Columns:: UGA Guide

Columns::September 3, 2002

UGA Guide

Life’s an open book

The Art of the Book. 20 Years of Art and Design from the University of Georgia Press, a collection of some of the award-

Half Off, a book bound in a shower cap, is from the Bound Round exhibition on display at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript through Sept. 24.

winning book designs of the UGA Press, will be on view at the Georgia Museum of Art through Sept. 30. At the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library on the third floor of the main library is an exhibition called Bound Round: Metal, Plastic, Leather, Fabric, Wood and Other Non-Traditional Bookbindings, and the Lamar Dodd School of Art will open an exhibition called Of Age: 21 Years of Books at the Green Street Press on Sept. 6.
Since 1982, the University of Georgia Press has won more than 100 national awards for book design and production, most recently five awards in the 2002 Print magazine regional annual. Sandra Hudson, design and production manager and assistant director for the UGA Press, says this exhibition serves as a celebration of this “long, unbroken tradition of excellence in book design and production. More importantly, the show seeks to call attention to the art and craft of book design.”
Books are collaborative ventures that involve many people, from the author to the editor to the publisher to the layout designer. The UGA Press seeks “to match the content of the book to image and form,” Hudson says. Book jackets themselves serve several purposes. Originally called “dust jackets” because they protected the cloth bindings of books, they now play an important role in advertising, selling and promotion.
This exhibition consists of more than 20 framed engravings, paintings, drawings and other media, alongside trimmed dust jackets exhibited both framed and digitally on computer. All were book jackets for UGA Press-published books.
Bound Round: Metal, Plastic, Leather, Fabric, Wood and Other Non-Traditional Bookbindings is on display through Sept. 24 at the Hargrett Library. The exhibition includes a book bound in a shower-cap (Half Off--above), along with other unusual bindings that may cause viewers to question the meaning of book and art.
Featured in the display will be Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror by John Ashbery, as interpreted by the Arion Press and presented to the reader in a round aluminum container with round paper and lithographed self-portraits by many famous artists, such as Jim Dine, Alex Katz, Willem de Kooning and Elaine de Kooning. The books for this exhibition were selected from the renowned Private Press Collection of the Hargrett Library and organized by Mary Ellen Brooks, Hargrett director.
The Lamar Dodd School of Art has invited 21 alumni artists to exhibit bookwork for the exhibition of books from the Green Street Press. running Sept. 6-30 in the visual arts building. Organized by Rick Johnson and Joe Sanders, associate professors of art, the exhibition includes a wide range of conceptual book projects, from the traditional codex to book objects.
The artists, who were students or instructors with the Green Street Press, include Charles Morgan, Joe Sanders, Melissa Harshman, Joey Hannaford, Rick Johnson, Joni Mabe, Bill Kitchens, Kitty McChessney, Anne Jenkins, Greg Shelnut, Tobin Hines, Berwyn Hyung, Frank Saggus, Corey George, Meredith Re and Jack Cheatham.

Ongoing
Art exhibitions.
Romantics and Revolutionaries: Regency Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery, London. Through Sept. 29. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.
The romantic period witnessed a profound shift in literature and art to an outlook shaped by spontaneity, passion and emotion. The intellectual disciplines of classicism were cast aside for a preference for the infinite and the transcendental. A new feeling for untamed nature emerged in the poetry of Wordsworth, Shelley, Coleridge and Keats. Greater self-expression was the hallmark of the genius of Constable, Turner and Blake. This exhibition, with more than 70 portraits of the most famous men and women of the early 19th century, tells the story of this famed period, the Regency, in England. Stunning and iconic portraits of the most influential poets, painters, politicians and princes of this time, by such artists as Thomas Phillips, William Beechey and Sir Thomas Lawrence, are on view.

The Bold and the Beautiful: Portraits by Gerald Leslie Brockhurst. Through Sept. 29. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.
Brockhurst (1890-1978), from Birmingham, England, was an outstanding etcher and fashionable portrait painter in the 1920s and ’30s whose patrons included the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Mrs. Paul Mellon and Merle Oberon.

At Home and Abroad: Japan and Japonisme. Through Oct. 6. Georgia Museum of Art, open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.
Throughout the 19th century, all things Japanese were the rage in London, Paris and New York. While art dealers and collectors began to amass Japanese prints, devotees also purchased kimonos, fans and screens in fashionable shops. Japonisme, as this new interest was called, quickly influenced artists and designers.
At Home and Abroad features a selection of Japanese prints by artists like Hokusai and Hiroshige, alongside European and American paintings and prints by Whistler, Toulouse-Lautrec and Cassatt, among others, that reveal the lasting impact of Japanese culture on printmaking and the decorative arts.

Bunzlauer Style: German Pottery from Jugendstil to Art Deco. Through Oct. 6. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.
Developed out of traditional utilitarian ceramic forms produced in eastern Germany in the 18th and 19th centuries, this ware takes its name from the primary center of its production, the Silesian town of Bunzlau, now the Polish town of Bolestawiec. Though little known in America today, Bunzlauer pottery was widely popular throughout Europe in the first half of the 20th century and was exported in large amounts to the United States.
Through a selection of functional pottery, including plates, bowls, pitchers and vases from a private American collection, this exhibition demonstrates how Bunzlauer pottery reflects changing design principles in early 20th-century Germany. Early wares were often decorated with brightly colored sponged patterns in blue, orange and green, showing the influence of Germany’s interpretation of art nouveau, or Jugendstil. Later pottery was decorated with airbrushed geometric designs in the modern art deco style. This exhibition reveals changes in both design and technology.

Imperfect: Digital Paintings and Drawings by Matt Chansky. Through Sept. 13. Main gallery, visual arts building. Sponsored by the Lamar Dodd School of Art. 542-1511.
Chansky’s work examines our daily lives as workers in an increasingly technological environment. We are surrounded by fax machines, copiers, computers and printers--by indecipherable information. Chansky creates abstract “paintings” from the glitches and errors of computer programs. Within the gibberish of the lines and colors, the images mirror a heat sensor detecting a warm body.
He explains his intentions this way: “Erasures and computer display errors are harvested and matured into a field as the image develops. This complex terrain complements my interest in the side effects of progress--the anxieties and anomalies, and how they affect the human and man-made infrastructure.”

Bound Round: Metal, Plastic, Leather, Fabric, Wood and Other Non-Traditional Bookbindings. Through Sept. 24. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library gallery, third floor, main library (open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 1-5 p.m. Saturdays; closed for Sept. 21 home football game). Sponsored by UGA Libraries. 542-7123. See story above.

Paintings by Michelle Penland and Bryan Dodson. Through Sept. 26. Room 309 Gallery, Tate Student Center. Open 8 a.m.-midnight daily. Sponsored by Student Activities. 542-6396.
The exhibition includes solo and collaborative paintings by local artists Penland and Dodson. Penland’s figures on the canvas connect with the space around it; the boundaries between solid objects and space are blurred, creating a dream-like quality. Dodson’s paintings use abstract forms and images. He paints in a meditative state.

Tarbaby, the Tyranny of Expectancy. Through Sept. 27. Broad Street Gallery, 257 W. Broad St., opened weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sponsored by School of Art. 542-0069.
This exhibition features the work of Stefanie Jackson. Jackson’s work examines the history of the African-American experience and its repercussions. Her most recent paintings mix fact and folklore to tackle the painful issue of slavery in the United States, using archetypal characters in stage-like settings to tell her stories. Jackson confronts this topic without restraint, offering deeply emotional subject matter without flinching. While her work is highly symbolic, her palette of rich earth browns and brilliant sky blues evokes a sultry ambience reminiscent of a mid-August heat wave.
Jackson, a professor of drawing and painting in the Lamar Dodd School of Art since 1988, is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, most recently the 2002 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Award.

The Art of the Book: Twenty Years of Art and Design from the UGA Press. Through Sept. 30. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

Exhibit.
Legends of the Deadball Era: Vintage Baseball Cards from the Richard B. Russell Collection. Through Nov. 22. Russell Library. Sponsored by UGA Libraries. 542-8079.

Tuesday, September 3
Main Library Orientation.
2-3:15 p.m. Instruction lab A, first floor, main library. Sponsored by UGA Libraries. 542-1114.

CHA Lecture.
“Relationship of Western Science and Religion: Galileo, Darwin and Einstein.” Fred Silva, executive director of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology. 5 p.m. 202 Moore College. Sponsored by Center for Humanities and Arts. 542-3966.

Wednesday, September 4
Lunch-in-Theory.
“Contesting the Art and Image of Spain: Franco-Spanish Discourse of the 19th Century.” Alisa Luxenberg, art. 12:20 p.m. 411 journalism building. Sponsored by Center for Humanities and Arts. 542-3966.

Main Library Orientation.
2:30-3:20 p.m. Instruction lab A, first floor, main library. 542-1114.

ArtBeat.
“Meet George!” Romita Ray, Georgia Museum of Art. 6:15 p.m. Griffith Auditorium. Sponsored by Georgia Museum of Art. 542-4662.

Film.
The Madness of King George. Nicholas Hytner’s film starring Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren, in conjunction with the current exhibition of Regency portraits. 7:30 p.m. Griffith Auditorium. Sponsored by Georgia Museum of Art. 542-4662.

Thursday, September 5
Music in the Day Chapel.
Classical piano. Noon-2 p.m. Day Chapel. Sponsored by State Botanical Garden. 542-6195.

Main Library Orientation.
12:30-1:45 p.m. Instruction lab A, first floor, main library. Sponsored by UGA Libraries. 542-1114.

CHA Lecture.
Erping Zhang on Falun Gong. 4 p.m. 265 Park Hall. Sponsored by Center for Humanities and Arts. 542-3966.
Zhang will speak about Falun Gong, a philosophy and practice of special exercises and meditation designed to heal body and mind. Falun Gong, which is also an organization of its practitioners, has been described as a cult by the Chinese government and outlawed in China.
Zhang has been a practitioner of Falun Gong since 1994, and he has frequently served as a translator for Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong’s founder. Zhang has testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of Falun Gong.

Friday, September 6
Art exhibition.
Of Age: 21 Years of Books at the Green Street Press. Through Sept. 30. Foyer gallery, visual arts building. Sponsored by School of Art. 542-1511. See story above.

Campus Coffee Hour.
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Memorial Hall Ballroom. Hosted this week by Baptist Student Union and Redeemer Presbyterian Church; sponsored by International Student Life. 542-5867.

Main Library Orientation.
1:25-2:15 p.m. Instruction lab A, first floor, main library. Sponsored by UGA Libraries. 542-1114.

Volleyball.
Georgia Tournament. Georgia vs. Georgia Southern. 7 p.m. Ramsey Student Center. 542-1231.

Saturday, September 7
Art exhibition.
Freedom. Through Sept. 22. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.

Garden Ramble.
“Wild Edibles.” Jennifer Cruse, Garden staff. 10 a.m. Meet at covered shelter adjacent to lower parking lot. Sponsored by State Botanical Garden. 542-1244.

Volleyball.
Georgia Tournament. Georgia vs. Iowa State, 1 p.m. Georgia vs. Eastern Washington, 7 p.m. Ramsey Student Center. 542-1231.

ArtBeat.
“George Washington and Abraham Lincoln at GMOA.” Janice Simon, art. 2:30 p.m. Griffith Auditorium. Sponsored by Georgia Museum of Art. 542-4662.

Concert.
Indian Film Music by Rasika. $15 ($10 students). 7 p.m. Oconee Civic Center, Watkinsville. Sponsored by UGA Friends of India. 769-0588.

Sunday, September 8
Soccer.
vs. Connecticut. 2 p.m. Women’s athletic complex. 542-1231.

Monday, September 9
History Lecture.
“War and International Law: The Disciplines and Practices of Imperial Russia.” Peter Holquist, Cornell University. 10:10 a.m. 323 LeConte Hall. Sponsored by history department. 542-2538.

Main Library Orientation.
10:10-11 a.m. Instruction lab A, first floor, main library. Sponsored by UGA Libraries. 542-1114.

Presentation.
“How Professors Enable Student Alcoholism.” Carole Middlebrooks, University Health Center. 12:15-1:15 p.m. Room 501, Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry. Sponsored by Christian Faculty Forum. 542-9034.

International Forum.
“Using UGA Student Ambassadors to Promote International Awareness in Georgia.” Terrell Austin, Gary Bertsch,
Art Dunning and student ambassadors. 4-5 p.m. 102 Moore College. Sponsored by Honors Program. 542-6908.

Coming up
2nd Thursday Concert.
UGA Symphony Orchestra with guest soloist John Mack, oboe. $12 ($7 students). Sept. 12, 8 p.m. Hodgson Hall, Performing Arts Center. Sponsored by School of Music. 542-4400.

Concert.
Misha Dichter, piano. $21-$25 (half-price students). Sept. 13, 8 p.m. Hodgson Hall. Sponsored by Performing Arts Center (Music Series I). 542-4400.