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(12/03/09 1:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the cold weather rolls in, students and faculty in the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts are finding ways to warm up and appreciate the artwork created during this fall semester.Although students can still expect to see the standard paintings and sculptures crowding the classrooms, studios and gallery spaces, there is also an abundance of new, unusual pieces to be found. Take the work of digital art graduate student Youngsuk Altieri, who uses 3-D color printing to create interactive sculptures that represent animals and plants. “When you get close to my sculptures and speak, they change shape,” Altieri said. “They make art more personalized and represent the creatures, but also express emotions.” The 3-D color printer is used to help artists create prototypes for their pieces. Three-dimension printing, Altieri said, is not found at many schools and is an advantage she is happy to make the most of as a graduate student.“It’s a difficult process; it takes a lot of parts, but I am very interested in it,” Altieri said.One of Altieri’s professors, Nicole Jacqaurd, assistant professor in metalsmithing and jewelry design, said Altieri’s desire to try something new is one of many examples of overlap between different studio areas within the school. “There is very little difference between departments,” Jacquard said. “We’re all making art. There is huge crossover, and every department is willing to have dialogue. It’s really exciting, and it has been exciting to see her work.” Altieri uses what Jacquard called “innovative technology” as inspiration for her art. “She has created dynamic pieces of work,” Jacquard said. Another student doing innovative work is senior Joshua Craig, who is creating enameled bowls through the Metalsmithing & Jewlery Design studio area. “Most artists enamel on smaller, flat surfaces,” Craig said. “My work investigates the functionality of pieces.” Craig is one of the only students investigating this form at IU, but he said others have done similar work in different places. “I wanted to create work that was conceptually compelling,” Craig said. Much of the work created in the school is often part of regular coursework, but every student is given information and opportunities to showcase what they’ve done, Jacquard said. “We tell students regularly about calls for entries, conferences and shows,” Jaquard said. “Locally, there are several venues as well.” Some of those local venues include the upcoming “BFA Thesis Exhibition,” “The School of Fine Arts Abroad: Overseas Study Exhibition” and “Silent Night: A Holiday Art Sale + Auction.” All upcoming events are sponsored by the School of Fine Arts. There are also numerous calls for entries outside of Bloomington. Aliteri’s work is currently on display at an art conference, titled “IDEAS09: Art at the Digital Edge,” at the Ball State University Museum of Art in Muncie through Friday.“It’s an engaged process,” Aliteri said, “so the interaction aspect of a showing is so important in my work.”
(12/01/09 4:38am)
Joanne Woodward and the late Paul Newman’s influences as renowned,
established actors will be felt next year when the Bloomington
Playwrights Project presents the first Woodward/Newman Drama Award,
which will be given for the best dramatic play from submissions sent to
the theater company.
(11/18/09 5:08am)
For sophomore Marine Tempels, art refreshes environmental activism.
(11/16/09 2:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With a $600 scholarship on the line, four graduate students presented research lectures Sunday in front of an intimate crowd and a four-judge panel for the biennial Evan F. Lilly Memorial Lecture Competition. Cosponsored by the IU Art Museum and Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, the lecture series gives students from any department a chance to present research based on artwork specifically from the IU Art Museum’s collection. Teresa Wilkins, a second-year doctorate student in the School of Fine Arts, volunteered to help coordinate for the competition and said every other year, candidates are selected in spring based on written proposals submitted to a panel of judges. After reviewing the proposals, up to six finalists can be chosen, but only four made the cut this year.“We’re looking for original research, preferably things that have never been written before,” Wilkins said.Diane Pelrine, associate director of curatorial services for the IU Art Museum, said the panel comprised of two representatives from the IU Art Museum and two professors from the School of Fine Arts will meet this week to decide on the best lecture and will announce the winner Wednesday. Of the four lectures, Wilkins said two focused on pieces of the museum’s modern collection, while the other two were about the museum’s ancient works collection. One of the two lectures about modern art was given by art history graduate student Anna Simon and titled “Flights of Mythic Fancy: Critiquing French Symbolist Ideology.” The lecture focused on the “Poster for the first Salon de la Rose+Croix,” by artist Carlos Schwabe. The poster, Simon said, reveals much about sexuality and culture in France during the 1890s. Despite being nervous, Simon said presenting her research was a great experience. “This is a good chance to practice presenting research,” Simon said. “The scholarship is an added bonus.”
(11/13/09 3:53am)
Haitian art was focus of IU Art Museum’s Noon Talk Series on Thursday.
(11/12/09 2:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The MaCalla School, located near the corner of 10th Street and Indiana Avenue, is one of the oldest school houses in Bloomington and home to the Henry Radford School of Fine Arts sculpture program. But also tucked away in this 103-year-old building is a 7-year-old exhibit space, called Fuller Projects. Created in 2002 by a group of Fine Arts students, Fuller Projects is home to semi-monthly gallery shows featuring contemporary art in any medium. The gallery’s first November show is titled “5 Obstructions” and opens at 8 p.m. Friday. It will feature work from six students pursuing their MFA in sculpture. The show is themed around obstructions for both the artists and the audience members in the gallery. “When we decided to show our pieces, we thought the Fuller would be a good space for that,” said Marla Roddy, an artist featured in the upcoming show. “It’s experimental and different, and we knew it wouldn’t be a normal gallery setting.”Roddy explained that each artist took a piece of work they had created and remade it with five basic limitations. One of these limitations, she said, was to make the sculpture with a new material the individual artists had never used before.The artists’ original pieces and new creations will be on display in the gallery. “They are really addressing whether you can communicate the same thing without the material you take for granted as an artist,” Phil Haralam, Fuller Projects co-coordinator, said. “Everyone is adapting and changing in different ways, and using a new material allows for failure. It’s interesting.”Shows such as “5 Obstructions” are selected out of a collection of proposals submitted throughout the academic year by Haralam and his co-coordinator Anna Simon, both graduate students in the School of Fine Arts. “We’ve tried to be consistent with the organization’s mission,” Simon said. “We try to put on the best shows we can.” That mission, Simon and Haralam said, is to provide anyone – whether they are an art major, student, faculty member or Bloomington resident – a chance to display new, experimental and collaborative art. Each show in the small, 27-by-14 square foot space lasts only two hours and must be set up and taken down by the participating artists. Simon and Haralam said many students use the time constraint and space to their advantage by coming up with interesting themes and participatory ways to engage the audience in their shows.Simon also explained that if included in their proposal, the gallery can be used in any way the artists want: from painting the floor and walls to rigging a sprinkler system which was proposed and used in the show, “Don’t Rain On My Parade” in April. But Simon said the exhibits also reach beyond Bloomington. On Oct. 16, the gallery featured pieces by Indianapolis painter Philip Lynam and Bloomington painter Jeremy Brightbill.“We want young, emerging artists,” Simon said. “We network to local groups, put out a call. The main thing we look for when considering a submission is if it engages us.” Both coordinators explained that one of their goals this academic year was to take advantage of their own individual artistic backgrounds when selecting gallery submissions and promoting the shows.Simon, who studies art history, and Haralam, a sculpture student, both applied for the volunteer leader position and together convinced SoFA they should work as a pair. “We really compliment each other, we make a great team.” Simon said. “It’s cool because there has always been a divide between fine arts and art history.” Simon and Haralam said they hope to bring not only a variety of submissions, but attendees as well. “We’ve nearly doubled our fans on Facebook,” Simon said. “The shows are really about socialization and facilitating dialogue. It’s a venue for presenting new ideas and it requires lots of audience members for it to work.”
(11/06/09 6:00am)
A small, intimate audience went to see “Tick, Tick ... BOOM!” a contemporary rock
musical written by Jonathan Larson on Thursday at the John Waldron Arts
Center.
(11/05/09 2:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Before he wrote the musical “Rent,” a Broadway hit that won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1996, composer and playwright Jonathan Larson produced and acted in his own one-man show, “Tick, Tick ... BOOM!”Audience members will get to see the edited and updated version of Larson’s lesser-known musical, produced by student-run organization Hoosier Musical Productions. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. today at the John Waldron Arts Center.“This show is more intriguing,” siad director and IU senior John Lerner. “It’s Larson’s life before ‘Rent’. It’s the grind, the struggle. It’s about his life, the crappy job he had.”Larson wrote the contemporary rock musical to address his fear of never becoming a successful playwright. In the show, Larson’s 30th birthday approaches, which he fears will also be the death of his dreams. This impending expiration is marked by the “Tick,Tick ...” of a bomb. Lerner, who also serves as the organization’s executive director, said Larson was offered a job to work at a marketing firm, but chose to work in a diner for four and a half years so he could write and perform musical theater. “It’s so inspiring,” Lerner said. “He had no money, wasn’t getting produced, but he kept not giving up. Ultimately, I like the message. This show is a tribute to him. He’s an icon for never letting yourself be steered off course.” The production, which began rehearsing in September has a three-person cast. The main character, Jon himself, is played by freshman Bradley Strohmeyer. “Playing Jon gives me a positive outlook on what I want to do,” Strohmeyer said. “Thing’s get stressful, but you don’t give up. You have to do what you like.” The remaining two main characters include Jon’s girlfriend, Susan, played by sophomore Stephanie Cohen, and his best friend Michael, played by junior Nathan Mittleman. “With only three of us in the cast, we had a lot of time to explore different things,” Cohen said. “It’s been a lot of fun to get to know them.” While the show has three main characters, both Cohen and Mittleman also take on secondary roles throughout the performance, ranging from Jon’s parents to his agent. Both actors, Lerner said, portray 10 to 12 roles in total.“It’s been tough, I play five to six other characters,” Cohen said. “It’s really fun but different. In one scene alone, I play three characters. It’s great practice.”Lerner said when Hoosier Musical Productions auditioned for the part of Susan and Michael, diversity was key. “At call backs I had a few people read from excerpts from random plays,” Lerner said. “I wanted to see what they could do with it.” Lerner said that while he hopes audiences will appreciate the show as a tribute to Larson’s life and work, it is also a fun show that is relevant to everyone.“Honestly, it’s a great show. It’s really funny,” Lerner said. “It’s fun. It’s got a lot of really high energy numbers. It’s about feeling energized and alive, and it’s a show that’s really fun to watch.”
(11/03/09 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sophomore and studio art major Marine Tempels is similar to many other IU students – when it comes to a quick homework assignment, the Internet is her No. 1 tool. But Tempels isn’t just looking up information on Wikipedia. For her art classes, online exhibits have become a fast and helpful way of getting what she needs. “As an art student, I am researching and discovering new artists all the time,” Tempels said. “Online exhibits allow me to be exposed to artists’ work that I would not otherwise have the capabilities of discovering.” Yasemin Gencer, a doctoral student in the Department of Art History who focuses on Islamic art, coordinated a special IU Art Museum exhibit last spring titled “From Pen To Printing Press: Ten Centuries of Islamic Book Arts” and its current online exhibit. “For me, it’s all about making the art accessible,” Gencer said.The IU Art Museum has 10 online exhibits, two of which were designed and produced this year. The exhibits, or “modules,” have a variety of content that accompanies the art, ranging from timeliness to more written information and links to other Web sites and modules.Gencer said she had always envisioned a module accompanying the exhibit and hoped to entice people to the show and to make both the artwork and information within anyone’s reach.“A lot of what is online is the same as what was in the exhibit,” Gencer said. “But online, it’s more extensive. You cannot have as much text in a regular gallery.”Linda Baden, associate director of editorial services for the museum, said the concept of an online exhibit is not new. “Toward the end of the summer, 10 or 12 years ago, we did a little online slide show in conjunction with a show of School of Fine Arts photographs,” Baden said. “It was on our first Web site and is still available now.”Baden was in charge of editing Gencer’s work as well as the museum’s most recent online module, “The Grand Tour: Art and Travel, 1740–1914,” based on an exhibit that highlighted themes of art, travel, culture and politics in the 18th and 19th century. Baden said making an online module was also partially a cost-effective decision. A book of the work would have cost the museum almost $50,000.She added that all of the museum’s online modules cater to a variety of viewers for different reasons. “Although the Internet has lots of works of art, a module like the ‘The Grand Tour’ is a thematic show,” Baden said. “The people that look at it are those who want to enjoy the material. People can select the level of information they want, interact with the timeline. The visitor can drive the experience.”Baden and Gencer both agreed that while the audience makes use of the online content in their own way, part of the online experience is determined by the module’s design.“I think audience is a huge part of any design project,” said Jeffrey Hanson, an IU alumnus who has designed multiple IU modules.Hanson added that he has taken things such as age and the original exhibits intention into consideration when designing a module.Gencer said she gave her module designers a basic idea of what she wanted but left much of it up to them.“It was a fun project,” said Kathleen Chmelewski, art director for IU’s Office of Creative Services, the team hired for Gencer’s online exhibit. “Gencer’s enthusiasm was infectious. The specific color pattern for the module was really our only restriction.” Chmelewski said it was the office’s first time making an online exhibit and said she hopes to do more in the future. “The arts don’t have as much funding. It’s unfortunate,” Chmelewski said. “We’d love to do more. We were really just getting our toes wet.” However, a concern to the museum is whether online exhibits can replace visiting a museum gallery in person. Baden said she hopes that’s not the case for anybody. “Although we like to put the art online, it doesn’t replace the experience to confronting a piece of art in person,” Baden said. “Its an entirely different experience online.”Gencer said her exhibit, similar to many other online exhibits, offers students a chance to get quick information for papers and projects. However, she said looking at a piece of work in a museum should always be a priority. “If you have the opportunity, go to a museum,” Gencer said. “It’s different. Paintings have dimensionality. When you look at it in the museum, you can see the texture, the lighting.” Both Gencer and Baden said they trust the online content will entice people to come to the museum rather then hold people back.“Maybe I’m just an optimist,” Gencer said. “I don’t see a conflict of interest. A lot of libraries and museums are digitizing catalogs.”Hanson said the museum made it clear that while making an interactive, aesthetically pleasing Web site was important, the art had to take center stage. “I think the goals of the museum is to really focus on the imagery and artwork,” Hanson said. “I try to make that imagery central. It’s not really about the little devices or the color scheme I thought worked best. It’s about the artwork.”
(10/26/09 2:41am)
Barbara Frank, associate professor of art history and African studies
at Stony Brook University, gave a lecture Friday titled “Texts and
Textures in African Ceramics” in conjunction with an exhibit in the IU Art Museum.
(10/21/09 2:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When freshman Brian Inlow heard about the Mathers Museum of World Cultures docent (museum volunteer) program, he couldn’t help but perk up. The opportunity was right up his alley. “I became interested in joining the docent program because I am really fascinated by other cultures,” Inlow said. “I love learning about the things that make different groups of people unique, and I figured that volunteering at Mathers could help me continue to extend my cultural awareness and knowledge.” Senior and docent Brittany Spencer-King said her motivation to sign up was slightly different. It was her desire to work in a museum that was key.“I have been able to gain the knowledge I need in order to pursue a degree in museum studies,” Spencer-King said. “My experience has made me more marketable, and I have no doubt this is something I would like to do as a career.” Deeksha Nagar, curator of education for the museum, said volunteers for the museum gain network opportunities and are offered recommendations for when they move on to other endeavours.Inlow and Spencer-King are two of 19 docents who volunteer their time and energy to the museum’s education department. The program runs on a semester basis, with certificates given at the end of each semester.Nagar said the program is almost entirely comprised of students who organize a variety of activities and help keep the education department running smoothly. “These are individuals who are team players,” Nagar said. “We want people who are interested in and respect different cultures.” Nagar said the appeal of the docent program is unlike other departments in the museum; no prior experience is necessary. All volunteers need, Nagar said, is dedication and a willingness to stick with it. “We ask for a minimum of 15 hours of volunteer work,” Nagar said. “They are welcome to do more. Some students want to come in on a schedule. We have excellent volunteers this semester.” Docents help in a variety of ways, Nagar said, by assisting during off-site programs such as the Bloomington Multicultural Expo and the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival. Docents also run on-site programs, help catalog and restore pieces of the collection and give tours of the museum.Nagar said docents can pursue what interests them the most, and they are never asked to do anything they don’t want to do. “Some are shy about giving tours. We have them shadow tours until they are comfortable,” Nagar said. “We’d never have a docent do something they are uncomfortable doing.” Inlow said he’s helped with just about everything. “I work with kids doing various arts and crafts to try and teach them something new about another culture,” he said. “I hope that in the future, they may be proud to live in such a diverse world and will be accepting of people different from themselves.” But Nagar stressed that while the docents do so much for the museum, the program is meant to be mutual, collaborative and a learning experience. “It’s a partnership, a two-way connection,” Nagar said. “It’s a volunteer program that is an opportunity for them and us. There is a tremendous opportunity to learn.” Nagar said docents with particular cultural interests create presentations for schools and other organizations throughout Bloomington. Their own personal skills, she said, play a key role in organizing the projects. “This is a great place for volunteers to pursue creative endeavors,” Nagar said. “They have their own personal skills and agendas. This is a program that has the spirit of volunteerism for constructive, creative projects.” Laura Serrano-Silva, a graduate student from Mexico City who is in Bloomington to audit a class is one such docent. Serrano-Silva helped organize a Saturday family craft project making pinatas, which broke the record for attendance in the museum.“Usually we have 30 people during the craft days,” Serrano-Silva said, “but this workshop attracted more than 150. I was really excited and nervous at the time.” To Nagar, the work the docents do is invaluable in helping the museum pursue its educational purpose. “We value the docents’ time, commitment, dedication and desire,” Nagar said. “We are very grateful. We have been very fortunate to have such wonderful students.”
(10/19/09 2:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When Ryan McLaughlin, a perspective graduate student interested in the School of Environmental and Public Affairs visited IU this past weekend, a gallery opening wasn’t on his list of things to see. “We were just walking around and found this,” McLaughlin said. McLaughlin stumbled upon the joint gallery openings for William Itter and Martha MacLeish at the School of Fine Arts Gallery on Friday. Itter’s exhibit, titled “William Itter: A Retrospective, Paintings and Drawings 1969-2009,” is a collection of pieces spanning the professor emeritus’ 40 year career. The gallery, Itter said, is in retrospective, a form used for an artist to look back on the inspiration and thought process behind pieces of work. The paintings and drawings in the gallery all fall into time periods, in which Itter explored different themes and ideas. Itter was also holding a joint reception for his collection of African pieces, titled “Form and Surface: African Ceramics, Baskets and Textiles from the William Itter Collection,” currently on display at the IU Art Museum. The African art exhibit has been on display since Sept. 26, but Itter said his work as a collector affected his work as an artist, so to hold a joint reception for both exhibits made logical sense. McLaughlin said he was glad he had discovered the gallery opening and reception, even though the art was “not particularly my taste.” “His work has versatility,” McLaughlin said. “The work spans a wide medium. It’s pre-physicidelic, electrified cubism.” He added that when another gallery attendee told him who Itter was, it completely changed his perspective. “It’s nice to know Itter was a professor, the fact that he has a reception and gallery here shows the school’s commitment to its faculty,” McLaughlin said. “It’s nice that they’re honoring his work.” Itter said his paintings, made primarily with bright, vivid colors and shapes, express things in nature around him and his own personal feelings during the time period they were painted. But, he said, they are meant to make people think because their intent is not immediately evident. “I hope people look at my art with wonder, curiosity, excitement and an open mind,” Itter said. Unlike McLaughlin, many attendees came to the gallery Friday knowing who the artists were and to support both Itter and MacLeish. Itter was busy greeting old students and friends who swarmed into the gallery. One viewer asked Itter for an autograph, which Itter said was unexpected and had never happened before. “I don’t have big shows like this very often,” Itter said. “People, old students and friends have come from all over the place, even some collectors are here.” Rebecca Sargent, said she came all the way from Dayton, Ohio with a professor who knew Itter.“It’s very inspiring art,” Sargent said. “We were looking at a painting that explored landscape with pipe shapes. That one caught my eye.” McLeish’s exhibit, located in the east gallery titled “Surface Structures,” drew a large crowed as well, who went to both exhibits. Viewers appeared intrigued by her use of polyvinyl chloride plastic to make wall mounted structures of various colors. Attendees could be seen walking up to the pieces to inspect their construction, in which three-dimensional shapes contrasted with Itter’s two-dimensional drawings and paintings. But McLeish, who directs the Fundamentals Studio department for the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, said the two artists, whose exhibits will be on display through Nov. 20, relate more then they are different.“We both explore color and space,” McLeish said. “Bill was the old director of the fundamentals studio. He taught me so much.” McLeish will also be holding a gallery talk noon on Nov. 13 at the SoFA gallery. She added that many people had talked to her about her ongoing project. “They’ve given me very insightful comments,” McLeish said.
(10/16/09 4:03am)
The past and present will cross paths at the School of Fine Arts Gallery on Friday.
Work by Hope School of Fine Arts professor emeritus William Itter and
fundamentals studio director Martha MacLeish will share the gallery
space.
Both exhibits open with a reception at 6:30 p.m.
(10/09/09 3:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you aspire to be a Little 500 rider – even if you’ve never ridden a bike – it’s possible get a taste of what it’s like this Sunday. The IU Student Foundation is sponsoring the first annual Day at the Track. There will be a faculty race, individual time trials and other events students can participate in. There will also be a presentation on the rules and technical aspects of the spring’s Little 500 race. The foundation has put on fall cycling events in the past, but this is the first time it decided to plan most of them on the same day and in the same venue, said Pam Loebig, IUSF assistant director, Little 500 race director and Fall Cycling Committee advisor. “We really looked at it this year and what we wanted to accomplish,” Loebig said. “And we wanted to get the riders engaged and spread our message around campus. Everyone knows where the track is. You can see the full course and what’s going on.” The committee organized individual time trials in the past, but they were 10 miles out of Bloomington, said senior Ryan Schmidt, one of four Fall Cycling Committee chairs.“Not many people came, but on the track we can get more spectators, and individual teams and greek houses can come out,” Schmidt said. Senior Kristin Carroll, who is in charge of marketing for the Fall Cycling Committee, said she hopes the event will help change the campus attitude toward the Little 500.“We wanted to offer riders more than just the competitive Little 500 atmosphere,” Carroll said. “We still want to have that, but I think it’s become more about winning and less about having fun.”Since the events are at the beginning of Homecoming Week, the committee, by putting all the events on one day, is trying to make the atmosphere of the fall events more like the spring race, Carroll said. Carroll said IUSF hopes to change the faculty’s attitude toward the Little 500 by holding a new event, a Miniature Faculty Race. Any professor, administrator, coach or advisor at IU can sign up to ride a five-lap race, which is divided into heats based on experience level.“We wanted to put on the faculty race that shows them there is a real positive aspect to the Little 500 race,” Carroll said. “We wanted to involve them in a way that they never have been before. There is more to the race than just a week of drinking and partying.” The race will be preceded by a short presentation on the ins-and-outs of racing to give faculty more background information, Carroll said. “We sent out that letter to faculty because we really wanted to do a lot of recruiting personally,” Loebig said. “We’re providing bikes and helmets for them to wear. Even if they don’t want to race they can ride around on the track for a few laps.”Schmidt said he hopes the event shows the faculty what the weekend means to both the riders and students. “A lot of faculty see the Little 500 race as distraction,” Schmidt said. “We are trying to show the faculty what the Little 500 is about, what riders have to go through the entire year. It’s really an opportunity to show the faculty how important the Little 500 is to the riders and the spectators.”It is from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
(10/07/09 3:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The fast-pace world of graphic design met the slow pace of a small town in Wisconsin to create “Typeface,” a documentary presented Tuesday at the School of Fine Arts.The film was screened free to the public and was followed by a question-and-answer session with panelists, including the film’s director Justine Nagan.The documentary, produced by Kartemquin Films, a Chicago-based company, tells the story of a museum named the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum located in Two Rivers, Wis. The museum is dedicated to preserving the art and history of wood type, or the use of wooden letters to print anything from artistic posters to birthday cards.“I stumbled on the museum on the way back from a wedding,” said Nagan, who is also the film company’s executive director. “It was originally going to be a ten-minute short, but we ended up making a full-length film about it.”Nagan also addressed topography in the 21st century. Computers have pushed the wood type press into the past, but she found artists in places such as Chicago and Two Rivers who still have a passion for the art.Brittany Skwierczynski, a senior finishing her BFA in Graphic Design, also sat on the panel and said she feels wood type is an art form that should not be allowed to slip away.“I fell in love with wood type in my first typography class,” Skwierczynski said. “I like working with my hands a lot, so when I take typography classes using a computer, I always try to take a class that uses a letterpress too. I’ve found that my work on the computer gets better because I use a letterpress.”Despite the passion for wood type highlighted in the film, the museum and town of Two Rivers are in constant financial trouble. Many scenes of the movie included an empty museum and downtown. Several audience members expressed their concern and asked how the museum was doing financially.“There are about 1,400 posters available online that can be bought, and we had a big turnout at the museum this summer,” said Jim Moran, director of the museum. “We put a book out about the museum in 2004, but it would be difficult to produce another one. We just don’t have the money.”Nagan said it took four years to film the documentary, but financial matters have changed in a more positive direction since production ended.“Things were pretty dire,” Nagan said. “Although we put happier footage in the credits, we wanted to make a film that raised questions, not make things appear all rosy.” Senior Stephani Allan, who studies studio art and French said she was inspired to attend the screening when her associate professor of graphic design Paul Brown made an announcement in her class.“I am taking a topography class right now, and we’re learning about type press,” Allan said. “The film was really good.”
(10/05/09 2:31am)
“Canary Project” lecture last of its kind in exhibit on climate change.
(09/29/09 2:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Press, the school-affiliated publishing company, has teamed up with University Libraries to give all students, faculty and staff free access to its online collection of texts.IU Press has joined a growing number of publishers making their hard-copy books into electronic books. But students should not expect their expensive textbooks to be available online free of charge. “These are supplemental texts for courses,” Pat Hoefling, director of sales and marketing at IU Press, said. “A student can go through the online portal and access it at any University library.” Associate Dean for Collection Development and Digital Publishing for IU Libraries Julie Bobay said the IU Press contacted IU Libraries in June 2009 to offer texts for free to students.The online catalog is still growing in size, with more books being added over time. “Since June, we went from having 200 books to 400 available online,” Hoefling said. “Our next step is to add encyclopedias. Really, electronic books have become a big part of the publishing world, and we want lots of people to be able to access them.” Hoefling said the texts can be read on web-enabled phones like iPhones and can be shared through several social networking sites like Delicious and Digg. She said they hope these features will appeal to students and help them take advantage of the resource. The IU Press began publishing books in 1950 and focuses on specific subject areas, including African, Jewish, Middle Eastern and women’s studies.Director of Electronic and Serials Publishing for IU Press Kathryn Caras said in the spring the company launched the online catalog, where electronic books and journals of the press’ standard print versions can be found. She also said the program with IU Libraries is in its earliest stages. “We just started the promotion of it,” she said. “This is a long-term, growing project.” While IU Press employees work toward creating more electronic texts, the IU Libraries are working to put what is available in their database into the University’s library catalog so that both the print and electronic versions of the book can be found when a specific title is searched for. “The links are up – the texts are just not in our catalog yet,” Bobay said. “The pieces are still being put into place.” Even in the 21st century, Bobay said electronic books of any kind don’t threaten the use of hard copies.“We have tens of thousands of books in our online catalog,” Bobay said. “We have a lot of early, pre-1923 books online, but I don’t think electronic books are anywhere near replacing books.”
(09/24/09 3:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The small-town feel of a garage sale met the big time venue of the IU Art Museum at the ninth annual Decorate Your Digs! sale Wednesday. The IU Art History Association and IU Art Museum’s works-on-paper department put together a collection of used and donated mats, posters, frames and books for sale to raise money. The AHA supplied all the books and the mats, and posters and frames were supplied by the museum. “It’s a good pairing,” said Nan Brewer the Art Museum works-on-paper curator. “It’s a beneficial pairing for both. I know for the AHA it is one of their main fundraisers, and for us it’s a way to get used materials to people who could use them. ” AHA Secretary and Coordinator of Events Emilee Mathews said the organization holds two book sales a year as its main fundraisers.“The books were donated from the Fine Arts library, the School of Fine Arts Gallery, various faculty members and even students,” Mathews said. “The funds from both sales go toward our annual graduate student symposium held in late March,” she said. Mathews, who ran the cash register, said the sale drew a diverse crowd. “I made posters, sent out e-mails and made a Facebook group to promote the sale,” Mathews said. “A good mix of adults, faculty members, students and booksellers came, and members of the AHA as well. It’s nice to see people enthused about books and art books in particular.” Mathews said the organization priced the donated art books based on their perceived quality, in particular the quality of the photographs. Prices ranged from 50 cents to $20, and the posters were all $1. “We had a brisk crowd in the morning,” Mathews said. “The book carts were completely full when we started.” Freshman Kalyssa Eversman browsed the books in the afternoon, and said she was drawn to the sale for posters. “The prices are definitely reasonable,” Eversman said. “I came for posters. I like hanging things in my room, but I’ll probably end up walking out of here with some books.” Unlike the AHA, the works-on-paper department said the sale is less of a fundraiser for them and more of a housecleaning venture. “The frames and mats are no longer useful for us,” said Jeanne Leimkuhler, the director of framing for the works-on-paper department. “Everything is priced lower then what you would find at a frame store. To have something framed at a store would cost about $100. It’s cheaper to do it yourself.” Both Leimkuhler and Brewer said they were pleased with the results of the sale. “We sold a lot of mats,” Brewer said. “We hope they get into the hands of people who need them, say students for a class. We can’t re-use them, but hopefully someone else can.”
(09/21/09 4:15am)
Fritz Haeg promotes environmental issues, art.
(09/07/09 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Months of planning and collaboration lead to an art exhibit with the goal of inspiring people to think about climate change and take action. The Canary Project: Works on Climate Change 2006-2009 opened Friday at the School of Fine Arts Gallery and continues until Oct. 9.The event began in the Radio/TV building with a lecture given by co-founders of the Canary Project Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris. SoFA Gallery Director Betsy Stirratt introduced the founders to a diverse crowd of students, faculty and Bloomington residents. “I’m interested in natural art and the technological aspect of art, videos and sound,” David Phelps, a graduate student, said. “It’s better than just handing people a document about climate change.” Over the past four years, Sayler and Morris have presented lectures to schools and gallery viewers, but they started the evening by saying they would try a different format than what they usually present. The team projected graphs, photos and videos in one-minute increments for a total of 33 minutes. During each minute, Sayler and Morris read what they called “provocations and meditations” relating to the environment and climate change. The information included personal stories and quotes from both artists and scientists. Some of the images displayed were pieces of work by Sayler, and some were featured in the gallery. Parts of the Canary Project’s mission were explained and clarified by the duo, including what is called the “Increase Your Albedo” project, a campaign to help raise the albedo of the earth with ideas that range from wearing white to painting roofs white to reflect the sun’s rays. A question-and-answer session followed, after which attendees made their way to the SoFA gallery, where beverages and food were served and the gallery doors were open. Joshua Kit Clayton, an artist featured in the exhibit, passed out surveys and answered questions as part of his “Focus Softens Circles” performance. “People were asking to take them,” said Daniel Weddle, a volunteer helping administer surveys. “It’s very different than typical market research.” Among the group attending the gallery opening were students of Sayler and Morris, who are teaching an eight-week course in the School of Fine Arts titled “Engagement/Art/Activism: Response and Intervention on Climate Change.” Students taking the class will create a piece that will become a component of the project.“I think it’s interesting,” sophomore Lauren Wolfer said. “It makes you rethink your everyday activities and their effects on the environment. I’m not a huge global activist, but I thought it would be a cool way to get involved.” Sayler said she is excited about the class because of the diverse group of students who signed up. “The class is not all art students. We have a variety,” Sayler said. “We’re going to collaborate on projects that involve campus and Bloomington organizations.” Edwards added that student projects will be a big part of how the project defines itself.The reception of the gallery was also exciting for Sayler, who said she was happy with the turnout and feedback she was getting. “People have more information and feel comfortable enough to come talk to us and ask us questions,” Sayler said.