Lectures and Events

Programs are free with museum admission unless noted. These listings can also be found on the Calendar.
Act 48 hours available for K-12 educators.

Drop-in Tours
Guided drop-in tours are free with museum admission and meet in front of the museum store. To schedule adult or student group tours, call the group visits office at 412.622.3289. Discounts apply for groups who register and pay in advance.

Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International
Tues.–Fri., 1:30–2:30 p.m.
Sat., 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 1:30–2:30 p.m.
Thurs., 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Sun., 1:30–2:30 p.m.

Special summer tours:
July 7–Aug. 25: Mon.–Sat., 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.,  1:30–2:30 p.m.

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New! Tours just for members!
Enjoy free docent-led gallery tours on the second Sunday of the month. Each of the three 60-minute tours takes a closer look at a different group of artists in Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International. Two-week advance reservation required. Call 412.578.2476.

June 8, July 13, or Aug. 10 at 2:00 p.m. (Adult tours)
June 8 or Aug. 10 at 1:00 p.m. (Family tours)

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

Fête Nationale: Bastille Day Celebration!
Mon., July 14
6:00–7:00 p.m., aperitifs and French art
7:00–9:00 p.m., buffet dinatoire, meet the curator, and entertainment
$100 members/$110 nonmembers
Carnegie Café and fountain entrance
Call Courtney Ford, Office of Development, 412.578.2477 to register.
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and The Alliance Française bring a French national holiday to Pittsburgh —a celebration of Bastille Day. This event benefits both organizations. Begin with an aperitif and a stroll through the galleries to view works of art by Monet, Renoir, and other French artists. Meet Jason Busch, the Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts, and share in his vision for the future of the decorative arts collection. A buffet dinatoire with French cuisine and wine, a mime, and French music and songs round out the evening. 

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LIFE ON MARS, THE 2008 CARNEGIE INTERNATIONAL

Life on Mars Book Club
Each month, second Thurs., 6:30–7:45 p.m.
Meet in the Museum of Art lobby; Free
Space is limited; call 412.622.3288 to register. Sign up for one session or all six!
Delve into six fascinating works of fiction that tackle the complexities of the human condition—the humorous, the perilous, the ironic, and the fantastic. Each session begins with a 15-minute gallery talk highlighting literary and visual art connections, then converse with fellow readers and library staff in the casual atmosphere of the Heinz Architectural Center. Books are available in the museum store, at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Main Branch in Oakland, and at Life on Mars book clubs in your neighborhood library.
June 12          Nicholson Baker: The Mezzanine
July 10            Haruki Murakami: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
                         End of the World
Aug. 14           Daniel Quinn: Ishmael
Sept. 11          Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: The Little Prince
Oct. 9              Vladimir Nabokov: Pale Fire
Nov. 13           Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

Remainder, a new process/performance by Attack Theatre: Phase one
Thurs., June 19
Gallery discussions: 6:00–6:45 p.m.
Performance: 7:00–7:45 p.m.
Sculpture Court (rain location: Carnegie Lecture Hall)
Fri., Aug. 1
9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Attack Theatre Studio Space, 4805 Penn Ave
Attack Theatre, Pittsburgh’s premier fusion of creative movement and music, presents Remainder, Phase One, the first installment of a three-part work inspired by Life on Mars. Dancers open the Thurs., June 19 event with a gallery discussion of works that inspired their movement sequences and then continue in the Sculpture Court where they will present their synthesized choreography. During the following weeks, visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to view, ask questions, and participate with Attack Theatre in the artistic distillation process, which leads to a studio event on Fri., Aug. 1. This event will be part of Attack Theatre’s monthly “Game Night and the Seven Minute Dance Series.” Remainder’s culminating performance will take place in January 2009.

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From Pittsburgh to Mars: Artist Gallery Talk Series
Sundays, 2:30–3:30 p.m.
Free with museum admission
Meet in the Museum of Art Lobby
Enjoy informal talks with Pittsburgh-based artists in the Life on Mars exhibition galleries. Each talk will reflect the point of view of the presenting artist and inspire a lively discussion focusing on different works of art each month. Learn more about these artists at Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International.
June 22: Ayanah Moor and Andrew Johnson
July 20: Bovey Lee and Fabrizio Gerbino
Aug. 17: Liz Richards and Tom Sarver

Panel Discussion: The Philosophy behind the Art and Science of Exploration
Thurs., June 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
CMA Theater
Free with museum admission
Is there life on Mars? Are we alone in the universe? The process of questioning—metaphorically and physically—is central to both art and science. Acclaimed writer Michael Sims, “science raconteur” and author of Darwin’s Orchestra and Apollo’s Fire, joins NASA scientist Dr. Claudia J. Alexander, Project Manager of the U.S. Rosetta Project, to discuss the ways that space exploration changes our perception of our own world, as well as the interplay between scientific discovery and artistic creation.

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

Pushing Pencils through Mars: A Writer’s Workshop
Thurs., June 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Lecture: The Philosophy behind the Art and Science of Exploration (Class will meet after the lecture until 8:30 p.m.)
Classes: Thurs., July 10–31, 6:30–8:30 p.m., Heinz Architectural Center
Public Reading, Thurs., Aug. 7, 6:30–7:30 p.m., CMA Theater
$40 members/$50 nonmembers
Limited to 15 participants
Call 412.622.3288.to register.
Explore Life on Mars with pencil and paper. This five-session summer writing workshop brings together the experience of looking at contemporary art and reflections on the exhibition’s title Life on Mars to inspire writing about living in the world today. Led by Sherrie Flick, artistic director of the Gist Street Reading Series, and Marc Nieson, Chatham University creative writing instructor, the class sessions include writing and revision exercises, feedback, examples, discussion, and fun. The workshop culminates in a public reading of selected works on August 7.

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Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

Artist’s Lecture: Ranjani Shettar
Tues., July 15, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Carnegie Lecture Hall; Free
Ranjani Shettar draws upon Indian culture, religion, and traditions to create intricate sculptures, installations, and prints that delve into the relationship between the physical and spiritual. Employing such materials as coconut fibers, mud, cotton, plastic, wax, and metal, Shettar explores the symbolic and sacred potential of the seemingly mundane in works that suggest a range of organic forms, from cocoons to webs to the skeins of the nervous system. Her Life on Mars installation, entitled Just a bit more, fills a room with a web made of hand-molded beeswax, pigments, and thread dyed in tea.

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

Film Screening: Wilhelm Sasnal
Sat., July 19, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Braddock Carnegie Library, Music Hall
419 Library St., Braddock
Free
Life on Mars artist Wilhelm Sasnal is a filmmaker and painter whose widely varied use of styles and subjects challenges viewers to question what they see. A series of Sasnal’s intriguing short films will be shown in the historic Music Hall at the Braddock Carnegie Library. Following the screenings, join the Braddock community celebration of a newly opened gallery space, Unsmoke Systems. Works on view are by Pittsburgh-based artists, and the show was organized by Heather Pesanti, assistant curator of contemporary art at Carnegie Museum of Art. Check out Braddock for more information.
Look for additional artist films at various Pittsburgh Filmmakers locations from September through November.

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

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Sound and Vision:  A Night With Barry McGee, Japanther, and PAPER RAD
Thurs., July 24, 8:30 p.m.: Discussion
9:30 p.m.: Concert
Sculpture Court (rain location: Carnegie Music Hall)
Curator Douglas Fogle teams up with Carnegie International artist Barry McGee for a conversation about his work and about artists’ responses to the phrase “life on Mars.” From his beginnings in graffiti culture in the 1980s to his emergence as a gallery artist, McGee (known as “Twist” in skateboarding circles) has created art that reflects an antiauthoritarian, non-institutional point of view. Using bold colors and dynamic geometric shapes, his installations have the chaotic energy of the urban experience, bringing a subversive street aesthetic into the space of the museum. For Life on Mars, McGee has transformed an ordinary hallway with his mixed-media installation. Following the talk, New York-based band Japanther performs in the museum’s outdoor sculpture court with video projections by PAPER RAD.

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

Film Series: Is There Life on Mars?
Sun., Aug. 3–31
8:00 p.m.
Regent Square Theater, 1035 S. Braddock Ave., Edgewood
$8 adults; $6 students/seniors/children
Film has always been an effective medium for exploring themes of humanization, mechanization, and changes in our world that affect our daily lives. Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Carnegie Museum of Art team up to present a series of popular films from the last 50 years that question what it means to be human in our world and the worlds we have yet to discover. Check Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International or Pittsburgh Filmmakers learn more about the exhibit for titles beginning in June. Cosponsored by Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

Public Reading:  Writers from “Pushing Pencils through Mars”
Thurs., Aug. 7, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
CMA Theater
This event showcases the creative work of professional and novice writers inspired by Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International. Sherrie Flick, artistic director of the Gist Street Reading Series, and writer Marc Nieson, Chatham University creative writing instructor, will begin with readings of their own.

Visit Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International to learn more about the exhibit.

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Paul Thek, American, 1933–1988;  Untitled (Earth Drawing I), c. 1974, acrylic on 4 sheets of newspaper; Collection of Robert Wilson; Courtesy of Alexander and Bonin, New York

Cao Fei, Chinese, b. 1978; My Future is Not a Dream, 2006, digital c-print, edition of 12;
Courtesy of the artist and Lombard-Freid Projects, New York

Marisa Merz, Italian, b. 1931; Untitled (Living Sculpture), 1966, strips of aluminum, dimensions variable; Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery, New York, © Marisa Merz, Photo: Tom Little

Wilhelm Sasnal, Polish, b. 1972; D. Johnston, 2007, oil on canvas; Courtesy of Anton Kern Gallery, New York, and Fundacja Galerii Foksal, Warsaw

Maria Lassnig, Austrian, b. 1919; Untitled (Political), 2008, oil on canvas; Courtesy of the artist; Hauser & Wirth, Zürich/London; and Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York, Photo: Tom Little