Provided

Nevin Center

B.F.A. exhibitions

Graduating fine arts students in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning are showing their artwork now through May 29 in the 2011 B.F.A. Thesis Exhibition. The group exhibition, featuring the work of 20 undergraduate artists, is being shown in John Hartell Gallery in Sibley Dome and the Experimental Gallery and Olive Tjaden Gallery in Tjaden Hall. The students' work was reviewed May 16-18 in presentations by visiting critics Marco Breuer, Curtis Mitchell and Nancy Bowen.

Plantations celebration

Cornell Plantations will celebrate its new Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center with a day of family activities, live music, exhibits, refreshments and tours, May 22, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

The grand opening celebration is free and open to the public.

The band Farm Animal will play southern fiddle music all day, and children's activities will be offered. The featured exhibition at the center through May 31 is "Changing Vistas: Arboretum Landscapes in Pastels" by local artist Carol Abitabilo Ast.

The sustainable glass-and-steel building, located in the botanical gardens, opened to visitors in February. Guided tours will be offered of the gardens and of the new building, highlighting its amenities for visitors and its sustainable features designed to meet Gold LEED certification criteria.

The center was named for Brian C. Nevin '50 at the request of primary benefactor C. Sherwood "Woody" Southwick Jr. The facility's design, by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, has been recognized with a Design Excellence award from the Ontario Architects' Association and an Award of Excellence from Canadian Architect, a magazine and online journal.

Information: http://cornellplantations.org

Outrageous Goyas

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art offers a glimpse into the fertile and often wicked imagination of artist Francisco Goya in its exhibition "Satire, Shock and Superstition: The Nightmarish Vision of Francisco Goya," now through June 5.

Francisco Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) was a precursor of modernism, who inspired outrage and humor with his work as both a social satirist and chronicler of Napoleon's atrocities. The exhibition features prints and other works from Goya's most famous series of etchings, "Los Caprichos," "The Disasters of War" and "Los Proverbios." The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily and is closed on Mondays. Free. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu/.

Hasbrouck sale

Looking for a bargain? Residents of Hasbrouck Apartments on North Campus will hold their annual Hasbrouck Yard Sale, May 21 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Items for sale will include clothing, electronics and housewares.

New music for Mayfest

Professor of composition Steven Stucky and doctoral composer Jesse Jones will premiere new music at Cornell's fourth annual Mayfest International Chamber Music Festival, held May 20-25.

The festival, created by pianists and artistic directors Xak Bjerken and Miri Yampolsky and sponsored by the Department of Music, features four concerts in Barnes Hall Auditorium and a "Classic Jam" with guest artists, May 22 at the Carriage House Café on Stewart Avenue. All performances begin at 8 p.m. each night of the festival; there is no concert on May 23.

A festival pass for all five concerts is available for $85; admission to individual concerts is $20, $8 for students. Tickets are available at Ticket Center Ithaca on The Commons, by calling 607-273-4497, online at http://IthacaEvents.com and at the door.

Jones' "Unisono" will premiere May 24 on a program also featuring Bach's Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio and a Brahms piano trio. Stucky's "Allegretto quasi Andantino" for piano (four hands) will premiere at the May 25 concert, with vocal and instrumental works by Strauss, Schumann and Dvorak. The other concerts include music by Ravel, Mozart, Schubert and Dukas.

Guest artists performing at Mayfest include Israeli violist Guy Ben-Ziony (of the Israeli Chamber Project and the Waldstein Ensemble); American cellist Clancy Newman; Russian violinist Tatiana Samouil; German soprano Íride Martínez; French violinist Philippe Graffin; and Israeli clarinetist Chen Halevi, who debuted with the Israel Philharmonic under conductor Zubin Mehta at age 15.

Mayfest's resident artists are pianists Daniel Anastasio, Malcolm Bilson, Mike Lee, Bjerken and Yampolsky; cellist John Haines-Eitzen; violist Melissa Matson; horn player Alex Shuhan and conductor Chris Younghoon Kim.

The "Classic Jam" May 22 at the Carriage House will feature favorite solos and duos chosen by the guest artists.

Information: http://mayfest-cornell.org

Biblical history

Assistant professor of Near Eastern studies 
Lauren Monroe discusses her new book, "Josiah's Reform and the Dynamics of Defilement: Israelite Rites of Violence and the Making of a Biblical Text," May 20 at 12:30 p.m. at the Cornell Store.

In her book, Monroe looks at the composition of 2 Kings, Chapters 22 and 23, to explore identity construction in ancient Israel during the development of monotheistic Judaism. The text describes religious reforms the Judean King Josiah enacted to assert Israelite identity. The reforms destroyed the places where Josiah's people worshipped and consolidated religious authority in the hands of temple priests in Jerusalem. The book was published this month by Oxford University Press.

Kim Haines-Eitzen, chair of Near Eastern studies, will introduce Monroe, who will answer questions after her presentation. Refreshments and discounted copies of the book will be available.