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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Will Launch Cuban Art Exhibit on Jan. 18

John Hill — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 18:18:38 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will open an exhibit of Cuban art on Jan. 18. The exhibit, “Arte Cubano,” will run through March 8 and be on display in the Brad Cushman Gallery and the Manners/Pappas Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. The traveling exhibition organized by Exhibits USA will be enhanced with artworks from the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Permanent Collection, and a local private collection. Building on changing relationships between the governments of the United States and Cuba, this timely exhibition reflects more than 25 Cuban artists’ ruminations on the quotidian, social, and political realities of the island and the contemporary world. The island geography and political intensity of Cuba inform the work in a way that is immediately identifiable, often concealing coded, even subversive, ideas while simultaneously celebrating the richness of Cuba’s cultural identity. Peeling away the layers of Cuban art often reveals a story of struggle caused by economic and political consequences, and the social upheaval that a true revolution produces. The intensity and depth of meaning, with the specific physical and political context, make Cuban art immediately identifiable and powerful, and an important voice in the art world today.

Esterio Segura’s 1970 “Santiago de Cuba”

“Just like Cuba, the art in the exhibit has a unique mix of traditional and modern, ordinary and special, and simplicity and incredible complexity,” said Brad Cushman, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock art gallery director. “The same can be said for the politics, the literature, the architecture, and the people of the island.” Mid-America Arts Alliance and ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance that brings more than 25 exhibits to tour more than 100 small and mid-sized communities every year, co-organized “Arte Cubano” with the Center for Cuban Studies (NYC) to synthesize two extraordinary private collections generously made available for the project. This exhibition could not have been made possible without their collecting vision and loan generosity. The Center for Cuban Studies opened in 1972 and was organized by a group of scholars, writers, artists, and other professionals, in response to the effects of US policy toward Cuba. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment. Contact Cushman at becushman@ualr.edu or 501-916-3182 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host MA Thesis Exhibit April 26-May 7

John Hill — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 13:58:24 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a series of paintings by Sarah Lassiter in her thesis exhibition. “Suspension” will feature around 15 paintings and be on display from April 26 to May 7 in the Maners/Pappas Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design. Lassiter, who is graduating with a Master of Arts in May, uses painted and mixed media surfaces to explore the cognitive dissonance that accompanies trying to build a life in a world that is falling apart. Aggressive marks created with a palette knife, the use of pure red and black, and surfaces of the paintings encrusted with bottle caps and aluminum beer tabs express turmoil and dread. “�ę��ܲ��Բ��ǲ�’ is a series of paintings inspired by my own emotional reaction to the strangeness of our times,” Lassiter said. “As the last few years have unfolded, the world has felt like an increasingly unstable place. I find myself between college and career, at a stage in life when I should be making long-term plans. But the sense that the future is precarious makes this type of thinking feel difficult, at times even absurd. Hoping to reach others who experience this halting effect, I’ve spent the last year and a half creating this series, exploring the cognitive dissonance that accompanies trying to build a life against a backdrop of uncertainty.” Using interior scenes from the artist’s home depicts the way exterior anxieties invade daily life. The inclusion of both quiet scenes and noisier, more abstracted elements is a means of exploring the counterintuitive relationship between outer chaos and stillness. By exploring her struggles in such an open and vulnerable way, Lassiter invites others to let their own guard down, to reach for support and connection. While Lassiter has enjoyed the arts since childhood, she didn’t explore art as a career until she took some classes at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, which made her feel as if a world of artistic possibilities had opened up in front of her. “I think, deep down, I’ve always wanted to be an artist,” Lassiter said. “With art, the more you learn, the more salient the gulf between your skill level and what’s possible becomes, and few things are as satisfying as closing the gap between what exists in the mind’s eye and what you can create. The continual challenge is intoxicating. The drawing classes led to watercolor classes, which led to enrolling in post-bac art courses here at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, which led to pursuing this MA degree, where I’ve been learning oil painting. Art is what I always seem to come back to, and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity to pursue my creative interests.” Following her graduation, Lassiter plans to use the time to practice experimentation and creative play in her painting. “I’ve learned a lot in the past few semesters, and can’t wait to practice applying the techniques and concepts to which I’ve been introduced,” she said. “As excited as I am to be graduating, I feel as though my artistic education has only just begun. I would love to pursue further education in visual art within the next few years.” The exhibit can be viewed virtually through the �� The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Art Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Patrons may call or email to confirm a visit to campus to view the exhibitions. For more information, contact the main office at 501-916-3182 or email Brad Cushman at becushman@ualr.edu.

Shellam makes $100,000 donation to create endowed scholarship for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock art students in mother’s name

John Hill — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 21:23:13 +0000

A Little Rock woman has made a $100,000 donation to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create an endowed scholarship in her mother’s name for senior art students. Leslye Shellam, the daughter of Linda Blaine Flake and L. Dickson Flake, created the scholarship to honor her mother’s love of art.�� “Though recognized as ‘gifted’ from an early age, Linda knew that knowledge and experimentation to new, unfamiliar ideas kept her work fresh and inspired,” Shellam said. “The endowment in her name is intended to allow an art student more time for curiosity and self-exploration to channel their talent into a lifelong contribution to the rest of us who may need to be reminded of the ‘undefined’ that encourages personal creativity of all forms in each of us.” The Linda Blaine Flake Endowed Art Scholarship will benefit senior undergraduate students studying the visual arts in the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “Mrs. Flake was a longtime practicing painter and considered painting a vocation and an avocation,” said Joseph Lampo, director of development and external relations. “Both she and her husband Dickson Flake had been active members of the Little Rock community for many years. I can’t think of a better way for a community member to honor someone than to provide support for students at the local metropolitan university studying a subject important to that person. We are grateful to Leslye Shellam for her appreciation of the need for this support.” Linda Blaine Flake was a native of Little Rock who attended Central High School through the 11th grade. Her father, Fletcher Clement Jr., was a civil engineer whose work took him and his family to places all around the world, including Canada, Morocco, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Colorado. She graduated high school in North Africa and later attended school in Gstaad and Neuchatel, Switzerland. She developed a love of the arts at a young age. Drawing and painting helped Flake navigate her early school years when the family moved frequently because of her father’s job. She had a summer job in Africa as a draftsman with the Corps of Engineers and another in the mapping section of the Arkansas Highway Department. After she married Dickson Flake, the couple moved to Detroit where their daughter, Leslye, was born. After the Flakes returned to Little Rock to be near family and friends, she studied and developed her art skills while her husband established a successful commercial real estate business.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock studio art major Caleb LeFevre presented Leslye Shellam with this charcoal drawing to thank her for her support of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock art students. Photo by Ben Krain.

Flake continued her passion for creating art by studying at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. She also participated in a painting master class invitational in Maine, and attended workshops in China, Guatemala, Mexico, Bali, California, and New Mexico. She was a successful artist who showed her work at the former Art on the Green Gallery in Conway, Arkansas, as well as the well-remembered Heights Gallery in Little Rock. She was an active member and former president of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists and also worked in other mediums. She and Townsend Wolfe, past long-serving director of the former Arkansas Arts Center, now the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, had an exclusive extended two-person exhibition of their work inspired by their visits to Asia, when China was still not fully open to the Western world. “My mother, Linda Blaine Flake, was an exceptionally intelligent and insightful woman,” Shellam said. “Art was the vehicle that kept her challenged and questioning established guidelines in life as well as her career. Linda’s artwork was not produced by what might interest a prospective buyer, but was an outpouring of what she wanted to share of her soul with others. By not defining herself in a specific category, she�� stayed open and embraced many mediums which facilitated rewarding life experiences, spurring even more creative and personal achievements.” The scholarship, to be awarded to a rising senior, will provide assistance for any education related expenses, including tuition, books, fees, and room and board. At the end of their senior year, the scholarship recipient will also have the opportunity for�� a solo exhibition of their work in one of the art galleries at the Windgate Center of Art and Design. “We’re delighted and gratified by the gift of the Linda Blaine Flake Endowed Scholarship,” said Thomas Clifton, chair of the Department of Art and Design at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “This unique scholarship, which provides annual funding for a solo student exhibition, will give us the opportunity to highlight the talents of an outstanding graduating senior each year.”�� In the upper right photo, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock studio art major Caleb LeFevre, left, was awarded the first Linda Blaine Flake Endowed Art Scholarship by philanthropist Leslye Shellam during a celebration of World Art Day at the Windgate Center of Art and Design. Photo by Ben Krain.

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

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Will Launch Cuban Art Exhibit on Jan. 18

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host MA Thesis Exhibit April 26-May 7

Shellam makes $100,000 donation to create endowed scholarship for ����Vlog��ý Little Rock art students in mother’s name

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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Will Launch Cuban Art Exhibit on Jan. 18

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host MA Thesis Exhibit April 26-May 7

Shellam makes $100,000 donation to create endowed scholarship for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock art students in mother’s name