Poetry and music Feb. 26 at the Atlas Theatre

Detroit performance poet M.L. Liebler and L.A. musician Peter Lewis will perform Saturday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., at the Atlas Theatre in downtown Cheyenne. Tix are $5 general admission, $3 for students, military and seniors. M.L. and Peter are in town as part of the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud project sponsored by the Wyoming Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Poetry Foundation. More info at http://wyoarts.state.wy.us.

M.L. this to say about the Saturday performance:

"We'll do some of the songs that are sort of more or less poetic, songs we've written together and then Peter will perform acoustically some of the Moby Grape songs from his group, some of his own original pieces. We kind of have a nice little set where we're merging some of what we do together, some of my poetry in music, some of his Moby Grape and some of his original."

Jackson Hole Public Art Initiative sponsors March 10 workshop & presentation by Barbara Goldstein

Carrie Geraci, director of the Jackson Hole Public Art Initiative, sends this announcement:

SAVE-the-DATE!
March 10, 2011
Barbara Goldstein
Public Art Director for the City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs.
At the Center for the Arts, Jackson

Morning Workshop 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Coffee, Center Theater Lobby: 8:30-9:00 a.m.
Presentation, Center Theater: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. followed by Q & A
Public Art best practices the pros and cons of different funding sources, use in cultural tourism and creative placemaking.

Evening presentation, Center Theater, 7 p.m.
"The Next Generation, National Trends in Public Art"

Barbara Goldstein is the Public Art Director for the City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs and the editor of Public Art by the Book, a primer recently published by Americans for the Arts and the University of Washington Press. Prior to her work in San José, Goldstein was Public Art Director for the City of Seattle. Goldstein has worked as a cultural planner, architectural and art critic, editor and publisher. From 1989 to 1993, she was Director of Design Review and Cultural Planning for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. From 1980-85 she edited and published Arts + Architecture magazine. She has written for art and architectural magazines both nationally and internationally, and has lectured on public art throughout the United States, and in Canada, Japan, China, Taipei, Korea and Abu Dhabi. She is currently Chair of the Public Art Network for Americans for the Arts.

FMI: www.jhpublicart.org

Americans for the Arts hosts public art preconference at June 2011 gathering in San Diego

"Sun God" by the late Niki de Saint Phalle, part of the Stuart Collection at the University of California San Diego.

Americans for the Arts announces its Public Art Preconference June 15-16 at its annual gathering in San Diego:

Join the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network (PAN) and other public arts leaders at the University of California at San Diego for a program that includes professional development, visioning sessions discussing current public art innovations, and resources and information on the state of the field.

Highlights of the program schedule include the presentation of the annual Year in Review and the PAN award and featured keynote speaker Erika Doss, educator, critic, and author of the recently published, Memorial Mania.

New this year, the preconference offers an Artist Professional Development Track curated just for independent artists! Gain the critical tools necessary to compete and succeed in public art.

Just when you thought we couldn’t pack in anything more, attendees will have guided tours of the renowned Stuart Collection (see photo above), woven artistically throughout the University of California at San Diego campus. 

UW Eminent Writer in Residence will work with students on Laramie Atlas Project

From a University of Wyoming press release:

Rebecca Solnit, an acclaimed author of numerous celebrated works of nonfiction, is the latest Eminent Writer in Residence in the University of Wyoming's MFA program in Creative Writing.

An activist, art critic and cultural historian, Solnit will spend four weeks at UW guiding an interdisciplinary group of students in creating a unique atlas devoted to Laramie and the region. Her most recent work is "A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster," and "Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas."

"Rebecca Solnit believes maps and atlases can lead us toward a new way of understanding the places we live in," says MFA faculty member Alyson Hagy. "The sense of place is strong in Wyoming. Solnit's Laramie Atlas Project will invite students to make new maps -- some of them traditional, some of them innovative and even eccentric -- of the region to chronicle its nature and ties to the larger world."

Solnit will visit UW classes across campus and consult with MFA students on their writing during her residency. Her visit is co-sponsored by the Albany County Public Library Foundation, the UW Art Museum, The Helga Otto Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the Social Justice Research Center.

Solnit also will conduct two public presentations during her residency.

The first presentation, "Infinite City/Gem City: Reimagining Maps and Atlases," is at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, at the Albany County Public Library. She will introduce the Laramie Atlas Project, discuss her latest book and sign books after the presentation.

Her Laramie Atlas Project presentation is similar to the "Infinite City" project in San Francisco. Solnit will solicit input from Albany County residents as she launches the creation of an innovative set of local maps.

The second public event, "The Laramie Atlas Project: Work-in-Progress Discussion," is at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31, at the UW Art Museum. Solnit will discuss her effort with UW students to "remap" the community and its resources. A reception follows.

Solnit's residency follows the Eminent Writer residencies of fiction writer Rattawut Lapcharoensap and poets Jan Zwicky and Robert Bringhurst. Previous Eminent Writers in Residence have included Edward P. Jones, Philip Gourevitch, Claudia Rankine and Joy Williams.

For more information, visit the MFA Web site at www.uwyo.edu/creativewriting or e-mail Gwynn Lemler at cw@uwyo.edu.

Photo: Rebecca Solnit is the latest Eminent Writer in Residence in the University of Wyoming MFA program in Creative Writing. (Photo courtesy of Scott Sommerdorf/San Francisco Chronicle)

New YA novel set in Jackson is "Unearthly"

This is the publisher's trailer for Cynthia Hand's debut TV novel, "Unearthly," set in Jackson Hole. Cynthia grew up in Idaho Falls and neighboring Idaho communities. She spent a lot of time in Jackson. She now lives in California and teaches creative writing at Pepperdine University.

Cody native Gregory Hinton interviewed on NPR about his "Out West" series at the Autry Museum

This info on the Autry Museum's "Beyond Brokeback" and other offerings in its "Out West" series comes from Wyoming native Gregory Hinton:

Below is a link to our L.A. National Public Radio affiliate which has an interview of me about Out West and includes a copy of the speech I gave for our first event. This might be of interest to you if you wish to reprint it. It mentions Ucross, my Wyoming history, and includes a nice quote from Al Simpson and Annie Proulx. You should also be aware that my interview with Brian Kahn on Yellowstone Public Radio's Home Ground is being aired tomorrow at 6:30 and will be available on podcast.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/12/10/out-west-series-autry-national-center/

http://www.yellowstonepublicradio.org/programs/local/home_ground.html 

Call for entries: Before Columbus Foundation

This listing comes from the latest issue of LitOps, written and edited by Guy Lebeba of the Utah Division of Arts and Museums. To subscribe to LitOps, send an email to gwl1973@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line:

Before Columbus Foundation
American Book Awards
Deadline: December 31, 2010
Web site: http://www.beforecolumbusfoundation.com/
E-mail address: strads@haas.berkeley.edu
Approximately 10 to 18 awards are given annually for books published in the United States during the preceding year that make outstanding contributions to American literature. Winners are nominated and selected by a panel of writers,
editors, and publishers, but anyone may make a submission or recommendation to the panel. Submit two copies of a book published in 2010 by December 31. There is no entry fee. Send an SASE, call, or e-mail for complete guidelines.
Before Columbus Foundation
American Book Awards
The Raymond House,
655 13th Street
Suite 302
Oakland, CA 94612.
(510) 268-9775.
Gundars Strads, Executive Director.

"Brokeback Mountain" goes "Beyond Brokeback" at the Autry in L.A. Dec. 11

The Autry in L.A. describes itself as "California’s only museum and cultural center dedicated to the history, art, and stories of the American West. Located in Griffith Park, the Autry features special exhibitions, lively programs, and hands-on activities for kids." While the Autry isn't exactly commuting distance from Wyoming, it is interesting to note that one-time Wyoming resident Annie Proulx wrote the story that started it all. "Brokeback Mountain" was in her collection Close Range: Wyoming Stories, with color illustrations (in the hardcover first edition) by noted Denver artist William Matthews. Annie also shared the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the film, now celebrating the fifth anniversary of its release. According to Variety mag, New York's City Opera had plans for a "Brokeback Mountain" opera until the 2008 economic collapse -- and the departure of its artistic director -- caused it to shelve the project.

Call for proposals: San Diego Airport

Reception for "Ghost in the Cargo Van" show Aug. 13 at the Corridor Gallery in Casper

"Coats That Were Wings," Luke Whitlatch, acrylic and dye on canvas, 14x28x16 inches, 2007

Press release from the Corridor Gallery in Casper:

Casper native Luke Whitlatch is making the trek from his current city of Los Angeles for the debut Casper showing of his artwork at the Corridor Gallery. The press and public are invited to attend the free opening reception on Friday, August 13, starting at 7 p.m. Luke will be present during the opening and presenting an artist’s talk the following day, Saturday August 14, at 2 p.m. The artist’s talk is also a free event to the press and public. Luke’s artwork will only be on display through Sunday, August 15, during business hours.

Luke creates intricate and colorful works of art on linen or canvas by bleeding aniline die initially and finishing with oil and acrylic paint. Luke’s works are then stretched onto handmade dimensional frames that lend shape to the work. Every aspect of this artwork is unique and visually stimulating.

“Ghost in the Cargo Van” Artist’s Statement

For a painting to be truly new it must be responsible for its own history, be it theoretical, technical or physical. “Ghost in the Cargo Van,” is a show about the things that you thought you saw. These images were made to pay homage to the past while rejuvenating historical ideas.

Abstract images rely on the viewer to project their personal opinions and experiences onto the images. Many legends and myths were created by this same phenomenon. Time aged mental recollections can lead to a person changing what they actually saw, into something completely different. When presented with limited amounts of recognizable imagery the viewer can create their own story based on shapes colors lines and past references.

Much is based on emotional recollection while making this work. These paintings are mostly based on personal experiences and emotional information. Modernist ideas of form and color give way to intuition. Specific experiences as well as short moments in time are not represented solely by visual imagery. A memory may be based on a smell, weather or a specific state of mind.

Abstract images allow for these types of variables to be expressed without being bogged down by representation. These paintings are interpretations of points in time that are important to me personally, however when they are finished they are no longer mine. A painting takes on a life of its own when put on display. The ghost of an image can live in the mind much longer than the image itself.

Event Details

“Ghost in the Cargo Van” -- Original Art by Luke Whitlatch

Located at The Corridor Gallery: 120 E. 2nd St. Casper, WY 82601

Free Admission

Opening Reception: Friday, August 13th at 7:00pm

Open Showing: Saturday, August 14th 10:00am to 5:00pm

Sunday, August 15th noon to 4pm

FMI: Please contact The Corridor Gallery at (307) 333-7035, Reed at (307) 259-8001 or visit http://www.thecorridorgallery.com/.

LEAD 2010 -- accessibility, disability and inclusion in the arts

FMI: http://www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/education/lead/conference.html

Miss "V" hits road for California gigs

Miss "V" the Gypsy Cowbelle, a WAC roster artist from Cora, sends word about an upcoming road trip:

I'll be playing at two libraries in Eureka and Arcada, CA, June 9 and 10 at at 6:30 p.m. doing kids' programs, and one at Hoedown in Eureka (Six Rivers Brewery) for adults on June 12 at noon. Then I'll be at the International House and Faculty Club at University of California at Berkeley on June 16-17. I'll be performing originals and western history for foreign students, then cowboy tunes for the Facullty Club Southwest BBQ.

I'll be working on recording my next CD (which you'll hear about when grant season rolls around!!) at a mountain biker bar for Father's Day, June 16. I hope to be up to Spokane, WA, for a couple shows before closing the tour in Peoa, UT on July 2 (6:30 p.m. at Woodenshoe Park) as part of the Mountaintown Music Summer Concert Series. The "Dandelion Wine" documentary with the Western Folklife Center will immediately follow.

The digstation web site has decribed V's music as “Cowbilly music, integrating the tones of free-spirited-troubadour folk, Old- Nashville-classic country, dusty-trail-round-the-campfire cowboy and old-timey-Appalachian stomp, sure to make you laugh, cry, ponder and dance.”

Screening for "The Exiles" in Riverton

Riverton Branch Library and Central Wyoming College Library present a public screening of the groundbreaking Native American Film, “The Exiles.”

Original cinematographer and Oscar winner, Erik Daarstad, will be the guest speaker. Erik will talk about the historical significance and the making of this film. He will also visit about these real life characters and answer any questions the audience may have.

“The Exiles” chronicles one night in the lives of young Native Americans living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles in 1958. It is the story of three young American Indians who have left their reservations to live in downtown L.A. and who will once again be displaced. This documentary is reflective and entertaining with an awesome soundtrack that includes Southwestern Native American music and popular rock-n-roll songs from 1958.

Discover what happens to these young Indians on Tuesday, May 4 at 7:00 pm in the Riverton Branch Library Community Room.

For more information, please call the library at 307-856-3556.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

UW's Gallery 211 exhibits Karen Kimmel

From a UW press release:

The University of Wyoming's Gallery 211 will display the work of Los Angeles artist Karen Kimmel from April 9-May 15.

An opening reception for Kimmel's exhibition will be held at the gallery, located at 211 S. 1st street, Friday, April 9, from 6-8 p.m. Gallery 211 is open from noon-4 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. All events are free and open to the public.

Best known for her "social sculpture," Kimmel offers workshops that draw interesting, intuitive results from participants regardless of their level of artistic training.

This spring, Kimmel conducted workshops for students in UW's Department of Art. Providing custom-made stencils and colored pencils, she allows students to relax their inhibitions toward the creative process.

"The stencils represent an infinite number of possible combinations of shapes, color, and line that students can use to express their own personal style and aesthetic," Kimmel says. "The resulting artwork is a collection of unique, intuitive drawings as widely varied as the students who produced them."

The exhibition will include UW student drawings produced in Kimmel's recent workshop along with stencils Kimmel has made in response to the student drawings. Kimmel's drawings inspired by the Wyoming landscape and an original stencil case and kit designed for UW students will also be featured.

More information is available on Kimmel's Web site: http://www.karenkimmel.com/. Contact Diana Baumbach, dbaumbac@uwyo.edu or (307) 766-3049, for additional details.

Photo: UW freshman art student Carmen Blume from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, develops a unique stencil in a workshop led by artist Karen Kimmel. (UW Art Department)

Bill Boycott on Kulak's Woodshed Jan. 21

Lander musician and Wyoming Arts Council roster artist Bill Boycott will be performing for a live podcast from Kulak's Woodshed in L.A. on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 21. For details and times, go to http://www.kulakswoodshed.com/. For more info about Bill, go to http://www.buffalobillboycott.com/

Here's some background info about this very unique venue in N. Hollywood, Calif.:

Kulak’s Woodshed is an acoustic music listening room, created for singer/songwriters who perform live on the world wide web in an intimate 49 seat listening room and video recording studio

We serve no food or drinks, and we have nothing to sell.

We are a labor of love, music, and community created in 1999, operated by volunteers and funded by audience donations.

The artists who perform here range from emerging independent talents to
number-one hit writers and Grammy winners.

Call for entries: 2010 Green Book Festival

From a press release:

The 2010 Green Book Festival has issued the call for entries to its annual competition honoring books that contribute to greater understanding, respect and positive action on the changing worldwide environment.

The 2010 Green Book Festival will consider published, self-published and independent publisher works in the following categories: non-fiction, fiction, children's books, teenage, how-to, audio/spoken word, comics/graphic novels, poetry, science fiction/horror, biography/autobiography, gardening, cookbooks, animals, photography/art, e-books, wild card (anything goes!), scientific, white paper, legal, business, mystery and spiritual.

Entries can be in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese or Italian. Our grand prize for the 2010 Green Book Festival Author of the Year is $1500 and transportation to our April 30-May 2, 2010 outdoor festival in Los Angeles as part of the LA Garden Show OR an equivalent amount donated in your name to the environmental charity of your choice.

A panel of judges will determine the winners based on the following criteria:
1) The overall writing style and presentation of the work;
2) The potential of the work to enhance understanding of the environment and its issues;

TO ENTER: Entry forms are available online at http://www.greenbookfestival.com or may be faxed/e-mailed to you by emailing GreenBookFestival@sbcglobal.net or calling our office at 323-665-8080.