UM’s campus is hardly lacking for artistic talent. In its varying forms, students are quick to represent their abilities. Helicon, the History of Art Undergraduate Society, will be giving a space to such talent and displaying student curated and student made art in a one night only pop-up exhibition titled: Synesthesia. The event is open to any and all looking to check out some art in a cool and casual setting.
Synesthesia will be taking place on November 18, 8-11 p.m. at 504 Catherine St.
If you’re an indecisive appreciator of art, or an enthusiast of all forms, the upcoming SMTD@UMMA performance, Image in Motion, is for you. In this collaboration between the Department of Dance and the University of Michigan Museum of Art, U-M Dance students will use UMMA’s new exhibit Europe on Paper as inspiration for the performance. The Europe on Paper collection features the work of German and Austrian Expressionist painters; dancers will interpret the works’ emotion and color through movement.
These two artistic modes lie close to my heart, and based on past STMD@UMMA performances, the beauty of UMMA’s gallery space only further brings SMTD work to life. This marriage of artistic forms is happening Thursday, November 17 at 7:30 in UMMA, and is free and open to the public.
As a special treat, the Stamps Lecture Series will be offering not one, but two lectures this week. Today, November 9th at 5:10 pm at the Rackham Amphitheater, the esteemed artist, Mary Mattingly will give us a personal glimpse into her creative process. You will soon be able to see her installation work either on the diag as a part of your daily walk to class, or at the Institute for Humanities. Tomorrow, November 10th, join us in the Michigan Theater at the same time to see a speech by the inventive and inspiring Athi-Patra Ruga.
Mattingly’s installation at the Institute for Humanities is entitled, “Objects Unveiled: Boxing, Rolling, Stretching and Cutting,” and it explores the use of cobalt as a pigment throughout the ages, and the social issues surrounding it. There will be an opening reception for this exhibit immediately following her lecture today. You can find more information about the event here.
https://events.umich.edu/event/33059
Mattingly uses her work to explore ideas such as nomadic lifestyles and travel, connections and human relations, and exactly what it is that defines our home. Her work merges performance art, architecture, sculpture and more in harmony to make a bold statement.
Her project to design “wearable portable architecture,” and to create a “wearable home,” embody this melding of ideas perfectly. The contrast between fashion, and the most extreme form of function, is strikingly obvious in the following pictures.
One of her most exciting projects is the Waterpod Project, a livable floating platform that was docked outside New York and has housed many artists. You can watch a video highlighting some of what made this project so special below.
Her “House and Universe” photo series is also strikingly resonant, and the photos featured here are just a small sample of those in the series.
Lastly, she returned to many of the ideas she has worked with on the Waterpod Project, in her 2014 project WetLand. This work explored the responses to the changing environment and the future of the human race because of this changing environment. Mary and several other artists created and lived in this work as it floated along the Philadelphia river, making a statement about sustainable living. I have included another video about the project below.
All images and videos are from www.marymattingly.com
Students of Lloyd Hall Scholars Program’s art instructor, Mark Tucker, may theorize from past experience that rain often comes with luminary showcases. This year’s pop-up parade in Grand Rapids proved that theory wrong.
These students are LHSP student assistants and some Ypsilanti high schoolers who devoted the past month to creating luminary puppets: three-dimensional wire sculptures wrapped in papier-mâché with lights strung inside. The theme this year intersected space with sea – Emily Miu’s blowfish comet and Anna Minnebo’s full-body NASA/sea explorer costume were among whales and jellyfish, for examples.
On Saturday, October 8th, these students and some LHSP alumni (including yours truly) took a trip to Grand Rapids’ Art Prize to enjoy the public art and to create a pop-up parade of these luminaries at sunset around the city’s center. Last year’s debut parade day was rainy, which made for a very small audience and short-lived march. Last Saturday was graciously clear as the students prepared to carry their month’s worth of work around the busy downtown at night. The current LHSP student assistants carried their new puppets and others either carried older works brought along for the ride or drummed on metal and plastic buckets to draw more attention. Being a pop-up parade, nobody other than us from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti knew what this was. As hoped for, this only made for a more intrigued audience.
We marched around the city center as sunlight dissipated, across bridges with lit-up puppets, eccentric drum rhythms, and excited energy. Passersby on foot and in cars looked on in awe (and some confusion), shouting and honking their approval toward us. It went on for about an hour with high energy building and lasting throughout. It was a great opportunity to surprise an artful city with even more art from across the state, making its people smile and wonder what prompted it all.
The next time you’re in Alice Lloyd Residence Hall, take a look in the art studio to see what wild art they’re creating next. Maybe you’ll be the next member of a surprise audience.
As a former member of the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, tomorrow night’s launch party for the 2015-2016 literary journal is an exciting event. LHSP is a living community that offers courses in the arts. It’s also an amazing way to meet fellow artists or art enthusiasts. The staff puts together a literary magazine featuring student artwork every year.
This year’s collection is called “Dear Friends” and is a culmination of the best artwork from LHSP alumni. It features poetry, prose, and visual artwork. The party begins on Wednesday at 7pm at the Vicky Barner Lounge in Alice Lloyd Hall. Admission is free, and everyone is invited to stop by and listen to some poetry and prose while perusing select artworks.
What: The Penny Stamps Speaker Series Presents Miwa Matreyek’s Dreaming With Your Shadow, a piece that blends animation with a live stage performance. If the image above doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will.
When: October 6th at 5:10 PM
Where: Michigan Theater
Price: FREE. This is one of the many wonderful opportunities you can and should take advantage of at U of M!
