2021 2021: UMass Brut Symposium announces interactive public art events

The free events are part of the two-day collaborative UMass symposium, "Brutalism + the Public University: Past, Present and Future"

The UMass Brut collaboration between UMass Dartmouth and UMass Amherst is sponsoring several free public events on October 22, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

On the path between the UMassD Library and the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), artist Daniel DeLuca will install sculptural, participatory structures—frames with chalkboards—and will invite pedestrians and UMass Brut symposium participants to respond to their encounter with UMassD's theatrical 'brutalist' architecture (designed by renowned architect Paul Rudolph).

At 6 p.m. inside CVPA's voluminous atrium—and in conjunction with the closing of the Norman Ives exhibition—enjoy Kelvin Dickinson's presentation, "A Discovery of Opposites: Paul Rudolph & the Poetics of Brutalism at UMass Dartmouth." Dickinson, President of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation, will pause during his lecture so CVPA painting instructor David Burr can present a participatory artwork. Burr will invite listeners to experience Rudolph's cavernous and cave-like spaces by following a 3,000-foot rope 'drawing' that winds itself through the CVPA.

After the presentation, the audience will be asked to step outside for a video projection event celebrating the UMassD campus. The series of videos, a montage of colorful images accompanied by sound, will be projected on the Maclean Campus Center and CVPA exterior walls. The videos will highlight the campus history, architecture, and expansion—and the University's connection to local communities. The work is produced by the students in Professor Mark Millstein's Video Projection Mapping class in the Art and Design Department of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

This evening event is part of a two-day collaborative symposium titled, "Brutalism + the Public University: Past, Present and Future" sponsored by UMass Dartmouth and UMass Amherst. Take a moment to register for this unique symposium that brings together a team of nationally renowned scholars interested in concrete Brutalist architecture and preservation of the architectural icons.

The event is free to the UMass community and enrolled college students. Register for the Symposium on Friday, October 22 (8 am - 8:30 pm) at UMass Dartmouth and Saturday, October 23 (8 am - 5:30 pm) at UMass Amherst.

For more details, visit the UMassBrut website.