December 25, 2014

Epilogue: Last look @ the BAM

           photos by Styrous® 

Today is Christmas day. This is the last of my series of articles on the closing event of the old Berkeley Art Museum building that happened on Sunday, December 21, the Winter Solstice. The solstice marks the turning point in Time, Nature and Life when the old gives way to the new. The days that have been getting shorter day by day will begin to get longer again and life will eventually regenerate itself.

The winter solstice itself lasts only a moment in time, so other terms are used for the day on which it occurs, such as "midwinter", the "shortest day" or the "longest night". It is often considered the "extreme of winter" (Dongzhi in the Chinese calendar), although in meteorology, winter spans the entire period of December through February.

As the Winter Solstice lasts but a moment in time, so did the Museum Building, a brief 44 years. In the time scale of the life of the Universe, or even the Earth, it is a blink of an eye; it is even shorter than the nanosecond it takes to think about the blink. So, on that last night at the BAM, I took my last look at the beautiful structure that was the Berkeley Art Museum and remembered the many good times I'd experienced there.


































 








 














Adios, mi Amigo


Styrous® ~ Thursday, December 25, 2014

December 24, 2014

Last Event @ the BAM










photos by Styrous@















the galleries were open for the last time 
 










































After the performances, remarks were made by Noel W. Nellis, Lawrence Rinder, and Sarah Cahill of the Berkeley Art Museum.




After the remarks, there was a presentation of Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes by György Ligeti after which there was a parade, led by the T Sisters, to the front of the site of the new Berkeley Art Museum building.








December 23, 2014

The BAM final performances


photos by Styrous®


The Berkeley Art Museum closed on December, 21, 2014, in grand style with a wonderful mix of dance and music performances as well as activities for the whole family that mirrored the 44 year history of events that have been presented in the spectacular building.


for the kids, the Kid's Club





While the kids were entertained, the audience watched the performances from the main floor gallery and the galleries overlooking it. This was the view from the upper galleries.






The Performances


break dancers

































 




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Kitka
Women's Eastern European vocal ensemble




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 Chris Kallmyer - sound
Andrew Meyerson - percussion











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Sarah Cahill led the performance of 

 
the count down to start the metronomes





Poème Symphonique by György Ligeti 
for 100 metronomes



















Poème Symphonique is over when the last metronome has stopped. When the piece was over, the T Sisters of Oakland's Jingletown led the audience on a parade to the front of the site of the new Berkeley Art Museum building.



What a terrific way to say goodbye to the beautiful Berkeley Art Museum building!



Styrous® ~ Tuesday, December 23, 2014