Davenport, Iowa (August 2012) The Figge Art Museum will present the talk "The History of the Space Suit" at 7pm on Thursday, August 9.  The talk, presented by Dr. Cathleen S. Lewis, will utilize a slide presentation to take participants on a historical tour through the National Air and Space Museum's spacesuit collection. During the art talk guests will learn why space suits were developed, how and by whom and what the elusive standard of creating a form-fitting spacecraft that allows a human to do most anything that he or she can do on Earth really means.  This talk is offered in conjunction with the current exhibition "NASA | ART 50 Years of Exploration" and is sponsored by KWQC-TV6.

Dr. Lewis is Curator of International Space Programs and Spacesuits at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, specializing in Soviet and Russian programs.  Lewis has completed both bachelor's and a master's degrees in Russian and East European Studies at Yale University and completed her dissertation for her PhD in History, "The Red Stuff: A History of the Public and Material Culture of Early Human Spaceflight in the USSR, 1959-1968," at George Washington University in 2008.

Her current research is on the history of the public and popular culture of Russian fascination with the idea of human spaceflight in the Soviet Union.  She has written about the artifacts in the Smithsonian's Soviet and Russian collection and has published articles comparing the Soviet and American approaches to exhibiting spaceflight during the Space Race and the history of film portrayals of spaceflight prior to Yuri Gagarin's historic flight.  She is also working on a comparative history of the development of American and Russian spacesuits.

NASA | ART: 50 Years of Exploration presents an unparalleled selection of works commissioned by the NASA Art Program. Ranging from the illustrative to the abstract, more than 70 diverse artworks highlight the accomplishments, setbacks, and sheer excitement of space exploration over the past five decades.

NASA | ART 50 Years of Exploration was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  The exhibition is sponsored locally by ALCOA, John Deere and Cobham, plc. The Smithsonian Community Grant program, funded by MetLife Foundation, is a proud sponsor of this public program.

The Muscatine Art Center is pleased to announce a gift to the permanent collection of twenty-six prints and drawings by American artist Beth Van Hoesen from the E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Trust of San Francisco, California.  Van Hoesen was known for her detailed and technically masterful drawings and prints, and the gifted work includes the medias of graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, aquatint, etching, drypoint, engraving, and lithography.

Born in Boise, Idaho in 1926, Van Hoesen studied art at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. After graduating from Stanford she studied art in France and later at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute).

In a career spanning more than five decades Beth Van Hoesen created a remarkable body of graphic art. At a time when most contemporary art was conceptual or abstract, she chose to pursue drawing and printmaking in an academic manner, reminiscent of  the centuries old tradition of draftsmanship that includes the work of Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein.

Van Hoesen's depiction of flowers has many antecedents in the still-life tradition. The prints and drawings that are included in the gift to the Muscatine Art Center all depict flowers, either solo, where they are almost portrait-like and evocative of the flowers done by Georgia O'Keeffe; or in her delicate, but more formal still-lives such as her suites of prints entitled "Cups of Flowers" where she concerns herself with the small pleasures of the arrangement and the decorative elements of the cups.

Museums with works by Beth Van Hoesen in their collections include the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Art Institute of Chicago, Boise Art Museum; Brooklyn Museum; Cincinnati Art Museum; Honolulu Academy of Arts; Smithsonian Institution; University Museums, Iowa State University; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and numerous other institutions.

A special exhibition of the prints and drawings of Beth Van Hoesen that have been gifted to the Muscatine Art Center is scheduled February 1- March 31, 2013 in the Musser Museum Gallery of the Muscatine Art Center.

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Governor Reynolds, Board of Regents President Craig Lang, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Administrator Mark Schouten, and University of Iowa President Sally Mason today released the below statements upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) official response to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General report on the replacement decisions for the University of Iowa's Hancher Voxman Clapp and Art Building East facilities.  The official FEMA response to the OIG report reaffirms FEMA's commitment to moving forward with replacing these important facilities.

Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds issued the following joint statement:  "We are glad FEMA has stood by their previous commitments to the State and the University of Iowa.  Common sense seems to be gaining the upper hand in this Federal policy dispute.  We recently surpassed the four-year anniversary of the flooding event and the University's recovery from the 2008 floods cannot be delayed further.  We appreciate the Iowa congressional delegation's active involvement in this issue and FEMA leadership's openness to discuss our concerns regarding continued delays."

Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds continued:  "Today we wrote Secretary Napolitano asking for a final decision from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to end this Federal bureaucratic squabble soon and allow the University of Iowa to fully recover from the historic 2008 floods."

Board of Regents President Craig Lang stated the following:  "The Board of Regents thanks FEMA for reinforcing its commitment to flood recovery at the University of Iowa.  The Board greatly appreciates the contributions of Iowa's congressional delegation, the Governor's office and Iowa Homeland Security in reaffirming the critical nature of this funding for the University's recovery.  With the passage of four years since the devastating flooding on the UI campus, we must avoid further delays in the restoration of the Arts Campus, for our students and for the citizens of Iowa.  The process has been at intermission for too long.  It is time to proceed toward the last act."

University of Iowa President Sally Mason said:  "Speaking for the entire University, particularly our 31,000 students, we are very pleased with the forceful reaffirmation from FEMA's national leadership to replace Hancher, the School of Music and Art Building East.  We continue to be extremely grateful and thankful for the support of Governor Branstad, our congressional delegation, the Board of Regents and the Office of Iowa Homeland Security."

Mark Schouten, Administrator of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division, stated the following: "We appreciate that FEMA leadership has reaffirmed previous decisions by FEMA Region VII to replace the Hancher Voxman Clapp and Art Building East facilities.  This brings the University of Iowa one step closer to moving forward on replacing these important facilities.  We stand ready to answer any questions from Secretary Napolitano and we stand firm in our belief that the FEMA interpretation is sound and the most cost-effective path forward. The Governor has discussed this matter with Administrator Fugate multiple times and the Lt. Governor recently visited the damaged facilities on the University of Iowa campus.  We are all appreciative of the bipartisan support from our congressional delegation on this issue.  It's high time for this issue to be resolved and for these buildings to be replaced."

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