Seven Bloomington maiolica artists are showing work at the Farmer House Museum from Oct. 5 to Dec. 6, 2012. They are leExposition Universelle. Susan Snyder, who learned the tradition and art of maiolica in Faenza, Italy from traditional artisans, and began to share her knowledge with ceramic artists in Bloomington upon her return, by way of England, in the 1990s. “Majolica”, spelled with a “j”, is the word for a 19 century English and French style, that has little to do with the Italian style, except for the use of metal-based glazes. Snyder practices and teaches the original craft of maiolica, which began in Italy in the 1400s. It is a folk style, in which linear designs are painted in bright colors on plates, bowls and other vessels.

Hours are 10 am -1 pm Wednesday-Friday, 10 am – 4 pm Saturday, 10 am – 2 pm Sunday

This installation, running from September 11 to December 31, will focus on three photographers Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Weston, and Harry Callahan, who used their romantic partners as their subjects. Whether portraits or nude studies, these images reveal a sensitivity that comes from the artists and sitters’ close personal relationships.

This installation is presented in conjunction it the special exhibition “A Place Aside: Artists and their Partners,” on view at the Kinsey Institute Gallery, September 28–December 20.

Artists working in Paris and Lorraine during the Baroque period developed distinctive styles—which focused on the vibrancy of the line—that differed markedly from their Italian and Dutch contemporaries. The two print kiosks in the early part of the gallery feature French works by Jacques Bellange, Claude Lorrain, Jacques Callot, and Claude Mellan, whose engraving is a tour de force of printmaking that creates the face of Christ using a single line.

Gallery of the Art of the Western World, Doris Steinmetz Kellett Gallery of Twentieth-Century Art, first floor. The British Pop artist Joe Tilson used tabloid journalism and news photography as the basis for many of his prints and multiples of the late 1960s. Becoming increasingly political, he saw the pictures of revolutionary leaders and current events as a means for social commentary. This installation will include several of his works from this turbulent period.

Runs until December 30. Open during regular museum hours (Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm, Sunday 12 pm – 5 pm.)

The Mathers Museum of World Cultures hosts the 7th Annual Dia de los Muertos Community Altar installation. This year’s altar will be curated by Rachel DiGregorio and Michael Redman with support from Wandering Turtle Art Gallery On-Line. Community members are invited to add gifts to the altar in honor of their deceased loved ones over the course of the exhibit (October 16 – November 4). During this Mexican holiday, it is customary to leave those who have preceded us in death small offerings of items they would have enjoyed during their lifetime; thus nurturing the memory of their lives and letting them know they have not been forgotten and remain a part of our lives today. Each year the Community Altar is built on the foundation of the previous years’ offerings.

Recurring daily during regular museum hours: Tue – Fri, 9 am – 4:30 pm; Sat – Sun 1 – 4:30 pm.

This exhibit at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures is a companion piece to the book by Eric Sandweiss, and presents a survey of Cushman’s extraordinary work, an archive of photographs that is the largest known body of early color photographs by a single photographer—14,500 in all, most shot on vivid, color-saturated Kodachrome stock. It will run until December 21.

Mathers Museum hours are:
Tuesday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm
Saturday-Sunday: 1-4:30 pm

Learn how to make paper from recyclables, plants, and scrap wood during this fun family workshop taught by papermaker and museum educator Holly Bethune. The program is free and open to school-aged children and a parent/caregiver, but registration is required. To register, email [email protected] or call 855-0197.

A young woman, hired as governess for two wealthy orphans, learns of the tragic deaths of her predecessor and the estate’s wicked valet. Ghostly apparitions of the duo have her convinced that their spirits have returned, with sinister plans for the children. But are the ghosts real, or just figments of her fevered imagination? The Turn of the Screw will be playing October 18-20, 24-28 and 31 and November 1-4; Matinees 2 pm on Sundays (October 28 and November 4). Purchase tickets and view all showtimes at website.

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the classic ghost story by Henry James and directed by Tom Evans.

A timely suspense play for the Halloween season, The Turn of the Screw, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the story by Henry James, October 18-November 4. A young woman, seeking home and fulfillment in the Victorian era, finds herself employed as the governess to two recently orphaned children. She arrives at the great estate upon which the children live to find that everything is not as it seems. The shadows of secrets kept and whispered (amongst unseen ghosts) lurk around every corner of the mansion in this haunting stage adaptation of Henry James’ classic novella.

Claire Denis draws from her childhood experiences in West Africa when her father was stationed there as a French Official. A young woman who returns to Africa recalls a formidable childhood incident, when stranded travelers were forced to stay with her parents. They include a newly married couple, a former priest, a wealthy plantation owner and his black concubine. Paired with the host family and their dignified houseboy, Protee, the group spans class and race, and in close quarters demonstrate power struggles in a prejudiced society. A line is there, but not there. (35mm presentation)

French language with English subtitles.