Northwestern Visual Arts in February

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Chicago architect Dirk Lohan’s Feb. 12 talk on the life and work of Mies van der Rohe, his famous architect grandfather; visiting scholar Annemarie Weyl-Carr’s Feb. 27 lecture on St. Luke, an icon in the age of Enlightment, and a March 1 performances by artist and musician Terry Adkins and the Lone Wolf Recital Corps are among the special events scheduled at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art this winter.

Art lovers are also invited to visit the Block Museum’s three winter exhibitions, which run through March 24. “Terry Adkins Recital,” an exhibit showcasing selected works from the artist and musician’s three-decade career, is on view in the main gallery. “Eye Contact: Photographic Portraits from the Collection,” in the Ellen Philips Katz and Howard C. Katz Gallery
, features Block collection works by Andy Warhol, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe and others, and poses questions about the gaze in photographic portraiture. “Shimon Attie: The Neighbor Next Door,” an installation by internationally renowned American artist Attie, is in the Alsdorf Gallery. Block’s ongoing exhibition, “Theo Leffmann: Weaving a Life into Art,” in the Theo Leffmann Gallery, also runs through March 24 and will re-open in Spring 2013. For more information, visit the Block website at http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-4000. 

Northwestern’s Dittmar Memorial Gallery will present “Cultural Collage” through Feb. 17. The exhibition features colorful bead paintings by Lanre Buraimoh, sculptures by Ning-Chiao Hsu and “edgy” masks by Annette Jackson. “Animal /Artifact,” which opens Feb. 21 and runs to March 22, features work by artists Maria Lux and David Harper. Both Dittmar events are free and open to the public. 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.

University Library, 1970 Campus Drive, Evanston campus, hosts two exhibitions this winter. “Decorative Cloth: Publishers’ Trade Bindings, 1820-1920” continues through March 25, and “On Her Own Terms: Patricia Neal’s Life and Legacy” runs through March 22. Both are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.library.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-7658.

MARY AND LEIGH BLOCK MUSEUM OF ART

Northwestern University’s Mary and Leigh Block Museum is located at 40 Arts Circle Drive, on the University’s Evanston campus.

Admission to the Block Museum galleries and programs listed below is free. The galleries are 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 is closed on Monday. For more information, visit http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-4000.

CONSTRUCTION ALERT

A long-term construction project on Northwestern’s south campus has limited access to the Block Museum and Arts Circle Drive. Free parking is available in the lot directly south of the museum. For directions and parking information, visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/visit/directions-and-parking/index.html.

BLOCK MUSEUM WINTER 2013 EXHIBITIONS

“Terry Adkins Recital,” through March 24, Block Museum, Main Gallery. “Recital” brings together 30 years of work by artist and musician Terry Adkins. Combining sculpture and live performance, Adkins has described his approach to art making as similar to that of a composer. His sculptures re-purpose and combine materials, such as fiberglass propellers, wooden coat hangers, parachute fabric and musical instruments, in a process he calls “potential disclosure,” which aims to reveal the dormant life in inanimate objects. During performances with members of his Lone Wolf Recital Corps, Adkins activates these objects through improvisational playing and singing, spoken word, costumes and recorded sound. The events intend to uphold the legacies of immortal and enigmatic figures, including Bessie Smith, John Brown, Sam Lightin’ Hopkins and John Coltrane. Adkins sheds light on willfully neglected or ignored aspects in the life of well-known figures, such as Jimi Hendrix’s military service as a U.S. Army paratrooper in the highly decorated 101st Airborne Division. Adkins is a professor of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania. “Terry Adkins Recital” is curated by Ian Berry, Dayton Director of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, in collaboration with the artist. To view a video featuring Adkins and his work, visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/view/exhibitions/2013/terry-adkins-recital.html.

“Eye Contact: Photographic Portraits from the Collection,” 
through March 24, Block Museum, Ellen Philips Katz and Howard C. Katz Gallery
. Block Museum’s collection works by Andy Warhol, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe and others, pose questions about the importance of the gaze in photographic portraiture. “Eye Contact” is curated by Northwestern University Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate Sophie Jenkins.

“Shimon Attie: The Neighbor Next Door,” through March 24, 2013, Block Museum, Alsdorf Gallery. For two decades, Attie has created immersive multimedia art -- from photographs and video installations in museums and galleries to site-specific works in public places -- that reflects on place, memory and identity. In this exhibition, the artist has re-envisioned a work featuring archival film footage taken clandestinely by people forced into seclusion by the Nazis. In 1995, Attie projected the films onto the sidewalks of Amsterdam from apartments where many individuals actually hid during World War II. Visitors to the Block Museum will view the films in a gallery installation that evokes the experience of watching them from a confined space. The exhibition is co-curated by David Tolchinsky and Debra Tolchinsky, faculty members of the department of radio/television/film.

BLOCK MUSEUM ONGOING EXHIBITION

“Theo Leffmann: Weaving a Life into Art,” through March 24, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Theo Leffman Gallery, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. 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. Her colorful, richly textured and playful weavings, wall hangings and sculptural objects are drawn from the Block Museum’s permanent collection. The works are generous gifts from her husband Paul Leffmann.

BLOCK MUSEUM FEBRUARY 2013 EVENTS 

The following events will take place at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus.

• “Mies van der Rohe’s Legacy and the Chicago Skyline” lecture, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, Block Museum. Chicago architect Dirk Lohan will discuss the life and work of Mies van der Rohe, his famous grandfather, in an hourlong lecture. Admission is free and open to the public. The lecture is a One Book, One Northwestern event inspired by Alex Kotlowitz’s “Never a City So Real,” which features portraits of some of the author’s favorite Chicago neighborhoods and citizens. Visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu for more information.

• Elizabeth and Todd Warnock Lecture: Annemarie Weyl-Carr, 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, Block Museum. Annemarie Weyl-Carr, professor emerita of art history, Southern Methodist University, will speak about “St. Luke and the Kykkoliossa: An Icon in the Age of Enlightment.” Refreshments will be provided during a post-lecture reception. Admission is free and open to the public. Visit www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu for more information.

BLOCK MUSEUM MARCH 2013 EVENTS 

Facets, 7 p.m. Friday, March 1, Regenstein Recital Hall, 60 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. In this multimedia performance, artist and musician Terry Adkins combines sculpture, music, video, spoken word, costumes and sound. Adkins will perform with the Lone Wolf Recital Corps (featuring Clifford Owens, Kamau Patton, Tameka Norris and Blanche Bruce) and members of the Northwestern and Evanston communities. Admission is free. Reservations are strongly encouraged. Email blockeducation@northwestern.edu.

BLOCK MUSEUM EXHIBITION TOURS

Block Museum docents lead guided tours of the winter exhibitions at 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Jan. 26 to March 24. Tours for classes and groups of eight or more people are available with advance notice. Call (847) 491-4852, email blockeducation@northwestern.edu, or visit http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/visit/gallery-tours.html for more information.

DITTMAR MEMORIAL GALLERY

The Dittmar Memorial Gallery, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive, Northwestern University, 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 more information, visit www.dittmar.northwestern.edu.

DITTMAR GALLERY WINTER 2013 EXHIBITION 

“Cultural Collage,” through Feb. 17, 2013, Dittmar Gallery, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. This group exhibition features the work of painter Lanre Buraimoh, mask maker Annette Jackson and sculptor Ning-Chiao Hsu. Though each works in a different medium and is from a different continent, exhibited together their art represents a larger global context and celebrates culture and heritage. Nigerian-born and Texas-based artist Lanre Buraimoh’s work is inspired by the beading craft of Nigeria’s Yoruba people. His innovative pieces adapt this West African tradition to the more contemporary art form of “bead painting.” His paintings are adorned with thousands of colorful glass beads that depict objects and symbols that reflect traditional Yoruba beliefs about love, entertainment and unity. New York-born artist Annette Jackson’s “edgy” masks are all about color, shape and composition. Her love for fire-created elements is evident in the components that make up “Faces.” Using repurposed wood as the base for each mask, Jackson arranges elements she hand makes of lampwork glass (hand made beads) fused glass (glass on metal) and metals. Her Native American, African-American and East European roots provide the inspiration for her whimsical and dramatic masks. Chicago-based Ning-Chiao Hsu’s sculptures are a fusion of contemporary and Native American influences. Particularly influenced by the work of the Mesa and Southwest tribes and possessing an appreciation of ancient and primitive styles, she creates clay, paper and metal buildings and villages, vases, teapots, tribal motif decorated plates and Southwest style jars. 

“Animal/Artifact,” Feb. 21 through March 22, 2013, Dittmar Memorial Gallery, Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Exploring the intersection of natural history and cultural history, “Animal/Artifact” examines the human need to control our environment and the creatures within it. Although often revered as wild and mysterious, animals have also long been seen as something to control and tame. The artists in this exhibition -- Maria Lux and David Harper -- investigate this urge to dominate and display by omitting key features of a still life and altering scale. Their precarious installations allude to the tenuous relationship between man and mammal. The exhibition, and a 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 opening reception, is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.dittmar.northwestern.edu.

ONE BOOK ONE NORTHWESTERN EVENT AT DITTMAR GALLERY

Chicago Immigrant Communities book discussion, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, Dittmar Memorial Gallery. Jack Doppelt, professor, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing, will moderate a One Book One Northwestern themed book discussion on Alex Kotlowitz’s “Never A City So Real,” chapter “GT Diner.” Kotlowitz’s book features portraits of some of the author’s favorite Chicago neighborhoods and citizens. The event is free and open to the public. A light supper will be provided. Pre-registration for Dinner Book Discussions is required at http://www.northwestern.edu/onebook/.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Exhibitions at Northwestern University Library at 1970 Campus Drive, Evanston campus, are open to the public daily from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, or as noted. Members of the Northwestern community with a valid WildCARD can visit during all open library hours. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.library.northwestern.edu or call (847) 491-7658.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WINTER 2013 EXHIBITION

“Decorative Cloth: Publishers’ Trade Bindings, 1820,” through March 25, 2013, University Library, Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. In the early 19th century, the development of case binding, a technique conducive to mass production, made the manufacture of books with uniform binding possible. Publishers eventually began using this convenience to their further advantage, decorating the covers and spines as a form of commercial enticement and an expression of house pride. This trend continued into the early years of the 20th century. The Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections holds thousands of examples of publishers’ trade binding. A selection is on display on the third floor of Deering Library. Arranged chronologically by decade, the exhibition showcases some of the typical designs of the decades. It is open to the public during the Library’s regular public hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday. For more on the Deering Library, visit www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/evanston-campus/special-collections.

New exhibition, “On Her Own Terms: Patricia Neal’s Life and Legacy,” through March 22, 2013, Northwestern University Library, Evanston campus. The late Oscar-winning actress and Northwestern alumna Patricia Neal lit up the screen in films like “Hud,” “The Fountainhead” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” This exhibit -- drawn from her newly established archive at Northwestern University Library -- also explores the dramatic off-stage roles she undertook as wife and mother, glamorous celebrity and activist stroke survivor. Admission is free and open to the public during the library’s regular public hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday.