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

Sims pop-up art show to feature Arkansas landscape scenes

Ajani Oyindamola — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 21:24:57 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock employee will showcase his love of photographing beautiful landscapes from Arkansas during his pop-up art show that begins Nov. 1. Brad Sims, who has worked as the media and online instruction specialist for the College of Education and Health Professions for a decade, is also a landscape photographer specializing in Arkansas scenes. “Most of my photos have been taken in Arkansas, and I am focusing on showing off places in Arkansas that that typically don’t get shown off,” Sims said. “From this show, I want people to see that Arkansas has a great deal of really unique views that don’t get enough attention. Those can be everything from hidden waterfalls in the Ozarks to the way the fog rests on the Arkansas River to really tiny, intimate views of the ground in your backyard.” Pop-up shows, which are often held in smaller, non-traditional spaces, give young and nontraditional artists the opportunity to get more exposure. Sims’ show will debut from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at South Main Creative, 1600 Main St., Little Rock. His show contains images of the fog rising over the Arkansas River, cityscapes of Little Rock, and images that he’s dubbed “Tiny Landscapes,” also the name of his show. “I think the idea of people not looking closely at things that pass them by is interesting,” Sims said. “Tiny landscapes occur when I get really close and low to the ground. They are mostly pictures of moss or small rivulets of water. Whenever I take closeup photos, they usually look like larger landscape. I take tiny landscapes whenever I see interesting, weird scenes in nature.”

A tiny landscape image taken by Brad Sims at Petit Jean State Park.

Sims graduated from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 2000 and a master’s degree in professional and technical writing in 2013. While he’s always seen himself as a “photo enthusiast,” it’s only been in recent years that Sims has focused on his habit of taking tiny landscaping photos.�� “I’ve gotten really serious about photography in the past three years,” Sims said. “I’ve been making more choices and being more mindful of the pictures I take. In landscape photos, you usually see iconic views of these epic, iconic locations that are well known, but I’ve really gotten into the idea of taking smaller, one-of-a-kind photos that are more intimate spaces taken all around Arkansas.” “Tiny Landscapes” will be open through Nov. 30. South Main Creative is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student, longtime friend hold pop-up art show

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 12:32:16 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student artist and her longtime family friend will display their unique art styles during a debut pop-up show. The show, “Weavings & What Not,” will debut during the SoMa After Dark event on Friday, Sept. 6, from 5-8 p.m. at South Main Creative, 1600 S. Main St., Little Rock. A drawing for a free piece of original art will be held during the debut.�� Cassandra Christ, a junior art history major from Little Rock and Donaghey Scholar, and her longtime friend Jack Foolery, a 64-year-old artist from Little Rock, were inspired to display their weavings, jewelry, poetry, and other art after a shared learning experience. “I taught a basic weaving class at South Main Creative, and Jack took it,” Christ said. “He loved weaving after he took my class. We both incorporate found objects in different ways into our art. I was so curious to see what Jack would come up with because he has such a wacky, creative mind. Jack is an outsider artist since he hasn’t had any formal training. Valerie Wingert, owner of South Main Creative, saw Jack’s art and loved it.”�� Pop-up shows, which are often held in smaller, non-traditional spaces, give young and nontraditional artists the opportunity to get more exposure. Christ and Grace Lytle, a senior art history major, curated South Main Creative’s first pop-up show, “Twenty-somethings,” last March. The show featured several ��Vlog��ý Little Rock student artists and young local artists who displayed ceramics, fine jewelry, paintings, photography, collages, and textile art. Now the store holds up pop-up shows every month.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock art history students Cassy Christ and Grace Lytle organized South Main Creative’s first debut pop-up show, “Twenty-somethings,” in March. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

“We like to bring a bunch of artists to do these pop-ups, and we want to showcase this great variety of artists that we have in Little Rock,” Christ said. “We want to give artists who may not have had the opportunity to show in a gallery. Now we have a platform and a way to share that. Jack has been doing art his whole life and has never had a show, and I think he deserves it. These shows are helping the artists and the community.”�� Christ has known Foolery, who is a college friend of her mother’s, her whole life. The two friends share a love of art that has grown ever since Foolery did fun art projects with Christ as a child. For Christ, the show is a representation of their friendship and how that friendship has inspired them as artists. “I am very excited about the show,” Christ said. “This is a very different experience than the ‘Twenty-somethings’ show, where I also had a curative and administrative role. This show is just about two people, and it’s more personal to us. It’s a reflection of our relationship with each other. You can see some of the things I taught him in his work and some of the things he taught me growing up. It’s a very personal project that I am excited about sharing with people.” “Weavings & What Not” will be on display through Sept. 30. South Main Creative is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Over the summer, Christ worked as an object research and teacher programming intern at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. She was responsible for writing content documents about artifacts in Crystal Bridges’ permanent collections that are used as references for docents, and she assisted in teaching art workshops for educators.�� “I loved my internship at Crystal Bridges. During one of the textile workshops, I got to teach weaving to a group of 25 teachers,” Christ said. “I think my experiences at South Main Creative helped me get my foot in the door.”��

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students organize debut pop-up show at South Main Creative

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 14:52:42 +0000

Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock art history students are spotlighting the talent of up and coming artists in central Arkansas by curating a debut pop-up show at South Main Creative from March 1 to April 30.�� A reception to celebrate the opening of the show, “Twenty-somethings,” will take place from 6-8 p.m. March 1 at South Main Creative, 1600 S. Main St., which is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Sophomore Cassy Christ, who works at South Main Creative, teamed up with junior Grace Lytle, both of Little Rock, after Valerie Wingert, owner of South Main Creative,��wanted to do something unique with her store space. “Valerie said she was interested in doing some mini-pop up galleries in the store,” Christ said. “Curating shows is something that a lot of art history students want to do, but often don’t have the opportunity. We thought that ‘Twenty-somethings’ would be a great opening exhibit. It’s the first of its kind at the shop, and Valerie wants to keep these pop-up shows going.” Pop-up shows, which are often held in smaller, non-traditional spaces, also give young artists the opportunity to get more exposure and have their work displayed in more shows. “The art itself has a fresh sensibility. You can tell a lot of these pieces are coming from young people with new and interesting ideas,” Lytle said. “There is no thematic link. In all of the work, you can see that sense of new and fresh ideas behind it. The intention of this show is to give exposure to our artists and to sell these items out. We want to see the work of these extremely talented young people in central Arkansas.” “It’s an eclectic mix of two-dimensional and three-dimensional works that you can place in your living room or a museum,” Christ added. “Our artists are talented enough to have their work in both.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock art history students Cassy Christ and Grace Lytle are organizing a debut pop-up show, “Twenty-somethings,” featuring the work of up and coming artists at South Main Creative antique mall. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

The artists include Christ and Lytle as well as ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students Landon Shaw, Christina Osorio, Emily Parker, Monica Penny, and ��Vlog��ý Little Rock alum Cassidy England. Additional local artists include Katie Bell, Nick Blain, Aleck Bratt, Greta Kresse, and Chris Swasta. The items in the show include ceramics, fine jewelry, paintings, photography, collages, and textile art. Christ and Lytle, who have both been artists since they were children, said they hope this pop-up show will be the first of many such shows that spotlight student artists in central Arkansas. “This will be a great opportunity to get some attention from other spaces who may want to host us,” Lytle said. “We hope people will see this pop-up show and be interested in the idea of having student curators run shows in their gallery spaces.”

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

Sims pop-up art show to feature Arkansas landscape scenes

����Vlog��ý Little Rock student, longtime friend hold pop-up art show

����Vlog��ý Little Rock students organize debut pop-up show at South Main Creative

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

��Vlog��ý Little Rock student, longtime friend hold pop-up art show

��Vlog��ý Little Rock students organize debut pop-up show at South Main Creative