Here's a small sampling of the exhibitions, tours and lectures on offer:
Modernism Week's first event is an art opening for Leona Caldwell (1912-2003), a mid-century craft artist in Scottsdale who specialized in ceramic jewelry and silkscreen designs. Contemporary Tucson artist David Adix checks in with abstract-ish images of historic Tucson historic bars. Reception, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4, at the Sunshine Shop, 2934 E. Broadway Blvd., in the old Hirsh's Shoes building. Free. Exhibition continues through Nov. 17. 389-4776.
No fewer than three guided tours, each three hours long, will sail around town Saturday, Oct. 5. Take your pick. Holy Modern: Tucson's Iconic Sacred Spaces departs by bus at 11 a.m. from 2934 E. Broadway. $40. A walking tour, Inside the Sunshine Mile, leaves from Solot Plaza, 2632 E. Broadway, at 2 p.m. $10. Miracle Mile and Historic US 80/Past and Future departs by bus from Pima College Downtown at 3 p.m. $40.
On Sunday evening, Oct. 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., a bus takes viewers on a dark-sky tour of Tucson's glittering neon signs. $40.
Dresses by Sonoran-born Tucsonan Dolores Gonzales hang in colorful array in an exhibition at the Mexican-American History and Heritage Museum. In the 1950s and '60s, Gonzales' southwestern frocks were wildly popular across the country. Opening 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 6; exhibition continues through Nov. 31 at the Sosa Carrillo House, 151 S. Granada Ave., in the TCC complex. The opening reception is free but attendees must RSVP.
Sunday, Oct. 6, celebrates the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus, the German design and architectural movement that had a profound influence on modernism. The Center for Creative Photography on the UA campus screens the film Bauhaus: The Face of the 20th Century at 1 p.m.; Dr. Esther Sternberg gives an intro. From 3 to 4, fans can peruse the Center's collection of Bauhaus-related photos. Across the way, from 3 to 5 p.m. the University of Arizona Museum of Art offers free entry to its exhibition A New Unity: The Life and Afterlife of Bauhaus. All three events are free but visitors must RSVP.
On Friday, Oct. 11, Film Fest Tucson shows The Bauhaus Spirit at 8:30 p.m. in the AC Hotel downtown at 151 E. Broadway, in the Marbella Room. $10.
Gallery 2 Sun gives a retrospective to the late mid-century sculptor Israel Levitan, an abstract expressionist who showed alongside de Kooning, Hofmann and Picasso in 1950s New York. On Thursday, Oct. 10. Randolph Maxted gives a lecture on Levitan's life and work, in the gallery, in the Warehouse and Transfer Building, 100 E. Sixth St. $10. The exhibition also offers up abstract impressionist paintings by Howard Kline and new works by Tucson painter Gary Wimmer. Through Oct. 26. Gallery 2 Sun in the Warehouse and Transfer Building, 100 E. Sixth St. $10 for lecture.
On Friday, Oct. 11, Film Fest Tucson shows The Bauhaus Spirit at 8:30 p.m. in the AC Hotel downtown at 151 E. Broadway, in the Marbella Room. $10.
Saturday, Oct. 12, is Modernism Week's biggest lecture day. Starting at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m. at the American Evangelical Church, 115 N. Tucson Blvd., learned specialists will give talks on everyone from Tucson architects Judith Chafee and Robert Swaim to beloved Tucson craft artist Berta Wright. One surprising tackles Michigan modernism. $10 for each talk. A $45 pass gets you in to all the many lectures throughout the week.
The always popular Vintage Trailer Show, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12 and 13, is a fun outdoor extravaganza. A dozen compact travel trailers from days gone by will be positioned on Solot Plaza, 2136 E. Broadway. Their proud owners will be on hand to tell their tales of restoration—and of their travels across America. $10.
