Oct. 2, 1998 Contact: Charlotte Crystal (804) 924-6858 Beat Generation Reunion VIRGINIA FILM FESTIVAL AND BAYLY ART MUSEUM CO-SPONSOR UNFORGETTABLE FILM, PHOTOGRAPHY AND PERFORMANCE SERIES Mention the "Beat Generation" and Jack Kerouac's stream-of-consciousness novel, "On the Road," and Allen Ginsberg's epic poem, "Howl," spring immediately to mind. But there was much more to the flowering of creativity nurtured by the controversial Beat movement in New York City and San Francisco in the 1950s and 60s. Art, music, poetry, prose, photography, filmmaking: the Beat Generation influenced virtually every major art form. The Bayly Art Museum is celebrating this creative period in the American arts by co hosting an exciting series of performances and events with the Virginia Film Festival. The centerpiece of these programs will be "Glory Days: The Beat Generation Photographs of Fred W. McDarrah," a Bayly Art Museum exhibit that will run from Oct. 2 through Dec. 23. A special "Beat Generation Reunion" on Oct. 31 will bring together three of the most important Beat Generation artists -- composer David Amram and poets Ed Sanders and Diane di Prima -- for a live performance melding poetry, jazz, and film. These artists will be joined by Ken Jacobs and Carolee Schneemann, Beat-influenced filmmakers who will be featured during the film festival, in a panel discussion on "The Art of Spontaneity," also on Oct. 31. BEAT EVENTS Photography Exhibition "Glory Days: The Beat Generation Photographs of Fred W. McDarrah," a photography exhibit. Picture editor of the Village Voice for 35 years, Fred W. McDarrah produced a photographic chronicle of the Beats. Many of McDarrah's evocative photographs -- reflecting the "glory days" of poetry readings, jazz, cafe life, parties, performances and the ordinary life of extraordinary Americans -- will be on display. Oct. 2 - Dec. 23, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia MORE 2 Panel Discussion and Gallery Talks "The Beat Period: What Was Happening, What It Meant, and How It Significantly Related to American Artistic Tradition, Far Eastern Art and Thought, and European Phenomenology and Existentialism," a lecture by Neil Chassman, a member of the New York poetry scene in the mid 1960s and curator of the ground-breaking exhibition, "Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco, 1950-65." Thursday, Oct. 22, 5:30 p.m., Campbell Hall 153 "The Art of Hans Hofmann," a slide show and discussion of Hoffman's art and influence by Ken Jacobs, a former student of Hofmann and a featured artist in this year's Virginia Film Festival. Friday, Oct. 30, noon, Bayly Art Museum "The Art of Spontaneity," a panel discussion exploring the links across jazz improvisation, Beat poetry, underground film, Zen Buddhism, and Abstract Expressionism, with David Amram, Ken Jacobs, Fred and Gloria McDarrah, Diane di Prima, and Ed Sanders. Daniel Belgrad, associate professor at the University of South Florida and author of "The Culture of Spontaneity," will serve as moderator. Saturday, Oct. 31, 1 p.m., Campbell Hall 158 "First Sundays Gallery Talk," a gallery tour of the photo exhibition led by Fred W. and Gloria McDarrah. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m., Bayly Art Museum Film Screenings and Performance Events "A Beat Generation Reunion," a performance of live poetry and jazz with David Amram, Diane di Prima, and Ed Sanders, plus a special screening of Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie's film, "Pull My Daisy!" Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m., Culbreth Theatre ($15/$10 students) The Beat Cinema of Ken Jacobs, two events, comprising film screenings and a live performance. "Jack Smith Filmed by Ken Jacobs," a screening of Ken Jacobs' classic underground films featuring the legendary performance artist Jack Smith, in "Blonde Cobra" and "Little Stabs at Happiness." Also, "Nervous System Performance: Two Wrenching Departures," Jacobs' live performance on the two-projector Nervous System of a farewell to his late friends, Jack Smith and Bob Fleischner. Film screenings: Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m., Campbell Hall 158; Live performance: Sunday, Nov. 1, 1 p.m., Vinegar Hill Theatre ($6/$5 students in advance, $7 during festival) Beat Cinema and Beyond, film screenings at Vinegar Hill Theatre: "The Chelsea Girls," by Andy Warhol. Thursday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. "The Connection," by Shirley Clarke with Lewis Allen. Friday, Oct. 30, 4 p.m. "Fuses and Other Films," with Carolee Schneemann and B. Ruby Rich. Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. "Shadows," by John Cassavetes and "The End," by Christopher MacLaine. Saturday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. "Me and My Brother," by Robert Frank with speaker Gordon Ball. Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. MORE 3 Receptions "First Fridays." Friday, Oct. 6, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., Bayly Art Museum "Virginia Film Festival Opening Night Gala," featuring music by the Charlottesville Swing Orchestra. Thursday, Oct. 29, 5-7 p.m., Bayly Art Museum ($40) This year marks the 11th annual Virginia Film Festival, co-sponsored by the University of Virginia, which brings internationally recognized film industry figures to Charlottesville. The theme of this year's festival, which runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, is "Cool." Program co-sponsors include the University of Virginia Arts Enhancement Program, Art$ Program, ArtSpace of University Union, McIntire Department of Music, Corcoran Department of English, Peters Rushton Funds and Women's Studies Program. ### For more information about the Bayly Art Museum exhibit, call Jill Hartz, museum director, at (804) 924-3592. For more information about the Virginia Film Festival, call Richard Herskowitz, director, at (804) 982-5277. For tickets to "A Beat Generation Reunion," and "Nervous System Performance," call the Virginia Film Festival at (804) 982-5277 or 1-800-UVA-FEST. Visit the film festival website at http://minerva.acc.virginia.edu/~vafilm Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550. .