Vermont Travel Notes

There are two unusual exhibits at the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum you may find interesting.

Buddha in Paradise at the Wolcott Gallery runs through December 19. It is about finding "Pure Lands" or paradise in western terms and is a collection of ancient paintings dating back to the 13th century. Also, during this week, October 15 - 22, Buddhist monks are constructing a circular painting called a mandala made from colored grains of sand to represent the universe. You are welcome to watch the construction and also the eventual destruction when it is cast into a pool of water, a part of the process that "symbolizes the impermanence of existence and the ideal of non-attachment to the material world."

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Architectural Improvisation: A History of Vermont's Design/Build Movement 1964-1977 runs through December 19 in the East Gallery. This unique exhibit looks at a group of architects who formed the Vermont Design/Build movement based on their Bauhaus theory education at Yale School of Architecture and the University of Pennsylvania Architecture program in the 1960s. These students, many of whom are still here in Vermont, set out to explore "radical social, technological, and aesthetic experiments."

I've seen several examples of their work around Waitsfield Vermont. Some are lacking in practicality, grace, ingenuity, creativity, advancement, longevity, or relativity but they are a magnetic curiosity and a great symbol of the futile side of the 60's. It's good that this approach did not go far and it's not surprising but sometimes you have to know what does not work in order to know what does work. This is an excellent body of work for the student of the 60's to know about.

The Yestermorrow school in Waitsfield VT is a product of this movement. It has an intriguing line up of classes.

The Fleming Museum's hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Wednesday, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 PM. Closed Mondays.

(c) 2008 Jeff Connor