A quick reminder about this Friday’s Family Weekend panel discussion, entitled “Why Keep the Arts in the Liberal Arts?”, to be held from 2.45 to 4.30 pm in Rose Hills Theatre.
Given the importance of the arts in the college’s Strategic Plan, the Parents Counci has brought together a panel of parents who have led distinguished careers in the arts, asking them to speak together about their work, their career paths, and the role of the arts in the liberal arts. The panelists include:
Charles Arnoldi (painter and sculptor)
Katie Arnoldi (novelist)
Thomas Hurwitz (cinematographer)
Avon Kirkland (filmmaker)
The panelists have also made themselves available for individual events to discuss their work in more detail: Avon Kirkland will screen and discuss his work Thursday at 4.15, in Edmunds 101; Charles Arnoldi will meet with students and discuss his work Thursday at 4.30, in Lebus 110; and Tom Hurwitz will screen and discuss his work with students next Monday at 4.00, in Steele 5 (on the Scripps campus).
More details about the panelists are included below. I’ll hope to see you there!
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Charles Arnoldi, a nationally renowned painter and sculptor based in Los Angeles, has been described as an artist who continues to “draw in space” to create his unique assemblage works of art. According to the architect Frank Gehry, the maturing Arnoldi has a secure color sense and the ability to work at large scale as well as to produce tiny, exquisite watercolors.
Katie Arnoldi is the author of two acclaimed novels, Chemical Pink, a Los Angeles Times bestselling novel set in the obsessive world of female bodybuilding, and The Wentworths, a novel described as “savagely funny,” a searing portrait of a wealthy but dysfunctional Los Angeles family.
Tom Hurwitz is a documentary cinematographer. Winner of two Emmy Awards, and a Sundance Award for Best Cinematography, Hurwitz has photographed films that have won four Academy Awards and several more nominations (most recently for Dance Maker). His television programs have won literally dozens of awards, Emmy, Dupont, Peabody, Directors Guild and film festival awards for Best Documentary, over the last 25 years. Most recently, the PBS series Franklin won this year’s Emmy Award for Best Documentary Special. Other award-winning films and programs that he has photographed include: Harlan County USA, Wild Man Blues, My Generation, Down and Out in America, The Turandot Project, Liberty, Franklin, Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, for PBS; and I Have a Dream, for ABC; and Questioning Faith, for HBO. In addition, films that he has directed have won the Cine Golden Eagle (Bombs will Make the Rainbow Break) and have been shown in festivals around the world. As well as photographing several projects, he is presently producing and directing a film, in development with Lumiere Productions, on world wide religious fundamentalism.
Filmmaker Avon Kirkland‘s career as a chemist was cut short by his desire to create social change. The path he chose led to filmmaking. In 1977, Kirkland became the executive producer of Up & Coming, an hour-long drama featuring a black family, which ended in 1982 after twenty-five shows. Kirkland so enjoyed the work that he founded a non-profit media production company inBerkeley, California, named New Images Productions to produce films about the black experience. He serves as the primary writer, director and producer for many of the company’s projects. Through his filmmaking, he has profiled great men, among them Booker T. Washington, Thurgood Marshall and Ralph Ellison.