Category Archives: Museum

ACANSA Arts Festival Receives $10,000 Planning & Implementation Grant

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The newly founded ACANSA Arts Festival accepted a $10,000 check from the Central Arkansas Planning and Development District (CAPDD) on Monday, February 24th. The distribution comes from CAPDD’s General Improvement Fund and is awarded through a grant process to qualifying organizations for the planning and implementation of economic and community development projects. The ACANSA application had the endorsement of Arkansas State Representative Warwick Sabin.

The CAPDD award adds to growing level of interest and support for the new arts festival to be held over 5 days in September. “Cultural enrichment opportunities that bring people together in Little Rock and North Little Rock both address the “quality of life” issues our board endeavors to support and generate viable economic opportunities in our community over their duration,” remarked CAPDD Executive Director Rodney Larsen.

Warwick Sabin and Rodney Larsen presented the check to Charlotte Gadberry, founder of the ACANSA Arts Festival and ACANSA Executive Director Renay Dean.

ACANSA Arts Festival is a southern celebration of visual and performing arts, premiering its inaugural event September 24-28, 2014, in Central Arkansas.

It is Spring – Fly a Kite (or see art about it)

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Today marks the first day of spring aka the Vernal Equinox.  It is a good day to go kite flying.

Next season the Arkansas Rep will be presenting Mary Poppins with its song about flying a kite.  The original Broadway Mary Poppins, Ashley Brown, will be performing with the Arkansas Symphony as well next season.

But this year, on the Arkansas Arts Center website, you can see art from their collection which features kites.

Alice Andrews - Kite Flying - from collection of Arkansas Arts Center

Alice Andrews – Kite Flying – from collection of Arkansas Arts Center

The first is Alice Andrews’ Kite Flying.  This 1978 watercolor on paper depicts a kite being flown in a field. The perspective is from above the kite looking down on it and the ground below. The artwork measures 21.5 by 29.5 inches.  It was a gift to the Arkansas Arts Center in 1978 by the Mid-Southern Watercolorists.

Alice Andrews lives in an old white farmhouse built in the 1800’s in the Boxley Valley in Newton County, Arkansas. Boxley is full of clear rocky creeks and pastures and is surrounded by mountains. It has the feeling of being back in time about one hundred years, and has more cow residents than people.

Alice works in both oils and pastels. Her subject matter ranges from landscapes and paintings of her home and garden, to paintings of dreams, of allegory and of pure abstraction. Alice has been awarded residency at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico, and the respected pastel artist Wolf Kahn personally awarded her a residency at the prestigious Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont.

She is a graduate of Henderson State University and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.

Lothar Krueger's Day of the Great Kite Race - from collection of Arkansas Arts Center

Lothar Krueger’s Day of the Great Kite Race – from collection of Arkansas Arts Center

Another piece in the Arts Center collection is Lothar Krueger’s Day of the Great Kite Race.  This 1980 drawing is chalk and colored pencil on paper. The art measures 21 7/8  by 34 inches.  It was purchased by the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation after the 13th Annual Prints, Drawings and Crafts Exhibition.

Lothar Krueger, was a native of Two Rivers, WI.  Born in 1909, he became interested in art in Washington High School where he was “considered one of the greatest all-round football players in that school’s history.” He received his B.S. degree in art from Milwaukee State Teachers College in 1942 when he was drafted into the army. After officers training he took part in the World War II.  In the war, he took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and received two Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.  In 1947, he had one of his first art shows at the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison.

Krueger joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas. During his tenure on the art faculty at the university, he established himself as a major artist in Arkansas and in the regional and national art scene by winning numerous awards and honors. He taught Art, Art Education, and Art Criticism from 1953 until 1981, and also served as acting chairman of the art department for a year. After his retirement from the university, he continued to live in Fayetteville.   He died in January 2009 at the age of 89.

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Children Flying Kites by Manfred Schwartz – from collection of Arkansas Arts Center

Manfred Schwartz’s Children Flying Kites is also in the Arkansas Arts Center collection. This 1960 oil on canvas measures 42 by 34 inches. It was a gift to the Arkansas Arts Center in 2005 from Janice M. Ireland.

In Manfred Schwartz’s lifetime, he produced a significant and varied oeuvre, and was extolled by art critics and museums. Born in Poland in 1909, he emigrated to New York in 1920 at the age of 11, and was something of a child prodigy. Early in his career he showed side by side with Maurice Vlaminck, Bernard Buffet, Edward Hopper, and Andrew Wyeth.

In 1929 he moved to Paris. There his art gained a new sense of freedom, which he expanded for the next forty years.  Educated at the Sorbonne in Paris, the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, the Art Students League in New York, and the National Academy of Design in New York. Studied with Charles Hawthorne in Provincetown, John Sloan, and Bridgemen.

Manfred Schwartz created a sensational body of work; oils, pastels, lithographs, and we can see his evolution within three major periods that span fifty years of work.  His earliest paintings were portraits and still-lifes. The colors were deep and muted, he preferred the umbers to the yellows. By 1940 he began to paint in a more abstract manner. His colors intensified and his images seemed ahead of their time.

Schwartz died in New York in 1970.

 

Luck and Probability are on the bill for Science After Dark this month

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4 cloversBecause of Spring Break travels on the last Wednesday of the month, this month the Museum of Discovery has moved their “Science After Dark” adults only event to the third Wednesday. This month, they explore “The Science of Luck and Probability.” (With brackets being filled out all over for basketball tournaments, as well as Oaklawn still in full swing, a discussion of luck and probability is HIGHLY timely.)

Push your luck at our monthly adult program, Science After Dark! What is the probability of winning the lottery? You’ll learn the equation along with other odds that are and aren’t in your favor. If you are a fan of math, gambling or are just plain unlucky, you are sure to have a great time at Science After Dark. It is a great chance to explore the museum’s exhibits and enjoy downtown Little Rock.

There will be a cash bar and pizza for sale by the slice from Damgoode Pies.

Wednesday, March 19 from 6-8 p.m.
@ Museum of Discovery

Ages 21 and older

Cash Bar Available

Admission: $5 per person; members FREE

Little Rock Look Back: Pat L. Robinson

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IMG_4517On this date in 1900, future Little Rock Mayor Pat L. Robinson was born.  While I cannot verify that he was indeed named after St. Patrick, it would be fairly reasonable to assume there might be a connection, especially given the fact that he was Catholic.

Robinson was a rising star of Little Rock Democratic politics.  In April 1929, just weeks after his 29th birthday, he was elected Mayor.  He had twice been elected as City Attorney (1926 and 1928) and was one of the youngest to serve in that position.

During Mayor Robinson’s tenure, he announced plans to construct a new airport.  That project led to the creation of what is now the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.  Mayor Robinson was also involved in helping Philander Smith College secure the property where it is now located.  In addition, during his tenure, what is now the Museum of Discovery was folded into the City of Little Rock.

Single at the time he was in office and generally considered good looking, Mayor Robinson was sometimes referred to as the “Jimmy Walker of the Southwest.” Walker was the handsome and charming Mayor of New York City at the time.

Mayor Robinson ran afoul of some of the Democratic party leaders. Records don’t seem to indicate exactly what actions he took or did not take.  One thing that is brought up is that the City went into financial distress during his tenure.  Considering the Wall Street crash happened shortly after he took office, that financial state was not unique to Little Rock.

IMG_4532During this era in Little Rock, it was customary for an incumbent mayor to be given a second term. But City Clerk Horace Knowlton challenged Robinson in the primary.  It was a bitter campaign with Robinson linking Knowlton to disreputable denizens and Knowlton charging Robinson with “an orgy of spending.”  Robinson initially came out 17 votes ahead. But after a review and a lawsuit, it was found that Knowlton ended up with 10 more votes and became the nominee.  At the time, being the Democratic nominee was tantamount to election.

After he left office, Robinson practiced law for a few years in Little Rock and then left the city.  Records do not indicate where he went but he no longer appeared in the City of Little Rock directory by the early 1940s.

Museum of Discovery and Arkansas Chapter of Society of Neuroscience Celebrate Brain Awareness Day

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modIf Julius Caesar had used his brain, he’d have stayed away from the Senate that day and heeded the advice of his Soothsayer. The Museum of Discovery is offering an opportunity to user yours today.

March 10-16 is International Brain Awareness Week and to commemorate, the Arkansas Chapter of Society of Neuroscience has partnered with the Museum of Discovery to present Brain Awareness Day on Saturday, March 15 at the museum.

Representatives from the Center of Toxicological Research, The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Hendrix College and University of Central Arkansas will provide  hands-on activities about the brain throughout the museum that will include optical illusions, creating brains out of molds, MRI examples, explanations of brain freeze and diseases that affect the brain, cognitive function games and more.

For more information, contact 501-396-7050.

Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Museum Information
Hours of Operation: Tuesday – Saturday: 9 am – 5 pm; Sunday: 1-5 pm; Closed Mondays except major holidays and in summer.
Admission: $10 adults; $8 ages 1-12; free under 1; members free
Phone Number: 501.396.7050

The Ides of March

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“The Ides of March hath come” – so wrote William Shakespeare.

In tribute to the day on which Julius Caesar was felled by assassins in Rome, a look at a two pieces of art featuring views of Rome, which are in the Arkansas Arts Center collection.

AAC Rome 1

Giovanni Battista Piranesi – from the collection of the Arkansas Arts Center

The first presents a classical take on Rome.  View of the Piazza del Campidoglio (Veduta della Piazza del Campdoglio) was painted in 1774 by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720 – 1778).  The print is an etching, acquired by the Arts Center in 1990; it was a gift of John and Grace Marjorie Wood Keppel and Nell Wood.

According to the Arkansas Arts Center,

The Campidoglio has been the seat of the city government of Rome from ancient times to the present. At the top of the Capitoline Hill-one of the famed Seven Hills of Rome-the buildings in Piranesi’s etching are the work of Michelangelo. These elegant Renaissance palaces, perched on this ancient site, were important tourist destinations in the 18th century just as they are today.

Piranesi takes a viewpoint from the side of the site, giving us a dramatic diagonal view of one palace and a head-on view of the other. In the foreground are Grand Tourists in their three-cornered hats as well as a number of less well dressed, slightly suspicious-looking figures.

John Heliker - from the collection of the Arkansas Arts Center

John Heliker – from the collection of the Arkansas Arts Center

The second piece is John Heliker’s Pertaining to Rome.  Heliker was a 20th Century artist from New York living from 1909 to 2000.  His painting is an abstract look at the Italian capital city.  It was a gift in 2005 to the Arkansas Arts Center from the Heliker-LaHotan Foundation, Inc.

 

Second Friday Cinema at Old State House – A FACE IN THE CROWD

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OSH FaceFor Second Friday Cinema, the Old State House Museum will screen A Face in the Crowd.

With scenes shot in Piggott and other Arkansas locations, A Face in the Crowd tells the story of an Arkansas native, Lonesome Rhodes (played by Andy Griffith in his first screen role), who becomes a media sensation. Director Elia Kazan used many Arkansans as extras in the film and praised the people of Piggott for their hospitality. The film has achieved notoriety in recent years because of its predictions about the rise of the cult of celebrity and the power of television to make and break personalities and politicians.

Joining Griffin in this film are Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick and Kay Medford.  Also in the cast are Lois Nettleton, Charles Nelson Reilly, Diana Sands and Rip Torn. Lending an air of reality to the movie is a series of cameos by media personalities playing themselves including Bennett Cerf, Faye Emerson, Betty Furness, Burl Ives, John Cameron Swayze, Mike Wallace and Walter Winchell.

Ben Fry, General Manager of KLRE/KUAR and coordinator of the film minor at UALR, will introduce the film and lead a discussion after the screening.

The screening starts at 5:30 pm.