FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4, 2012 [email protected], 413-542-5455 AMHERST, Mass. - The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College will continue its series Tai Chi at the Mead, free and open to the public, in the museum's Neuhoff Sculpture Court. The sessions, led by David Mazor, Amherst College's Tai Chi and Qigong meditation and exercise instructor, will take place at noon on three Wednesdays: June 6, July 18 and Aug. 1, 2012. Designed to engage participants physically and intellectually, each session will combine instructor-led Tai Chi and shared discussion of Tai Chi principles or practice in relation to a single artwork in the collection or an architectural structure on campus.
Tai Chi originated as a mode of self-defense in ancient China and has evolved into a gentle form of exercise. According to the series' organizer, Maggie Dethloff, Tai Chi is often called "meditation in motion." Like the series Meditations at the Mead, Tai Chi at the Mead emphasizes mindfulness, but it adds a component of bodily involvement, thus offering further opportunities for art lovers to take their engagement to a new level. Participants are welcome to attend any number of the sessions. All postures will be beginner-level, to accommodate all levels of experience. Participants should wear comfortable clothing. The featured art and architecture will be: June 6: Stearns Steeple July 18: Two Lines Oblique Down, 1970, by George Rickey Aug. 1: Assyrian relief sculpture from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II |