French genius

Cornell Cinema presents “The Complete Jean Vigo,” the entire output of the French director whose brilliant career was cut short by tuberculosis at age 29.

The series includes “Zero for Conduct” (1933), an anti-establishment satire set at a boys’ boarding school, showing Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre with two additional short Vigo films.

Vigo’s lone feature-length work, “L’Atalante” (1934), shown in a definitive restoration Feb. 13 at 6:45 p.m., is a romantic reverie (set on a boat, with a cat …) considered one of the greatest films of all time. For additional insight into Vigo, “Tournage d’Hiver: Outtakes and Rushes,” compiled for release in 2017 and narrated by French film critic and historian Bernard Eisenschitz, follows at 8:30 p.m., free with admission to “L’Atalante.”

Also at Cornell Cinema: Humorous, slightly surreal and musically rich, “I Am Not a Witch” (2017) is a story out of left field, following a young African girl banished from her village for alleged witchcraft. The film’s Ithaca premiere screens Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m., with a discussion afterward with N’Dri Assie-Lumumba, professor of Africana studies, and doctoral student Lauren Siegel.

Bodies and weapons

Two new exhibitions will run Feb. 9 through June 16 at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. Admission is free.

“Undressed: The Nude in Context, 1500-1750” explores how the nude is defined, in works expressing gender and beauty, narrative context and heightened emotion, and how artists, from the early Renaissance on, began to fuse evolving study of the human body with classical idealism. In a related lecture, Italian Renaissance art expert Marcia B. Hall of Temple University’s Tyler School of Art will discuss Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment,” Feb. 21 at 5:15 p.m. during the museum’s public reception for spring exhibitions.

In her 2017 video “La Sombra (The Shadow),” in the Picket Family Video Gallery, Guatemalan artist Regina José Galindo is pursued by a tank, on a continuous loop. The short film calls attention to issues of migration, gender and race, and to global oppression and death resulting from weapons manufacture in the Western world. History of art doctoral student Sara Garzón will lead a Contemporary Conversation on Galindo and “La Sombra” March 7 at 5:15 p.m.

Also on display: “Cornell Department of Art Faculty,” through April 7; and “Traded Treasure: Indian Textiles for Global Markets,” through June 9. “Past Time: Geology in European and American Art” opens Feb. 16.

Visitors can learn more about artworks in the collection in a new drop-in series this semester, with student educators leading half-hour conversations (with cookies) focusing on a single work of art each week. Sunday Art Snack from 12:30-1 p.m. is open to all, Feb. 10, 17 and 24 and March 3.

Singing, jazz traditions

Encouraging male students to continue singing, from high school through their collegiate and adult lives, the Cornell Glee Club hosts “New York Young Men Sing,” Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m. in Sage Chapel.

Students attending the annual event will spend the day rehearsing together, culminating in a joint concert showcasing the repertoire learned that day. This year’s guest clinician is Rosalind Hall, Brigham Young University’s director of choirs.

The Cornell Jazz Ensemble, directed by Paul Merrill, also continues an annual tradition, bringing Ithaca’s jazz student communities together in a joint concert with the Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble and Ithaca High School Jazz Band, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. in Ithaca High School’s Kulp Auditorium.

The free concerts are open to the public.

Assessing “The Resistance”

Sidney Tarrow and Glenn Altschuler will discuss contemporary political opposition inside the anti-Trump movement in a Chats in the Stacks book talk, Feb. 12 at 4:30 p.m. in 106G Olin Library. The talk is free and open to the public, with refreshments served.

In “The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement” (2018, Oxford University Press), Tarrow and co-editor David S. Meyer brought together younger and senior scholars to unearth the origins and dynamics of different sectors of the movement.

Tarrow is the Maxwell Upson Professor of Government Emeritus and an adjunct professor at the Law School. He and Altschuler, M.A. ’73, Ph.D. ’76, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies, will offer an overview of the emerging movement, and analyze the prospects of its different sectors for exercising political influence and fighting off dangers to democracy in the Trump era.

Globetrotters return

The Harlem Globetrotters return to Cornell on their new Fan Powered World Tour, coming to Newman Arena Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. with world renowned ball-handling wizardry, basketball artistry and family entertainment.

Tickets for the event in Bartels Hall are $22 and $75, available online at CornellBigRedTickets. There is a 20 percent discount for Cornell students, staff and faculty with the promo code CORNELL.

For lovers and art lovers

Get an early evening start on your Valentine’s Day plans with two events Feb. 14 on campus.

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is “celebrating and welcoming all expressions of love” at a free Open House, 5-7 p.m. Held after work hours for Cornell staff and open to everyone, the evening features free coffee, hot chocolate, cookies and other sweet treats; games, a scavenger hunt and art activities designed to nurture a love of art; and music provided by DJ ha-MEEN (a.k.a. Ben Ortiz, assistant curator of the Cornell Hip Hop Collection).

Also: Cornell Chimes hosts a Valentine’s Day Concert, 6-6:30 p.m. in McGraw Tower. Climb the tower’s 161 steps for love songs, free candy (chocolate kisses) and nighttime views of Ithaca and the campus; no date required.

All chimes concerts are free and open to the public. The museum galleries are open Thursdays until 7:30 p.m. during the academic year; events are family-friendly and admission is always free. Regular hours year-round are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.