Tag Archives: Arkansas Arts Center

William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s ADMIRATION at the Arkansas Arts Center through May 15

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Now through May 15, the Arkansas Arts Center has a special piece of artwork on display!

William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s Admiration is in the Ted and Virginia Bailey Gallery.

Adoring young women gather around the youthful, winged figure of Cupid, the Roman god of love. The immortal boy playfully points his amorous arrow at a lovely maid who clasps her bosom as if the dart of love has, indeed, struck home. The beautifully crafted painting, its figures rendered with ideal proportions in flawless perspective, was clearly produced by a master. This painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau displays the results as his training in the highest academic manner of the mid-19th century at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and other academies.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau, French (La Rochelle, France 1825 – 1905, La Rochelle, France), Admiration, 1897, oil on canvas, 58 x 78 in., Bequest of Mort D. Goldberg to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 59.46.

In 1850, the young artist won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome, the top academic art prize of the day, which enabled him to study classical art in Rome for four years. This began his career as the leading French academic artist of his day; he triumphantly exhibited year after year in the massive annual exhibition known as the Salon. While classical subject matter was supposedly the most proper and edifying material an academic artist of the 19th century could portray, Bouguereau’s success arose at least partially from his ability to infuse a sense of naughty fun into his classical nude figures. That is certainly on display in this delightfully sensual image, which was a success both at the Paris Salon of 1899 and the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900.

This great neoclassical painting comes as a special loan from the San Antonio Museum of Art in exchange for an earlier loan from the Arkansas Arts Center of its 1914 Cubist masterpiece, Dos Mujers, painted by Diego Rivera when the Mexican artist was working in Paris early in his career. Admiration will be accompanied by a related drawing by Bouguereau. The painting and drawing will be complemented by a selection of academic figure drawings from the Arkansas Arts Center’s acclaimed collection of original works on paper. These will allow viewers to see how academic artists drew to study the figure so they could achieve the mastery we see in Bouguereau’s painting.

Have Fun and Learn as SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! takes stage at Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre

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AAC CT SchoolhouseThe Schoolhouse Rock cartoon may be decades old now, but this fresh, live-theatre adaptation will spark the wide-eyed wonder of new discovery in our youngest generation while inviting smiles of toe-tapping, lip-synching nostalgia from the rest of us. Get ready to relive those fun-filled afternoons in front of the TV; Schoolhouse Rock Live! is coming to the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre March 4-25.

From “Just a Bill,” “Conjunction Junction,”  “Interplanet Janet” and more, every song in this live musical performance of the classic, Emmy Award-winning cartoon series “Schoolhouse Rock” is sure to please.  With performances Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., March 4-25, and 2 p.m. matinee performances March 22-25, there are plenty of opportunities to see this show which makes learning grammar, science, math and history a delight!

The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre performance of Schoolhouse Rock Live! is directed by Katie Campbell. Costumes are designed by Erin Larkin, lighting design by Mike Stacks, scenic design by Miranda Young, choreography by Erin Fowler and Rivka Kupperman is the stage manager. Nicole Jovanovic and Cathleen Gleason are part of the run crew.

The cast includes:

  • Nick Spencer of Nashville TN. as Tom;
  • Jeremy Matthey of North Little Rock as George;
  • Samantha Harrington of Little Rock as Shulie;
  • Aleigha Morton of Beebe as Dori;
  • Geoffrey Eggleston of Sioux Falls, SD as Joe and
  • Paige Carpenter of Little Rock as Dina.

Schoolhouse Rock Live! was originally adapted and produced for the stage by Theatre BAM, from the series created by George Newall and Tom Yohe, based on an idea by David McCall; book by Scott Ferguson, George Keating and Kyle Hall. Music and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, Kathy Mandry, George Newall and Tom Yohe.

Schoolhouse Rock and the accompany play have strong ties to Arkansas. Robert Dorough, born in Cherry Hill, Ark., wrote and performed many of the original songs for the cartoon and the play. Scott Ferguson is the original director and author of Schoolhouse Rock Live! Not only is he a native of Sherwood,, but he is also an alumnus of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre.

Get ready for the ultimate Throwback Thursday event with Schoolhouse on the Rocks—an adults-only singalong performance of Schoolhouse Rock Live! on Thursday, March 10. Before the play, enjoy a reception at 6 p.m. featuring themed cocktails, a cereal and Hiland Dairy milk bar with some of your favorite breakfast treats and a grownup spin on other classic childhood snacks. Tickets are $10 for members, $20 for non-members and include the reception and ticket to the show.

The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre will once again offer “Pay What You Can” preview performances. “Pay What You Can” tickets are available for the 7 p.m. Thursday preview performance of each Main Stage production. Tickets for the Schoolhouse Rock Live! preview on Thursday, March 3 must be purchased in person at the Arkansas Arts Center (501 East 9th Street) from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Stephens Inc. Visitors Center, or from 6-6:45 p.m. at the Children’s Theatre Box Office, Lower Lobby Level. The maximum ticket purchase of six tickets per person. Additional tickets can always be purchased in person, online or by phone at regular ticket pricing.

Schoolhouse Rock Live!

March 4-25, 2016

Show times: Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Spring Break Matinee Performances:  March 22-25, 2016 at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices: $12.50 General admission, $10 for Arkansas Arts Center members, $10 per person for groups of 10 or more

Best enjoyed by all ages.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org/theatre.

LR Women’s History Month – Adolphine Krause Fletcher

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CLR Adolphine Krause FletcherIn 1878, Adolphine Krause Fletcher became First Lady of Little Rock when she married John Gould Fletcher, who was then serving as mayor.  Though records are incomplete, this may well be the first and only time that a sitting mayor has been married while in office.

She was born September 3, 1854, the daughter of John and Fredericka Krause.  Her father had immigrated from Denmark and her mother had come from what is now Germany.  Adolphine had at least two older sisters – Clara and Johanna.  When the girls were small children, their father died.  While all three girls reached adulthood, Clara died in 1866.  By the time Adolphine married Mayor Fletcher, her mother had died.  It is expected that Adolphine was introduced to her future husband by her sister Johanna. She was married to Peter Hotze, who was a business partner of Mayor Fletcher’s.

Adolphine and John Gould Fletcher had five children, three of whom survived to adulthood – Adolphine, Mary and John Gould.  (The Fletcher family often used the same names in subsequent generations and never distinguished among different people with the uses of Senior, Junior, Third, etc.)

In 1889, the Fletcher family moved in to what is now known as the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House. It stayed in the family until the 1970s, when Adolphine’s two daugthers deeded it to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center.

Mrs. Fletcher saw to it that each of her children were well-educated, even if she restricted them to spending most of their time at the family manse. The three were surrounded with literature and books on topics of the day.  She brought in tutors to teach them German and Latin.  At a time when few females were educated, the Fletcher girls were sent to college.

Though her children and husband traveled, Mrs. Fletcher never ventured from Arkansas. She was, however, enthralled by images of the upper classes from the North, about which she read in magazines. She dressed her children inappropriately for the warmer Arkansas climate but in clothing inspired by etchings from New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and other northern cities.  She also apparently did not care for many of her husband’s more rural relatives. As soon as Adolphine was old enough to act as hostess, Mrs. Fletcher would stay in her room and send her daughter downstairs to receive guests.

Her two passions were gardening and music.  She had the glass conservatory installed on the southeast corner and spent countless hours there cultivating plants which were not native to Arkansas.  She also spent many hours playing piano and singing — everything from popular music to classical songs. She regaled her children with stories about a tutor who had encouraged her to become an opera singer.  She tried to teach her son how to play the violin, but his father would not allow it.

It appears that most her her life was spent focused on her gardening, music and children.  In May 1910, Adolphine Krause Fletcher died and was buried at Mount Holly Cemetery alongside her husband.  Her parents and sisters are also buried in that cemetery.

 

LR Women’s History Month – Adolphine Fletcher Terry

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adolphine

Photos from the collection of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Adolphine Fletcher Terry was born on November 3, 1882 to former Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher and his wife Adolphine Krause Fletcher.

Raised in Little Rock, in 1889 she moved into the Albert Pike House on East 7th Street, when her aunt transferred the title to her father. That house would be her primary residence the rest of her life.  Her sister Mary Fletcher Drennan never lived in Arkansas as an adult after marriage. Her brother John Gould Fletcher spent much of his adulthood in Europe before returning to Little Rock and establishing his own house, Johnswood.

At age 15, Adolphine attended Vassar. She later credited that experience as broadening her views on many issues.  After graduating at age 19, she returned to Little Rock.  Her parents both died prior to her 1910 wedding to David D. Terry, which took place at what was then known as the Pike-Fletcher House (and today is known as the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House).

She is perhaps best known today for establishing the Women’s Emergency Committee in 1958 and for her subsequent deeding of the family house to the City for use by the Arkansas Arts Center.  But her entire life was based on civic engagement.

She was instrumental in establishing the first juvenile court system in Arkansas and helped form the first school improvement association in the state. She was long an advocate for libraries, serving 40 years on the Little Rock public library board.  Through her leadership, the library opened its doors to African Americans in the early 1950s. Today a branch of the Central Arkansas Library System (the successor the Little Rock public library) is named after her.  Another branch is named after her Pulitzer Prize winning brother.

Adolphine formed the Little Rock chapter of the American Association of University Women, the Pulaski County tuberculosis association and the Community Chest.

In 1958, when the Little Rock public high schools were closed instead of allowing them to be desegregated again, she called Harry Ashmore the editor of the Gazette and exclaimed, “the men have failed us…it’s time to call out the women.”  With this, she formed the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools. This group played a major role in getting the four high schools open the following year.

From 1933 to 1942, David Terry served in the U.S. Congress. During that time, Adolphine alternated her time between Washington DC and Little Rock. But she spent much time in Little Rock raising her five children.

After her husband’s death in 1963, she continued to remain active in civic affairs. In the 1960’s, she and her sister deeded the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House to the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center upon both their deaths.  Following Adolphine Fletcher Terry’s death in 1976, Mary turned over the title to the City.

Adolphine Fletcher Terry is buried in Mount Holly Cemetery alongside her husband. Three of her children are also buried in that plot.  Her parents and brother are buried in a nearby plot.

Her son William Terry and his wife Betty continue to be active in Little Rock. Their daughters and their families also carry on Adolphine Fletcher Terry’s commitment to making Little Rock better.

Black History Month Spotlight – Pike-Fletcher-Terry Mansion

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IMG_5151The new Arkansas Civil Rights History Audio Tour was launched in November 2015. Produced by the City of Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock allows the many places and stories of the City’s Civil Rights history to come to life an interactive tour.  This month, during Black History Month, the Culture Vulture looks at some of the stops on this tour which focus on African American history.

In 1958, in this stately antebellum home, seventy-six-year-old Adolphine Fletcher Terry helped to organize the Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC). Always involved in civic activities, she was dismayed that the four high schools in Little Rock remained closed rather than become integrated. Mrs. Terry told Arkansas Gazette editor Harry Ashmore that “It’s clear to me that the men are not going to take the lead in turning this thing around and so the women are going to have to.” She organized the Women’s Emergency Committee (WEC).

When segregationist school board members tried to fire forty-four teachers and administrators who supported integration in the public schools, the WEC worked with a group of businessmen who had organized a Stop This Outrageous Purge (STOP) campaign to elect new school board members who favored integration. High schools were reopened with token integration in August 1959. The WEC operated in secret because of concerns about harassment or worse. In 1998, on the fortieth anniversary of its founding, the names of WEC members were released for the first time. Those names are now etched in the window panes of the house.

Originally built in approximately 1840 by Albert Pike, it was purchased by Lou Krause from the Pike family in 1886. In 1889, she sold it to her brother-in-law, former Little Rock Mayor John Gould Fletcher. He was the father of Adolphine Fletcher Terry, who grew up in the house.  Since the 1970s, it has been property of the City of Little Rock for use by the Arkansas Arts Center.  This was stipulated in the wills of Mrs. Terry and her sister Mary Fletcher Drennan.

The app, funded by a generous grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council, was a collaboration among UALR’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity, the City of Little Rock, the Mayor’s Tourism Commission, and KUAR, UALR’s public radio station, with assistance from the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.

 

Explore THE ODYSSEY for two weekends at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre

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The Odyssey

For two weekends only, the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre will bring Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, vibrantly alive in a fusion of music, dance, mime, masks and choral effects as part of the theatre’s Studio Show series. Running February 19-28, The Odyssey tells the story of King Odysseus who enduring Poseidon’s wrath, faces witches, sirens and a cyclops as he wends his way—literally through Hell and high water—to his home and the long-suffering love of his Queen Penelope.

The Odyssey will run February 19-28; Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

John Isner directed The Odyssey. It was adapted for the stage by Keith Smith who also designed the set. Costumes are designed by Erin Larkin, lighting design by Mike Stacks, properties design by Miranda Young, music composed by Lori Isner, choreography by Erin Fowler and Nicole Jovanovic is the stage manager.

The cast includes:

  • Paige Carpenter of Lonsdale as Penelope;
  • Aleigha Morton of Beebe as Calliope;
  • Margaret Lowry of Little Rock as Erato;
  • Samantha L. Harrington of Little Rock as Athena;
  • Mark Hansen of Little Rock as Odysseus;
  • Nick Spencer of Nashville, TN, as Poseidon;
  • Richard Nelson of Little Rock as Elpenor;
  • Geoffrey Eggleston of Sioux Falls, SD, as Telemachus and
  • Jeremy Matthey of North Little Rock as Eurylochus.

Show times: February 19-28; Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices: $10 General admission, $8 for Arkansas Arts Center members

Best enjoyed by children in third grade and up.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org/theatre

 

Arts+History Election Results – By The Numbers

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Feb9electionlogoThe Culture Vulture loves crunching numbers almost as much as attending cultural events.

Here are some thoughts about the results from the February 9 MacArthur Park Bond election.  These bonds will pay for improvements to the Arkansas Arts Center, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History and MacArthur Park.  Excess revenues from the bonds will be available for the Little Rock Zoo, Museum of Discovery, other Little Rock parks and other Little Rock cultural institutions.

There were 7,990 votes cast in the special election.  This was 6.61% of the electorate.  By comparison, there were 4,462 ballots cast in the July 2015 Central Arkansas Library System special election and 6,995 ballots cast in the December 2013 Robinson Center special election.  The latter election brought 6.14% of voters to the polls.

Comparing early and absentee voters to election day voters:

  • Robinson (December 2013) – 871 or 12.45% of all ballots cast
  • CALS (July 2015) – 750 or 16.81% of all ballots cast
  • MacArthur Park (February 2016) – 1,171 or 14.66% of all ballots cast

The top ten precincts for voter participation on February 9:

107 – LRFD Station #10 —– 23.66%
106 – LRFD Station #10 —– 22.85%
109 – Pulaski Heights Presbyterian —–  18.17%
91 – Cammack Village City Hall —– 17.43%
108 – Woodlawn Baptist —– 17.33%
90 – Second Presbyterian —– 15.86%
112 – Pulaski Heights Presbyterian —– 15.00%
96 –  St. Mark’s Episcopal —– 13.42%
70 – Pleasant Valley CoC —–  12.58%
92 – St. Paul UMC —–  12.27%

While most of these are in the midtown area of Little Rock, some are in the western portion of Little Rock.  They tend to have the highest percentage of voter turnout in primary, general and special elections regardless of what or who is on the ballot.

 

The top 10 precincts for number of voters were:
109 – Pulaski Heights Presbyterian —– 497
106 – LRFD Station #10 —– 351
107 – LRFD Station #10 —– 308
90 – Second Presbyterian —– 260
71 – Pulaski Academy —– 252
108 – Woodlawn Baptist —– 238
114 – Arkansas Arts Center —– 230
88 – St. James UMC —– 223
95 – Grace Presbyterian —– 211
68 – Chenal Valley Church —– 204

These results spread from downtown to midtown to west Little Rock and are fairly evenly distributed.

 

There were twelve precincts in which over 90% of the voters cast ballots in favor of the bonds.  Precinct 61 at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church was 100% in favor of it. But there was only one ballot cast.  Of the remaining eleven precincts in which more than one vote was cast, here are the rankings by percentage:

112 – Pulaski Heights Presbyterian —– 96.97
118 – Dunbar Recreation Center —– 95.83
114 – Arkansas Arts Center —– 95.65
109 – Pulaski Heights Presbyterian —– 94.77
107 – LRFD Station #10 —– 94.16
108 – Woodlawn Baptist  —– 92.86
79 – Henderson UMC —– 92.59
128 – St. John Vision Center —– 92.37
90 – Second Presbyterian —– 91.54
110 – Woodlawn Baptist  —– 91.3
135 – Pilgrim Rest Baptist —– 91.18

Again, they are fairly evenly distributed from downtown to midtown to west Little Rock.