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

��Vlog��ýLR’s Joli Livaudais to lead Feed Your Mind Friday Talk

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 17:26:02 +0000

A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor will lead a discussion on her artwork that is on display in one of the region’s most prestigious art exhibitions. Joli Livaudais, an assistant professor of photography, will discuss her artwork featured in the 58th Annual Delta Exhibition during the Feed Your Mind Friday talk July 8 at the Arkansas Arts Center. The talk, which begins at noon, is free and open to the public. The Delta Exhibition began in 1958 to feature contemporary artists from Arkansas and bordering states. It has grown to encompass works in all media, showcasing the dynamic vision and traditions of artists of the Mississippi Delta region. Livaudais’ talk will focus on her artistic process and the inspiration behind her artwork. She has two pieces in the exhibit, “Sacred Earth No. 1” and “Grassland No. 4,” that were inspired by cycles of life and patterns in nature. “I’m really interested in how people think about things, like the constructs that we use to understand the world,” she said. “I think that we see patterns in nature. We look for patterns in cycles of life and the way things grow. We see patterns and they comfort us. We want to make these patterns something that we can predict.”

Joli Livaudais’ “Grassland No. 4.” Photo courtesy of Arkansas Arts Center.

The artwork consists of photographs printed on kozo paper, aluminum, and epoxy resin, which are folded into an origami tessellation. “My art pieces are folded into patterns, but the patterns are also disrupted. Although there are patterns in nature and life, that doesn’t really give us control over anything. Life cannot be contained,” she said. Livaudais earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington before establishing herself as a freelance commercial photographer in Dallas. She received an MFA from Louisiana Tech University in 2013 and joined ��Vlog��ýLR as an assistant professor in 2014. The is on display at the Jeannette Edris Rockefeller and Townsend Wolfe Galleries until Aug. 28. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information on the exhibit, visit Delta Exhibition’s .

��Vlog��ýLR artists featured in Delta Exhibition

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 19:25:15 +0000

Eight artists with ties to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of Art represent more than a quarter of the 30 artists selected for one of the region’s most prestigious art exhibitions. The 58th Annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center includes 52 artistic works selected by the show’s juror, Liz Garvey, co-founder and owner of Garvey-Simon Art Access, Inc. Nearly 460 artists applied, and more than 1,000 entries were submitted. The is on display at the Jeannette Edris Rockefeller and Townsend Wolfe Galleries until Aug. 28. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The exhibition began in 1958 to feature contemporary artists from Arkansas and bordering states. It has grown to encompass works in all media, showcasing the dynamic vision and traditions of artists of the Mississippi Delta region. David Bailin, a former adjunct professor of drawing and painting in the ��Vlog��ýLR art department was the winner of the Delta Award and a $750 prize for his charcoal, pastel, and coffee piece, “Lamp.”

David Bailin

Other art department faculty members in the show include Mia Hall, an associate professor of furniture design, Win Bruhl, a professor emeritus of drawing and printmaking, Heidi Hogden, a visiting professor of painting, and Joli Livaudais, an assistant professor of photography. Livaudais, who has two pieces in the exhibition, said it was an honor for her work to be displayed in the prestigious show. “The series of work that these two pieces come from is inspired by cycles and patterns in nature, and my personal meditations on science, spirituality, and human limitations,” Livaudais said. “I enjoy the Delta Exhibition because it’s a wonderful opportunity to see the strong artwork being made by the artists in our region, and it’s great to have my pieces seen in such a beautiful venue.” In addition to ��Vlog��ýLR professors, Anne Greenwood, a ��Vlog��ýLR art student from Hot Springs, Arkansas, also has two pieces in the show. Two alumni – Laura Raborn, a 2014 graduate with a master’s degree in art, and Nathaniel Roe, a 2015 graduate with a master’s degree in art — also are featured. “I was thrilled to have so many of our faculty and students chosen to participate in the exhibition,” said Tom Clifton, chair of the art department. “Considering the standing of the Delta Exhibition and its reach, it’s an honor to be so well represented. I believe it speaks to the quality of education available to our students and the positive impact that our presence has on the region.” These talented ��Vlog��ýLR faculty members and students are looking forward to teaching and learning in the new visual arts building, which is scheduled to open in early 2018. The state-of-the-art building will be funded by a $20.3 million grant, the second largest gift in ��Vlog��ýLR’s history, from the Trustees of the Windgate Charitable Foundation. The new facility, located at 28th Street and East Campus Drive, will integrate ��Vlog��ýLR’s Applied Design, Art History, Art Education, and Studio Art classes into a facility that promotes collaboration and creativity between students, faculty, and guests under one roof. In order to attract and retain the region’s best and brightest art students, a scholarship campaign is underway to help art students who will benefit from learning and collaborating at the new visual arts building. “The new visual arts building will give our faculty, who have helped design it, the best possible spaces for instruction in all media,” said Joseph Lampo, director of development and external relations for the ��Vlog��ýLR College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences. “Our focus is the students who will be taught in these spaces by our award-winning faculty, and this scholarship campaign is critical to bringing the best art students here.” For more information on the exhibition, visit Delta Exhibition’s. In the upper right photo, ��Vlog��ýLR artist Mia Hall stands next to her artwork with her daughter, Fiona Clemmons.

��Vlog��ýLR presents Mark Boling Trio

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 17:38:56 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Artspree Concert Series will host a musical performance and jazz rhythm lecture and demonstration by the Mark Boling Trio Sunday and Monday, April 3-4. The Mark Boling Trio will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 3, followed by a jazz rhythm section lecture and demonstration at noon Monday, April 4. Both events will be held in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the ��Vlog��ýLR Fine Arts Building. The Mark Boling Trio will be performing music from their most recent recording “Trio Life.” The concert will include original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards with roots in the tradition of the great guitar trios led by Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, John Scofield, and Pat Metheny. Main floor tickets are $15, while students can purchase tickets for $10. Tickets for ��Vlog��ýLR students, faculty, and staff tickets are free and can be picked up at the Department of Music office in the Fine Arts Building or at the door before the concert. The jazz rhythm lecture and demonstration is free and open to the public. Mark Boling is a jazz guitarist, teacher, composer, and author. A veteran sideman with pianist Donald Brown, Boling played in Knoxville-based bands and recorded with Brown on three records for the French label . Boling also enjoyed a rewarding collaboration with drummer Keith Brown and bassist Rusty Holloway in the Boling, Brown, & Holloway trio. Boling was a senior artist-in-residence at the Banff Center International Jazz Workshop, a visiting artist at the Brubeck Institute, and a teacher at Berklee College of Music’s summer guitar program. He received a bachelor’s degree in of music degree from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1981 and a master’s degree in music theory from the University of Tennessee in 1984. Today, Boling is an associate professor of music at the University of Tennessee and serves as coordinator of the jazz studies program. Artspree is funded in part by the ��Vlog��ýLR Chancellor’s Circle and KLRE Classical 90.5. Artspree is a member of the and the.

Playing first (and second) fiddle: ��Vlog��ýLR home to state’s best old-time fiddlers

Shanna Fitzgerald — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 20:24:58 +0000

This was going to be a special night for Everett Elam. He was set to perform during an open mic event at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s East Hall. Even more important: Elam was ready to impress a teenaged state fiddle champion he heard was in the audience. Then Elam dropped his fiddle bow onstage. Then his newly fitted glass eye fell out. “Please do not let this girl see this,” he thought, as he frantically searched for the errant orb. The fiddle champion, Emily Phillips, now a 19-year-old ��Vlog��ýLR student from Mountain View, didn’t observe that scene, but she had taken note of Elam. In fact, she wondered why he kept staring at her. She didn’t realize he was blind. That fall 2014 night, the two ��Vlog��ýLR students began a relationship that went from mentorship, to friendship, to courtship. This year, their association led to a second consecutive in old-time music for Phillips and a second-place finish for Elam, a 27-year-old ��Vlog��ýLR student studying ethnomusicology and Spanish. In less than a year, Elam was getting accolades on a statewide stage for a style of music he never attempted to play before he was introduced to Phillips.

When Everett met Emily

During the open mic night, one of Elam’s friends challenged Phillips to compete with Elam in a fiddle contest on stage. Phillips readily agreed, but Elam was a little hesitant, worried Phillips would “crush” him — “which she did, in some ways,” Elam recalled. Elam consented to the competition, but he had a condition: He got to set the rules. Each fiddler would play one song to make the listeners dance, one to make them sad, and one to make them feel like they were in love. After announcing his melancholy tune, Elam joked, “It’s always night-time for me.” The joke set Phillips at ease. Before that evening, she had never met a blind musician, and she initially wasn’t sure how to interact with him. In keeping with the light mood, Phillips started calling out the names of Elam’s songs as well as hers, impressing audience members and her fellow fiddler with her depth of knowledge. “He was good, but he didn’t play old-time,” said Phillips, who is studying anthropology and Spanish at ��Vlog��ýLR. Old-time music just happens to be Phillips’ passion. Audience members chose Elam as the winner — but he knew better. He quickly handed the victor’s flower to Phillips and delivered a message: “I have to have a lesson from you. I have to learn how to play from you.” Phillips was intrigued. She could tell Elam had talent, “and it was really cool to me that he was interested in old-time.”

Everett Elam

Classically trained Elam, originally from Benton, started playing the violin when he was 10, but he got off to a slow start. “I absolutely hated it,” he recalled. As a child, Elam attempted to tune the instrument and ending up breaking it. Although he stuck with the violin and eventually learned to love it, he often rebelled against the classic-method training he was receiving. He wanted to do his own thing. Two years ago, he joined the , a Little Rock-based band that performs everything from funk to classic rock. He also felt the urge, and the confidence, to compete in a fiddle contest. Elam planned to play, “,” a popular and often-performed showpiece in the bluegrass and contemporary fiddle style. Elam and Phillips laugh about that plan now. A fiddler performing “Orange Blossom Special” in front of judges is a little like a guitarist expecting everyone to be dazzled when he steps into a guitar store and starts playing “Stairway to Heaven,” Elam said. The discerning audience has heard that tune before, and they’re not likely to be impressed. Phillips could play but she won’t. Ever. It’s not that she doesn’t like contemporary and bluegrass music; she just prefers a different style.

Emily Phillips

Connecting with the past Phillips’ passion for old-time fiddle music extends beyond the melodies; she loves the stories about people who played the style and the way the tunes were passed through generations. She mentioned, as an example, a musician who created his own unique method of fiddling because he had to adjust for a missing finger. Years later, others began emulating his technique. “Almost every tune has some personal story,” said Phillips, a ��Vlog��ýLR Donaghey Scholar. “It’s cool to preserve that little tidbit of history.” Phillips’ talent for traditional styles extends beyond the fiddle. In addition to winning back-to-back state fiddle titles, this year she also took first place in the open division of the Developing relationship One of the ways Phillips is preserving old-time music traditions is by giving lessons. She found a willing student in Elam. Even after the two started dating, he kept learning from Phillips. During the summer, Phillips was back home in Mountain View, and Elam stayed in Little Rock. He sent recordings; she critiqued them. The sessions sometimes got intense — they both are talented artists who take their craft seriously — but the progress was tangible. Phillips strives to get things just right. She’ll spend hours listening to a song until she masters every note and nuance. she sometimes repeats the same tune for the entire 2.5-hour drive from her hometown to Little Rock. She takes a similarly thorough approach with Elam. With Phillips’ help, Elam was ready to give one of the best performances of his life by the time he entered the August . Even with that success, the lessons continue — and Phillips isn’t the only teacher. Phillips never considered herself a runner before she met Elam, but in April, she participated in her first half marathon, serving as a guide for her more experienced boyfriend, who was running in his second. Now, jogging is part of their routine. Phillips introduced Elam to old-time music; he introduced her to running. “I’m not sure who got the better end of the deal, but I think he did,” Phillips said.

Snapchat star found everything she wanted at ��Vlog��ýLR

Shanna Fitzgerald — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 21:28:04 +0000

Cyrene Quiamco is right at home. During a recent photo shoot, the 2012 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was as comfortable in front of the camera as she was sharing her thoughts and drawings with thousands of people she’ll likely never meet. On this day, the ��Vlog��ýLR Fine Arts Building was a fitting location — for years, the facility was a second home for Quiamco while she happily worked into the late hours of the night finishing project after project. “I remember staying here until 11,” Quiamco said. As national magazines and social media campaigns for some of the most recognizable brands feature Quiamco, the rest of the world is finding out what Little Rock already knew: Quiamco has talent. The 26-year-old web designer for Verizon and freelance graphic designer has almost always been an artist. Painting and ceramics are particular passions, but so is the Internet — going back to the days of dial-up modems, MySpace and log-in limits. Quiamco now thrives on using her artistry to reach a wider audience. Thanks to social media, her skills are on display for all to see — and more and more people are catching a glimpse. “Internet’s most fascinating” Her work on recently drew the attention of Cosmopolitan magazine, which named Quiamco one of the people. The publication touted her ability to make “$10,000 for 1 snap on Snapchat.” For those unfamiliar with Snapchat, users share photos, videos, text and drawings that disappear from view after a short time, usually 10 seconds. Quiamco, who goes by the handle on all her social media accounts, created , a website that showcases the work of Snapchat artists, giving their creations an extended “11th second” in the spotlight. Quiamco’s fame got a boost after she received a message from someone using an unverified social media account claiming to be , an actor and musician famous for his role in the band. It turned out, it really was him. One of Quiamco’s talents is creating Snapchat art of celebrities, and Jonas was particularly impressed with what she did with his image. His online accolades added to her digital following. Although Quiamco has only had a public Snapchat account for about a year, her social media storytelling led to work with brands like Disney, Bud Light, Burger King, and UNICEF. Companies also hired her to promote movie franchises like “Ice Age,” “Fantastic Four,” and “The Hunger Games”. She’s also scheduled to help show with its social media on Aug. 30 and has been nominated for a — the Streamys are scheduled to be broadcast Sept. 17 on VH1. Often, these gigs involve flights throughout the country for Quiamco and her family. California is an especially frequent destination for Quiamco, whose recent Disneyland work came with company-provided limo transportation and a stay in an upgraded hotel on property. There’s no place like Little Rock Given the corporate locations of these entities, people sometimes hint that it might be time for Quiamco to move. “Everyone says, ‘You’re in Arkansas and you do social media?’” Quiamco said. But Quiamco enjoys traveling, and she appreciates returning home. Little Rock is that home — and has been ever since her mother, Christine Ganzon, moved the family from the Philippines about 20 years ago. Ganzon said what attracted her to Little Rock as a place to raise Quiamco and Ganzon’s younger daughter, Chris-Joy Quiamco, was how peaceful and quiet it was and the reasonable cost of living. Quiamco’s mother continues to enjoy the city, and when it came time for Quiamco to consider universities, Ganzon encouraged her to take a close look at ��Vlog��ýLR. “��Vlog��ýLR is a good school, and they have good scholarships,” Ganzon said. As Quiamco studied the options, ��Vlog��ýLR stood out for the quality of its academic programs, its affordability and its location. “I don’t see why I would spend more money in another state,” Quiamco said, when ��Vlog��ýLR offered everything she was seeking only 10 minutes from her house. She entered ��Vlog��ýLR’s prestigious Donaghey Scholars Program, which paid her tuition and fees and gave her a stipend and financial assistance toward a study abroad program, among other perks. The Donaghey Scholars Program funded her summer studies at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, and she also took a summer program at Hong Kong Polytechnic University that was funded by scholarships from Benjamin A. Gilman International and AsiaLearn. “I think those were really good experiences,” Quiamco said. Eye toward the future Even before she graduated from ��Vlog��ýLR with a focus on graphic design, painting, ceramics and digital graphics, Quiamco was getting noticed. The combination of freelance work and educational-expense savings from scholarships helped her buy a house in Little Rock before her bachelor’s degree commencement. She quickly had a job lined up after graduation, and this year, her sister, a 2015 ��Vlog��ýLR graduate, joined her at Verizon, working at a desk near hers. Quiamco is where she wants to be now, but someday, she hopes to open her own agency. She’s glad she chose ��Vlog��ýLR. It was a rewarding experience, it was close to home, and she had no problem finding a job after graduation. “With the education I got here, I am able to do whatever I want right now,” Quiamco said. “I think I made a right choice.”

Winners of Art Competition announced, pieces on display

Gloria King — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 20:41:03 +0000

Artwork by students taking studio art and design classes in the ��Vlog��ýLR Department of Art is on display until April 19 in Gallery I of the Fine Arts Building. The students submitted their individual work for the Annual Student Competitive. Pieces represent all studio disciplines being taught at ��Vlog��ýLR including drawing and design, painting, printmaking, graphic design and illustration, photography, textiles, metals and furniture design, sculpture, and ceramics. Local artist and master Printmaker, Delita Martin, served as the juror for the competition. Martin received a bachelor of fine arts degree in drawing from Texas Southern University and a master’s degree in drawing and printmaking from Purdue University. The winners were announced at a reception for the students on March 17. Students competed for a variety of awards including the cash and prizes from local companies and scholarships. Sydney Adams earned the Wilma And Jack Diner Scholarship Award of $1000 while Kenneth Guthrie landed the Alexa Mena, Student Competitive Cash Award in the amount of $300. Byron Buslig was awarded the Charles D. Massey Scholarship for $250. The ��Vlog��ýLR Friends Of The Arts awards went to Robert Simons, Benjamin Deaton, Shawnett Thomas, and Spencer Zahrn. See the full list of winners: Local Business Awards Rayna Mackey of Cantrell Gallery) Carmen Bradford of Hearne Fine Art) Wai K. Lo of Gallery 26 Art Supplies And Materials (courtesy of Art Outfitters) Spencer Zahrn Spencer Zahrn Emily Shiell Adam Eastham Douglas Frank (Alman Co.) Starving Artist Awards Nathaniel Roe of Trio’s Restaurant) Carly Fehlberg and Kenneth Guthrie of Boulevard Bread Co. Savanah Johnson and Catherine Kim of The Root Café Cash And Scholarships Friends Of The Arts Purchase Awards Robert Simons for “On Gaines” – $150 Benjamin Deaton for “Shoebox” – $350 Friends Of The Arts Diner Purchase Award Shawnett Thomas for “Wrong Prince” – $125 Spencer Zahrn for “Coven (West)” – $850 Wilma And Jack Diner Scholarship Award Sydney Adams – $1000 Alexa Mena, Student Competitive Cash Award Kenneth Guthrie – $300 Charles D. Massey Scholarship Byron Buslig – $250

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

����Vlog��ýLR’s Joli Livaudais to lead Feed Your Mind Friday Talk

����Vlog��ýLR artists featured in Delta Exhibition

����Vlog��ýLR presents Mark Boling Trio

Playing first (and second) fiddle: ����Vlog��ýLR home to state’s best old-time fiddlers