TOP PICKS FOR THE WEEK
The 100th anniversary of famed artist Gustave Baumann’s arrival in New Mexico is being honored with a two-day symposium full of tours and talks. The German-born artist, who moved to Santa Fe in 1918 and stayed until his death in 1971 at age 90, was a local leader in Santa Fe’s then-burgeoning art scene, as well as an associate member of the Taos Society of Artists.
Though he dabbled in many media, he was largely known for his color woodblock prints
— a technique in which designs are carved into a large piece of wood and then impressed onto paper — and hand-carved marionette puppets. His knowledge of marionettes came in handy in 1926 when he helped make the first Zozobra.
The New Mexico Museum of Art symposium will pay homage to his career and artistic process, as well as his work, through a series of talks by museum staff and art scholars; tours of Baumann’s home and the museum’s collection; and other activities. A full schedule is available at baumann. newmexicoculture.org. That site also links guests to tickets, which are $50 per person. “Gathering Gus” starts today at 9 a.m. at the Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave., and runs through tomorrow at 6 p.m.
The last 13 hours before the fall of the Alamo is the backdrop for a local award-winning author’s latest read. Thomas D. Clagett’s free lecture detailing his intertwining of fact and fiction, and the historical sources he used for his novel takes place at the State Library on Saturday. “Line of Glory: A Novel of the Alamo” is historical fiction chronicling the events of March 5,1836, through the lens of real-life people who have become secondary characters among the larger Alamo legends — people like Louis “Moses” Rose, known as the only man to escape from the Alamo to avoid being killed, and Mexican colonel
Juan Morales, who followed orders to attack the south palisade being defended Davy Crockett and his men, despite his disdain for army leader Antonio López de Santa Anna. Clagett’s free lecture is at noon Saturday at the New Mexico State Library’s Garrey Carruthers Building, 1209 Camino Carlos Rey.
MONET MEETS FLAMENCO: French paintings will be brought to life through Spanish music and dance at Teatro Paraguas this weekend. Local flamenco dancer Mina Fajardo has created an original show, this time taking inspiration from Claude Monet. The concert, “Monet’s Moon,” features Fajardo and other flamenco dancers, guitarist Eloy Cito Gonzales and Robert Zamora, San Franciscobased guest singer and painter. The show is said to use the happiness that comes through in Monet’s paintings, as well as his “pain,” “innocence” and “love,” to inspire different sections of choreography and music. Performances are tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 6 p.m. at Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie. Tickets are $30/$25 for seniors and students, and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com. Reservations can also be made by calling 505-4241601.