Exhibition:The More Things Change...The Labadie Collection's 100th Anniversary
2012-05-20 08:30 - 19:00 (America/Detroit) | Hatcher Graduate Library - Audubon Room
View selected items from the world’s foremost archive of international radical social protest movements. "Social protest movements often involve intense passion, so expect to see some edgy and offensive items on display," says Labadie Collection curator Julie Herrada.

The Labadie Collection is the world’s largest publicly accessible research collection covering just about every 19th, 20th, and 21st century protest movement that can be documented on paper, from the French Revolution to Occupy Wall Street. It has served as a resource for thousands of people the world over, from high school students to seasoned researchers, from young activists in search of their roots to documentary filmmakers unearthing eye-catching images. Books, serials, manuscripts, pamphlets, photographs, audio recordings, posters, and political buttons are all part of this eclectic group of materials.

View the exhibit during Audubon Room hours: Mon-Thurs 8:30am-7pm, Fri 8:30am-6pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 1pm-7pm

Exhibition:Fluxus and the Essential Questions of Life
2012-05-20 10:00 - 17:00 | Museum of Art
Fluxus emerged in the early 1960s as a loose, international network of artists, composers, and designers-"led" by Lithuanian-born American artist George Maciunas (1931-1978)- that was noted for blurring the boundaries between art and life. Fluxus artists like Maciunas, Nam June Paik, George Brecht, and Yoko Ono, among many others, challenged the notion of high art by creating unassuming, often humorous objects and performances that redefined the terms of artistic production by demonstrating the idea that "anything can be art and anyone can do it." Because of their disregard for traditional artistic media, many of the objects in the exhibition are-often by design-acutely resistant to conventional forms of museum display. Variously conceived as carriers of ideas, absurdist send-ups of consumer products, and invitations to direct, playful participation by the viewer, these works attempt to undermine the idea that art is separate from the activity of living one's life. Through 116 works, Fluxus and the Essential Questions of Life will introduce visitors to the study and appreciation of art as an exciting and intellectually rewarding experience, and to the notion that art is something that can play an active role in their own approaches to life's essential questions.

This exhibition was organized by the Hood Museum of Art and was generously supported by Constance and Walter Burke, Dartmouth College Class of 1944, the Marie-Louise and Samuel R. Rosenthal Fund, and the Ray Winfield Smith 1918 Fund. UMMA's installation is made possible in part by the University of Michigan Health System, the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Arts at Michigan, and the CEW Frances and Sydney Lewis Visiting Leaders Fund.

Exhibition:Peter Campus: Kiva
2012-05-20 10:00 - 17:00 | Museum of Art
Peter Campus is a pioneer of video art who experimented with the medium in the 1970s alongside other notable artists Bill Viola, Bruce Nauman, and Joan Jonas. Video represented a new frontier, one that allowed artists to expand upon common artistic concerns of the era, including minimalism, performance, and conceptual art Campus pursued many directions, and created both large-scale projections and a series of little-seen installation works that employ live video feeds, of which Kiva (1971) is one. Campus experimented with closed circuit cameras not with an interest in surveillance and control, but rather because they were the ideal tools for producing situations of interactive engagement between viewer and image.

Kiva–the title refers to a kind of ceremonial room used by Native Americans of the Southwest for ritual and spiritual ceremonies–comprises a monitor with a closed circuit camera mounted on top; the lens is pointed directly at the viewer of the monitor, but the camera's view is restricted and manipulated by the placement of suspended mirrors. The camera shoots through a hole in one mirror to the surface of the other, both constantly shifting in relation to each other as they turn like a mobile. The mirrors fragment and multiply the image, allowing the camera to take in aspects of the room, the viewer, and the eye of the camera itself.

This project is made possible by the UMMA Director's Discretionary Fund.

Other:Free Guided Peony Garden Tours
2012-05-20 12:15 | Nichols Arboretum
All invited for a series of twice-daily, free staff-led tours of the U-M Nichols Arboretum Peony Garden, May 15-20 during the 2012 peony bloom season. All tours take place in the Arboretum, 1610 Washington Hts., at 12:15 & 7 pm. Due to unseasonably warm weather last winter and this spring we've moved the bloom time up. Today’s tours: 12:15 pm: Staff Picks - Favorite peonies of Matthaei-Nichols staff; 7:00 pm: How to Grow Peonies - Experts tips, hints, and information from our staff on growing peonies right.

Presentation:Gallery Talks and Tours: Fluxus and the Essential Questions of Life
2012-05-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Museum of Art
Noted for blurring the boundaries between art and life, Fluxus artists such as George Maciunas, Nam June Paik, George Brecht, and Yoko Ono, among many others, challenged the notion of high art by creating unassuming, often humorous objects and performances. Their work redefined the terms of artistic production by demonstrating the idea that "anything can be art and anyone can do it" and by their disregard for traditional artistic media.

Performance:The King and I
2012-05-20 14:00 | Power Center for the Performing Arts
Once Upon a Stage”¦ a well-crafted tale presented on the big stage by 98 of our very own local YPT young people!
”˜East meets West’ makes for a dramatic, richly textured and ultimately uplifting tale of enormous fascination. You will be transported to the Siam through a dazzling score which features Rodgers & Hammerstein's timeless favorites "I Whistle a Happy Tune", "Getting to Know You", "Shall We Dance?" and "Hello Young Lovers". This musical is a theatrical classic!

Other:Preservation Clinic: Get your stuff out of the shoebox
2012-05-20 14:30 - 16:30 | Hatcher Graduate Library - Gallery
Chances are, you have some treasures packed away in a shoebox or stored in an attic – books, papers, maps, photographs, videos, LPs, or tapes. Or maybe you have images or digital files on your computer that are just one crash away from extinction. Do you have prized family possessions that you want to keep forever but don’t know how? U-M Library preservation staff will help you determine how to repair, scan, store, display, and care for your gems to keep them well preserved.

Grab a few items from your shoebox and come for one-on-one consultations with University of Michigan Library experts. We encourage people to bring questions, bring stuff, and bring friends!

“We can help you figure out how to preserve very old family treasures as well as your brand new digital files and photos,” says Shannon Zachary, Head of Preservation and Conservation at the U-M Library. “This is what we do every day for the library; we are happy to share our expertise with the public.”
The University of Michigan Library’s Department of Preservation & Conservation comprises services for the care and maintenance of the library's collections – to prevent damage, to extend useable life, or to repair damage – and coordinates preservation activities for the Library's digital collections. Experts from the Library’s Digital Conversion Unit will also be on hand to talk about scanning old books, photos, and documents. This event is offered in conjunction with Preservation Week, a national initiative to connect people with resources to preserve cultural heritage.

Performance:Motor Vehicle Sundown
2012-05-20 17:00 | Off Campus Location - Parking Lot C-2, outside Kraus Natural Science Building (800 North University)
As the sun sets on UMMA&##39;s special exhibition Fluxus and The Essential Questions of Life, students and faculty from the Performing Arts Technology Department at University of Michigan&##39;s School of Music, Theatre & Dance present a rare performance of George Brecht&##39;s Motor Vehicle Sundown. Composed in 1960 and dedicated to John Cage, who would have turned 100 this year, Motor Vehicle Sundown consists of a series of actions performed in and around a number of automobiles outdoors. Horns will honk, engines will rev, lights will flash and doors will slam in a beautiful and bizarre choreography. The performance kicks off the 12th annual International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression at the University of Michigan. The conference brings together scholars, designers, artists and musicians from around the world dedicated to creating and using new technologies in music performance.

Performance:Colin Hay
2012-05-20 19:30 | Off Campus Location - The Ark- 316 S. Main St.
