Arts News in Raleigh

The purpose of the crowd: “It is only in a crowd that man can become free of this fear of being touched. That is the only situation in which the fear changes into its opposite. The crowd he needs is the dense crowd, in which body is pressed to body; a crowd, too, whose physical constitution is also dense, or compact, so that he no longer notices who it is that presses against him. As soon as a man has surrendered himself to the crowd, he ceases to fear its touch.

The Imagined City

The rock-musical Rent opened in 1996 and seems to have continually sold out shows on and off Broadway since then.  The cultural issues, AIDS, homosexuality, and sex (to name a few), covered in Rent were groundbreaking on Broadway then and are still taboo issues for many Americans.  It has become a Generation X staple, with references in multiple television shows and films since its opening date, including the hilarious rendition of Lease in Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Team America:  World Police.  Another dramatic aspect of Rent’s history includes the fact that the original composer/writer Jonathon Larson died on the night of the final dress rehearsal for the show and was never able to see the success of the play. 

More on Rent Here

It’s November’s first Friday and we have been busy with events all week, so excuse our tardiness.

Don’t forget about our Visual Map and Guide of Raleigh’s Exhibitions.  The most complete guide of its kind in Raleigh. 

The First Friday agenda below the fold.

As the curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Museum, design author and directing MICA’s Graphic Design MFA program, Ellen Lupton has a full bag.  Her lecture, entitled Details, Details: Ellen Lupton’s Design Rant sponsored by AIGA, should be a mix of that bag.  Before going to see Bombadil at Tir Na Nog or Band of Horses at Lincoln Theatre on Thursday, stop by the lovely, newly renovated Burns Auditorium for some knowledge on DIY culture and its future in the design world.  You may not see street signs or band flyers the same ever again.

More on Lupton Below the Fold

The Gregg Museum, located in NC State’s student center, is a wonderful hidden treasure.  If you are visiting Raleigh or you live in the area, you may not have known about this small but wealthy art resource.  This Thursday NCSU’s Gregg Museum will open new shows of work by NC resident Tom Spleth and photographer Michael Traister. Traister’s show focuses on the pop-culture Sock Monkey theme (meme?). 

Read Below the fold for the Museum’s Release on these Two Shows