This Week at the Art Museum

Kick off the holiday season at the Art Museum! This week we will be counting down to the annual community celebration, Happy Holidays, Laramie! on Saturday, December 4th, from 10:30 am to 3 pm. This year will include cookies, visits with Santa Claus, musical performances by community and school groups, and an exhibition of Laramie and Albany County children's artwork.

The Festival of Trees begins tomorrow, when the different groups of volunteer decorators will select their tree and begin decorating! The Lighting of the Trees Ceremony is Thursday evening from 6 to 8 pm. This is also when the silent auction begins and visitors will have the chance to place the beginning bids! The auction will close at 2:30 pm on Saturday, during Happy Holidays, Laramie!

Also on Saturday, the Museum Store will have a special Kids' Store, with gifts available for under $5. The Museum Store has also received new holiday merchandise this week, so be sure to stop by and take care of your holiday shopping!

All events are free and open to the public. For more information about these events, please call 307.766.6622. We hope you will start the holiday season with us at the Art Museum!

Thanksgiving Hours at the Art Museum

The Art Museum will have different hours this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be closed Thursday - Sunday, but will re-open on Monday, November 29th. Preparations will continue for the 18th Annual Festival of Trees and Silent Auction. Decorating is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, November 30th. Tuesday also marks the opening of the Laramie and Albany County Children's Art exhibition.

Festivities culminate next Saturday, December 4th with the community celebration Happy Holidays, Laramie! This day of music, cookies, artwork, and Santa Claus is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

Enjoy a safe and happy Thanksgiving! We hope you will visit us tomorrow and next week to celebrate the holidays!

Juried Student Exhibition Call for Work Announced

The 36th Annual Juried University of Wyoming Student Exhibition call for work has been announced! This yearly exhibition is open to any undergraduate, graduate, or post-baccalaureate student enrolled at UW during the 2011 academic year. This includes those students who took classes in the fall 2010 semester and who graduate in December. It is open to students in all disciplines. Original artwork in any medium is welcome. All work must be ready to hang.

The exhibition will be open January 29-February 12 with an opening reception from 6-8 pm on Friday, January 28th and awards ceremony that evening at 6:30 pm.

Please follow this link to the official call for entries, which includes important dates and information. Hard copies are available for pick up in the Art Department office, the Union information desk, and at the Art Museum front desk.

This is a great professional development opportunity for student artists. It provides experience in preparing artwork for display, the process of a juried exhibition, and gives students the chance to show their work in a museum setting. This year's juror is Robyn Peterson, the Executive Director of the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, MT. The juror process is different each year as jurors come from different states, institutions, and professional backgrounds. Last year's exhibition saw a record 283 works submitted for consideration and the Art Museum is excited to see what's in store this year!

Andy Warhol Sale at the Museum Store

The Museum Store at the UW Art Museum is holding a 50% off sale on Andy Warhol merchandise! The exhibition, Iconic Mass Culture: Andy Warhol's Portraits closed this past Saturday after great visitor turnout and an enthusiastic response! To say thanks for visiting, and to carry on the celebration of his work, this sale will run though the end of the year.

Items for sale include t-shirts, canvas totes, playing cards, books and catalogs, magnets, and notecards. If you saw the exhibition and missed out on purchasing one of these great items, or if you're simply an Andy Warhol fan, be sure to visit the Museum Store, which is open 10 am - 5 pm Monday through Saturday, with Monday hours extended to 9 pm through the end of November.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Museum Store manager Rosie Chapp at 307.766.3982. Some exceptions apply to sale items.

Decorators Still Needed for the Annual Festival of Trees

The Art Museum's annual holiday celebration is just around the corner! The 18th Annual Festival of Trees and Silent Auction will conclude on Saturday, December 4th, along with the community holiday celebration of art and music, Happy Holidays, Laramie! The festivities begin at 10:30 am and conclude at 3 pm. Events include visits with Santa Claus, musical performances by school and community groups, and the ever popular Festival of Trees Silent Auction. There is also the annual exhibition of Albany County schoolchildren's art, which will remain on view through December 23rd.

The Festival of Trees kicks off on Tuesday, November 30th, when registered community and school groups, individuals, and businesses select their tree from the assortment of 30 and begin to decorate! There are still trees available, so if you or someone you know is interested in decorating a tree, please contact the museum at 307.766.3477.

Decorating will continue on Wednesday, December 1st, and Thursday, December 2nd, culminating in the Lighting of the Trees Ceremony and reception on Thursday evening from 6-8 pm. Thursday night is also when the silent auction opens, and visitors will have the chance to cast a vote for their favorite tree.

All events are free and open to the public. Tree decorations and the decorator's time is donated, with all of the proceeds going toward Art Museum programming. If you would like more information on how you can participate in the festivities, or are interested in decorating a tree this year, please call 307.766.3477.

The New Videos Posted on YouTube

Anne-Karin Furunes interview on YouTube

Two new video interviews and a video walk through of an exhibition are now available on the UW Art Museum YouTube channel.  Collectors Erivan and Helga Haub discuss their collection, Western Art, and Wyoming in their video interview for the exhibition People of the West: A Collector's Vision, Selections from the Erivan and Helga Haub Collection.  Norwegian artist Anne-Karin Furunes talks about her large scale portraits in her exhibition Anne-Karin Furunes: Portraits of Unknowns.  And a video walk through of Lia Cook's 2009 exhibition, The Embedded Portrait, is also available.

Final Week to See Two Exhibitions

Bill Schenck (American, b. 1947), An Ancient Place, 1999, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 inches, Erivan and Helga Haub Family Collection of Western Art

This is the final week to see two exhibitions at the UW Art Museum. People of the West - A Collector's Vision, Selections from the Erivan and Helga Haub Collection features a range of paintings, sculptures, and prints from the Haub's collection of Western American art. Ranging from Taos Society of Artists to contemporary artists, this exhibition portrays the various people and cultures of the West.

Iconic Mass Culture: Andy Warhol's Portraits is an exhibition of Polaroid and silver gelatin prints that were recently gifted to the Art Museum from the Andy Warhol Foundation's Photographic Legacy Program. In addition to these mediums, four screen prints are also on view. These three different media offer insight into Warhol's creative process.

The final day to see both of these exhibitions is this Saturday, November 13. Admission is always free. The Art Museum is open 10 am - 5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm on Mondays. For more information, please call the museum at 307.766.6622 or visit the website.

Tonight at the Art Museum - Art Talk: Chris Drury

Chris Drury, Mozel Rhine Whirlpool, 2010, courtesy of the artist

British land artist Chris Drury is in Laramie, visiting the UW campus to discuss a new site-specific work to be included in the exhibition, Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational. Similarly to artist Margaret Cogswell's visit this week, it is important for Drury to gain an understanding of the campus and town in order to create a work that meshes with its surroundings.

In conjunction with his visit, Drury will present a public Art Talk tonight at 7 pm, at the Art Museum. It is free and open to the public. He will be discussing his previous works and his approach to themes such as culture, the environment, and nature. For more information on Drury and his work, visit his website or blog.

Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational first opened in 2008 and continues to evolve. Two previous site-specific works, by artists Patrick Dougherty and Steven Siegel, have been removed. The Art Museum is excited to be working with Chris Drury to create a new work for the exhibition!

For more information on public programs or exhibitions at the Art Museum, please visit the website or call 307.766.6622.

Artist Margaret Cogswell in Laramie in Preparation for Her Upcoming Exhibition

From L to R: Art Museum Director and Chief Curator Susan Moldenhauer, artist Margaret Cogswell, and Art Museum Curator of Education Wendy Bredehoft at Gray Rocks Reservoir this past summer when Cogswell first visited the area for research.

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

Artist Margaret Cogswell is returning to the Laramie area today to continue researching rivers and water bodies in the state in preparation for her 2012 exhibition at the UW Art Museum. Cogswell first visited Laramie this past summer to familiarize herself with the area and gather resources. During her second visit, she will focus on meetings and interviews with scientists, environmentalists, member of the community, and UW faculty.

Many times when an artist creates a site-specific work, such as Cogswell's upcoming installation, they have to visit an area multiple times to gather information, perform research, and meet with local and regional experts. Cogswell's work focuses on the physical and metaphorical significance of water in our lives. She examines the history, the cultural impacts, and the issues surrounding water.

For more information on Cogswell's work, please visit her website. For more information on Art Museum exhibitions and programs, please visit the website or call 307.766.6622.

Art Museum Audio Tour Featured in Internationally Distributed Newsletter

The latest UW Art Museum cell phone audio tour for the exhibition, Anne-Karin Furunes: Portraits of Unknowns, was featured in the November Guide By Cell email newsletter. Guide By Cell is the mobile technology provider that provides the platform for the Art Museum to create and distribute the cell phone audio tours to museum visitors. Guide By Cell works with over 800 museums internationally and is an Affinity Partner of the American Association of Museums. See below to read the newsletter!

November 1, 2010 Visitors to the University of Wyoming Art Museum can use their cell phones to hear artist Anne-Karin Furunes talk about her creative process and the subject matter of each of the displayed series within Anne-Karin Furunes: Portraits of Unknowns. To create buzz about the exhibit’s opening, Furunes visited the gallery for a public lecture and walk-through, which helped students and other visitors make a mental connection between the audio tour and the artist. “We’ve done 14 Guide by Cell tours in the past, but this is one of our top two most attended,” said Rachel Miller, Assistant Curator at the UW Art Museum. “It’s a really cool feature, and people love that they can use their cell phones to hear directly from the artist!” Dial (307) 200-0040 from any phone and follow the prompts to hear from Furunes. Want to bring your audience closer to the artists? Get in touch and we’ll set you up with a pilot account for your own mobile audio tour. Best, Dave Asheim President Guide by Cell (415) 615-0150 dave@guidebycell.com www.guidebycell.com