March 7, 2002

Ready to compete at Richards Hall Gallery interns Anna Stoysich, right, and Kirsten Sather hang a painting as gallery assistant Judy Stone Nunneley supervises while installing artwork Feb. 28 for the 16th Undergraduate Studio Art Competition in the Eisentrager/Howard Gallery in Richards Hall. The competition runs through March 16 and features the best undergraduate art in the Department of Art and Art History.

Green Wave Kimono, 1999, cut silk, 64x62" by Tim Harding.

Fragmented Surface opens at Hillestad

The Textiles, Clothing and Design Department will open the Tim Harding's textile exhibition Fragmented Surface: Color, Light and Texture in the Robert Hillestad Gallery at 7 p.m. March 8. The exhibition runs through April 25.

In conjunction with this exhibition, the artist will present a lecture at 7 p.m. March 8 in room 11 of the Home Economics Building. It is free and open to the public.

Also. a one-day workshop, Slash and Fray, Extreme Reverse Applique, will be offered by the artist on March 9 with a repeat on March 10. For information on fees and registration call 472-2911.

Harding is a fiber artist known for using bits of colored fabric as an impressionist painter uses brush strokes. Harding's work features color intermixed with what seem to be shadows and particles of light. He often presents his work in garment forms such as kimonos and great coats, considering both the theatrical and the broader role of clothing as art. He uses such methods as slashing, fraying, quilting and folding fabric. Harding works in his studio in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area, but has exhibited throughout the United States, and in South America, Japan and Europe.

Mermaid Theatre presents an adaptation of Eric Carle's The Very Quiet Cricket. The theater will be at the Lied Center at 7 p.m. March 19 and 20.

Mermaid Theatre stages classics

Prepare to be dazzled as Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia brings the pages of Eric Carle's classic storybooks to life on the Lied Center stage at 7 p.m. March 19 and 20. Using puppets and lively music, these stories are a perfect introduction for first time theater-goers as well as parents.

Before each performance, the Lied Center will host LiedFamFest beginning at 5:30 p.m. Everyone with tickets to the Mermaid Theatre shows is invited to join in a family-friendly party. There will be free snacks and Pepsi products, as well as entertainment and hands-on activities.

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia is ranked among North America's most respected theater companies for the young. Since 1972, Mermaid Theatre's adaptations of children's literature have introduced more than 2.5 million young people on four continents to contemporary and traditional literary classics. Mermaid Theatre has earned an international reputation of providing quality programs for families everywhere, while at the same time stimulating an interest in the performing arts.

Mermaid Theatre's unique adaptation of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Quiet Cricket continue to garner impressive reviews after more than two years. Closely following the books from which they are adapted, the shows reflect Carle's intuitive understanding of and respect for children, using large-scale puppets and original music to create a memorable event for children.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar tells the tale of a hungry caterpillar as it grows into a butterfly, teaching concepts such as the days of the week, counting and good nutrition.

An unofficial "sequel" to the story, The Very Quiet Cricket follows the quest of a little cricket who longs to find his own voice. This classic tale provides children with a first look at natural history, as well as introduces them to myriad fascinating insects.

Tickets are $10, half price for students and children. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 for ticket availability.

Quilt center's faculty fellows to speak

Two visiting faculty fellows of the International Quilt Study Center will deliver lectures in March. Both talks are free and open to the public.

Janet Berlo will deliver the first lecture, Women's Artistic Education and Colonial Samplers: The Book, the Needle, and the Pen, at 11 a.m. March 8 in the Home Economics auditorium. Her lecture examines recent scholarship on historic needlework for what it reveals about the education of young women in colonial America and the subject matter and aspirations encompassed by their needlework.

Berlo is professor of art history and Susan B. Anthony Professor of Gender Studies at University of Rochester, N.Y. An expert on indigenous arts of the Americas, she is the author of many books on North American Indian art and Pre-Columbian art and archaeology.

Berlo has a longstanding interest in textiles. She has written about contemporary Maya textiles in Guatemala, and North American Indian textiles. At the University of Rochester, she teaches a course called "Quilts in Women's Lives: The Social History of the American Quilt."

Berlo is visiting UNL to conclude her research for an exhibition catalog titled Wild by Design, which she is co-editing with Patricia Crews, International Quilt Study Center director and professor of textiles, clothing and design. Wild by Design will feature 50 quilts that illustrate and celebrate a great free-wheeling tradition in quilt-making in which improvisation, asymmetry and experimentation is the norm.

On March 11, Linda Welters will speak about New England Quilts as Cultural Expression. Her address begins at 11 a.m. in the Home Economics Auditorium. Welters, editor of Down by the Old Mill Stream: Rhode Island Quilts, and organizer of the Rhode Island Quilt Project, will provide an overview of her research and documentation strategies, their findings and how that reflects New England society and culture of the period.

Welters is professor of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design at the University of Rhode Island and is a nationally known historian of textiles and dress. Her many books include Folk Dress in Europe and Anatolia: Beliefs about Protection and Fertility (Oxford: Berg Publishers, 1999) and Home from the Mill: French Canadian Quiltmakers in Rhode Island (Marsil Museum, exhibition catalog in English and French, 1996). She is editor-in-chief of Dress (Journal of the Costume Society of America).

Welters is here to initiate her research on Amish crib quilts in the quilt study center collections. Her work will inform a forthcoming exhibition of them in the Great Plains Art Collection Gallery. She will collaborate with Carolyn Ducey, IQSC curator, and Janneken Smucker, IQSC curatorial assistant, in this work.

Music by astronomers in concert at Planetarium

If it's not a laser show, it's not a planetarium star show, and it's at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Mueller Planetarium, what is it?

It's live classical music featuring works composed by astronomers, performed under a starry projected sky at 7:30 p.m. March 8 and 3 p.m. March 9. The concert will feature works of the famous 18th-century English astronomer William Herschell, UNL astronomer Martin Gaskell and Russian astronomer Valya Doroshenko.

Herschell is best known for discovering the planet Uranus and is regarded as the father of stellar and galactic astronomy. Before becoming a full-time astronomer, he was a professional musician who composed 24 symphonies and many concerti.

"The most exciting aspect of performing these works by Herschel is the directness to them one feels," said Benjamin Carlisle, a UNL graduate student who will direct a chamber ensemble of UNL students. "These works have, quite possibly, not been performed since the 18th century."

The concerts will include two works by Gaskell, a "Romance" for string orchestra and "The Song of the Night," and Doroshenko's song "Summer Rain."

"The lighting and display capabilities of a planetarium offer many artistic possibilities," said Jack Dunn, planetarium coordinator. "Music in the planetarium has always been popular, but this is the first time we've had a live chamber orchestra in the planetarium."

Admission is $3 per person to the concerts. Seating is limited and advance tickets are recommended. Tickets are now available at the front desk of the University of Nebraska State Museum (Morrill Hall, 14th and U streets). No telephone reservations or holding of tickets will be possible and sales will close when all seats are sold.

Humpback Horse is a musical for the family

UNL's University Theatre continues its 101st season with the original family musical play The Little Humpback Horse. Performances are at 7 p.m. March 13, 14, 15 and at 2 and 5 p.m. on March 16 and 17 in the Studio Theatre, third floor of the Temple Building.

The Little Humpback Horse is written by Virginia Smith, UNL assistant professor, adapted from a Russian tale by Peter Ershoff, with original music by Paul Amandes and lyrics by Smith and Amandes. Doug Finlayson guest directs.

The play is about the power of friendship. Ivan, a young peasant, is on guard in his mother's trampled wheat field. Ivan captures the culprit - a galloping white mare who promises him three colts if he'll free her. Two of the colts are black beauties; the third is a homely humpback. "Humpy," however, has magical powers that help Ivan perform impossible tasks ordered by the czar. This play appeals to both children and adults.

The Little Humpback Horse will be performed at Sheridan Elementary in Lincoln on March 22.

Tickets are available from the Lied Center Box Office, or by calling 472-4747 or toll free at 800-432-3231 Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $12/patrons, $10/UNL faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $8/students.

ZAWA! performs March 13

The UNL School of Music presents guest artists ZAWA! in a performance featuring flute, piccolo and piano at 7:30 p.m. March 13 in Kimball Recital Hall.

Jill Felber and Claudia Anderson merged artistic forces in 1997 and offer recently commissioned and traditional duo works with spirited energy and impact. ZAWA! has appeared at Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall and many colleges and universities. Select commissions, original works and arrangements appear on ZAWA!'s premier duo CD.

Felber has inspired many composers to write solo and chamber works for her. Holding degrees from the University of Michigan and Bowling Green State University, Felber has taught on the faculties of Ohio University, Capital University and Wright State University. She is professor of flute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and principal flute with the Santa Barbara Grand Opera.

Anderson performed solo in the United States, Europe and South America since the early 1970s. Anderson has taught at Iowa and Northern Iowa, Ithaca College, Grinnell College and the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Assisting ZAWA! will be Robin Guy, piano.

This event is free and open to the public.

Barnes concert is March 8

Professor of piano Paul Barnes will be performing Jeffrey Hass's Concerto for Amplified Piano and Wind Ensemble with Carolyn Barber and the UNL Wind Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. March 8 in Kimball Recital Hall.

Barnes gave the world premiere performance last February at Indiana University, and this will be the second performance.

Theatrix presents Masquers' Play Festival

Theatrix is gearing up for its first show of the spring with the Masquers' 2002 One-Act Play Festival. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. March 7, 8 and 9, and 10 p.m. March 8 in the Howell Theatre.

This co-production from Theatrix and Nebraska Masquers is an annual UNL tradition, giving new playwrights, directors, actors and designers the chance to play on a university stage.

The festival features two original one-acts by Lincoln students, and a performance by the Huge Embarrassing Failures, UNL's student Improv Troupe. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Flute concert March 15

The UNL School of Music presents the Flute Day Concert at 7:30 p.m. March 15 in the Kimball Recital Hall.

The event is free and open to the public.

Midwest ClariFest concert March 11

The School of Music presents the Midwest ClariFest Concert, featuring guest clarinetist Dennis Nygren, at 7:30 p.m. March 11 in Kimball Recital Hall.

The evening repertoire will include Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in F Minor Op. 120, No. 1 (1894) by Johannes Brahms; Premiere Rhapsodie pour Clarinette et Piano (1909-10) by Claude Debussy; Tonography (1979, rev. 1991) by Halim El-Dabh; and Suite Hebraique (1961) by Srul Irving Glick.

Nygren has been professor of music (clarinet) at Kent State University since 1983. He also was solo clarinet and soloist with the North American Air Defense Band. He was the first clarinetist to earn a doctor of music degree in performance from Northwestern University.

Nygren has published four articles in The Clarinet magazine.

This event is free and open to the public.

Master of Japanese flute to perform March 9

Yoshio Kurahashi, master of the Japanese shakuhachi flute, will perform at Kimball Hall at 7:30 p.m. March 9. Cheiko Iwazaki will also appear, performing on koto.

Kurahashi is director of the Kyoto Traditional Musician's Association. He will participate in a public discussion forum at 7 p.m. March 8 in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room.

This event is free and open to the public and is presented by Arts Are Basic in collaboration with the Asian Arts and Culture Guild and the UNL School of Music.

Kurahashi has studied shakuhachi, a type of bamboo flute, since childhood, with his teacher and father, Yodo Kurahashi, who was the first director of the Muji-An shakuhachi school. Yoshio Kurahashia gave his first recital in 1976. In 1980 Kurahashi became the second director of the Muji-An school.

In addition the traditional musicians' group, Kurahashi also directs the Kyoto Contemporary Music Group.

Cheiko Iwazaki began studying the koto (Japanese zither) at age 10. She studied the koto and shamisen (three-stringed lute) at the Ikuta School of Koto and later studied at the Soumei School with Mamoru Ono. Iwazaki has been teaching koto and shemisen in the United States since 1997.

Ah ... Sweet by Adriane Herman shown at right.

Visiting artist to lecture March 13

Mixed-media artist Adriane Herman will be a visiting artist in the Department of Art and Art History March 12-15.

Herman will give a free public slide lecture beginning at 5:30 p.m. March 13 in Richards Hall Room 14. There will also be open studios in Nelle Cochrane Woods Room 303 from 9 a.m. to noon March 13. The public is invited to watch Herman's printmaking in progress. She will also be in other Department of Art and Art History classes and do graduate student critiques during her visit.

Herman explores the relationship between food and memory through both edible and non-edible multiples. Her work appears in the 1997 book The Best of Printmaking, and she has exhibited both archival and ephemeral prints, as well as photographs, site-specific installation, video, bookworks, collages and tempera paintings around the United States and abroad.

In 2000, Herman received a commission for a site-specific temporary public artwork, for which she printed an edition of 15,000 artists books that were given away free from "honor boxes" at an intersection in downtown Kansas City. In 2001, her Limited Edition Cookies were included in the exhibition titled Digital: Printmaking Now at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Herman is program head of printmaking at the Kansas City Art Institute. She earned a B.A. in English Literature and Art History from Smith College and an M.F.A. in printmaking from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she co-founded Slop Brand Art, a collaborative curatorial unit seeking to foster consumption of art by the masses.

For more information about the artist, visit http://www.slopart.com/nicew alls.html.

For more information about Herman's visit, contact Kyle Olson, (402) 742-3540.

Jazz Ensembles in concert March 12

The UNL School of Music presents the Jazz Ensemble II and Vocal Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. March 12 in the Kimball Recital Hall.

Tickets are available at the door and are $5 for general audience and $3 for students.