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Ancient artists in metal casting believed that fire unleashed the creativity of the gods. Bristol Community College Art instructor Erik Durant wanted to demonstrate the primeval practice and spark those muses in his modern students.
The Art Department will host The Iron Guild on Thursday, November 12, from 6-9 p.m. behind the Commonwealth College Center on the Fall River Campus to fire up a portable furnace and pour molten medal into molds the students have prepared in sculpture class. The Iron Pour is free and open to the public, funded by a grant from the Bristol Community College Foundation.
The Iron Guild is a group of metal artists who met in art school and were captivated by molten iron. Over the years, the Iron Guild has built many iron casting furnaces and organized numerous iron pour events. Combining traditional foundry techniques with innovative spectacle performances, the Iron Guild explores what is possible with molten iron.
Melting iron through the use of a bloomery furnace has been traced back to 500 BC. It wasn’t until the 14th century that the blast furnace appeared. These furnaces were an integral part of the industrial revolution. The cupolas that Iron Guild members have built are a variation of these furnaces. Through surrounding the iron with fuel (such as coke - a form of coal) and intensifying the heat through a blast of air, the cupola reaches temperatures of nearly 3000ºF. The cupolas of the Iron Guild tap approximately 100 pounds of iron per half hour.
Professor Durant’s successful BCC Foundation grant will give students the opportunity to learn the technically challenging skill while creating a cast iron sculpture for their portfolio. The drama of the iron pour will be open to the public, challenging the boundaries and unleashing the creative potential of burgeoning artists in our community.
For more information, contact Professor Durant at 508-678-2811, ext. 2893.
BCC Theatre Rep presents The Grapes of Wrath
Bristol Community College’s student theater troupe, BCC Theatre Rep, will perform The Grapes of Wrath, Thursday through Saturday, November 19, 20, and 21, 2009, at 8 p.m. in the Jackson Arts Center Theatre on the Fall River Campus.
The play, written by Frank Galati from the novel by John Steinbeck, is the classic story of hardship, devastation, and the effect of economic change on livelihoods. Set in the Great Depression, it focuses on one family’s efforts to gain jobs, a decent home, and a future. Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Price and the Nobel Price for Literature for his novel.
Artistic Director for BCC Theatre Rep, Rylan Brenner, professor of theater, chose the play as a way of addressing the current situation of economic disaster and job loss in America, he said. “The play explores the devastation this has had on families, on confidence, on human dignity,” Brenn said. “It leaves us with a bit of hope in each other – in people's ability to lift themselves up and strengthen themselves by having faith in the humanity and goodness of each member of society. We hope this will open our audience to an understanding of our times through the perspective of this country's history.”
Tickets are available at the door or by calling 508-678-2811, ext. 2442. Prices are $6 for students or seniors and $15 for general admission. Bristol Community College’s Fall River Campus is located at 777 Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA.
Advisement begins November 12
In your mail you will receive something that looks like this...it gives you YOUR personalized info on the who, what, when, why for registering for classes for Spring!
You’ll see where to go for advisement, how to make an appointment starting November 6, and more! Advisement begins November 12.
See your advisor early for the best schedule!
For the most up-to-date course listings, see the course search on the homepage.