The College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series brings research and creative works into the public sphere for discussion and inspiration. These engaging events invite a broad audience to explore the work of scholars, faculty and creative luminaries across disciplines in arts and sciences to celebrate the impact that work continues to have on humanity.
"Art magnifies the human experience." — Michael Abels
The March 6-7 Arts Unplugged events with composer Michael Abels shed light on his storytelling magic. Speaking about his film scores, as well as his opera and concert works in two panel discussions, Abels shared insights into his inspirations, his artistic process and the stories he finds worth telling through his music.
He also worked closely with students in the Barbara & Richard T. Silver Wind Symphony and with James Spinazzola, the Barbara & Richard T. Silver ‘50, MD ‘53 Associate Professor and director of winds, who masterfully arranged five of Abels' works for the symphony's Saturday night performance.
The Arts & Sciences community came together for an all-day public reading of portions of Homer’s “Iliad,” from a translation by Emily Wilson. The cast of readers comprised students, faculty, staff and community members. Wilson joined a virtual panel the night before the reading to discuss her process and engage with faculty and students.
This event, held in the Groos Family Atrium of Klarman Hall facing the Temple of Zeus eatery, included:
On what would have been Carl Sagan's 90th birthday, Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute (CSI) celebrated his legacy in an interdisciplinary weekend of science, music, family activities and more as part of the College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series. Sagan’s longtime collaborator and widow Ann Druyan, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning writer, producer and director, opened the event.
In addition to tributes from loved ones and admirers, the four-hour program in Call Auditorium -- streamed live to an audience of more than 2,000 – presented CSI researchers’ latest interdisciplinary research on the search for life beyond Earth that is advancing Sagan’s legacy, musical performances and, fittingly, a greeting from NASA astronaut Don Pettit from the International Space Station.
Click here to view a recording of the keynote presentation
Click here to view a recording of the live panel discussion
Vladimir Nabokov's legacy at Cornell is not limited to the world-famous literary works he produced here. The university's natural and built environments also provided powerful material for his lifelong pursuit of butterflies within their geo- and biodiverse ecosystems.
Our one-day event offered hands-on ways to discover Nabokov through his butterfly collection, his writing and other relics of his time at Cornell contained in the university’s Rare and Manuscript Collection and the Cornell University Insect Collection. We discussed his scientific, literary and artistic pursuits.
Click here to view the event recording.
The College of Arts & Sciences was thrilled to host multimedia artist Laurie Anderson for our fall Arts Unplugged event, which brings research and creative works into the public sphere for discussion and inspiration.
Our Sept. 26 event featured a conversation between Anderson and Music Professor Judith Peraino. The pair explored the arc of Anderson's creative career, discussed the intersection of technological and artistic innovation, and offered some glimpses into Anderson’s next project.
Cornell alums Scott Ferguson and Michael Kantor reflected on their award-winning careers in film and television production. The pair — Cornell classmates — discussed their parallel paths in narrative and documentary filmmaking from their student days at Cornell to their current roles as executive producers of HBO’s “Succession” and the PBS series “American Masters,” respectively.
As the war in Ukraine raged on, we hosted a panel of leading journalists and scholars covering Russia, Europe, China and the global political landscape, who discussed how international relations, security, trade and economics are shifting in ways not seen since World War II.
The “science of the very, very small” offered possible solutions for everything from the energy crisis to disease. Ideas that once existed only in science fiction are becoming reality and Cornell scientists are leading the way in nanoscale and quantum materials research. In this virtual Arts Unplugged, we explored some of these exciting innovations – and their ramifications for human society.
Our third event in the series featured a sonic look at campus, brought to us by Chris Hoff ’02 and Sam Harnett, creators of The World According to Sound. The duo spent the fall semester finding and recording sounds across the university – from fish and frogs, to Latin speakers and dirt. Along with four performances at the Schwartz Center, listeners were able to visit five pop-up listening stations across campus to help them become more aware about the role and impact of sound in their lives.
The College hosted a yearlong series honoring our beloved alumna and literary icon on the 50th anniversary of her first book, "The Bluest Eye." Events included a “Toni Morrison at 90” colloquium to honor Morrison’s 90th birthday, a reading of “The Bluest Eye,” which included authors Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tayari Jones and Edwidge Danticat, activist Angela Davis, poets Sonia Sanchez and Kevin Young, as well as U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. Other events virtual screening of “The Pieces I Am,” a documentary of Morrison’s life at Ithaca’s Cinemapolis theatre, an exhibit at Cornell University Libraries and a quilting project.
Cornell’s newest film professor, Jeff Palmer, shared advice for creating a Sundance documentary and screened his latest feature film during our second Arts Unplugged event at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. “Words from a Bear,” Palmer’s first feature film, explores the creative works of N. Scott Momaday. Our event also included a talk by Gus Palmer, professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma, and one of the narrators of the film.
From tales of sinking ships to murderous fights to bedroom shenanigans, a cast of 75 readers told the story of Homer’s “Odyssey” during a daylong event in Klarman Hall, our inaugural Arts Unplugged event. The reading, spearheaded by Athena Kirk, assistant professor of classics, featured speakers from the community and local colleges, state and local representatives, as well as special audio segments from Annie Lewandowski, senior lecturer in music.
