reHappening at Black Mountain College

Magical... that's what I would call the evening we spent recapturing the essence of what was Black Mountain College at the 2013 reHappening Saturday night, April 6.  This event was created by the Black Mountain College + Art Center at the Lake Eden, site and was a fund-raiser for the organization, but it was SO much more...

We drove up through the mountains that day, checked in to our cozy room at the Red Rocker Inn in Black Mountain, NC and the hurried into downtown Asheville so that we would not miss the John Urbain exhibition that was on exhibit at the BMC +  Art Center.  It was well worth the rush to get there.  I had seen some of his collaged pieces at a show at Galley170 in Damariscotta Mills, Maine in the summer of 2009 and had loved their simple yet powerful compositions back then.  More on John Urbain.

interesting conversation on the deck

Back at Lake Eden we gathered for glasses of wine of the deck overlooking the lake and enjoyed talking with Dot Sulock and her daughter and friend.  Dot is a Math Professor at UNC Asheville.

Anni Albers image from BMC days

Images of BMC on the covered porch of the dining hall at Lake Eden

The idea of the ReHappening was to try to capture some of the feeling of the Happenings that took place at Black Mountain College on Saturday evenings after and during dinner.  The students, faculty and visitors spontaneously shared artistic ideas, poetry, plays, music, songs, etc. during these Happenings.  The ReHappening is more planned (artists had to apply for the few chosen venues), but it captures the spirit.  The performances are meant to be art... they are planned but there is room for improvisations.  There is no boundaries between the artists and the viewers.

The family style dinner was delicious and the conversation was the most interesting and stimulating we had had in a long time.  At our table was the President of the BMC + Art Center Board, Dave Peifer and his wife.  RIght beside my hubby was Ben Mack, a fellow who had been greatly influenced by BMC's own Buckminster Fuller as a child when he was one of Bucky's Kids and spent 5 glorious days soaking up Fuller's philosophy when he was a child. (I ordered the book to read this summer.  He was very enthusiastic and talkative and full on interesting ideas.  He wrote a book called Poker without Cards and I discovered later that his name is really Howard Campbell.  Ben Mack is his seemingly alter ego.  Ben is trying to start a campaign to have everyone stand up at noon on September 21 called Stand Up for Peace and wants everyone around the world to Stand Up at noon in their own timezone and start a WAVE like motion around the earth.  It is modeled on Fuller's philosophies and hopefully funded by his foundation.

Torches lit the way on the paths up through the woods

after dark jumbles of lights denoted where art installations and performances were happening in the wooded cabins

Architectural cave and mellow music

interesting woven table auction piece

the Red Rocker Inn BandB and Restaurant in Black Mt.