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Unless otherwise noted, events take place at the Adler Planetarium, reservations are not taken in advance, and tickets are sold at Adler Planetarium Box Offices on the day of the event.
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May 12 – July 31 The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum opened as the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere on May 12, 1930. Max Adler built the planetarium and acquired historical astronomical instruments because he believed that knowledge of the universe is essential to understanding humanity's place in it. Over the past seventy–five years, the Adler Planetarium has inspired Chicago and the world to look up at the planets and stars. Scientists and artists alike have contributed to our understanding of the universe. This small exhibit – including art, manuscripts, and ephemera from the Adler's past – will lead all to contemplate the majesty of the heavens. |
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May 16–July 2 In fulfillment of our mission to promote collaboration and exchange between the worlds of art and science, we are pleased to announce The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena, an innovative cross–disciplinary exhibition of international art, motivated and organized on the theme of astronomy and astrophysics. Featured in this exhibition are artists from Belgium, The Netherlands, Malta, and Turkey. |
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Opens June 26
Artist: Sallie Wolf This artist's project was inspired by her naïve observations, the questions these observations spark, and her realization that she knew very little about the moon. Using her training in the visual arts, she developed methods for charting and organizing her observations. She writes that the project "is not about the moon as much as about my relationship to the moon. I have learned quite a lot about the patterns of the moon and its movements, but more importantly, I have come to a different understanding about time and opportunity." For more information on Sallie Wolf and the Moon Project, see her website: www.salliewolf.com This project is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. |
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June 22 – September 1
Note Location: The John Crerar Library, 5730 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 773–702–7791 (general information) For centuries humankind has gazed into the heavens with awe and wonder. For some, the night sky has tugged at their imagination and piqued their curiosity, resulting in art inspired by the beauty of the stars and the study of astronomy. This John Crerar Library exhibit highlights works of art and literature influenced by astronomy, either through scientific study, a fascination with the night sky, or as an inspiration for the literary imagination. Both contemporary and historical works are included. |
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Saturday, June 25, 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm
Sunday, June 26, 1:30 pm and 5:00 pm Monday, June 27, 11:30 am Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 This popular and successful German–language cosmical for children from 6 years onwards presents a combination of high–class music theater and astronomy. Varied live music, image projections and a laser show take earthlings on a one–hour journey to the moon. Once on the moon, Jürgen F. Schmid, a.k.a the "Man on the Moon," employs illustrative texts and catchy songs to present his "neighbors," the planets, as well as the universe. Entertaining songs acquaint the spectators with the members of our solar system and their characteristics. The show provides children with their first comprehensive overview of the phenomena and variety occuring in the observable universe and will awaken their interest in the subject. During this musical space–journey, earthlings not only receive astronomical knowledge through entertainment, they also become acquainted with various musical instruments. For more information, please see www.sostermoco.org |
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Presenter: James B. Kaler, Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois
Sunday, June 26, 3:30 pm Tickets: Included in museum admission Nature, in all its aspects, provides us with a foundation for creating art in all its forms. Among the most inspirational are those of the sky, from sunsets to stars to galaxies. But it works both ways. While we can strive to know the Universe through physics and mathematics, the unending complexity of the structures we examine overwhelms the senses and hinders our ability to appreciate the beauty and meaning of our surroundings. The arts provide avenues for understanding and interpreting the complexity of nature in human terms. In doing so they reveal more of nature's aesthetics, and thereby have the power to inspire scientists to look ever deeper into our Universe. James B. Kaler, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, earned his A.B. at the University of Michigan, his Ph.D. at UCLA, and has been at the University of Illinois since 1964. |
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Sunday, June 26, 7:00 pm
Tickets: Included in museum admission. Nestled in the hills southeast of Rome lies the Pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. One wing of this palace serves as the headquarters for the Vatican Observatory, where since 1891 Jesuit astronomers and astrophysicists have applied their scientific expertise to fundamental questions that engage all people of faith: how did this universe come to be, and what is our place in it? Galileo's Sons offers a rare behind–the–scenes look at this remarkable institution, an astronomical observatory in the Church which silenced Galileo. The scientists who work there are the spiritual descendants of 17th–century Italian astronomer Galileo, whose investigations confirmed the Copernican view of the sun as the center of the solar system, and who was forced to renounce his conclusions because they conflicted with Church teachings. As the only research scientists sponsored by the Catholic Church, these Jesuit scientists occupy a unique nexus in our understanding of the universe, one in which our wonder and awe of life is only enhanced by scientific understanding. Expertly crafted by writer–director Alison Rose, Galileo's Sons provides unique insight into the complex relationship between spirituality and scientific investigation, and explores some of the profound questions that astronomical science poses for religious faith. |
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June 27 – July 1
Presenter: Russell Richards, Southampton Institute In this digital artwork, simple parameters are applied in individual pixels. Over time, this results in amazing complexity, which might be described as gas clouds of remarkable depth and beauty, or nebulae. These digital renditions of nebulae relate to the actual cosmic phenomena not only at the level of appearance, but also as reflections on time and space. |
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Monday, June 27, 7:00 pm
Presenter: The Etheral Mutt, Ltd. Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 Starball combines live theater, improvisation, original music, cosmological inquiry, Jungian psychology, and the exploration of human consciousness into an entertaining presentation that tosses our collective understanding of the universe high up into the air and waits anxiously to see where it all lands! Written and performed by veteran actors and planetarians John Kaufmann and Dan Dennis, Starball invites audience members of all ages and backgrounds to forge a visceral connection to the night sky using their own dreams as the vehicle for their journey. For more information about the Ethereal Mutt and "Starball," see www.emutt.com/starball |
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Monday, June 27, 8:45–10:00 am
Speaker: Mary Quinlan–McGrath, Northern Illinois University Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 Astronomers, including Regiomontanus, Kepler, and Galileo, believed that astrology utilized information on the physical influences and mathematical principles that the Creator had set into the cosmos at Creation. These students of the heavens supposed that astronomical knowledge could be applied through astrological principles to help people lead better lives on earth. Artists and architects such as Brunelleschi, Bramante, Raphael and others incorporated astronomical and astrological concepts in the creation of important buildings, paintings, even dress and jewels. This paper will set forth a sample of important Renaissance artworks and use these to discuss the ways that different astronomical and astrological approaches became part of the creative process. |
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Tuesday, June 28, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Watch pastry master Mart Seaman spin and swirl sugar into gravity defying out space–inspired creations. Seaman will introduce Adler audiences to the art of pulled sugar and demonstrate how ordinary sugar and water can be transformed into extraordinary glass–like decorations in vibrant colors. The two–hour demo will involve the process of cooking, coloring, pouring, and pulling sugar into amazing galactic sculptures. |
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Tuesday, June 28, 12:00 pm
Poets: Will Alexander, Marcella Durand, Kimberly Lyons, Richard O'Russa, Kristen Prevallet, and Chuck Stebelton Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 This diverse group of poets will perform their work and discuss how poetry can be a way to explore the apparent incomprehensibility of current astronomical discoveries, acting as an essential bridge between human and cosmos. These poets create a human conduit to the immensity of astronomical phenomena. Through the mystery, energy, and unpredictability of poetic language, they are able to convey some glimpse into the mystery, energy, and unpredictability of the space around us. Download information about the poets here. |
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Tuesday, June 28, 2:30 pm
Presenter: Gary Lazich, Russell C. Davis Planetarium Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 Although often viewed as distinct and sometimes understood as contray, storytelling and science are complementary approaches to comprehending the cosmos. The presentation uses two examples to demonstrate the relationship between science and storytelling. The first identifies parallels between an ancient story of creation and a contemporary explanation of our cosmic origins. The second recasts a contemporary event as an ancient story involving astronomy and space exploration. These examples illustrate how stories can serve as "springboards", inspire their listeners to new awareness, and involve astronomy educators as reporters, tellers, and mediators. |
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Tuesday, June 28, 8:45–10:00 am
Speaker: John Carswell, former Curator of Islamic Art, Oriental Institute Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 A blue and white Persian pottery dish in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin is signed and dated to the mid-17th century. Whilst imitating the general layout of a Chinese porcelain dish of the Wanli period, it has twelve curious depictions of the Zodaic. How the Persian/Islamic artists perceived the star clusters is unusual, to say the least. |
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Wednesday, June 29, 7:30 pm
Performers: Kronos Quartet Note Location: Harris Theater at Millennium Park, 205 East Randolph Drive Tickets: $25.00 – $40.00. To order tickets call the Harris Theater at 312–334–7777 or order online at www.madtchi.com For more than 30 years, the Kronos Quartet–David Harrington and John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jeffrey Zeigler (guest cello)–has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to expanding the range and context of the string quartet. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential ensembles of our time. Sun Rings, Terry Riley's most recent piece for Kronos, is an evening–length work in 10 movements. With visual design by Willie Williams, lighting design by Larry Neff and sound design by Mark Grey, Sun Rings is a multimedia production featuring a choir and both sounds and images from space. |
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Wednesday, June 29, 8:45–10:00 am
Speaker: Michael Shank, University of Wisconsin–Madison Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 This talk explores images of, and textual allusions to, Saturn and its changing associations from antiquity to the generation of Galileo and Milton, with special attention to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (including, among others, Ficino, Dürer, and Vasari). |
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Thursday, June 30, 2:30 pm
Presenters: Gerald Schwartz and Damian Catera, Word Consortium & Rutgers University Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 This planetarium show manipulates and combines poetry about the cosmos from a variety of different periods and cultures and, through this bricolage, creates a dialogue between the different poems. The resulting new work–one which allows the subject matter to tell its own story–offers an opportunity to contemplate and interrogate the starry sky. |
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Thursday, June 30, 8:45–10:00 am
Speaker: Barbara Stafford, University of Chicago Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 This talk will explore the visual history of instrumentalized perception and its links with magic and illusion, transformation and alternative realms. By examining optical devices from the pre–modern to the contemporary period, this talk traces the continuities and slippages between earlier and emergent media. |
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Friday, July 1, 8:45–10:00 am
Speaker: Donna Cox, School of Art and Design, University of Illinois Tickets: Museum admission plus $7.00 The author is a recognized pioneer in computer art and scientific visualization. Since 1985, she has worked as a research artist in groups that she coined "Renaissance Teams" at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). These collaborative efforts to visualize supercomputer astrophysical data have been shown in PBS Nova Shows, Discovery Channel TV shows, IMAX movies, Planetarium and Museum shows. Millions of people have seen Cox and her team's visualizations on large–display, general audience environments. Cox will provide an exciting sample of astrophysical phenomenon rendered in computer graphics 3–dimensional technology for a variety of resolutions and display technologies. She will describe the 'grid' virtual technology, high–speed networks and the navigation of synthetic stereo worlds used to create these visualizations. She will describe the convergence of art and science through the development of these advanced technologies. This presentation promises to be a captivating multi–media experience in the 'high art' of visualization and virtual reality. She will close with a discussion of the relevance of these works to popular culture. |
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INSAP V and related events are generously sponsored by the McCormick Tribune Foundation. |
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This project is partially supported by a CityArts 4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
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