"Art & Ideas" Series offered at the Figge

The Figge Art Museum presents the third lecture in a four-part series entitled "Celebrating Ideas" at 7 pm Thursday, April 21. Dr. Emil Kramer, Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at Augustana College will present the lecture "Egypt, Athens, Rome?and Us: Five Millennia of Connections through Art." The lecture series is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition Celebrating Ideas: Bridging Communities with Augustana's  Liberal Arts through the AGES, on view at the Figge through May 29. The exhibition of 100 works is in celebration of Augustana's 150th anniversary, and presents a rich and diverse art historical overview of pieces from the Augustana College Art Collection.

Professor Kramer's talk will highlight the ideas behind School of Athens, a fresco painted by the Renaissance master Raphael in 1510-11. This well known image depicts the Classical Greek Philosophers Plato and Aristotle surrounded by mathematicians, naturalists, astronomers, geographers, and other philosophers. Pope Julius II commissioned School of Athens, along with twelve other frescoes, for one room in the Vatican palace. An engraving by Joannes (Giovanni) Volpato after a drawing by Joseph (Giuseppe) Cades of Raphael's School of Athens is included in the Augustana exhibition.

The "Celebrating Ideas" series is part of the Figge's weekly Thursdays at the Figge programming. Admission to the museum and lecture is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and Figge institutional members. The Figge Arts Café and Bar will be open before and after the lecture.  

Claude Monet exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is one of the trip highlights

The Figge Art Museum is traveling to Kansas City July 8-10 to view the special exhibition Monet's Water Lilies at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This exhibition re-unites three panels painted by French Impressionist Claude Monet between 1915 and 1926. The Figge trip also includes a tour of the Nelson-Atkins' new addition designed by architect Stephen Holl, a walking tour of the Henry Moore Sculpture Garden on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, a tour of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and visits to several art galleries in the Crossroads Art District. The trip is hosted by Ann Marie Hayes-Hawkinson, Figge Curator of Education, and Marika Jones, Figge Director of Development.

The trip fee is $385 per person (based on double occupancy) or $495 (based on single occupancy). The trip fee includes motor coach transportation, two nights at the Holiday Inn Country Club Plaza, which is walking distance from the Country Club Plaza; breakfast, a box lunch at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Sunday brunch at Lidia's of Kansas City, and museum admission. For more information, view the itinerary online at www.figgeartmuseum.org.  For more information, please contact Ann Marie Hayes-Hawkinson, Curator of Education, at 563.326.7804 x7887.  Reservations and payment are due by May 1, or until the trip is full. Trip participants must be Figge members; memberships start at $40. To make a reservation, contact Heather Aaronson at 563.326.7804 x2045.

A space where theater practitioners can come to organize, workshop, showcase and interact.

When:  Friday, May 27 and Saturday, May 28, 7pm until 9pm

Where:  421 Brady Street, 3rd Floor, Davenport

What:  Complimentary hors d'oeuvres, tours of the space, revolving presentations of the original performance art: "A Scenic Place," on-site art creation, displays of artwork by local artists for sale, opportunities to meet and speak with the artists involved.

Ticket price:  $5 per person.

Join the Internet Players as we unveil our new space on April 29th and 30th from 7:00 - 9:00pm!  A performance has been developed by QC native Tom Awad especially for this event, entitled "A Scenic Place" which combines live action, music and installation art.  It will be performed multiple times with the characters aging throughout the evening.  The show willmake audiences reflective of their own lives and allow them to make personal connections to the performance.

Local artists such as Tony Carter and Liz Davenport will have their artwork on display and for sale throughout multiple rooms.  Also, guided tours of the space with details on the future functions of The Internet Players' Studio will be available, as wel as information on upcoming productions, workshops and events put on by the organization.  Please stop by throughout the evening for though provoking performances, intriguing artwork and good company.

Lecture highlights nineteenth-century artists including Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and James McNeill Whistler

The Figge Art Museum presents the first lecture in a four-part series entitled "Celebrating Ideas" at 7 pm Thursday, April 7. Dr. Catherine Carter Goebel, Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts and Professor of Art History at Augustana College will present the lecture "Framing Art in the Liberal Arts: Bridging Communities with Augustana's Liberal Arts through the AGES." The two-part lecture will begin with an introduction to the Augustana General Education Studies (AGES) program by Dr. Goebel and Dr. Ellen Hay, Interim Dean, Augustana College. The AGES program encourages Augustana faculty to use original works of art to teach a variety of disciplines.  Dr. Goebel will then lead a gallery talk on nineteenth-century works of art in the exhibition, highlighting works by Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and James McNeill Whistler.

The lecture series is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition Celebrating Ideas, Bridging Communities with Augustana's: Liberal Arts through the AGES, on view at the Figge through May 29. The exhibition of 100 works is in celebration of Augustana's 150th anniversary, and presents a rich and diverse art historical overview of pieces from the Augustana College Art Collection that are used in the AGES program. The exhibition was co-curated by Dr. Goebel and Dr. Mary Em Kirn, Professor Emerita of Art History, Augustana College. Upcoming lectures by Augustana College faculty and staff include : "What are the Ideas and Where are the Bridges?," Sherry C. Maurer, Director of the Augustana College Art Museum, 7 pm Thursday, April 14; "Egypt, Athens, Rome?and Us: Five Millennia of Connections through Art, Dr. Emil Kramer, Associate Professor and Chair of Classics, 7pm Thursday, April 21; and "Linking the Verbal and the Visual Text," Dr. Taddy Kalas, Professor and Chair of French, 7 pm Thursday, April 28

The "Celebrating Ideas" series is part of the Figge's weekly Thursdays at the Figge programming. Admission to the museum and lecture is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and Figge institutional members. The Figge Arts Café and Bar will be open before and after the lecture.

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Students Can Experience a College-level Drawing Program

The Figge Art Museum and Western Illinois University have partnered to offer the "Summer Drawing Program at the Figge" for high school students from 9:30 am-12:30 pm July 18-22 and July 25-29.  This two-week program gives talented high school art students a college-level experience while helping them prepare their portfolios for college admission and scholarships. The "Summer Drawing Program at the Figge" is open to any high school student in Iowa or Illinois who has completed 9th, 10th or 11th grade. To be considered for this program, students must complete the application and submit a portfolio of four drawings and a letter of support from an art teacher. Applications are due by April 16 and the drop-off period for portfolios is 10 am - 1 pm Saturday, April 16.

The program was developed in 2007 with Western Illinois University, and is the only program of its kind in the Quad Cities for aspiring young artists who plan to major in Art or Design.  The course is taught by Western Illinois University Department of Art professors Bruce Walters and Brett Eberhardt. This program is funded in part by the Brand Boeshaar Foundation, Butler Insurance Service, Inc., and Western Illinois University's College of Fine Arts and Communication.

The "Summer Drawing Program at the Figge" program introduces high school students to a college-level drawing curriculum, helps them improve their skills in drawing from observation, which is a required component for most college admission portfolios, and helps them to be competitive for the annual Brand Boeshaar Scholarship. This local art scholarship is funded by the Brand Boeshaar Foundation, managed by the Figge Art Museum, and administered by the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend. In addition to daily drawing assignments, students will participate in individual and group critiques, which will help teach them learn how to talk about their work with others when they apply for college admission.

Students selected to participate in this program will be notified by May 1. If accepted into the program, students must pay the program fee of $175 and provide some of their own art supplies. For more information about the program, or to complete the application online, please visit www.figgeartmuseum.org. For more information, call Ann Marie Hayes-Hawkinson, Curator of Education, at 563-326-7804 x7887.

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Event Explores 2,500 Years of Art in Augustana College's Collection

The Figge Art Museum presents "Building Bridges to the Past," a free family event from 1-3 pm on Saturday, April 2. The event is offered in conjunction with the museum's special exhibition Celebrating Ideas: Bridging Communities with Augustana's Liberal Arts through the AGES. Participants may enjoy Creative Activities in the studios from 1-3 pm, Story Time at 1:15 pm, 1:45 pm, and 2:15 pm in the Reading Room, and a film on American Impressionist Mary Cassatt at 2:30 pm in the auditorium. The Figge Café will offer several lunch options from 11:30-2:30 pm. Free admission to this event is generously sponsored by John Deere.

Artists & Writers series offered at Figge

The Figge Art Museum presents the final talk in the series Artists and Writers at 7 pm Thursday, March 31. Dr. Owen Rogal, who teaches nineteenth-century British literature, will present the lecture "The Beauty of Life: Ruskin, Morris, and Wright." Dr. Rogal will explain how John Ruskin, William Morris, and Frank Lloyd Wright made connections between the natural world and the things men and women make, between those things and the health of society, and between the things and the nature of the work that produces them. The talk explores what the three writers learned from each other, how Morris developed and spun Ruskin's ideas in new directions, and how both Ruskin and Morris's radical ideas about the role of art in society?what a building means, for example, to the lives of the people who live in it? shape in part Wright's own thinking and practices.

The Artists and Writers series is part of the Figge's weekly Thursdays at the Figge programming. Admission to the museum and lecture is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and Figge institutional members. The Figge Arts Café and Bar will be open before and after the lecture.

Davenport, Iowa - March, 2011 - In remembrance of actress Elizabeth Taylor, the Figge will have on view their serigraph Liz Taylor by Andy Warhol.  This recognizable work will be on display in the museum lobby from Tuesday, March 29 through Sunday, April 10, 2011.

Andy Warhol, one of the leading Pop artists of the 1960s, produced numerous prints illustrating celebrities. This image of Elizabeth Taylor came from a movie studio publicity still. The serigraph created from the image is very similar to the popular series of prints of Marilyn Monroe. In both, he "paints" on their eye shadow and lipstick, emphasizing their beauty and memorable smiles. The Pop movement was a reaction against the huge scale and gestural, painterly qualities of Abstract Expressionism. Pop artists depended upon figural imagery and an impersonal approach to their subject matter. Artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns began using recognizable images from consumer culture and images that would carry a strong emotional content.

This work is on view for free in the Figge lobby.  For museum hours or questions, contact the Figge at 563.326.7804 or visit www.figgeart.org.

Adds New Online Voting Component

Washington, DC - March 24, 2011 - Today, Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) invited high school students across Iowa's first district to submit original artwork for the annual Congressional Art Competition, "An Artistic Discovery". This year, Rep. Braley's office will be raising the stakes and taking the competition "high tech" by accepting submissions online and allowing constituents to vote for their favorite artwork on the internet. The winner of this year's competition will receive two roundtrip plane tickets to Washington, D.C. to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Capitol.

"Each year, talented students from across Iowa submit great artwork to the Congressional Art Competition," said Rep. Braley. "And this year, we're moving the competition into the 21st century. By allowing students to submit their artwork online, and allowing Iowans to cast their vote on my website to help choose the winner, we're giving more students the opportunity to participate."

The Congressional Art Competition, initiated by Congress in 1982, is a nation-wide high school arts competition sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. One piece from each Congressional district will be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. for a year.

All artwork must be submitted to Rep. Braley's office by April 22 and will be displayed in an online gallery on the Congressman's website. Constituents are encouraged to visit the Congressman's website to vote on their favorite student artwork between April 23 and May 8.

For more information about the competition or to submit artwork, please visit http://braley.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=48

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Talk on Rendering Volcanoes in Art and Literature

The Figge Art Museum presents the third talk in the series Artists and Writers at 7 pm Thursday, March 24. Dr. Beatrice Jacobson, who teaches early American literature and creative nonfiction as well as courses in women's studies at St. Ambrose University, will present the lecture "Rendering Volcanoes." Professor Jacobson's focus on Emily Dickinson and her ongoing research in Ecuador have led to her interest in volcanoes and she will connect her research to the Figge painting The Bay of Naples by William Stanley Haseltine, which is on display in the American Gallery. The Artists and Writers series explores how writers and artists inspire each other as well as how writers and artists treat similar themes, and is part of the Figge's weekly Thursdays at the Figge programming. The final talk in the series is scheduled for March 31.

Admission to the museum and lecture is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and Institutional members. The Figge Arts Café and Bar will be open before and after the lecture.

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