Williams College Museum of Art Presents
A PLACE FOR STYLE IN EVERYTHING:  AN "UN-SYMPOSIUM"
Saturday, September 15, 2007

Williamstown, MA—Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) announces A Place for Style in Everything: An “Un-Symposium” in connection with the exhibition Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy. The unconventional symposium, or "Un-Symposium," will feature art, music, dance, and cocktails in classic Murphy-style at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance on Saturday, September 15 at 1:00 p.m. Guest will be able to view Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy before the symposium at 10:00 a.m. at WCMA.

The "Un-Symposium" will feature renowned scholars of the Murphy era alongside the music, dance, and drink of the time. Guest speakers include Amanda Vaill, author of Everybody Was So Young: Sara and Gerald Murphy, A Lost Generation Love Story; Harold Koda, Curator in charge, Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of; and Kenneth Silver, Professor of Fine Arts and Chair Department of Fine Arts, New York University.  Exhibition curator Deborah Rothschild will introduce the symposium line-up, which will be punctuated by exciting diversions into dance, music, and dramatic readings by Williams College students.  Such interludes include an excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night, a dance demonstration featuring the Charleston and Shim-Sham, and music by Cole Porter, a close friend of the Murphys. A seminar on martini making with John A. Kinder, a professional bartender from Chicago and the United States Bartender Guild’s Illinois Chapter Historian, will round out the day's schedule. A cocktail reception will follow.

"We are thrilled to be working so closely with both our colleagues at Williams College and with experts on the lives of the Murphys to bring this unconventional event to the community," said director Lisa Corrin. "In the spirit of the Murphys' exuberant and inspired way of living, the Williams College Museum of Art is pleased to host an event that will present renowned scholarship in an atmosphere that will make it accessible to all members of the community."

A Place for Style in Everything: An “Un-Symposium” is a free event. Guests are asked to RSVP to Amy Tatro or by calling (413) 597-3055.

The "Un-Symposium" is being held in conjunction with the exhibition "Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy," which is now on view at WCMA. The exhibition explores how the Murphys’ legendary style—modern in its apparent simplicity and freedom from stifling social regimentation—was a kind of manifesto, and touchstone, for the artists and writers of the Lost Generation. The exhibition features works of art by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, and Man Ray, as well as theatrical sets and costumes, the music of Cole Porter, the Murphys’ unique home movies, and reminiscences by famous authors and their friends, along with artwork seen for the first time in the United States from major European museums.

“…The Williams College Museum of Art tells this story with sensitivity, detail, and restraint, evoking both a hazy sense of the Murphys' sun-dappled milieu and a specific appreciation of the couple's talents and flaws.” 
– Louise Kennedy, The Boston Globe

“’Making It New’ captures the creative energy the couple contributed to their circle in France in the 1920s, when, as Fitzgerald wrote, ‘whatever happened seemed to have something to do with art.’”
-- Dorothy Spears, The New York Times

“Generous in scope, yet carefully edited and designed, ‘Making It New’ transports the viewer back across the decades to a time . . .”
-- Amanda Vaill, Town & Country

Making It New has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life; the Terra Foundation for American Art; the Getty Foundation; and the Dedalus Foundation, Inc. Any views, finding, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

After its showing at the Williams College Museum of Art, Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy travels to the Yale University Art Gallery (February 26–May 4, 2008) and the Dallas Museum of Art (June 8–September 14, 2008).  The exhibition is accompanied by a major publication, Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy, published by University of California Press, Berkeley.

About the Speakers

John A. Kinder is a professional bartender from Chicago's MK Restaurant and is the United States Bartenders Guild's (USBG) Illinois Chapter Historian.

Harold Koda is Curator-in-Charge of the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. His most recent exhibitions include Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection (2005), Nan Kempner: American Chic (2006), and Poiret: King of Fashion (2007), co-curated with Curator Andrew Bolton. He has co-authored 19 books, including 10 landmark catalogues for the Metropolitan Museum and contributes scholarly articles to a number of publications.

Kenneth E. Silver is a Professor of Modern Art at New York University. He is the author of Making Paradise: Art, Modernity, and the Myth of the French Riviera and "Esprit de Corps": The Art of the Parisian Avant-Garde and the First World War, 1914-1925. His most recent publication, Sarah Bernhardt: The Art of High Drama, co-written with Carol Ockman, was published in 2005. His interest in style and issues of modernism is illustrated in his essay The Murphy Closet and the Murphy Bed for the catalogue.

Amanda Vaill is the author of the best-selling biography of Gerald and Sara Murphy, Everybody Was So Young: A Lost Generation Love Story, published in 1998; it was a finalist for the National Book Critics’ Circle Award and named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book for the year. Her latest book, Somewhere: The Life f Jerome Robbins, was published in November 2006, and she is currently adapting it into a screenplay for the PBS American Masters documentary.

Williams College Museum of Art

The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible.  Contact: Suzanne A. Silitch, Director of Public Relations and External Affairs, 413.597.3178