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Past Calendar Items March April May June

All programs are in the SMA Auditorium unless otherwise indicated; programs are open to the public and are free unless marked ($).

March Programming & Events

3.24

Performance: The Goldenburg Duo

12 PM / Central Court

The Goldenberg Duo will present a concert of classical music representative of our universe and the natural beauty of living things. Susan is a violinist with the KC Symphony. Her brother William is Distinguished Professor of Piano at Northern Illinois University

3.25

Gallery Talk: Senior Session on C.A. Seward: Artist and Draftsman

10 AM / North Balcony Gallery

Presented by SMA curatorial assistant Kate Meyer / This popular series of informal gallery discussions is designed for senior citizens but open to everyone.

3.25

Book Discussion/Film Series: Book Discussion: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

6 PM / Lawrence Public Library

Discussion leader: Professor Leonie Marx, Department of Germanic Languages/Literatures at KU / This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or email mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us

3.25

Book Discussion/Film Series: Film: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

7 PM / Lawrence Public Library

This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or email mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us

3.26

Town and Gown Forum: Machine in a Void: The First World War and the Graphic Arts

10 AM / Kress Gallery

Sponsored by Spencer Museum of Art and Hall Center for the Humanities / Join KU faculty members and scholars for a series of gallery presentations about the Spencer’s exhibition Machine in a Void: The First World War and the Graphic Arts / Presenters include James Grauerholz, independent scholar, Assistant Professor Nathan Wood, department of history, and Professor William Woods, department of geography and Courtesy Professor, department of anthropology / SMA Curator Steve Goddard, moderator

Presenters include:
Stephen Goddard - Senior Curator, Spencer Museum of Art; Professor, Department of the History of Art, Moderator
William Woods - Professor, Department of Geography; Courtesy Professor, Department of Anthropology, on War and the Tortured Landscape.
Roberta Pergher - Assistant Professor, Department of History, on Reflections or Refractions? Myths of war experience in postwar European societies.
Nathan Wood - Assistant Professor, Department of History on Dreams of Speed, Visions of Death: Art and War in the Machine Age.
James Grauerholz - Independent Scholar; Courtesy Lecturer, American Studies Program on Moloch's Apocalypse: The Rise of the Killing Machines.

3.26

Alash Ensemble: Tuvan Throat Singing

7 / The Commons in Spooner Hall

Join us for a one of a kind musical experience that The Washington Post has described as ’utterly stunning.’ The Alash Ensemble brings together four masters of Tuvan throat singing (xoomei), a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. A tiny republic in southern Siberia on the border with Mongolia, Tuva is a giant when it comes to the mastery of human voice. The ancient tradition of throat singing developed among the nomadic herdsmen of Central Asia. Passed down through the generations, it is now the subject of international fascination and has become Tuva’s best-known export.

The musicians of the Alash Ensemble were trained in traditional Tuvan music since childhood. But what distinguishes their work from earlier generations of Tuvan throat singers is the subtle infusion of modern influences into their traditional music. They are inspired by the music of their grandparents and the great Tuvan and Central Asian musicians, but also influenced by jazz and rock as they look for new ideas that mesh well with the sound and feel of traditional Tuvan music. One can find complex harmonies, western instruments, and contemporary song forms in Alash’s music, but its overall sound and spirit is decidedly Tuvan.

Alash has collaborated with musicians of all stripes, from the avant-garde jazz Sun Ra Arkestra, to the classical Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center. They appeared as guest artists on a new album by Grammy winning Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Yet, they remain deeply committed to their own ancestral heritage, winning multiple awards for traditional throat singing in international competitions, both as an ensemble and as individual musicians.

The members of Alash are:
Nachyn Choodu: vocals, byzaanchy, chadagan
Bady-Dorzhu Ondar: vocals, igil, doshpuluur, guitar
Ayan-ool Sam: vocals, doshpuluur, chanzy, igil, guitar
Ayan Shirizhik: vocals, kengirge, shyngyrash, murgu, xomus

3.27

It Starts with Art!: Children's art appreciation classes for ages 5-14 / Diamonds & Eggs

10:30 AM & 1:30 PM /

Learn about the House of Fabergé and a few other ’egg-works’ then assemble and decorate egg sculptures and baskets / Teacher: Sorcha Hyland, Spencer Museum of Art / $ / To enroll, contact SMA Education Department, 785.864.0137 or smakids@ku.edu, or visit the Spencer's website and enroll online.

3.29

KU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: Machine in a Void: World War I and the Graphic Arts

2-4 PM / Kress Gallery

Join us at the Spencer Museum of Art for a multidisciplinary panel discussion of the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I and the Graphic Arts. This exhibition will be largely drawn from the permanent collection of the Spencer Museum of Art and will include material that may provoke discussions of the rise of ironic and ambivalent attitudes toward war and the defenselessness of innocents in the face of modern war machines. By invoking the perspective of primarily European artists, the exhibition will bring attention to the substantial roles played by the graphic arts as a tool for official propaganda and as means of voicing individual responses to the war ranging from documentation to dissent / Enrollment required / $ / Class sponsored by KU Continuing Education. Please contact Continuing Education, 785-864-KUCE(5823), www.kuce.org, or kuce@ku.edu

3.31

Dialogue in the Round: Nature’s Matrix

7 PM / The Commons in Spooner Hall

Presenters: Ivette Perfecto, John Vandermeer, Angus Wright, Kip Haaheim / This spring, The Commons in partnership with the Environmental Studies Program will host a Dialogue in the Round on the topic of the recently released, Nature’s Matrix: Linking Agriculture, Conservation and Food Sovereignty (Earthscan, 2009). The book’s authors, Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer, both of the University of Michigan, and Angus Wright, California State University, Sacramento, will discuss their ideas about food sovereignty, the relationship between natural habitat and agriculture, and the importance of working with rural social movements to promote ecological sustainability. Included in this dialogue will be Kip Haaheim, KU School of Music, who will work with graduate and undergraduate students to create an original performance in response to the ideas presented in the book.

Back to TopApril Programming & Events

4.1: Lecture: 2010 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Toshio Watanabe on "Modernity and Censorship: Nude Painting Controversy in Meiji Japan (1868-1912)"; 5:30 PM / SMA Auditorium; Sponsored by Kress Foundation Department of Art History and Spencer Museum of Art / Watanabe is professor and Director of the Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation, University of the Arts, London. This talk will investigate perhaps the most famous or rather the most infamous case of censoring a nude painting during the Meiji period (1868-1912) in Japan. This is the so-called Nude Painting Controversy of whether one should censor a nude painting or not that was hotly debated. This case represents a seminal moment in the development of modern Japanese painting and also shows the complex nature of the impact of European ideas on Japanese culture. First, the story of the controversy surrounding Kuroda Seiki’s nude paintings will be sketched, then the development of the ideology of and the practice of law enforcement in the Meiji period will be discussed, and finally the context of the debate within Meiji art will be examined. Reception follows.
4.2: 2010 Spring Lecture Series: Liz Ogbu, Public Architecture; 11:30 AM / SMA Auditorium; Sponsored by KU School of Architecture, Design & Planning
4.8: Gallery Talk: Senior Session on James Rosenquist's 1, 2, 3 Outside; 10 AM / 20/21 Gallery; Presented by SMA intern Natalie Svacina / This popular series of informal gallery discussions is designed for senior citizens but open to everyone.
4.8: Lecture: 2010 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Toshio Watanabe on "Modern Japanese Gardens in a Transnational Context"; 6 PM / Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; Sponsored by Kress Foundation Department of Art History and Spencer Museum of Art / Watanabe is professor and Director of the Research Centre for Transnational Art, Identity and Nation, University of the Arts, London. Modern Japanese gardens provide a multifaceted, complex and fascinating subject. This talk will not so much give a survey of the modern Japanese garden but rather investigate how the meaning and significance of such a garden could change with time and with different observers. The timeframe will be between 1870s and 1970s and different types of Japanese gardens will be explored. Examples will include public parks, Japanese gardens at International Exhibitions, Japanese gardens during World War II and Modernist gardens. Japanese gardens are often seen as quintessentially and uniquely Japanese, more or less the prime example of what Japanese culture is about. However, this talk will put them into a transnational context and show how modern Japanese gardens connect with Asia, Europe and the USA.
4.8: Book Discussion/Film Series: Book Discussion: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway; 6 PM / Kress Gallery; Discussion leader: Professor Jim Carothers, Department of English at KU / This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or email mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us
4.8: Book Discussion/Film Series: Film: The Sun Also Rises (1957); 7 PM / SMA Auditorium; This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or email mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us
4.10: It Starts with Art!: Children's art appreciation classes for ages 5-14 / War of the Worlds: Pencil V. Print; 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM /; Explore the exhibition, Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts. Study line and composition and experiment with creating the same image in print and pencil / Teacher: Natalie Svacina / $ / To enroll, contact SMA Education Department, 785.864.0137 or smakids@ku.edu, or visit the Spencer's website and enroll online.
4.15: Lecture: 2009 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Christopher M.S. Johns on China and the Church: Chinoiserie and the Roman Connection; 5:30 PM / SMA Auditorium; Johns is the Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Professor of Art History and Chair of the Department of Art History, Vanderbilt University. This lecture was originally scheduled for fall 2009.
4.15: University Lecture Series: Writing Jazz; 7:30 PM / The Commons in Spooner Hall; Paul Lopes, Department of Sociology, Colgate University, on From Hepcat to Rebel to Heroin Fiend: The Jazz Trope in the Popular Imagination / Sponsored by the KU Honors Program
4.17: It Starts With Art!: Children's art appreciation classes for ages 5-14 / What a Relief!; 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM /; Learn how stories are told in stone and clay. Create your own tale using real earthenware materials and have your finished work fired on campus in a KU kiln. Teacher: Katherine Rossiter & Catherine Meihaus / $/ To enroll, contact SMA Education Department, 785.864.0137 or smakids@ku.edu, or visit the Spencer's website and enroll online.
4.18: Lecture: 2009 Franklin D. Murphy Lecturer Christopher M.S. Johns on The Art and Visual Culture of European Chinoiserie; 2:30 PM / Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Johns is the Norman L. and Roselea J. Goldberg Professor of Art History and Chair of the Department of Art History, Vanderbilt University. This lecture was originally scheduled for fall 2009.
4.22: Gallery Talk: Senior Session on: Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian; 10 AM / Central Court; Presented by SMA docent Alice Ann Johnston / This popular series of informal gallery discussions is designed for senior citizens but open to everyone.
4.22: Book Discussion/Film Series: Book Discussion: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf; 6 PM / Kress Gallery; This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or email mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us
4.22: Book Discussion/Film Series: Film: Mrs. Dalloway (1997); 7 PM / SMA Auditorium; Discussion leader: Associate Professor Kathryn Conrad, Department of English at KU / This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Machine in a Void: World War I & The Graphic Arts, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or email mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us
4.29: Reception/Party: Spring Student Night & Juried Art Show Opening; 5:30-7:30 PM / Central Court & Galleries; Sponsored by the SMA Student Advisory Board / The SMA Student Advisory Board invites students to enjoy its annual Spring Student Night. Featuring free food, live and DJ music, and art!

Back to TopMay Programming & Events

5.1: Arts & Culture Festival:; 1-4 PM / SMA Galleries and Front Lawn; Co-sponsored by SMA Student Advisory Board / In conjunction with SMA spring exhibitions
5.6: Gallery Talk: Senior Session on Georgia O'Keeffe's Portrait of a Day; 10 AM / 20/21 Gallery; Presented by SMA docent Dee Link / This popular series of informal gallery discussions is designed for senior citizens but open to everyone.
5.6: Films: KU Student Video Premiere; 5:30 PM / SMA Auditorium; KU Design students present new Video work. Experimental, documentary, story telling, and non-linear narrative styles are explored emphasizing personal expression.
5.8: It Starts with Art!: Children's art appreciation classes for ages 5-14 / Monsters in the Mix?; 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM /; Hunt for images of the gory and the grotesque in ancient and medieval art. Use natural materials and found objects to create your own hairy, scary, monstrous mask. Teacher: Sorcha Hyland / $ / To enroll, contact SMA Education Department, 785.864.0137 or smakids@ku.edu, or visit the Spencer's website and enroll online.
5.20: Gallery Talk: Senior Session on Alberto Vargas; 10 AM /; This popular series of informal gallery discussions is designed for senior citizens but open to everyone.