Blog | APS Museum

Adam Gopnik lecture recap 12:04 pm, December 16, 2011

The writer and New Yorker critic-at-large joined the APS Museum on Wednesday, Dec. 14 to celebrate the Museum’s 10th anniversary. A Philadelphia native, Gopnik gave a rousing lecture about French cuisine and how his new book,The Table Comes First, parallels themes examined in the museum’s exhibition, Of Elephants and Roses. In the period between 1790 – 1830, food culture–like natural history–changed dramatically. Just as cooking and recipes evolved, so did the rituals and traditions around the table. Gopnik highlighted some of these changes and the cultural forces that prompted them.

His talk and the discussion that followed were warm, funny and wide-ranging. It’s probably safe to say that our audience was charmed. After the lecture, Gopnik graciously agreed to continue signing books for those who might have missed the earlier signing.

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Enter to win a cold frame from The Greenhouse 4:06 pm, December 7, 2011

As the Greenhouse Projects draw to a close, we’re hosting a giveaway of a small number of cold frames from Jenny Sabin’s Greenhouse and Cabinet of Future Fossils. To enter, go to our Facebook site. The cold frames are a great addition to any plant enthusiast’s garden; you can use them as planters (they have a detachable top) or place them over a garden bed to protect plants from freezing temperatures (they also have a detachable bottom). The cold frames are beautifully designed, made of durable and brightly-colored transparent plastic. Inside Sabin’s Greenhouse, they created a striking stained-glass effect.

Sign up now! Winners will be selected at random and notified on Dec 13. Cold frames will be ready for pick-up between Dec 15 and 21.

Also, don’t forget that we’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the APS Museum with a reception and lecture by New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik. The discussion is on Dec. 14 — you don’t want to miss it. Click here for details.

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Press Roundup for The Greenhouse Project 10:01 am, December 2, 2011

The Greenhouse Projects at the APS Museum will come to a close on Dec. 14. There’s still a small window of time to go on a geocaching treasure hunt, listen to the Vive la France podasts, and experience Jenny Sabin’s Greenhouse and Kyle Bartlett’s sound installation inside Sabin’s structure. When it first opened, Geekadelphia called the Greenhouse “awesome”. It wasn’t alone! GRID magazine highlighted the high-tech construction of the Greenhouse in its story last September.

Did you catch A Paper Garden when it was performed earlier this fall? If not, the review from Stage Magazine, applauding the play for informing and delighting audiences may give you a good sense of how both the performance and the entire Greenhouse Projects weaved together science, history, art, and whimsy.

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New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik at the APS on December 14 11:54 am, November 29, 2011

New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik will be at the APS on December 14 at 5pm to celebrate the APS Museum’s ten-year anniversary. Join us for a conversation about Gopnik’s new book, The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, which tours the landscape of French dining and culinary history from the 18th-century to the present. More broadly, the book also explores today’s culinary cultures: molecular gastronomy in Spain, locavorism in Brooklyn, and the global reach of the Slow Food movement.

Adam Gopnik has been a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine for twenty-five years. During that time, he has published several celebrated books, including Paris to the Moon, a collection of essays based on the years he spent as the magazine’s correspondent in Paris (1994-2000). Gopnik is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award for Essays and Criticism. His reporting, fiction, reviews and humor pieces have drawn a dedicated following of readers. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to join in on a talk with one of the country’s best-known essayists.

A few things to whet your appetite for the Dec. 14 talk:

You can visit Gopnik here at The New Yorker

Read an interview with Gopnik, and The New Yorker’s
“house writing style”

Hear Gopnik’s recent interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

And last but not least, here’s Gopnik’s contribution to our podcast series Vive la France: French Cuisine and the Evolution of Modern Cooking (With Recipes)

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Holiday Download! 2:14 pm, November 18, 2011

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Need something to listen to while you prepare for the holiday? Vive La France, our podcast series that plumbs the social and scientific discoveries of the Enlightenment to explain the origins of French cuisine, might provide some surprising inspiration. The podcasts, created by food writer Lari Robling, will be available for only a little while longer.

You might be surprised to find the content relevant to the way that we eat and feast today. Hear historian Susan Pinkard discuss how Enlightenment ideals inspired French culinary culture to break tradition and focus instead on authenticity, the importance of ingredients, and simple preparations (our current “slow food” advocates would certainly agree!). Or tune in to listen to Robling talk with Maggie Lidz and Adam Hill about the history and present-day methods of growing plants inside a greenhouse.

There are even recipes included with each podcast. The one for apples, endives, and grapes slowly cooked in salted butter might make a tasty addition to your holiday table. Tune in!

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Last chance to participate in the Ghost Gardens and Lost Landscapes treasure hunt and tour! 10:28 am, November 16, 2011

Last chance to participate in the Ghost Gardens and Lost Landscapes treasure hunt and tour! The Greenhouse Projects’ geocaching tour, Ghost Gardens and Lost Landscapes, will be available for just a little while longer. Designed by Erin McLeary, an exhibit developer for the National Constitution Center, the smartphone-directed and family-friendly walking tour uses mobile technology to introduce visitors to little-known historic sites near the APS Museum–sites that disappeared long ago.

In these last days of fall, a short walk around Philadelphia’s historic center (Old City) could be just the thing to chase away your autumn blues. Stop by any time! Just click [LINK] to access the tour. Like other Greenhouse programs, the geocaching tour is totally free!

For more info check out the Ghost Gardens and Lost Landscapes page!

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Video walk through of Jenny Sabin’s Greenhouse and Cabinet of Future Fossils 8:30 am, November 14, 2011

Jenny Sabin’s Greenhouse and Cabinet of Future Fossils is on view at the Jefferson Garden for just a little while longer. Check out this video of the Greenhouse, filmed during the warm days of late summer.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit yet, the video provides a wonderful walk-through of the Greenhouse. You’ll notice the colorful cold frames, some of which bloom with tiny flowers and leafy greens, while others house Sabin’s “future fossils” (small 3-D printed sculptures). The music you hear throughout the video is Kyle Bartlett’s composition, Chaotic Menagerie, which pipes through the Greenhouse and adds a rich auditory experience to each visit. The Greenhouse will only be on view for a little while longer so please come by and enjoy a truly magical experience.

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Kyle Bartlett’s Chaotic Menagerie at the Greenhouse 11:03 am, October 31, 2011

On Friday, Nov. 4. at 7pm Kyle Bartlett will host Boombox Symphony, a “listener encounter” at the APS Museum. Bartlett created Chaotic Menagerie, the music installation inside Jenny Sabin’s Greenhouse. Chaotic Menagerie is an auditory blend that includes melodies from post-Revolutionary France, nature sounds, and new compositions by Bartlett. During the Boombox Symphony, Bartlett will lead a “make your own” music session that will offer every participant a personal listening experience. Join us on Nov. 4th for this participatory musical event. If the weather cooperates, we will also explore outdoor sounds.

Also, be sure to catch Bartlett’s group counter)induction for a concert on Sunday, Nov. 6th at 3pm. The group will play a mix of 18th-century French compositions and 20th- and 21st-century contemporary music. Please join us for this special show by a group that the New York Times calls “superb,” “sensitive,” and whose performances “sing and dance.” Find additional details about the performance here.

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History Never Sounded So Delicious 12:21 pm, October 17, 2011

Lari Robling’s five podcasts about 19th-century French cuisine are available for your listening pleasure. Have you had a chance to tune in? We can’t recommend these podcasts enough. With an array of special guests, Lari investigates the ways in which the social and scientific revolutions of the Enlightenment influenced the development of modern French cuisine. Here’s a taste of what you can expect from Robling’s pocasts:

Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker reveals the link between restaurant popularity and women’s lib. Darra Goldstein of Gastronomica magazine identifies the people who made food criticism what it is today. Journalist George Taber talks about being one of the few present at the 1976 Paris wine tasting — a moment that marked California viticulture forever. Meanwhile, Sommelier Melissa Monosoff discusses what wine appreciation means to her — and what she has in common with one of the most famous U.S. wine collectors, Thomas Jefferson. Finally, cookbook author Dorie Greenspan shares five recipes that best represent different eras in the evolution of French cuisine.

Hungry for more? Tune in to Lari Robling’s delightful podcasts. As before, you can listen to one segment at a time or all of them at once. Just click HERE.

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A Paper Garden: Two Encore Presentations 4:29 pm, October 11, 2011

A Paper Garden during last month’s Fringe Festival? Want to see it again? The APS Museum is bringing back A Paper Garden, a whimsical journey through time and space in which an unlikely friendship between two famous figures (Empress Josephine and botanist Andre Michaux) grows. Set in the APS’s Jefferson Garden, A Paper Garden stars local actors Mary Tuomanen, Geneviève Perrier, and Aaron Cromie. Discover why the Philadelphia Inquirer called this production a “small, sweet charmer” that blends theatrical fancy with facts.

What better way to enjoy a beautiful fall day than to spend it with a few of Philadelphia’s brightest theater stars who will take you on a fantastic time-bending garden adventure? Don’t miss the encore presentations of A Paper Garden (Saturday, October 15 & Sunday, October 16 at 12pm). Admission is FREE but seating is limited. Join us!

Watch an excerpt of the play here:

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