Sunday, November 6, 2011

Art on Tap at Montclair Art Museum





What do you get when you combine contemporary art, artisan beers and ciders, and a heaping helping of indie music? You get Art on Tap from the Montclair Art Museum. The museum is a beacon of culture in the burbs, a beautiful neoclassical building that sits serenely on a bucolic corner in Montclair, NJ. It houses an impressive permanent collection of native American art, as well as fascinating temporary exhibits, right now Marina Zurkow: Friends, Enemies, and Others, and The Spectacular of Vernacular.
Art on Tap is a one of a series of innovative special events that brings the community together in fun ways. Previous events have included wine tastings on the beautifully landscaped front lawn. This event was presented in partnership with Amanti Vino, a local wine and spirits shop that is an oasis of cool pours in this upscale suburban community.
Driving the beat of the event were two terrific deejays from WFUV, Rita Houston and Russ Borris. They took turns spinning the radio station's unique blend of funky, indie, folky music.
And as for the beverages of the evening? A fun mix of local and international pours, many notable for being poured from cans, a phenomenon we can thank the trendy PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) revival for, among other cultural influences. The locally brewed Brooklyn Pennant Ale, which celebrates the memory of the1955 World Champion Dodgers (when they were in Brooklyn) was one of my favorites of the night - a traditional English-style pale ale.