Nassau notes
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Parody of ‘The Sacred Grove’
Exhibition examines parody and pastiche in Toulouse-Lautrec’s painting
An exhibition at the Princeton University Art Museum is centered on this celebrated painting by the 19th-century French artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec that simultaneously pokes fun of and pays homage to Puvis de Chavannes’ “The Sacred Grove, Beloved of the Arts and Muses,” the winner of the highest prize at the Paris Salon of 1884.
The exhibition, “Invoking the Comic Muse: Toulouse-Lautrec’s Parody of ‘The Sacred Grove,’” includes related works highlighting the role that caricature, parody and pastiche played in Toulouse-Lautrec’s painting and his oeuvre. The exhibition runs through June 8.
Newsweek’s Isikoff to speak on presidency
Newsweek investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff will speak on “Investigative Reporting and the Presidency” at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, in 16 Robertson Hall.
Isikoff has been with Newsweek since 1994 and has written extensively on the U.S. government’s war on terrorism, the Abu Ghraib scandal, campaign finance, congressional ethics, presidential politics and other national issues.
Isikoff is the author of “Uncovering Clinton: A Reporter’s Story” and co-author, with David Corn, of “Hubris,” about the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the scandal surrounding the exposure of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Isikoff’s online column with Mark Hosenball, “Terror Watch,” won the 2005 award from the Society of Professional Journalists for best investigative reporting online. In 2001, Isikoff was part of the Newsweek team that won the Overseas Press Club’s most prestigious honor, the Ed Cunningham Memorial Award, for best magazine reporting from abroad for the magazine’s coverage of the war on terror.
The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
China’s power is lecture topic
Political scientist and former U.S. State Department official Susan Shirk will deliver a lecture based on her book “China: Fragile Superpower” at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 10, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
In the book, Shirk examines the paradox faced by China’s leaders, arguing that as the country’s economy is booming, its leaders increasingly feel insecure and threatened.
Shirk is a professor of political science at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California-San Diego. From 1997 to 2000, she served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia.
Shirk’s other books include “How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC’s Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms,” “The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China” and “Competitive Comrades: Career Incentives and Student Strategies in China.”
The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program as part of their series on “U.S. Policy and the Rise of China.”
Volker to discuss NATO, Afghanistan
Kurt Volker, who recently was nominated by President Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO, will discuss the conflict in Afghanistan and its impact on U.S.-European relations at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, in 16 Robertson Hall.
Volker’s talk is titled “NATO: Is There Life After Afghanistan?” He currently is the U.S. State Department’s principal deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs. In this position, which he has held since July 2005, Volker focuses on ties between the United States and Europe, particularly in the context of organizations such as NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
In January, Bush nominated Volker to serve as the top American envoy to NATO, which will require Senate confirmation. Volker previously has served as director of NATO policy and acting senior director for Europe at the National Security Council. He also has been a political officer at the U.S. mission to NATO and deputy director of former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson’s private office.
The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
“Destiny and Krystal,” by Nora Gross
Photographs of siblings focus of exhibit
Senior Nora Gross captures images of siblings through the eyes of an only child in her senior thesis exhibition, “For Your Only Eyes,” which will be on view Tuesday through Friday, March 11-14, in the Lucas Gallery, 185 Nassau St.
“Destiny and Krystal” (left) is one of the photographs in the exhibition, which is sponsored by the Program in Visual Arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts.
Hempel, Egan to read from work
Fiction writers Amy Hempel and Jennifer Egan will read from their work at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, in the Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau St.
“The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel” was named one of The New York Times’ 10 best books of 2006 and was a finalist for the PEN-Faulkner Award. Hempel’s other works include “Reason to Live,” “At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom” and “Tumble Home.” She co-edited the anthology “Unleashed: Poems by Writer’s Dogs.”
Egan has written three novels, “The Invisible Circus”; “Look at Me,” a finalist for the National Book Award; and the bestseller “The Keep,” which was named one the best books of 2006 by the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle. She has published a short story collection, “Emerald City,” and her short fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Harper’s, McSweeney’s and Ploughshares.
The event is part of the Althea Ward Clark Reading Series sponsored by the Program in Creative Writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts.
