Film Screening of "Herb & Dorothy" on Monday Evening

Dorothy and Herbert Vogel at The Clocktower with a drawing by Philip Pearlstein behind them, 1975. Photography Credit: Nathaniel Tileston. Courtesy Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The Art Museum is hosting a film screening of the documentary, Herb & Dorothy (Arthouse Films, Maguna Susaki, director), on Monday evening, April 4 at 7 pm. The film will be shown in the Centennial Complex Restaurant, which is accessible through the lower level front entrance. Refreshments will be served and the screening is free and open to the public.

The film tells the story of Herbert Vogel, a postal clerk, and Dorothy Vogel, a librarian, who spent 45 years collecting contemporary American art and amassed a collection of over 2,000 pieces. Recognizing their collection would be too unwieldy for one institution, they developed a program through the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. that distributed 50 works of art to public collections in each of the 50 states. The UW Art Museum was chosen as the Wyoming participant in the program. A selection of the works gifted to the UW Art Museum are on view until Aug. 27.

Please join us for movie night at the museum! For more information about the exhibition of the film screening, please call 307.766.6622.

New Artist Interview with Etsuko Ichikawa on YouTube

The latest artist interview is now available for viewing on the Art Museum's YouTube page. Etsuko Ichikawa was interviewed in February while she on on-site installing her work. NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - is a site-specific installation, created specifically for the UW Art Museum. In her interview, Ichikawa talks about her inspiration for working with a range of materials that includes thread, video, audio, and pyrographs, which are drawing made from molten glass on paper. She also discusses the role of movement in her work and the process of creating, transporting, and unpacking the work.

The series of video interviews with contemporary artists is an ongoing collaboration with UWTV and enables us to capture the voice, words, and ideas of our visiting artists and share that information publicly. We hope that hearing directly from the artist is inspiring, engaging, and encourages you to visit or re-visit their work with a new perspective.

Etsuko Ichikawa: NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - is on view through August 6, 2011. The Art Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm, with extended Monday hours until 9 pm through the first Monday of May. Admission is free. For more information on this or any other exhibition, please call 307.766.6622.

Gallons of Gray Paint in the Gallery

Preparator David Jones reaches the top of the gallery wall with his paintbrush.

Courtesy of the Art Museum.

There's a change coming to the Art Museum's gallery walls! This week, Chief Preparator Sterling Smith and Preparator David Jones have been busy transforming the large gallery space by painting it gray.

Two of the small galleries on the south side of the museum have always been gray, and this winter the middle two galleries were painted to match. Progress continues with half of the large space now being painted before the opening of the exhibition, From the Scottish Sublime to the American West: Selections from the University of Wyoming, which opens on April 9. The second half of the large gallery space will be painted later this summer after Etsuko Ichikawa: NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - closes on August 6.

Our preparators estimate that they will use 23 gallons of paint to complete this half of the gallery space. If you've visited the small galleries, you may have noticed that the gray color creates a soothing, almost intimate atmosphere. The matte color also makes the artwork "pop" - bringing out colors and contrasts within the artwork.

Be sure to visit the Art Museum to see this change in the galleries! We're open Monday - Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm with extended Monday hours until 9 pm. Admission is always free!

We want to hear from you!

Visitors at the Art Museum take time to observe and experience Etsuko Ichikawa's installation. Courtesy of the Art Museum.

Have you been to the Art Museum recently? An installation by Japanese artist Etsuko Ichikawa has transformed half of the large gallery space. Inspired by an ancient waterfall in Japan that has been a shrine for purification and meditation for generations of people, NACHI - between the eternal and the ephemeral - invites museum visitors to observe and reflect. A combination of materials - cotton thread, video projection, an audio component, and pyrographs (drawings on paper made from molten glass) offer much to look at.

A new guest book has been placed in this gallery space to get your feedback. We've noticed that some visitors have returned to the gallery twice and even three times, and we'd like to hear more from you! If you visit for the first time, is it what you expected? What word or words would you use to describe the experience? How did the space make you feel? If you're one of those visitors who has been to see NACHI more than once, what brings you back? Does your experience change? How so?

Visitor comments are important to the Art Museum because it tells us what you think, what you like, or if you'd like to see something else. For artists, it's important for them to hear reactions after they've completed a work, installed it, and gone back to their studios.

The Art Museum always welcomes your feedback and we have several places where you can leave your comments online - here on the blog or on our facebook page. If you're at the Museum, we have visitor surveys and now the guest book back in the gallery specifically for the Etsuko Ichikawa installation. We appreciate you taking the time to tell us what you think!

Spring Cleaning Sale This Week at the Museum Store

It's spring cleaning time at the Museum Store, which means it's a great time to pick up some one-of-a-kind items on sale! All non-consignment merchandise is 20% off this week. While the Museum Store is making room for new inventory this spring, you can find unique home decor items, gifts for friends and family, or something special for yourself!

The Museum Store is open Monday-Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm. The spring cleaning sale continues through this Saturday, March 26. For more information, contact store manager Rosie Chapp at 307.766.3982.

Final March Art Month Class This Saturday

A student works on his art project in the Shelton Studio. Courtesy of the Art Museum.

The final March Art Month Saturday class will be this Saturday, March 26th, 1 - 3 pm, at the Art Museum. It is open for students age 4-11. Parents of students age 5 and younger are asked to remain with their children.

This class is a great way for students to explore new ideas, concepts and artistic mediums. The class will explore artwork that is on view in the museum, and then using the ideas and materials seen there, create their own work in the Shelton Studio.

Pre-registration is encouraged. For more information, or to register, call Master Teacher Heather Bender at 307.766.3515.

Final Days to See the UW Art Department Faculty Exhibition

Installation view of some of the work from the UW Art Department Faculty Exhibition. Courtesy of the Art Museum.

The last day to see the UW Art Department Faculty Exhibition is this Saturday, March 19. This exhibition features work by faculty members Ashley Hope Carlisle, Jessica Perry, Jenny Venn, Patrick Kikut, Shelby Shadwell, David Jones, Margaret Haydon, Mark Ritchie, Diana Baumbach, Nate Abel, Ricki Klages, Leah Hardy, and Doug Russell. A variety of media and methods can be seen, ranging from installation pieces to painting, graphic design, and drawing, just to name a few.

The Art Museum is open this week, including Saturday, from 10 am to 5 pm, and admission is free. Be sure to stop by and see this exhibition before it closes! It's a great way to see what the art faculty does in their own studios, and to explore the wide range of creativity on campus!