Northwestern University June 2012 Visual Arts Calendar

EVANSTON, Ill.  “Art on Paper: Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Block Museum”  -- a celebration of the depth and diversity of the Block’s permanent collection and its role within Northwestern University’s intellectual and cultural life -- at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art will run though Aug. 26. 

The Spring and Summer 2012 exhibition includes works by artists, including Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Mary Cassatt and Ed Paschke. 

The Block Museum, at 40 Arts Circle Drive, on the University’s Evanston campus, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday; and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The museum’s summer hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday) will be in effect June 19 through Aug. 26. It is closed on Monday. For more information, visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-4000. 

“Liminal End” -- featuring installations by Northwestern senior class of art theory and practice majors -- runs through June 7 at the Dittmar Memorial Gallery at Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive.  For more information, call the Dittmar at (847) 491-2348 or Norris University Center at (847) 491-2300, email dittmargallery@northwestern.edu or visit www.dittmar.northwestern.edu. 

Exhibitions at University Library at 1970 Campus Drive, on the Evanston campus are open to the public daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. “Choices: Alternative Cars, Alternative Fuels” runs through Aug. 17. “Papering Over Tough Times: Soviet Propaganda Posters of the 1930s,” runs through June 15. For more information, visit www.library.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-7658. 

BLOCK MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS 

“Art on Paper: Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Block Museum,” through Aug. 26, Block Museum, Main Gallery. “Art on Paper” reflects the depth and diversity of the nearly 5,000 objects in the Block’s permanent collection. It features culturally important and technologically innovative works on paper by Albrecht Durer, Castiglione, J. M. Whistler, Mary Cassatt, Wassily Kandinsky, Robert Motherwell, Andy Warhol, Ed Paschke, Robert Mapplethorpe, Laura Letinsky, Sarah Sze and other artists spanning more than seven centuries. It explores the collection’s role for cross-disciplinary research and teaching and documents the growth of the Block's holdings. The exhibition celebrates the museum’s areas of distinction, including collections of drawings and prints by Chicago architects Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin and computer-generated works on paper. 

MFA Thesis Exhibition from the Department of Art Theory and Practice, May 4 through June 17, Block Museum, Alsdorf Gallery. The annual MFA exhibition is the culmination of study leading to the master of fine arts degree. Candidates engage in intensive research as they develop their individual art-making practices in a climate of rigorous critical thinking. The exhibition is the place in which they turn their research, as manifest in the works of art they have made, over to the public. This year the exhibit features the work of Robert Chase Heishman, Zach Meyer, Madsen Minax, Rachel Niffenegger and Megan Schvaneveldt. An exhibition catalogue is available. 

“The Immortal Art Project Exhibit,” through June 17, Block Museum. A displayed scroll of colorful thumbprints of members of the Northwestern University community is a collaboration of the Block Museum and One Book One Northwestern. The scroll is a response to the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cells, taken without her knowledge, were used in groundbreaking medical research. Northwestern students, faculty and staff have participated in discussions of Rebecca Skloot’s book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” this year. 

ONGOING BLOCK EXHIBITION 

“Theo Leffmann: Weaving a Life into Art,” through Aug. 26, Block Museum, Theo Leffman Gallery. The fiber art of Chicago artist Theo Leffmann (1911-96) evokes the ancient and the exotic, echoing pre-Columbian and non-Western processes and forms with a distinct personal vision. Her 40-year career coincided with a revolution in textile art as the division between “high art” and “craft” diminished. The display of Leffmann’s colorful, richly textured and playful weavings, wall hangings and sculptural objects is drawn from the Block Museum’s permanent collection. The works are generous gifts from her husband Paul Leffmann. 

BLOCK MUSEUM SPRING 2012 EXHIBITION TOURS 

Spring Exhibition Tours, 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through June 17. Block Museum docents will lead free, guided tours of the Block Museum’s “Art on Paper” exhibition. Tours for classes or groups of eight or more people are available with advance notice through Aug. 26. Contact blockeducation@northwestern.edu. 

BLOCK MUSEUM MAY 2012 PROGRAMS 

Eloise W. Martin Study Center Open House, 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 13. The museum’s study center offers a place for University community members and the general public to view individual works from the Block collection. The event will provide visitors with an opportunity to discover what this resource has to offer, view new acquisitions and learn how the Block functions as a steward of its holdings. Admission is free. 

Art on Paper Gallery Talk, noon, Wednesday, June 20. Join Block Museum Senior Curator Debora Wood for an in-gallery discussion of the exhibition “Art on Paper: Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Block Museum.” Talks run approximately 45 minutes and light refreshments will be served. Admission is free. 

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY EXHIBITIONS 2011-12 

Exhibitions at University Library at 1970 Campus Drive, on Northwestern’s Evanston campus, are open to the public daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.library.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-7658. 

“Choices: Alternative Cars, Alternative Fuels” exhibition, through Aug. 17, University Library. ”Choices” explores attempts to create and use alternative energy sources and the vehicles they fuel. A wealth of library materials demonstrate their impact on the environment, the economy and the transportation experience. 

“Papering Over Tough Times: Soviet Propaganda Posters of the 1930s” exhibition, through June 15, University Library. Drawn from the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, the exhibition documents attempts by the Soviet government to inspire, placate, inform and frighten its citizens during an era of social engineering. 

DITTMAR MEMORIAL GALLERY 

The Dittmar Memorial Gallery, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston campus, is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Admission is free. The gallery focuses on ethnic cultural art, art by emerging artists, art by or about women, artwork by Northwestern undergraduate and graduate art students and traveling art shows. For information, call the Dittmar Gallery at (847) 491-2348 or Norris University Center at (847) 491-2300, email dittmargallery@northwestern.edu or visit www.dittmar.northwestern.edu. 

DITTMAR EXHIBITIONS 

“Liminal End,” Senior Show, through June 7, Dittmar Memorial Gallery. The exhibition features the work of the Class of 2012 undergraduate art majors enrolled in Northwestern’s department of art theory and practice. Their work reflects the students’ varied approaches to contemporary art-making and marks the culmination of their undergraduate studies. Displaying artists are seniors Jenna Fugate, Joanne Kim, Morgan Krehbiel, Meagan Lee and Angela Wang. 

“Visiting Hours,” Tyanna Buie, June 13 through Aug. 9, Dittmar Memorial Gallery. Artist Tyanna Buie’s wall installations will highlight her uncle’s life in the prison system and attempt to retrieve what was lost through his journey, such as hope, relevance and freedom. Her works were recreated from found childhood objects, family memories, photos and other family memorabilia. An opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, is free and open to the public. For more, visit http://tyannajbuie.com/news.html