Category Archives: Visual Art

Art of Architecture – Artists, Architects and Community: The Public Art Equation

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Jack Becker,  who has a long and distinguished career in the field of  public art, is scheduled to speak tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center. His talk, “Artists, Architects and Community: The Public Art Equation”, is the third in the Architecture and Design Network’s Art of Architecture lecture series, now in its ninth season.

Founder and executive  director of Forecast Public Art,  a non-profit headquartered in St. Paul Minnesota, that provides consulting services to artists, communities  and government agencies, Becker is the publisher of Public Art Review, an award-winning journal that covers developments in the field worldwide.
In his talk, Becker will draw on his 35 years of experience as  artist and administrator to convey public art’s role  in meaningful place-making and  economic development. According to Becker,  “Art that engages the public can catalyze and sustain the revitalization of our shared environments, helping to create culturally vibrant and livable communities.”
While public art can be as simple as an object selected for placement in a public space, it can also come about through the collaborative efforts  of artists, design professionals and engineers. Many bridges,  bikeways and  trails, all  important elements of  infrastructure, have been produced by such joint efforts. Increasingly interdisciplinary, the field, according to Becker,  is also growing digital and ephemeral in its accommodation  to developments  in technology.
According to another professional, public art…”is about a city investing in itself. When done well it helps engender pride in place, adding meaning and a sense of history to the public realm.” The role of the community is key to a successful public art program.
Free and open to the public, Becker’s lecture  is sponsored by the Architecture and Design Network with the support of the University of Arkansas’s Fay Jones School of Architecture, the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Arkansas Arts Center. The 6:00 p.m. lecture is preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
For additional information contact June Freeman at  projects4pi@mac.com

Ark Arts Center Collector Show & Sale: Nov 30-Dec 30

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Opening this Friday, the Arkansas Arts Center presents the 44th Collectors Show & Sale.

First organized in 1968 by then-Arkansas Arts Center Director and Chief Curator Townsend Wolfe, the purpose of the exhibition is to encourage local collecting, acquaint Arkansas Arts Center visitors with works from New York galleries and promote the drawing media.

Arthur B. Davies “Figure Composition” c. 1905

Through the years the exhibition has evolved to an annual tradition that brings the New York Gallery scene to Little Rock. Executive Director Todd Herman and curators select the best in drawings and contemporary craft from over 20 New York galleries.

The exhibition includes works in a variety of media that range from 18th century masterworks to contemporary pieces by emerging artists. The unique and varied selection of works allows seasoned buyers to add to their collections, while introducing potential new collectors to the field.

There will be a members reception on Thursday, November 29 from 6pm to 8pm.  Memberships are available at the door.

Sculpture Vulture: Standing Red

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As Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close, today’s Sculpture Vulture looks at a sculpture that was placed as a token of thanks.

In 1970, artist Tal Streeter and the Arkansas Arts Center Board of Trustees donated Streeter’s sculpture Standing Red in honor of Jeannette Edris Rockefeller.  Mrs. Rockefeller had been a champion of the Arkansas Arts Center and had served as longtime chair of the Board.  She had also been instrumental in the recruitment and hiring of Townsend Wolfe who would be the longtime director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Streeter’s sculpture stands 27 feet tall and is 54 feet from one end to another.  It consists of a T-shaped base and a perpendicular pedestal.  It is in the Minimalist style of art.  In creating it, Streeter focused on the placement of a thin red line into a setting.  It was placed near the then-entrance of the Arkansas Arts Center (which still serves as the entrance for the Museum School and Children’s Theatre).

This was one of the earliest pieces of abstract art in Little Rock.  A silkscreen by Streeter is also in the Arkansas Arts Center collection.

Toys Designed by Artists at Ark Arts Center

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William Price – “Sheriff Rubber Ducky” (2010)
Cherry, steel, brass; 5 x 2 ½ x 5”

The Toys Designed By Artists exhibition engages museum visitors, delighting young and old alike.

In 1973, the Arkansas Arts Center initiated an exhibition of toys designed by artists. Inspired by Alexander Calder’s circus figures of the late 1920s and early 1930s, this exhibition was launched to stimulate the imagination of both children and adults and to engage them with toys of whimsy, delight and good craftsmanship.

The tradition continues this season with the 38th Toys Designed by Artists. This international juried exhibition challenges artists to take the concept of “toy” and make a personal expression – a piece of art. The wildly inventive toys selected often hearken back to the days before plastic and mass production, when all toys were handmade and, whether simple or elaborate, engaged the imagination of both maker and user.

The exhibit opened on Wednesday, November 21 and runs through January 6.

 

Ark Arts Center Museum School Sale

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The Arkansas Arts Center Museum School will be having its annual Sale on Saturday, November 17 from 9am to 3pm at the Clear Channel Metroplex.

Dozens of Museum School students and faculty (and faculty who are also students) will be selling artwork in all varieties of shapes, sizes, media and price ranges.  It is a perfect chance to get a start on holiday shopping as well as to support local artists.  Several of the artists have been taking classes and selling at the sale for years, while there will be others who are first timers.   Artists accept cash and checks.

Arkansas Arts Center members will have a special preview party on Friday, November 16 from 6pm to 9pm.  In addition to browsing, there will be light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments available while the members shop.  Memberships will be available for purchase at the door.

Veteran’s Day Sculpture Vulture: Korean War Memorial Plaza

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In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Sculpture Vulture today features the Korean War Monument in MacArthur Park.

The Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on June 25, 2007, the 57th anniversary date of the beginning of the Korean War.  Located in MacArthur Park, the Memorial Plaza features a 3′ tall black granite pentagon bearing the emblems of the five military branches; a nearly 12′ by 12′ frosted gray granite entryway; and three larger than life-size bronze statues stand in the center of the plaza.

Three larger than life-size bronze statues are the central focus of the Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial Plaza.  One statue is a combat soldier representing the fighting that took place in South Korea.  The second statue honors the brave sacrifices that Combat Medics and Navy Corpsmen made to save the lives of others during this conflict.  The third statue features two Korean children representing the suffering of the Korean people during the war and the future generations of Koreans that have rebuilt that nation. The statues were designed and constructed by Light and Time Design Studio and Art Foundry located in Royal, Arkansas.

Encircling the statues are eight 3′ wide x 6′ tall black granite tablets. The tablets, weighing in excess of 3,000 pounds each, are engraved with the names of the 461 Arkansas servicemen and women killed in action, a description of Korean War events and a map of Korea.

The memorial plaza stands to the east of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in MacArthur Park.  Though not affiliated with the museum directly, they share a common connection to both Douglas MacArthur and the role Arkansans played in the Korean conflict.

Giving Thanks for 2nd Friday Art Night (with HAM and BBQ)

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In this month of gratitude, it is a good time to visit some of the stops along the way on 2nd Friday Art Night and be grateful for creative expression which makes life more enjoyable.

Tonight from 5pm to 8pm at various downtown museums and galleries, guests can view art and enjoy live entertainment.  Admission is free.

There are many places participating.  Here are highlights from the Historic Arkansas Museum (HAM).  They will feature two new exhibits, two authors, award winning barbecue and live music.

Beyond the Expected: Norwood Creech, Paulette Palmer and Edward Wade, Jr.
From Northeast Arkansas, Norwood Creech presents a collection of photographs, reflecting the rural, agricultural landscape of Arkansas’s Northeastern Delta region, North of Interstate 40.Mountain View artist Paulette Palmer’s mixed media sculptures evoke fairy tales, memories and children’ stories. Artist Ed Wade, of Marianna, uses watercolor to explore colors and shapes, and their relationship with each other and reflect life in the Delta.

Jared Hogue: Mini Faces
This exhibit of caricatures by Jared Hogue includes work from three categories: Notable Arkansans, In Memoriam, and Pop Culture. Hogue has worked as a freelance artist since 1990, creating illustrations, portraiture and political cartoons, along with caricatures. He lives in Cabot and teaches at the Arkansas School for the Deaf.

In the Museum Store, meet Edmond Davis, author of Pioneering African-American Aviators, and Kat Robinson, author of Arkansas Pie, and Grav Weldon, will have his pie photographs. Jeannie Whayne will have a few copies of her latest book, DELTA EMPIRE on hand. Get your books signed – from 5 to 7 pm, during 2nd Friday Art Night, November 9.