Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

A Conversation with Rocco Landesman this afternoon

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Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be making his first visit to Arkansas. Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be making his first visit to Arkansas today.

As a part of that visit, he will be participating in a Please join us for a very enlightening panel discussion at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. It is being co-hosted by The Rep and the Oxford American. Arkansas First Lady Ginger Bebee will introduce the conversation.

Visiting Arkansas for the first time, Chairman Landesman will participate in a panel discussion with Rep Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp and Oxford American Publisher Warick Sabin. Arkansas Arts Council Executive Director Joy Pennington will moderate the panel on “Creative Placemaking in Little Rock.”

The panel discussion will take place in the Rep’s Cindy Murphy Theatre at 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Following the panel, there will be a reception at 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
The panel discussion and lobby reception are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Rocco Landesman was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7, 2009 as the tenth chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Prior to joining the NEA, he was president of Jujamcyn Theatres, which owns five Broadway theatres. A Broadway theater producer and multiple Tony winner, he has brought Big River (1985 Tony Award for Best Musical), Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (1993 Tony Award for Best Play), Angels in America: Perestroika (1994 Tony Award for Best Play), Into the Woods, and The Producers (2001 Tony Award for Best Musical) to Broadway.

Tuesday – Explore Intelligent Cities at Art of Architecture lecture

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As part of the monthly “Art of Architecture” series, this month Susan Piedmont-Palladino will present a lecture entitled “Intelligent Cities.”  This month’s lecture is presented in conjunction with the Clinton School for Public Service lecture series and will take place at Sturgis Hall on the Clinton Presidential Center campus at 6pm on Tuesday, March 13.

Professor Piedmont-Palladino is a professor of architecture at Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center and a curator at the National Building Museum. She will give a lecture titled “Intelligent Cities,” which investigates the intersection of information technology and urban life and design.

Susan C. Piedmont-Palladino is an architect and Professor of Architecture at the Washington/Alexandria Architecture Consortium (WAAC), the College’s urban campus.

She received her Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech and her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Before joining Virginia Tech, she taught at the University of Maryland and the Catholic University of America.

Her 1st book, Devil’s Workshop: 25 Years of Jersey Devil Architecture, on Jersey Devil and design/build was published by Princeton Architectural Press. Her articles have appeared in the popular and professional press, including the “Journal of Architectural Education”, “Journal of Urban Technology” and “Perspecta 29” among others. And she has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as schools from Mississippi State in Starkville to Universidad de Desarrollo in Santiago Chile.

She is the former national president of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, served on the design committee for the National Peace Garden Foundation, and has been a consultant to the Department of Energy for the Solar Decathlon.

Since 2002 she has been a consulting curator to the National Building Museum, and most recently was the guest curator for Tools of the Imagination and editor of its eponymous companion book, to be published by Princeton Architectural Press in fall 2006.

Sculpture Vulture: St. John the Baptist

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On the grounds of the St. John Catholic Center are several sculptures.  Today’s entry focuses on the statue which is the focal point of the campus.  The statue of St. John the Baptist sits in front of the Morris Hall.  The campus was founded in the Heights in 1916.

St. John is depicted holding a crucifix in one hand.  With the other hand he is pointing to the sky in the manner of an exhortation.  At his feet is a lamb  looking up at him.  Interestingly, for a person who is depicted in the Bible as wearing camel’s hair, this John is wearing a robe.

Once, St. John the Baptist watched over the seminarians on the campus. Today he is more likely to watch over the various walkers, joggers, pets and others who use the greenspace on the grounds.  In addition, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra offices are currently located in a building on the St. John campus.

The statue was erected in memory of Thomas Lafferty an early Little Rock business leader.

Central Arkansas Library System vote this Tuesday (March 13)

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This Tuesday, March 13, Little Rock voters are being asked to vote for an enhancement of the Central Arkansas Library System.  Information is below.

This will not only help CALS but will be a benefit to cultural life in general in Central Arkansas.

Marching along 2nd Friday Art Night

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History takes front and center at this month’s 2nd Friday Art Night.

First up, the Butler Center Galleries of the Arkansas Studies Institute are featuring the new exhibit “Making a Place: Jewish Experience in Arkansas.”  This exhibit explores the development of the Jewish community in Arkansas focusing on immigration, isolation and assimilation.

Over at Historic Arkansas Museum, the Smittle Band will be entertaining visitors who are looking at the temporary and permanent exhibits of art and history.  The evening will also feature a sample of wines hosted by downtown’s very own Zin Wine Bar.

The Old State House Museum will be open so that visitors can see the new exhibit “Things You Need to Hear: Memories of Growing up in Arkansas from 1890 to 1980.”

Another exhibit with a history flavor will be at studioMain. The March exhibition is “The History of Our Downtown.”

These and other stops of 2nd Friday Art Night will be open from 5pm to 8pm.  While on-street parking is available near most sites, a free trolley makes stops at each of the venues.  The Arkansas Times is a sponsor of 2nd Friday Art Night.

Wiz Biz at Ark Rep

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Melson, Williams, Stewart and Alexzander (photo by Cindy Momchilov, courtesy of the Arkansas Rep)There will be a whirlwind of activity as the Arkansas Rep opens The Wiz tomorrow night. This Tony Award winning super soulful retelling of The Wizard of Oz features a witty book by William F. Brown and a score by Charlie Smalls that is infused with blues, R&B, gospel, disco, jazz and good old fashioned razzmatazz.

This production (which runs through April 1 – no fooling, it closes that day) is directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, who has directed A Raisin in the Sun and Dreamgirls at the Rep.  The cast includes Carla Stewart at Dorothy, Nik Alexzander as the Scarecrow, Tony Melson as the Tin Man, Darryl Jovan Williams as the Lion, and Baci as Toto.  Sinclair Mitchell plays both Uncle Henry and the title character, while Zoie Morris plays both Aunt Em and Glinda.  Jennifer Leigh Warren, who was in the original New York casts of Little Shop of Horrors and Big River will be playing Addapearle (a good witch) and Evilene (the wicked witch).

The creative team for this production includes Set Designer: Mike Nichols, Lighting Designer: Douglas Cox, Costume Designer: Rafael Colon Castanera, Properties Designer: Lynda J. Kwallek, Sound Designer: M. Jason Pruzin, Music Director: Charles Creath and Choreographer: James Harkness.

Historic Preservation Alliance seeking Endangered Places nominations

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The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Most Endangered Places List.  The deadline for nominations is Monday, April 2, 2012.

Every year, many historic properties across the state of Arkansas are threatened by demolition, neglect, lack of resources or knowledge of their importance. Each of the endangered resources holds a special place in our collective memory and helps to define who we are as a people, a culture, and a State. Once these unique places are gone, they are gone forever

The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas has maintained a Most Endangered Places List in our state since 1999. By bringing attention to these threatened buildings, sites and places in Arkansas, we seek to raise awareness in communities statewide and to create many success stories from places in peril. This nomination form is your chance to initiate your own story of success.

Properties selected for the Most Endangered Places List will be announced in May during Arkansas Heritage Month and National Preservation Month.

The list of Arkansas’s Most Endangered Historic Places is publicized each year through the announcement of the list in mid-May, which is also Arkansas Heritage Month and National Preservation Month. Press packets are issued to the media in conjunction with the announcement, encouraging TV and radio coverage as well as articles in both statewide and local newspapers. In addition, the Alliance newsletter annually publishes an article about the properties in the list, and information about the list is provided to the Arkansas Historical Quarterly and to the newsletters of local preservation groups and historical societies.

Each year, the Board of Directors of the Alliance appoints a special five-member “Most Endangered List Committee” to oversee the selection of properties for the list and to work with Alliance staff on organizing the announcement of that year’s list.

The composition of this special committee is as follows:

  • A representative of the Alliance Board of Directors
  • A representative of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
  • An architect
  • A historian familiar with Arkansas history
  • An at-large member chosen from the Alliance membership

The representative of the Alliance Board of Directors chairs the committee.