If you ask your trusty arts blogger, the UVA Art Museum is playing things economically smart by banking on a few Charlottesville-centric strengths for the museum’s September 12 re-opening. There’s something to make local architecture nuts and Jeffer-philes get all gaga over, and something for folks going through LOOK3 withdrawal. And, for those college collections that learned a little something this year about "mo’ money, mo’ problems," UVA responds with…well, Poe money, Poe problems?
Until today, however, there wasn’t much at the museum to get students and spectators stoked about the resources at UVA that are still alive. (You can find those particular goods at Ruffin. How many times do I have to tell you people to go check that space out?) A release from UVA Today shares that, along with the aforementioned exhibits, music professor Judith Shatin and filmmaker Robert Arnold will unveil a piece titled "Rotunda," a 15-minute looped video to screen in the museum’s new Object Study Gallery. The video features thousands of images, loads of audio interviews and ambient sound, and depicts a sort of natural narrative—a day on the lawn that actually spans a full year.
(For those of you who prefer to experience the Rotunda in real-time, don’t forget about Ye Olde RotundaCam! Also a nice treat for those of you who like to pretend you’re Jefferson. Or, for that matter, a god.)
I’ll be honest, I needed a bit of a lift today, and Shatin’s project—along with the promise of First Fridays and tomorrow night’s sweet Dex Romweber Duo gig—helped. If you’re looking for a similar pick-me-up, I’ll leave you with two things—a link to hear Jay-Z’s new album in its entirety, and a video that puts HOVA to shame, below (courtesy SFJ):
The real "Death of AutoTune"?