avant-garde and quiche

More news of possible interest to local readers: The Constance Saltonstall Foundation is reviving their lively (if slightly expensive) Salon series, last seen about a year ago. (I covered one of the less interesting ones here.) Last year's events featured guest speakers, formal and informal discussion, and light food—you get the idea. The information and schedule, as shown the CSF website:

Let the Conversations Begin!
Sundays in April, May, June

Watercress Restaurant
Corner of Triphammer and Hickory Hollow Lane, just north of Pyramid Mall

A MONTHLY LITERARY SALON that is open to the public. Enjoy an exquisite Sunday brunch and presentation from some of our brightest local minds (see names below). A lovely spring afternoon filled with real community: a little food, a little conversation and lots of stories.

Brunch begins at 11:00 am; speaker at 12:15 pm. $15 per person, per event. Reservations are required. Call Watercress at 257.0823.

APRIL 15, 2007	MICHAEL KAMMEN	Cornell Professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, has chronicled art and controversy throughout America’s history in his book Visual Shock. The triumph of freedom of expression over censorship of public art is quite a tale in this fascinating survey of art-related battles.
MAY 6, 2007	PATRICIA ZIMMERMAN	Ithaca College Professor of Cinema, Photography and Media Arts, co-director of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, and recent panelist at the Sundance Film Festival, will provide a lively and fresh perspective on our region in “Hidden Vectors: Art, Technology, and Economics in Upstate New York.”
JUN 10, 2007	GILLIAN PEDERSON-KRAG	Fondly claimed by Ithaca and much admired nationally for painting, printmaking and her perceptive mind, this former Cornell professor will examine "The Purpose of Art,” adding her own insights about what’s driving taste today.

Strange that these are described as "literary salons", given the apparent visual-arts orientations of the speakers. Also, I prefer having the salons in a museum to having them in an upscale-ish restaurant. It seems like a more inclusive kind of space.