By Kathryn Morcone
College students from all around Boston flocked to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Thursday evening for its third annual College Night.
The museum offered students a chance to see a variety of exhibits, including “Walk This Way;” “Drama and Desire: Japanese Paintings from the Floating World;” and “Shy Boy, She Devil and Isis: The Art of Conceptual Craft, Selections from the Wornick Collection.”
Adele Marchbank, an MFA spokesperson, said while admission to the museum is always free for Northeastern students, she hoped College Night made the museum seem more accessible to students.
“It’s a great way to connect to the college audience,” Marchbank said.
Thursday night saw the opening of “Walk This Way,” a new exhibit showcasing a large variety of shoes from cultures around the world. Some of the footwear included a pair of Marilyn Monroe’s sandals, Russian pointe shoes, cleats worn by famed Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and Native American moccasins.
Amanda Stutz, a freshman American Sign Language major, said the exhibit should have been more contained.
“It was an awesome idea, but would have been much more effective if the shoes were all in the same room, instead of sporadically placed around the museum,” she said.
“Drama and Desire: Japanese Paintings from the Floating World” featured ukiyo-e paintings, which are 17th century cloth panels painted in bright colors. The paintings depicted images of Japanese theaters and brothels. The exhibit also included a selection of scrolls, which contained scenes from ancient Japanese legends.
“Shy Boy, She Devil and Isis: The Art of Conceptual Craft” was more contemporary than other exhibits. It held a variety of modern art from American, European, Australian and Asian artists. The collection included sculpture, furniture, metalwork and fiber art.
Some of the art studied the human figure as its subject while others served a practical purpose, including a small end table held up by a faux tree and a chair that was made to look like a collection of tools and two-by-four planks.
In the Remis Auditorium, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth performed music from his new solo album, Trees Outside the Academy.
In the Calderwood Courtyard, Iceland native DJ Baldur provided another source of musical entertainment. The Boston Phoenix’s 2007 “Best Of” issue awarded Baldur “Reader’s Pick” for “Best Boston DJ.” The outdoor dance party lasted for the duration of the event.
Several short films were screened in the Remis Auditorium at 11 p.m. This screening was one in a series of events occurring throughout the fall. Films shown included “Three Fifty,” “Our Brilliant Second Life” and “Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do,” among others.
The films represented a variety of genres including animation and comedies, with an array of subjects spanning relationships, Lance Armstrong and the job market.
Students received a 10 percent discount at the museum shop, as well as $2 pizza slices and cell phone wallpapers. They were also given the opportunity to enter their e-mail address in a raffle for an iPod, cell phone, CD’s, tickets to upcoming concerts and films, among other prizes.
Marchbank said the night was a way to showcase the MFA’s offerings.
