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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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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At The Phoenix Fine Art Gallery in Moline:
Please come:
Friday, August 26th. 6.00 p.m.
Vernissage ( opening reception)  for  Artists Zachary Cleve and Emma Farber for their show "Stepping in, Looking Through," a two-person fine arts exhibition with paintings
that explore themes of isolation, obstacles, communication and personal development.

The reception will be held from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, and is open to the public. 
About the Artists:
Zachary Cleve was born in 1986 in Davenport, Iowa. He graduated with bachelor's degrees in painting and sociology from Saint Ambrose University in 2010, culminating in a senior honors exhibition in his final semester. Zachary has facilitated figure drawing sessions at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, been a teaching assistant, and participated in numerous group exhibitions.

Emma Farber was born in 1988 in Moline, Illinois. She is graduating this winter from Saint Ambrose university with degrees in painting and graphic design, with a minor in art history. She will have her senior honors show this December.

The medium for the paintings are Oil on Canvas.
Certificates of  authenticity and provenance for all art sold throught the Phoenix Fine Art Gallery is provided with all sales.
The Phoenix Fine Art Gallery is at 1530 Fifth Ave. Moline.
First floor of the Moline Club building, corner of  5th. Ave and 16th. Street.

In connection with the current PENCIL exhibit at the German American Heritage Center and Museum, the Book Discussion Group will discuss the book "The Pencil" written by Henry Petroski. The discussion will be led by St. Ambrose University Professor Michael Hustedde.

 

Petroski's witty and unexpected history of the pencil includes a wide range of characters: from the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau, and Toulouse Lautrec, who declared, "I am a pencil", to the great nineteenth-century manufacturing families, such as Dixon and Faber. Petroski charmingly celebrates the design history of one of mankind's most essential, and yet undervalued tools.


 

The program will be held at the German American Heritage Center and Museum, 712 West 2nd Street. Davenport, at 2:00 on Sunday, August 28th.

 

Free to members, free to non-members with museum admission.

 

See the pencil art and collections on display at GAHC.

Watch for information regarding the visit to the Quad-Cities of the author Henry Petroski.

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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WHAT:   Quad   City   Arts Art @ the Airport

WHEN:          September 1- October 26, 2011   

WHERE:       Quad City International Airport Gallery,   2200 69th Ave. ,  Moline ,  IL    

WHO:             Michael Johnson, photography and Donald Noon, sculpture  

In September and October, Art @ the Airport features photography by Michael Johnson and sculptures & drawings by Donald Noon.

Michael Johnson of   Mount Carroll  Illinois   is a photographer that has forty continuous years of studying the landscape of  Northwestern Illinois . He spends most of my time looking at the land and planning the finished image before photographing his image. His beautiful large prints emphasize the rich complexity and specific qualities of light. When planning the appropriate motif, Johnson requires a suitable pattern of shadow and light which can take weeks or months to evaluate and find in the right combination to resolve the composition.

Donald M.  Noon  of   Streator  Illinois   is a sculptor whose work strives to evoke the viewer through reflection and the use of amorphous shapes that stem from Native American culture.  Noon  will be exhibiting his dramatic sculptures based of Monoliths, which have carried spiritual, religious and scientific significance throughout the course of mankind. His sculptures and drawings aim to conjure the significance of this beyond the formal aspects of composition.

Both artists focus on the history and significance of life. One artist addresses the natural beauty and journal of  Northwestern Illinois  landscapes, and the other on the spiritual and human significance of the Native American culture.

Don't miss this is exhibit just because you don't have a plane to catch-the lights in the gallery are always on and the airport offers free parking for the first hour. Meet a friend for lunch and enjoy the art! Quad City International airport gallery is easy to access with one hour of free parking to allow plenty of time to browse the exhibit.

Quad City Arts is a nonprofit local arts agency dedicated to the growth and vitality of the Quad City region through the presentation, development, and celebration of the arts and humanities. All Quad City Arts programs are funded in part by Festival of Trees, Quad City Arts Partners and operating grants from the Illinois Arts Council (a state agency) and the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. This gallery and exhibit is generously sponsored by the Quad CityInternational Airport.

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In connection with the current PENCIL exhibit at the German American Heritage Center and Museum, the Book Discussion Group will discuss the book "The Pencil" written by Henry Petroski. The discussion will be led by St. Ambrose University Professor Michael Hustedde.

 

Petroski's witty and unexpected history of the pencil includes a wide range of characters: from the American philosopher Henry David Thoreau, and Toulouse Lautrec, who declared, "I am a pencil", to the great nineteenth-century manufacturing families, such as Dixon and Faber. Petroski charmingly celebrates the design history of one of mankind's most essential, and yet undervalued tools.

 

The program will be held at the German American Heritage Center and Museum, 712 West 2nd Street. Davenport, at 2:00 on Sunday, August 28th.

 

Free to members, free to non-members with museum admission.

 

See the pencil art and collections on display at GAHC.

Watch for information regarding the visit to the Quad-Cities of the author Henry Petroski.

The work of two local artists will go on display at the Phoenix Gallery in Moline in an opening reception scheduled for Friday, August 26.  Artists Zachary Cleve and Emma Farber are proud to present "Stepping in, Looking Through," a two-person fine arts exhibition with paintings that explore themes of isolation, obstacles, communication and personal development. The opening reception will be held from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, and is open to the public.

The work will be up from Friday, August 26 to Saturday, October 29. The gallery hours are Wednesday, 6-9pm, Thursday 6-9 (for viewing only), and Friday and Saturday, 6pm to midnight. The Phoenix Gallery is at 1530 Fifth Avenue, Moline, Illinois.

"In Praise of the Pencil"
an  exhibit honoring 250 years of the first pencil factory in Germany

Sunday, August 21  2:00 pm.

Grand opening of the exhibit and prize ceremony for winning entrants.

  • Featuring: Local Pencil Art Show
  • The Fantastic Pencil Sculptures of Jennifer Maestre
  • Pencil History and Design Timeline
  • Famous Pencil Fans
  • Pencil Collections
  • How Pencils are Made DVD and Illustrated Steps
  • Pencil Trivia and more!

ENTRY DEADLINE FOR THE PENCIL ART COMPETITION:  JULY 18, 2011

 

The German American Heritage Center (GAHC) invites you to submit works of art for an exhibition entitled "In Praise of the Pencil."  The purpose of the exhibit is to enrich public understanding of the role of Germany and German-Americans in the development and manufacture of the pencil as an artistic medium, a common tool in many trades, and a useful everyday object.  The pencil celebrates its 250th

anniversary of mass manufacture in Germany in the year 2011.

 

 

"In Praise of the Pencil" is a juried exhibition open to artists living within a 250 miles radius of the Quad Cities. Works may be submitted for showing in two media, pencil sketches or sculpture in which pencils or pencil pieces are the primary construction material.  It is not necessary to feature the pencil itself as subject of the work. Pencils used may be graphite or colored. Artists may submit in one or both media and may have work exhibited in one or both media. Prizes will be awarded in two age divisions - junior artists in grades 6-12 and adult.

 

Specifics:   Sketches and sculpture must be original, created in the last two years and not previously exhibited at GAHC.   All work must be framed or supplied with a base and otherwise be ready to display with the artist's name, age division and title of the work on the back or under the base. Signed reproductions are excluded. Sketches have no size restrictions; sculpture should not exceed 27" in height.   Only three cases can accommodate a 25"width; most have shelves 16" wide. GAHC can refuse works which do not meet these requirements or are found unsuitable for exhibit. Prices should reflect a 35% commission retained by GAHC in event of a sale.

 

Entry: Fill out the entry form and list the title, size, medium and year created for each entry.  Note if a detail image is included.   Repeat process for each additional entry.  Submit images on a CD as jpg files with a minimum of 300 dpi resolution. Each file must be less than 5 MB. Label each file with a number that corresponds to the number on your entry blank and the title. To maintain anonymity for the blind jury, your name must not be included in the file's name, but do write your name on your disc.

 

Entry fee: $10 per entry; unlimited.

 

Awards and Prizes: Best of Show, First Place, Second Place and Third Place in each age division.

 

Jurors:   Work will be juried by Quad City Arts Public and Visual art Committee, the German American Heritage Center and a professional art educator in the local community.

 

Questions?    Contact Janet Brown-Lowe at GAHC (563) 322-8844 or director@gahc.org.   Additional entry blanks are available at GAHC or may be downloaded from the QC Arts website atwww.quadcityarts.com.

Funding for this exhibit through October 30 provided by the 

Riverboat Development Authority and Wenger Truck Lines.

During our summer break we are working on getting the Go Loopy bus completed and ready for tours to the Artist's studios, so collectors can buy directly from the Artists as well as to Art Galleries in the towns and cities along the Mississippi where the river flows west, i.e from Muscatine to LeClaire on the Iowa side and Illinois City and Port Byron in the Illinois side. Of course we will need to adjust to restrict ourselves to where there are art galleries and artists who have studios which they want to open up to collectors.
This Go Loopy bus is a joint project between The Institute and Johannes Bus Services. 7 area Artists are painting a yellow school bus, no longer yellow, to be converted to an Art Bus for an Art Open tour.  The art work on the bus flows beautifully. It is the only example of a moveable art installation in our area thus far. I trust there will be more that will follow.

More news and details of the Art Open tour will be circulated as the art venues firm up.  The bus is almost done, getting clear coated this week.
We will post the photos on our website and also, physically, at the Institute itself, so you can see hard copies of the photos of the art work, as well as about the artists.
The other part of our summer is the continuing work on the Herb and Spice food plate. At the beginning of  the new semester we will be circulating what we have completed for open commentary.
We are looking to resume our Independent Scholars' Evenings on September 1st. 2011. The first Thursday of the month.  We will be resuming earlier since supporters are requesting and missing the evenings.

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