Fractured: Photographs by Spencer Platt @ Westport Arts Center

The Westport Arts Center is pleased to announce the exhibition Fractured: Photographs by Spencer Platt opening January 11, 2019, 6-8 pm and on view through March 2, 2019.

Fractured is the first solo exhibition of award-winning photographer Spencer Platt. The photojournalistic works are curated by influential art critic Kenneth Baker, presenting the captivating human narratives behind news headlines in a fine art context for the first time.

Fractured curator, Kenneth Baker explains,

“News photos fulfill their purposes, frequently beyond the camera worker's intentions or expectations, serving some editorial agenda to inform or illustrate, provoke response, or embed events in civic memory. Yet the photographic acts—reflexes responding to immediate circumstances, perhaps steered by an assignment—also have their own particular content and personal register. This selection of Platt's work cross-sections all these dimensions.”

Artist Spencer Platt says,

“Looking for meaning in the face of tragedy is a mission I have been pursuing for over 20 years. A news-wire photographer must be close to the action; to smell, hear and to taste what unfolds in the here and now. In this ‘whirlpool of action,’ I attempt to make visual sense of what are often indescribable events. I’m most interested in creating empathy in a world increasingly indifferent to and distracted from the suffering of others. I seek to give a viewer a little bit of light in so much darkness.”

Westport Arts Center brings fresh viewpoints to its exhibitions program by engaging guest curators recognized nationally and internationally for their expertise. Kenneth Baker joins an extensive roster of curatorial talent over recent years, including Elizabeth Gorayeb (Wildenstein Plattner Institute), Joe­ Amrhein and Susan Swenson (Pierogi Gallery), Alexandra Munroe (Guggenheim Museum), Lisa Phillips (New Museum), Gerry Snyder (Pratt Institute), and Douglas Hyland (New Britain Museum of American Art).

Kenneth Baker states,

“Platt's journalistic bull’s-eyes are "warning shots"—warning us of events' far-reaching reverberations...but so do his more contemplative images warn us of missing, by inattention, fleeting beauties of reality at its least imposing.”

Visit westportartscenter.org for more information.

About the Spencer Platt

A Westport native, Spencer Platt has been a photojournalist on domestic and international news-wire assignment with Getty Images for over 17 years. With a strong interest in writing, Platt is influenced by journalists and authors James Agee, Olivia Manning and Oriana Fallici. Recipient of World Press Photo of the Year for his 2006 coverage of Beirut, Platt has been highly recognized in his field for 20 years.

About Kenneth Baker

Kenneth Baker retired in 2015 after 30 years as resident art critic for The San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of Minimalism: Art of Circumstance (Abbeville Press, 1989), the first major retrospective of Edward Burtynsky,Manufactured Landscapes (Yale, 2003) and The Lightning Field (Yale, 2009), and has contributed to books and museum catalogs internationally. A freelance contributor for many years to periodicals ranging from Artforum and Art In America to Art & Auction and The Burlington Magazine, he is currently San Francisco correspondent for The Art Newspaper.

About the Westport Arts Center

The Westport Arts Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting our community through the arts, reaches more than 7,000 people annually through outstanding programs in visual arts, arts education, and the performance arts of chamber music and jazz.

The Westport Arts Center receives philanthropic support from the Katherine and Howard Aibel Foundation; Anthropologie & Co.; Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc.; Bernstein Private Wealth Management; Cohen and Wolf, P.C.; Critical Mix; Delamar Southport; Design Within Reach; Dragone Motor Cars; Fairfield County Bank; Fairfield County's Community Foundation; Fairfield County Hunt Club; 4th Row Films; First County Bank Foundation; GWAY Print Solutions; Hal Prince Music; the Hall Art Foundation; The Hofstetter Baron Group; Hotel Zero Degrees; J.P. Morgan; Land Rover/Jaguar of Fairfield; Moffly Media; Newman's Own Foundation; Serena & Lily; Shack Sackler Foundation; Sontag Advisory LLC; SRI Fine Art Services; Steven Mancini Salon; Success Printing & Mailing; Teich Gardens; Verde Energy USA, Inc.; Wells Fargo Advisors; Westport Now; Westport Resources, a division of United Capital; WPKN and WSHU Public Radio Group. The Westport Arts Center operates with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

For more information, contact the Westport Arts Center at 203/222-7070 or www.westportartscenter.org.  The Westport Arts Center gallery is open Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT.

Booked for Lunch @ Wilton Historical Society Jan. 31

The Wilton Historical Society hosts a reading group that focuses on books with a historical bent.  The book to be discussed on Thursday, January 31 from 12:30 – 1:30 is Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman, a New York Times bestseller.

The relationship between Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, western rancher’s daughter and Brooklyn girl—transcends party, religion, region, and culture. Strengthened by each other’s presence, these groundbreaking judges, the first and second women to serve on the highest court in the land, have transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women.

Linda Hirshman’s dual biography includes revealing stories of how these trailblazers fought for recognition in a male-dominated profession—battles that would ultimately benefit every American woman. Hirshman also makes clear how these two justices have shaped the legal framework of modern feminism, setting precedent in cases dealing with employment discrimination, abortion, affirmative action, sexual harassment, and many other issues crucial to women’s lives.

Sisters in Law combines legal detail with warm personal anecdotes, bringing these very different women into focus as never before. Meticulously researched and compellingly told, it is an authoritative account of our changing law and culture, and a moving story of a remarkable friendship.

“Vital...Part of what makes Hirshman such a likable writer — in addition to her wit and ability to explain the law succinctly without dumbing it down — is her optimism.” -  Washington Post

Participants bring a brown bag lunch, the Society provides a beverage and dessert. There is no charge, but please register. By email: info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203- 762-7257   

The Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road/Rt. 7, Wilton, CT  06897   www.wiltonhistorical.org

Survive & Thrive On Jan. 26 @ Institute for American Indian Studies

We often don’t think about the resources we use.  We are displaced from them through processing, manufacturing and shipping.  For Native people living in the Northeast, using resources and preparing for winter was vital to survival.  So how do you find shelter, make food, and stay warm when the weather is cold and your resources are diminished? On Sunday, January 26 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. the public is invited to join the Institute for American Indian Studies educator, Griffin Kalin for a fun and informative program on how to survive in the Eastern Woodlands without twenty-first-century technology.

Participants will learn how to start a fire in the snow, how to find food in the forest, and how to make a shelter from the natural environment.  Visitors will even see examples of how Native Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands lived by visiting the replicated Algonkian village on the grounds of the Institute that is composed of wigwams and longhouses and the remnants of the three sisters garden. 

It is exciting as well as an engaging experience that is suitable for all ages.  The experience will make you feel as though you have stepped back in time as you explore the forest and learn the ways of the Eastern Woodland Indians.

To participate in this event be sure to dress warm and wear appropriate footwear because some of this program will be outside. This program is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children; members of the museum are free.  In addition to this program, entrance to the museum with its fascinating exhibits and wonderful gift shop featuring locally made handcrafted Native American art, crafts, and jewelry among other items is also included.

About the Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.  New @ the Institute is an Escape Room- Wigwam Escape 1518.

Flanders Holding Martin Luther King Day Fun Day For Kids

On Monday, January 21  while off from school for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, kids in grades kindergarten through 5th are invited to come to Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury, CT  to experience  “A Flanders Animal Adventure” where they will spend the day learning about the animals that live at Flanders and in the wild and then taking a hike to find tracks to see who is active in the snow. This will be a fun filled day packed with exploring the great outdoors, and age appropriate stories, games and crafts. Preregistration is required.

Flanders is offering three different sessions for this special adventure.  Choose the morning session from 9AM to 1PM, the afternoon session from 1-5PM or a full day session which goes from 9AM -5PM.

Parents are asked to have their children dress for the weather and to bring a bag lunch or snack.  Pre-registration is required. The cost per child for either the morning or afternoon session is $30 members and $40 for nonmembers. Full day cost is $60 for members and $80 for nonmembers. Early care is available from 7-9AM at $8 per hour.

To register, call Flanders at (203) 263-3711, extension 10. For a full listing of all the programs for kids and adults coming up at Flanders visit www.flandersnaturecenter.org