The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art presents the exhibition Alice Hohenberg Federico: The Liberation of Clay November 29, 2018 – January 11, 2019. The artist will present a lecture about her work Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 6:00 p.m. in 205 Gorgas Library. The public is invited to the opening reception for the exhibition, Thursday, Nov. 29, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. New York artist and Selma, Ala., native Alice Hohenberg Federico works on the potter’s wheel to create sculptural vessels that transcend function. As she puts it, these vessels are “metaphors that are abstractly figurative.” Her work is influenced by ancient Greek pottery, as well as a fascination with Austrian-born British studio potter Lucie Rie’s work. “Pieces are pulled and twisted, wrapped – they are expressive, singular. To me, some are even imperfectly perfect,” said Federico in an interview with art historian and critic Vered Lieb. Lieb has written an essay about Federico's career and work for a catalog to accompany the exhibition. Federico is represented by George Billis Gallery, New York, N.Y. Her work has been featured and reviewed in Women with a Voice, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Sun, The New Republic and Clay Chat. She did her undergraduate work in history and received an MFA in ceramics from East Carolina State University. She returned to school later to study ceramics with renowned master potter Ken Ferguson at Kansas City Art Institute where she earned a BFA degree. In conjunction with the Federico exhibition, selections from the Permanent Collection of the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art at The University of Alabama will be on display. The Permanent Collection is dedicated to works on paper including prints and photography. Paintings, drawings and small sculpture will also be featured. Image credit: Alice Hohenberg Federico, Water from the Desert Well, 1320, white stoneware clay, 14 inches high. The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art is supported by The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Art and Art History. For further information, contact the gallery at (205)348-1891 or go to our website: https://art.ua.edu/gallery/smga/. Garland Hall is a five-minute walk from the Campus Drive Parking Deck and Bus Hub on Hackberry Lane. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/. For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/.
UA Alumnus Creates Giant Working Kaleidoscope
Ever had a sudden urge to peer through a giant kaleidoscope? Now you can! The latest permanent public sculpture, titled simply Kaleidoscope, is designed and built by UA art alumnus and foundry specialist Eric Nubbe, and has been installed by UA Art Foundry at Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa. Commissioned by Tuscaloosa PARA, the seven-foot-high aluminum sculpture is a working, interactive kaleidoscope, perched at the northwest corner of the park. Since kaleidoscopes are shaped like a simple tube, Nubbe decided to make the massive optical instrument more interesting, so he chose the shape of a sextant - another viewing instrument which sailors have used to navigate the seas for hundreds of years. The kaleidoscope looks northwest into the sky over Tuscaloosa and the mirrors inside the kaleidoscope reflect whatever the skies look like on that day. In many kaleidoscopes, loose pieces of colored glass inside the tube are mirrored into symmetrical and colorful patterns as you turn the scope. Nubbe decided to add something similar to his. Instead of just looking up into refracted reflections of the sky, viewers look through translucent blue Plexiglas gears that Nubbe cut [on?]. When visitors look into the viewer, they rotate a disk just to the right of the scope, and the disk turns the blue gears inside, creating beautiful blue patterns across the sky. Eric Nubbe's Kaleidoscope is part of a Public Art Project commissioned by the Tuscaloosa County Parks and Recreation Authority to put art in parks around Tuscaloosa County. Giant steel flowers created by student artists Ringo Lisko and Amber Daum were installed last year in Monnish Park as part of the same project.
UA Art Students Conspire in Monster Coup of Tuscaloosa
Terrifying monsters of all shapes and sizes have overrun the city of Tuscaloosa! Termed the "Monster Takeover," official reports verify that UA art students were heavily involved in the invasion of bronze handmade monsters, stationing their terrifying, but usually tiny, metal miscreations in key locations around town. Track them down at your own risk! Multiple locations in downtown Tuscaloosa are the sites of Monster Takeover, an extension of the Monster Makeover program established by the Tuscaloosa News in 2010. Combining the creative talents of local elementary school children and UA students, the Takeover features bronze sculptures placed at various locations in downtown area. Monster Takeover used the same process as the original program, but the artists were all students in the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Alabama. The UA students’ works, based on past Monster Makeover participants, were all sculpted and then cast in bronze, under the direction of Professor Craig Wedderspoon. Placed in various locations throughout downtown Tuscaloosa, the monsters are now on public display. Junior BFA major in sculpture, Ringo Lisko's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Lawson Kelly, is on the I-beam at Harrison Galleries, 2315 University Boulevard, overlooking the sidewalk. Lisko is also co-creator of the Monnish Park sculpture, Amaryllis, with Amber Daum. Said Lisko, “I am very excited to be a part of Monster Takeover, especially since I got to be in on the very first wave of monsters to go up around town. It was a great experience working with the kids’ drawings, and trying to do justice to their awesome imaginations. I’m also thrilled to be adding to the public art of Tuscaloosa. I strongly believe that public art is an integral part of a well-rounded and lively community, and I hope that these monsters help to keep that momentum going!” Recent BFA graduate Kalypso Homan's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Lili Gann, is at the corner of University Blvd. and 23rd Street. Sophomore double major in art history and English Sarah Murphree's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Natalie Nelson, is located on 6th Street and 23rd Avenue (Water Collection?) under the park bench. UA Student Maddie Kennedy's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Jordyn Green, is located near the Light in Government Plaza. Senior BFA major Jenn Gault's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Sally Poole is at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center on the corner of Greensboro Avenue and 7th Street. Gault has a concentration in sculpture and ceramics with a minor in anthropology. Senior BFA major Jonathan Lanier's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Ryan Zheng, is located in Five, on 6th Street, above the bar. UA graduate student: Josh Dugat's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Denny Stuffel, is located near Babe’s Doughnuts on the corner of University Blvd. and Greensboro Avenue. Senior double major in New College and studio art Megan Fletcher's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Megan Roberts, is at the Government Plaza 6th Street entrance pillar, crawling toward the plaque. Sophomore art major Zane Boyd's sculpture, inspired by the art of elementary student Dai’Quan O’Neal, is located at the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Avenue. For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History academic programs, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/.
180 Art Teachers Converge on UA for Annual Meeting
In November, more than 180 art teachers from across the state converged on the UA Department of Art and Art History for a one-day dawn to dusk conference to exchange ideas about teaching art to Alabama's K-12 students. Members of the Alabama Art Education Association held their annual conference Friday, Nov. 2, 2018, at the UA Department of Art and Art History. Professionals in art education shared their experience and expertise with new ideas, best practices and approaches in 28 workshops, talks, demonstrations and panel discussions, as well as some fun activities. The entire production was organized and coordinated by AAEA volunteers and our office assistant Holly Brewer. Some of the presenters included our own faculty and staff: Emily Bibb, Jonathan Cumberland, Dr. Lucy Curzon, Allison Grant, Sarah Marshall and Nic Tisdale. Craig Wedderspoon held an aluminum pour for the teachers assisted by UA Art Foundry staff Joe McCreary, Mike Eddins, Patrick O'Sullivan and Eric Nubbe. Photos of the 2018 Alabama Art Education Association Conference: Welcome reception and registration for AAEA 2018 attendees in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art. "Photographs and Visual Literacy" presented by Assistant Professor Allison Grant, photography, at AAEA 2018. "Presenting the Paul R. Jones Collection" with Collections Manager Emily Bibb and Dr. Lucy Curzon, associate professor of art history and Director of Education and Outreach, Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at The University of Alabama, at AAEA 2018. "What You Can Do with Graphic Design" with Assistant Professor Jonathan Cumberland, at AAEA 2018. "Art History in the Studio Classroom" with Dr. Lucy Curzon at AAEA 2018. "Printmaking Presentation" with Associate Professor Sarah Marshall at AAEA 2018. For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and our programs, go here: https://art.ua.edu/about/
UA Art Presenters Hail SECAC Meeting Success
The University of Alabama was well-represented at the recent national conference meeting of SECAC held in Birmingham October 17-20, 2018. Faculty, students and alumni of the UA Department of Art and Art History presented research and chaired sessions at the annual meeting of one of the largest art conferences of its kind in the US, hosted by UAB's Department of Art and Art History and nicknamed "SECAC Y'all." UA art faculty who gave presentations were Dr. Wendy Castenell, Jonathan Cumberland, Dr. Jennifer Feltman, Dr. Kate Kocyba, Giang Pham, Dr. Rachel Stephens and Dr. Doris Sung. Bryce Speed and Dr. Stephens chaired sessions. A PARTICULAR ACHIEVEMENT Of special note was art history graduate student Morgan Heard, who presented her research paper, “‘May the Points of Our Needles Prick the Slaveholder’s Conscience:’ Women’s Abolitionist Needlework and the Anti-Slavery Fair,” in a session titled “Historic American Painting.” Dr. Rachel Stephens, who introduced Heard to the topic through Stephens’ course, “Slavery and American Art,” pointed out that it was a particular achievement for an MA student to present research. “SECAC is a friendly conference and inclusive of scholarship at all levels,” however, Stephens added, “more often, it is advanced PhD students who participate at SECAC.” Heard said that this was her first time presenting at a conference of this scale. “Although I was nervous, I enjoyed being able to share my work and receive feedback and encouragement from those who attended.” Heard’s research probes the little known work of anti-slavery women in producing abolitionist items to sell at anti-slavery fairs. These handmade objects, she asserts in her research, became important signifiers of early female activism within a domain (sewing) that was considered appropriate for women during the antebellum period. Heard became so interested in the topic that she decided to make it the focus of her thesis research. UA ART ALUMNI Several UA art alumni also participated in the annual art conference. Recent graduate Reed O’Mara (BA 2017, double major in German and economics, minor in art history) presented “Strasbourg’s Prince of the World as Political Foe and Sinful Suitor.” Last year, as a UA graduate student in medieval art history, O’Mara won a competitive Barbato Fellowship in art history to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, which awarded her a graduate assistantship with a full tuition scholarship and stipend. National conferences often bring new friends and colleagues together. Rachel Stephens met presenter Laura Lake Smith, a UA art history major from 2000. A recent Ph.D. recipient from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia, Smith presented "An Origin in Absentia: Richard Tuttle’s First Work" at the conference. She is currently visiting lecturer and teaching associate at Coastal Carolina University. Other alumni presented research in a wide array of subjects, including Amy Feger (MFA 2012), whose work was selected for the 2018 SECAC Juried Exhibition, which was juried by Peter Baldaia, head of Curatorial Affairs, Huntsville Museum of Art. Corey Dzenko (MA 2007) presented "The History of Graphic Design as a Discipline: Surveying Student Responses to Curricular Changes;" Jenny Fine (BFA 2006, photography), chaired a session and presented research titled "Time as Material;" Michelle Moseley-Christian (MA 2000, BA 1997, art history) chaired a session and presented "Hairy Female Bodies and the Early Modern Wild Woman in Visual Art;" and Raymond Gaddy (MFA 2000, painting) co-presented with Ashley Waldvogel, "Are You Vulcan’ Kidding Me? Mythology Everywhere." SECAC, formerly known as the Southeastern College Art Conference, promotes the the study and practice of the visual arts in higher education and is now the second largest national organization of its kind. This year's conference, hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is the first in Alabama since 1986 when the annual meeting was held in Tuscaloosa. For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/.
BFA Exhibitions: Caroline Japal and Candace von Hoffman
The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History is pleased to present two Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibitions, November 19-29, 2018. Youth Expressions by Caroline Japal, and Sensory Notions by Candace von Hoffman, will be held in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. The public is invited to a reception for the artists in the gallery Tuesday, Nov. 20, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. In her exhibition, Youth Expressions, CAROLINE JAPAL focuses on portraits of young people and their experience of coming of age in Birmingham, a small Southern city, something that Japal realized had never been done before. "In researching this," she said, "I found only photo projects that focused on youth culture in larger cities and none in small cities like Birmingham, or in the South." Japal's photos of young people feel personal because the artist actively engages with her subjects while she takes pictures. "I meet with them in a public place, like Railroad Park or UAB campus, and we walk around talking while I photograph them." She says she catches "the in-between moments" when her subjects are open and unself-conscious. "I think viewers will be able to relate to them whether they know my photographic subjects or not." Birmingham native Caroline Japal is a creative director at Belladonna magazine, the first fashion magazine founded in Birmingham, Alabama. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Art Concept Magazine and owner of Caroline Japal Photography. Japal was recently featured in Freelancer Magazine: http://frlmag.com/meet-woman-on-the-rise-birmingham-based-photographer-caroline-japal/. She has exhibited her work in UA's 2018 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition and in the Loft Show in Birmingham, and TheMix Birmingham Showcase. Japal is the recipient of the Carol B. Merkle Endowed Scholarship in 2017 and the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship in 2016. Her website is https://www.carolinejapal.com/. Throughout her college career, CANDACE VON HOFFMAN has experimented with the overlapping the media of painting and photography. The body of work in her exhibit, Sensory Notions, von Hoffman said, "is guided by the idea that our bodies are in constant conversation with our surroundings. I am curious about exploring the relationship between the body, the human sense, and the fragility of perception. What does it mean to inhabit the body and how do our bodies direct our perception of reality?" Alabama native Candace von Hoffman has exhibited her work in UA's 2018 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition at Harrison Galleries; in a four-woman show, Canorous, in 2018 and in the 2016 and 2017 Open Media exhibitions in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery. She is the recipient of the Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship in 2018 and the Julie Peake Holaday Memorial Endowed Scholarship in 2017. Image credits: (top) Caroline Japal, Ana, 2018, photographic print, 30” H x 20” W. (bottom) Candace von Hoffman, Untitled Study 4/16, September 2018, multimedia collage, 4 x 4 inches. Both images courtesy of the artists. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is the professional degree for the artist; it is also the foundation for the masters program in studio art at UA. For more information about the BFA degree and our other degree programs in the Department of Art and Art History, go to http://art.ua.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/babfa-in-studio-art/ or contact the department at (205) 348-5967. Woods Hall is a five-minute walk from the Campus Drive Parking Deck and Bus Hub on Hackberry Lane. Gold 1, Crimson, Blue and Bronze CrimsonRide buses stop between Garland Hall and Gorgas Library. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/. For more information contact Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893 or rachel.dobson@ua.edu.
UA/UAB Joint Program in Art History Announces Call for Papers
The University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Joint Program for the MA in Art History announces a call for papers for its 24th Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History. This year, the symposium will be hosted by the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Alabama on Friday, March 1, 2019 and will take place on The University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. The symposium’s keynote speaker will be Dr. Catherine Zuromskis, Assistant Professor of Fine Art in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology. MA students in all fields of art history are invited to submit paper proposals on completed research as well as works in progress. Presentations are limited to 20 minutes and will be followed by discussion. Please submit a 250-word abstract and a one-page c.v. on or before Friday, December 14, 2018 (by e-mail) to both: Dr. Lucy Curzon (lcurzon@ua.edu) and Dr. Cathleen Cummings (ccummings@uab.edu). Notification of acceptance will be made by January 7, 2019. Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Curzon or Dr. Cummings with questions. In addition, a call for Undergraduate Poster Session Proposals is also announced. To encourage the work of emerging scholars in the discipline, the faculty of the Joint Program invite undergraduate art history majors to submit proposals for presentations of senior-level or thesis work in a poster session, to be held during the day of the symposium. Proposals should consist of a 250-word abstract regarding the project and be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from the student’s advisor or major professor. Please submit completed proposals Friday, December 14, 2018, (by e-mail) to Dr. Tanja Jones (tljones10@ua.edu). Notification of acceptance will be made by January 7, 2019. Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Jones with questions. Every year, the Joint Program for the MA in Art History presents the Annual Graduate Student Symposium in Art History, which provides a forum for the presentation of graduate student research drawn from all areas of art history, as well as an undergraduate poster session. The symposium also features a keynote lecture by a leading scholar of art history. Previous speakers have included Paul Barolsky (Italian Renaissance art), Allison Kettering (Dutch Baroque art), Michael Yonan (18th-19th century European art), and Graham Boettcher, the William Cary Hulsey Curator of American Art at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
UA Seniors Present BFA Exhibition
Tuscaloosa – In one of the culminating events of their degree program at UA, Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates Allie Gant and Jennifer Gault present an exhibition, titled Raw & Unfinished Business, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, November 5-8, 2018, with a closing reception on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Gault, who works in sculpture and ceramics, specifically in raw, unfired clay, said that she has been exploring “forms that communicate a personal mythology of emotions and memories.” She added that the raw clay she often uses in her work “represents the changeability of emotion, fallibility of memory and the transience of life.” Gant, who works in printing processes and ceramics, describes her visual ideas as attention to her own self care, as well as the things which “catch her eye,” such as flowers, trees, sunsets and people, the subjects of her work: “Through the course of being an art student over the last few years, I’ve made a ritual for myself to pay attention to what I pay attention to, meaning to spend a little extra time thinking about why I am drawn to certain things and try to figure out why.” Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jennifer Gault's BFA concentrations are in sculpture and ceramics, with an anthropology minor. She has exhibited her art work in the 2018 Student Sculpture Exhibition, and the 2017 Annual BFA Juried Exhibition, both at Harrison Galleries, and in QuickTurnaround at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in 2017. In addition, she has published art work in UA's Marr's Field Journal in 2018. Gault is the recipient of the Angelo Granata Endowed Scholarship, the Elmore Endowed Scholarship, and the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship. She works full-time as a certified Fire Alarm Technician in the Office of Environmental Health and Safety at UA. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Allie Gant's BFA concentrations are in printmaking and ceramics, with an art history minor. In 2017, Gant exhibited her work in Eclectic Way, an exhibition of art from the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art and art by UA students inspired by those works, at the Paul R. Jones Museum. She participated in Geeza a Wee Exhib, a Scotland study abroad student exhibition in 2018 at Judith Rae Solomon Gallery, in Youngstown State University, Ohio, and has had several pieces accepted for publication in Marr’s Field Journal in 2017 and 2018, including the cover art of both editions. Image credits: left: Jennifer Gault, Temporary Love, 2016, 15 x 10 x 8 inches, unfired clay; right: Allie Gant, Lips, 2017, 22 x 30 inches, linoleum cut. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is the professional degree for the artist; it is also the foundation for the masters program in studio art at UA. For more information about the BFA degree and our other degree programs in the Department of Art and Art History, go to http://art.ua.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/babfa-in-studio-art/ or contact the department at (205) 348-5967. Garland Hall is a five-minute walk from the Campus Drive Parking Deck and Bus Hub on Hackberry Lane. Gold 1, Crimson, Blue and Bronze CrimsonRide buses stop between Garland Hall and Gorgas Library. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/.
UA Professor’s Work Installed at Montgomery Museum’s New Sculpture Garden
Professor Craig Wedderspoon's sculpture, Oval, is part of the Montgomery Museum of Arts new John and Joyce Caddell Sculpture Garden, which opened September 30, 2018.