Davenport, IOWA (July 2012) The Figge Art Museum presents the art talk "NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration" at 7 pm Thursday, July 26. Figge Associate Curator, Dr. Rima Girnius, will lead the talk, which will focus on the diverse artworks in the special exhibition NASA | ART. This exhibition highlights the accomplishments, setbacks and sheer excitement of space exploration during the past five decades. Dr. Girnius' talk is free with Figge membership or paid admission.
This talk is designed to introduce visitors to the artists and ideas presented in the exhibition. In celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2008, NASA collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on this exhibition. Drawn from the collections of NASA and the National Air and Space Museum, NASA | ART features 72 works of art commissioned by the NASA Art Program. NASA's Art Program was established soon after the inception of the U.S. space program in 1958. The selected works span the entire history of NASA and include paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and other media by such artists as Annie Leibovitz, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, William Wegman and Jamie Wyeth.
Dr. Girnius will also discuss the companion exhibition University of Iowa Space Pioneers: 54 Years of Exploration during her talk. This exhibition features spaceflight instruments designed and built at the University of Iowa in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and is integrated into the NASA | ART exhibition. The University of Iowa is considered a pioneer of space research and has received international recognition for the development of spaceflight instruments flown on more than 63 successful missions.
Dr. Rima Girnius has been the Figge Associate Curator since 2008. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from Bryn Mawr College and recently contributed the introductory essay for the catalogue from the current exhibition David Plowden's Iowa (May 12, 2012 - August 26, 2012).
NASA | ART at the Figge Art Museum is generously sponsored by the ALCOA Foundation, John Deere, Genesis Health Systems and Cobham, plc.
NASA | ART was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Community Grant program, funded by MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of "NASA | ART" public programs.
-end-
