July-August Highlights

	An image from the 1750 book An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe by Thomas Wright.

John Crerar Library
“They Saw Stars: Art and Astronomy”
Through Thursday, Sept. 1
Exhibition hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
Main Atrium, John Crerar Library, 5730 S. Ellis Ave. 702-8717.
Visit the Crerar exhibitions Web site for more information. Free.

Drawing upon highlights from the University Library’s collection, this exhibition examines the various ways in which celestial bodies have inspired human beings over many centuries. “They Saw Stars: Art and Astronomy” highlights works of art and literature influenced by astronomy, either through scientific study, a fascination with the night sky or as an inspiration for the literary imagination. Both contemporary and historical works are included.

	The Rockefeller Memorial Chapel carillon

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
Carillonathon
6 p.m. Sundays, July 17 through Aug. 21
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. (708) 899-0267.
http://rockefeller.uchicago.edu. Free.

This series of free recitals features University Carillonneur Wylie Crawford, along with guest artists from around the world. Guest carillonneurs include Sue Bergren and Mark Lee of Naperville, Ill., Stefano Colletti, director of the French Carillon School, and Malgosia Fiebig of Danzig, Poland. Guests will perform on Rockefeller’s legendary carillon, which, with 72 bells ranging from 10.5 pounds to 18.5 tons, is the second largest in the world. Before each recital at 5:30 p.m. there will be a tour of the chapel tower.

	Louis Marcoussis, “Aurélia,” 1930, from a set of 10 etchings based on Gérard de Nerval’s poem “Aurélia.”

The Smart Museum of Art
“Syncopation: André Lhote, Louis Marcoussis and the Cubist Print”
Through Sunday, Sept. 11
Museum hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
5550 S. Greenwood Ave. 702-0200. http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu. Free.

Following the innovative years before World War I when Pablo Picasso and George Braque introduced Cubist elements into graphic media, Cubist prints grew more elaborate in design and execution. Less studied than the prewar graphic works, the later period of the Cubist print began around 1915 and continued through the 1930s. Drawing on the Smart Museum collection, “Syncopation” features two groupings of late Cubist prints. The first group includes a 1925 edition of five woodcuts accompanied by the original pen-and-ink studies made by André Lhote. This series is devoted to marine themes, including mythic mermaids and sailors at work and rest. The other featured print cycle, which appeared five years later, is a suite of 10 mixed intaglio prints by the Polish-born Louis Marcoussis, whose masterful etchings subtly fuse Cubist and Surrealist motifs.

	Dementors from the Harry Potter series have been spotted near the Reynolds Club.

57th Street Books
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince Release Party
10 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Friday, July 15
Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University Ave. 684-1300. http://www.semcoop.com.

The University’s gothic settings will be transformed into the Great Hall of Hogwarts School on the eve of the newest Harry Potter novel’s release. This year, young guests may take Ordinary Wizardry Level exams in the Great Hall, to be administered by Hogwarts professors. Headmaster Dumbledore will award prizes for outstanding performance on the exams, as well as for the costume contest and the raffle. Young would-be wizards also can make magical crafts, receive protective marks, and enjoy Potter-themed delicacies like butterbeer and cauldron cakes. The festivities will continue until midnight, when the novel will be available for purchase.