EVENTS 2016
APRIL 2016
FACE-TO-FACE
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ANCIENT CHINESE ARTS PHOTOGRAPHS © JON H. DAVIS & IRIS BROOKS
Philadelphia is a city in which to celebrate the history of the country as well as view world class art. The 140-year-old Philadelphia Museum of Art (the 3rd largest art museum in the country) boasts over 200 galleries with a vast and diverse collection, housing everything from ancient armor and a medieval cloister to Dutch tiles, Shaker furniture, and Chinese incense burners as well as the current exhibit on the International Pop Art movement with iconic works by Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Yoko Ono.
TWENTIETH CENTURY ART PHOTOGRAPHS © JON H. DAVIS & IRIS BROOKS
While the museum is well stocked with European art from many centuries, I am particularly drawn to the simple, yet soulful sculpture of Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957). Inspired by myth and folklore, he created work with a sense of timelessness. Brancusi shines a light on the essence of his subjects, regardless of the medium he chooses.
-Iris Brooks
"Simplicity
is not an objective
in art,
but one achieves
simplicity
despite one's self
by entering into the
real sense of things."
-Constantin Brancusi
© IRIS BROOKS
READ THE ENTIRE FEATURE HERE
JUNE 2016
ARTICLE AND PHOTO MONTAGES:
MAY ISSUE OF THE WORLD & I MAGAZINE
"TRADITIONAL JAPANESE GARDENS"
By Iris Brooks
Photos by Jon H. Davis and Iris Brooks
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
ARTICLE AND SELECTED PHOTOGRAPHS:
SPRING ISSUE OF CIDERCRAFT MAGAZINE
“INTO THE MYSTIQUE:
CELEBRATING THE LEGEND AND TRADITIONS OF THE APPLE”
By Iris Brooks
Photos by Jon H. Davis
MAY 2016
FILM SCREENINGS:
EAR INNternational Home Movie Festival
EAR INN 326 SPRING STREET, NYC
SATURDAY MAY 28th - 8PM
SHORT FILMS By Iris Brooks & Jon H. Davis
FILM INSTALLATION:
GARNER ARTS FESTIVAL 2016
55 W. RAILROAD AVE, GARNERVILLE, NY
SATURDAY / SUNDAY MAY 21 & 22 - 11AM-6PM
VIDEO INSTALLATION BY ERIC DAVID LAXMAN
IN COLLABORATION WITH IRIS BROOKS & JON H. DAVIS
JULY 2016
FILM SCREENING & CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES WORLD MUSIC AND COLOR PRESENTATION:
BORNEO & BEYOND: The Rainforest World Music Festival
and "A WORLD VIEW OF COLOR,"
An Interactive Program
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Teaneck, New Jersey
PHOTOGRAPHS © JON H. DAVIS & IRIS BROOKS
FILM SCREENING & CROSS CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
LANGUAGE PRESENTATIONS:
LANGUAGES LOST AND FOUND: Speaking & Whistling the Mamma Tongue
AWAKENING LANGUAGES: A Personal Exploration, Sharing, and Questioning
An Interactive Program
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Teaneck, New Jersey
CLICK HERE TO ORDER
AUGUST 2016
ARTICLE:
SUMMER ISSUE OF CIDERCRAFT MAGAZINE
"CIDER FOR BODY & SOUL"
By Iris Brooks
PHOTO © JON H. DAVIS
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE
FACE-TO-FACE:
TREKONDEROGA
Ticonderoga, New York
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF STAR TREK
Photos and Montage by Jon H. Davis & Iris Brooks
Celebrating 50 years of Star Trek on the bridge of the USS ENTERPRISE-1701 at TREKONDEROGA in Ticonderoga, New York, was a dream-come-true for many devoted fans of the original television series. They came from far and wide to see the meticulously crafted original series set tour and all its various components, as it appeared in the groundbreaking Sci-Fi drama, which had a three year run before it was canceled. The re-creation of the Desilu Studio set was the dream of James Cawley and came into being through his hard work, along with many other devoted fans, as well as assistance from a number of key personnel involved in the original series production.
If you would like to beam in for a CBS licensed, personalized tour—which is about as close to time traveling as you're likely to get—visit the official website (trekonderoga.com) for further details and directions to the studio, located in the Adirondack region of New York.
-Jon H. Davis
SEPTEMBER 2016
ARTICLE AND PHOTO MONTAGES:
SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF THE WORLD & I MAGAZINE
"EXPLORING SAN FRANCISCO"
By Iris Brooks
Photos by Jon H. Davis and Iris Brooks
I am intrigued by San Francisco, a multicultural city where I encounter kinetic art by Theo Jansen, a prominent Dutch sculptor with an exhibit at the stimulating Exploratorium museum, stay at a charming French, boutique Cornell Hotel de France, offering fine dining and an eye for art, and enjoy island views on a cruise, serving as a reminder of Native American history.
-Iris Brooks
“San Francisco is one of the great cultural plateaus of the world–one of the really urbane communities in the United States–one of the truly cosmopolitan places for many, many years. It always has had a warm welcome for human beings from all over the world.”
-Duke Ellington
Jazz Musician
OCTOBER 2016
ARTICLE & PHOTO MONTAGES:
OCTOBER ISSUE OF THE WORLD & I MAGAZINE
"NEW ENGLAND’S MYSTIC SEAPORT:
The Museum of America and the Sea"
By Iris Brooks
Photos by Jon H. Davis and Iris Brooks
A visit to the Mystic Seaport is a chance to immerse oneself in maritime culture at a living museum with stories of ages past, village shops of yesteryear, and contemporary crafts with a nautical theme. It’s also an opportunity to climb aboard and walk the decks of a well-seasoned, wooden ship, experiencing a historic vessel while inhaling the scent of the saltwater.
Mystic Seaport is a not-for-profit, educational institution open year-round. Its wealth of offerings, remind us of our history, introducing new ideas, concepts, and art. We may be aware that clipper ships (graceful, streamlined boats built for speed and "going at a clip") with names like David Crockett, Red Jacket, Lightning, and Flying Cloud, have been used to transport people (prospectors traveling from the East Coast to San Francisco during the Gold Rush) and products (time-sensitive, fresh tea from China). We can reflect on this while viewing everything from postcards to refined oil paintings of the clippers on exhibit at the Seaport, but many lesser-known facts are also revealed.
Sea life may have hitched a ride on a ship. Known as "blue immigrants," new marine species such as sea snails like the European Common Periwinkle along with the Asian Shore Crab, and Green Crabs, said to devour everything in sight, arrived in this country, sometimes competing for local food sources. Dead Man's Fingers, a type of seaweed, migrated from Japan to Europe and then the United States, impacting scallop fisheries. Immigration from a crustacean's point of view is something I never considered before. And I welcome the new perspectives on marine life and its impact on society, introduced at the Seaport.
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."
-Jacques Cousteau
"I feel there is something almost sacred about building a boat . . .
It is almost like creating a living being,
a boat seems to have a soul
and character all her own."
-John Guzzwell
"The sea is everything.
It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe.
Its breath is pure and healthy.
It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely,
for he feels life stirring on all sides."
-Jules Verne
Excerpted from an article, which originally appeared in the World & I magazine, October 2016
NOVEMBER 2016
ARTICLE & PHOTO MONTAGES:
NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE WORLD & I MAGAZINE
"A CULINARY ADVENTURE:
Oregon’s Rogue Valley"
By Iris Brooks
Photos by Jon H. Davis and Iris Brooks
A greater diversity of berries is found in the Pacific Northwest than anywhere else in the world. The famed Marionberry (named after Marion County, Oregon where it was developed in 1956) is a cross between Chehalem and Oallie berries, but it is the ancient blackberry, written about since the 4th century B.C., which was used for its medicinal properties. It has been credited with healing infections, sore throats, and colds as well as for a pigment to dye textiles.
I learn the tayberry is a cross between the black raspberry and blackberry, but am more impressed with how the whole family pitches in at Pennington Farms. The father, Sam has quotes on a blackboard seeming more appropriate for a philosopher or Zen master than a farmer. Beneath the family history are Sam's thoughts. "No coulda, shoulda, woulda" appears in yellow chalk. Also written on another section of the giant blackboard along with an illustration is, "Hula girl says: Don't look back or you'll wipe out."
-Iris Brooks
CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
ART EXHIBITION: HIDDEN WONDERS
MANDALA ART BY JON H. DAVIS
OPENING RECEPTION - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 4 - 6 PM
ROOST
623 MAIN STREET
SPARKILL, NEW YORK
DECEMBER 2016
ARTICLE & PHOTO MONTAGES:
DECEMBER ISSUE OF THE WORLD & I MAGAZINE
"THE ART OF CULTURAL CINEMA"
By Iris Brooks
Photos by Jon H. Davis and Iris Brooks
The Mead Festival, celebrating its 40th year of cultural cinema, had quite a variety of films aimed at reconnecting and rediscovering our common humanity as we rethink the world around us. There were 44 films from 50 countries screened during a weekend in October at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I was particularly drawn to those dealing with endangered cultures, nomadic lifestyles, and indigenous music or ceremonies. Among the highlights were Reindeer in My Saami Heart (Sweden), Belen (Venezuela), and J.C. Abbey, Ghana's Puppeteer (Ghana).
-Iris Brooks
"Our humanity rests upon a series of learned behaviors,
woven together into patterns that are infinitely fragile
and never directly inherited."
-Margaret Mead
"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values,
we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities,
and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which
each diverse human gift will find a fitting place."
-Margaret Mead,
Anthropologist