Final Days for 'it goes under'

Steven Siegel's it goes under is scheduled to be removed

from Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational in mid-September

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum

The largest work in Scultpure: A Wyoming Invitational, it goes under is made from wood, multch, and wire mesh. It was created by New York artist Steven Seigel, who is known for his site-inspired large scae sculpture made from recycled or easily attained materials. This is the second work to leave the exhibition.

Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational will continue as many works have been lent on an extended basis for the exhibition. A walking/driving tour guide is availble on the Art Museum's webpage.

Preparations for Japanese Netsuke Exhibition Underway

Sarah Gadd, museum registrar (l), and Rachel Miller,
assistant curator (r), place more than 100 Japanese netsuke in casework.
Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

Comprised of the entire Huey G. and Phyllis T. Shelton Collection of Inada Ichiro Netsuke, Ichiro: Netsuke, A Life's Work opens to the public on Sept. 5. The special collection was gifted to the Art Museum earlier this year and is accompanied by the recently published catalog, Ichiro: Master Netsuke Carver (Paragon Books, 2009; Norman Sandfield and Huey Shelton).

Netsuke scholar Norman Sandfield will conduct a Gallery Walk Through followed by a book signing on Fri., Sept. 11, at 4 pm. The opening reception for this and other new exhibitions is from 6 - 8 pm that evening.

For more information, visit the Art Museum webpage.

Florida artist Brian Burkhardt on campus next week

Brian Burkhardt's glowing Dome
sets the stage for his fabricated hybrid
plants and organisms to be presented
at the UW Art Museum.
Photo courtesy of Gallery Diet.

Florida artist Brian Burkhardt will be in Laramie next week to assist with the installation of his solo exhibition, moss doesn't grow on rolling stones . . . a vision of nature by Brian Burkhardt. Dome is the studio in which this rather "mad-scientist/artist" has playfully re-figured nature. His Office Plant series offer hybrids of plants and office machinery--cell phones and fax machines.

For his Wyoming exhibition, he has created a new work, Take Heed, an installation of caterpillers that include in braille "take" and "heed."

Three public programs are scheduled during Burkhardt's residency, all on Thurs., Sept. 3:

10:30am
Gallery Talk Through

6:30pm
Art Talk

7:30pm
Panel: Scientists View Nature Through the Lens of Art: The Seen and Unseen
UW faculty scheduled to respond to Burkhardt's work include Naomi Ward (microbial genomics, Molecular Biology), Carlos Martines del Rio (ecophysiology, Zoology), Pete Stahl (microbial and fungal ecology, Renewable Resources), Stephen Jackson (director, Program in Ecology) and Jeffrey Lockwood (natural sciences and humanities, Philosophy).

Information may be seen on the Art Museum webpage and its press release.

Sculpture Documentary to air on WY PBS

Patrick Dougherty's site-specific sculpture, Shortcut, is one of 18 sculptures included in the exhibition Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational. The exhibition, and Dougherty, were highlighted in a documentary by UWTV that will air in September on Wyoming PBS.

Photo courtesy of the Art Museum.

A documentary by UWTV, Imagine Learning from the Masters: Public Art and Community Partnership will air on Wyoming PBS on Sunday, Spetember 13 at 5:30 pm. The film, narrated and filmed by UWTV's Mary Jung, features interviews with several of the artists who contributed work to the exhibition, Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational. In addition to hearing from artists such as James Surls, Patrick Dougherty and John Henry, the documentary includes comments from UW and city administrators.

Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational was organized by the UW Art Museum in the summer of 2008, during a time when the Museum's galleries were closed for renovation. The exhibition has sparked an over-year-long discussion on public art and continues to receive enthusiastic responses. A public art symposium was held in April, during which time the documentary was first shown.


Be sure to tune in Sunday night, September 13 to hear insider stories about the installation process, artists' motivations and a discussion on the positive aspects of having public art in Laramie.

Sculpture Exhibition to Continue

Linda Fleming's Refugium on the plaza west of the

Classroom Building will remain in the exhibition.

Photo courtesy of the UW Art Museum.

With the ongoing positive response from the community and the university campus, the Art Museum has extended the loans on many of the sculptures in the outdoor exhibition, Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational. Over the coming years, some works will be removed from the exhibition and new works will be added, creating an evolving program that offers changing configurations of artwork and opportunities to bring new artists into the program.

The first sculpture to be returned to the artist was Deborah Butterfield's Billings which has been on view in the Art Museum's lobby. The second work to be removed will be Steven Siegel's it goes under, the 125-ft long earthworm-like work along the Laramie Greenbelt. Removal is scheduled for mid-September.

For information on the exhibition and links to download the audio tour (use your cell phone to listen to information about each of the works in the exhibition!) and the locator maps of the sculpture in the exhibition and works permanently on view at UW and in Laramie, visit the museum's webpage.

3 Weeks until the Deadline for 20:20

The deadline to submit images for 20:20 is just three weeks away - Wednesday, September 9. This means that there is still plenty of time to sign up to give a presentation! Images must be submitted in a PowerPoint format to Assistant Curator Rachel Miller at rmiller@uwyo.edu. They can also be mailed on a CD to Dept. 3807, 1000 E. University Dr., Laramie, WY 82071 or dropped off at the Art Museum. Sign up is on a first come, first served basis.


This 20:20 is for statewide visual and performing artists, art organizations, educators, musicians and writers. It is being held in conjunction with the Wyoming Arts Council Art Summit, so the hope is to get a diverse group of presenters! 20:20 will be held on Wednesday, September 23 from 7-9 pm at the Little America in Cheyenne. If you're attending the Arts Summit, registration is that same evening, immediately preceding 20:20.


20:20 is a program that was begun by the Art Museum in April. The idea behind the program is to provide Wyoming artists a forum for presenting new works, projects and accomplishments. It's a chance for folks from around Wyoming to stay up to date with the arts, network with colleagues and share ideas. Presenters are allowed 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds, resulting in a 6 minute and 40 second presentation. The format allows for multiple presentations within a short (usually 2 hour) time period.


For more information, or to sign up, contact Rachel at 307.766.6621 or rmiller@uwyo.edu.

New Master Teacher at the Art Museum

Master Teacher Heather Bender started this week at the Art Museum.

Heather Bender has extensive experience in museums and education, including classroom teaching, curriculum development, and teacher training that utilize museums as original resources for educational benchmark goals. During her five years at the Buff alo Bill Historical Center in Cody, she developed and implemented the Museum Discovery Program, a partnership program with Cody High School. She taught social studies at Powell Middle School, Wyoming, and Maces Lande Middle School, Cambridge, Maryland. Most recently, she was the director of the LCSC Center for the Arts & History, Lewiston, Idaho. As master teacher, she will work with faculty and teachers statewide to integrate coursework goals and school benchmarks using the museum as a primary resource for a variety of disciplines. She holds a BA in Art and History with an Education minor from Salisbury University, Maryland.