Pomona College celebrated the opening of its new Studio Art Hall on Oct. 11, with a range of performances, art activities and installations, curated by Mark Allen, founder of Machine Project and chair of the College’s Art Department. A formal dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m. kicked off the festivities, which continued until 8 p.m.
Visitors had a chance to sketch (and consume) an ever-changing edible still-life, relax in a Michael Parker 10-foot high mirrored Steam Egg, listen to Georgian polyphonic singing in the glow of the darkroom safelight, paint a folded panel for later display, explore a Minecraft version of the new building and take photos with a building-shaped hat in the photo booth.
Other highlights included a hologram of Steve Jobs – "Ghost Jobs Daemon Messiah," student performers in zentai suits reimagining the relationship between their bodies and the “body” of the building, Gumby video clips, a group flow performance, and work by faculty, staff, students and alumni. Members of the geology department, wHY architecture and the art faculty conducted tours of the building and courtyard.
Later that evening, art students christened the art hall with an eight-foot champagne bottle piñata, filled with customized fortune cookies. The celebration concluded with a performance by electronic music pioneer Daedalus and his mirrored robot Archimedes.