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

Windgate Center subject of Architecture and Design Network lecture

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 20:45:18 +0000

The design of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s new Windgate Center of Art and Design will be the subject of an April 10 lecture by the Architecture and Design Network.�� The Windgate Center of Art and Design, which opened in January 2018, is the result of a $20.3 million gift from the Windgate Charitable Foundation. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. in the Windgate Center with a reception at 5:30 p.m. The panelists feature members of the Windgate Center’s building committee, including Tom Clifton, dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences; Mia Hall, director of Penland School of Crafts and former chair of the Department of Art and Design; Floyd Martin, professor of art history; Carey Roberson, chair of the Department of Art and Design; and John Greer, principal architect for WER Architects. The Windgate Center is physically divided into two distinct architectural forms based on the unique use of the spaces. Both forms are connected and share common utilities and circulation patterns. The studio arts portion of the building is a three-story, structural steel-framed building that houses classrooms, galleries, a lecture hall, departmental administration suite, and permanent collection storage that make up the visual arts program. The applied design area of the building is a single-story, high-bay industrial-style space that lends itself to three-dimensional forms of art. The building is designed to have a strong community presence to help strengthen the various community partnerships that have been forged over the years. Access for gallery shows, art festivals, and other events is an important component in the building design. Sustainable measures are fully integrated into the building orientation, exterior envelope, and support systems to support energy and long-term maintenance efficiencies. The building will pursue LEED Gold and is currently being registered in the LEED Certification program. The talk is a part of the Architecture and Design Network’s. For additional information, contact ArchDesignNetwork@gmail.com.

CRE8 event showcases new Windgate Center, raises scholarship money

Janea Snyder — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 21:04:34 +0000

Hundreds of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock supporters got a first look inside the Windgate Center of Art + Design on Feb. 16 at the signature event CRE8, honoring the Windgate Charitable Foundation for its gift that made the center possible. The Windgate Foundation gave $20.3 million to build the center, which houses all of the university’s art and design programs. More recently, the foundation gave an additional $603,000 of which $425,000 will be used to endow the Windgate Professorship in Art and Design, a permanent, tenure track position. Of the remaining money, $103,000 will support a visiting artist-in-residence for two years in contemporary crafts, and $75,000 is dedicated for gallery program and support. CRE8, presented by , drew more than 350 people and raised more than $92,000 with proceeds earmarked for scholarships for art and design students. “This gift is not just a building.��It is an opportunity for us to make a huge difference in the lives of our students,” Tom Clifton, interim dean of the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences told the crowd. “It is a chance to give them pathways they wouldn’t otherwise have and change their lives and their futures.” CRE8 also showcased the many types of creative work taking place daily in the center, from ceramics and 3D design to furniture design. In the yard foundry, Sculpture Art Professor Michael Warrick demonstrated a bronze pour twice during the evening. Visitors saw woodworking, metalsmithing, blacksmithing, jewelry making and ceramics, while other faculty conducted demonstrations in photography, portrait lighting, 3D prints and laser, character animation, graphic design and painting. Visitors explored the center’s two galleries that house works from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Permanent Collection and the visiting exhibit “.” While most visitors expected to see lots of art, they didn’t expect to take home a piece of art. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock sculpture art professor Michael Warrick and other art faculty and students created more than 200 “spirit houses” for their guests.

Michael Warrick individually numbers the wooden “spirit houses” for CRE8.

The wooden houses came boxed with a simple explanation: “Each unique house is given as an expression of appreciation for the special and kind gesture of supporting the creative spirit.” Warrick has made hundreds of the houses over the past 20 years to give friends and family as a thank-you of sorts. The project started when his wife had serious complications during childbirth. To thank the many friends and family who helped them, he gave a simple wooden house he crafted. He thought the spirit houses would be a perfect way to say thanks to the university supporters who attended Friday night’s ticketed event. Using scraps of hardwood, faculty members Peter Scheidt and Julia Baugh helped Warrick cut, sand, and glue the wood pieces. Graphic design professor Kevin Cates designed the Windgate Center for Art + Design logo. Andy Huss, a local sculptor, volunteered time sanding and clear coating the pieces. Graphic design student Chassidy Siratt laser-cut a Windgate Center logo on the bottom of each house, and Warrick individually numbered the houses – like art collector pieces. In photo top right: Former and current chairs of the Department of Art from the past 30 years attended CRE8 on Feb. 16 to celebrate the Windgate Center for Design + Art. From left: Don Van Horn (1988-93), Floyd Martin (1994-95), Jane Brown (1996-98), Win Bruhl (1998-2013), Tom Clifton (2013-2016), Mia Hall (2016-2017), and Carey Roberson (2017-present).

‘Nasty Woman’ exhibit coming to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 13:56:40 +0000

An art exhibit celebrating the female voice in art will be shown June 14 to Aug. 25 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “The show explores topics dealing with the woman’s perspective, from reflection on historic female figures to contemporary issues surrounding the female body, the political climate, and varied iterations of the experience of being a 21st century woman,” said Margo Duvall, assistant professor of art at Henderson State University and the show’s curator. The “Nasty Woman” exhibit will be on display in Gallery 1 of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Fine Arts Building. A closing reception featuring talks with Duvall and participating artists will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. The work of three ��Vlog��ý Little Rock faculty members will be featured in the “Nasty Woman” exhibit. Several of the artists included in the exhibition have studied art at and graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Mia Hall, interim chair of the Department of Art and Design, Joli Livaudais, assistant professor of photography, and Heidi Hogden, visiting professor of painting, are among the 36 female artists from across the nation whose work was selected for the show. Livaudais’ work, “The Mother, Exhumed,” is a life-size casting of a woman’s upper body made from epoxy resin and photographs of bees and beehives. “It ought to be a really great show, and I am proud to be in the company of so many fierce women artists,” Livaudais said. The title of the show, “Nasty Woman,” which was first displayed at Henderson State in March to celebrate Women’s History Month, stems from comments made during the 2016 presidential election.

Joli Livaudais’ work, “The Mother, Exhumed,” will be on display at the “Nasty Woman” exhibit at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

During the third debate in October 2016, President Donald Trump responded to a comment made about him by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who was answering a question about social security, by remarking,.” On Twitter, #NastyWoman was trending within minutes. “While it was first mentioned in a derogatory context, it has become a uniting force among women across the globe,” Duvall said. “For many, it represents strength, unity, and the ability to use one’s voice to be heard. The participating artists interpret their reactions through a dynamic use of photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and video pieces.” Participating artists include: Zina Al-Shukri, Heather Beckwith, Darcie Beeman-Black, Megan Berner, Cynthia Buob, Beverly Buys, Susan Chambers, Melissa Cowper-Smith, Norwood Creech, Nancy Dunaway, Margo Duvall, Melissa Gill, Mia Hall, Louise Halsey, Diane Harper, Tammy Harrington, Heidi Hogden, Robyn Horn, Erin House, Jeanie Hursley, Catherine Kim, Kimberly Kwee, Joli Livaudais, Angie Macri, Hannah May, Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Catherine Siri Nugent Laura Raborn, Emily Rogers, Dina Ropele Santos, Dominique Simmons, Kasten Searles, Katherine Strause, Brittany Wilder, Kat Wilson, and Miranda Young-Rice. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Art Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. For more information, contact Brad Cushman at becushman@ualr.edu or 501.569.8977 or Margo Duvall at duvallm@hsu.edu or 870.230.5207. In the upper right photo, Zina Al-Shukri’s charcoal drawing, “Gushing with Confidence and Jealousy,” is one of the works on display in the “Nasty Woman” exhibit at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors’ work chosen for “Nasty Woman” exhibition

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 16:13:11 +0000

The work of three University of Arkansas at Little Rock faculty members from the Department of Art and Design has been selected for the “Nasty Woman” exhibition at Henderson State University.�� Mia Hall, interim chair of the Department of Art and Design, Joli Livaudais, assistant professor of photography, and Heidi Hogden, visiting professor of painting, are among 32 female artists from across the nation whose work will be on display March 1-31 in the Russell Fine Arts Gallery at Henderson State. The exhibit, which is held in celebration of Women’s History Month, explores women’s perspectives — from reflection on historic female figures, to contemporary issues involving the female body, the political climate, and varied iterations of the experience of being a 21st century woman. Livaudais’ work, “The Mother, Exhumed,” is a life-size casting of a woman’s upper body made from epoxy resin and photographs of bees and bee hives. “It ought to be a really great show, and I am proud to be in the company of so many fierce women artists,” Livaudais said. The title of the show, “Nasty Woman,” stems from recent events. During the third presidential debate in October 2016, President Donald Trump responded to a comment made about him by Hillary Clinton, who was answering a question about social security, by remarking,.” On Twitter, #NastyWoman was trending within minutes. “While it was first mentioned in a derogatory context, it has become a uniting force among women across the globe,” Margo Duvall, assistant professor of photography at Henderson State, said in a press release. “For many, it represents strength, unity, and the ability to use one’s voice to be heard. The participating artists interpret their reactions through a dynamic use of photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and video pieces.” An opening reception will be held in the gallery from 2-4 p.m. March 1. The reception will include poetry readings, discussions of the work, and a chance to meet with participating artists. The gallery is on the first floor of the Russell Fine Arts Building at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Gallery admission is free. In the upper right photo, Joli Livaudais’ work, “The Mother, Exhumed,” will be on display at the “Nasty Woman” exhibit at Henderson State University.��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Cuban artists’ book exhibit

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:19:17 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host an international exhibit of handcrafted books created by Cuban artists.�� The March 14 to April 19 multimedia exhibit, “Binding Communities: Cuba’s Ediciones Vigía and the Art of the Book and Entrepreneurism,” will be displayed in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Ottenheimer Library. The exhibit will feature 71 artists’ books created by the Cuban publishing house,, from 1985 to 2016. Founded in 1985 by Rolando Estévez and Alfredo Zaldívar, Ediciones Vigía artisans in Matanzas, Cuba, created handmade books using collaged, repurposed materials. According to an, Ediciones Vigía originally served as a meeting place for artists and writers to discuss their work. They began creating artistic fliers to advertise their meetings. This eventually grew into an independent publishing house that creates handmade interactive works of book art that are internationally renown. Ediciones Vigía came of age during the economic depression in Cuba that followed the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union. “Throughout the 1990s, an extreme shortage of paper and materials — not to mention food, petroleum, medicine, and other basic resources — exacerbated the difficulties of publishing in Cuba,” said Dr. Erin Finzer, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of World Languages. The publishing house responded to the shortage of paper by seeking out diverse, talented young authors to publish in limited edition artists’ books. “Community members from Matanzas would gather to piece together these books out of found materials and butcher paper, which was relatively inexpensive and more readily available than bleached white paper,” Finzer said. “These precious books quickly earned an artistic cachet that led established authors to want their texts to be interpreted by Ediciones Vigía.”

One of 71 artists’ books created by the Cuban publishing house, Ediciones Vigía, on display at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Ottenheimer Library March 14 to April 19. Photo by Carly Machin/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

The exhibit will open with a reception and talk with Bill Fisher, a San Antonio-based lawyer and rare book collector whose Ediciones Vigía collection will be featured in the exhibit. The reception, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, in Ottenheimer Library Room 535. The exhibit will also include a March 17 lecture by Steven Miller, a book artist and University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa professor who has to create book editions. Additionally, Miller will lead a bookmaking workshop during the weekend of March 18-19 in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Applied Design Studio at University Plaza 300. Other events include a March 29 bookmaking workshop by book artist David Clemons and Finzer; student presentations and a closer examination of select Vigia books on April 6; an April 12 screening of Ediciones Vigía: Poetíca visual/Visual Poetics and a scholar-led tour of the exhibit by Finzer; and a closing reception and lecture by Vigía scholar and filmmaker, Dr. Juanamaría Cordones Cook, on April 14. All events are free and open to the public. Class sizes for the bookmaking workshops are limited. Those interested in attending the workshops should RSVP to Mia Hall, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Art and Design, at mphall@ualr.edu or Finzer at esfinzer@ualr.edu. A complete list of programming for the exhibit includes:

��Opening reception and talk with rare book collector Bill Fisher. 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14. Ottenheimer Library Room 535.
��Lecture/Artist Talk by book artist Steven Miller. 5 p.m., Friday, March 17. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Fine Arts Building Room 161.
��“Get Under The Covers. Let’s Make Books!” Bookmaking workshop with book artist Steven Miller. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 18, and Sunday March 19. Applied Design Studio, University Plaza 300. Participation is limited. Please RSVP to Mia Hall at mphall@ualr.edu.
��Bookmaking workshop and lecture: “The Committed Art of the Book” by book artist David Clemons and Dr. Erin Finzer. 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. Applied Design Studio, University Plaza 300. Participation is limited. Please RSVP to Mia Hall at mphall@ualr.edu.
��Up Close and Personal: Student Presentations of Select Vigía Books. 3 p.m. Thursday, April 6. Ottenheimer Library Room 535.
��Screening of Ediciones Vigía: Poetíca visual/Visual Poetics with scholar-led tour of exhibit by Dr. Erin Finzer. 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 12. Ottenheimer Library Room 535.
Closing reception and lecture by Vigía scholar and filmmaker Dr. Juanamaría Cordones Cook. 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 17. Ottenheimer Library, Room 535.

��Vlog��ýLR Art Gallery to open two exhibits featuring faculty artists

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 16:29:42 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Art Gallery will open two public exhibits Monday, Oct. 31, featuring the work of faculty members of the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Art and Design.�� The ��Vlog��ýLR Art Faculty Biennial Show will be on display from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28 in Gallery 1 in the ��Vlog��ýLR Fine Arts Building. A reception for the show, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at the ��Vlog��ýLR Art Gallery. The artists include Kevin Cates, David Clemons, Tom Clifton, Rico Cuatlacuatl, Tim Garth, Mia Hall, Heidi Hogden, Joli Livaudais, Eric Mantle, Carey Roberson, Aj Smith, David Smith, Marjorie Williams-Smith, Kerry Hartman, Brad Cushman, Win Bruhl, Sofia Gonzalez, and Rachel Smith. The exhibit will host examples of drawing and mixed media, printmaking, photography, painting, ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, metalwork, and furniture design. The second exhibit will feature art created by Eric Mantle, a professor of painting, during his 2016 spring sabbatical. His work has heavily been influenced by humor, puns, and wordplay, from the covers of The New Yorker magazine to the illustrations of Saul Steinberg to the poetry of Ogden Nash. Mantle’s exhibit, “How to Paint Good,” will be on display from Oct. 31 to Nov. 23 in the Maners/Pappas Gallery in the ��Vlog��ýLR Fine Arts Building. The ��Vlog��ýLR Art Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, and 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, contact ��Vlog��ýLR Gallery Director Brad Cushman at becushman@ualr.edu or 501.569.8977. In the upper right photo, Joli Livaudais’ 2016 work “Breakfast” is a hand-colored print of a black and white photograph captured by a pinhole camera.

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

Windgate Center subject of Architecture and Design Network lecture

CRE8 event showcases new Windgate Center, raises scholarship money

‘Nasty Woman’ exhibit coming to ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock professors’ work chosen for “Nasty Woman” exhibition

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Cuban artists’ book exhibit

����Vlog��ýLR Art Gallery to open two exhibits featuring faculty artists

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

‘Nasty Woman’ exhibit coming to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors’ work chosen for “Nasty Woman” exhibition

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Cuban artists’ book exhibit

��Vlog��ýLR Art Gallery to open two exhibits featuring faculty artists