Art Museum Closing Early

Due to the snowstorm, UW is closing early today at 1 pm. This includes the Art Museum. Be sure to check the UW website tomorrow to see if we will be open on Wednesday.

From all of the staff members at the UW Art Museum, have a happy and safe holiday! Keep an eye on our blog and facebook pages through January for up to date information.

This Week at the Art Museum

There are several things going on this week at and around the Art Museum that visitors should be aware of. Due to the construction of the new visual arts facility to the east of the Centennial Complex, there will be some detours along Willett Drive and 22nd Street this week. While visitors will still be able to access the parking lot entrance, visitors can expect different traffic patterns and construction vehicles.

The Art Museum has stopped extended Monday hours for the rest of the year. The building will close tonight at 5 pm. We will be open through Wednesday, the 22nd of this week. Hours are 10 am - 5 pm. We will be closed for the holidays beginning this Thursday, the 23rd. Administrative offices will reopen on Monday, January 3rd. The museum will remain closed through Friday, January 28th when we reopen with all new exhibitions. An opening reception will be held that evening from 6-8 pm and is free and open to the public.

The Museum Store is also open this week through Wednesday, the 22nd from 10 am - 5 pm. If you have last minute holiday shopping to do, this is a great place for unique gifts!

During the holiday closure, be sure to keep checking the blog and the Art Museum and Museum Store facebook pages for updates and information. If you have questions, please call us at 307.766.6622.

Interview with Binh Danh posted on You Tube

A short video interview with Vietnamese-American artist Binh Danh is now available for viewing on You Tube.  He discusses his conceptual ideas, personal history, and creative process.  The interview was filmed during his October 2010 visiting artist residency at the University of Wyoming Art Museum.  His solo exhibition, Binh Danh: Life, TImes and Matters of the Swamp, closes on December 22, 2010.

Art Museum Purchases Furunes Portrait for Collection

Anne-Karin Furunes, Portrait #18

The Art Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of Anne-Karin Furunes' Portrait #18, an 88 x 63 inch perforated canvas created in 2007 and on view in the museum for Furune's solo exhibition, Portraits of Unknowns.

Furunes creates images by perforating black of white painted canvases with thousands of various sized holes.  Reminiscent of the dot pattern of half-tone photographic prints, her images reference the photographic persona of her subjects.  Her work explores the medium of photography and the implications of capturing realistic imagery.  View up close, the canvases are abstract fields of dots on a background.  From a distance, the portrait emerges.

The subjects for Furunes' portraits are drawn from photographs in a Swedish archive devoted to the now-discredited notion of categorizing people by race, ethnicity, and mental capacity.  Her anonymous portraits from the archive restore respect and human dignity to her subjects.

Furunes studied at the National Academy of Fine Art, Oslo and is a professor and dean of the Trondheim At Academy, Norway.  She is extensively known in Europe and Australia. Her US introduction was through the Barry Friedman Ltd. exhibition in 2007.  She is represented in such public collections as the National Museum of China, Beijing; the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo; the Tromsp Museum of Contemporary Art, Norway; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiasama, Finland; and the Museum of Art, Trondheim, Norway.  She is represented in the US by Barry Friedman Ltd., New York.

The purchase of Portrait #18 was made possible by funds from the UW Art Museum Collections Fund, the W. Sherman and Dorothy Burns Estate Fund, and by the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum in honor of Rosemary Skinner.

Only Two More Weeks to See Fall Exhibitions

Only two more weeks remain to see the fall exhibitions on view at the UW Art Museum. The final day to see all of the exhibitions is Wednesday, December 22.

Currently on view are two exhibitions from the Art Museum's permanent collection: Artists From France: Paintings and Prints from the Art Museum Collection and Cold War in America: Works from the 1950s-1970s. Also on view are two solo exhibitions by international contemporary artists: Anne-Karin Furunes: Portraits of Unknowns and Binh Danh: Life, Times, and Matters of the Swamp. Finally, there is an exhibition presented by the American Heritage Center: Home Front on the Frontier: Wyoming During World War I.

The exhibition of Albany County and Laramie schoolchildren's artwork will also close on December 22, so if there is an artist in your family whose work is included in that exhibition, be sure to stop by and see their work on the walls of the Art Museum!

December 22 is the last day that the Art Museum will be open before the holidays. The Museum Store is a great place to do your holiday shopping, so make sure you visit and see all of the unique gifts!

For more information, or with questions, please call 307.766.6622.

Happy Holidays, Laramie!

Governor and Mrs. Dave Freudenthal's tree, "Forever West" is one of the 30 trees on view.

Please join us on Saturday, December 4 between 10:30 am and 3 pm for Happy Holidays, Laramie! This fun and free event is a great way to kick off the holiday season! Please see below for the complete schedule of events and musical performances. For more information, call 307.766.6622. We hope to see you there!

10 am - 5 pm, The Museum Store: Holiday Shopping

The Museum Store will be open with a variety of great gift ideas

10 am - 5 pm, Art Museum Galleries: Laramie and Albany County Schoolchildren's Art Exhibition

This exhibition showcases the creativity of local schoolchildren

10:30 am - 3 pm, Centennial Complex Gallery: Kids' Store

This kid-friendly store features holiday gifts for under $5

10:30 am - 3 pm, Shelton Studio: Holiday Craft Studio

Kids can make their own holiday crafts, all materials provided by the Art Museum

10:30 am - 3 pm, Restaurant: Cookies and Orange Drink

Take a moment to enjoy some refreshments

11 am - 2 pm, Restaurant: Santa Claus

Be sure to bring a camera

Gallery Performances

*Warm up in the multi-purpose room, downstairs

10:30 am: Snowy Range Academy, Amy Wright

11:00 am: Snowy Range Academy Orchestra, Amy Wright

11:15 am: Piano Students, Dee Moody

11:30 am: Beitel Bulldog Choir and Beitel Chime Choir, Alice Telander

12:00 pm: United Presbyterian Church Bell Choir, Kim Buchanan

12:30 pm: High Plains Sinfonia, Kayla Walker and James Przygocki

1:00 pm: Indian Paintbrush Elementary Choir, Sally Edgar

1:30 pm: Piano Students, Cindy Peterson

2:00 pm: Piano Students, Lorene Sims and Miriam Galbraith

2:30 pm: St. Laurence School, Jennifer Lyford

3:00 pm: Laramie Community Band, Robert Belser

Lobby Performances

*warm up in the Stockgrower's Room

10:30 am: Piano Students, Marilyn Sprinkle

11:00 am: High Plains Sinfonia, Elena Berlinsky

11:30 am: Piano Students, Nancy Shaw

12:00 pm: Piano Students, Cheryl Hemphill and Kim Shepherd

12:30 pm: Piano Students, Gloria Orr-Weiss

1:00 pm: Piano Students, Alla Latchininsky

1:30 pm: Spring Creek Elementary, Terena Main

2:00 pm: Piano Students, Jennifer Bond

2:30 pm: Laramie Junior High School Orchestra, Linda Eason

It's a Tie!

KP Endsley's tree, "William 'Bill' Hysong Memorial Tree 2010 - Tickled Pink."

This year's People's Choice Award is a tie! The votes were tallied after last night's Tree Lighting Ceremony where people voted on their favorite holiday tree in the Festival of Trees. The tie came down to Governor and Mrs. Dave Freudenthal's tree, "Forever West" and KP Endsley's tree, "William 'Bill' Hysong Memorial Tree 2010 - Tickled Pink." Congratulations to both!

There was a great turnout at last night's event, which included musical performances throughout the evening. The festivities continue tomorrow during Happy Holidays, Laramie! between 10:30 am and 3 pm. This annual community event is free and open to the public. Be sure to stop by for a visit with Santa Claus, holiday musical performances, or to bid on one of the many beautifully decorated holiday trees!

Join us Tonight for the Lighting of the Trees Ceremony

Join us tonight at the Art Museum for the Lighting of the Trees Ceremony! This event will be between 6 and 8 pm and is free and open to the public. There are 30 decorated trees this year in the Festival of Trees, each on decorated by a community group or organization. In addition to the trees, there are 9 pedestal items, including holiday decorations and wreathes, also donated by members of the community. All of these items are up for auction, which kicks off tonight and runs until Saturday, December 4th, when it closes at 2:30 pm. All proceeds from the auction will benefit museum programs.

The Lighting of the Trees Ceremony and Reception will feature musical performances to get you in the holiday spirit! Brownies, punch, and hot cider will also be available. This night of festivities is a great way to preview the trees, be the first to place a bid, and to vote for the People's Choice Award. Begun last year and only open to voting tonight, this fun award is a great way for the community to acknowledge the tree that they like the best!

Please join us tonight for an evening of artwork, music, and holiday cheer!

For more information, please call 307.766.6622.