Appleton

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New Lawrence University Wriston Art Center Exhibition Opens Oct. 30

Milwaukee artist Michael Davidson delivers the opening lecture Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. for the latest exhibition at Lawrence University’s Wriston Art Center galleries. A reception with the artist follows the address. The exhibition runs through Nov. 25.

Davidson-image_web.jpgDavidson’s exhibit, “Michael Davidson: Territories,” features abstract sketches and paintings that challenge viewers to become engaged with the physical process of painting. Using both gestural strokes and wide swaths of color, Davidson evokes both atmospheric landscapes and the dance-like movements of an artist obsessively engaged in the act of painting. Davidson’s exhibit will be shown in the Kohler gallery.

Virginia-based photographer Paul Thulin presents “Recent Work,” an exhibit featuring various darkroom and digital processes. Shown in the Hoffmaster gallery, “Recent Work” presents surreal landscapes and haunted dreams that play between reality and hallucination. Thulin is the director of graduate studies in the department of photography and film at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including a 2000-2001 Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

“Exhibitionism,” featuring works from the Wriston’s own permanent collection, will be on display in the Leech gallery. The exhibit presents art in a variety of unconventional ways, provoking thoughts about how the usual ways of hanging work in art museums can both clarify and complicate the meaning and historical context of the art.

Wriston Art Center hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday-Sunday from noon – 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays. For more information, call 920-832-6621.

Lawrence University Brings Modern Touch to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

The Shakespeare classic “Romeo and Juliet” receives a modern makeover — the New Jersey shore in 1980 — in Lawrence University’s production of the timeless love story.

The play will be performed at 8 p.m. Thursday (10/29), Friday (10/30) and Sunday (11/1) with a 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday (10/31) in Lawrence’s Cloak Theatre in the Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available at the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

Transporting the young, star-crossed lovers to 1980, the 80-minute production exchanges balconies for wrought-iron fire escapes, rapiers for golf clubs and crow bars and classical music for Top 40 hits, including Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and more.

Originally created for school audiences and performed by the Milwaukee Shakespeare Company in 2002, this version is the combined work of Timothy X. Troy, Lawrence professor of theatre arts John Maclay, a 1994 Lawrence graduate.

“The idea for the production design began many years ago in discussions between myself and (technical director) Dave Owens about our mutual love of Springsteen music and the working class culture of that time and place. Eventually, we decided that the idea was just crazy enough to work,” explained Troy, who will direct the play. “We looked at photos of the Jersey Shore and used them as a visual landscape for the play, including weathered lifeguard stands, graffiti, neon signs and over-grown pylons on the water’s edge.”

The production’s sound design by Troy evokes the popular music of the time that matches the major themes of the play.

“At the party scene where Romeo and Juliet meet, they’re dancing to Earth, Wind & Fire,” said Troy.

A set designed by Troy and Owens and costumes designed by Emily Rohm-Gilmore, a 2001 Lawrence graduate, adds to the modern effect created by the 1980 setting of the Elizabethan play.

The production features seniors Conner Lewis and Caroline Mandler in the title roles as Romeo and Juliet, respectively. Mercutio is played by junior Samuel Flood, Tybalt by junior Andi Rudd and Lord Capulet by junior Kyle Brauer.

In addition to the four performances for the community, the cast will offer three matinees specifically for students from Appleton East, North and West high schools, The Academy charter school and Marian College.

Rwandan Orphanage Director Opens Lawrence University Social Justice Lecture Series

Floriane Robins-Brown, executive director and CEO of a Rwandan orphanage project opens Lawrence University 2009-10 Social Justice Series Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center Hurvis Room with the presentation “Nibakure Children’s Village – Hope for Orphans in Rwanda.” The event is free and open to the public.

Floriane-Robins-Brown2_web.jpgA Rwandan native who moved to the United States in 1988, Robins-Brown began organizing a team of people for the NCV project in 2004. Now a registered non-profit organization both in Rwanda and the United States, the NVC received 23 acres of land from the Rwandan government and has begun construction on a village of family-style homes to house 150 children.

During the 1990s, Rwanda experienced severe ethnic violence between the Hutus majority and the Tutsi minority. In a span of 100 days in the spring of 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed — approximately 10% of the population — leaving thousands of children orphaned.

The NCV has joined the Rwandan government, non-governmental organizations and several individuals in the process of rebuilding and providing support for orphans.

The Social Justice Lecture Series is sponsored by the Lawrence University Volunteer and Community Center and brings guest speakers to campus to discuss contemporary social justice issues such as Wisconsin’s school funding crisis and asylum for battered women of the world.

Work of Photographer Anne Brigman Examined in Lawrence University Visiting Arts Series Address

Madison art critic James Rhem discusses the life and work of early 20th-century painter-turned photographer Anne Brigman in the opening address of Lawrence University’s 2009-10 Visiting Artist Series.

JamesRhem2_web.jpgRhem presents “Anne Brigman: Freedom, Art & Womanhood” Monday, Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Trained as a painter, Brigman embarked on a photography career at the age of 32. Among her favorite subjects were “slim, hearty, unaffected women of early maturity,” whom she often photographed in the nude in the natural settings of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California.

In a time when women were frequently repressed and photography was largely still considered a documentary form, Brigman tried to create art that showed what she felt women needed most — an absence of fear. After taking a photograph, she often manipulated the film by using paints and etching tools.

Brigman was one of two original California members of the Photo-Secession, an art photography group founded by Alfred Stieglitz to promote photography as a fine art and later was named a Fellow of the group.

Rhem, an independent scholar and critic, frequently lectures on and writes about photography. He is the author of four books, including “Ralph Eugene Meatyard: The Family Album of Lucybelle Crater and Other Figurative Photographs,” a book featuring the artwork of the 20th century American photographer famous for his photographs of people wearing masks. His current research focuses on the work of Brigman.

Rhem’s appearance is sponsored by the Lawrence University Department of Art and Art History and the Photography Club.

Lawrence University Author Receives Best Fiction Award

David McGlynn, assistant professor of English at Lawrence University, was one of five authors recognized Oct. 21 by the Utah Center for the Book during ceremonies at the Salt Lake City Library.

David_McGlynn_Weblog.jpgMcGlynn was awarded the best fiction title for his 2008 book “The End of the Straight and Narrow,” a collection of nine short stories that examines the inner lives, passions and desires of the zealous and the ways religious faith is both the compass for navigating daily life and the force that makes ordinary life impossible.

In addition to fiction, authors were honored in the categories of nonfiction, poetry, children’s literature and young-adult novel as part of the 10th annual Utah Humanities Council Book Festival. The awards recognize excellence in writing that carries a Utah setting or theme. Winners are announced each fall for books published the previous year.

At its June 2009 commencement ceremonies, Lawrence honored McGlynn with its Award for Excellence in Creative Activity, which recognizes outstanding creative work. A member of the Lawrence faculty since 2006, McGlynn earned his Ph.D. in English literature and creative writing from the University of Utah.

Convocation Series Video: Geomimicry

In her October 20th convocation, Marcia Bjornerud, professor of geology and the Walter Schober Professor in Environmental Studies at Lawrence, theorized that all of us would be better off if we followed five geological guiding principles. She says the Earth can inspire us to rethink social, economic and agricultural policies.

Watch a video of Bjornerud’s presentation.

A structural geologist who joined the Lawrence faculty in 1995, Bjornerud was appointed the first holder of the endowed Schober professorship in 2007. She has been the recipient of two Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowships, including one earlier this year that supported four months of research on ancient seismic events in New Zealand along the South Island’s Alpine Fault.

She is the author of “The Blue Planet,” a science textbook and “Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth,” in which she provides a tour of “deep time,” chronicles the planet’s changes and examines the toll human activity is exacting on Earth.

Lawrence Academy of Music Hosts Annual Scholarship Benefit Oct. 24

APPLETON, WIS. — Musical performances by the Lawrence University Jazz Band, a jazz combo featuring Lawrence bassist Mark Urness and pianist Mathew Buchman and Lawrence Academy of Music string faculty ensembles highlight the fourth annual “tutti!” scholarship benefit Saturday, Oct. 24 from 6-9 p.m. in Lawrence’s Warch Campus Center.

With the theme “sustaining beautiful music for all,” this year’s event will feature hors d’oeuvres, wine, a raffle, a silent auction and prizes, including a $2,000 travel voucher, an iPod touch, a moped and more. Tutti is an Italian musical term meaning “all play together.”

Proceeds from the “Tutti!” event benefit the Lawrence Academy of Music Scholarship Fund, a financial-assistance program for students in the academy’s music program. The academy sponsors more than 20 music education programs and ensembles, serving more than 1,900 students throughout Northeast Wisconsin, ranging in age from six months to 90 years old .

“There has been a marked increase in requests for financial assistance this year detailing hardships and challenges faced by many of our families,” said Fred Snyder, director of the academy. “Tutti is our primary funding source to provide need-based scholarships for musical instruction opportunities for area families. Our goal remains that no motivated student with a serious desire to pursue musical studies be denied such opportunity due to family financial circumstances.”

Tickets for the event are $35 in advance or $40 at the door and are available at the academy’s office, 100 S. Water St, Appleton. Call 920-832-6632 for more information.

Lawrence University Graduate Nominated for Post in Obama Administration

APPLETON, WIS. — Scott Quehl, a 1988 Lawrence graduate, has been nominated by President Barack Obama for the post of Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Commerce. The appointment is subject to a hearing confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Quehl, who also served as a member of President Clinton’s administration, is currently president of Quehl Advisors, LLC and a senior managing director at Public Resources Advisory Group, providing counsel to state and local governments on capital market, budgeting and management initiatives.

He also has served as managing director for tax-exempt capital markets at JPMorgan Securities, Inc. and was managing director at Public Financial Management, Inc., where he served as a management and budget advisor to the several local and state authorities. During his tenure at Public Financial Management, Quehl took a leave of absence to serve as acting, then permanent, chief financial officer of the Metropolitan Police Department.

As a member of the Clinton administration, Quehl served in the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Federal Financial Management. Prior to that appointment, he served as The World Bank’s Country Officer for the Dominican Republic in a consulting capacity, co-managed the development of the Secondary Education Project for the Dominican Republic and advised the governments of Colombia and Bolivia on the decentralization of financial and management authority to sub-national governments.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Lawrence, Quehl served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sabanagrande, Honduras. He went on to earn a master’s degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Geologist Marcia Bjornerud Discusses “Geomimicry ” in Lawrence University Convocation

APPLETON, WIS. — Applying a geological twist to biomimetics, Marcia Bjornerud discusses how the concept of turning to natural living systems as templates for good design could be applied to building new and sustainable institutions and infrastructures in a Lawrence University convocation.

Bjornerud, professor of geology and the Walter Schober Professor in Environmental Studies at Lawrence, presents “Geomimicry: Good Design from the Earth” Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 11:10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. She also will conduct a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. Both events are free and open to the public.

Marcia%20Bjornerud_web.jpgBjornerud was selected for the 2009-10 convocation series as the first recipient of Lawrence’s new Faculty Convocation Award. Chosen by President Beck from nominations collected by the Committee on Public Occasions, recipients for the award are selected for the high quality of their professional work.

Since the start of the industrial revolution, Bjornerud argues, Western technology has tended to treat nature as an adversary to be defied or circumvented, an attitude that has led to many of the environmental problems we face today. She will discuss how “geomimicry” — borrowing design ideas from the long-term habits of the Earth — can be a guiding principle in rethinking social, economic and agricultural policies.

“Environmental abuses and social injustices are arguably both rooted in a distorted sense of the relationship between humans and the natural world,” says Bjornerud.

A structural geologist who joined the Lawrence faculty in 1995, Bjornerud was appointed the first holder of the endowed Schober professorship in 2007. She has been the recipient of two Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowships, including one earlier this year that supported four months of research on ancient seismic events in New Zealand along the South Island’s Alpine Fault.

She previously was recognized as a Fulbright Scholar in 2000 when she was awarded a fellowship for a year of field research on the west coast of Norway.

Bjornerud is the author of “The Blue Planet,” a science textbook and “Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth,” in which she provides a tour of “deep time,” chronicles the planet’s changes and examines the toll human activity is exacting on Earth.

She was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2003 and was recognized with Lawrence’s Excellence in Scholarship or Creative Activity Award in 2007.

Prior to joining the Lawrence faculty, Bjornerud spent six years in the geology department at Miami University in Ohio. She earned a bachelor’s degree in geophysics at the University of Minnesota and an M.A. and Ph.D. in geology at the University of Wisconsin.

Lawrence University Welcomes Three Visiting Poets for Reading, Q & A Session

APPLETON, WIS. — Three poets will visit Lawrence University Monday, Oct. 19 for a reading and a discussion session. Both events will be conducted bilingually and are open to the public.

Poets Dolores Dorantes, Laura Solórzano and Jen Hofer will read from their work at 8 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center Hoffmaster Gallery. A reception and book signing will follow. Prior to the reading, the poets will conduct a question-and-answer session about Mexican poetry and translation at 4:30 p.m. in Main Hall 104.

Dorantes is the founding director of the border arts collective Compañía Frugal, an organization that publishes a poetry broadside series, distributed throughout Mexico. She has written four book-length volumes of poetry, including 2004’s “sexoPUROsexoVELOZ” and “Lola (cartas cortas)” in 2002. In her poetry, Dorantes works to break away from what she has called “the confessional poetry that prevails in Mexican Literature.”

A teacher at the Centro de Arte Audiovisual in Guadalajara, Mexico, Solórzano is the author of several collections of poetry. Her most recent works include “Boca perdida” (2005) and “lobo de labio” (2001). Solórzano also serves on the editorial board of the literary arts magazine Tragaluz.

Hofer is the editor and translator of “Sin puertas visible: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by Mexican Women,” which includes works by Dorantes and Solórzano. Hofer teaches writing and poetics at the California Institute of the Arts and works as a Spanish-language interpreter with the Los Angeles County Superior Courts.

The poetry reading is sponsored by the Mia Paul Poetry Fund, the Spanish Department and ¡VIVA!