Posts Tagged ‘National Museum of Wildlife Art’
Art – Out in the Open; Great Apes!
“One spare chromosome | And my offspring next to me | A linear strand.”
I wrote that haiku as a response to Jenny’s piece, “Tooth Diary pg.6″ when we collaborated on a book, “Collection.” This particular work suggests new life beginning to supplant older matter.
What’s so much fun about Culture Front is that you NEVER know what’s going to happen. You know who’s on the agenda, and what any given month’s theme will be, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stick to that theme. You go, you get a drink at the Rose Bar (if you are 21 or older—and the earlier you get there, the better because those bartenders make such complicated drinks that it’s like their composing a full symphony!) and you point your face towards the front of the room where Meg Daly and her guests commence their 90-minute presentation.
Wednesday, May 29th, beginning at 5:30 pm, Culture Front welcomes Jackson artists Jenny Dowd (newly ensconced at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, thank you very much!), Andrew Munz (ensconced at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts,in a bunch of plays and a writer), and Aaron Wallis! I’m passing out. Wallis, former arts writer at the Jackson Hole Daily and un-censored critic of Jackson’s art scene and the world at large, as well as an artist, is going to be a part of that evening’s talk, “First Impressions: Looking Beyond Initial Impact.”
This is just too good! Wallace, as we all know, has seen (and instigated) his own brand of controversy and art dust-ups here in Jackson.
Only last week several of the Town Council and Teton County Commissioners got in such a big fight—a shout-down in public chambers that was so bad the session was tabled. The News & Guide named the major players, so ask them about that. The write-up made the rumble sound much less crazy than it really was, says one observer. Funding issues are tense! Thank goodness that meeting wasn’t taking place at, say, the Virginian bar!
“La Jolla Tree” – A. Wallis
I doubt any knock-downs will happen on May 29th. It’s great Wallis is on the panel. He’s a super smart dude, with prodigious art history knowledge.
“What information do we get from a first impression?” Meg Daly asks. “Often what attracts a viewer or reader to a work is the first impression – some kind of impact, positive or negative. However, closer reading or looking can reveal layers and meaning not immediately apparent. The payoff of a work of art may be far greater than its initial appearance (suggests).”
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Down the Spring/Summer arts road we go~~~
Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 10am – 4pm, the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s (NMWA) “Plein Air Fest” happens at NMWA’s stunning location just north of town. The event is sponsored by Plein Air Magazine, and over 30 artists will be participating, taking four hours to complete their works. Art will be sold via “Silent Bid.” Lots of good cooking with local chefs, family activities and music to be had! It’s all free, save the jambalaya tastings, which go for $10 for 10 tastes, $25 for as much as you can taste! www.wildlifeart.org
A note: “Plein Air Fest” is not to be confused with “Plein Air for the Park,” a two-week long plein air event taking place in and around Grand Teton National Park July 8-21st. Much more on that event soon!
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WAY out in the future–this is really a Fall event–the Great Apes Summit takes place here in Jackson Hole. Dates are September 21-24th, 2013. It’s possible to register now; the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is a major partner. “New tools. New ideas. New voices. NO BOUNDARIES.” That’s the hook! Click here to find out about registration, programs and cost. Heads up: Conservation and the Arts are going to merge more and more here in Jackson Hole as time goes by. We’re taking our original arts history to new levels!
It’s been in the Western winds: Jackson Hole artist Kathryn Mapes Turner and her brother, sustainable builder Mark Turner, have launched an innovative project. Though the siblings are Jackson-based, they’ve deep roots in the Washington D.C. area, owing to their family’s political legacy.
They’re smart, these two.
Their “One Nest” collaborative project combines sustainable building design and broadly embraced aesthetic with art created in one of the West’s most prominent art markets. In “the heart of Virgina horse and wine country,” near Shenandoah National Park, is a home designed by Mark, filled with artwork by his sister Kathryn. On Saturday, May 18th, 4-8:00 pm, and Sunday, May 19th, 2-6:00 pm, the public is invited to tour the structure, survey the land and take in the art.
Mark’s company, Greenspur, Inc., is, says the builder, inspired in part by Wallace Stegner’s words: “There it was, there it is, the PLACE where during the best of our lives friendship had its home and happiness had its headquarters.” Kathryn’s plein air and studio paintings are inspired by the natural world, light and “wide open spaces.”
It’s a great concept, and how much more fulfilling could it be than to co-create such a complete project with family you love?
May’s open house is in fact the project’s Grand Opening, and though it is free reservations are necessary; if you wish to attend, I’d sign up quick! The D.C. crowd will descend! The link to reserve a visit can be found here. Links: http://onenestproject.com/2013/03/21/space-greenspur-inc/ www.turnerfineart.com “One Nest” address: 3322 Carrington Road, Delaplane, VA 20144.
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Pinedale’s Winning Entry, “Time to Make Waves.”
”If children are a measure of our future, Wyoming’s future will follow a path of creativity and imagination.” ~ Wyoming Representative Tim Stubson, Casper.
Imagination and creativity link all of us. Creativity bridges the often times daunting distances between Wyoming’s citizens, and it takes special care and effort to send the message to our children that those distances can be vaporized. Like a morning meditation zeroing in on awakening creativity and imagining our potential, we must strive to dissolve what we believe are our limits. And we must show the rest of the country what we are making here. What can we be to the big wide world? Hundreds, if not thousands, of miles may lie between Wyoming’s creativity and other, larger arts centers and communities. Every reach counts.
Photo Courtesy Kevin Wittig and Mountain Pulse
Fifteen years ago a Chicago art exhibit, “Cows on Parade,” made history. The idea behind the exhibit was to get as many artists, celebrities, designers and other creative personalities to decorate fiberglass cows and spread them out across the city. The show was a great tourism draw and has been emulated many times over; all the cows were auctioned off for charity.
“Traveling Trout” is a big school of artistically designed fiberglass fish; 37 Wyoming schools took part in a fish-art competition, and winners were announced late last month. The entire exhibit is on display at the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s outdoor sculpture garden and trail through October 6, 2013. You can see them from the road, breaching and diving, snagging fireflies. Thousands of dollars in cash prizes were awarded to the winning students and schools, and that’s a great cause. Later this fall, the exhibit will travel around the rest of the state. www.wildlifeart.org
George Catlin, Buffalo Bull, Grazing on the Prairie, 1832-1833, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
HAPPY EARTH DAY!
The National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Curator of Art, Adam Harris, is the guest curator for an exhibition opening May 18th, 2013 at the museum. This remarkable exhibition, assembled in cooperation with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, continues a new theme direction for the museum: exploration and examination of the American West. As a region, we’re shifting towards emphasizing the American West timeline, and along that timeline the overlapping, interconnected movements of art, conservation and exploration are continuous.
George Catlin’s American Buffalo is “entirely drawn from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection,” and will remain on display through August 18th, 2013. The show looks at Catlin’s work and feelings about the West via his representation of buffalo and their “integration into the lives of Native Americans.” Forty works are featured.
“Catlin’s paintings illuminate in great detail the close ties between Native American tribes and bison in the 1830s, and his writings about the land and its native inhabitants have informed generations of conservationists as they wrestle with sustainable ways to manage America’s Great Plains,” says Harris, who also contributed an essay for the show’s illustrated catalogue, to be published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Having the chance to work with the Smithsonian American Art Museum to interpret Catlin’s words and images was a great honor,” Harris says. “The resulting exhibit and catalog will help contemporary audiences see Catlin in a new light.”
George Catlin, Buffalo Chase with Bows and Lances, 1832-1833, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr.
James Balog – Photo: Jeff Orlowski/Extreme Ice Survey
“Happiness is the exercise of vital powers, along lines of excellence, in a life that affords them scope.” ~Aristotle
How many of us exercise life in a state of happiness Aristotle envisions? In our competitive, crowded, resource-stretched and shrinking world, exercising vital powers excellently, with scope, is a rareity. But oh, when attained, that life is sublime, and a person’s contributions spread to all souls open to receive it.
I imagine photographer/filmmaker James Balog’s life is like this. His exhibition of old growth forest photographs was one of the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s most mesmerizing shows. Now Balog returns to Jackson and will personally attend a public screening of his award-winning documentary “Chasing Ice.” This special event takes place Thursday, March 21st, 2013, at the museum. Doors open at 6:30 pm; the film begins at 7:00 pm. A Q&A with Balog follows, and a book signing. Only 150 seats are available—I predict a sell-out, so get going, Balog fans!
“Nature is changing, right before our eyes,” says Balog. “Through my work, I am committed to bearing witness to these changes.”
James Balog/Extreme Ice Survey
I’ve said this many times, in many ways, but will say it again: the diversity of artistic mediums and approaches exploring the natural world here in Jackson Hole is remarkable. If you make a living solely by selling your artwork, you’re living a life affording you scope. Our magic creative circle is tight; we benefit from emulating larger arts communities and cultures, but when we can’t do that we bring in people like Balog. Our arts non-profits offer up phenomenal opportunities to get intimately close to the best.
Tickets are (a very reasonable) $20, $15 for museum members, and may be purchased at the museum’s front desk, Valley Books, or by calling the museum at 307.732.5400. Check out the “Chasing Ice” trailer at http://www.chasingice.com/see-the-film/trailer/. www.wildlifeart.org
Susan Moldenhauer
“In essence, the heightened level of credibility we might gain as a town/ arts group by affiliating ourselves with a major university is huge. The types of programs, events, associations that could be brought to Jackson – or that we might find a way of attending en masse in Laramie, are also considerable.” - Mariam Diehl
Not long ago I was fortunate to meet the University of Wyoming’s Art Museum Director Susan Moldenhauer, a familiar figure to many Wyoming artists and to other museum staff and associates in our state. Moldenhauer was accompanied by university Foundation Relations representative Katrina Woods McGee. Soft-spoken, finely academic, curious, creative and warm, Moldenhauer is also an accomplished photographer. We spoke of the challenges of juggling multiple responsibilities. When she organizes museum exhibits, she “does it with an artist’s eye,” accomplishing the task with an equally strong administrative sense. Some of you may have seen Susan at this past weekend’s three-day “CLICK!: A Weekend for Wyoming Visual Artists,” held at UW.
CLICK! provides opportunity for otherwise isolated Wyoming artists to network; they also have the opportunity to meet regional and national artists such as Eminent Visiting Artist Judy Pfaff, a McArthur Fellowship Genius Award recipient. Pfaff’s show, I Dwell in Possibility, exhibited in Jackson during the summer of 2010 at the Tayloe Piggott Gallery.
Susan’s brief visit here ideally sparks greater interaction between Jackson’s arts and UW. Pushing through our wintry “fourth wall” can be a challenge, but imagining a richer conversation is so exciting. Exhibits expected to be in place at UW later this spring include:
Redefining the Edition: 13 Japanese Printmakers
Haitian Art from the permanent collection
Judy Pfaff: running between hot and cold (working title)
Teaching Gallery: History of Mexico, Islamic Art History, Printmaking, Photography (all permanent collection)
Carol Prusa: Emergent Worlds
