PALA/CE Events

CALA Fall 2016 Foreign Film Series

October 7, 2016 by Cayla Delardi

Join us for our annual Foreign Film Series, which kicks off in just a couple of weeks! Starting on October 17th with Samira Makhmalbaf’s Blackboards, we will be screening six films from across the globe that depict political issues and revolutionary movements in very different yet equally captivating ways.

Full details and schedule can be found below.

RSVP for Blackboards, Hunger, Shame, Memories of Underdevelopment, and To Live: http://tinyurl.com/CALAFILM2016

RSVP FOR WE HAVE A POPE (with special closing reception): http://tinyurl.com/NYUPOPERSVP

CALA Instructor, Bob Lamm, on Playwright August Wilson’s Fences – the Movie

September 30, 2016 by Anne Maguire

“I’m about to teach Plays With a Social Conscience for the fifth time at NYU SPS. I’ve taught August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone twice, and will teach Wilson’s Jitney for the second time this semester. Now, there is wonderful news for fans of August Wilson’s work. Christmas Day will mark the release of a film version of Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences, directed by Denzel Washington. The cast will include many actors from the 2010 Broadway revival of Fences, among them Mr. Washington (who won a Tony Award), Viola Davis (who won a Tony Award), and Stephen McKinley Henderson (who was nominated for a Tony). Mr. Henderson has been kind enough to be a guest speaker in two of my classes, talking about his years working with August Wilson.

This is the first of Wilson’s plays that will be seen on film, but not the last. Denzel Washington has a deal with HBO where he will serve as executive producer for filmed versions of the other nine plays of Wilson’s famed Century Cycle. These will be shown on HBO.”

For more details, click on Fences to read Variety Magazine’s article and to watch the movie trailer.

Bob Lamm’s s course, Plays with a Social Conscience, starts on Tuesday, Oct 25 at 2 PM and there are still some places left.

Here’s the course description:

Examine how five well-known playwrights bring moving, memorable stories to the stage and illuminate the injustices evident in cultures and communities. Issues of gender, race, and class are given special focus. We will read Carson McCullers’s The Member of the Wedding, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, August Wilson’s Jitney, David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, and Diana Son’s Stop Kiss. Active participation in class discussions is encouraged.

Happening This Week! Thursday September 29 – CALA Instructor, Nancy Kelton’s writing workshop at NYU bookstore.

September 26, 2016 by Anne Maguire

On September 29th at 6 PM, Nancy Kelton, NYU SPS Instructor & author of the memoir Finding Mr. Rightstein, will conduct a writing workshop at the NYU bookstore. For more information, please visit the bookstore’s website: “Whether your impulse to to write comes from a longtime yearning, recent itch, or a desire to get down your experiences, this workshop will help you capture your memories, childhood incidents, and truths in your own voice while offering pointers on how to: open up, express yourself authentically, get rid of internal critics, establish disciplined work habits, and avoid procrastination. In-store writing exercises and marketing advice are given.” Kelton’s other books include Writing From Personal Experience and her essays have been published in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Parents, and Redbook among other publications.

Writing courses at the NYU SPS Center for Applied Liberal Arts this Fall include:

Witness to History: Personal Essays and Memoirs

Up Close and Personal: Your Story in Two Pages

Creative Writing for Beginnners

Creative Nonfiction Writing

Personal Essay Writing

Query Letters: How to Sell Your Writing

Political Rhetoric: The Presidential Campaign and Beyond – Oct. 19th

September 26, 2016 by dak7

Join the NYU SPS Division of Language and Humanities on October 19th for this special panel on political rhetoric. From the current US presidential election to the United Kingdom’s historic Brexit vote, political rhetoric has the power to build communities and create rifts in society that have lasting global repercussions. As political rhetoric continues to escalate, both in the U.S. and abroad, join us in taking a step back to consider how politicians and the media use words and language to shape our perceptions of society.

Panelists

★ Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History at New York University

★ Jason Stanley, Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University

★ Ben Zimmer, Language Columnistfor The Wall Street Journal

Details

October 19, 2016 6:30 – 8:00 PM Closing Reception 8:00-8:30 PM

Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò New York University 24 W 12th St, New York, NY 10011

Space is limited so please RSVP to: http://tinyurl.com/nyudialogues2016

Recommended Courses at CALA this semester:

9/22 at noon: From Blockbuster to Art Films: Professional Perspectives on Visual Effects, Post Production, and Beyond

September 20, 2016 by dak7

As part of NYU Inauguration Celebration Week in honor of President Andrew Hamilton, NYU SPS and The Center for Applied Liberal Arts is collaborating with the NYU Production Lab to host this special panel . It is open to the public, no RSVP required.

From Blockbuster to Art Films: Professional Perspectives on Visual Effects, Post Production, and Beyond

Overview: While it is easy to see the impact of graphic design, visual effects, and post-production in Hollywood blockbuster movies, many new filmmakers may not understand the value of these tools for the development of cinema. Whether to reduce costs, plan a cinematic sequence, or achieve an impossible shot, digital tools have a fundamental role in contemporary filmmaking. In this 1-hour panel discussion, three film production professionals will present a sample of their work and talk about their experiences working with digital methods to support the creation of cinema. The panel will conclude with a Q&A discussion. Afterwards, stay at the Lab to see demonstrations from NYU alumni.

Location: 16 Washington Place, Lower Level

Panelists:

Erol Gunduz is a New York City based artist and educator who works with 3D printing technology to transform virtual designs into real world sculptures. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Syracuse University with a focus on 3D design and sculpture, his Master of Science (MS) in Digital Imaging and Design from New York University Center for Advanced Digital Applications, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Art and Art Education (EdDCT) with an emphasis on studio teaching from Columbia University. As a digital artist, he has worked on the Hollywood productions of The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Iron Man (2008). Erol’s fine artwork has been exhibited in New York galleries at Columbia University, New York University, Harlem, and Chelsea.

Misha Zabranska is writer/director and animator. In her career she has used computer generated imagery in a number of nontraditional ways. She developed her broad storytelling skills creating a number of original short films like “Runs”, “Passers by” or “The First Political Speech”. For many years Misha was a Lead Animator at Industrial Light and Magic; a company founded by George Lucas. She contributed to films like “Star Wars: Episode I”, “Frankenstein”, “Green Mile”, “Small Soldiers”. While she enjoyed being a team player in the Visual Effects and CG Animation Field, her curiosity and freedom lead her to hybrid forms of expression focusing on the emerging mixedmedia arena and developing a number of performance: “ReCreate”, “J.S. Bach: Art of Fugue”, “Spirits” or “Finn” in collaboration with Mabou Mines. Misha is also an Adjunct Professor at ITP, Tisch School of the Arts.

Bradley Friedman is a Visual Effects (VFX) professional and graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts Undergraduate Film and Television (UGFTV) department and Center for Advanced Digital Applications (CADA) masters program, both at NYU. His professional experience includes: post production at the Jim Henson Company; highend Previsuaization (Previs) on Marvel’s, IronMan; Previs, sequence design, VFX and Post Production on Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time; and many other film and TV projects over the years. He was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on The Tree of Life and copresented the work at The Academy’s VFX Bakeoff. He also served as a Director\Manager at Method Studios, a large global VFX company. Currently, he is developing his own content and technology base for Mixed Reality and other mediums.

Gavin Guerra has been creating award winning visual FX for over 20 years. His experience ranges from movies and TV to video games, theater and medical simulation. As a visual effects supervisor Gavin has a wide range of tools at his disposal, not least of which is the critical eye that he brings to every project. His broad experience enables him to lead teams of various sizes and diverse disciplines. Having developed good working relationships with clients and artists worldwide, Gavin is uniquely qualified to bring great talent to any project and create a level of comfort and trust to both artist and client alike.

Art & Cultural Heritage Crime Symposium Nov. 1-3

September 7, 2016 by dak7

Registration is now open for the Art and Cultural Heritage Crime Symposium taking place at NYU November 1-3. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) currently ranks art crime as the third-largest criminal enterprise in the world. The increase in international art transactions has incubated a booming market for stolen and fraudulent art, and major US arts institutions still grapple with repatriation of stolen or looted objects in their collections. Co-organized by Jane C.H. Jacob, art historian and provenance research expert, Jacob Fine Art, Inc., Chris Marinello, director and founder, Art Recovery Group, and Alice Farren-Bradley, Museum Security Network, the symposium brings together experts from major museums and auction houses, NYU’s School of Law and School of Professional Studies, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the President’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee, as well as independent scholars and authors, art crime victims, art crime attorneys, forensic scientists, and other major players working to address art crime worldwide.

Join us and learn about the legal, forensic, governmental, and political strategies being employed to address the enormity of this global phenomenon. Topics include the history of fakes and forgeries, insurance fraud, art theft and art scams, scientific and forensic approaches, provenance research, cultural repatriation, issues facing auction houses and purchasers, and current case studies.

Additional information and registration links: http://www.sps.nyu.edu/academics/departments/humanities-arts-and-writing/events/special-events.html

Fall 2016 courses in art business:

Law and Ethics in the Art Market

Today’s American and International Art Market

The Art Dealer in the 21st Century

Fine Art as a Financial Asset

Post-War and Contemporary Art Movements and Markets

Starting a Successful Art Business

The Art Auction

Who’s Spooking Who?

August 31, 2016 by Anne Maguire

Nicholas Schou’s article in The Atlantic, How the CIA hoodwinked Hollywood, discusses the insidious access the Central Intelligence Agency has to Hollywood movers and shakers especially since September 11, 2001.

“Since the mid-1990s, but especially after 9/11, American screenwriters, directors, and producers have traded positive portrayal of the spy profession in film or television projects for special access and favors at CIA headquarters.

Ever since its inception in 1947, the CIA has been covertly working with Hollywood. But it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the agency formally hired an entertainment industry liaison and began openly courting favorable treatment in films and television. During the Clinton presidency, the CIA took its Hollywood strategy to a new level—trying to take more control of its own myth making. In 1996, the CIA hired one of its veteran clandestine officers, Chase Brandon, to work directly with Hollywood studios and production companies to upgrade its image. “We’ve always been portrayed erroneously as evil and Machiavellian,” Brandon later told The Guardian. “It took us a long time to support projects that portray us in the light we want to be seen in.”

With so many new opportunities for TV writing there is some balance, and even a glut of shows where government, big corporations, and anyone in a position of power is assumed to be inherently evil.

But, back to Hollywood -Frederic Richter, at the Center for Applied Liberal Arts, will be teaching Espionage on Film this semester (only 7 places left). Here’s a brief description of his course:

“From the far-fetched, albeit entertaining, worlds of the James Bond films to the nuanced depiction in The Lives of Others to the docudrama feel of Zero Dark Thirty, the characterization of the spy has continued to change along with current events.”

CALA is also hosting our second film series this fall – Political Landscapes: A View from Abroad. Please RSVP by clicking here. If you cannot attend every screening, Hunger (Director Steve McQueen), at Ireland House on November 4th is a must-see!

CALA Instructor Cheryl Klein to Speak on Children’s and YA Publishing Panel

August 24, 2016 by Cayla Delardi

Cheryl Klein, a CALA Writing instructor and celebrated editor, will be speaking at a panel called “The Magic Words: A Panel on Children’s and Young Adult Publishing” at the Strand Bookstore on September 7th, 7-8PM.

Along with her fellow panelists, including best-selling author Kass Morgan and literary agent Brooks Sherman, Cheryl will be sharing her knowledge on all aspects of the children’s and young adult literature industry from writing to publishing to promotion.

The event is inspired by Cheryl’s upcoming book, The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults, which guides readers through the process of creating a children’s book or young adult novel, providing exercises, questions and other tools to help aspiring authors along the way. Purchase of the book through the Strand’s website or in-store grants admission to the panel.

See the Strand website for full details: http://www.strandbooks.com/event/the-magic-words-panel

Purchase the book for admission here: http://www.strandbooks.com/writing-technique/0907-event-the-magic-words-writing-great-books-for-children-and-young-adults-9111782730/
(Note: You must use the above link if you would like to attend the event. Copies of the book that are purchased without the “Admission” option will only be reserved and will ship 1-2 days after the event, pending availability.)

Want to learn more about the literary world? Sign up for our Writing and Publishing courses today!

Writing for Children: Picture Books and Chapter Books
Creative Writing for Beginners
The Elements of Fiction Writing
Book Editing Manuscript Workshop: Editing Children’s and YA Novels
From Writer to Reader: An Introduction to Publishing
How to Be a Book Editor
Publishing Children’s Novels

Free Talk on “Hitchcock’s Blondes” This Monday

August 12, 2016 by Cayla Delardi

Stephen Whitty, one of CALA’s accomplished film studies instructors, will be hosting a free talk on “Hitchcock’s Blondes” this Monday, August 15th at 12:30pm in Bryant Park. He will discuss the director’s iconic cast of leading ladies, his longstanding battle with censorship, and much more.

The material derives from the extensive research Whitty conducted for his most recent book, The Alfred Hitchcock Encyclopedia, which was published this past June by Rowman and Littlefield.

For more information on the event, visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.whitty.film/posts/663410550476215

The World According to the Coen Brothers’ Films: From Blood Simple to A Serious Man
More Great British Cinema
Espionage on Film: From the 39 Steps to Zero Dark Thirty
The Cinema and the City
International Politics and Film
Italian Cinema: Envisioning a Country’s Complex Identity
Superheroes: A Mythic Battle of History, Media, and Culture

Impressionism and the American Garden

August 12, 2016 by Anne Maguire

Matilda Browne "Poenies" 1907 — Matilda Browne “Poenies” 1907

Ever since the Chihuly show at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) which, in a dream world would have remained there forever, their annual art in nature installations have been something to look forward to. Impressionism American Gardens is charming, fresh, and feels light during the heavy humid days of summer.

In Hyperallergic Allison Meier writes, “As artists like Georges Seurat and Claude Monet were capturing the refinement of European gardens in quick brushstrokes, so did American Impressionists like Childe Hassam and William Merritt Chase turn to the cultivated landscapes around them for inspiration. Impressionism: American Gardens on Canvas is a dual exhibition, with around 20 paintings in a gallery, and a physical garden inspired by these late 1800s botanical muses.”

Out-of-season flowers are currently blooming, especially for this showcase, thanks to skillful gardeners and botanists. Meier continues, “You will not find any Monet waterlilies floating in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for American Gardens on Canvas, as it’s very much an exploration of the Northeastern “grandmother garden” which crawled around the cottages in Maine, New York, and Connecticut favored for 19th-century artist retreats. The American Impressionists were painting, and often cultivating, a distinct style of garden that was brimming with flowers in all colors, where blooms would appear no matter the season between the picket fences and wooden beds.”

The show runs in the Bronx until September 11, 2016

Check out this cool Impressify App: You can download your own image and create an Impressionist-style gif.

Also, if you sign up for an IdNYC card you get free membership to the NYBG, and many other cultural institutions, for one year.

Art History Courses at CALA this Fall