Category Archives: Visual Art

Tin Roof Project: John Hornor Jacobs

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JHJ_ABOUT_ME_PHOTOThe first week of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  July features novelist John Hornor Jacobs.

Music is by Bonnie Montgomery and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

John Hornor Jacobs has worked in advertising for the last fifteen years, played in bands, and pursued art in various forms. He is also, in his copious spare time, a novelist. His first novel, Southern Gods, was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award. He has also written   This Dark Earth and a young adult series, The Incarcerado Trilogy comprised of The Twelve Fingered Boy, The Shibboleth, and The Conformity.  His first fantasy series, The Incorruptibles will be published in Spring 2014.

John is the co-founder of Needle: A Magazine of Noir and was the active creative director until fall 2012. He has a quartet of horror stories, Fierce As The Grave, available through Amazon.com.  John has played guitar semi-professionally and worked as an animator, videographer and designer.

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $7.50, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

Washington Tribute at Clinton Center

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Washington's Copy of the Acts of Congress.

Washington’s Copy of the Acts of Congress.

The library focusing on the 42nd President now has an exhibit honoring the the 1st President.  The William J. Clinton Presidential Center has a “Tribute to George Washington” on display through July 12.

It features:
George Washington’s Copy of the Acts of Congress
The volume contains the Constitution and draft Bill of Rights with Washington’s personal written notes as well as an original signature. The volume, dating back to 1789, is on loan from Mount Vernon.

George Washington Correspondence
On loan from the National Archives in Washington, DC, the Clinton Center will showcase two rare documents that helped shape American history during Washington’s administration. One includes a handwritten letter by President Washington regarding the the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. The second document is a letter to President Washington signed by Chief Justice John Jay.

George Washington [The Constable-Hamilton Portrait]
The portrait of George Washington was painted in Philadelphia in 1797 by artist Gilbert Stuart. New York merchant William Kerin Constable commissioned the portrait for Alexander Hamilton. The portrait is on loan from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

The Clinton Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Sculpture Vulture: Kevin Kresse’s Breaking the Cycle

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IMG_6022 The newest sculpture to be placed in Riverfront Park is Kevin Kresse’s Breaking the Cycle.  Is is located near the belvedere in the park (which is visible in the background of the photo below).

The sculpture depicts an older man (ostensibly a grandfather) being pushed in a wheelbarrow by a young boy.  The artist’s son, Roman, served as the model for the young boy.

Kresse’s piece was donated by Lisenne Rockefeller. Mrs. Rockefeller and Kresse have worked together before.  He sculpted the official bust of her late husband which is on display at the State Capitol.

In addition to this piece, Kresse’s art can be found throughout Little Rock, the state of Arkansas and the United States.

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Time Travelers exhibit at Ark Arts Center

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Henry Moore, Eight Reclining Figures No. 1, 1966, ink and watercolor on paper,

If an artist from the Treasures of Kenwood House exhibition were to time travel to the twentieth century, he would no doubt be shocked at the revolutions that had transformed the art of his native Britain, Netherlands, or Flanders (now part of Belgium).

Abstract and surreal art seems to break with nearly every precept of classically-based seventeenth- and eighteenth-century art. Yet the twentieth-century artists whose works have been selected from the Arts Center’s collection for this exhibition did not turn completely from their past.

In the 1980s, Dutch artist Anneke van Brussel (born 1949) drew asparagus in much the same naturalistic manner as seventeenth-century Dutch still life artists. The powerful British realist painter Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) created an intimate figure drawing inspired by the work of eighteenth-century French artist Antoine Watteau (1684 – 1721). The British modernist sculptor Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) looked back even farther in his series of lithographs portraying the ancient British monument known as Stonehenge. Moore’s many reclining figures, sculpted and drawn, reflect both classical Greek and Roman figural sculpture and ancient Mayan stone carvings.

The great traditions of drawing, painting and sculpting human figures, animals, still lifes, and landscapes take on different guises from year to year, but they are never forgotten. The past provides the solid ground from which visions of the future take wing.

The exhibit runs through August 4.

June 25 Architeaser: War Memorial Stadium

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IMG_6008Today’s architeaser is the main entrance on the eastern side of War Memorial Stadium.  It is one of the few parts of the stadium that closely resembles what was built and dedicated in 1948.

The stadium was designed by architect Bruce R. Anderson and was constructed for a cost of $1.2 million.  The original seating capacity of 31,075 was expanded in 1967 and 2010. It is now more than 54,000.

The three panels depict football players. The one on the left depicts a player (ostensibly a quarterback) throwing a football. The middle panel shows two defensive players running into a rusher. The third panel shows a kicker after having punted a ball.

War Memorial Stadium is owned by the State of Arkansas and administered by the War Memorial Stadium Commission.

 

Sculpture Vulture: Toy Blocks

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toyblocks1While imposing pieces of public art are certainly impressive, it can also be delightful to find a smaller piece tucked away along a sidewalk.  Such is the case of one of Little Rock’s newest sculptures.

Olivia Myers Farrell, chair and CEO of Arkansas Business Publishing Group, is a long time supporter of the arts.  She had the vision of including public art as ABPG is remodeling their offices.  Therefore, nestled on Scott Street in downtown Little Rock  next to the ABPG headquarters is Kevin Robb’s Toy Blocks.

The piece enhances not only the new entrance to the ABPG offices, but it also is a whimsical touch along the street.  The brushed stainless steel gleams against the red brown brick building behind it and the paved sidewalk and street in front of it.

toyblocks2Over the past three decades, Robb has made his mark on the national and international art scene. With a unique style and consummate welding quality that have defined and differentiate his work, his sculptures are not created according to a set plan.

In 2004, Robb suffered a massive stroke. Although he has been challenged physically in the creation of his sculptures, he is in the studio creating the sculptures that he loves so much. His ideas remain free flowing and his commitment to quality is as high as ever – with a resolve that offers a physical testament to the dedication, expertise, and amazing recovery of this remarkable artist.

He has participated in several of the Sculpture at the River Market shows.  He has won the Best in Show award at that annual show and sale.

Special Event at Mount Holly on Saturday morning

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mthollyMt. Holly Cemetery, burial site of Governors, Mayors, Senators and Pulitzer Prize winners, will host a special event tomorrow (Saturday, June 22) at 9:00 am.

This special event will give guests a sampling of all Mt Holly has to offer to the community in Little Rock’s oldest cemetery. We will start at the 13th Street gate with a brief historical tour, followed by a performance from Tales of the Crypt, and finish with Scott Lyon who will give us a garden series lecture–all in an hour!

The Mt. Holly Cemetery Association invites the public to come spend an hour at the cemetery. Refreshments will be served in the shade of the bell house. The public is invited to bring a lawn chair and wear a gardening hat!

A $5.00 suggested donation gets you a door prize ticket for a Mount Holly Cookbook and other gifts for this event. We will also have Mount Holly Cookbooks for sale.

Entrance on the 22nd will be via the 13th Street gate only.