Art After Dark: The Norton Museum Opens “Going Places”

If you’re waiting for the workday to slowly inch its way to the finish line and could simply use a nice night out, head on over to The Norton Museum of Art’s “Art After Dark” on Thursdays this summer.

   Held every Thursday from 5-9 p.m. through September 3, the weekly program features docent-led tours and curator-based conversations of the museum’s artwork, which includes more than 7,000 pieces in the form of paintings, sculptures, and photographs from American art, Chinese art, Contemporary art, European art and photography. For a complete evening, guests can savor food and wine creations from culinary artists then hit the dance floor to show off some of their own rhythmic strokes as music is played.

   The event also engages and teaches visitors about art with hands-on activities, demonstrations and films. Watching a helicopter land, building an electrical circuit, perusing a collection of classic cars, viewing a film about the history of transportation, and creating your own flying object, locomotive, or concept car are all among the list of things to do on June 25.

Allan Phillips - Mercury Carnival, 1952 - Norton Museum of Art -

Allan Phillips, Mercury Carnival, 1952
Designed by: A.G. Spear Jr. Airbrush, gouache on illustration board. Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Collection Photography

   Concurrent to June’s final Art After Dark event, the Norton museum will open its latest exhibition, “Going Places: Transportation Designed from the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Collection,” on display June 25 through January 10, 2016. The exhibit is a showcase of transportation design, looking at planes, trains, and, most of all, automobiles, largely from mid-20th-century. Featuring more than 200 items, including design drawings, concept sketches, renderings, advertisements, posters, and models of trains, planes, and cars, this exhibit examines the evolution of design, and how transportation has impacted modern life. Presented with the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Collection are newsreels, television advertisements, and clips from classic films and television programs, all specific to period and relation of the art, taking museum guests on a trip through time.

 

Here’s a look at the evening’s schedule:

  • At 4:15 p.m., Ocean Helicopter will fly in a helicopter at the northeast lawn of the museum, and will be on display through 7:30 p.m.
  • From 5-8:45 p.m., PBC Classic Cars Club will bring a selection of classic rides, and an oldies-spinning DJ, at the museum’s front entrance.
  • From 5-8:45 p.m., the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium will demonstrate how to build an electric circuit in the museum’s atrium.
  • 5-6:30 p.m., join a museum docent on Spotlight Talks of the opening exhibit, “Going Places.” These ten-minute discussions focus on one specific work in the collection; new Spotlight Talks happen every 15 minutes.
  • Try your hand at creating your own concept for the future of flight, locomotion, or cars with the DIY Art Project Workshop, Transportation of the Future. Head to Reynolds Classroom at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m. for this fun and constructive project.
  • In the museum theater, Matthew Bird, Associate Professor of Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, and guest curator of “Going Places,” will lead an exhibition lecture at 6:30 p.m. Bird will highlight the design of iconic 20th-century automobiles, the history of transportation, how it has impacted our lives and the progression of society, as well as the visual competent of the machinery. If you are car guy or gal, this is a must-attend lecture.

Free to Florida residents, “Art After Dark” gives locals a truly culture-enriching opportunity, as The Norton houses items from some of the most notable artists of all time, including Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso. For more information, visit norton.org/artafterdark.

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