Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Georgia Museum of Art at UGA receives national awards for publications

The Georgia Museum of Art (GMOA) at the University of Georgia recently received two national awards for its publications: first prize for Facet, its quarterly newsletter, in the American Association of Museums (AAM) Publications Design Competition, and first runner-up for its book “One Hundred American Paintings” from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards in the “Art” category.

“We are thrilled but not humbled by these national awards,” said the museum’s director of communications, Hillary Brown. “We firmly believe that our publications stand with the best in the country, and we are pleased to have them recognized as such.”

The museum has never won first prize at AAM before and competed this year against such institutions as the Jewish Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Athens firm The Adsmith redesigned the newsletter and christened it Facet when the museum reopened its expanded and renovated building in January 2011. The current format allows for significant space to reproduce works of art and original content on donors, acquisitions, exhibitions and educational programs.

The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. It is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape. AAM is the only organization representing the entire scope of museums and professionals and nonpaid staff who work for and with museums. It represents more than 18,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, almost 3,000 institutions and 250 corporate members.

For more than 25 years, AAM has recognized and encouraged excellence in the graphic design of museum publications through the Museum Publications Design Competition, the only national, juried competition of its kind. Winners are chosen for their overall design excellence, creativity and ability to express an institution’s personality, mission or special features. The panel of judges includes graphic designers, museum professionals and publishers.

“One Hundred American Paintings,” by GMOA’s chief curator and curator of American art, Paul Manoguerra, serves as an introduction to one of the museum’s greatest strengths. The Eric Hoffer Award for short prose and books was established at the start of the 21st century as a means of opening a door to writing of significant merit. It honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers.

For a high-resolution image to accompany this story, reply to this email or contact Michael Lachowski at 706.542.9078 or mlachow@uga.edu.

Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton Street, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 30602-6719. For more information, including hours, see www.georgiamuseum.org or call 706.542.GMOA (4662).

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Skate It or Hang It!? The Evolution of Skateboard Art At Museum of Design Atlanta June 16 – Sept. 16

This summer, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) presents the raddest show in town, Skate It or Hang It!? The Evolution of Skateboard Art, which will open on June 16 and run through September 16. All summer, MODA will offer insane programming to go along with the exhibition that will have the whole city stoked.

Skate It or Hang It!? examines the visual aspects skateboarding, a sport important to contemporary youth culture since the 1970s, by presenting a broad range of styles, imagery, and visual expression in skateboard art. With a broad focus on skateboard graphics—in particular the styles and methods used to embellish skateboard decks—the exhibition will appeal to a broad range of skateboarders, designers and artists and to Atlanta’s youth in general.

Visitors will come to understand skateboard graphics in a variety of ways, as Skate It or Hang It!? will include a survey of skateboard art from the 1970s to the present day; original installations by Atlanta-based artists influenced by skateboard art such as Alex Brewer aka HENSE and Charlie Owens; interviews with VCJ and Jim Phillips, along with personal appearances and art by Sean Cliver, Andy Howell, Wes Humpton, Lance Mountain, Don Pendleton, and Steve Olson; an exhibition demonstrating the steps by which skateboard decks are fabricated and a nine-foot interactive skateboard sticker exhibition. There will also be interactive activities allowing children (and others) to design and create their own skateboard decks.

Skate It or Hang It?! was curated by W. Todd Vaught and is supported at MODA in part by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs.

About Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)
MODA opened in its new home in Midtown in March 2011, and is the only museum in the Southeast devoted exclusively to the study and celebration of all things design. MODA examines how design affects our daily lives through engaging exhibitions, K-12 educational outreach and exciting adult programming. MODA regularly features exhibitions of architecture, industrial and product design, interiors and furniture, graphics, fashion, and more. For more information, visit: www.museumofdesign.org or call 404-979-6455.


Museum Hours at 1315 Peachtree will be as follows:

Monday Closed
Tuesday 10am-5pm
Wednesday 10am-5pm
Thursday 10am-5pm
Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12-5pm

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Georgia Museum of Art at UGA to exhibit southern folk art

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will feature works by southern self-taught artists from its permanent collection from April 28 to July 22. This display coincides with the museum’s exhibition of photographs by John Baeder, in the adjacent galleries, which focuses on street signs as folk art and American vernacular architecture.

Works by self-taught artists have been a recent area of focus for GMOA, and the display features acquisitions since 2006. Organized by Paul Manoguerra, chief curator and curator of American art at GMOA, “Southern Folk Art from the Permanent Collection” includes art by Mose Tolliver, Thornton Dial Sr., R.A. Miller, Purvis Young, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mary T. Smith, Minnie Adkins and Cheever Meaders, among others.

“The initiative to collect works by self-taught artists, especially from the South, continues to be important to the Georgia Museum of Art,” said Manoguerra. “This display celebrates these artists, our donors and this ongoing collecting enterprise.”

The major gift in January to GMOA by Brenda and Larry Thompson of works by African American artists is responsible for one of the works to be shown—Archie Byron’s sculpture “Homeless Man” made of sawdust formed into a moldable paste and then painted with house paint. Byron (1928–2005) was born and spent his life in Atlanta. Previous to his art career, he was a boyhood friend of Martin Luther King Jr., founded the first African American-owned private-investigator firm in the U.S. and served as a member of the Atlanta City Council.

Another highlight is Harold Rittenberry’s sculpture “Ode to Joy,” a large work in the welded metal the Athens-based artist uses as his medium. Given to the museum in 2009 by patrons Michael and Mary Erlanger, it is on display at GMOA for the first time since becoming part of the collection.

“Southern Folk Art from the Permanent Collection” also includes works given by GMOA Board of Advisors chair Carl Mullis and his wife, Marian, and by Ron and June Shelp, of New York, who have donated many works by self-taught artists to GMOA’s collection. Born in Cartersville, Shelp received his undergraduate degree from UGA in 1964.

The Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art are sponsoring the exhibition.

For high-resolution press-ready images, reply to this email or contact Hillary Brown at hazbrown@uga.edu or 706.542.1817.

Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton Street, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 30602-6719. For more information, including hours, see www.georgiamuseum.org or call 706.542.GMOA (4662).

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Fore! Images of Golf in Art

On Display at Augusta, Georgia’s Morris Museum of Art Masters Week

Organized by the Morris Museum of Art, Fore! Images in Golf Art opens on Saturday, February 4, 2012. The exhibition includes more than twenty-five works of art—photographs, paintings, and drawings by such well-known artists as LeRoy Neiman, Will Barnet, Tim Clark, Ray Ellis, Lucy McTier, Dan Rizzie, Linda Hartough, Frank Christian, and Philip Morsberger, among others. It remains on view through April 15, 2012.

“Through a wide variety of traditional mediums and through subjects as wide-ranging as Dan Rizzie’s depiction of actor Bill Murray in character in Caddyshack to LeRoy Neiman’s dramatic oil portrait of Tiger Woods, from photographs of legendary players to a painting of the storied clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club, the exhibition explores and celebrates the history of golf, its inherent beauty, and its place in our culture. This is especially true here in Augusta, Georgia, home of the Masters Tournament and Mecca to serious fans of the sport,” said Kevin Grogan, director of the Morris Museum of Art.

Related Events

Thursday, March 22, 6:00 p.m.
Fore the Love of Golf Exhibition Opening

Enjoy all the traditional trappings of the Nineteenth Hold—azalea cocktails, “Arnold Palmers,” pimento cheese sandwiches—plus putting greens and special art projects during the “Fore! the Love of Golf” party celebrating the Morris’s exhibition of the art of golf. Museum members, $5.00; nonmembers, $10.00. RSVP by calling 706-724-7501.

Friday, April 13, noon
Art at Lunch with Linda Hartough

Celebrated landscape artist Linda Hartough, who is represented in Fore! by several paintings, discusses her breathtaking depictions of some of the world’s most famous courses. Members, $10.00; nonmembers, $14.00. Preregistration required by calling 706-828-3867 by April 11.

The Morris Museum of Art was founded in 1985 and opened to the public in 1992. It is the oldest museum in the country that is devoted to the art and artists of the American South. The museum’s permanent collection of five thousand works of art, dating from the late-eighteenth century to the present, represents every aspect of the region’s visual culture. The Morris is open to the public from Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., and on Sunday, noon–5:00 p.m. For more information about the Morris Museum of Art, visit www.themorris.org or call 706-724-7501.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

SCAD School of Building Arts announces Winter 2012 lecture series

The Savannah College of Art and Design’s School of Building Arts announces its full Winter 2012 lecture series. The Winter 2012 series features speakers from every School of Building Arts discipline. All events will take place in the SCAD Museum of Art theater, 601 Turner Boulevard, and are free and open to the public.

Historic preservation

On Thursday, Jan. 12, 5:30 p.m., Don Jones will present “Heritage Without Borders: International preservation and heritage development in the 21st century.” Since the Venice Charter and the creation of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, historic preservation has spurred economic development, sustainable tourism, community rebuilding and promoted cultural identity, but has the preservation community encouraged the best preservation practices? This presentation will examine how the international preservation community can engage in international development efforts across the world.

Donald G. Jones, Ph.D., was appointed director of US/ICOMOS in 2011. He joined US/ICOMOS in August 2003 as director of programs. He has presented papers and authored reports on his research interests, which include heritage tourism and cultural landscapes, as well as the history of preservation and environmentalism.

Urban design

On Thursday, Jan. 19, 5:30 p.m., Roger Sherman will deliver his talk “Double Agency,” a call to architects to look outside their own discipline for inspiration and ideas if their work is to remain relevant to the culture-at-large in today’s complex world. Sherman will explore his experiments in new modes of architectural production and their surprising formal, economic and political potential.

Roger Sherman is principal of Roger Sherman Architecture and Urban Design in Los Angeles. He is co-director of cityLAB, an urban think tank at UCLA, and has authored several books including "L.A. Under the Influence: The Hidden Logic of Urban Property" and "Re: American Dream: Higher Density Housing Prototypes for Los Angeles."

Architectural history

On Thursday, Jan. 26, 5:30 p.m., architectural historian Kim Sexton will present “Cracks in the Façade: Renaissance palazzo, renaissance self,” which will focus on the nature of the Renaissance individual and whether the residential palazzo façade was a representation of the self. Sexton will discuss whether the understanding of the Renaissance self, rather than the palazzo, ought to be modified to conform more closely to historical reality. This exploration approaches the façade through new theories of Renaissance individualism and the tourist gaze.

Kim Sexton teaches courses in the history of world architecture at the University of Arkansas. Sexton, who received her Ph.D. from Yale University, has held a Fulbright Pre-doctoral Research Fellowship and Gladys Krieble Delmas Fellowships. She is completing a book that positions the loggia in cultural history and serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Society of Architectural Historians.

Furniture design

On Thursday, Feb. 2, 5:30 p.m., Rob Eastman will discuss his professional career in the furniture industry and his roles in Davis Furniture's design and development operations with “Inside Davis Furniture: Leader in the contract furniture market and contemporary design.”

Rob Eastman is vice president of design and development at Davis Furniture, an award-winning contemporary design leader in the contract furniture market. Before working at Davis, Eastman was the senior industrial designer at Brayton International. He has worked in the furniture industry for 16 years and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Architecture

On Thursday, Feb. 16, 5:30 p.m., architect Dolan Daggett will deliver his talk, “From the bottom up: An exploration of design rooted in experiment, specificity, and the primacy of ideas.”

Dolan Daggett hails from California where he received a professional degree in architecture from Cal Poly. As project director for Eric Owen Moss Architects, Daggett has worked in the design, management and construction of internationally significant architecture. Daggett lectures and critiques at three universities, and he has sat on the Urban Design committee for a light rail transit line.

Interior design

On Thursday, Feb. 23, 5:30 p.m., interior design professional Will McGovern will present “Signatures are for writers: Making your mark without predicting your presence.”

Will McGovern served as the lead interior architect and interior designer for a $100 million renovation of a historic hotel in Washington, D.C. The Jefferson was redesigned to meet the owner’s objective and reposition the hotel as the capital's most luxurious accommodations. Recently, it was accepted into the prestigious Relais & Châteaux luxury hotel collection.

Historic preservation

On Thursday, March 1, 5:30 p.m., Ron Staley will discuss where historic preservation merges with hard business in “Historic Preservation and the Team: Constructing partnerships for successful project implementation.” Contemporary historic preservation projects are complex business arrangements requiring industry professionals to lead teams to successful project conclusion. In the business market today, historic preservationists possess a keen business understanding and communicate effectively. They partner with various individuals including the owner, developer, financier, design team, and contractor, as well as public and private agencies. “Historic Preservation and the Team” will explore these relationships and how they work best.

As senior vice president of The Christman Company, Ron Staley maintains professional partnerships that are key to implementing high profile projects. He leads award winning team-based construction work.

Urban design

On Thursday, March 8, 5:30 p.m., Lola Sheppard will discuss urban design in her lecture “An Examination of Fourth Natures: Emerging territories that exist as a mediation of natural and built environments.”

Lola Sheppard founded Lateral Office in 2002 with Mason White. She is also a co-director of InfraNet Lab, a non-profit research collective probing the spatial by-products of contemporary resource logistics. Lateral Office received the Emerging Voices award from the Architecture League of New York in 2011 and the 2010 Professional Prix de Rome award from the Canada Council for the Arts.

For more information, please call 912.525.6926. For interview or image requests, media may contact Emily Belford at 912.525.5210 or ebelford@scad.edu.

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor’s and master’s degrees at distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in more than 40 areas of study, as well as minors in nearly 60 disciplines in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia; in Hong Kong; in Lacoste, France; and online through SCAD eLearning.

SCAD has more than 20,000 alumni and offers an exceptional education and unparalleled career preparation. The diverse student body, consisting of more than 11,000 students, comes from all 50 United States and more than 100 countries worldwide. Each student is nurtured and motivated by a faculty of more than 700 professors with extraordinary academic credentials and valuable professional experience. These professors emphasize learning through individual attention in an inspiring university environment. SCAD’s innovative curriculum is enhanced by advanced, professional-level technology, equipment and learning resources and has garnered acclaim from respected organizations and publications, including 3D World, American Institute of Architects, BusinessWeek, DesignIntelligence, U.S. News & World Report and the Los Angeles Times.

For more information, visit scad.edu.

Atlanta Dogwood Festival Announces Dates for 2012 – April 20 through 22

After a stellar diamond anniversary earlier this year, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival will take no time to rest on its laurels as organizers are already hard at work planning the 2012 spring event. Next April will bring back more fine art, live music, international performances, casual and gourmet food, kids activities, high school artists, competing dogs and … everyone’s new favorite, the Seattle Ferris Wheel.

There is no better way to celebrate spring and the blooming of the city’s favorite trees than at the 2012 Atlanta Dogwood Festival.

AT A GLANCE The 76th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival takes place in Atlanta’s beautiful Piedmont Park on April 20, 21 and 22, 2012. Festival attendance is free, although a few of the areas are ticketed. www.dogwood.org

ARTS The 2012 Atlanta Dogwood Festival Artist Market welcomes fine artists from throughout the country and includes a special section featuring Georgia artists. Selected from nearly a thousand entries, the juried Artist Market presents a variety of media, from oil painting to jewelry to sculpture and fiber. It’s an entire weekend worth of art.

Each year, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is thrilled to sponsor the Atlanta High School Art Exhibition (AHSAE), which last year brought in almost 600 entries from talented young artists throughout Atlanta and Georgia. Providing winners with $40,000 in scholarships and supplies, the AHSAE is community-oriented feature of the festival that fills a growing gap in creative opportunities for youth. Held in the Community Center in Piedmont Park during the festival, the AHSAE highlights the variety and breadth of young Atlanta artistic talent and has received national recognition for its impact on young artists.

HOTELS Atlanta visitors and residents looking for a great spring “staycation” can get special Atlanta Dogwood Festival rates at these nearby Midtown hotels:

Hotel Midtown – $89 per night
Renaissance Hotel - $129 per night
Courtyard Marriott - $109 per night
Marriott Suites Hotel - $129 per night
* reservations required; check www.dogwood.org for more information

GLOBAL To celebrate the diverse international communities in Atlanta, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival features the International Village and Stage. With more than 500 performers on the International Stage representing over 20 countries as well as local community organizations, and an interactive edutainment area, the International Village is an inspiring recent addition to the festival. This area also includes a culturally decorated golf cart competition, and it kicks off on Friday night with La Fête, a ticketed international food and wine tasting.

SPECTATORS Each year, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival offers entertainment throughout the weekend. As always, two live music stages feature performers from a variety of musical genres. Festival attendees can also enjoy the popular live disc dog competition and street performances.

FOR FOODIES The “Friends of Dogwood Pavilion,” a ticketed event that has become a popular feature of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The Pavilion pairs delicacies from top local restaurants with wines in a comfortable, exclusive setting. Tickets to Friends of Dogwood can be purchased in advance at www.dogwood.org.

BEING GREEN The Atlanta Dogwood Festival works in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council – Atlanta Chapter to include a Green Festival Initiative that diverts tons of waste from landfills, recycles cooking oil, runs stages on bio-diesel generators and allows vendors to use only compostable flatware, cups and serving plates. This initiative has been so successful, it has won national recognition and created a model other festivals are working to follow.

KIDS Designed just for the younger festival visitors, the Kid’s Village is always a festival favorite for families. This interactive zone comes complete with hands-on art projects, special kid-friendly displays and hours of entertainment for children. With anything from rock climbing to the popular spider jump, parents will find this area the ideal place for their children to let out some energy and have some fun.

ENTRANCE Just as it has been for the past 75 years, the 76th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival is free!

FUNDRAISING As a registered 501-C3, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival thanks Friends of the Dogwood and our sponsors who help keep this great event free and open to the public.

Additional neighborhood and community-oriented features will be part of the 76th Atlanta Dogwood Festival – details coming soon!

ABOUT THE ATLANTA DOGWOOD FESTIVAL
The city’s longest-running festival, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing the annual springtime celebration of arts and entertainment. The 76th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival will take place April 20 – 22, 2012. The festival offices are located at 887 West Marietta Street, Studio S-105, Atlanta, Georgia 30318. The Atlanta Dogwood Festival can be reached at 404-817-6642 or visited online at www.dogwood.org.


Like the Atlanta Dogwood Festival on Facebook - www.facebook.com/atlantadogwoodfestival and follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/dogwoodfestival.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Pay As You Wish at the High Museum of Art

On Sunday, January 15, visitors have the opportunity to pay what they wish all day at the High Museum of Art during regular Museum hours. Visitors will be able to view all of the special exhibitions currently on view including the Picasso to Warhol exhibition.

WHEN: Sunday, January 15, 12 to 5 p.m. (Last entry given at 4 p.m.) Walk-up tickets only.

WHERE: High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA, 30309, Arts Center Way

INFORMATION AND TICKETS: For more information click here or call 404.733.4444 (HIGH).

Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012 Spring Festival on Ponce Announced

“Spring Festival on Ponce” will host approximately 150 (mostly) local artists and crafters in a two day outdoor art and crafts festival to be held in April 14-15, 2012 in the chain of parks along Ponce de Leon Ave. The success of the inaugural Festival on Ponce was so strong that the Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces will now hold two events in the Olmstead Parks: one in spring, and one in fall. These beautiful parks have lovely trees and paths and great visibility from one of Atlanta's truly historic avenues. This is a unique and wonderful opportunity for locals and visitors to appreciate the vision and legacy of one of America’s most celebrated landscape architects, Fredrick Olmsted, Sr., at an ideal location for one of the most enjoyable art shows of the year!

Location: 1451 Ponce de Leon Avenue, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307

Olmsted chain of Parks

Times: Sat., April 14, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Sun., April 15, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Music: Acoustic music only

Admission: Free to attend

Website: www.festivalonponce.com

This is the second year to hold an outdoor arts and crafts festival in the chain of parks on Ponce de Leon Ave in the historic Druid Hills neighborhood. This event will be very conservative, with a sensitivity to the park and neighborhood. Visitors will appreciate the extensive renovations and maintenance accomplished by the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance. The parks on Ponce are just down the street from the Fernbank Museum (at Boulevard and Ponce de Leon), and designed by Frederick Olmsted, Sr. with total enjoyment in mind. Emerging artists of all stripes are encouraged to participate.