Category Archives: Visual Art

Legacies and Lunch: Deering Discusses Fisher and Political Cartoons

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John Deering, Chief Editorial Cartoonist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, will discuss the history and importance of cartoons created by George Fisher.  The talk takes place today as part of the monthly “Legacies & Lunch” program.

Fisher was a political cartoonist for more than 50 years whose work influenced and helped define Arkansas politics and politicians for a generation.

Among his legacies were Orval Faubus and the Farkleberry Tree (pictured at right), Bill Clinton graduating from buggy to tricycle to bike to pickup, David Pryor and his coon dog, Frank White and his banana and the Old Guard Rest Home.

Legacies & Lunch is sponsored in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided.

It will take place in the Darragh Center inside the main library building.  The program starts at 12noon and ends at 1pm.  The program is free.

Sculpture Vulture: SIERRA

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Today’s Sculpture Vulture focuses on one of Little Rock’s newest sculptures. Sierra was installed this past summer. Wayne Salge’s piece celebrates the gifts of women.

The sculpture depicts a stylized woman carrying an urn, several bottles and some fruit. It stands 9 feet and three inches tall and is cast in bronze.

The sculpture stands at the southeast corner of the intersection of 2nd Street and River Market Avenue. It was donated by Everett Tucker III in honor of Rebecca Bost Tucker, Michael Hickerson in honor of Meredith Berry Hickerson, Doyle “Rog” Rogers in honor of Carolyn Wilmans Rogers, Mack and Franklin McLarty in honor of Donna Cochran McLarty, and the Dolphin-Laser Swim team in honor of Mary Grace Tucker.

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Governor’s Arts Awards

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Governor Mike Beebe and the Arkansas Arts Council will present the Governor’s Arts Awards at a ceremony and luncheon at noon, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, at The Peabody Little Rock.

Sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council, the Governor’s Arts Awards recognize individuals and corporations for their outstanding contributions to the arts in Arkansas. The recipients were nominated by the public and then selected by an independent panel of arts professionals from around the state. Each recipient will receive an original work of art created by glass artists Charles and Michael Riley of Hot Springs, owners of Riley Art Glass Studio in Hot Springs. The following is the list of 2012 recipients. Click HERE to read each recipient’s bio.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Zeek Taylor – Eureka Springs

ARTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Jeff Baskin – North Little Rock

ARTS IN EDUCATION AWARD
Christen Burke Pitts – North Little Rock
Clayton Scott – Fayetteville

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OF THE ARTS AWARD
TRUE Marketing − Jonesboro

FOLKLIFE AWARD
Marty Phillips – Crossett

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST AWARD
John Jeter – Fort Smith 

PATRON AWARD
Drs. Mack and Vern Ann Shotts – Paragould

JUDGES RECOGNITION AWARD
Jim D. Johnson – Little Rock

Sculpture Vulture: THE CENTER

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One of Little Rock’s two newest sculptures is featured in the Sculpture Vulture today.  Chapel’s THE CENTER was dedicated on Friday, October 19. It is located in Riverfront Park just to the west of the Junction Bridge and north of the Peabody Playground. The piece was commissioned in 2011 at the 5th annual Sculpture at the River Market.

Chapel uses a variety of materials including steel and colored glass to create this tall sculpture. It represents that Little Rock is the center of the state and Riverfront Park (and the nearby “Little Rock”) represent the heart of the City.   The steel evokes the nearby Junction bridge and the blue and green glass echo the nearby grass and water.  (Green and Blue are also Little Rock’s colors, so this was a happy accident by the sculptor as well.)  The textured glass that is in the center of the column is also evocative of the Arkansas River.

Chapel is an award winning sculptor who creates both abstract and figurative pieces working in a variety of media.  Though his work can be seen worldwide, most of his commissions have been in the south and west. He is a member of the National Sculpture Guild and Society of Animal Artists among many other professional associations.

 

 

Sculpture Vulture: Boris

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The Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale continues today. In keeping with that, today’s Sculpture Vulture features a sculpture of an attendee to each of the shows. Commissioned in 2010 and unveiled last year, Dan Glanz’s “Boris” is a likeness of Boris Kumpuris, the dog and companion of Mary and Dr. Dean Kumpuris.

Glanz captures the friendly and inquisitive nature of Boris in this work, which can be found in the Vogel Schwarz sculpture garden. Most weekends Boris can be seen with Dean as the two walk through Riverfront Park and the River Market. Boris explores and inspects the park along with Dean. Each year during the Sculpture at the River Market show, Boris visits with Dean and meets all the sculptors.

The sculpture was donated by longtime Kumpuris family friend Margaret Clark. She and her late husband Bill were two of the earliest supporters of sculpture along the Arkansas River. They donated another piece in honor of their grandchildren. A sculpture in memory of Bill was unveiled last year and stands in the wetlands park which bears his name.

Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sale this weekend

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Hundreds of sculptures and thousands of visitors will again populate the River Market Pavilions when 2012 Sculpture at the River Market returns for the sixth year on October 19 – 21.

The sculptures will be on display in the River Market Pavilions and in the adjacent area of Riverfront Park. The works featured will include all types of media, style, subject matter, and size.

Admission to Sculpture at the River Market is free. Sculpture at the River Market Market will run from 9AM to 5PM on Saturday, October 19 and from 10AM to 4PM on Sunday, October 21.

On Saturday, Sculpture at the River Market will take place in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market.

At 2pm today, there will be a dedication of a new piece of public art.  A one of kind 15 foot sculpture constructed of stainless steel, glass and bronze was the winner of the 2011 Sculpture at the River Market people’s choice award. “The Center” by artist Chapel received the most votes.

This evening there will be a preview party where patrons will get the first chance to see the artwork, visit with the sculptors, and purchase sculptures. Tickets for the preview party are $100.

The sale and show is sponsored by the City of Little Rock and the National Sculptors’ Guild. Proceeds from the sale of artwork will fund upgrades in Riverfront Park and the River Market.

Among the artists are Arkansans Terry and Maritza Cornejo Bean, Shelley Buonaiuto, Bryan Massey Sr., Ed Pennebaker, Ryan T. Schmidt, John Sewell, Margaret Warren and Michael Warrick.

Other artists include Lori Acott, Kevin Box, Kathleen Caricof, Dee Clements, Ron Chapel, Tim Cherry, Merrilee Cleveland, Frederic Crist, Darrell Davis, Jane DeDecker, Clay Enoch, Cassandra Fink, Jim Goshorn, Denny Haskew, Mark Hopkins, Ryan Mays, Bruce Niemi, Nic Noblique, Reza Pishgahi, Don Rambadt, Merle Randolph, Kevin Robb, Karla Runquist, Emelene Russell, Wayne Salge, Sandy Scott, Adam Schultz, Kim Shaklee, James Paulsen Solway, Sam Spiczka, Pati Stajcar, Arabella Tattershall, Kevin Trobaugh and C. T. Whitehouse

Sculpture Vulture: Collen Nyanhongo’s “Resting Angel”

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The Sculpture at the River Market show and sale starts this coming Friday evening and runs through next Sunday.  To mark this, the October Sculpture Vulture is highlighting sculptures from previous shows.

Today’s is Collen Nyanhongo’s Resting Angel.  Carved out of stone, this features both rough and polished surfaces of a variety of textures. On one side, it appears that an angel’s wing is emerging from a stone pillar.  The other side depicts a profile of the angel’s face in the same shape as the wing.

Collen Nyanhongo’s homeland is Zimbabwe, which means “large house of stone.” He is a member of the most significant family of artists in Zimbabwe and learned the craft of using simple hand tools to sculpt his stones from his father, Claude Nyanhongo, a first-generation artist who helped create the Zimbabwe Sculpture Movement fifty years ago. The Zimbabwe Sculpture Movement is heralded as the most prominent art form to emerge from Africa in the 20th century.

Forging his own vision from his powerful artistic roots, Collen Nyanhongo blends traditional figurative form into metaphorical abstract expression that transcends his past and establishes him as an eminent world artist whose work has been honored in Zimbabwe, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Holland, England, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa and the United States.

Collen sculpts in all sizes, from a 15 ton marble stone for a public art project in Fort Collins, Colorado to smaller pieces that demand to be held and caressed. He prefers working with hard stones like Springstone, Serpentine and Lopidolite and ships them in from Zimbabwe quarries to wherever he is living and working.