature Book Club to read "The Path"

Winter is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. It can be cold and dreary outside but inside the pages of a well-written book can warm and delight.

To that end, Ijams is forming a Nature Book Club. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, February 22 at 5:30 PM. And our first selection is Chattanooga-born author Chet Raymo's The Path: A One-Mile Walk through the Universe.

Ijams has used copies to sell. Proceeds go to the education department. Contact Stephen Lyn Bales, senior naturalist, Email: Stephen Lyn for more info.

Let's Talk About it: Making Sense of the American Civil War - War and Freedom

A Civil War Book Discussion on sections from "America's War: Talking about the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries," edited by Dr. Edward L. Ayers

Free

Let's Talk About it: Making Sense of the American Civil War - War and Freedom

A Civil War Book Discussion on sections from "America's War: Talking about the Civil War and Emancipation on their 150th Anniversaries," edited by Dr. Edward L. Ayers

Free

In her exuberant and explosive pictures, Lois Greenfield captures not just the lithe and acrobatic forms of dancers in flight but also the purity and exhilaration of movement itself. Without tricks or manipulation of any kind, she catches these seemingly impossible moments in a lyrical and graphic style. Members of the community are invited to a presentation by the artist, “Lois Greenfield on Photography,” at Pellissippi State Community College.

Greenfield has created signature images for most of the major contemporary dance companies, from Alvin Ailey to American Ballet Theatre. Many of these images can be seen in magazines such as Elle, Vanity Fair, Time and GQ. Her commercial clients include Pepsi, Hanes, Raymond Weil and Sony.

The free public forum, scheduled for 7 p.m., brings Greenfield to the Pellissippi Campus to share her reflections on more than 35 years as a professional photographer. Prior to the forum, Greenfield will visit classes at Pellissippi State to meet with students and discuss photography.

“Lois Greenfield on Photography” takes place in the Goins Building Auditorium. The Pellissippi Campus is located at 10915 Hardin Valley Road. Plenty of free parking is available. For additional information, call (865) 694-6400.

Come join our sisterhood: Menopause The Musical: The Hilarious Celebration of Women and The Change! Set in a department store where four women, with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra, meet by chance at a lingerie sale. The all-female cast makes fun of their woeful hot flashes, forgetfulness, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats, and chocolate binges. A sisterhood is created between these diverse women as they realize that menopause is no longer “The Silent Passage!” This hilarious musical parody set to classic tunes from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s will have you cheering and dancing in the aisles. See what millions of women worldwide have been laughing about for over 10 years.

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Knoxville Area Transit is pleased to announce the upcoming events surrounding the unveiling of our new suspended kinetic sculpture.

The sculpture, by internationally-known artist Bob Emser, will be suspended from the vestibule entryway of Knoxville Station. The commission, juried by a panel of both art experts and transit passengers, was approved by the City’s Public Art Committee and will be installed in February.

LECTURE AND SCULPTURE VIEWING
Mr. Emser will speak at the Knoxville Museum of Art (1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, 37919, www.knoxart.org) on Monday, February 20, 2012, at 3:30 p.m. Following the lecture, participants will take a shuttle to the transit center to see the artwork. A return shuttle should arrive at the KMA around 5:00pm. The KMA and lecture are FREE and open to the public. For more information, call KAT at 215-7800.

FIRST FRIDAY ART INTRODUCTION
KAT will host a First Friday introduction to this dramatic work on Friday, March 2, 2012, from 4 pm to 7 pm.

Bob Emser is an internationally-recognized sculptor, with exhibits on 4 continents, 7 countries, and 27 states in the U.S. During his 30-year career he has served as a visiting artist and has taught at several universities, held a tenured professorship, and founded a not-for-profit art center that is still in existence. Currently he is the president of the Chicago Sculpture International, a local affiliate of International Sculpture Center, on whose Board of Directors he has served.

Pre-order your 2012 Limited Edition Print, Scenic Road!
We are thrilled to announce that Scenic Road by Andrew Saftel was chosen as the 2012 Dogwood Arts Limited Edition Print!

Born in Massachusetts, and receiving his B.F.A. from San Francisco Institute of Art, Andrew’s interest in art began after working to publish editions of prints and sculptures at a printmaking workshop in San Francisco. He moved to Knoxville in 1985 and immediately felt inspired by the landscape and folk artists.

Scenic Road will be on sale for $100 to the public for the first time at the Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show, February 17-19, at the Knoxville Convention Center. The original artwork will be available for purchase at Bennett Galleries for $5,000 during the month of April.

Due to limited reproduction, we encourage you to pre-order your Scenic Road print via dogwoodarts.com or by calling [865] 637.4561.

Part one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy. The poignant and funny memoir captures the life of a struggling pre-war Jewish family living in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn home. Adolescent Eugene Jerome, dreaming of baseball and girls, must somehow cope with the mundane existence of his family life: a formidable mother, overworked father, and his worldly older brother. Add in his widowed Aunt Blanche, her two rapidly aging young daughters, and Grandpa the Socialist and you have a recipe for hilarity, served up Simon-style.

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Reception: Friday, February 24, 2012
Open Monday - Saturday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Horizons is an installation by noted Icelandic artist Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir. The exhibition includes 12 androgynous, life-sized iron figures in the KMA’s South Garden. Each is unique in pose and expression, and has a polished glass band inserted in its torso. The artist explains this juxtaposition of glass and iron, “The color of the iron signifies their primal quality—as if they are emerging from the earth” while “Glass as a material has a lot of different connotations. It can be fragile, yet dangerous. It can be translucent, or solid . . . It's like water, but also like air.”

Thorarinsdottir has exhibited widely in Europe, Japan, and Australia over the last 30 years, as well as in the United States, where Horizons has been traveling for the past three years. The installation is featured in the documentary Horizons by independent filmmaker Frank Cantor, which won the CINE Special Jury Award in Washington as the best documentary of 2008. Thórarinsdóttir’s work is held by collectors worldwide, and she has been commissioned by both the Icelandic and English governments for major sculptural installations. She has received numerous awards including the Order of the Falcon by the President of Iceland in 2009.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Athens Community Theater will present GUYS & DOLLS – a Musical Fable of Broadway by Frank Loesser on February 16 – 26, 2012 in the Sue E. Trotter Theater at The Arts Center in Athens.

Guys & Dolls is considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy. Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City, the musical features a cast of 30+ singers, dancers, actors and a live orchestra introducing a cast of vivid characters who have become legends in the canon: Sarah (Brittany Duggan), the upright “mission doll”, out to reform the evildoers of Times Square; Sky Masterson (Perry Philpott), the slick, high-rolling gambler who woos her on a bet and ends up falling in love; Adelaide (Sandra Boyd), the chronically ill nightclub performer whose condition is brought on by the fact she’s been engaged to the same man for 14 years; and Nathan Detroit (Art Kimball), her devoted fiancé, always desperate to find a spot for his infamous floating crap game. Guys & Dolls features many of Broadway’s hit songs, including “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,”, “Fugue for Tinhorns,” and many more.

Guys & Dolls is directed by Melonie Carideo with musical direction by Ellen Kimball.

Show dates are February 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 at 7PM and February 19 and 26 at 2PM. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students. Come at 6PM on opening night to roll the dice for prizes. “Dolls” who bring “Guys”on Thursday, February 23rd receive a $3 discount on each Guy’s ticket. Tickets are available on line at www.athensartscouncil.org, by phone at 423-745-8781, and at The Arts Center located at 320 North Jackson St. in downtown Athens.

Thursday 2/16
Saint Anyway, Kalob Griffin Band

Friday 2/17
Tune Junkies, Flea Market Hustlers

Saturday 2/18
Judson Claiborne, Tennessee Joltwagon

Monday 2/20
The Atomic Duo, Phil Minissale

Tuesday 2/21
Pollyanna, Anna Crane

Wednesday 2/22
Michaela Anne Band, Lizzy Ross

Thursday 2/23
Old North State, Jordan Eastman

Friday 2/24
Jonathan Edwards, Chuck Brodsky