Art for Art's Sake: Nose on Horse

In the weekly Art for Art's Sake, we feature a piece of work currently on display at the FAC.

Nose on Horse – Bertrams, William Kentridge, 2007 Watercolor on paper 78 x 77 ½ inches each (four sheets)

Collection of Brenda R. Potter and Michael C. Sandler

The FAC currently has this piece on display as part of William Kentridge: The World is Process. Four large water color paper squares make up the composition. The work was preparation for Kentridge's production of Dimitri Shostakovich's The Nose, which premiered at New York's Metropolitan Opera on March 5, 2010.

The opera is a 1930 work by Dimitri Shostakovich, based on Nikolai Gogol's 1836 absurdist short story, "The Nose." In the story, a man's nose departs to pursue its own political career, eventually outranking its former owner and is eventually arrested while attempting to escape the city in disguise.

Kentridge's work is notable for its emphasis on drawing, but incorporates a multitude of other disciplines, including painting, sculpture, film, and animation. Read more>>

Military Creative Expressions Reception

Aug 12 | 5-7 p.m. | Deco Lounge
Join us for a reception in celebration of the Wounded Warriors’ creative processes with stories and artwork from the Military Creative Expressions program at the Fine Arts Center.

The Military Creative Expression class grew out of a partnership between Bemis School of Art at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center and Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group. It’s designed to help a new generation of American soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with hard-to-treat symptoms of combat stress.

The soldiers are part of the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Carson and suffer from a variety of physical and invisible wounds, including post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. The Bemis School of Art provides professional studio space and supplies, but the greatest contribution is a change of environment for the soldiers and therapists. Meeting in a studio instead of an office is less clinical, and naturally encourages creative expression.

“The culture as soldiers, especially as men, is not to express their emotions,” said Pikes Peak Behavioral Group Art Therapist Kim Nguyen. In her art course, “art becomes a third party,” an intermediary that can give voice to bottled-up feelings.

Arts and Letters: Archie Musick’s Correspondence

Aug 5 7:30 p.m. FAC Music Room

Artists who studied at the Broadmoor Art Academy (later the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center) were a close knit, lively group that included local artist Archie Musick, who painted murals at the FAC. Archie’s daughter, Pat Musick, presents a reading of the letters, some hilarious, others poignant, giving eyewitness views on the arts and events of the time.
Admission: Free

FDR and the New Deal, Live in the FAC Music Room

FDR and the New Deal, Live in the FAC Music Room

July 29 | 7 p.m. | Admission: FREE

Hear Richard Marold portray Franklin Delano Roosevelt in an engaging performance as you step back into Colorado History and explore the 1930’s New Deal programs in the Pikes Peak Region. focusing on economic conditons which led to the Great Depression and his response with programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the effects of these projects in the Colorado Springs area.

Richard Marold has protrayed Franklin Delano Roosevelt over 200 time Nationally in the past 8 years.

Admission: Free

Michael Kaiser's Arts in Crisis Tour Hits Colorado Springs

The Colorado Council on the Arts, Imagination Celebration, and COPPeR honored the FAC by bringing Michael Kaiser here as his only stop in Colorado during the national Arts In Crisis tour. Arts and culture organizations from all over the state joined in a conversation about how to strengthen communities and economies through building strong arts organizations.

Michael Kaiser, CEO of the Kenendy Center, expressed his optimism about the future of arts organizations around the country. This, despite so many museums, dance companies, theatre companies, symphonies, operas, and arts education groups struggle with same issues across the country. On the other hand, Kaiser made the point that organizations can be as innovative, creative, and good as they want to be, regardless of where they are, citing the example of Grand Rapids, MI with its hugely successful collaborative arts event, Art Prize. In short, regardless of where we are geographically, we all can and should do "exciting, important work."

Kaiser emphasized the need for "coordinated arts education" for students that prevents the kind of situation that leaves huge gaps in elementary and middle school education--the kind of gap that currently means "we have a lot of remedial arts education work it do." The Kennedy Center offers up one online resource for coordinated arts education based on standards at http://www.artsed.org/.

Matthew Schniper adds much more on the Indy blog, including Kaiser's take on a regional challenge:

Kaiser, answering a question from interviewer Elaine Mariner of Colorado Creative Industries, says he believes Colorado organizations "don't have the level of esteem they probably deserve — the art is better than the reputation." To fix that, he points to the importance of the aforementioned institutional marketing to build community around projects.

If you missed the presentation, the FAC will upload video as soon as we can. For shorter sound bites, the FAC's New Media Manager, Becca live tweeted some of her favorite points (see below).

Tibetan Monk Butter Sculpture Workshop

The Bemis School of Art is hosting Tibetan Monks from Gaden Shartse Monastery for a butter sculpture workshop
Saturday, July 17 | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The monks will work with children and adults to create traditional sculptures made from butter, as has been done in Tibet for over 800 years. This workshop will begin with a demonstration by the monks and will be followed by the opportunity for each participant to make his/her own butter sculpture. Suggested donation $12.00 However no one will be turned away due to a lack of funding.

This workshop is organized locally by the Gaden Shartse Monastery Foundation and Thubten Shudrup Ling as part of a series of events at Colorado College's Shove Chapel that feature healing meditation, dancing, and chants. It is the Gaden Shartse Monastery Foundation's mission to not only help preserve the rich Tibetan culture, but also to share its ancient wisdom with the people of the United States.

For more information, please call 719.447.9880 or email Coloradotsl@gmail.com

Christo to discuss Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado

Christo, Over The River, Project For The Arkansas River, State of Colorado Photo: Wolfgang Volz, © Christo 2007

[UPDATE] This work is now on view in the FAC's Glass Corridor through May 2011.

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Join us at the FAC for an exclusive lecture by world-renowned artist Christo. Wednesday, July 28 6:00 p.m. Space is limited, please reserve your seat with the FAC Box Office at 719.634.5583.

Along with his late wife Jeanne-Claude, Christo has spent more than 40 years creating highly celebrated temporary works of art across the globe, including The Gates in New York City’s Central Park, Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin, and Running Fence in California’s Marin and Sonoma Counties. Together, this dynamic couple has changed the concept of public art by creating large-scale temporary works that are truly transitory by design — and never requiring viewing fees.

Christo will discuss "Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado," a work in progress that he and Jeanne-Claude started in 1992. Christo plans to suspend 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River at 8 distinct areas along a 40-mile stretch between Salida and Cañon City. This proposed temporary work of art is currently undergoing a permitting process through the Bureau of Land Management. If approved, Over The River will be realized, at the earliest, in summer 2013. For more information visit http://www.overtheriverinfo.com/.

[Updated] Amateur Pianists International presents "Parade of Winners” Concert at the FAC

July 23 7:30-9:30 doors open at 7 p.m.
July 24 7:00-9:30 p.m. doors open at 7 p.m.

FAC SaGaJi Theatre

Amateur Pianists International (API) will be filling our theatre with the sweet sounds of winning classical piano recitalists. Please note: This is an external event. Please contact API for more information! http://www.apiano.org/ or call 719.635.7329.

API's primary purpose is to host musical events, educational opportunities, and concerts throughout the year. In even numbered years, they host a Celebration which includes concerts, workshops and social events to renew and establish friendships amongst pianists and piano music lovers. In odd years, they host a competition. This Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition traditionally draws amateur pianists from all over the world. Winners of the most recent three competitions were from Dubai, Tokyo and nearby Larkspur, Colorado!

The winners get great prizes, in addition to a chance to play at the "Parde of Winners" concert:
* First Place: The first place winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize and will be invited to present a concerto performance with the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs under the baton of Maestro Thomas Wilson sometime in the following year. Travel, room and board expenses will be paid by API up to a maximum of $1,500.


* Second Place: The second place winner will receive a cash prize of $500 and will be invited back to Colorado Springs for a solo recital sometime within the next year. Travel, room and board expenses will be paid by API up to a maximum of $1,000.

* Certificates will be awarded for the best performance of Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and Modern time periods.