Category Archives: Visual Art

Arkansas Literary Festival continues today with panels and Author! Author! party

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AR Lit Fest 2014The 11th annual Arkansas Literary Festival continues today and runs through Sunday. Unless otherwise specified the events are free.

 

Highlights for today are:

11 a.m. – Pulaski Technical College Wills Lecture Hall
“Complex Glories of Love in Varied Forms” featuring Charlotte Pence (The Branches, The Axe, The Missing) and Adam Prince (The Beautiful Wishes of Ugly Men). Sandy Longhorn will be the moderator

 

12 noon – Arkansas Arts Center
“Crafty Allure” – Amy Azzarito (Past and Present) with Brian Lang as moderator

 

12 noon – Clinton School of Public Service at Sturgis Hall
“Shaping Dixie” – Angie Maxwell (The Indicted South) with Skip Rutherford as moderator.

 

12 noon – Darragh Center at CALS Main Library
“Kill ‘em Clean” – Catherine Coulter (The Final Cut) – Paid event

 

6:30 pm – Darragh Center at CALS Main Library
“Penning in Piggott, Eureka!” – Adam Long and Linda Caldwell. Stephanie Vanderslice as moderator

 

8:00 pm – 5th Floor of CALS Main Library
“Author! Author!” – Paid event, reception to meet authors and moderators for the weekend.

 

The Cox Creative Center will be having a used book sale on Friday from 9am to 5pm. In addition there will be a used book sale in the CALS basement from 10am to 4pm.

11th Annual Arkansas Literary Festival Gets Underway Today

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AR Lit Fest 2014The 11th annual Arkansas Literary Festival gets underway today and runs through Sunday, April 27. Unless otherwise specified the events are free.

 

Highlights for today are:

12 noon – Cox Creative Center
“Painting Forgiveness” featuring author Kathy Sanders (Now You See Me). The session will be moderated by Ann Nicholson.

 

12 noon – Oxford American Annex
“Cash” featuring author Robert Hilburn (Johnny Cash: The Life) and Rhett Miller. Maxwell George will be the moderator.

 

5:30 pm to 7:00 pm – Hearne Fine Art
“Words & Pictures” – Illustrated works by Kadir Nelson

 

6pm – Arkansas Arts Center
“Art & Food I” featuring Mary Ann Caws (The Modern Art Cookbook) with Brad Cushman as moderator. The author session is free. But at 7pm, a paid event will take place involving Ms. Caws and some foods inspired by art and artists.

 

6pm – Clinton School of Public Service at Sturgis Hall
“True Gratitude” featuring David Finkel (Thank You for Your Service) with Skip Rutherford as moderator.

 

8pm – South on Main
Rhett Miller will be in concert at South on Main. This is a paid event.

 

The Cox Creative Center will be having a used book sale on Thursday from 5pm to 7pm.

ARTISTRY IN THE ROCK this week – Little Rock School District showcases student creativity

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Artistry In the Rock BannerThe Little Rock School District celebrates the creativity and talent of its students this week with Artistry in the Rock.

Tonight, April 21, there is a scholarship fundraiser featuring I J Routen and MUSED at the Afterthought.  Tickets are $10.  Showtimes are 7:30pm and 9:30pm.

Wednesday through Friday at the Metroplex Event Center, there will be performances.

Wednesday – April 23

  • 10:00 a.m. Jazz Central
  • 10:30 a.m. Mallory Baker, piano solo
  • 10:40 a.m. Central Choir
  • 11:00 a.m. Jefferson Orff Ensemble
  • 11:20 a.m. McDermott Choir
  • 11:40 a.m. Mabelvale Choir
  • 12:00 noon Parkview Dance
  • 12:20 p.m. Pulaski Heights Middle School Band

 

Thursday – April 24

  • 10:00 a.m. Chicot Stars
  • 10:30 a.m. Western Hills Eagle Band
  • 11:00 a.m. Romine Choir
  • 11:20 a.m. Booker Drama
  • 11:40 a.m. Meadowcliff Choir and Percussion Ensemble
  • 12:00 noon Forest Heights Band

 

Friday – April 25

  • 10:00 a.m. Parkview Musical Collaboration
  • 11:10 a.m. Watson Capercita Roja-Orff Ensemble
  • 11:30 a.m. Rockefeller Orff and Percussion Ensembles
  • 11:50 a.m. Pulaski Heights Elementary
  • 12:10 p.m. Dunbar Band Band

 

Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., there will be a Student Art Gallery .

 

On Friday, April 25 at 5:30 p.m., there will be a Jazz R US Reception and Silent Auction.

This free jazz reception for adults at the Metroplex Event Center will feature a performance by Dr. Danny Fletcher and Jazz R US.  Refreshments and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served.  Teh silent auction will feature faculty and student artwork.  Proceeds will benefit the Dr. Morris Holmes Artistry Scholarship fund.

Easter Bunnys in the River Market

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For those who are around the River Market today, there are two “Easter” bunny sculptures they can visit.

Rabbit Reach 004

Rabbit Reach

In honor of that, today’s Sculpture Vulture features Tim Cherry’s Rabbit Reach.

The sculpture is located at the corner of Sherman Street and President Clinton Avenue across from the Museum of Discovery.

The sculpture is a gift from Whitlow Wyatt and the Carey Cox Wyatt Charitable Foundation. It was given in memory of George Wyatt and Frank Kumpuris.  Those two gentlemen were the fathers of Whitlow Wyatt and Dean & Drew Kumpuris.

Cherry’s sculpture was selected for this spot because of its proximity to children at the Museum and in the River Market district.  The design and size of the sculpture encourages children to climb on it and to play around the rabbit.  While some public art is situated so it cannot be touched, this one is situated to be touched as part of the appreciation experience.

Laurel Peterson Gregory’s Bunny Bump is featured in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden.  Two stylized rabbits make for an interesting piece of artwork when they are not only dancing, but also doing the butt bump while dancing. The smooth surface and color of the bronze add to the illusion. This small piece has been placed on a pedestal to elevate more to eye level.

IMG_3987

Bunny Bump

The sculpture was completed in 2009 and installed in 2010.  Gregory has been featured at the Sculpture at the River Market show.  (The photo was taken during a December snow. Hopefully there will be no more of that this year.)

This upcoming Saturday and Sunday (April 26 & 27), the next Sculpture at the River Market will take place in the River Market pavilions. There are preview parties on Friday, April 25. For more information, visit the website.

Deadline for Ark Arts Center Delta Exhibition is this week

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arkartsApril 17 is the deadline to submit to be included in the Arkansas Arts Center’s annual Delta Exhibition.

The Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture was founded in 1956 to feature contemporary work by artists from Arkansas and bordering states. Today, the annual 56th Delta Exhibition has grown to encompass works in all media and is a showcase for the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region.

Brian Rutenberg will serve as juror for the 56th Annual Delta Exhibition. Born and raised in the Lowcountry of coastal South Carolina, Rutenberg is an artist now living and working in New York City. Rutenberg holds a B.A. from the College of Charleston and M.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Rutenberg will select the artworks to be exhibited and will assign the $2500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards. Additionally, a $250 Contemporaries Delta Award will be selected by the Contemporaries, an auxiliary membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center.

To enter, visit here.

Spring Break Activities continue in LR

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For those who stayed in town over Spring Break and may now be hearing “I’M BORED!” or “There’s Nothing to Do,” Little Rock’s cultural institutions offer plenty of activities.

CPC42 SpringbreakThe Clinton Presidential Center is partnering with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra on an Instrumental Petting Zoo for kids Pre-K through 5th grade. For those in 6th through 12th grades, there is a “Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII” video game free play with a tournament on Saturday.  The hours of the Petting Zoo and the Blazing Angels are from 10am to 2pm through Friday.  While at the Clinton Presidential Center, visitors can take in the Presidential Pets exhibit as well as the “Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America” exhibit which is in on loan from the International Spy Museum in Washington DC.

BoyWolfThe Arkansas Arts Center galleries are open featuring the exhibits “The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and The American South,” “Woodworking Instructors Exhibition,” “Paul Signac Watercolors and Drawings: The James T. Dyke Collection,” “Earthly Delights: Modern and Contemporary Highlights from The Permanent Collection,” “Ties That Bind: Southern Art from the Collection” and “Art In Context.”  In addition, the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre is presenting The Boy Who Cried Wolf for its final performances today and tomorrow at 2pm.

sid scienceThe Museum of Discovery has partnered with Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) to bring Sid the Science kid to the museum on Thursday, March 27, and Friday, March 28. Visitors can meet and have their photo taken with Sid and participate in science experiments seen on the popular science show. Sid will meet visitors both days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Museum of Discovery is offering spring break visitors the chance to enjoy science demonstrations and animal programs on the museum floor in addition to the 90 hands-on exhibits and the current temporary exhibit, Tech City.

 

MARCH 26, 1979 (artwork in collection of Arkansas Arts Center)

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March 26, 1979 - Evelyn Ellwood, Collection of Arkansas Arts Center

March 26, 1979 – Evelyn Ellwood, Collection of Arkansas Arts Center

Today is March 26, 2014, so it seems an appropriate day to feature a painting from the Arkansas Arts Center entitled March 26, 1979. The painting is by Evelyn Ellwood.

Painted in 1979, it measures 9 7/8 by 13 7/8.  It was acquired by the Arts Center in 1995 as a gift of Louis K. and Susan Pear Meisel of New York.

No artist’s statement could be obtained, so the significance of this date remains a mystery.