Summer 2010
Arts Life
Natural Selection
A provocative study in contrasts, “Constructed Landscapes” is a new exhibit at the Shelburne Museum that displays more than 50 photographs by Ansel Adams and 14 by Edward Burtynsky. Adams, the renowned American photographer who died in 1984, captured the wonders of nature; Burtynsky, 55, an acclaimed Canadian photographer, captures the impact of industrialization.
Their images, which will be arrayed in separate spaces, would not necessarily flow together smoothly at any venue. “There’s a tension between the two,” says museum director Stephan Jost. “In some ways, Burtynsky is the anti?Ansel Adams. I hope it’ll spark an interesting conversation.”
Adams was a tireless advocate of wilderness conservation and is best known for his striking black-and-white images of Yosemite National Park. Burtynsky, described by Canadian Art magazine as “master of the industrial sublime,” creates vivid large-format color shots of topography. He has visited oil fields, shipbuilding sites, strip mines and even quarries in Vermont, often producing rich but haunting photographs that tap into profound environmental questions.
“I think he asks us where we stand in this continuum,” Jost says. “It’s a debate Vermont is already having.”
- WHAT: “Ansel Adams and Edward Burtynsky: Constructed Landscapes”
- WHEN: June 19-Oct. 24
- WHERE: Shelburne Museum
- COST: $10-$20, discounts for Vermonters
- INFORMATION: (802) 985-3346 or www.shelburnemuseum.org
Going the Distance
Two veterans of the original Grateful Dead — bass player Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir — have joined forces with jam scene musicians such as John Kadlecik and are hitting the road this summer as Furthur. Formed last year, the group revives the name of the psychedelic bus made famous during the proto-hippie era of Ken Kesey, the Merry Pranksters and the Grateful Dead “acid tests.”
Huntington resident Charlie Frazier, a DJ on Burlington classic rock radio station WIZN-FM and vocalist with veteran Vermont band Blues for Breakfast, is one of many local Deadheads eagerly anticipating the show. Frazier says he first saw the Dead at Woodstock in 1969, then became a devoted follower while attending Syracuse University — where his passion was not out of the ordinary. “We overwhelmingly elected a student government president whose only platform was a promise to bring the Dead to campus,” Frazier recalls. “And he did.”
That’s when “the obsession started” for Frazier, who began tracking the Dead from gig to gig, an estimated 300 so far. “Back in the day, we’d see seven concerts in a row in different cities,” he says. “It was exhausting.”
Although he’s since caught many other Dead spinoff bands, the Shelburne appearance will mark his first experience with Furthur. “I hear John Kadlecik’s sound conjures up Jerry Garcia,” Frazier says, referring to the late Dead leader. “From all reports, the boys have got the glint back in their eyes again.”
- WHAT: An Evening With Furthur
- WHEN: 5:30 p.m., July 5 (rain or shine)
- WHERE: Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green, Shelburne Museum
- COST: $39.50 advance, $44.50 day of show (both with a $1.50 facility fee); children 12 and under free
- TICKETS: (888) 512-7469
- INFORMATION: (802) 652-0777 or www.highergroundmusic.com
Youth Movement
Although Carol Langstaff’s childhood was peripatetic, the dancer and teacher has remained rooted in Vermont for four decades. Well, other than many winters spent performing in Galway, a logical choice since her mother relocated to Ireland in the mid-1950s.
This July in Sharon — where Langstaff learned to homestead, raised three children and launched the Flock Dance Troupe in 1999 — she will be offering “Creations,” a multidisciplinary production at her three-acre Star Mountain Amphitheater.
The event involves young dancers, musicians, visual artists and poets who develop their own ideas during a two-week building time that culminates with weekend presentations. “I have a really good track record of pulling things together,” Langstaff says of a career that has included frequent stints as an impresario.
Langstaff, who studied with famed choreographer Martha Graham for several years, has produced “Christmas Revels,” a seasonal pageant, in nine U.S. cities; created the 1980 peace-themed “Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button: A Dream of Nuclear War” at various Vermont outdoor venues; and ran the Connecticut RiverFest, an educational nonprofit. Along the way, she also studied American cowboy, Mayan and Hopi traditions.
“I led a worldly life,” says Langstaff, a self-described activist who favors topical subject matter. “I’ve always liked to plant a message. I need to scream how I feel through dance, movement and gesture.”
— Susan Green
