ART - FEBRUARY 2009

 

WIU ART STUDENTS HIT THE WALL—THE BERLIN WALL

 

From November 20-30, 2008, Professors Keith Holz (art history) and Susan Czechowski (art) led a Study Abroad course "Contemporary Art and Museum Culture in the New Metropolis: Berlin 2008" to Berlin, Germany. 6 students from the Departments of Art and Department of History participated.

 

 

SCOTT FIFE VISITING ARTIST

Scott Fife will be giving a presentation on his work in the University Art Gallery on February 19 at 2:00 PM. Scott Fife lives and works in Seattle, Washington. He is currently represented by Platform Gallery in Seattle, Washington and by Tony Wight Gallery in Chicago, Illinois. His work has been reviewed in numerous publications including Art in America magazine. Fife has also exhibited his work at the Boise Art Museum in Boise, Idaho; the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Washington, and Galerie Redmann in Berlin, Germany.

Exploring Media, currently in its third year, showcases works of art made from non-traditional or unorthodox art materials. Each year a different "unorthodox" material is chosen for the annual project/exhibit. The art works are created by WIU students and faculty, as well as professional artists from throughout the country who have been personally invited to participate. The student works are chosen by a juror from an art department contest that is organized and juried before the exhibit is installed. A number of the students are honored with an award for their work and efforts.

The generosity of numerous corporations and manufacturers has helped to shape the Exploring Media project. Thus far the WIU Art Department has been fortunate enough to have received donated materials and contributions which have been used to supply the annual project. Previous years' exhibits featured sculptures made with expanding polyurethane foam and also duct tape. This year's exhibit – Exploring Media: Cardboard, features artworks created using cardboard in a wide variety of techniques and subject matter.

The exhibit will be on display from Tuesday, February 17 through Thursday, March 12, 2009. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Tuesday, February 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Art Gallery. A Graphic Design Student Exhibition by WIU students will also be on display on the second floor from Tuesday, February 17 - Thursday, March 12, 2009.

For further information regarding this project please contact the WIU Art Gallery or Tim Waldrop/WIU Associate Professor of Art at TD-Waldrop@wiu.edu

 

GALLERY NEWS

Western Illinois alumnus Doug Goessman (1991) was one of the 12 featured artists in the "Satellite City Transmissions" exhibit, University Art Gallery, January 20 to February 11. He reached out to other artists to exhibit together as a unified group that became known as the "Satellite City Transmissions." Each member of the group is unique in talent, but they all share the desire to pool together their talents, time, contacts and experience to create contemporary art to exhibit as a group. In addition to Goessman, the group is comprised of Heather Brammeier, William Butler, Jennifer Costa, Cheryl Dean, Chad Ellison, Jacob Grant, Chris Hutson, Richard Kirchgessner, Erin Robert, John Tuccillo and Steph Van Doren.

Western Illinois University's Jazz Singers on International Tour to Italy, France and Spain

One of the most popular artworks in the Western Illinois University Art Gallery Permanent Collection, The Jazz Singers, a painting by Archibald J. Motley, Jr. (African-American, 1891 - 1981) is on loan for an international tour of a major exhibition that explores connections between modern art and jazz music in the 20th Century.

The exhibition, "Jazz Century" (Il Secolo del Jazz/Le siecle du Jazz/El Segle de Jazz), organized by Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto (MART, Rovereto, Italy) and curated by Daniel Soutif, began its tour at MART, Rovereto, Italy on November 15, 2008, where it is on display until February 15, 2009; then to Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, France from March 10, 2009 to June 28, 2009; then to Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain from July 21, 2009 to October 18, 2009.

Painted by Motley circa 1934 in Chicago during the New Deal era, The Jazz Singers captures the essence of jazz at its creation. The painting is one of over fifty works in the Western Illinois University Art Gallery WPA (Works Progress Administration) collection. Motley painted the artwork while employed through the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, Work and Rehabilitation Division to create artworks for public buildings. Ms. Theodora (Polly) Pottle, Chair of the Department of Art from 1928 to 1958, selected the works for Western as the Official Representative of (our) Governmental Unit. on October 15, 1934. The painting has been the most widely exhibited work of art in our collection. This is the first international tour for the painting.

 

 

FACULTY NEWS

Vince Palacios has just been accepted into 5 upcoming shows.

• The International Festival of Postmodern Ceramics 2009, Ceramica Multiplex, April 11-May 3, 2009, Varazdin, Croatia. (http://www.kerameikon.com) Work from 42 countries will be in the exhibition including two pieces of Palacios's.
• The Day After Tomorrow Exhibition, March 6-28 at the Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Swickley, PA, juried by Jamie Adams.
• 39th Annual Ceramics Exhibition 2'X2'X2': A Mixed Bag of Small Ceramic Wonders, February 23-March 16, 2009, at the Crossman Gallery at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.
• Endangered January 14-February 28 2009 at the Gloria Kennedy Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. Mapping Series: Golden Beetles with Red Lantern Fly
• Two by Two: Small-Scale Ceramic Sculpture Biennial, February 26 - April 2, 2009, at Eastern Washington University.
• One + One Exhibition at the Terra Incognito Gallery in Chicago.
• Multiformity, National Council on Education for Ceramic Arts Conference, April 8-11, 2009, Phoenix, Arizona, juried by Craig Clifford.

Two current works by Palacios

 

Jenny Knavel had works in two recent shows:

Fine Contemporary Craft, Artspace, Raleigh, NC. Her piece won the Award of Distinction (2nd place).

Life's Unique Journey, Northwest Cultural Center, Palatine, IL. Her work won second place.

 

 

 

Department of Art Website.