OPENING PARTY TO LAUNCH ELECTRIC PARIS EXHIBITION AT THE CLARK
For Immediate Release
February 06, 2013
Williamstown, MA—The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute will host Exposition Universelle, a gala in celebration of the opening of the exhibition Electric Paris, on Saturday, February 16 at 6 pm. Tickets are $50 ($40 members) and may be purchased online at clarkart.edu or by calling 413 458 0524.
Guests will be transported to turn-of-the-century Paris during the World's Fair, when the Eiffel tower was new, electricity was the technology of the moment, and film suddenly had sound. Hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served from exotic international pavilions while guests enjoy period music and art. Roberto Cassan will play traditional French accordion music, and John Shamburger will draw caricatures of party guests. The museum shop will be open.
Electric Paris is the first exhibition to explore the ways in which artists depicted older oil and gas lamps and the newer electric lighting that emerged around the turn of the twentieth century. The works of art featured in the exhibition show the changing appearance of both interior and exterior spaces, and suggest the ways in which Parisians experienced these spaces as “The City of Light” transitioned from old to new technologies. Paintings and prints in both high art and popular culture demonstrate that the systems of lighting, rather than the abstract idea of light itself, played a key role in defining Paris as a modern city.
The exhibition, which features works by Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Pierre Bonnard, among others, is open to the public February 17 through April 21, 2013.
About the Clark
Set amidst 140 acres in the Berkshires, the Clark is one of the few major art museums that also serves as a leading international center for research and scholarship. The Clark presents public and education programs and organizes groundbreaking exhibitions that advance new scholarship. The Clark’s research and academic programs include an international fellowship program and conferences. Together with Williams College, the Clark sponsors one of the nation’s leading master’s programs in art history. The Clark receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The galleries are open daily in July and August (open Tuesday through Sunday from September through June), 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $15 June 1 through October 31; free November through May; and free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.
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Press contact:
Amanda Powers
[email protected]
413 458 0471
Calendar Listing
Opening Party to Launch Electric Paris Exhibition at the Clark
February 16, 2013
6 pm
The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute will host Exposition Universelle, a gala in celebration of the opening of the exhibition Electric Paris, on Saturday, February 16 at 6 pm. Tickets are $50 ($40 members) and may be purchased online at clarkart.edu or by calling 413 458 0524. Hors d'oeuvres and drinks will be served from exotic international pavilions while guests enjoy period music and art.