announcements

Selected short event announcements published in The Ryder Magazine, in 2007. I wrote four or five announcements and one article a month for the Bloomington, IN free paper.

As We See Ourselves, a multi-media exhibit of self-portraits by women artists

March 2007

In honor of Women's History Month, Wandering Turtle Gallery is highlighting self portraits created by fourteen local and regional women artists, through March 24th. The photographs, paintings, drawings, multimedia works and artworks in other media reflect their creators' awareness of themselves, as women and artists. Gallery owner Jaime Sweany, who has contributed three of her own photographs from her REAL: Beautiful Women series to the project, states; "Over the past decade, I have been pleased to see many artists, authors and women's groups bringing the issue of female self-perception to light." Artists included in As We See Ourselves are Paula Bates, Yara Cluver, Patricia Coleman, Arlene Huss Cook, Fides Driscoll, Holly Graef, Mary Hambly, Jan Ley, Bonnie Gordon-Lucas, Ellen Starr Lyon, Sara Steffey-McQueen, MB Stephens, Jaime Sweany and Yelena Yahontova.

Mathers Museum exhibit helps preserve Liberian history

April 2007

During Liberia's recent civil war, many of the country's historical and political documents, art and cultural materials were looted or destroyed. The Mathers Museum of World Cultures presents Liberian Collections Project: Preserving the Past for Building the Future, which will be on display until December 21, 2007. According to the Mathers Museum, the "mission" of the project, which was founded IU Professor of Ethnomusicology and Folkore Ruth Stone, in the 1990's, "is to collect, preserve, and make available a comprehensive range of materials and information about Liberia for researchers, students, and teachers." Exhibition curator Verlon Stone highlights materials that are now rare or even one of a kind, including historical and ethnographic documents, government publications, books, photographs, audio and video tapes, and artifacts.The Mathers Museum is located at 601 E. 8th and is open Tuesday - Friday, from 9:00 - 4:30 pm and Saturday & Sunday, from 1:00 - 4:30 pm.

A Goddess in Every Woman : Yelena Yahontova
May 2007

Bloomington based photographer and portrait artist, Yelena Yahontova's "philosophical mantra" is; "Let the amount of joy, beauty, and love in the world multiply!" Yahontova, who reigns from Minsk, Belarus, is a published poet, journalist, lecturer and model, among her many talents. After coming to Bloomington in 2002, the artist established her portrait studio, Yelena Yahontova: Photographer of Joy. She explains that although many people know of her portrait studio, "most people don't know" about her art photography. This month, the John Waldron Art Center presents Yahontova's Goddesses of Nature series, which she describes as "a photo project celebrating the beauty, wisdom, and mystery of the sacred feminine whose true essence lies in a deep connection with Mother Nature." The works are on display in the Flashlight Gallery, on the upper floor of the Waldron, until May 26. Also view works on display in the Waldron's downstairs Rosemary P. Miller Gallery, created by Paul Lightfoot, Craig Barton and Richard Paul. The John Waldron Arts Center is located at 122 S. Walnut Street.

Commemorating Kurt Vonnegut with Mustard Gas and Roses
June 2007

Indianapolis born icon of counterculture Kurt Vonnegut is known for his incorporation of humanism, satire, and science fiction into his novels and plays. In the wake of Vonnegut's passing in April of this year, the Lilly Library is exhibiting a comprehensive collection of materials that track the author's career and creative output. The exhibition highlights many original manuscript drafts and first editions of the author's works, which are complimented by correspondence letters, illustrations, artworks, photographs, and related ephemera, including "General Headquarters," a strategy board game Vonnegut created for war veterans. Whether an aficionado or not, the visitor will find gems among the materials on display, including a letter from Hustler magazine's Larry Flint appealing for Vonnegut's support of his fight to uphold freedom of speech. Mustard Gas and Roses: The Life and Works of Kurt Vonnegut will be on display in the Lilly's main gallery, until September 8, 2007. The Lilly Library is located next to the IU Auditorium. The museum's summer hours are Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, Friday, from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, and Saturday, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

Emotional portraits of war and life after war
August 2007

For more than a decade, IU Fine Arts Photography professor Jeffrey Wolin has compiled photographs and interviews that tell the stories of Vietnam veterans. Wolin's resulting collection, entitled Inconvenient Stories: Portraits of Vietnam War Veterans, is currently on display in the Indiana Art Museum's Special Exhibitions Gallery, until September 2, 2007. The exhibition highlights portraits of veterans that gives a sense of their current living situations and conditions. These portraits are accompanied by photographs of the individuals during their time of service, wall text containing a selection of war stories and video interviews with the veterans. The collection reveals Wolin's skill at collecting candid accounts of highly sensitive subjects, including memories of violence and causality, struggle with post traumatic stress and injury, and anti-war / pro-war politics. Films about the Vietnam war will be screened in the Fine Arts building on Thursday nights in August and a series of related talks will be held a the end of the month. An accompanying book is currently available in the Friends of Art Bookshop and at the museum's shop.