20 Sep 2011

Girl Scouts Workshops offered at Figge

By Susan Horan
Art workshops earn Area Girl Scouts New Patch

Davenport, Iowa - September 2011 - In collaboration with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, the Figge is hosting several art workshops and introducing a new FUN patch for area Girl Scouts.  The FUN patch program was designed as an alternative to the longer badge programs currently available through the Figge.  "We worked with the Girl Scout leadership experience coordinator to revamp the long badge programs," said Lynn Gingras-Taylor, Creative Arts Coordinator at the Figge.

Girl Scouts earn badges by participating in events that can sometimes last up to four hours. The FUN patch workshops are just two hours, with the first half hour spent on a docent-led tour of the museum's permanent collections. Tours are highlighted by art works that relate to the workshop's accompanying activity.  There are four FUN patch workshops currently available, one each for Daisy Scout, Brownie, Junior and Cadette/Senior/Ambassador levels.  Each workshop has a unique focus with studio activities that enhance and support the workshop theme.

In addition to the FUN patch workshops, the Figge offers longer workshops that Girl Scouts can participate in for badges. These workshops are 90 minutes to 3 hours long depending on the ages of the Girl Scouts and can be arranged at anytime throughout the year.  "Art helps you look at the world in a new way, it let's your mind breathe, " said Gingras-Taylor, underscoring the importance of the Girl Scouts programs at the Figge.

To learn more about Girl Scouts activities offered by the Figge and workshop registration, please contact the GSEIWI website (www.gseiwi.org) or the Figge website (www.figgeartmuseum.org).

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday's noon to 5 p.m. and Thursdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.  To contact the museum, please call 563-326-7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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19 Sep 2011

Figge announces Haitian art exhibition

By Susan Horan

(Davenport, Iowa - September, 2011) The Figge Art Museum will open the exhibition Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art on Saturday, September 17, 2011. Organized by the Figge Art Museum, the exhibition features works from the museums extensive Haitian Collection and will run through January 15, 2012.

Located in the Caribbean on the western third of the island of Hispaniola, Haiti has endured a turbulent and often bloody political history that has left the republic destitute and vulnerable to environmental disasters. Colonial rule and a series of corrupt and exploitative governments squandered the natural riches of the land and depleted its financial resources. Despite such hardships Haiti has developed a flourishing artistic tradition that speaks to the vitality of Haitian culture. Ranging from vibrant paintings to sculpture created from reused oil drums, the exhibition Restoring the Spirit- Celebrating Haitian Art pays homage to Haiti's rich visual traditions and the indomitable spirit of the Haitian people in the face of adversity.

Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art is the Figge's second exhibition of Haitian art; the 2006 exhibition, Edouard Duval-Carrié: Migration of the Spirit, featured works by Miami based Haitian artist Edouard Duval-Carrié.  Works by Duval-Carrié will be featured in the current exhibition and the artist will host an Art Talk at the Figge on Thursday, October 13.  For further information on the exhibition and related programming, visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Figge's Haitian Collection is one of the first and most comprehensive collections of Haitian art in the United States.  The collection was established through a gift from Davenport native Dr. Walter E. Neiswanger and charts the growth and development of the country's rich artistic tradition from its origins in the 1940s through today.

Support for Restoring the Spirit has been provided by the Iowa Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, and Ralph and Jennifer Saintfort.

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays 12-5 p.m. and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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19 Sep 2011

Figge Art Museum Offers Free Admission on Smithsonian Magazine's Seventh Annual Museum Day

By Susan Horan

Davenport, IA – On Saturday, September 24, 2011, the Figge Art Museum will participate in the seventh annual Museum Day. The Museum will join other participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge to all visitors who download the Museum Day Ticket from Smithsonian.com. Museum Day is a celebration of the dissemination of knowledge to anyone and everyone interested, without a price tag, emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution's Washington, DC-based facilities.

With support from CITGO, Museum Day 2011 is poised to be the largest to date, outdoing last year's record-breaking event. In 2010, museum goers downloaded 227,747 tickets resulting in more than 500,000 museum-goers visiting over 1,300 venues in all 50 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.

Museum Day will give visitors the opportunity to see the Figge's new "Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art" exhibition. Also on view will be "Turn of the Century Posters from the Krannert Art Museum Collection" and "Everything, All at One, Forever," as well as the Museum's permanent collection and the ongoing exhibition " A Legacy for Iowa: Pollock's Mural and Modern Masterworks from the University of Iowa Museum of Art".  For more information about Figge exhibitions, please visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

 

The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.

A list of participating museums is available at www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day 2011 and links to participating museums' and supporters' sites, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

 

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, opened August 6, 2005. The award-winning building designed by architect David Chipperfield holds a collection of approximately 3,500 works that reflect artistic styles and developments from the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial, and Haitian art.  The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday throughSaturday, Sundays 12-5 p.m.and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

About Smithsonian Media
Smithsonian Media comprises Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media's flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, is one of the nation's largest magazines with a circulation of more than 2 million and nearly 7 million readers. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2010.

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31 Aug 2011

Iconic Turn of the Century Posters at the Figge

By Susan Horan

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 - On Saturday, September 3, an exhibition of original nineteenth century posters from the Krannert Art Museum will open at the Figge Art Museum.  The exhibition highlights original posters by artists including Pierre Bonnard, Alphonse Mucha, Jan Toorop, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and illustrates how artists utilized lithography for different purposes and with varying regional stylistic characteristics.

In the late nineteenth century, the rise of color lithography along with an increasing demand for advertisements presented artists with an alternative space to exhibit their artworks. Mass-produced posters ranged from large-scale ads for consumer products such as lamp oil and bicycles, to promotional materials for cabaret performances at the Moulin Rouge or the Divan Japonais. Artists were also sought after to create intimate, small-scale prints for literary journals, playbills, and exhibition announcements, enabling their art and reputations to reach an ever-broadening audience.

The Figge will host a number of events in conjunction with this exhibition.  On Wednesday, September 7, Figge docents will lead an Art Lovers Book Club discussion at 1pm in the Figge's Arts Café.  The club will discuss Toulouse-Lautrec: Scenes of the Night by Claire Freches-Throy and Jose Freches; this compassionate narrative is combined with reminiscences of the artist's friends to vividly evoke Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's tragic, bohemian life.

A public reception for the exhibition will be held on Thursday, September 8 at 6pm.  A cocktail reception will begin at 6pm and at 7pm Kathryn Koca Polite, the exhibition curator from the Krannert Art Museum, will lead a talk that will explain how posters reflect changes in society and how the new technical developments in lithography inspired painters to use the largely commercial medium for artistic purposes.  Following the talk, Joseph Lappie and Allison Filley from St. Ambrose University will introduce lithography, and provide an opportunity to draw on lithographic stones and plates.

On Thursday, September 15 at 7pm Dr Dorothy Johnson will offer the art talk "Entertaining Visions: Toulouse-Lautrec and Fin-de-Siècle Paris".  This talk will explore the fascinating career of Toulouse-Lautrec with particular emphasis on his engagement with the entertainment culture of Montmartre in fin-de-siècle Paris.   On September 22, Zaiga Thorson will lead a gallery talk at 7pm that will highlight elements of good design demonstrated in the exhibition.

Families are invited to a Free Family Event on October 1 from 1-4pm to celebrate the exhibition with studio art activities, stories, refreshments and more.  This event is sponsored by John Deere and Butler Insurance Services.

This exhibition and its programs are supported, in part, by Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities Iowa or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Turn of the Century Posters from the Krannert Art Museum Collection is curated by Kathryn Koca Polite, organized by Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and sponsored in part by Illinois Arts Council, a State Agency; Krannert Art Museum Director's Circle; and Krannert Art Museum Council.

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays noon to 5pm and Thursdays 10 am to 9pm.  To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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30 Aug 2011

INNOVATIVE DESIGNS BY IOWA STATE UNVIERSITY STUDENT ARCHITECTS ON DISPLAY AT THE FIGGE

By Susan Horan

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 - Architecture students in Iowa State University's College of Design created designs for the construction of a fictional museum in Columbus, Indiana's already architecturally diverse community and a selection of those designs will be on view at the Figge Art Museum starting September 3 in the exhibition, Innovative Objects of Design: Museum Proposals for Columbus, Indiana.  The student exhibition was preempted by a tour of the Figge last fall as part of a senior design course. Students were asked to design architecture based on several factors: creating an environment that goes beyond the traditional museum structure and one that has the ability to both stand out and blend in to a community that is already known for its architecture. Of the 75 proposed designs, only ten were chosen for display at the Figge.  

   

The exhibition will be on display in the Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery from September 3 until October 23. An exhibition reception is scheduled from 2-4 pm Saturday, September 24. At 2 pm, Rod Kruse, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal at BNIM Architects, will give a talk entitled, "Design Reflections." A second talk, "Eponymous Exhibition: Developing Innovative Objects of Design," will be presented by Rob Whitehead, AIA, LEEP AP, Principal at Whitehead Design Workshop and lecturer at Iowa State University Department of Architecture, and curator ofInnovative Objects of Design. The two short talks will last about an hour, and will be followed by a reception.  

   

With its strong commitment to art and design education, the Figge is committed to exhibiting the highest quality student work by area students in the Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery. Innovative Objects of Design was sponsored by Iowa State University, College of Design, and selected Department of Architecture students.  All exhibitions in the Mary Waterman Gildehaus Community Gallery are sponsored by the Brand Boeshaar Foundation Fund.  

   

Figge admission is $7. Admission to the talks and reception is free to Iowa State University students and alumni and their guests.  

   

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays noon to 5pm and Thursdays 10 am to 9pm.  To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visitwww.figgeartmuseum.org.  

 

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23 Aug 2011

LEARN HOW YOU CAN BECOME A TOUR GUIDE AT THE FIGGE

By Susan Horan

Information session offered Wednesday, August 24

The Figge Art Museum is offering an information session on the museum's Candidate Docent Training Program at 10:30 am Wednesday, August 24. Docents are volunteers who lead exhibition tours for schoolchildren and adults. Museum staff will explain the program requirements and answer questions prospective docents may have about the program. The information session will last about an hour.

The Candidate Docent Training Program consists of art history talks, gallery talks, and group activities to learn how to talk about and help visitors appreciate works of art on display in the Figge galleries. The program runs 9:30-11:30 Wednesday, September 14-December 7. The program is taught by Figge Curator of Education Ann Marie Hayes-Hawkinson, guest lecturers, and Figge docents who serve as mentors.

For more information about the Figge's Docent Program, please visit the Figge website at www.figgeart.org.

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15 Aug 2011

GRANT WOOD ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY AT FIGGE

By Susan Horan

Items include cameo brooch worn in American Gothic

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 - Now on view at the Figge Art Museum is a selection of treasured artifacts that once belonged to Grant Wood, the artist of one of America's most famous paintings American Gothic (1930). Included in the new display is the "Persephone" cameo broach, worn by his sister who posed for American Gothic, Wood's trademark glasses along with those belonging to his father, Francis Maryville Wood, a copper picture frame made by Grant Wood containing a photo of Wood in his WWI army uniform, the Wood family bible and Wood's paint brushes and palette, easel, and other artifacts from Wood's life.

In addition to the artifacts from the Grant Wood Archive, a recently re-discovered oil sketch by Wood of an Italian village can be viewed in the Regionalist gallery. The painting, on loan from a private collection, was a gift from Wood to John Naughton, then the WPA administrator for the State of Iowa who oversaw several of Wood's mural commissions.  Earlier this year, the Figge's Andrew Wallace received an inquiry from someone who believed that they might be in possession of a Grant Wood painting. After studying a photograph of Grant Wood's Cedar Rapids studio, it was confirmed that the painting was the same as one visible in the studio photograph.  The atypical oil sketch is thought to have been painted during Wood's visit to Italy in 1923-24 and may, in fact, depict a bordello.  This is the first time this painting has been on view to the public.

The Figge's Grant Wood Archives have been a source of study and research by several Grant Wood scholars including R. Tripp Evans, professor of art history at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, whose Grant Wood: A Life, was published last year and is now on sale in the Figge Art Museum store.

Associate Curator, Rima Girnius along with the Collections Department worked diligently to present these artifacts and the rediscovered painting to the public. The artifacts and the painting join several other Wood's paintings, including his only painted self-portrait on view in the Figge's American Regionalist Gallery.

Nan Wood Graham collected her brother's artwork, ephemera and memorabilia for 60 years. In 1964, the Davenport Museum of Art purchased Grant Wood's personal collection of paintings, drawings, artist materials, family photographs, and a complete set of all 19 of Wood's lithographs from Nan Wood Graham. The Figge is also home to 18 scrapbooks and what is believed to be Wood's last sketch, Iowa Landscape. The Grant Wood Collection and Archives are now comprised of 249 objects from her collection.

For more information, contact the Figge Art Museum at 563.326.7804.  The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday's noon to 5pm and Thursdays 10 am to 9pm.  To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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15 Aug 2011

FIGGE HOSTS RECYCLED ART OUTREACH ACTIVITY AT RIVER ROOTS LIVE

By Susan Horan

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 -The Figge Art museum will host River ARTS Live, a free walk-in art project at River Roots Live on Saturday, August 20 from noon to 6pm.  Event attendees are invited to stop by the Figge's art tent in the Junior Jam area to create sculptures out of plastic materials recovered from the Mississippi River during Living Lands and Waters' XStream Cleanup. This art activity is inspired by the work of artist Aurora Robson, whose intricate and colorful sculpture Up Drop is currently on display in the Figge lobby. Robson up-cycles everyday waste to create intricate and brilliantly colored hanging sculptures. The Figge's fall exhibition, Everything, All at Once, Forever, will feature additional original plastic debris sculptures by Robson.

The outreach program is sponsored by Iowa American Water, and is offered in partnership with Living Lands and Waters and the QC Chamber.

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays noon to 5pm and Thursdays 10 am to 9pm.  To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

River Roots Live is a free event in Le Claire Park in Downtown Davenport and is presented by the Downtown Partnership, a division of Quad City Chamber.  

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11 Aug 2011

THURSDAYS AT THE FIGGE FEATURES FREE ART ACTIVITIES AND MUSIC BY ELLIS KELL

By Susan Horan

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 -The Figge will host free art activities on Thursday, August 11 and Thursday, August 18 from 6pm to 7:30pm.  The art activities are offered in conjunction with the current exhibition, The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Chair Design.  On August 11, participants will be able to make prints of iconic chairs, many of which are featured in the exhibition.  On August 18, participants will be able to make miniature chair models.  No drawing skills or previous art-making experience are needed to participate in these free activities. 

The Figge is offering these activities as part of their "Thursdays at the Figge" weekly program.  This unique program gives museum visitors the opportunity to experience the Figge in a fun, social atmosphere.  Every Thursday the Figge offers an art talk or activity and live music.  Each Thursday in August Ellis Kell will perform from 5:30pm until 7pm in the lobby.  The Arts Café in the museum dining room and the bar are also open for dinner service and cocktails.  The Figge remains open until 9pm on Thursdays.

Admission to the museum is not required to participate in these art activities.  Regular admission applies for admittance to the galleries and special exhibitions. 

The Art of Seating is sponsored by Sears Manufacturing, Paragon Commercial Interiors, Inc., and Rick Bowers.

The Art of Seating is developed by the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville and the Jacobsen Collection of American Art; tour organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C.

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11 Aug 2011

RME AND FIGGE PARTNER TO MAKE SOME ARTFUL MUSIC

By Susan Horan

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 -The Figge Art Museum and the River Music Experience will host the family workshop "Art of Percussion" on Saturday, August 13 from 10am to 2pm.  Families will enjoy a fun, creative day at the Figge beginning with an entertaining performance of Native American music and stories presented by Larry Lockwood on the Figge plaza. Afterwards, participants will create cool and colorful rain sticks, drums, maracas and other shakers and noise makers out of recycled materials in the Figge Studios, and then play these percussion instruments in a musical procession to neighboring River Music Experience. Terry Hanson and fellow musician Ellis Kell will lead a mega drum circle, working out dynamic rhythms and beats.

Schedule:
10 am                       Registration 
10:15 - 10:45am       Native American stories and music on Figge plaza
10:45am-12pm        Instrument building in Figge Studios

12 - 12:30pm            Lunch break

12:30pm                   Musical procession to River Music Experience
12:45 - 2pm              Drum circle at River Music Experience

The fee for this workshop is $10 per family.  This workshop is appropriate for children of all ages; an adult must be present for each family.  Families can pre-register by contacting Heather at 563.326.7804 x 2045 or haaronson@figgeartmuseum.org; day of registration will be available in the Figge lobby at 10am. Families should pack a sack lunch. 

This workshop is in partnership with River Music Experience and supported with Quad City Arts Dollar$ funds, provided by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, the Doris and Victor Day  Foundation, the John Deere Foundation, the Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Charitable Trust, Quad City Arts Partners and Festival of Trees.

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