UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — This season, the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State will host a full slate of fall programs that are sure to appeal to both University and community audiences. The diverse schedule features popular noontime poetry readings, Friday gallery talks and Pop Up exhibitions, and Sunday afternoon docent tours, as well as several exciting new programs, including Third Thursday evening events and a Family Day for art lovers of all ages.
“I'm excited about our fall line-up of programs at the Palmer, especially the new Third Thursdays that offer evening hours and a variety of art-inspired activities,” said Brandi Breslin, Palmer Museum educator. “There will be something for everyone.”
A list of the Palmer’s fall programming is detailed below.
Exhibitions
"Instinctive Gestures: Recent Gifts from the Fishman-MacElderry Collection"
On view Aug. 28 through Dec. 16
"Object Lessons: American Still-Life Painting in the Nineteenth Century"
On view Sept. 4 through Dec. 16
"A Small Radius of Light: G. Daniel Massad, A Retrospective"
On view from Sept. 25 through Dec. 9
Pop Up Exhibitions: On the first Friday of every month, the Palmer also continues its tradition of one-day Pop Up Exhibitions, brief shows in the Print Study Room that are organized by museum staff or guest curators with accompanying gallery talks. Exhibitions run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Third Thursdays
New events every Third Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. that will include specific performances and activities. Visitors can also view the galleries and shop at the museum store.
Third Thursdays Launch Party
Sept. 20, 6 to 9 p.m.
Be a part of the museum’s first Third Thursday event! Enjoy music and dance performances, art-making activities, and gallery games.
Mindful Making at the Museum
Oct. 18, 6 to 9 p.m.
Take a break to enjoy a slow art experience at the Palmer as part of Student Engagement’s Mindful Making series. Attendees can participate in a beginning yoga class in the gallery or try their hand at drawing inspired by the still, yet powerful, images by G. Daniel Massad on view in "A Small Radius of Light.
Acting Out @ the Palmer
Nov. 15, 6 to 9 p.m.
Watch art come alive. Explore the museum with a band of traveling players, second-year students from the B.F.A. in Acting Program, who will present a series of short dramatic works inspired by art on view. Visitors can also create flipbooks inspired by works on view or transform themselves into the subject of a painting.
Special Events
Family Day @ the Palmer: Celebrating Women in Art
Saturday, September 22, noon to 3 p.m.
Presented as part of Penn State’s Parents and Family Weekend and Museum Day 2018, a nationwide celebration of museums supported by Smithsonian Magazine, guests can drop in to enjoy guided family tours, gallery activities, and art-making opportunities to help discover the amazing women artists in the Palmer’s collection. The program is ideal for families with children aged 5–11, but all ages are welcome.
Community Day: Bridging Art and Nature
Saturday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Includes programs that invite visitors to consider connections between art and the natural world through gallery talks, tours, and music by Penn State School of Music performers, art activities inspired by still-life paintings on view, and Penn State Student Farm students, who will be on hand to help root out connections between agriculture, art, and everyday life.
Meditation Workshop
Sunday, Oct. 28, 12:30 p.m.
This ninety-minute workshop will review the main forms of meditation practiced in the United States, discuss some of the scientific research supporting the practice, and provide instruction in three useful meditation techniques. Participants should wear comfortable clothing and be available to stay for the entire workshop. The instructor, Patrick Breslin, a retired professor of communication from Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida, has been practicing and teaching meditation for more than forty years.
Film Screening – "Poustinia: The Art of Gendron Jensen," 2013
Tuesday, Nov. 6, noon – Palmer Lipcon Auditorium
This documentary short, directed and produced by Kristian Berg, recreates the artistic journey of Gendron Jensen, a self-taught technical virtuoso whose passionate, meticulous depictions of bones encourage viewers to look deeper into nature. After the screening, visitors are invited to engage in conversation with the filmmaker and museum staff in two current exhibitions featuring an array of still-life paintings. Sponsored by the Arts & Design Research Incubator (ADRI).
Lectures
"Fresh, Energetic, and Fierce: William Merritt Chase, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Still Life by Women Artists of the Progressive Era"
Thursday, Sept. 27, 4:30 p.m.
Anna Marley, curator of historical American art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, will speak on American art and lecture about William Merritt Chase’s female students and the importance of still-life painting in their practice. Her talk will explore how public parks, gardens, and horticultural concerns were entwined with their art-making and with social movements of the Progressive Era, providing a rich context for the exhibition "Object Lessons: American Still-Life Painting in the Nineteenth Century." Support for Marley’s lecture comes from Art Bridges.
"Yours Truly"
Thursday, Oct. 11, 4:30 p.m.
Contemporary artist G. Daniel Massad will speak about his retrospective show, looking closely at key turning points in his work history that reveal the path he has followed for almost four decades. The artist will elucidate the historical and personal background underpinning much of his imagery and will welcome questions regarding the particulars of his studio practice.
Jazz@thePalmer
The Palmer Museum of Art and WPSU continue to partner to present a series of free jazz concerts. Seating is limited and tickets are required. These concerts are made possible, in part, by Fred and Judy Sears and the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art. For ticket information, visit wpsu.org/jazzatthepalmer.
Thursday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m. – Eddie Severn Quartet
Thursday, Oct. 18, 7 p.m. – Ryan Kauffman Quartet
The Art of Poetry
Poets, storytellers, and other literary friends read from their latest works.
Wednesday, Sept. 5, 12:10 p.m. - Marjorie Maddox, professor of English and creative writing, Lock Haven University
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 12:10 p.m. – Nicole Cooley, director, M.F.A. program in creative writing and literary translation, Queens College, City University of New York
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 12:10 p.m. – Alison Condie Jaenicke, assistant teaching professor of English, assistant director of the Creative Writing Program, and faculty adviser of Kalliope
Gallery Talks
On Friday afternoons at 12:10 p.m., the Palmer hosts interesting, enlightening gallery talks on current exhibitions or selected works from the permanent collection. Gallery talks for Pop Up Exhibitions are held in the Print Study Room.
"Pop Up Exhibition: Go Figure"
Friday, Sept. 7, 12:10 p.m.
G. Daniel Massad, artist
"Object Lessons: American Still-Life Painting in the Nineteenth Century"
Friday, Sept. 14, 12:10 p.m.
Adam Thomas, curator of American art
"Instinctive Gestures: A Conversation"
Friday, Sept. 21, 12:10 p.m.
Sarah Christiansen, graduate student, Department of Art History, and Megan Wanttie, graduate student, Art Education, School of Visual Arts
"Pop Up Exhibition: Meaning and Museums"
Friday, Oct. 5, 12:10 p.m.
Paul Chidester, associate professor of art
"A Small Radius of Light: A Conversation with G. Daniel Massad"
Friday, Oct. 12, 12:10 p.m.
Joyce Robinson, curator, and G. Daniel Massad, artist
"Instinctive Gestures: Recent Gifts from The Fishman-MacElderry Collection"
Friday, Oct. 26, 12:10 p.m.
Joyce Robinson, curator
"Pop Up Exhibition: The Warp and Weft of Intersectionality"
Friday, Nov. 2, 12:10 p.m.
Karen Keifer-Boyd, professor of art education
"Curator’s Choice: Old Masters at the Palmer"
Friday, Nov. 9, 12:10 p.m.
Patrick McGrady, Charles V. Hallman Curator
"A Small Radius of Light: G. Daniel Massad, A Retrospective"
Friday, Nov. 30, 12:10 p.m.
Joyce Robinson, curator
"Pop Up Exhibition: Recently Acquired Prints"
Friday, Dec. 7, 12:10 p.m.
Patrick McGrady, Charles V. Hallman Curator
Docent Choice Tours
On Sundays afternoons, the Palmer continues its tradition of themed tours led by its knowledgeable docents. Tours begin at 2 p.m. in the Christoffers Lobby and last approximately 45 minutes.
Sept. 9 - "Horticulture in Art" - Vinnie Scanlon
Sept. 16 - "I’d Rather Be at the Beach!" - Lauren Grego
Sept. 23 - "Clothing: What’s It All About?" - Betsy Allen
Sept. 30 - "Re-envisioning Discarded Objects" - Maureen Moses
Oct. 7 - "Fruits, Flowers, and Stopping Time: The Meaning of Still Life" - Katherine Yeaple
Oct. 14 - "Mysteries in Seventeenth-Century Art" - John Brittain
Oct. 21 - "New Deal Artists: When the Public was Patron" - Susan Hirth
Oct. 28 - "Necessary Contemporary" - Dotty Ford
Nov. 4 - "Americans on the Go: Transportation in American Scene Paintings" - Sally Kalin
Nov. 11 - "City Sidewalks" - Mary Jo Everhart
Nov. 18 - "One Pastelist to Another" - Susan McCartney
Nov. 25 - "A Bounty of Thanks" - Sally Kalin
Dec. 2 - "A Walk in the Woods: Artful Trails" - Alice Clark
Dec. 9 - "A Guy Walks into a Painting . . ." - Susan Toby Evans
Dec. 16 - "The Stieglitz Circle" - Alice Clark