Sports, superheroes, politics, movies and music – things are heating up inside Cranbrook Art Museum in February and March with a wide variety of activities and events. All programs are free with museum admission unless noted.

Films

Drawing Restraint and Cremaster 4

February 8, 4pm

Main Theatre, Royal Oak.

$9 adults, $6 students with ID

Come for a screening of two of multimedia artist Matthew Barney's critically acclaimed cinematic projects. Barney has mined a range of materials, including Vaseline, dumbbells, chalk and wrestling mats, to examine the way young men are socio-culturally and psycho-sexually formed by the intimate experience of competitive sport. 

Lectures

Collier Schorr
February 12, 7pm
deSalle Auditorium
Best known for her portraits of adolescent men and women, Collier Schorr's images often blend photographic realism with elements of fiction and youthful fantasy. New-York-based Schorr has exhibited her work internationally at prestigious venues that include the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Jewish Museum in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the 2002 Whitney Biennial, among others. She is currently a senior critic for the graduate photography program at the Yale University School of Art. Schorr's work is featured in the exhibition "Mixed Signals."

Superheroes In Action: Mark Newport

February 22, 4pm

In this lecture, Cranbrook Academy of Art head of fiber and artist-in-residence Mark Newport will address the formal and conceptual development of his work including the superhero-themed pieces in his latest exhibition while focusing on the influences of pop culture and personal experience.

Behind the Scenes of Mixed Signals: Christopher Bedford

March 8, 4pm

As curator of the Cranbrook Art Museum exhibition "Mixed Signals," Christopher Bedford will address the concepts that structured the exhibit as well as his philosophy behind the subject matter. Formerly assistant curator of contemporary art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Bedford now is curator of exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Visual Arts. He has written extensively for publications including Artforum, Art in America, and October. 

Dave Zirin: When Sports and Politics Collide

March 29, 4pm

One of the best young sportswriters in the United States, Dave Zirin will discuss his new book, "A People's History of Sports in the United States," and how using the prism of sports helps us learn about U.S. history. Named Press Action's 2005 and 2006 Sportswriter of the Year, Zirin brings his blend of sports and politics to multiple television and radio programs as well as print media including ESPN's Outside the Lines, NPR's Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered, the Nation Magazine, SLAM Magazine, the Progressive, sportsillustrated.com, and The Los Angeles Times. He also is the host of XM Satellite Radio's popular weekly show Edge of Sports Radio. 

Music

Merge: Colin Zyskowski and Alvin Hill

February 27, 8pm

Alvin Hill and Colin Zyskowski are well known in the Detroit electronic music scene as producers and DJs. Drawing from the areas of audio and visual arts as well as from the world of physical computing, Merge's 45-minute performance is a collision of multiple medias. The performance will be followed by a discussion. Both Hill and Zyskowski are currently pursuing master's degrees at the University of Michigan School of Music's department of Performing Arts and Technology.

From Lexington, Kentucky: Jason Corder and Rob Theakston

March 27, 8pm

A live multimedia collaboration between Kentucky native Jason Corder (a.k.a. Off The Sky) and former Detroiter Rob Theakston will feature an original soundtrack score and cinematic visual narrative. Designed in reference to the exhibition "Superheroes In Action," this sound and video performance will weave a digital tapestry from various comic sources of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The performance will be followed by a discussion.