Category Archives: Visual Art

Sculpture Vulture: Jane DeDecker’s Patty Cake

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Patty CakeOne of the two newest sculptures to be located in Riverfront Park is Jane DeDecker’s Patty Cake.  This is one of two sculptures in the Nicholson Sculpture Plaza which was dedicated in September 2013.

Patty Cake depicts a mother with a child sitting on the mother’s knees.  The two are facing each other and playing the game which gives the sculpture its name.

This sculpture was donated by longtime KATV executive Dale Nicholson in memory of his wife Pat.

Part of Jane DeDecker’s artistic philosophy is her desire to select a moment to which everyone can relate on a personal level. These moments span all generations, depicting universal scenes. This may speak of the love between parent and child, the freedom of imagination, or the simple dignity of everyday tasks. Each is a timeless expression of the human experience, causing us to reflect and evaluate.

Award winning architect speaking Tuesday, October 15

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Kevin_McClurkanTuesday, October 15 at 6pm at the Arkansas Arts Center, award-winning architect and Arkansas native Kevin McClurkan, AIA, will make a presentation entitled THREADS: Ennead Architects’ Recent Works.  This is part of the monthly Architecture and Design Network lecture series.

A founding partner and management principal of  Ennead  Architects, New York-based architect Kevin McClurkan, has Arkansas roots and  continuing connections. An alumnus  of Pine Bluff High School, McClurkan earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where, in 1983, he received the Edward Durell Stone Award for Excellence in Design.

McClurkan has  continued to earn awards – a prestigious national American Institute of Architects Honor Awards among them. His  commitment  to design excellence, supported by  technical innovation,  is the hallmark of his work.  Little Rock’s William J.  Clinton Presidential Center; the Newseum/Freedom Forum Foundation World Headquarters, Washington D.C.; New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts  and  the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law are among the firm’s recent award-winning projects.

Ennead is the name of the firm formerly known as Polshek Partnership Architects. The firm’s  2010 renaming emphasizes  its identity as a group of architects rather than that of a single design leader.  The new name,  which means a group of nine,  reflects the democratic and collaborative culture of the partnership.

Currently working with Little Rock’s  Polk Stanley Wilcox on the redesign of the city’s  Robinson Auditorium, McClurkan  is a member of the  the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture’s Professional Advisory Board.  Of interest to the whole community,  his April talk is  free and open to the public.

For additional information, contact ardenetwork@icloud.com.

2nd Friday Art Night at HAM

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Among the stops for 2nd Friday Art Night tonight is the Historic Arkansas Museum.

Tonight, October 11, from 5pm to 8pm, Bonnie Montgomery will be rocking out the Rock while the works of Stephen Cefalo and Sandra Sell will be on display in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists.

Bonnie Montgomery has been bringing her raucous spin on traditional southern music to honky-tonks throughout the U.S. and Europe.  Her catalog hails from a place where outlaw country saddles up with Americana and folk.

Figurations: Stephen Cefalo and Sandra Sell is opening tonight and running through December 8 in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists. Stephen Cefalo’s work evokes the style of the Old Masters and is moody, complex and unapologetically human both in subject matter and technique. With her sculpture Sandra Sell is able to transform a tactilely hard medium into something soft, almost figurative and emotional.

Historic Arkansas Museum is located on a block bounded by Second, Cumberland, Third and Scott Streets.

Arkansas Arts Council celebrates 2013 Fellowship Recipients today

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2Nine Arkansas artists will be celebrated today when the Arkansas Arts Council honors the recipients of its Individual Artist Fellowship awards. The artists will be recognized at a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock.

The Arkansas Arts Council awarded nine artist fellowships in the amount of $4,000 each. Fellowships are awarded annually to artists in Arkansas in recognition of their individual artistic abilities. These fellowships enable artists to set aside time for creating their art and improving their skills. Three artistic disciplines are selected each year as categories for the awards.

The three categories for this year are Literary Arts: Playwriting; Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films; and Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts.

The fellowship recipients were selected by a jury of out-of-state professional artists, writers, performers and art administrators.

Literary Arts: Playwriting

Kelley Smith Pruitt, Little Rock – In a Year’s Time

Clinnesha D. Sibley, Fayetteville – Tell Martha Not to Moan

Werner Trieschmann, Little Rock – Disfarmer

 

Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films

Joshua H. Miller, Little Rock – Pillow

Mark Thiedeman, Little Rock – Last Summer

Nathan Willis, Little Rock – “The Van”

 

Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts

Ed Pennebaker, Osage – blown glass, stone and metal work

Timothy LaTourette, Fayetteville – wood, lighting and printmaking

Adam Posnak, West Fork – functional ceramic with stark black, white and red imagery

 

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

Exhibit at Clinton Library pays tribute to March on Washington

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(Copyright Estate of Stanley Tretick LLC)

(Copyright Estate of Stanley Tretick LLC)

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library opened a new exhibit last month in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Entitled, “And Freedom for All: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” this exhibit pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of The March on Washington. The March took place in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963.  It was attended by approximately 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation’s capital.

Stanley Tretick was assigned by LOOK magazine to cover the march behind-the-scenes with organizers and program speakers.  The exhibit features his pictures and videos of speeches by Daisy Bates, John Lewis and a performance by Mahaila Jackson.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech is also featured in the exhibit.  President Clinton declared it to be “the clearest clarion call to the more perfect union of America in the 21 century.”

Stanley Tretick was an American photojournalist who worked for United Press International, Look and People (where he was a founding photo editor). He covered every president from Harry S. Truman through George H. W. Bush. For UPI, he followed the Kennedy presidential candidacy.  He resigned when UPI would not assign him to the White House once JFK took office.  The President promised his broad access which prompted Look to hire him.  His photos of the Kennedys helped form the collective iconic images for which the family is now remembered.

The exhibit runs through November 17.

Arts ExtravACANSA is tonight in Clinton Presidential Park.

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acansaEarlier this wee, the newly founded ACANSA Arts Festival announced its inaugural 2014 event.

Charlotte Gadberry, former Little Rock Rotary Club President, founder and current Board President of ACANSA Arts Festival introduced the new visual and performing arts festival that is the result of collaboration with regional arts organizations, local businesses, government and civic groups. She said the festival’s goal is to inspire public appreciation for the arts and enrich the economic and cultural vitality of the region. The festival’s theme is “A Southern Celebration of the Arts” and the Rotary Club of Little Rock Club 99 Foundation is an event sponsor, Gadberry said.

Robert Hupp, Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Repertory Theater and Chairman of ACANSA’s Arts Advisory Council summarized the festival’s programming. He said the festival will feature live performances, exhibits, educational opportunities, workshops and other activities throughout Little Rock and North Little Rock over nine days, from Sept. 19-27, 2014.

Additionally, ACANSA Arts Festival Director of Administration, Virginia Young, announced an upcoming kickoff event, Arts ExtravACANSA, to be held Saturday, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on the lawn of the Clinton Presidential Center. Arts ExtravACANSA will showcase a sampling of art and feature gourmet Southern delicacies, a silent auction, and a special musical performance by Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters.

Tickets are $100 and may be purchased through ACANSA Arts Festival by calling 501-663-2287, or emailing admin@acansaartsfestival.org. More information is available at Facebook.com/AcansaArtsFestival/events.

2nd Friday (Art Night) the 13th

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2nd Friday Art NightIt is Friday the 13th, which means it is the second Friday of the month.  That means it is time for another round of 2nd Friday Art Night.

Among the sites this month are:

Butler Center Galleries (401 President Clinton Avenue).  Guests can enjoy the music of guitarist Michael Carenbauer and the art of featured artist Sherrell Holcomb.  In addition the evening will feature the opening of Abstract Ar(t).  This exhibit showcases contemporary, abstract works of art by Arkansas-based artists Dustyn Bork, Megan Chapman, Donnie Copeland, Don Lee, and Steven Wise.  It will be on display through November 24, 2013.

Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third Street). Visitors to HAM will hear live music by Gentleman Jazz and enjoy wine tasting provided by Zin Wine Bar.  In addition to continuing exhibitions, the evening includes an opening reception of Reflections from the Monday Studio Artists with works by Shirley R. Anderson, Barbara Seibel, Sue Shields and Caryl Joy Young.  The show features these four artists’ landscape works.

Old State House Museum (300 West Markham). Music by Big Silver headlines the offerings at the Old State House Museum. The acclaimed Little Rock band will be playing on the lawn of the museum starting at 5:30 pm. The band recently recorded an episode of “AETN Presents: On the Front Row” that featured the music of Big Silver member Isaac Alexander. Concert goers are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved inside. Food and drinks will be provided for this free event.

2nd Friday Art Night runs from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and is free.  There are numerous stops at downtown galleries and museums.