See new exhibitions at the Johnson Museum including “Undressed: The Nude in Context, 1500-1750,” at a free public reception Feb. 21. Shown: “Venus,” an etching by Wenceslaus Hollar.

Things to Do, Feb. 15-22, 2019

A persuasive imposter

Students in the Department of Performing and Media Arts are staging “‘Tartuffe’ by Moliere: A Performance Venture” this week, confronting issues of authority, hypocrisy and totalitarianism, and inviting the audience to engage in the ideas and dilemmas the play presents.

Showtimes are Feb. 14-15 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 16 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Ave., Ithaca. Admission is free to performances in the Flex Theatre on a first-come, first-seated basis. A talkback with the audience will follow the Saturday matinee performance.

Contemporary images intersect with classical themes in the interactive staging of the 17th-century play, directed by associate professor Beth F. Milles. Louis XIV censored Moliere’s original, “Tartuffe, ou l’Imposteur,” after its first performance in Versailles in 1664, for its portrayal of people easily fooled by the fake virtue and pious hypocrisy of the title character.

Milles worked in collaboration with senior lecturer Carolyn Goelzer and doctoral student Kelly Richmond, who served as student assistant director and dramaturg.

Darwin and living fossils

The Paleontological Research Institution’s 14th annual Darwin Days celebration concludes Feb. 15-16 with public events in Ithaca. Co-sponsored with Cornell, the commemoration marks Charles Darwin’s 210th birthday with talks and events focused on Darwin’s life and ideas. The 2019 theme is “Living Fossils.”

Darwin’s Trivia Challenge, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at The Rhine House, 632 W. Seneca St., gives players a chance to test their knowledge of evolution, science history and living fossils. Teams of up to six players can compete for prizes.

Darwin Family Day, Feb. 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Museum of the Earth, 1259 Trumansburg Road/Route 96, features the new interactive exhibit “Survivors: Up Close with Living Fossils.” Museumgoers can get up close with horseshoe crabs and sea stars in a touch tank that is part of the display, and learn more about Darwin and his work in advancing our knowledge of the natural world.

Activities at the annual event – including crafts, a fossil table and a scavenger hunt – are free with regular museum admission. Call 607-273-6623 or visit priweb.org for more information.

Oscar-nominated shorts

Cornell Cinema is once again showing all of the short films nominated for Academy Awards, in advance of the 2019 awards ceremony Feb. 24. Screenings in Willard Straight Theatre will cover Oscar nominees in the three Best Short Film categories – Animated, Live Action and Documentary. The programs are perennial favorites and are an opportunity to predict the winners and make informed Oscar pool choices.

Animated shorts from 2018 will screen Feb. 14 at 9:30 p.m., Feb. 16 at 9:20 p.m. and Feb. 17 at 7:15 p.m., including nominees “Bao Bun” (USA), “Animal Behaviour” (Canada), “Late Afternoon” (Ireland), “Weekends” (USA) and “One Small Step” (USA-China) and two additional shorts: “Wishing Box” (USA) and “Tweet Tweet” (Russia). The program is suitable for children ages 9 and up, with some scary imagery in “Weekends” and themes including Alzheimer’s disease, divorce and the death of a parent.

Live action shorts are screening Feb. 15 at 9:20 p.m. and Feb. 17 at 4:30 p.m.; all tickets for the matinee are $5.50. The nominees are “Madre” (Spain), “Fauve” and “Marguerite” (Canada), “Detainment” (Ireland) and “Skin” (USA).

Documentary shorts will screen once, Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. The nominees are “Black Sheep (U.K.); and “End Game,” “A Night at the Garden,” “Lifeboat” and “Period. End of Sentence” (all USA). The two programs contain R-rated violence, language and adult themes. Trailers for all nominated shorts can be viewed at Shorts TV.

Improving content, for newbies

A free, one-hour Wikipedia Editing Workshop, Feb. 19 at 4:30 p.m. in 106G Olin Library, will cover some of the basics of improving the open educational content of the online encyclopedia. Register in advance.

The class includes a short introduction to how Wikipedia works, why getting involved in it matters and an overview of the basics of editing for new and beginning editors. The introduction will be followed by a hands-on editing session.

Learn the how’s and why’s of editing on Wikipedia at a free workshop Feb. 19 at Olin Library.

Expertise is not required to contribute; just bring your questions and topics that you’re interested in working on to start. Bring your own laptop or borrow one from Olin Circulation.

Coming up: A March 6 workshop on editing art and feminism-related pages, in preparation for the annual Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon at Cornell, March 8.

Celebrating art

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art hosts a public reception Feb. 21 at 5 p.m., celebrating its spring exhibitions with music by Angela Jane Yantorno, and free refreshments, snacks and activities. Admission is free and open to everyone; the museum stays open until 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays through May 2.

Italian Renaissance art scholar Marcia B. Hall of Temple University’s Tyler School of Art will discuss Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” at 5:15 p.m., in conjunction with the exhibition “Undressed: The Nude in Context, 1500-1750.”

New exhibitions also include “Past Time: Geology in European and American Art,” which opens Saturday, Feb. 16; “La Sombra (The Shadow),” a video by Guatemalan artist Regina José Galindo; “Cornell Department of Art Faculty” and “Traded Treasure: Indian Textiles for Global Markets.”

Media Contact

Gillian Smith