Campus Stories - Posts

Two people sitting on stage in conversation.
Campus Stories

Anna Deavere Smith talks about the healing power of stories

On Oct. 28, hundreds gathered at Memorial Auditorium for a night of storytelling and conversation with former Stanford faculty member Anna Deavere Smith, an award-winning pioneer in the field of documentary theater. Smith is best known for her one-woman, multi-character performances, which depict people reflecting on moments of intense catastrophe. Her plays range in dramatic…

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Silhouette of man with gun amidst vinyl records.
Campus Stories

Stanford scholars spy history of capitalist culture in Bond film songs

In the lead-up to Spectre, the latest film in the decades-long James Bond spy thriller franchise opening this week, much of the recent buzz has centered on another long-running 007 tradition – the title song. Amidst all the speculation about who would sing the new Bond song, Stanford scholars Adrian Daub and Charles Kronengold wrote…

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Sounds of the sea
Campus Stories

Sounds of the sea

Every fall Chris Chafe, professor of music and director of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), takes students from Music 220A out on the high seas to record sound. In October 2015, 30 students chewed a bit of ginger and headed out for the day to dangle their self-built hydrophones over…

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[wpbb-if post:acf type="image" name="image" size="thumbnail" display="alt"]Color photo of woman
Campus Stories

“Comma And…”

Last winter quarter, Stanford undergraduate students in any discipline or major were invited to submit new work for the Department of Art & Art History’s second annual undergraduate juried art exhibition titled Comma And… . After much discussion and deliberation, a jury whittled down the selections and made their final recommendations of 27 works from 20 students….

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Side view of Anderson Collection building as seen from the Cantor Arts Center
Campus Stories

Stanford’s Anderson Collection building wins prestigious architecture award

The Anderson Collection at Stanford University has won a 2015 Award of Excellence, the highest level of honor, from the American Institute of Architects, New York State (AIANY). Designed by RICHARD OLCOTT/Ennead Architects, the building housing the collection is located in the heart of Stanford’s arts district. The Anderson Collection at Stanford University celebrates its first anniversary…

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Group of choral singers
Campus Stories

Recording produced at Bing Concert Hall makes first step toward Grammy nomination

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences announced that the recording of Joseph Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass (Nelsonmesse) and Symphony No. 102 performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Stanford Chamber Strings and Stanford Chamber Chorale in Bing Concert Hall has qualified for the first-round ballot in four Grammy categories: Best Choral Performance, Best Chamber Music/Small…

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Atrium of art and art history building at Stanford
Campus Stories

New home of the Stanford Department of Art & Art History is an adventure

“Wow” is an apt way to describe the student and community response to the new home of the Department of Art & Art History in Stanford’s arts district. The McMurtry Building was completed over the summer, opening for instruction and art-making on the first day of the fall term. Since then, students have explored 100,000…

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Art history building on the Stanford Campus
Campus Stories

Stanford’s newest building spotlights art and art history

On Oct. 6, Stanford Board of Trustees Chair Steven Denning formally accepted the McMurtry Building for theDepartment of Art & Art History. It is the first new building to open this academic year. The building dedication was one of several celebratory events on Tuesday.   The McMurtry Building at Stanford University, the new home of the Department…

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McMurtry Building for Art & Art History
Campus Stories

McMurtry Building for Art & Art History

Stanford’s McMurtry Building for the arts provides unified facilities for art history, art practice and film programs. Diller Scofidio + Renfro, along with the executive architect, Portland, OR-based Boora Architects, designed not only a new home for the Department of Art and Art History but an interdisciplinary hub for the arts at Stanford that is…

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Iwan Baan
Campus Stories

Welcome back!

The big news this year is the opening of the McMurtry Building for the Department of Art & Art History! This incredible new home for all the department’s programs marks the third new facility in our arts district following Bing Concert Hall (2013) and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University (2014). The first exhibition in…

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Dry-5: Stories from the California Drought
Campus Stories

Dry-5: Stories from the California Drought

Two Stanford alums and an undergraduate walk into a bar… Actually, they aren’t in a bar; they are on stage putting on a show about the California drought. So no drinks, but there is plenty of talk of being parched. The alumnae are MARI AMEND and DORIA CHARLSON, both of the Class of ’13, who…

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Obituary: John Henry Merryman
Campus Stories

Obituary: John Henry Merryman

It’s often said that the faculty makes a school. In the case of John Henry Merryman, one individual’s influence on Stanford went well beyond the classroom and the launch of a new field of law to the very art on the walls and sculptures on the grounds. An internationally renowned expert on art and cultural…

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Stanford conservators work to preserve Rodin Sculpture Garden
Campus Stories

Stanford conservators work to preserve Rodin Sculpture Garden

With dust, UV light radiation and acid rain to contend with, it’s difficult to keep outdoor works of art in their original, intended condition. To help fend off corrosion, the Rodin Sculpture Garden, next to the Cantor Arts Center, is in the middle of its annual conservation work. Conservators first wash the sculptures, then apply…

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From Stanford’s Braun Music Hall to the Big Apple
Campus Stories

From Stanford’s Braun Music Hall to the Big Apple

“Surreal and wonderful” is how Stanford alumnus LOUIS LAGALANTE described presenting the opening number from his original musical Mirror Image at the New York Musical Theater Festival this summer. Mirror Image, with music and lyrics by Lagalante, premiered at Stanford in March 2015 as Lagalante’s senior capstone project in music composition. The story follows three…

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Imagining the Universe – Photo Gallery
Campus Stories

Imagining the Universe – Photo Gallery

In 2014-2015 we let our imaginations soar to the cosmos.  An interdisciplinary consortium drawing on departments and programs from across the university presented a program that sought to deepen our understanding of the universe, and to appreciate what we can learn about ourselves from the way we depict our cosmos. Through exhibitions, performances, public conversations, and courses,…

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The art of music: String quartet captivates visitors to the Anderson Collection
Campus Stories

The art of music: String quartet captivates visitors to the Anderson Collection

As part of an effort to engage visitors in fresh and unique gallery experiences, the Anderson Collection at Stanford University treated museum visitors to a special performance by the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Music lofted through the gallery as the quartet performed a mix of classic and contemporary arrangements to a packed crowd of onlookers….

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