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August 25, 2008
Purdue Galleries to offer new season of exhibits
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A pair of exhibitions will kick off the Purdue University Galleries' new season with playfulness and inventive creativity."Li'l Heads, Too!" will be presented Sept. 2 to Oct. 12 in the Stewart Center Gallery.
Images of the head and small portraits from the Purdue Galleries collection will be featured in this second installment of the popular "Li'l Heads" exhibition. Primarily composed of printmaking and photography from the 16th through the 20th centuries, small sculptural pieces and masks, the exhibit also will provide visitors with the opportunity to interact with and contribute to the exhibition by adding their own small portraits.
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Computers with a photo booth program and drawing materials will be provided in the gallery to allow patrons to create their own small portraits and add them to a special display wall.
"A 'Li'l Heads' exhibit was first presented in 2001 and was met with great interest," Purdue Galleries director Craig Martin said. "Hundreds of visitors of all ages stopped to see the artwork and make an image of themselves to add to the show. This year's exhibit features a completely different set of heads from the collection, and we really look forward to seeing what the audience will contribute. Every day brings new additions as the show continues to grow."
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At 5:30 p.m. Sept. 4, Galleries will present an opening reception for "Li'l Heads, Too" in the Stewart Center Gallery.
Also on display will be "'No Danger' Airplane Show" in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in Purdue Memorial Union.
Artists from both the United States and Europe have created three-dimensional paper airplanes using the theme of "No Danger" as a point of departure. Edward Bernstein, professor of printmaking at the Hope School of Fine Arts, Indiana University, and Italian/Slovenian artist Franco Vecchiet acted as co-curators and selected the artists in the exhibition.
"'No Danger' emphasizes the positive aspect of cultural interchange, relationships and travel instead of the negative connotations we now associate with flying objects in this era of endless violence and war," Bernstein said.
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The paper airplanes each have an element of fine art printmaking. They range from 4 inches to 20 inches and were created on paper or another lightweight material to allow them to be suspended from the ceiling for exhibition. Martin said the paper airplane format is well-suited to the ever-expanding notion of printmaking, which increasingly has been incorporated into numerous art media. More than 60 of the planes are suspended overhead in a unique gallery display, he said.
At 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10, Bernstein will present a lecture on the project in the Ringel Gallery. A reception will be held in the gallery immediately after the lecture.
Other future Galleries exhibits include:
- "Humanigration: The Cárdenas Latino Collection," Oct. 27 to Dec. 7, in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in Purdue Memorial Union, Stewart Center Gallery and Patti and Rusty Rueff Gallery in Pao Hall. Presented in collaboration with the Purdue Latino Cultural Center, "Humanigration" presents artworks from the collection of Gilberto Cárdenas, assistant provost and director of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
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An avid collector of Chicano, Mexicano and Latino art in general, Cárdenas has contributed to the creative expressions of the Latino community by promoting, exhibiting and publishing Latino artists and supporting cultural centers in the United States.
The works in this exhibit will focus on the theme of immigration to coordinate with a presentation on the "Humanigration" project sponsored by the LCC. Alvarado, director of the Latino Cultural Center, Ivan Hernandez, director of admissions at Ivy Tech, and Martin made the selections for the exhibit.
- Kristy Deetz: "Earth Texts," Jan. 12 to Feb. 22, in the Stewart Center Gallery. "Earth Texts" is a series of wooden relief sculptures (carved, burned and painted with encaustic) that create visual metaphors of the book form as well as autobiographical explorations. Deetz is a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Playing off concepts like touchstones, table of contents and abridged, these pieces operate in one sense as visual puns and connect ideas of language to both earth and body, Martin said.
- "Shrouds, Masks and the Floating World: Selections from the Permanent Collection," Jan. 20 to Dec. 6, in the Ringel Gallery. This exhibit will initiate a new plan for longer-term displays from the Galleries' permanent collection in a gallery dedicated to that purpose.
These displays will rotate on an annual basis, running through the calendar year. Martin said this will allow two academic semesters of classes in two different years to see each exhibit, enable Galleries to present shows with more extensive preparation and research, and will better highlight the valuable contributions of donors. From several gifts to the university, this display will feature funerary cloths, clothing, bags and ceramic objects from Pre-Columbian South America; African masks and ritual objects from various societies of the West Guinea coast; and relief prints of the ukiyo-e, the Japanese culture of "the floating world."
- "Urban Legends and Rural Myths," March 9 to April 26, in the Stewart Center Gallery. Purdue Galleries will curate entries from artists nationwide for an exhibition of contemporary art that inspires new myths, imagined histories and tall tales.
The exhibition will serve as inspiration for creative writing sessions and lectures discussing human mythology, driving a participatory activity in which writers will be invited to contribute their works to the exhibition and to an online blog, Martin said. Elizabeth K. Mix, contemporary art historian at Butler University, Tess Cortés, gallery coordinator of the Robert & Elaine Stein Galleries at Wright State University, and Martin will select artwork for the exhibition.
- "Tippecanus Rex," April 1 through May 10, at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation, 638 North St., Lafayette. "Tippecanus Rex" is a new "Nexus of the Arts" project, featuring various media and performance art collaborations between artists in the Indiana Region 4 Arts Partnership.
In conjunction with its "Urban Legends and Rural Myths" exhibition, Purdue Galleries is partnering with the Tippecanoe Arts Federation to present this communitywide celebration of the "(un)natural" history of Tippecanoe County, Martin said. Residents of all 14 counties in the Indiana Region 4 Arts Partnership are invited to submit entries of visual, performing, musical and literary art that address the invented natural history of the Tippecanoe County region, through imaginative interpretation and fantastic fabrication.
At 6 p.m. Oct. 16, an informational callout meeting on the "Tippecanus Rex" project will be held at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation. All interested artists, writers and performers, as well as all arts and culture organizations in the Region 4 Arts Partnership, are invited to attend, hear about the project, and brainstorm ideas for participation and collaboration.
On Sept. 9, Purdue Galleries will hold its eighth annual Art Teacher Professional Day. Art teachers in area K-12 programs are invited for a daylong session describing the upcoming year of exhibitions and events, including presentations on the "Li'l Heads, Too" and "'No Danger' Paper Airplanes" exhibits on display at that time. Discussion also will include the potential for Galleries involvement in on-site class presentations and educational outreach activities.
The Robert L. Ringel Gallery and the Stewart Center Gallery are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday; and from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. For class or group visits, contact Mary Ann Anderson from Purdue Galleries, at (765) 496-7899. All Purdue Galleries exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.
Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu
Source: Craig Martin, (765) 494-3061, cdmartin@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTOS:
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Frances B. Johnston, "A Study in Black and White," photochrome gravure, "Li'l Heads, Too" (Courtesy of Purdue Galleries)
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Kreg Yingst, "Dog-Face Boy," linoleum cut, "Li'l Heads, Too" (Courtesy of Purdue Galleries)
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Edward Bernstein, "Guardian Angel," "'No Danger' Paper Airplanes" (Courtesy of the artist)
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Douglas DeVinny, "It's a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Bird," "'No Danger' Paper Airplanes" (Courtesy of Edward Bernstein)
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