monterey museum of art
Big Sur Exhibit
While the symposium takes place in Pacific Grove, don’t miss a powerful visual counterpart just down the road at the Monterey Museum of Art.
Curated by Magnus Toren, Director of the Henry Miller Memorial Library is the exhibit
Henry Miller’s Garden of Earthly Delights
Henry Miller once wrote, "The world is not to be put in order; the world is order, incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order." In Big Sur, from 1944 to 1962, Miller found that unison not only in the dramatic landscape but in the people who surrounded him. This exhibition is not a monument to Miller alone. It is a portrait of a circle of neighbors and friends who made his Big Sur years a true "garden of earthly delights."
Other Big Sur exhibits in the Museum at this time are:
Human | Nature: California Zen in Big Sur and the Bay Area
Featuring artists inspired by the natural elements of California's geography, Human | Nature: California Zen in Big Sur and the Bay Area includes 20 artists whose works are derived from their interaction and exploration of California Zen. The proliferation of Eastern aesthetics entering the Western artistic sphere in the twentieth century furthered the development of Abstract Expressionism in Big Sur and the Bay Area, creating a unique form of abstraction inherently tied to artists' experiences of nature and humanity.
A Sense of Wonder: Photographs of Big Sur
The rugged geography of California's coastline has inspired so many of us, especially providing creative stimulation to generations of California artists and writers. This exhibition focuses on the years following the construction of Highway 1, granting greater access to the coast and its inhabitants, and enabling photographers to attempt to capture these essences of Big Sur through their camera lenses.
A World Apart: Big Sur in the Mid-century
A World Apart: Big Sur in the Mid-century delves into Big Sur as both a paradise of majestic beauty and a utopia for the creative counterculture movement of the mid-twentieth century. The escape from mainstream American society provided a space for artists to freely explore and innovate, inspired by the landscape and ethos of Big Sur. The exhibition explores the impact of Highway 1, the environment, and spirituality on the art and artists of Big Sur.
There will be a reception for attendees at the Museum on October 19 at 2:00 PM.
See an interview with Magnus that was in Monterey Weekly.
Smile a clown's ascension
A promo code for a discount for registered attendees is available, email henrymiller21stcentury@gmail.com to get it.
An Event to Remember
This is not just another play — it is a once-in-a-lifetime convergence of literature and theater. It is a threshold where architecture shelters imagination, where laughter deepens into joy.
At the center of SMILE: A Clown's Ascension is Auguste, a world-famous circus clown known for his smile of mystic bliss. Yet fame leaves him unsatisfied. He yearns to give audiences more than laughter — he longs to offer them nothing less than everlasting joy. What could be more fitting, or more impossible, for a clown?
Where pantomime, music, and performance merge into one luminous gesture. Inspired by the cubist painter Fernand Léger — whose postwar circus imagery inspired and accompanied Miller’s fable, reinforcing its parable-like quality — this adaptation reimagines a modern fable as a living parable for our times.
October 15 – World Premiere in the Grace Dodge Chapel at Asilomar, Pacific Grove (7:30 pm)
October 16 - Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Carmel (7:30 pm)
October 17 - Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Carmel (7:30 pm)
October 18 - Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Carmel (2:00 pm)
October 18 - Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, Carmel (7:30 pm)
October 19 - Closing performance at Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur (7:30 pm)
The Creative Team
- Dennis Leroy Kangalee — Actor/Writer, starring as Auguste. A celebrated radical artist known for his uncompromising passion and truth.
- Magus Magnus — Co-Writer & Director. Poet, playwright, and visionary of Poets Theater with a record of staging works in groundbreaking spaces.
- Justine Stock — Producer (J. Stock Productions). A seasoned producer and arts advocate bringing over 20 years of theatrical experience. She is the managing director and co-founder of New Canon Theatre Co.
- Music is provided courtesy Philip Glass