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DESIRE CAUGHT BY THE TAIL

The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center and Guild Hall present
A Staged Reading of
DESIRE CAUGHT BY THE TAIL
by Pablo Picasso

Directed by Scott Sheppard

Featuring members of Lightning Rod Special: Alex Bechtel, Melanye Finister, Fernando Gonzalez, Lee Minora, Matteo Scammell, Terran Scott, and Jacinta Yelland.

In the winter of 1941, soon after the Germans had occupied Paris, Picasso spent three days writing a play entitled Le Désir attrapé par la queue, which translates literally to “Desire caught by the tail.” It was first presented at a reading in the Paris apartment of Michel Leiris in 1944. The parts were read by such local literati as Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Valentine Hugo, Raymond Queneau, and Picasso himself. Albert Camus directed.

While the narrative is nonlinear and the meaning nearly impossible to decipher, the work has been praised despite (and sometimes for) its lack of message. According to legend, when Picasso showed it to Gertrude Stein, she advised him to go back to painting. Described as “surrealistic” and “simply weird,” this short play is rarely produced due to sheer incomprehensibility.

In 1984 a production by the Eye and Ear Theater, directed by Taylor Mead, was presented at the John Drew Theater in conjunction with the Guild Hall exhibition, “Artists in the Theater.” Now, in homage to this 1984 presentation and in continued celebration of Guild Hall’s 90^th Anniversary, we revisit this aesthetic curiosity – presented as a one hour staged reading at the John Drew Theater in partnership with The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center as an element of their current exhibition Picasso in Pollock.

Directed by Scott R. Sheppard – an OBIE-Award winning theater artist, Co-Director of the Philadelphia-based performance ensemble Lightning Rod Special, and alumnus of Guild Hall’s Artist In Residence Program – who will bring members of his gifted ensemble out to be in residence again at Guild Hall, where they will revisit and recreate the strange poetry and magic of the play for this live, one-time-only, ephemeral matinee. A must-see for all theatrical adventurers and students of the curious and the odd!

The eAT Coffee Bar will be open for drinks and refreshments!

Guests attending programs indoors in the John Drew Theater must show proof of full vaccination. Click HERE for full COVID-19 protocol for guests.

Meet the Artists – Jeff Muhs and Permanent Collection Artists

In Conversation: Jeff Muhs and Christina Mossaides Strassfield

Christina Strassfield has known Jeff Muhs for 30 years and has followed his work’s evolution. Join her as she asks in-depth questions on how and what his inspiration is for creating these unique works of art and what compels him to work across different media simultaneously.

Jeff Muhs was the “Top Honors” winner of the 2018 Artist Members Exhibition, selected by Connie Choi, Associate Curator, The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York. Muhs is a contemporary American artist known for both his paintings and sculptures. Engaged in exploring art history as well as using found materials, the artist’s practice includes blurred versions of paintings, expressive abstractions based on the Long Island landscape, and concrete sculptures of female torsos tightly bonded in various materials. Born in 1966 in Southampton, NY, his father was a sculptor who taught Muhs wood carving at a young age. Going on to attend the School of Visual Arts in New York during the mid-1980s, Muhs directed his focus towards painting before returning to sculpture later in his career. The artist’s works are held in the collections of the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, NY, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, TN, among others. Muhs continues to work from his studio in Southampton, NY.

Fitted face masks are required for all guests over the age of 2 indoors regardless of vaccination status, except when eating or drinking. Click HERE for full COVID-19 protocol.

Astronomy in Ancient Egypt (Mapping the Stars)

Hamptons Observatory and Guild Hall are pleased to bring you this free, virtual presentation by Egyptologist, Dr. Colleen Darnell, who will discuss how astronomy influenced the belief system, art and life in ancient Egypt. From the earliest religious compositions in ancient Egypt, the Pyramid Texts, stars were an important part of their funerary beliefs. Not only did the king desire to join the sun god in his daily rising and setting, but he wanted to become one of the “imperishable ones,” the circumpolar stars. Astronomical observation was an important part of time keeping as well, with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius marking the beginning of the New Year. Drawings of constellations also form a part of the ceiling decoration of royal tombs of the New Kingdom.

Dr. Colleen Darnell is an Egyptologist who has published widely on pharaonic history, religion, and literature. Her most recent book, The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books (co-authored with her husband, John Darnell), was the first complete English translation of the hieroglyphic texts within the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. In Imagining the Past: Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt, Dr. Darnell identified four stories that belonged to a genre of historical fiction written by the ancient Egyptians themselves. In 2013, she curated an exhibit at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs, that examined Egyptian motifs from antiquity to the present.

Registration is required for this free virtual event. Click HERE.

Hamptons Observatory would like to thank Dr. Darnell for generously taking the time to share her expertise, and Guild Hall for its kind collaboration.

HamptonsObservatory (HO), a 501(c)(3) NYS nonprofit that relies on public support has served the South Fork since 2005. Its mission: to foster interest in science, particularly astronomy, through educational programs. Lectures, star parties, portable planetarium shows and other events are held throughout the South Fork, often in collaboration with other nonprofit organizations. HOhas established the first astronomical observatory on the South Fork (on the campus of the Ross School in East Hampton), complete with Long Island’s largest research-grade telescope; these facilities will soon be accessible over the internet to students, teachers, researchers and the general public. HamptonsObservatory offers all of its programs free-of-charge to encourage participation regardless of economic status. To make a tax-deductible donation to support our mission, please go to www.HamptonsObservatory.org and click on Donations. To join HO’s list for event notices, email HamptonsObservatory@gmail.com.

Social Fabric: In the Public Square

Interdisciplinary artist Andrea Cote and choreographer Ann Robideaux will activate the Minikes Garden as a place to gather amid a video installation accompanied by live sound by Chris Jones, and curated by Christina Mossiades Strassfield, Museum Director and Chief Curator.

The project explores how we embody personal and communal movement languages, through containment and connection in domestic and public spheres. The artists invited both professional dancers and recreational movers to explore movement inside six-foot square sheets delineated with geometric forms and cosmological patterns. As we occupy this present liminal zone, the artists create a place for visitors to inhabit that is at once intimate and communal.

Reservations are not required. Simply drop in over the course of their time in the garden!

The eAT Coffee Bar will be open for drinks and refreshments!

A World Within a World: The Bay Houses of Long Island

Directed by Barbara Weber, A World Within a World: The Bay Houses of Long Island (2020, 58 min.) explores the symbiotic relationship between nature and mankind. Focusing on the South Shore bay homes of Hempstead, Long Island, Weber captures the perseverance and dedication of generational bay homeowners. Preserving century long traditions, battling eroding marshlands, and enduring hurricane strength storms are just some of the many tribulations these families face.

A resident of Long Beach, NY, Barbara would notice the bay houses as she periodically drove over the Loop Parkway from where several bay houses can be seen. For years she had been very curious about these other worldly structures that looked as if they were built during a much earlier time. It wasn’t until she came upon a sign within the Lido Beach Nature Preserve that she learned that these were called bay houses.

“I was so excited and felt compelled to tell this story,” says Barbara Weber. “I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a documentary on them. Having scored the soundtrack for over 33 films, basically you are a storyteller yourself. I knew I had what it took to put this film together. I then found Nancy Solomon, the director of Long Island Traditions who wrote a book about the bay houses; now in its second edition. Nancy was able to secure the bulk of funding for this project and bring me and my crew into the bay house world.”

The Film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Guild Hall Executive Director Andrea Grover with Director Barbara Weber, Nancy Solomon, the Director of Long Island Traditions, artist Daniel Pollera.

Click HERE to view the film’s trailer.

THIS PROGRAM WILL TAKE PLACE INDOORS IN THE JOHN DREW THEATER. Guests attending any INDOOR John Drew Theater programs must show proof of FULL vaccination. At this time, only fully vaccinated guests are permitted to attend programs in the indoor theater. Face coverings are required indoors for all guests over the age of two, regardless of vaccinated status.

Click HERE for full COVID-19 information to review prior to your visit.

End of Summer Outdoor Silent Dance Party!

Join us for the finale of an incredible 90th season by dancing to the beat of your own playlist! Quiet Events Silent Disco DJ’s will be spinning songs from the 70’s to today that will play on wireless headsets with three channels. The dance party will take place in the festive John Drew Backyard Theater, so grab your family, friends, neighbors, and strangers and head to Guild Hall on Sunday, September 5 from 8-11pm for the most fun you will ever have!

Additionally, the façade of the building will be lit up with a special video installation, TimeSpace, by artist Christine Sciulli.

Skip the lines and reserve your headphones in advance – which also guarantees you will get them on arrival! Headsets can be rented on site, but advance reservations are recommended.

Wine, beer, cocktails and snacks will be available at our new eAT Coffee Bar, located in the front lobby.

Face coverings are optional for fully vaccinated guests and children under the age of 2 for all outdoor programs. Face coverings are required for guests who are not fully vaccinated at all programs at Guild Hall including outdoors in the John Drew Backyard Theater and elsewhere on the property.

Click HERE for full COVID-19 information to review prior to attending.

Gallery Tour of ROBERT LONGO: A HISTORY OF THE PRESENT with Christina Mossaides Strassfield

Join Museum Director/Chief Curator Christina Mossaides Strassfield for an intimate tour of Robert Longo’s A History of the Present.

This long-awaited exhibition is a celebration of and a critical investigation into the span of American history bookended by Abstract Expressionism and the current moment in which we live. In two adjacent galleries Longo juxtaposes America’s past with its present through 17 monumental, highly labor-intensive charcoal drawings that act as mirrors into history.

Click HERE for full COVID-19 information to review prior to your visit.

Guild Hall 90th Birthday Celebration

Guild Hall will celebrate its 90^th birthday all day and night on Thursday, August 19! Our current exhibition, Robert Longo: A History of the Present will be on view in the galleries for extended hours from noon to 8PM. The day’s festivities will begin at 11AM with artist Viv Corringham and the founders of Gesso, Henna Wang and Michael Reynolds, who will be giving a personal tour of Full of Noises: A Village Soundwalk at 11AM, followed by Communal Drip Painting with the Pollock-Krasner House & Study Center in the Boots Lamb Education Center from 3-5PM, and Family Gallery Tours with Guild Hall’s FAQ Team at 3:30 and 4:30PM.

At 7:30PM we are thrilled to present New York City Ballet: On & Off Stage indoors in the John Drew Theater. Tickets are going fast, so make your reservation today!

Free birthday cupcakes will be available all day courtesy of Citarella, and the eAT Coffee Bar will be open for refreshments (and cocktails!) from noon to 8PM.

Rescheduled to 9/5 – Guild Hall 90th Birthday Silent Dance Party!

DUE TO RAIN THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY, 9/5 FROM 8-11PM.

Click HERE for 9/5!

Join us for the finale of a day-long 90th birthday celebration by dancing to the beat of your own playlist! Quiet Events Silent Disco DJ’s will be spinning songs from the 70’s to today that will play on wireless headsets with three channels. The dance party will take place in front of the building and in the John Drew Backyard Theater, so grab your family, friends, neighbors, and strangers and head to Guild Hall on Thursday, August 19 from 8-11pm for the most fun you will ever have!