"Art Imidates Dance" online exhibition on Facebook

Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917), Dancer, not dated, etching (restrike), 7 x 4 inches, Gift of Professor James T. Forrest and Dr. Suzanne S. Forrest, University of Wyoming Art Museum Collection, 1973.18

A new online exhibition titled, Art Imitates Dance, is now available to view on the Art Museum's Facebook page. Simply log in to your account and search for "University of Wyoming Art Museum." A photo album featuring 10 works from the permanent collection is on view.

This online exhibition is part of a collaboration with the Laramie Dance Center. Every year, the Dance Center holds a spring performance that is the culmination of a year's worth of hard work in each class - from tap to ballet to belly dancing. The theme of this year's performance is Art Imitates Dance, and each instructor selected a piece of artwork as the basis for the choreography, music, and costumes.

While the Art Museum doesn't have the specific artworks in the permanent collection, we do have similar works by some of the same artists and their contemporaries. This online exhibition features five works by some of the same artists who were selected by Laramie Dance Center instructors, and five works by contemporaries of other artists who work in either the same style, or have the same themes in their work.

Information about each piece is listed under the image, along with the title and artist of the similar work selected by the Laramie Dance Center. The goal of this online exhibition is to continue making connections between dance, gesture, movement and art. Each image in the online exhibition also features questions that encourage viewers to look closely and explore ideas about dance and art.

The Laramie Dance Center spring performance is this Saturday, May 21 at 1pm in the A&S Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. For more information about the ongoing collaboration between the Laramie Dance Center and the Art Museum, which will also feature Dance Center instructors teaching a movement component at the Art Museum's free summer program, Paint Pony Express, please call the Art Museum at 307.766.6622.

Detour on Willett to Access the Art Museum Parking Lot

Beginning today through May 22nd, Willett Drive will be closed from the east side of the Centennial Complex parking lot to 22nd Street. This will block access to the Art Museum for visitors and school groups coming from the east. Westbound access will still be open, although there will be a posted sign that Willett is closed to through traffic.

Visitors and school groups trying to access the Art Museum from the east can also take 19th street, which connects Harney to Willett and will take you west of the building where you can then access the parking lot.

Questions about planning a visit to the Art Museum? You can call us and get all the information you need at 307.766.6622!

Tempted to Touch the Artwork?

Many people, from seasoned museum visitors to young students, and sometimes even curators, are tempted to touch the artwork. The reason museums have a strict no touch policy is that our hands contain many unseen and harmful dirts and oils. Over time, and with repeated touching, these dirts and oils can permanently damage the art by causing negative reactions, such as corrosion, that diminish the life span of the art. This is why when museum staff members need to handle the artwork, you will see them wearing white gloves to protect the art so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come.

One of the current exhibitions at the Art Museum has been especially tempting to touch because it incorporates interesting and new materials. Etsuko Ichikawa: NACHI - from the eternal to the ephemeral - uses cotton rope and pyrographs to create a unique environment in the gallery. Pyrographs are drawings created by molten glass scorching the surface of the paper. Because of the high heat of the glass, the paper need to be very thick. The cotton rope hangs in strands by the thousand, creating almost a curtain. Both the rope and the paper are unique materials, so the artist was generous and provided a sample of both a pyrograph and cotton rope, that museum visitors can touch. This will help keep the work in the exhibition safe, but also allows museum visitors to answer the questions they might have about what the materials feel like.

We invite you to visit the exhibition, explore it, and use your senses. From looking closely at the designs of the pyrographs, to listening to the sound playing from the center of the spiral, and now touch with these samples at the entrance to the gallery.

For more information, or if you have questions, you can contact the museum at 307.766.6622.

Cell Phone Audio Tour for, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas

Interested in learning more about the maps on view in the exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas? The latest cell phone audio tour features prompts recorded by the creators of the maps. The students who first began working with Rebecca Solnit early in the semester when she was an Eminent Writer in Residence through the MFA in Creative Writing Program also wrote essays about the subject or subjects of their maps. A condensed explanation about the maps can be heard in their own voice, simply by dialing a local 307 area code number from your cell phone. These quick synopses are a great way to learn more about their creative process, the subject of the map, and maybe learn a little bit more about Laramie!

The complete essays are also available for public reading in the gallery. A specially created case holds all of the students' essays. These two unique opportunities really allow museum visitors to delve into the exhibition, whether it's through listening, looking, or reading!

Laramie: A Gem City Atlas Reception on Monday

Paula A. Wright, Alex Borgen, Shizue Seigel, Ben Pease, Quarries and Climbing, 2011, ink on paper, 22 x 34 inches, courtesy of the MFA in Creative Writing Program.

A reception sponsored by the MFA in Creative Writing Program for the exhibition, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas, will be held on Monday, May 2, from 5-7 pm at the Art Museum. Readings by some of the students who have maps in the exhibition will begin at 5:15. The exhibition features 16 maps and accompanying artwork that examine the various ways in which Laramie and the surrounding area can be envisioned. Maps act as a visual representation of goods, services, people, and other factors that make up the community.

The project originated early in the semester with the UW MFA in Creative Writing Program and Eminent Writer in Residence, Rebecca Solnit. Solnit had completed a similar project in which she re-envisioned and re-mapped San Francisco. For the Laramie project, she worked with students to identify areas of interest that the students could research and map.

This Monday also marks the final Monday night when the Art Museum has extended evening hours until 9 pm. Summer hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. Please join us for the final Monday night at the museum by celebrating Laramie: A Gem City Atlas.

2011-2012 Membership Campaign

Have you considered becoming a member of the UW Art Museum? We have recently launched our 2011-2012 membership campaign and would like to invite you to consider supporting the museum by joining as a member. By purchasing a membership, your contribution helps support public and education programs, collections, and exhibitions that reach local Laramie residents, students of all ages, and museum visitors from around the world. Membership funds are a crucial part of the Art Museum's continued success.

Incentives of membership include discounts at The Museum Store, 10% off Shelton Studio classes, and donor recognition. We offer a variety of levels of membership, from an affordable student option, to family memberships, and increased levels of support at the donor and sponsor levels. Additional premiums (depending on the level of membership) include an Art Museum t-shirt, or a fine art reproduction print of a work from the Art Museum permanent collection.

Won't you consider supporting the Art Museum through membership? Stop by the museum to pick up a brochure, or call 307.766.3477 and we'd be happy to mail one to you.

Upcoming Exhibition Featured in the Casper Star Tribune

University of Wyoming art student, Tessa Dallarosa, works on the beginning of a map for the UW project, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas. Courtesy of Christine Peterson and the Casper Star Tribune.

Last month, the Casper Star Tribune featured an article that highlighted some of the beginning steps behind the project, Laramie: A Gem City Atlas. An exhibition by the same name will open on Saturday at the Art Museum, featuring the final products.

A series of maps that re-imagine Laramie and the surrounding area, along with artwork that was made in reaction to the data on the maps, were created by UW students and members of the community. The Casper Star Tribune interviewed some of these students in March, in an article that discusses the backstory of the project, the inspiration, and the process of creating the maps. The article can be read online here, and is an opportunity for museum visitors to learn about the exhibition before it is on view.

For more information about the exhibition, please call the Art Museum at 307.766.6622. The exhibition opens this Saturday, April 30, and the Museum is open 10 am - 5 pm. Admission is free.