This exhibition (co-sponsored with the Emery Community Arts Center) features artworks that engage the legacy of realism in the 21st century, continuing, complicating, or contesting this tradition. Accounts of western art history often emphasize the political significance of realism’s commitment to depicting “ordinary life”… Continue Reading "Art Exhibit: “Reimagining the Real”"

Join Ann Bartges (Assistant Professor of Visual Arts and Emery Community Arts Center Director at UMF) and Dr. Kristen Case (Professor of English at UMF) for a discussion of the relationship between "Reimagining the Real" (an art exhibit co-sponsored by the New Commons Project… Continue Reading "Ann Bartges and Kristen Case, “Discussion of ‘Reimagining the Real’ and ‘Christina’s World'”"

Join Wyeth expert Dr. Henry Adams (Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History at Case Western Reserve University) for an examination of the surprising relationship between Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World" and King Vidor's classic silent film The Big Parade (1925). The lecture will be preceded by… Continue Reading "Keynote: Henry Adams, Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World” and King Vidor’s The Big Parade"

Dr. Elizabeth Olbert (faculty at UMF) will lead a conversation on the limits of realism and Andrew Wyeth's representations of working-class Mainers before guiding participants through a multimedia art workshop. Artists and non-artists are welcome, and all art materials will be provided. Refreshments will… Continue Reading "Elizabeth Olbert, “Outdoor Art Workshop”"

Join Dawn Nye (Associate Professor of Art and New Media at UMF) for a free photography workshop that will feature: basics of composition, strategies to involve narrative in visual media, and hands-on practice. This workshop is for all levels and will allow participants to… Continue Reading "Dawn Nye, “Facing Away Photography Workshop”"

The New Commons Film Series resumes with a screening of King Vidor's 1925 silent classic THE BIG PARADE. This event is a follow-up to Henry Adams' keynote on September 17 exploring the significant links between the work of Andrew Wyeth and this film.

Join host Maxi Glamour (award-wining drag artist from St. Louis), Arabella LaDessé (Boston Drag Idol 2019 and Portland’s Blackstone’s Princess 2020), and Jakk Bloodstone (acclaimed New England-based drag artist) for an afternoon exploring the intersection of queerness and science fiction through David Bowies work.… Continue Reading "Maxi Glamour, “‘Life on Mars?’ Drag Show and Workshop”"

Are you new to the music and visual artistry of David Bowie? Then this event is for you! Dr. Stephen Grandchamp (Assistant Professor of Literature and Digital Humanities at UMF) will screen and discuss four critical music videos from the career of David Bowie… Continue Reading "Stephen Grandchamp, “David Bowie 101: A Video Introduction to David Bowie”"

Electro-acoustic violist and David Bowie collaborator Martha Mooke explores and interprets David Bowie’s "search for unconscious intelligence", inspired by his creative process of combining disassociated ideas to spark the creative muse.

The New Commons Film Series presents THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, the classic 1976 science fiction film starring David Bowie as alien Thomas Jerome Newton. Bowie was an artist of many talents, so be sure to attend this event to grapple with his… Continue Reading "The New Commons Film Series: THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH"

Join Dr. Shelton Waldrep (Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern Maine) for an original exploration of David Bowie's "Life on Mars?", including its meaning and common misconceptions about it. Among many other works, Dr. Waldrep is the author of Future Nostalgia:… Continue Reading "Shelton Waldrep, Lecture on David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?”"

The New Commons Project presents a free and public screening of Jordan Peele's new horror classic Get Out (2017) as part of the larger exploration of the film's political resonance throughout the month.