Previews

Des Moines Arts Festival Needs Your Help
Des Moines Western Gateway Park, Des Moines

The Des Moines Arts Festival is currently seeking volunteers to assist with a multitude of programs and activities on-site at the Festival on June 27-29, 2008, in downtown Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park. Volunteers can register for shifts online today at www.desmoinesartsfestival.org. The volunteer program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

Each year, over 600 volunteers come together to help make Iowa’s free, three-day celebration of the arts an annual success. Volunteers have the opportunity to assist with Artist Relations, GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural, Ice Distribution, Interrobang Film Festival, Market Research Study, Membership Suite, Nurturing a Student's Vision, Performing Arts, Sculpture Garden and Volunteer Relations.

Shifts are available throughout the three days of the Festival and are, on average, three hours long. All volunteers receive an official Des Moines Arts Festival volunteer t-shirt, snacks and drinks at volunteer headquarters, and have the chance to meet other volunteers who are also helping to promote the arts in Iowa. We encourage volunteers to sign up for multiple shifts and experience all aspects of the event. The Festival will host a volunteer orientation and welcome party on June 14, 2008, from 11-2 p.m. for all registered volunteers.

To register and get more information about these exciting volunteer opportunities, visit our official Web site at www.desmoinesartsfestival.org and click on Volunteers.

The Des Moines Arts Festival is presented by The Des Moines Register, founded by the Des Moines Art Center and produced by Downtown Events Group. The Festival is sponsored by Prairie Meadows, Principal Financial Group, Kemin Industries Inc., GuideOne Insurance, Meredith Corporation and U.S. Cellular. For more information on the Des Moines Arts Festival visit www.desmoinesartsfestival.org.




Call for Entries - Area Show: 41
Englert Theatre, Iowa City

The deadline for entering the 2008 show is Friday, May 9. Entry is open to artists above high school age working in any media and residing within 100 miles of Mason City. Show opens June 19, at 5 p.m. with an awards program and artists’ reception on Saturday, June 21, at 2 p.m.

Entering artists are competing for the opportunity to have their work exhibited and for cash awards. The artist with the entry chosen Best in Show will be granted a solo exhibition at the MacNider Art Museum in 2009. Three artists will receive $250 Sponsor Awards. Two Merit Awards, each at $100, and a $50 Most Daring Award will also be given.

The competition for the show is open to all artists above high school age residing within 100 miles of Mason City, encompassing North Central Iowa and Southern Minnesota. Each entrant is eligible to submit up to two artworks in any media for consideration. For more detailed information, check online at www.macniderart.org or phone 641-421-3666. 

The Artist Revealed: through June 8
From the Syracuse University Art Galleries’ Traveling Exhibition Program, The Artist Revealed will be on display in the MacNider Art Museum’s Kinney-Lindstrom Gallery. This dynamic exhibition features self-portraits and portraits of other artists and entertainers by Chuck Close, Milton Avery, Norman Rockwell and others.




From the Garden
Iowa Artisans Gallery, Iowa City

In a show entitled From the Garden, Iowa Artisans Gallery features acrylic paintings by Madison artist Jaroslava Sobiskova , April 24 – June 1. This exhibit will be one of the Gallery highlight in the May 2 First Fridays event in downtown Iowa City. First Fridays takes place at several locations downtown and runs 5-7pm.

A native of the Czech Republic, Sobiskova came to the United States in 1986 seeking a life of greater artistic freedom than was possible in Communist- ruled Czechoslovakia. Earning an MFA degree from the University of Wisconsin, Sobiskova returned to the Czech Republic to participate in that country’s renaissance, directing the Civic Forum Foundation there for one year. She later returned to the US, operated a private gallery in Chicago while doing commission work in painting and murals. She later settled in Madison, Wisconsin with her family, where the rural setting and rolling hills remind her of her native Bohemia. She continues to receive accolades for her award-winning work.

Sobiskova writes, “As a modern artist my art mediates between the past and present. My creative process utilizes traditional craft techniques as well as experimenting with the many new and wonderful tools and materials the modern world offers to us. In my paintings I move between abstract and figurative representations of a subject depending on the story I am trying to describe. I always produce works in a series as to try to provide a coherent context of the many variations of my subject.”

Iowa Artisans Gallery is open daily. For more information, please call the gallery at 351-8686.






IARMAC
Cedar Rapids

International Academy for Russian Music, Arts, and Culture Announces Fundraising Kickoff for the International Annual Russian Guitar Festival and Seminar 2008. IARGUS 2008 will include concerts, seminars, and master classes May 29 through June 2.

IARGUS 2008 will provide an exciting experience for Iowa City and Cedar Rapids by bringing award-winning Russian seven-string guitarists from all over the world. IARGUS 2008 will have a Year of the Gypsies theme, honoring the Russian Gypsies who have become virtuosi of the instrument.

IARMAC will be hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, May 17 to support this festival. The event will include traditional Russian Gypsy hors d’oeurves and entrees, drinks, silent auction, and a live performance by Dr. Oleg Timofeyev. For details, contact Dr. Oleg Timofeyev at (319) 338-8338 or Ciuin-Ferrin at (319) 389-9455. Tickets are $50.00 in advance.

For more information on IARMAC or sponsoring IARGUS 2008 please visit our Web site at www.iarmac.org.

Paddy Casey — Addicted to Company (Part 1)
4 stars
This soulful folk artist started busking on the streets of Dublin when he was 12. His style has been compared to both Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, and MTV says he’s the biggest singer/songwriter you’ve never heard of. His 1999 debut went triple platinum in Ireland. His third release, a collection of incredibly diverse songs, should get the attention of music lovers in the U.S. He dips heavily into the “sensitive” well (hold on, guys!) without being sappy. His music is sturdy as much as it is tender, with varied tempo and instrumentation to carry it further than words and melody alone could.

The Weepies — Hideaway 4 stars
If Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had never joined Fleetwood Mac… hmmm. I imagine it could have been what The Weepies are today. The husband and wife team of Deb Talen and Steve Tannen have voices that intertwine beautifully and give the simplest of tunes a brightness that’s hard to resist. Songs with Deb’s lead vocals are a bit like Ingrid Michaelson, while Steve reminds me of Glen Phillips. Together…. Mamas & Papas? Well, no — Cass Ellliot’s voice is one of a kind, but that Southern California dreamin’ feel is there. Totally enjoyable.

Stuart Davis — Something Simple
4 stars
Born in Des Moines, raised in Minnesota, and now living in Boulder, Davis has released a CD each year, 1993 to 2004. By his own admission, most were eclectic, catering only to his own desires. Marriage and kids changed his focus, and his 2008 release is a refreshing blend of folk and pop. He says “it’s the first one my mom has said she likes.” Yes, his latest is very accessible, but don’t hold that against him. This is fun stuff: TV show theme-like, but in a good way — like the BoDeans or Rembrandts, with a dash of Elvis Costello.

Reviews by Deeya
KPTL, Capital 106.3
www.capital1063.com








Blind Critic

Pearson Lakes Art Center
“Inside Out: Paintings by Betty Haight and Stephanie Cunningham”
Opening Reception:
Friday, April 25, 5-7 p.m.
2201 Hwy 71 / Okoboji /
(712) 332-7029 / www.lakesart.org

Gallery statement:
The Pearson Lakes Art Center belongs to the community; it is an additional benefit to living in the area; it exists due to the generosity, vision and hard work of innumerous community members; and it is continually changing, updating and evolving. It is a meeting place, a learning center, a safe harbor, and a creative outlet. It embraces everyone.

The welcome:
You have to love small-town Iowa. We were greeted by name with broad smiles and handshakes by gallery staff and volunteers. And we weren’t the only ones — most guests were known by name and those who were not known immediately, were by the time they left the gallery. Drinks were offered — wine and punch — and we were ushered onto the gallery floor.

Accessibility and ambiance:
Conversations never run quietly where friends gather and everyone had friends at this exhibit. There was a din of chatter amid the display columns that throttled the light background music, but no one seemed to mind. Works of art stretched from the lobby, through the gallery, and down a hall — and even further down a short flight of stairs. The multiple levels and slants in the walls created a maze feeling, and we were glad to be lost amongst the sparse landscapes painted by Stephanie Cunningham and the expressionistic figures of Betty Haight. The paintings fit so well alongside one another it was easy to forget that this show was actually created from two minds, instead of one.

The nosh:
Tasty tid-bits, including cheese, crackers, pepper rolls and grapes were offered, along with a small selection of wine and punch.

The sale:
Everything had a price from the small $135 cigar box on up to the $3220 48 x 36-inch Lady in Waiting, a Betty Haight original. There were many works in a moderate range of $500-600 as well. The price sheet was split into three sections, highlighting solo works by Betty Haight or Stephanie Cunningham, and also “duets,” consisting of two paintings, one by each artist, joined together with painted sticks. There were nine duets in all, and the artists likened those works of art to two people playing the piano. The paintings were each done in their own studios with no other direction than a similar pallet of color and were later joined to make one work of art. Two of these duets were recently used as props in a Sandra Bullock film called The Proposal, which will hit theatres in September, and shipped directly to the gallery to enter this exhibit.

The final thought:
The melding of art works created by two individuals takes finding the right minds to draw from, and after meeting both Betty Haight and Stephanie Cunningham, we understand why their creations merge so well. Although they come from very different backgrounds, they follow a similar path now, and their art is born of this path. It is art that, although it doesn’t make ground-breaking statements or use controversial images, is appreciated for the subdued qualities that are similar to the draw of Wuthering Heights.