to see exhibits at the UNM Art Museum before the museum closes for renovations on April 20. The renovations will expand the space by 8,000 square feet by adding the old Fine Arts Library (the new one is on the top floor of George Pearl Hall). The museum is scheduled to reopen in February 2010. More details coming soon. 

The current exhibits, closing April 19, showcase the permanent collection:

· “Abstract Terrains: Select Paintings ca. 1924-1998,” which addresses the art of painting as it has functioned to plot, mark and cover the surface of the canvas or board as a tract of space defined by the artist’s touch, as if creating aesthetic topographies not unlike the mapping of unknown landscapes both celestial and terrestrial. Among the 24 paintings on view are works by Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Richard Diebenkorn, Raymond Jonson, Garo Antreasian, Clinton Adams, Milton Resnick and Beatrice Mandelman.

· “From the Other Side of the Lens,” portraits of some of the most well known photographers in the history of photography. The portraits provide a glimpse of the character and appearance of these photographers from the other side of the lens. The exhibition includes portraits of Lady Elizabeth Eastlake, Beaumont Newhall, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Jerry Uelsmann and Anne Noggle.

· “We the People,” an exhibit celebrating Article 2 of the United States Constitution, which provides for the election of a president and vice president every four years, and subsequent amendments ensuring that all citizens 18 years of age and older, regardless of race, color or gender, have the right to vote.

The UNM Art Museum is located at the Center for the Arts. Call (505) 277-6773 or visit http://www.unm.edu/~artmuse.

One thing I love about UNM is how that creative spark keeps flashing in unexpected places. There's the Medical Muse, a literary journal produced by the Health Sciences Center. You'll find faculty and student artists, writers, etc.  in all sorts of disciplines - journalism, biology, philosophy, to name a few places I've found them.

And many folks on staff have the creative bug too.  Barbara van Buskirk works part time at the university coordinating the Taos Summer Writers' Conference and part time as a professional artist. Here's an interview I did with her a while back. You can also see her work at her Web site.

Her new show, "To Imagine Is Everything," opens at The Fisher Gallery, 1620 Central Ave. SE, this Friday and continues through May 23. The exhibit includes two First Friday Receptions, 5-8:30 p.m. on April 3 and May 1. Maybe I'll see you there - I'll be the one in the red coat.

By Shelly Smith, reprinted from UNM Today

Almost any lithography workshop anywhere around the world will have a dog-eared copy of “The Tamarind Book of Lithography: Art & Techniques.” This book has been considered the bible of lithography since its publication in 1971.

Now the Tamarind Institute announces the release of its new book, “Tamarind Techniques for Fine Art Lithography.” This exhaustive technical resource is written by Tamarind Director Marjorie Devon with Master Printer Bill Lagattuta and Education Director Rodney Hamon. Everything a printer or print collector needs to know is contained within the 301 pages published by Harry Abrams, one of the most important publishers of fine art books in the country.

“Tamarind Techniques for Fine Art Lithography” is a technical manual, but with a visual feast of color reproductions of Tamarind lithographs and color images depicting the often complicated processes of lithography. In addition to step-by-step directions for all processes used at Tamarind, the book includes guidance for establishing a print studio and advice about maintaining quality, documenting editions and caring for works of art on paper.

For the Tamarind enthusiast, a special edition of the book is available. One hundred books have been specially packaged in a cloth slipcase and signed by the authors. The special edition includes a hand-printed lithograph by Jim Dine depicting lithographic tools. For a limited time the special edition is available for $1,500.

“Tamarind Techniques for Fine Art Lithography” can be purchased at the Tamarind Institute for $85. The Tamarind Institute is located at 110 Cornell Dr. SE and is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Tamarind Institute is a world renowned fine art lithography workshop and gallery and is a division of the UNM College of Fine Arts. For more information, visit tamarind.unm.edu or call 277-3901.

Only 10 days left to submit to Conceptions Southwest, UNM's student-run literary and arts magazine. CSW publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, theatre and screenplay, music, photography, visual art, and architecture. Get submission forms, guidelines, etc. at http://www4.unm.edu/csw/

Just in time for the holidays, the University of New Mexico Graduate Art Association presents its annual Silent Auction on Saturday, Dec. 13, 6-8 p.m. at SCA Contemporary Art, 524 Haines NW.

All artwork is donated by UNM faculty and graduate students. Proceeds benefit the Graduate Art Association, which provides exhibition, publication and grant opportunities to art and art history graduate students.

Graduate students contributing to the auction include J. Zona, Jenna Kuiper, Jessica Kennedy, Ben Johnson, Julia Sapir, Cedra Wood, Mark Geil, Lauren Greenwald, Carolyn Marsden, Christina De Los Santos and Julia Blitch.

Visit the Graduate Art Association online at http://www.unm.edu/~gaa/. A catalogue on the Web site includes work from some contributing artists.

Read a previous blog entry about contributor J. Zona at http://blogs.unm.edu/arts/2008/08/08/ceramics-sculptor-takes-art-from-earth-to-fire/

Aaron Fry, UNM doctoral candidate and art history instructor, presents "Local Knowledge and Art Historical Methodology: A New Perspective On Awa Tsireh [Alfonso Roybal] and the San Ildefenso Easel Painting Movement" at the University Art Museum. He discusses why it is essential to go beyond the traditional analysis focused on white patronage of pueblo art and to consider the influence of issues internal to a pueblo's culture and history. The essay was published in Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas, a new academic journal created by graduate students in UNM’s Department of Art and Art History.

Awa Tsireh and the San Ildefonso Easel Painting Movement

Paul Neill, assistant professor of art history at Arkansas Tech University, presents "No Town of Its Class In Spain: Civic Architecture and Colonial Social Formation in Early 16th Century Santo Domingo, Española" at the University Art Museum. He discusses why a Eurocentric analysis of architecture in Santo Domingo is limiting and offers an interpretation based in regional, class factors. The essay was published in Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas, a new academic journal created by graduate students in UNM’s Department of Art and Art History.

Spanish Colonial Architecture in Santo Domingo

The incoming class of studio graduate students in the Department of Art and Art History displays a diversity of influences, experiences and styles. “At First Sight” exhibits these students’ work at the Jonson Gallery through Friday, Oct. 10. Accompanying the exhibit is a chance to hear the artists’ insights on their work during a presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 5:30 p.m.

Here are a few of the artists on display:

In 1944, Tamara Zibners’ grandparents fled Latvia before the communist takeover. Her photographic collages combine her grandparents’ narrative with her own photos of Latvia, taken while she was on a Fulbright Scholarship. The collages stitch together interesting juxtapositions: past and present, color and black and white, grim and playful elements, and people and place. Zibners received a B.F.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The title of Xuan Chen’s “Tweuron” combines the words “twisted” and “neuron.” The work uses color contrast and line to metaphorically explore her interest in how neural systems function under depression. Chen received a B.S. from the University of Science and Technology in China.

Roger Boulay’s “Yellow Purse, Red Nail” combines torn, creased, rolled up images from discarded newspapers and magazines. The distortions of glamorous imagery suggest a sinister twist on Hollywood or Madison Avenue. Boulay received a B.A. from Amherst University.

Luanne Redeye creates stylistic renderings of images from billboards, ads and television, especially from the early 1900s and 1960s. In her artist’s statement, she said, “Through my artwork I seek to subvert the stereotypes of native peoples.” Redeye received a B.F.A. from the State University of New York at Oswego.

Freja Mitchell’s “Self Portrait” layers representation within representation. The image shows a woman being photographed and examined by two other versions of herself, while more self portraits line the wall behind her. The layering calls attention to the divergence between reality and representation. Mitchell received a B.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.

The Jonson Gallery, located at 1909 Las Lomas Road NE, is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Reprinted from UNM Today.

FIVE NEW EXHIBITS will open soon at the University Art Museum. "Photography: New Mexico" and "Having an Experience" open Tuesday, Aug. 26. "Art From Fort Marion: The Silberman Collection," "Spirits of the Underworld: The Mexican Paintings of Ary Stillman" and "The Trickster: A Suite of Prints" open Tuesday, Sept. 2. An opening reception for all exhibits will be held Friday, Sept. 5, 6-7 p.m. The exhibits end Sunday, Nov. 9.

I'll post again soon with more details and impressions.

In his photography, Jeff Willis sees himself as creating portraits of landscapes – images that show how landscape reveals culture and character.

Jeff is a second year graduate student. He was drawn to UNM by the photography program’s high ranking (fifth in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2009 best graduate schools ranking), and by a love of New Mexico’s landscapes.

Before he became a photographer, Jeff had been painting since high school. He got into photography while recovering from an injury in 2005.

He started by photographing landscapes in Pennsylvania – mainly shooting serene, utopic landscapes with a longer focus lens, blurred around the edges. He focused the images on a narrow area of the landscape to cut out human clutter. He says he was looking for the sublime in nature.

Later, he began looking for the human presence in nature, creating images that say something about us from nature’s point of view. The images also examine resources – what nature gives and what we give back.

Jeff says photography is like shopping, in that you take what’s already there. At the same time, he added, photography doesn’t have to be static. A photograph can be something you’re constantly shaping and remaking.

His recent photographic prints put that concept into action. He adds color to the prints by hand, breaking down the line between photography and painting.

Sometimes, he uses those alterations to introduce a humorous element. For example, he altered a photo of a gas well to look like a birthday candle.

The same whimsical spirit carries over into Jeff’s political sculptures. When I visited his studio, he showed me a large model Tyrannosaurus Rex dressed in a business suit. He says though he personally tries to distance himself from it, he finds business intriguing.

He also showed me part of a sculptural series based on Uncle Sam. Jeff says he thinks of Uncle Sam as the head salesman of the U.S.

He’s working on repainting figurines of U.S. presidents as Uncle Sam, visually bringing out their accomplishments or the skeletons in their closets. For example, he depicts John Adams drinking a bottle of champagne and Thomas Jefferson with a flag draped around his shoulders like a superhero’s cape, holding a $2 bill – obsolete currency meant to suggest that his ideals may also have become obsolete.

Political art can be hard to pull off without becoming pedantic. The splash of humor in Jeff’s work keeps his political messages sharp and fresh.