Northwestern University Summer 2012 Visual Arts Calendar

EVANSTON, Ill. --- On a hot summer day, Northwestern University’s Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, an air-conditioned museum located on Lake Michigan’s north shore, not only offers a cool respite from rising temperatures, it also provides opportunities for art and education.

The Block’s summer exhibition, “Art on Paper: Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Block Museum” is a celebration of the depth and diversity of the museum’s permanent collection and its role in Northwestern University’s intellectual and cultural life. Running though Aug. 26, “Art on Paper” includes works by artists including Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Mary Cassatt and Ed Paschke spanning more than seven centuries. 

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. Summer hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday) will be in effect from June 19 through Aug. 26. The museum is closed on Mondays. For more information, visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-4000. 

Block summer events will include a July 11 gallery talk by Lisa Corrin, the Block’s Ellen Philips Katz Director; a July 17 bus tour of Chicago’s most famous outdoor sculptures led by Corrin; a July 21 talk by former-surgeon-turned-porcelain artist Cliff Lee; and an Aug. 1 gallery talk and tour of “Art on Paper” conducted by museum graduate fellow Ashley Miller. 

Lee will be among 159 artisans exhibiting one-of-a-kind, museum-quality works during the 2012 American Craft Exposition that will take place at Northwestern’s Henry Crown Sports Pavilion from Aug. 24 to 26. One of the country’s premier fine art shows the annual juried event is presented by The Auxiliary of NorthShore University HealthSystem at Evanston and Glenbrook hospitals. The exposition is a major fundraiser supporting breast and ovarian cancer research and care. 

“Visiting Hours” -- a show of wall installations and large-scale screen-print paintings by Milwaukee-based artist Tyanna Buie -- opens June 13 and runs through Aug. 9, at the Dittmar Memorial Gallery at Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive. “Food Glorious Food! – a food-themed visual art wall display -- opens June 27 and runs through Aug. 5, at Norris Center’s new ground floor Galleria exhibition area. 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. For a schedule of regular and holiday Norris Center hours, visit www.norris.northwestern.edu/about/hours/. 

The summer exhibition at University Library, 1970 Campus Drive, on the Evanston campus is open to the public daily. “Choices: Alternative Cars, Alternative Fuels” runs through Aug. 17. 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 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. 

“The Immortal Art Project,” through Aug. 26, Block Museum, Katz Gallery. This exhibition displays the scroll of colorful thumbprints made by Northwestern students, faculty and staff in response to Rebecca Skloot’s book “The Immortal Life of Henrieitta Lacks,” the non-fiction account of an African-American woman whose cells, taken without her knowledge, were used in groundbreaking medical research. 

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 EXHIBITION TOURS 

Summer 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 SUMMER EVENTS

Art on Paper Gallery Talk, noon, Wednesday, June 20, Block Museum. Debra Wood, the Block Musejm’s senior curator, leads a tour of the exhibition “Art on Paper” Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Block Museum.” The talk runs approximately 35 minutes. Light refreshments will be served. 

Art on Paper Gallery Talk, noon, Wednesday, July 11, Block Museum. Lisa Corrin, the Block’s Ellen Philips Katz Director, leads a tour of “Art on Paper” Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Block Museum.” The talk runs approximately 35 minutes. Light refreshments will be served. 

Educating the Eye: Public Sculpture in Chicago Tour, 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 17. Boasting works by Picasso, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Anish Kapoor and others, Chicago is a world-class city for outdoor sculpture. Lisa Corrin, the Block’s Ellen Philips Katz Director and artistic lead for Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park, will lead a bus tour of Chicago’s sculptural highlights. Cost is $65 for Block members, $80 for nonmembers. Lunch is included. The tour starts and ends at the Block Museum. Space is limited; advance registration is required. To register, call (847) 491-5893. 

American Craft Artist Lecture, Cliff Lee, 10 a.m. Saturday, July 21, Block Museum. Physician-turned-artist Cliff Lee applies his surgical skills to the creation of porcelain ceramics that mimic flowers, leaves, gourds and other natural forms. Lee will discuss his techniques and work, which can be found in collections nationwide, including the White House and Yale University Art Gallery. Lee’s talk is co-presented by the American Craft Exposition. A coffee reception precedes the lecture at 9 a.m. (For information on the 2012 American Craft Exposition that runs from Aug. 24 to 26 at Northwestern’s Henry Crown Sports Pavilion, 2311 N. Campus Drive, Evanston campus, visit www.americancraftexpo.org.) 

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. Dittmar’s summer hours begin June 18 and run through Aug. 9, when the gallery will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more 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 SUMMER 2012 EXHIBITION 

“Visiting Hours,” Tyanna Buie, June 13 through Aug. 9, Dittmar Memorial Gallery. Tyanna Buie’s wall installations and large-scale screen-print paintings highlight her late uncle’s life in prison and are an attempt to retrieve what was lost in his own life’s journey. “Visiting Hours” is Buie’s attempt to come to terms with her uncle’s death, document his life in prison and better understand his unfortunate circumstances. 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.

“Food Glorious Food,” NU Galleria Summer 2012 exhibition, June 27 through Aug. 5, Norris University Center, ground floor, 1999 Campus Drive, Northwestern University Evanston campus. Food-themed visual art will be on display at the Galleria, a new exhibition area for visual art submitted to the Dittmar Gallery. The artistic space is available to individuals and groups who are welcome to reserve the space throughout the year for wall-mounted art installations. A reception and judging from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 28, are free and open to the public. The first-place prize winner will receive a $100 Dick Blick gift card and the runner-up will get a $25 Starbucks gift card. Application forms and detailed submission information are available online at www.norris.northwestern.edu/recreation/dittmar/nu-galleria/. Applicants must also email a j-peg image of their work to dittmargallery@u.northwestern.edu by Wednesday, June 20. For more, phone the Dittmar office at (847) 491-2348.

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. Summer exhibition hours begin June 18 and run through Aug. 11, when the University Library will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 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 helps illustrate impact on the environment, the economy and transportation.