Though we close for the current season on May 5 (five more days to catch the Senior Art Exhibition), we have many good things in the works for fall. See you in August!
Author: Shan Bryan-Hanson
Senior Exhibition 2017
Congratulations to the SNC Art Class of 2017! Here is a peek at the work each of the graduating majors presented in the Senior Art Exhibition:
Maria Deau
Emily Olsen
Becky Ratajczyk
Katie Vogel
Alex Velicer
Kerry Galvin
Alison Cordry
Jill Kleiman
Abbie Hausman
Haley Kropp
Rose Gilderson-Duwe
Caimyn Lutze
SNC Day 2016
There was much to see, learn, and make in the Bush Art Center on SNC Day this past Saturday! Here are a few highlights:
Visitors made flowers out of organic cotton and recycled t-shirt fabric. The project was inspired by a piece in the April Beiswenger: 1000 T-Shirt Project exhibit.
Rebecca Rutter, tiny house owner, designer and builder, gave tours of the house from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The house drew a lot of interest with steady waiting lines all day long. In case you missed it, there are three more days to tour the house! Open house hours are Wednesday, noon- 2 p.m., Thursday, noon-2 p.m. and Friday, 11:00-1:00 p.m., through Friday, Sept. 23.
On display throughout the day were, among other artworks, gorgeous hand-sewn garments by Alabama Chanin in the Shelter and Clothing exhibit and a map piece illustrating where t-shirts are made in the 1000 T-Shirt Project exhibit.
A lot of boot making fun happened in the critique studio. SNC students and alums helped visitors craft boot models and handed out screen prints. The project was designed by professor Katie Reis and student collaborator, Maria Deau.
Kids stopped in the Baer Gallery to draw their own tiny house designs.
Other events throughout the day included Art and Design lectures presented by Art professor, Fr. Jim Neilson and Theatre professor, April Beiswenger. Cheers to another great SNC Day!
Ten Simple Ways to Transition to a more Ethical and Sustainable Wardrobe
Last night, as part of Fashion This, we screened the film The True Cost . The film explores the environmental toll and human rights violations surrounding the fast fashion industry. Afterwards, a question was asked about ways to transition to a more ethical and eco-friendly wardrobe.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Buy used clothing. There are many great resources for used clothing–yard sales, consignment shops, thrift stores, and online consignment and swap sites like ThredUp and Poshmark.
- Buy quality garments that will last many years. Uncertain about how to assess quality? Inspect your clothing items that have lasted many years. Study the feel and drape of the fabric, inspect the seams and overall construction of the garments. Compare this to a garment you recently purchased that quickly stretched or ripped.
- Care for your clothes. Read care instructions on labels. Put delicate items in mesh garment bags before tossing them in the wash. Line dry clothes whenever possible. Learn and use basic mending skills. Store clothes with care.
- Shop like my grandmothers did. They both had lovely wardrobes and chose clothes based on their personal styles rather than the latest trends. They also purchased well-made clothes that would last many years.
- Host a clothing swap.
- Create a capsule wardrobe. Check out Project 333 for inspiration. A traditional capsule wardrobe is one that lasts for years, not just a season. Build a capsule wardrobe slowly, with classic pieces that won’t go out of style. If you crave new clothes each season try building a capsule wardrobe from thrifted clothes.
- Buy fair trade clothing and garments made from organic fabric.
- Clean out your closet regularly. Knowing what you have and what you need can curb the urge to make impulse purchases.
- Support artists and small creative businesses that produce one of a kind garments. Shop Etsy, art fairs and small, local businesses.
- Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Make a few manageable, sustainable changes. Build on that over time.
Meantime, check out the remaining Fashion This exhibitions and events!
Explore a Tiny House
As part of the exhibition Shelter and Clothing, a tiny house will be on display on the lawn outside the Bush Art Center. Open house hours are M, T, W, Th, 12-2 p.m. and F, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Aug. 29-Sept. 23. The house will also be open for tours on Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Mark your calendars for these upcoming exhibitions in the Bush Art Center:
Shelter and Clothing: Using Sustainable Design to Rethink How We Live Today
Baer Gallery, August 29 – Sept. 23
Open for SNC Day on Saturday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
“And where she ends she doth anew begin.”
– the 1000 t-shirt project by April Beiswenger
Godschalx Gallery, August 29 – Sept. 23
Artist’s Lecture: Fashion This! Sustainable Clothing and You, Sat., Sept. 17, 3-3:45
Kevin J. Miyazaki: Camp Home
Baer Gallery, October 3 – October 28
Reception, Thursday, October 13, 5-7 p.m.
A Potter Collects: The Collection of Reid Schoonover
Godschalx Gallery, October 3 – October 28
Reception, Thursday, October 13, 5-7 p.m.
2016-17 Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition
Baer Gallery, November 7 – December 9
Awards Reception, Thursday, Nov. 10
Graphic Design and Rock & Roll – the Art of the Music Poster
Godschalx Gallery, November 7 – December 9
Reception, Thursday, Nov. 10
Undergraduate Research in the Galleries
Two current exhibitions in the art galleries feature undergraduate research. “Bring the War Home” is a class research project directed by Brandon Bauer, Assistant Professor of Art at St. Norbert College. He describes this project as follows:
For this project we restaged and re-photographed an archival image of a Vietnam War protest that took place on the St. Norbert College campus in 1969. The project was inspired by class discussions about conceptual strategies contemporary artists use, including narrative approaches, staged documentation, and ideas of the cinematic in contemporary photography.
More about the “Bring the War Home” project can be read in the latest edition of St. Norbert College Magazine.
The Permanent Collection Gallery features a curatorial research project by Rebecca Swanson. She completed this project as part of her Research Fellowship in the Art Galleries. Rebecca chose two works from the St. Norbert Art Collection to research and analyze, an untitled work by Daniel Dickhut, founder of the St. Norbert College Art program and a painting by Juan Soriano, gifted to the collection by BMO Financial Group and Kohler Foundation, Inc.
Stop by the galleries the week of March 28-April 1 to check out these exhibits (the galleries are closed for Spring and Easter breaks this week). Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. during the academic year.
Installing “Debbie Kupinsky: Terrain”
The installation of the exhibition, Debbie Kupinsky: Terrain will soon be finished and ready to open on the first day of classes, Monday, January 25, 2016. The exhibition runs through February 19 with a public reception on Thursday, Feb. 4, 5-7 p.m.
The artist writes about her work:
My work investigates the role of objects and images as carriers of meaning and explores the role of layered images in the construction of metaphorical landscapes. Ordinary objects like flowers, teacups, bottles, and toys are some of the subjects and images within my work that come together to create larger, open narrative. The relationships in the work between sculptural pieces and found objects are meant to leave space for the viewer and allow them to find themselves, their memories and associations.
This is a beautiful, visually engaging exhibition, not to be missed! To see more of Debbie Kupinsky’s work visit debbiekupinsky.com
The Art Galleries at St. Norbert College to receive NEH Grant
The Art Galleries at St. Norbert College will receive a Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The award is for $6000 to support the purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies for the St. Norbert College Art Collection. The project includes the purchase of shelving and storage equipment for sculpture, additional flat files for unframed works on paper and slotted storage for large paintings. It also includes the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment to assist us in monitoring the UV light, visible light, temperature and relative humidity in the galleries, collection storage area and other spaces on campus where art from the collection is displayed.
This is the second Preservation Assistance Grant awarded to the Art Galleries. The first was also a $6000 grant, awarded in 2013 in support of a Preservation Needs Assessment Survey of the Art Collection. The survey was completed in 2014 by the Midwest Art Conservation Center. The survey included a list of short, medium and long term recommendations which we used to develop a preservation plan. The project currently being funded by the NEH was developed as part of this plan.
Other recent strides made in ensuring the preservation of the St. Norbert College Art Collection include the installation of a new climate control system in art collection storage facility, cataloging the collection using PastPerfect museum database software, and participating in a Museum Assessment Program Organizational Self-Study and Peer Review.
The permanent collection at St. Norbert College is comprised of approximately one thousand works of art. Works in the collection range from 13th c. illuminated manuscript pages to contemporary paintings and prints.
We are grateful to the NEH for its support of the humanities and the preservation of our cultural heritage.
