Giant bugs crawl over the Johnson Museum -- and other summer events

By Justine Dougherty

On Friday, July 10, Cornell's Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art will have giant dung beetles, praying mantises, bees and slugs crawling all over it. At 9:30 p.m. (rain date at the same time Saturday, July 11) the popular movie Microcosmos, with its close-up view of the world of very small creatures, will be projected on the side of the building for viewing from the lawn.

The film showing is co-sponsored with Noyes Community Center and Cornell Summer College, and is one of more than a dozen other free events at the museum this summer.

Cathy Klimaszewski, the Ames Assistant Director for Educational Programs at the Johnson Museum, said, "This is a great time to visit the museum. We have many programs in place to engage adult visitors, children on vacation from school and families. Your trip to the museum can be lively, with our hands-on workshops and gallery talks, or contemplative, as you stroll through our galleries enjoying art from all over the world."

Some of the museum's current exhibitions include Roy Lichtenstein's last series of works, "Brushstroke Still Lifes," Evelyn Metzger's paintings of Yemen, and holdings of glass produced by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The "Recent Acquisitions" show offers a first-time look at 75 new paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs and drawings brought into the museum's collection over the past three years.

More than 65,000 people visited the museum last year, taking in, along with the works of such artists as Edward Hopper, Albert Bierstadt and Eva Hoffman, the 360-degree view of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake from the museum's fifth floor. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and admission is always free.

Here's a list of some summer offerings:

• Sunday, June 28, at 2 p.m.: By the Sea: Join senior docent Maryterese Pasquale-Bowen to look at images of the sea depicted in the permanent collection.

• Thursday, July 9, at noon: Tour: Art for Lunch: Join museum educator Diane Butler for a gallery tour of "A Golden Age: American Painting and Sculpture from the Collection of Richard J. and Sheila W. Schwartz," an exhibition that includes works by Albert Beierstadt, Asher B. Durand, William Merritt Chase and more.

• Friday, July 10, at 9:30 p.m.: Movie: "Microcosmos After Dark" (1996) projected on the side of the museum building.

• Sunday, July 12, at 1 p.m.: Docent Informational Gathering: Ever consider volunteering at the museum? Come to this informal session and learn from staff and current docents about the joys and rewards of being a museum docent.

• Sunday, July 12, at 2 p.m.: Tour : Lives of European Artists: Senior docent Luke Colavito highlights several paintings from the European collection in the context of the artists' life histories.

• Saturday, July 18, from 1 to 4 p.m.: "Articipation-A Day with Clay": Come and experience a variety of activities using clay, Play-Doh and more. Feel a pot turning on a wheel, experiment with new techniques for hand-building and decoration, and work with computer imaging to transform what you have made. This event is for all ages and is co-sponsored with the Cornell Ceramics Studio.

• Thursday, July 23, at noon: Art for Lunch: A tour of the special exhibition "A Bountiful Harvest," with Mellon Print Room assistant Andrew Weislogel.

• Sunday, July 26, at 2 p.m.: "First Person Singular: I.M. Pei." A 90-minute PBS video features Johnson Museum architect I.M. Pei leading viewers through some of the buildings he has designed, including the entrance to the Louvre, the National Gallery of Art's East Wing and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

• Sunday, July 26, at 3:30 p.m.: Architectural tour of the museum with museum educator Kate Bevington, with an eye to the details that make this building one of Pei's masterpieces.

• Thursday, Aug. 6, at noon: Art for Lunch: Tour recent acquisitions with Nancy Green, chief curator. This is a chance to see some of the spectacular prints, drawings and photographs recently acquired by the museum.

• Sunday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m.: Sculptural Walking Tour, with senior docent Eva Hoffmann. Take an hour break to tour the outdoor sculptures at the museum and nearby on campus.

Call 255-6464 for more information.