Courtesy of Michael Roman

Cornell Cinema presents the silent screen adventure "Grass" Jan. 28 in Sage Chapel, with a live score by Ithaca's Cloud Chamber Orchestra.

Earth art, inside and out

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art will present “beyond earth art: contemporary artists and the environment” Jan. 25 to June 8, with installations and displays throughout the temporary exhibition galleries and lobby, as well as outside on the museum façade and grounds.

The “beyond earth art” project, curated by Andrea Inselmann, includes materials related to the landmark 1969 “Earth Art” exhibition at Cornell and artists working in a similar vein through the 1970s and ’80s; “Food-Water-Life/Lucy+Jorge Orta” and works by more than 40 other artists; as well as special events and other displays to be added from February to May.

Also at the museum: A Lunar New Year Celebration of the Year of the Horse, Jan. 25 from 1-4 p.m. The family program features dances, storytelling, crafts and traditions from China, Korea, Vietnam and Singapore. Performances include the Korean K-Pop group I Love Dance. Co-sponsors include the Ithaca Asian American Association and the East Asia and Southeast Asia Programs.

The museum’s winter opening reception is Feb. 6 from 5-7 p.m.; museum admission and events are free and open to the public.

Listen and learn

The duo Mustard’s Retreat performs Sunday, Jan. 26, on WVBR’s “Bound for Glory,” the folk music concert series broadcast live from Anabel Taylor Hall Café.

Now in its 47th year and hosted by Phil Shapiro, M.A. ’69, since it began in 1967, the show is on the air 8-11 p.m. Sundays on WVBR, 93.5 FM, and streams live at http://www.wvbr.com.

The concerts are open to the public; admission is free for all ages. Information: http://www.wvbr.com/bfg

Shapiro also leads group folk guitar lessons on Monday nights, starting Feb. 3 in the International Lounge of Willard Straight Hall. Bring a guitar – the series of eight one-hour lessons is offered at two levels: beginners (7 p.m.) and intermediate players (8 p.m.); registration and payment ($60 for the course) is at the first lesson.

Open to the Cornell community and the general public. Classes also are offered during the fall semester. Presented by Cornell’s Student Union Board. Information: Phil Shapiro, 607-844-4535, pds10@cornell.edu or http://www.shapiroandshore.com/guitarclass.html.

Adventure in Persia

Cornell Cinema presents a free classic film adventure by the makers of the original “King Kong” this week in Sage Chapel.

Filmmakers Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack
 hooked up with journalist and sometime spy Marguerite Harrison in 1924 to film an adventure in Persia (Iran). They found excitement, danger and unparalleled drama in the semiannual migration of the Bakhtiari tribe, in which more than 50,000 people take their herds – half a million animals – to pasture, despite seemingly impossible obstacles.

“Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life,” Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m., features a live improvised musical score by the Cloud Chamber Orchestra (Ithaca musicians Robby Aceto, Peter Dodge and Chris White). Co-sponsored with Cornell Council for the Arts, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and the Department of Anthropology.

Films this week in Willard Straight Theatre include “Captain Phillips” (2013) with Tom Hanks, through Jan. 26 (shown in place of “Gravity”); Frederick Wiseman’s 2013 university portrait “At Berkeley,” Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ($5); Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Ring” (1927), opening a series of his early silent films, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. with piano accompaniment by Philip Carli ($12 general/$9 students); David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” (2001), Jan. 29 and 31; and “More Than Honey” (2012), Jan. 30, introduced by Ithaca College entomology professor Marina Caillaud. Information: http://cinema.cornell.edu.

Gone Hollywood

Want to work in Hollywood this summer? Cornell in Hollywood (CIH) program coordinator David Greenman ’00 will give two sessions this week to provide information on the program and how to get an internship with CIH.

The sessions are Jan. 29 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Kaufmann Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall (for information contact Diane Miller at djm15@cornell.edu); and Jan. 30 at 4:30 p.m. in Schwartz 124, the Schwartz Center Reading Room (for information contact Charlie Fay at crf1@cornell.edu).

Soup & Hope

Gretchen Ryan ’97 will speak Jan. 30 at noon in Sage Chapel in the 2014 Soup & Hope series. Free and open to the public.

Ryan works in the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment and often spends her lunchtimes climbing the 161 stairs of McGraw Tower to perform as a Cornell Chimesmaster. She will share her experiences with resilience and hope in the face of major obstacles.

The biweekly Soup & Hope series features personal stories from members of the Cornell community, with hot soup and bread provided. Co-sponsored by Cornell United Religious Work, Gannett Health Services and Cornell Dining, the seventh annual winter speaker series continues on alternate Thursdays through March 27.

The next event is Feb. 13, with graduate student Ayuen Garang Ajok, a former Lost Boy of Sudan. Information: http://dos.cornell.edu/curw/Soup-and-Hope.cfm

Men of Color Symposium

Hip-hop recording engineer, producer and DJ Young Guru will be a special guest presenter at the STEM Men of Color Symposium, Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in Statler Hall’s Beck Center.

Hosted by Diversity Programs in Engineering, the symposium, subtitled “Access to Knowledge and Empowerment,” is part of the Men of Color Council Inc. (MOCC) Conference at Cornell, Jan. 31-Feb. 2.

The symposium also features workshops geared toward Ithaca-area pre-college students, special guest lecturer Valerie Young and keynote speakers Carlos Castillo Chavez, Calvin Mackie and Juan Gilbert.

Registration is free for Cornell students, staff, faculty and MOCC Inc. alumni guests; $45 for all others. Registration includes a continental breakfast, luncheon and a closing reception at 5:30 p.m. All are invited to register. Information: custemmocsym.weebly.com