- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/arkansas-arts-center/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Thu, 19 Jul 2018 20:51:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna lends artistic touch to NYC exhibit /news-archive/2018/07/19/sandra-sell/ Thu, 19 Jul 2018 20:51:36 +0000 /news/?p=71150 ...]]> Little Rock artist never stops looking for new ways to collaborate on art. And that is precisely how the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alumna recently found herself in New York City’s Times Square helping install “Wake,”one of conceptual artist Mel Chin’s new works. “Wake,” commissioned by is a 60-foot-tall animatronic sculpture that resembles a cross between a shipwreck and the skeletal remains of a marine mammal that rise up from Times Square. On the ship’s bow is the figurehead of Jenny Lind, an opera star known as the “Swedish Nightingale” and for whom the USS Nightingale tea clipper and slave ship were named. Chin’s other piece, “Unmoored,” is a digitally interactive mixed reality counterpart to “Wake.” Together, the two works “open a physical and virtual gateway to the future of human existence, inviting participants to contemplate their place within the world’s transforming climate,” according to Times Square Arts.

Faculty, students and staff at the engineered and fabricated the structure of “Wake.” The head of the female figure gently nods, and her chest rises and compresses, as if she is breathing. Sell, who was an artist-in-resident at UNC in March, was one of many people who worked on the elaborate project. “My primary role was to construct, then carve, the figure’s dress,” she said. “It was a fantastic opportunity to share my experience with the team and engage in collaborative thinking.” Sell worked on the piece for four weeks, leading up to the sculpture’s installment on July 11 in Times Square. The structure was built with segments in mind, so it could be deconstructed, shipped then reconstructed on site. “I was extremely excited to come in and lend a hand in the last 24 hours of installation,” Sell said. “The team had worked extremely hard, and it was a pleasure to bring some fresh energy to help with the last push. The opening day was great, and so many people showed up.”

Times Square is just one location for art that is part of the larger exhibit “Mel Chin: All Over the Place,” co-produced by and the . The exhibition spans nearly four decades of Chin’s work – at sites including the Queens Museum, Times Square, the Broadway-Lafayette subway station, and streaming online with Soundtrack – creating an infinite loop of the artist’s thinking about our world and how we choose to occupy it. “Wake” will remain in Times Square Plaza through Sept. 5. Sell is back in Little Rock now, where she retired after her 21-year career in the U.S. Army. She enrolled at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, completing a Bachelor of Arts in 2008 and a Master of Arts in 2014. Sell has also served as an apprentice to Little Rock artist Robyn Horn, who was instrumental in helping ��Vlog��ý Little Rock get its Windgate Center for Art and Design.

Her creative pursuits led her to the , where she was a studio assistant for wood sculptors Stoney Lamar and Brent Skidmore. Skidmore, who directs the Craft Studies program at University of North Carolina at Asheville, then invited Sell to fill an artist-in-resident position at the university earlier this year. Soon after, she became involved working on “Wake”. A wood carver by choice, Sell also paints and does some work in found object dimensional painting. Her work is in the permanent collections of the , the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, and the Historic Arkansas Museum, along with many private collections. Since 2007, Sell’s work has been featured in over 30 exhibits in the United States. Top Right Photo: Mel Chin, Wake, 2018, multimedia. Courtesy of Chelsea Lipman for Times Square Arts ]]> Jazz and Juleps will celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe May 24 /news-archive/2018/05/17/jazz-juleps/ Thu, 17 May 2018 13:56:46 +0000 /news/?p=70603 ...]]> The evening, which celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month, will begin with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a silent auction, and live music by Mojo de Jazz at 6 p.m. The night’s emcee, Ashlen Batson Thomasen, 2008 Miss Arkansas and an adjunct faculty member at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, will begin the program at 7 p.m. The event will also celebrate Brooks Gibson Wolfe, senior audiologist at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, as the 2018 Jazz and Juleps honoree. All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Wolfe’s name to assist future students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. “Brooks Gibson Wolfe was chosen for this honor to highlight her work with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents, and with a focus on those who are underprivileged and underserved,” said Nan Ellen East, retired executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas. “Her passion for helping individuals with hearing loss is truly inspirational.” Wolfe was born in Dermott, Arkansas, in 1957. She graduated from St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, Texas, in 1975, and graduated from Millsaps College with a degree in history. With an avid interest in public health, Wolfe later earned a Master of Science from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joint audiology program and a Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida. Wolfe worked as the photo editor for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts Magazine in New York. She also was the infant hearing supervisor at the Arkansas Department of Health and has worked at the Arkansas School for the Deaf for the past 24 years. She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and is the widow of Townsend Durant Wolfe III, former executive director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center. In 2017, Wolfe began a foundation in honor of her late husband – Townsend and Brooks Wolfe Charitable Hearing Fund, through the Arkansas Community Foundation. The 2018 Jazz and Juleps scholarship winners will be recognized, including Meredith Birginske, Shavari Bharambe, Maddie Droke, Dayton Hendricks, Jared Holt, Beverly McDowell, Alexa Milam, Anna Norwood, Emily Pankey, Danielle Peterson, Megan Stuckey, Kristyn Wethington, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock would like to thank the following sponsors. Gold sponsors – KLRE/K��Vlog��ýR Public Radio, Lost Forty Brewing, Magna IV Communications, Remmell Dickinson, Nan Ellen and Jack Easter, Beth and Paul Eaton, and Polly and Jeff Yant. Silver sponsors – Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Big Red, Regions Trust, James Rippy, Cathy and Jeff Shaneyfelt, and Loris and Jay Fullerton. Bronze sponsors – Arkansas School for the Death, Bailey Foundation, Tri-Lakes Liquor in Hot Springs, Ann and Jim Bain, Derek Boyce, Charlotte and Curt Bradbury, Peggy and Haskell Dickinson, Merritt Dyke, Jennifer and Tim Fisk, Delda Hoaglan, Blake Jackson, Edward Jackson, Pam and Lee Butler Jackson, Hope Keiser, Elizabeth and Arnold Mayersohn, Mary Moore, and Brooks Gibson Wolfe. Tickets for Jazz and Juleps are $50, of which $25 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. For more information, contact Derek Boyce, director of development for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, at 501-683-7355 or dcboyce@ualr.edu.]]> Brooks Gibson Wolfe selected as Jazz and Juleps honoree /news-archive/2018/02/16/brooks-gibson-wolfe-jazz-juleps/ Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:00:00 +0000 /news/?p=69347 ...]]> An educational audiologist who has dedicated her life to helping the deaf and hard of hearing in Arkansas for more than 26 years has been selected as the honoree for the ninth annual Jazz and Juleps event supporting the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. The event, which celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month, will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the Clinton Presidential Library, 1200 President Clinton Ave. in downtown Little Rock. The festivities will include a silent auction with food and refreshments. Mint juleps, beer, wine, soda, and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. The honoree, Brooks Gibson Wolfe (Mrs. Townsend D. Wolfe III), is the senior audiologist at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, where she has worked for 24 years. She is responsible for ensuring that students’ personal and group amplification devices are working properly, conducting audiological evaluations, and fitting all amplification devices. “Brooks Gibson Wolfe was chosen for this honor to highlight her work with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their parents, and with a focus on those who are underprivileged and underserved,” said Nan Ellen East, retired executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas. ”Her passion helping individuals with hearing loss is truly inspirational.” All proceeds from the event will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund in Wolfe’s name to assist future students in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology. After graduating from Millsaps College, Wolfe worked as the photo editor for Norman Vincent Peale’s Guideposts Magazine in New York. She returned home to Arkansas shortly after her brother, Sam, died. “My passion is to advocate for people who are deaf or hard of hearing,” Wolfe said. “It became my passion because I lost my brother at the age of 28. He was a great guy. I serve the underserved in honor of him and my late husband, Townsend Wolfe III (former executive director and chief curator of the Arkansas Arts Center).” With an avid interest in public health, Wolfe earned a Master of Science degree from the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock/University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences joint audiology program and Doctor of Audiology from the University of Florida. She began her audiology career as the infant hearing supervisor at the Arkansas Department of Health. “I wanted to work with children,” she said. “The earlier you can get to the children, the greater impact you have on their lives.” Throughout her career, Wolfe has also helped many people get hearing aids who could not afford them. She has worked with the, which has a mission to improve the quality of life for those at risk or impacted by hearing loss through education and support. Last year, Wolfe began a foundation in honor of her late husband – Townsend and Brooks Wolfe Charitable Hearing Fund, through the Arkansas Community Foundation – to continue her efforts to help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Through this Charitable Fund, she and two additional audiologists – Dr. Hope Keiser and Dr. Pat Highley – help nursing home residents, adults with low incomes, and students at Little Rock Preparatory Academy by providing counseling and fitting for amplification devices pro bono. “The nursing home population is huge in Arkansas,” she said. “Most of them are on Medicare, and Medicare does not pay for amplification for adults. So there are many nursing home residents that need amplification but cannot afford them.” Wolfe has four stepchildren, Juliette Hightower, Mary Bryan Giroux, Zibilla Wolfe, and Townsend Wolfe IV, and three grandchildren, Thomas Hightower, Drake Kennedy, and Reid Hightower, who plans to follow in her grandmother’s steps and become an audiologist. She also is a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Tickets are $50, of which $25 is tax deductible, and will be available at the door. Tickets also can be ordered online. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Derek Boyce, director of development for the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences, at 501-683-7355 or dcboyce@ualr.edu.]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock art students will hold Ansel Adams lecture at Arkansas Arts Center /news-archive/2017/01/30/ua-little-rock-ansel-adams-arkansas-arts-center/ Mon, 30 Jan 2017 22:03:43 +0000 /news/?p=66171 ...]]> The event, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Arts Center, will highlight the artwork of Adams, the famous American photographer, who is perhaps best known for his black-and-white landscape photos of the American wilderness and National Park sites. Participating students are members of Professor Joli Livaudais’ View Camera class, where they are learning how to make photographs using Adams’ traditional equipment and methods. In a related event, Livaudais will also give an Art After Hours talk at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Arkansas Arts Center on historical photo processes and new approaches in contemporary photography. “My talk will be about the versatility of photography as an artistic medium,” Livaudais said. “In addition to classic darkroom work like Adams’, today photography is also experiencing a renaissance of historic processes that were used before the invention of commercial film and photo paper and is exploding with the exploration of digital photography and new media. It’s an amazing medium, because it can be anything the artist wants it to be.” Both events are free for Arkansas Arts Center members and $10 for nonmembers. They are part of a month-long series of Art After Hours lectures on Adams, which promotes the center’s exhibition, “Ansel Adams: Early Works.” For more information, visit the or call 501.372.4000 to reserve tickets for the talks. In the upper right photo, students from Professor Joli Livaudais’ View Camera class learn how to make photographs using Adams’ traditional equipment and methods. ]]>