2011 Week Four

Making art is a struggle. That’s a lesson Lisa Jakab has learned in her two summers as a School of Art student at Chautauqua. Last summer, Jakab’s first at the Institution, she had an inspiration the first day and ran with it. But this summer, she didn’t get so lucky.

Perhaps you’ve seen the houses on the red brick walk replete with huge white banners: “CELEBRATING 93 YEARS: THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER OF THE KING’S DAUGHTERS AND SONS!” and wondered what an international order was or why it necessitates three houses and a chapel on the grounds.

His artwork has transformed some of the most imaginative stories into some of the most visually recognizable books in children’s literature, but author and illustrator Eric Rohmann said you still can’t judge a book by its cover. Rohmann, a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator whose pictures appear on book covers like Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, traveled to Chautauqua for the Highlights conference this week. He will visit the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Young Readers program at 4:15 p.m. today in Room 203 of Turner Community Center. This week’s Young Readers selection is Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman.

Echoes of weeping, wailing, worrying and lamenting will fill the Amphitheater today. But don’t worry — it will just be the Massey Memorial Organ as organist Jared Jacobsen performs a somber mini-concert at 2 p.m. Jacobsen will play Franz Liszt’s “Variations on Bach’s ‘Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen,’” which translates to “Weeping, Wailing, Worrying, Lamenting,” and Olivier Messiaen’s “Dieu Parmi Nous,” or “God Among Us.”

At age 10, when most kids pretended to fight fires or dreamed of performing surgeries, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux decided he wanted to be a dancer.

Susan Stamberg has asked questions since 1972. As the host of such NPR programs as “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition,” and “Weekend Edition Saturday,” it was her job to pick the brains of her guests. When she comes to Chautauqua, however, it will not be to question but rather to answer.

Stanley Fish, professor of humanities and law at Florida International University, read and analyzed George Herbert’s poem “The Forerunners” during his lecture at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday in the Amphitheater.

In 2003, a flood destroyed Don Kimes’ Washington, D.C., studio. Among his lost possessions were letters from friends, family photographs, his computer files and many of his personal artistic creations.

A blue streak of artwork will take over the Strohl Art Center for the next five weeks. “Out of the Blue,” which will have its opening reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today in the Strohl Art Center, features work from eight artists in all different shades of blue. Judy Barie, director of galleries and curator of the show, said this will be Chautauqua’s first monochromatic-themed show.

Denise Bibro has a case for the arts. Bibro, owner of Denise Bibro Fine Art in Chelsea, N.Y., will lecture at 7 p.m. tonight in the Hultquist Center. She will talk about the lessons she’s learned and experience she’s garnered from the 25-plus years she’s spent in the art business and the current art market — a market that, she admits, is difficult. Economic situations worldwide have changed what buyers and collectors are looking for and what types and quantities of pieces are selling.

Last year was the bicentennial celebration of two great classical composers, Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann. The pair, both born in 1810, left a legacy of some of the most masterful works in the piano repertoire.

History comes in many voicings, and today at 3:30 p.m. in Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church, as part of the Oliver Archives Heritage Lecture Series, Jared Jacobsen, organist and coordinator of worship and sacred music, and Marlie Bendiksen, Archives research assistant, will do just that — provide history in voice and song. And they’ll add in something of a dance component, as the title of their presentation indicates: “The Dance That We Do: Hymns We Were Singing In 1931.”