Category Archives: Visual Art

Governor’s Arts Awards presented today

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Today at noon at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, Governor Asa Hutchinson will join with the Arkansas Arts Council to present the annual Governor’s Arts Awards.

Lifetime Achievement Award-Jana L. Beard, Little Rock

Arts Community Development Award-Remica Gray, Texarkana

Arts in Education Award-DeltaARTS, West Memphis

Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award-Entergy Arkansas, Inc.

Folklife Award-Margaret Jones Bolsterli, Fayetteville

Individual Artist Award-Kevin Kresse, Little Rock

Patron Award-Curt & Chucki Bradbury, Little Rock

Judges Recognition Award-Kaki Hockersmith, Little Rock

 

The annual Governor’s Arts Awards were established in 1991 to recognize Arkansas artists, arts patrons and corporations for their outstanding contributions to the arts community. The recipients are nominated by the public and selected by distinguished panel of arts professionals from around the state.

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

NATIONAL GALLERY film shown tonight through Clinton School/LR Film Festival partnership

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Frederick Wiseman’s “National Gallery” takes the audience behind the scenes of a London institution, on a journey to the heart of a museum inhabited by masterpieces of Western art from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century. 

The documentary is the portrait of a place, its way of working and relations with the world, its staff and public, and its paintings. In a perpetual and dizzying game of mirrors, film watches painting watches film. 

Fred Wiseman is one of today’s greatest living documentary filmmakers. For close to thirty years, he has created an exceptional body of work consisting of thirty full-length films devoted primarily to exploring American institutions.

The film will be shown tonight at the Ron Robinson Theater at 6pm. It is sponsored by the Clinton School for Public Service and the Little Rock Film Festival. 

The Ides of March Are Come

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“The Ides of March are 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.    
The first presents a classical take on Rome. View of the Piazza del Campidoglio (Veduta della Piazza del Campdoglio) was created 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.

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.

10 Years of 2nd Friday Art Night

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In March 2005, the first 2nd Friday Art Night took place. Tonight celebrates 10 years.

In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of 2nd Friday Art Night, the Arkansas Times and venues are partnering to host the Art Can drive benefitting the Arkansas Food Bank.

Guests are encouraged to donate canned goods, canned/packaged meals, soup, peanut butter, cereal, 100% juice, pasta & pasta sauce, powdered milk, diapers and bath tissue at 2nd Friday Art Night venues on March 13 from 5 to 8 pm.

Among the highlights are:

Historic Arkansas Museum – The free opening reception of Recent Acquisitions from 5pm to 8pm will feature live music by The John Burnette Band.

Tulips have been donated for the anniversary celebration by the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and P. Allen Smith.

The Recent Acquisitions exhibition will feature objects acquired for the museum’s permanent collection from 2012 to late 2014. The exhibition includes both 2-D and 3-D historical artifacts as well as contemporary pieces relevant to Arkansas history and heritage.
The Year of Arkansas Beer, sponsored by Historic Arkansas Museum Foundation and presented by Arkansas Brewers Guild, continues with Ozark Beer Co.’s American Pale Ale.

 
Old State House Museum –  Tonight at 7, as well as Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 3, the Arkansas Chamber Singers’ third concert of the season, “Music of the Civil War Era.” Choral music composed during, performed during, or inspired by the American Civil War featuring music by Verdi, Brahms, Stephen Foster and many Civil War tunes arranged for choir.Admission is free, reserve your seat today by visiting the Arkansas Chamber Singers Web site.

 

Butler Center for Arkansas Studies A Different State of Mind: An Exhibition by the Arkansas Society of Printmakers (On view through June 27, 2015)

This exhibition presents a collection of prints in a variety of media by the members of the Arkansas Society of Printmakers (ASP). Print techniques featured include relief, screen printing, intaglio, photogravure, monoprint, and lithography. Artists whose work is presented include Daniel Adams, Dustyn Bork, Win Bruhl, Ernest Cialone, Warren Criswell, Paige Dirksen, Debi Fendley, Melissa Gill, Diane Harper, Neal Harrington, Tammy Harrington, Kristin Karr, Jennifer Perren, Jessi Perren, Regan Renfro, Dominique Simmons, Thomas Sullivan, David Warren, and Jane Watson.

Warren Criswell, whose work is featured in A Different State of Mind, will give a talk about linocut, his style of printmaking, at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 13, in Butler Center Galleries.

Featured artist: Angela Davis Johnson is best known for her vibrant narrative paintings that examine universal connections, identity, and historical occurrences through personal symbols.

Entertainment in the galleries will be provided by the Itinerant Locals, an accordion and tuba duo from Hot Springs.

2nd Friday Art Night began in March of 2005 to bring attention to downtown Little Rock as a growing arts and cultural destination with several galleries and museums within strolling distance of each other. In addition to highlighting existing art venues 2nd Friday Art Night has, over the past decade, contributed to the development of a vibrant nightlife rich with art, history, live music and shopping.

By encouraging galleries, museums and cultural institutions to keep their doors open late one evening each month, the event has contributed to the thriving business environment of downtown Little Rock, improved the quality of life of those who work, live and play downtown and welcomed travelers to experience Little Rock in a fun way.

Women’s History Month Throwback Thursday: The Fine Arts Club

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In 1914, a group of women interested in visual art came together in Little Rock and formed The Fine Arts Club of Arkansas. 

In the early years, they gathered for regular discussions and taught art classes. 

Over time, the Fine Arts Club started acquiring artworks through donations. Originally they displayed these in the Pulaski County Courthouse in a room loaned to them for that purpose. 

Eventually, the County needed the space and the Fine Arts Club needed more room.  In the early 1930s, members approached Mayor Horace Knowlton with the suggestion of the City constructing a fine art museum. 

After securing funding for construction from the WPA, ground was broken and the Museum of Fine Arts opened in 1937 in City Park (now MacArthur Park).

Members of the Fine Arts Club staffed the museum as volunteers and docents as well as arranged for traveling exhibits. From the museum, the club continued to offer classes and guest lectures. 

By the mid-1950s, there was a desire for larger exhibit space, and the Fine Arts Club joined with the Junior League and the City of Little Rock in creating a new art museum.  

In 1963, the Arkansas Arts Center opened in MacArthur Park. This new facility encompassed the previous museum as well as additional spaces. With the hiring of professional staff to curate exhibits and teach classes, the Fine Arts Club transitioned to a volunteer corps and continued special monthly programming. 

Today, the purpose of the Fine Arts Club is to promote and extend the activities, usefulness and enjoyment of the Arkansas Arts Center.  The Fine Arts Club supports the Arkansas Arts Center by hosting programs featuring knowledgeable and dynamic speakers, and providing volunteers.  

Peanuts character Franklin is focus of Clinton Center program today at noon

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Today at noon at the Clinton Presidential Center Great Hall, Harriet Glickman and Ken Kelly will share the story of a schoolteacher who changed the course of Peanuts history.

During this special presentation, “The Story of Franklin: Just Another Kid in Peanuts,” the duo will describe their roles in the creation of Franklin, the first African American character in the Peanuts comic strips. The event will be held in conjunction with the two temporary exhibits, “Pigskin Peanuts” and “Heartbreak in Peanuts.”

In the wake of the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Glickman, a Los Angeles school teacher, began a vibrant correspondence with Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz, as a result of her outreach to nationally syndicated cartoonists regarding the lack of diversity in popular comic strips.

She shared the response she received from Mr. Schulz with Ken Kelly, a longtime friend and father with young children, who then wrote a letter of support to Schulz from the perspective of an African American parent.

Light Up the Night This Weekend with LANTERNS! at Wildwood

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Don’t miss THE MOON! at this year’s LANTERNS! Festival March 6 – 8. You can check out our giant moon balloon, delight in a moon-pie, and sip on a Blue Moon beer. Visit six locations spread throughout the park!

Located in Wildwood’s award-winning Asian Woodland Garden, the Asian Vista is a perennial highlight of LANTERNS! Don’t miss the wide variety of foods, including sushi, dumplings, egg rolls and fried rice. Sake and beer will be available as well as hot jasmine tea. Two bands, The Lemon Drops and The News Kids will perform in the garden’s Tea House while a Chinese harpist and a calligrapher will be on hand to showcase their art!

Wildwood is alive with the sound of music! Austria comes to Arkansas in the lobbies of Wildwood’s Cabe Theatre. Piping hot Viennese beef soup with crepe slivers will be served with apple strudel and delectable pastries. Be on the lookout for bands of gypsy vagabonds. The theatre’s south lobby has been transformed into a Alpine winter wonderland – complete with gourmet chocolate shoppe, mountain goats and polka band!

There is a literal pot of gold at the end of Wildwood’s Ireland rainbow, and a bit o’ gold for everyone who makes it through the leprechaun’s maze. Traditional Irish dancers entertain while festival goers dine on two Irish staples: beer and potatoes. For those looking to stay warm, there’s a steaming cup of Irish coffee waiting for you, and there’s Fizzy Leprechaun punch for the kids! Be careful where you step! Daffodils are a’bloom and William Wordsworth, one of Ireland’s greatest poets, will be on hand to tell you all about them!

Are you ready to live la vida LANTERNS!? All the tastes of Mexico can be found in Wildwood’s gazebo. Beer and tequila shots will be on hand, while a mariachi and DJ get the party started. The festival’s famed floating lanterns are launched from the gazebo, piñatas will be broken nightly!

It is England in 1600 in Wildwood’s Studios, and Shakespeare’s greatest works are being performed on the hour! Smoked turkey legs and brats are for sale and you’ll find a few lovely ladies hawking cherry tarts to passers by. Make your way down High Street and be on the lookout for carnival performers of all kinds. If you’re visiting with someone special, get them a fresh orange – these rare fruits are the ultimate symbol love!

Visit America in the 1950s as the Greatest Generation is home and ready to rock! Stop by your local soda shop to enjoy a Coke Float and snack on some classic American treats. Grab your poodle skirt and get on the dance floor where Elvis, Chuck Berry, and the Supremes are waiting for you. When you’re ready for a break, sit bit and enjoy a show by amazing performance artists!

Buy your tickets at http://bit.ly/1v4DDa4.