Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Courtroom Humor Author Rita Lewis at Indian Springs October 31

Generations Gallery in the Historic Village at Indian Springs is hosting a reception for an exciting new author, Rita Lewis, who just happens to be a Prosecuting Attorney for the State of Georgia in rural Butts County on October 31st from 1:00-3:00 PM.

Rita first ventured to read her collection of "true strories from the courtroom" to the open mike audience at the Writers Conference held every year at the Gallery. The crowd roared with laughter at her dry humor. "Actually, we think she was a little surprised by the response. She had been encouraged by her colleagues to put all of these tales into a book, but when the reception for her manuscript was so rousing, she decided to publish," explains her publisher, Kathy Socha.

Ready now for her first booksigning, the unassuming attorney expects a positive reaction to the true life accounts from her community. " Sometimes you just have to laugh....and it's all
documented; it's all part of the public record," she explains. "Anyone who enjoys Southern Humor will enjoy this peak into the Courtroom."

Generations Gallery is a creative writing and arts center in Middle Georgia. Something new in the Historic Heartland, this Gallery is interested in helping emerging artsists and writers "make their own history." In conjunction with free workshops for writers every Saturday afternoon, the Gallery has helped their writers group publish seven new books this year. Andi Kulp, a principal in Phase One Design Services, an Atlanta firm, started the concept with four friends on a client's invitation to help her build traffic to this unique tourist destination at the entrance to Indian Springs State Park. This is the nation's oldest state park, built by the CCC during the Depression. The natural mineral spring was considered a sacred healing site by the Indians for centuries before the settlers came to Georgia.

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

High Museum of Art Announces Recent Acquisitions

More than 300 Works Added to the Permanent Collection;
Important Gifts to Modern/Contemporary and American Art Departments

The High Museum of Art has recently acquired more than 300 works of art for its African, American, decorative arts and design, European, folk, photography and modern and contemporary collections. Highlights include significant gifts to the modern and contemporary, American, and European art departments. The High also purchased 53 works by Peter Sekaer for its photography department, creating the nation’s most comprehensive holding of works by this artist in a visual arts institution.

“The heart of any museum is its permanent collection,” said David Brenneman, the High’s Director of Collections and Exhibitions. “We are thankful for the continued support and funding for new acquisitions, allowing the Museum to build significant holdings of great art across all departments. We look forward to introducing our public to these new works soon.”

African Art
The highlight of the High’s acquisitions in African art is a late-19th-century staff finial made by an artist from the Akan region of the Ivory Coast. This finial, once topping a staff used to commemorate ancestors, depicts a bearded figure seated on the shoulders of a standing male figure. The staff may have functioned as a portable ancestral shrine, used by a trance diviner to maintain communication with ancestral spirits. The High purchased the work from the estate of Chaim Gross thanks to funding from Fred and Rita Richman. The High also received a gift of 16 Paleolithic and Neolithic stone sculptures from the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, and a gift of a butterfly mask made by Yacouba Bondé of Burkina Faso (currently on view). Begun in 1953, the High’s growing African art collection encompasses approximately 700 works of art, including more than 400 from the collection of Fred and Rita Richman.

American Art
The High received a major gift of 15 paintings and works on paper by various American artists from the estate of Barney “Bim” Franklin. The collection includes works by such artists as John Ferren, Ilya Bolotowsky and George L. K. Morris. More recently, the High purchased Edward Bannister’s “Apple Tree in a Meadow” (ca. 1890) from the Cafritz Collection. The High’s American art collection includes more than 900 works, with notable pieces from the J. J. Haverty Collection.

Decorative Arts and Design
In spring 2009 the High acquired an important “American Bottle Case” (ca. 1800–1830) attributed to North Carolina cabinetmaker Joseph Freeman. This uniquely Southern furniture type will join 34 pieces of pre-1900 Southern furniture in the High’s collection. Also entering the collection is “Insect Icon Tapestry” (2005–2006), a hand-woven tapestry made of metallic and silk thread on a field of freshwater pearls by Atlanta-based textile artist Jon Eric Riis (currently on view). The addition of Dutch designer Joris Laarman’s prototype “Bone Armchair” (2008) to our contemporary design collection anticipates the High’s presentation of the exhibition “European Design Since 1985” in summer 2010. With more than 2,200 objects, the decorative arts collection is the most comprehensive survey of American decorative arts in the Southeast, including major works from The Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection.

Folk Art
New York gallery owners Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco made the High a partial gift of “All About Eve” (ca. 1989). This important late assemblage/painting by William Hawkins will enhance the High’s already significant holdings of Hawkins’s work. From the descendents of Saleta Henry Stansell, the High received a whitework coverlet spun, woven, and embroidered by Stansell from local cotton in Newton County, Georgia (ca. 1815), featuring the the popular Tree of Life motif. The North Carolina artist William Fields donated “Lapis Philosphorum” (ca. 2003), a pastel and prismacolor drawing from his “Illuminations” series. With 769 objects, the folk art department contains one of the nation’s foremost collections of contemporary self-taught and folk art.

European Art
Long-time Atlanta residents and High Museum patrons Michelene and Bob Gerson donated two paintings by Pierre Auguste Renoir, “Woman Arranging Her Hat” (ca. 1890) and “Still-Life with Apples” (ca. 1890). These paintings are the first by Renoir to enter the High’s collection, where they join Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Frederic Bazille. More recently, the Cantor Foundation gave the Museum a bronze sculpture by Rodin. In addition, the High purchased a terracotta portrait of the French painter Jacques-Louis David by François Rude, a rare complete portfolio of etchings by Eugène Delacroix and prints by Honoré Daumier and Pierre Bonnard. Also among the more than 700 objects in the European art collection are Italian works from the 14th through the 18th centuries, donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Modern and Contemporary Art
As part of a program called “50 Works for 50 States,” the New York collectors and donors Herbert and Dorothy Vogel gave the High an important group of modern and contemporary works by such artists as Richard Tuttle, William Anastasi and Stephen Antonakos. The artist Chuck Close presented the Museum with the gift of a color woodcut titled “Self Portrait” (2007). In addition, the High purchased several prints by Martin Puryear and David Driskell. With the opening of the Museum’s expansion in 2005, the High has consistently focused on contemporary acquisitions, with the full modern and contemporary collection now totaling more than 2,300 works.

Photography
At the end of 2008, the High received an extraordinary gift of more than 100 works by photographer Eugène Atget (French, 1857–1927) from anonymous collectors through Peter MacGill of Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York. Additionally, the High purchased 53 works by Peter Sekaer (American, born Denmark, 1901–1950), making the High’s holding of works by this artist the nation’s most comprehensive collection in a visual arts institution. The photography collection contains more than 4,300 prints, with notable examples of every photographic genre and process as well as the nation’s most comprehensive holding of civil rights-era photographs.

High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art, founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States. With more than 11,000 works of art in its permanent collection, the High Museum has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American and decorative art; significant holdings of European paintings; a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The High Museum of Art is also dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art. The High’s media arts department produces acclaimed annual film series and festivals of foreign, independent and classic cinema. In November 2005, the High opened three new buildings by architect Renzo Piano that more than doubled the Museum’s size, creating a vibrant “village for the arts” at the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown Atlanta. For more information about the High, please visit www.High.org.

The Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is ranked among the top four arts centers in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it combines four visual and performing arts divisions on one campus as one not-for-profit organization. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art and Young Audiences. To learn more about the Woodruff Arts Center, please visit www.woodruffcenter.org.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mayor Shirley Franklin to Take Part in the Celebration of the Re-dedication of New Endings in Freedom Park

Artist Diane Kempler to address exciting new location of public art

On Thursday, October 22, Mayor Shirley Franklin, the City of Atlanta, and the Office of Cultural Affairs Public Art division are hosting the rededication of Diane Kempler’s New Endings. The dedication ceremony starts at 11:30 am. New Endings is now located in Freedom Park at Euclid and North Avenues.

New Endings was commissioned in 1996 by the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta, prior to the Olympic Games. The artwork celebrates both the natural environment and the emergence of the City of Atlanta.

“New Endings has a new beginning in its new home in Freedom Park. This new location gives a fresh start and access to a new and different audience. I hope the neighbors in the Freedom Park community enjoy it,” said artist Diane Kempler.

“We have been privileged to work with Central Atlanta Progress and Diane Kempler to find a wonderful home for this treasured artwork. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work that the Offices of Parks and Park Design dedicated to the project. The setting is beautiful,” said Camille Russell Love, Director of the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs.

Diane Kempler has been a professor of ceramics at Emory University since 1997. Kempler received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA and studied at Penland School of Craft in Penland, NC. Kempler’s work has been exhibited in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. Her work can be found in the collections of Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta, GA, American Craft Museum in New York City, and Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. As an artist, Kempler is interested in the dualities of life, such as beginnings and endings, and the ongoing dialogue that they create in the world around us. New Endings is her only public artwork in Atlanta, Georgia.

The City of Atlanta’s Public Art Program worked with the artist and Central Atlanta Progress to relocate this artwork to a location that best suited both parties. In addition to New Endings, there will be several other new art installations around the city this fall.
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Monday, October 19, 2009

Introducing Art a la Carte! A Family Sampler of Atlanta’s Arts & Culture

For the first time, families can sample performances by the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Ballet, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Center for Puppetry Arts – all in one discounted package. Art a la Carte makes it possible to enjoy fun, artistic, and educational performances even in a slow economy.

Art a la Carte allows families to experience the best in Atlanta’s rich arts and culture without breaking the budget. By selecting performances from 3 or more participating organizations, families instantly receive discounts starting at 20% off the regular ticket price. With Art a la Carte you can build your own sampler, place one order, and receive the tickets in a return package. The Art a la Carte package also includes bonus coupons to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the High Museum of Art, and Zoo Atlanta, giving families discounted access to a total of seven arts and cultural organizations.

Experience the variety of family offerings in theatre, dance, visual arts, puppetry arts and cultural offerings throughout the year. Choose from 15 performances and 3 cultural attractions. Art a la Carte makes it as simple as pick, click, and go!

Art a la Carte can be purchased online at www.artalacarteatlanta.org or over the phone by calling the Woodruff Arts Center box office at (404) 733-5000.

Art a la Carte Participating Organizations:

Alliance Theatre – 25% off Atlanta Ballet – 20% off Atlanta Botanical Garden - $3 off adult ticket, $2 off child ticket (up to four tickets) Atlanta Symphony Orchestra – 20% off Center for Puppetry Arts – 25% off High Museum of Art - $3 off (up to four tickets) Zoo Atlanta - $3 off (up to four tickets)
Productions, Dates, & Ticket Prices:

Alliance Theatre:

A Christmas Carol – $20 Nov 27, 28, 29; Dec 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, & 24
Mulan – $15 Feb 28; March 6, 7, 13, & 14
Lookingglass Alice – $20 April 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25; May 1 & 2

Atlanta Ballet:

Pinocchio – $22 - $26 Oct 24 & 25
Nutcracker – $52 - $56 Dec 16, 17, 22, 26, & 27
Cinderella – $52 - $56 Feb 6, 7, & 13

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Halloween Magical Musical Toybox – $12 - $16 Oct 25
Kid’s Christmas – $12 - $16 Dec 6
Classical Clown – $12 - $16 Feb 7
Green Eggs & Ham – $12 - $16 March 14
Peter & the Wolf – $12 - $16 May 9

Center for Puppetry Arts

Dinosaurs – $12 Oct 25, Nov 1, 8, & 15
The Last Dragon on Earth – $12 Dec 5
Rainforest Adventures – $12 Jan 16, 17, 23, & 24
Paul Bunyan & the Tall Tale Medicine Show – $12 April 3 & 10

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Friday, October 16, 2009

Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art to host “The Art of: Music”

The Young at Art committee of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art will host “The Art of: Music” on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 7-9 p.m. at Stan Mullins’ Studio on Pulaski St. in Athens. Art Rosenbaum, a Grammy Award-winning musician and artist, will perform selections of old-time and bluegrass music with some friends. Refreshments will follow the performance.

Art Rosenbaum taught at the University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art for many years and was the subject of a retrospective at the Georgia Museum of Art in 2006. Rosenbaum also received the Georgia Governor’s Award in the Humanities in 2003.

Mullins, a local artist and former student of Rosenbaum’s, uses an old cottonseed oil refinery as studio space. Mullins’ art has taken him many places, including Rwanda and Kyoto. He has worked with CowParade, the band Creed and “That 70s Show.”

“The Art of” series consists of entertaining and educational events that celebrate craft beyond the traditional fine arts, such as gardening, cinema, beer brewing and more. Young at Art, the host of the event, is a committee made up of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art between the ages of 25 and 40 that organizes and sponsors special events. “The Art of” series also is part of “GMOA on the Move,” a two-year series of state- and nationwide offsite exhibitions and programs. The museum’s Carlton St. location is currently closed due to construction, but “GMOA on the Move” is keeping the museum active in the Athens community and beyond.

For Friends of the GMOA, the event is $15 per person. For non-members, the event is $20 per person. Parking will be available across the street in the Leathers Building parking lot. Call 706/542-0830 for more information and reservations by Oct. 16. Mullins and the Athens Blur Magazine are sponsoring this event.

Museum Information

Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the Arch Foundation and the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton Street, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602. The museum’s galleries and shop are now closed for construction of the museum’s expansion. Events and programming are continuing while the museum is under construction as part of “GMOA on the Move,” a series of off-site events and exhibitions. For more information and event times and locations, see www.uga.edu/gamuseum or call 706/542-GMOA.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Celebrate History at Cowboy Festival

/PRNewswire/ -- October 22 - 25, the Booth Western Art Museum will host the 7th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Festival and Symposium, the South's largest celebration of Western art. Special guests for this year's event include artist Buck McCain and cowboy poet Baxter Black.

The weekend begins Thursday evening, October 22 with a lecture by McCain, a fifth generation rancher equally well known for his paintings and sculpture. On Friday, McCain will present a daylong art workshop at the Booth Art Academy.

The theme for this year's art symposium is "Western Art in Context." On Friday art curators Jerry Smith, Phoenix Art Museum; Dr. Graham Boettcher, Birmingham Museum of Art; Anne Morand, C. M. Russell Museum; Mindy Besaw, Buffalo Bill Historical Center; and Dr. Stephen Graffe, Maryhill Art Museum will discuss Western art in American art galleries, the exhibition of Native American artifacts and more.

Throughout the rest of the weekend guests can enjoy concerts Friday and Saturday, re-enactments of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, children's activities, chuck wagon cooking, Native American dancing, cowboy church and living history encampments. All activities take place on the grounds of the Booth Museum or at the Grand Theatre, both located in downtown Cartersville.

The Cowboy Festival and Symposium celebrates America's rich Western heritage. The Booth Museum's Executive Director Seth Hopkins said, "The Symposium is a unique opportunity for area residents to experience the West without leaving the South. Those attending the event will hopefully come away with a greater appreciation of our Western experience as it is portrayed in the Museum's collections. There are plenty of fun and entertaining activities planned for all ages, but we also want to emphasize the educational aspect of each activity that will be part of the weekend."

The Booth Museum was recently expanded to 120,000 square feet of space and has more gallery space dedicated to Western art than any museum in the country. Guests at the museum explore the American West primarily through the work of living artists. Recent additions include historic Western art borrowed from museums across the country and an exhibition of Native American artifacts. The Museum also features a Presidential Gallery, a Civil War art gallery, and Sagebrush Ranch - a children's interactive gallery.

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Saturday, October 3, 2009

High Launches New Web Content for Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition

Features Highlights from the Exhibition and Sforza Horse Installation Time-lapse Video

The High recently launched new web content for the ‘Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius” exhibition. The special web section features an introductory video, highlights from the exhibition, as well as time-lapse video of the installation the Sforza Horse Monument outside the Museum. Visitors can access the website at http://www.high.org/leonardo. “Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius” exhibition opens on Tuesday, October 6, with a free preview of the exhibition on Monday, October 5 from noon to 7p.m. (last ticket sold at 6 p.m).

After a month-long journey by container ship from Italy, and by truck from Savannah to Atlanta, the modern re-creation of Leonardo’s Sforza horse arrived at the High on September 21. For five days, an international crew of more than ten Italians and Atlantans gathered on the High’s Sifly Piazza to assemble the replica, which is made up of six pieces of special resin treated to look like bronze. The 26-foot-high model, together with its base, weighs about 40,000 pounds, or twenty tons, and illustrates what the horse component of the Sforza monument might have looked like if Leonardo had been able to complete it.

“Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius” will feature approximately 50 works, including more than 20 sketches and studies by Leonardo, some of which will be on view in the United States for the first time. The exhibition will also feature work by Donatello, Rubens, Verrocchio, and Rustici. Also included are works from world-renowned collections, including those of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Vatican Museums, the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence.

The exhibition is organized by the High Museum of Art in association with the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and in collaboration with the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, Italy.

The exhibition is generously supported by Lead Corporate Partner Delta Air Lines and sponsor Campanile Plaza. Support has also been provided by The Samuel H. Kress Foundation and Leonardo Society members Loraine P. Williams, Mrs. Thornton Kennedy, Lanier-Goodman Foundation, Morgens West Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. Gary W. Rollins, with additional support from the Atlanta Foundation and the Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Generous support for the Sforza horse is provided by Art Partners. In-kind support comes from Superior Rigging and UPS. Restoration of Rustici’s “John the Baptist Preaching to a Levite and a Pharisee” from the façade of the Baptistery in Florence was sponsored by the Friends of Florence.
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Friday, October 2, 2009

Local Musicians Team up for Picnic in the Park in Savannah

A special group of local musicians will headline this year’s “Picnic in the Park with Mercer” taking place in Forsyth Park on Sun., Oct. 4, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Coastal Jazz Association Hall of Fame Inductee, Teddy Adams, and Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) Music Professor Dr. Randall Reese, organized the group that will perform many of Johnny Mercer’s classic songs in honor of the Johnny Mercer Centennial.

“Mercer provides such a rich collection of material, we could have put together several concerts,” said Reese. “We've chosen some familiar tunes, but also some great songs that have been overlooked in the past. Also, each of the singers suggested material that they would like to perform, so the song choices will give the audience some insight into the personalities of the performers.”

The Picnic in the Park Mercer Band is made up of local musicians from Savannah and will also feature the vocal talents of Trae Gurley, Roger Moss, Gina Rene' and Huxsie Scott. The Savannah Arts Academy Orchestra and the Skyelite Jazzband will also perform, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

“I'm very excited about the group we’ve put together. They’ve got a lot of experience and talent. As an arranger, I am confident that they can take my ideas off the page and bring them to life,” Reese said.

The big band style group will perform two sets beginning at 7 p.m. and is made up of the following local talents:

Teddy Adams, trombone, member of the Savannah Jazz Orchestra and inductee into the Savannah/Coastal Jazz Association Hall of Fame

Dr. Randall Reese, woodwinds and music arrangement, member of the Savannah Jazz Orchestra, Associate Professor at AASU (Music Department)

Eric Jones, piano, AASU graduate, presently pursuing a Masters in music composition at Georgia Southern University

Dr. Steve Primatic, vibraphone, Associate Professor at AASU (Music Department), drummer for the Savannah Jazz Orchestra

Delbert Felix, bass, national recording artist, formerly with Branford, Ellis, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis

Kirk Lee, trumpet and flugel horn, lead trumpeter with the Savannah Jazz Orchestra

Bruce Spradley, guitar, jazz and classical teacher, music teacher in Savannah/Chatham County Public Schools

Eric Vaughn, drums, national recording artist, entrepreneur

Mike Nestor, baritone saxophone, AASU graduate, music teacher in Savannah/Chatham Public Schools.

Jeremy Davis, tenor saxophone, leader of the Equinox Jazz Orchestra, promoter

The event will also include a Mercer themed picnic contest; registration is free and open from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. The picnic contest winners will be announced during the Picnic in the Park Mercer Band’s intermission. For more information about the Picnic Contest, please contact Meaghan Walsh at (912)525-5025 or meaghanwalsh81@gmail.com.

Picnic in the Park Schedule of Events
(Times are approximate)
3:00 - 5:00 PM - Picnic Competition Registration
5:00 - 6:30 PM - Picnic Competition Judging
4:30 – 5:15 PM - Savannah Arts Academy Orchestra Performance
5:45 - 6:30 PM - Savannah Arts Academy Skyelite Jazz Band Performance
7:00 – 9:00 PM – Picnic in the Park Mercer Band & Vocalists

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