• Student Review: Jenna Stempel, Washington University

Lecture: “Collaborative Aesthetics”

When attending an artist’s lecture, it is perfectly reasonable to expect the artist not to give free hugs. Fortunately, nobody told Brett Cook about traditional lecture dynamics. Wednesday, March 18th, in his lecture entitled
“Collaborative Aesthetics: a Dialogue about Community and Soul” at Washington University, Cook hugged every participant who offered their definitions of “community” and “soul.”

The rest of the lecture was much of the same. After beginning with a breathing exercise in order to better assess the artwork, Brett Cook exhibited photos of traditional portraiture in the faculty club at Harvard University and a cow sculpture painted with Mondrian geometry in a West Indian neighborhood. He displayed artwork that he views as inaccessible to the public and irrelevant to the community. In contrast, Cook presented his own portfolio, which was increasing representative of the spaces in which each piece was displayed.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Student Review: Christy Nigh, Washington University

Fred Tomaselli Speaks

In honor of the re-dedication celebration of Steinberg Hall on Washington University’s campus, Fred Tomaselli gave a lecture about his life and work. Tomaselli had been asked to speak by his gallery owner James Cohan, an alumnus of Washington University.

Tomaselli began in school by studying painting, but felt that the pressure of its art historical lineage was more than he could live up to.  As a result, he spent several years exploring sculptural forms.  Several of his works became interactive pieces requiring the viewer to be an active participant in the work.  For example, in his piece, “Box for Your Head”, the viewer is required to insert their head into a hole, covered by the neck of a T-shirt, in a wooden box that is hung on the wall.  The viewer is rewarded for this action by a view of an alternate reality, outer space.

His talk framed his work within the context of his life-long experience and interests.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Student Review: Casey O'Brien, Washington University

Designs for the Riverfront

As a resident of St. Louis, it goes without saying that if you drive downtown, you will see various angles of the Arch along the way. It stands as a tribute to the Louisiana Purchase among other historical events, and is an easily recognizable icon of Missouri at the very least. As a student tour guide at Washington University, I often point out the nearby Arch, which you can see on campus if you’re lucky (and it’s winter). It was all I knew about St. Louis for a long while – that the city was home to the “Gateway to the West.”

In late January, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum opened a new exhibit on Eero Saarinen, the architect who designed the Arch, and invited the public to join in a free symposium held at Washington University’s Steinberg Auditorium. The Symposium was hosted by Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts and sponsored by ASSA ABLOY. I dropped by for one of the last portions of the day-long discussions, arriving in time to hear Patricia Heyda, a visiting assistant professor of architecture at Washington University, speak about the “Riverfront Charrette.” The “Charrette” took place last November, with students gathering from Midwestern schools to re-design the Riverfront property (theoretically) here in St. Louis.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Student Review: Marietta Alessi, Washington University

Get to Know Yuko

Yuko Shimizu is a Japanese born, New York illustrator who gave an entertaining and educational lecture in the Steinberg Auditorium at Washington University late Wednesday, February 18th. An illustrator with a love for saturated tones, texture, and dramatic figures, Yuko’s art has a complexity that is very intriguing. She once painted a ceramic rabbit with an intricate black and white pattern comprised of just dots. The bunny sold on Ebay for over a thousands dollars and the proceeds went to Save the Children Foundation. Other artworks she has done include: an evocative illustration for a sex story in New York Magazine where hundreds of couples were making love in the middle of a colorful Times Square, a chic aristocratic female lounging in ornate outfits for a Neiman Marcus advertisement, and an offbeat summer illustration of a wave rendered in a cable knit sweater pattern engulfing a swimmer as balls of yarn are tossed around for a Superphat magazine cover. Although her finished work  looks so polished, Yuko’s career path is almost as complicated as the patterns she creates.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Art Organization: Kimberly Singer, Kemper Art Museum

Kemper Art Waves

Since September 2008, the Kemper Art Museum has been producing a radio show on KWUR (90.3 FM) with the hope of connecting the Washington University community to the greater visual arts scene here in St. Louis. The show runs on alternate Tuesdays throughout the school year.  For each show a local expert, artist, curator, scholar, or art world professional is invited to discuss a current program or exhibition with the host John Launius and students from Washington University.

Past shows have included guests from White Flag Projects, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the Saint Louis Art Museum, Boots Contemporary Art Space, Laumeier Sculpture Park, and more; all past episodes are available for download on iTunes here.

On Tuesday, March 17, KWUR will broadcast our show featuring Bill Appleton from the Saint Louis Art Museum discussing their current exhibition Power and Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty and related programs.