“Recasting Chicago” by Norwood Viviano. Photo: Tim Thayer / Robert Hensleigh
You are here
For most of us, maps are now apps — smartphone tools to get us from here to there. But for Michigan artist Norwood Viviano, maps are tools to study the world and how it changes. Using vast piles of data from high-tech mapping technology — GIS (Geographic Information System), LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), photogrammetry and more — he creates molds of specific buildings and cityscapes and casts them in glass to show how places evolve over time. At his current exhibition, “Mapping Infrastructure / Mapping Agriculture,” on display through July 24 at Iowa State University’s Brunnier Art Museum, his glass sculptures trace the effects of manufacturing in his native Detroit, rising sea levels along the coasts and agriculture here in Iowa. museums.iastate.edu
For more map art, follow your phone’s directions to the Des Moines Art Center, where “Topographies” opens June 13 and runs through Sept. 20. In the group show, leading contemporary artists create literal and conceptual maps to process information, spot patterns and make sense of our big wide world. desmoinesartcenter.org
All that DJazz
Sure, jazz is an American invention, but the French gave it a certain je ne sais quoi in the 1930s. In smoky Parisian clubs, violinist Stéphane Grappelli and Belgian-born guitarist Django Reinhardt popularized a nimble, toe-tapping style propelled by strings rather than drums. It came to be called “gypsy jazz” in a nod to Reinhardt’s roots, but these days, it’s often called Manouche (muh-NOOSH) jazz to honor the particular Romani group to which Reinhardt belonged.
Whatever you call it, it’s irresistible, and two of its leading stars are coming to Noce. The French-Dominican singer Cyrille Aimée (pictured) makes her Noce debut March 18 with a mix of French-style jazz, Latin swing and contemporary tunes that have made her an international festival favorite. Soon after, French guitarist Stéphane Wrembel visits March 27 to heat up the club with Reinhardt classics and a few of his own. Grab your tickets now before they’re très, très gone. nocedsm.com
Photo: Coville Heskey
Cosmic coincidence
An enduring urban legend suggests that if you simultaneously watch “The Wizard of Oz” and listen to Pink Floyd’s album “The Dark Side of the Moon,” they sync up in surprising ways. The music swells, for example, when Dorothy leaves black-and-white Kansas and lands in Technicolor Oz. The band has always denied any intentional connections, but there are just enough coincidences to make you wonder.
And here’s one more for the list: On March 28, you can watch a screening of “Oz” accompanied by the Des Moines Symphony at the Des Moines Civic Center — and, at a separate event, see a swirl of cosmic imagery in the planetarium at the Science Center of Iowa, all set to “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. dsymphony.org; sciowa.org
Meet the neighbors
Not to freak you out, but for every human being on Earth, there are hundreds of millions of insects quietly sharing the planet with us. So why not get to know them better? At the Insect Expo on April 19 at the downtown Marriott, you can mix and mingle with live insects and arthropods, examine specimens through microscopes and even make a few creepy-crawly crafts. It’s all part of this year’s regional conference of the Entomological Society of America, which has been keeping tabs on our tiny neighbors since 1889. entsoc.org
Suffrage songs
A full 250 years after Thomas Jefferson wrote that all “men” are created equal, it’s worth remembering that women didn’t get to vote nationwide until 1920. In “Suffs,” the musical about the final push for women’s suffrage, passionate activists like Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells and Iowa native Carrie Chapman Catt each fight for the cause in her own way — sometimes together, but often at odds. With an all-female cast and influential producers, including Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai, the show won two 2024 Tony Awards before setting out on its current barnstorming tour to win over fans state by state. It marches across the Des Moines Civic Center stage April 28 through May 3. dmpa.org
Laura Stracko as the socialite and activist Alva Vanderbilt Belmont. Photo: Joan Marcus
