Weekly Arts and Entertainment Highlights (Jun 07, 2012)

Events this weekend include art exhibit openings showcasing work from 19th century artistic movements, pop art portraits, and Japanese ceramics, as well as a well-respected film festival, and an annual celebration of Native American culture.

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art hosts the first exhibition the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. has ever lent for display in Oklahoma. “Vernet to Villon: Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art” includes representations from most major 19th century artistic movement. Work from artists such as Delacroix, Manet, and Degas provide examples of everything from Neo-Classicism to Post Impressionism. The museum’s opening reception is from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Friday evening preceded by a lecture from the exhibit’s co-curator. At the same time, the Fred Jones opens a showcase of pop art portraits. “The Cult of Personality: Andy Warhol, Harold Stevenson & Portraiture” puts Warhol’s Polaroids of the “rich and famous” next to Oklahoma native Stevenson’s images of “common individuals.”

The deadCENTER Film Festival comes to downtown Oklahoma City this week from June 6th through the 10th. Considered by MovieMaker magazine as one of the world’s top 20 coolest festivals, activities and screenings take place at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Harkins Bricktown Cinema, IAO Gallery on Film Row, the Downtown Library, Myraid Gardens Lawn, and more. Highlights of the festival include screenings of “Marley,” Morgan Spurlock’s “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope,” and “The Daughter of Dawn,” a silent film from 1920 filmed with an entirely Native American cast in Oklahoma. Local talent is displayed at the IAO Gallery Saturday, June 10th during a showcase of nine “Okie Shorts.”

The Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival takes place this weekend at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Over 1,200 Native American artists share their heritage through dancing, panting, beadwork, garments, and more. Dance competitions are a main attraction of the event, with a rare showcasing of dancing from both Northern and Southern tribes. The grand parade through the streets of Oklahoma City opens the festival Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. Activities and celebrations continue through Sunday, June 10th.

City Arts Center’s upcoming exhibit “Soaring Voices: Recent Ceramics by Women from Japan” is a unique display of contemporary craft and Japanese culture. It is comprised of 87 different ceramic pieces by 25 female, Japanese artists. According to City Arts Center Executive Director Mary Ann Prior, their work represents “an important cultural shift in Japanese society toward individual women artists becoming recognized in an artistic realm traditionally held by men.” “Soaring Voices” is welcome to public viewing during a reception on June 12th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will be on display through August 25th.

The Jacobson House Native Art Center welcomes Muscogee Creek writer, artists, and musician Joy Harjo for a special book signing, poetry reading, and musical performance on June 8th at 7:00 p.m. Her upcoming book “Crazy Brave” is a memoir. Read and listen to an interview with Harjo from KGOU’s Indian Times here.

For more information and events in your area, log on to the calendar page.