Visual and Performing Arts News

Student Art Exhibit Opens

Published April 14, 2017

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) announce their semi-annual student showcase, “Measure“.

The exhibit features works of art created by Michigan Tech students who are participating in Project Learning Lab, an innovative arts classroom based inside of Rozsa gallery b. Pieces on display were created by students in Lisa Gordillo’s traditional sculpture, advanced sculpture and advanced drawing classes. Students from many campus disciplines are represented, including forestry, materials science and theatre arts.

The exhibition opens Monday and runs through April 22. A reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday (April 20). The reception is free and all are welcome. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Friday and 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Students in Traditional Sculpture study traditional ways of making art around the globe, including Guatemalan kites, Shona carving and Italian clay work. Students in Advanced Sculpture are encouraged to work with the gallery’s architecture and to create large-scale installations in the gallery. Students have been inspired by artists such as Alberto Giocometti, Tara Donovan, Do Ho Suh, Ai Wei Wei and Maurizio Cattelan. Also on display, in the Rozsa Gallery’s adjoining A-Space, is the ongoing exhibition Amusement Park Avenue: Works by VPA faculty and staff.

Student artists represented:

Kassie Baril
Luke Dixon
Hannah Fisher
Charles Heckel
Wyatt Hurst
Alyssa Leach
Anastasia Rogers
Olivia Smith
Cambry Totten-Wade
Tiffani Whipple

For more information Lisa Gordillo at 7-3096 or by email lijohnso@mtu.edu.

STEAM Event for Youth at Cirque Mechanics: Pedal Punk

Published April 13, 2017

By Heather Powers

All faculty, staff and community members with children in middle or high school are invited to sign students up for “STEAM Punk: The Science Behind the Cirque.”

Mind Trekkers, the Rozsa Center, FIRST Robotics, and Cirque Mechanics are teaming up to show area 6-12 graders the science behind the Pedal Punk show.

Cirque Mechanics describes themselves “Cirque Mechanics, although inspired by modern circus, finds its roots in the mechanical and its heart in the stories of American ingenuity. The shows, rooted in realism, display a raw quality, rarely found in modern circus, that makes their message timeless and relevant. The stories are wrapped in circus acrobatics, mechanical wonders and a bit of clowning around.”

Not only will this be a show that the whole family will enjoy, middle and high school students will have an opportunity to go behind the scenes of the show.

Students will meet the pro-BMX biker and creator of Pedal Punk during a behind the scenes visit. They will also spend an hour with Mind Trekkers and FIRST Robotics engaging in hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) demonstrations. A pizza dinner and a ticket to the show is included.

The event begins at 3:30 Saturday, April 22 with a backstage tour of the Rozsa. After this is when we will have our STEAM demonstrations with Mind Trekkers and FIRST Robotics.

Then the students can enjoy a pizza dinner right before the show starts at 7:30pm. Parents are asked to drop their students off for the STEAM part (students only), and can meet up with their children for the start of the show.

More information and ticketing info is available here.

(Note the event is now open to 6th-12th graders not just 6th-8th graders as stated on the flyer)

Michigan Tech Faculty Member Art Exhibit in Hancock Art Center

Published April 6, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

The Copper Country Community Arts Center presents “Gestures and Facture,” recent work by Hancock artist and Michigan Tech faculty member Tomas Co in the Kerredge Gallery April 6-29.

A gallery talk is scheduled for 6:20 p.m. Thursday, April 13. Co’s recent work includes sculpture in stone and bronze as well as sumi-e (black ink) paintings.

This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The public is invited to a reception and gallery talk on from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 13. Refreshments will be provided.

The Copper Country Community Arts Center is located at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information call 482-2333 or visit the website.

“I found that gestures in the sculptures and gestural strokes in paintings provide an interesting, raw, tension between the hidden and the exposed, both within the subject and within the artist. Moreover, based on the facture (or manufacture) of the pieces, all the ingredients: the materials, texture, weight and time allow different approaches for the artist to communicate and negotiate with the physical world in the attempt to extract the invisible. My personal struggle is to find a place in which the banal, pretentious and clich’d constructs in my works (and there are plenty) are balanced with enough honesty, raw (even primal) aesthetics and personal attachments to make the art still worthwhile to make.”

“Orchid Ensemble” Performs Saturday

Published March 28, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

Join us for a concert featuring the renowned Canadian group “Orchid Ensemble,” who will join conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber singers, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (April 1) in the McArdle Theatre, on the second floor of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center.

Established in 1997, the JUNO-nominated Orchid Ensemble is comprised of Lan Tung on the erhu/Chinese violin, Yu-Chen Wang on the zheng/Chinese zither and Jonathan Bernard on percussion.

The ensemble blends ancient musical instruments and traditions from China and beyond, creating a beautiful new sound. They have embraced a variety of musical styles to thier repertoire, ranging from the traditional and contemporary music of China, world music, new music to jazz and creative improvisation.

The energetic yet endearing performance style of the ensemble consistently intrigues and delights its audiences. Acclaimed as “One of the brightest blossoms on the world music scene” (Georgia Straight), the Orchid Ensemble has been tirelessly developing an innovative musical genre based on the cultural exchange between Western and Asian musicians.

Students from conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers will join the ensemble for three selections in the concert.

Tickets are on sale now, $22 for adults, $6 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Calumet Theatre Box Office.

Rozsa Gallery A-Space Presents “Amusement Park Avenue”

Published March 24, 2017

By Heather Powers

Why do we love amusement parks? From side-shows to ferris wheels, we’re drawn to the excitement of the buzz, the sounds, the bright colors, the sensory extravaganza.

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Rozsa Center announce “Amusement Park Avenue: The 2017 VPA Faculty & Staff Exhibit.“ Faculty and staff of VPA will exhibit a variety of works of many different media and concepts, touching upon all five senses and inspiring curiosity, as if walking through an amusement park avenue.

Fifteen artists will be represented: Jared Anderson, Anne Beffel, Mary Cyr, Kent Cyr, M.C. Friedrich, Terri Frew, Lisa Gordillo, Roger Held, Bethany Jones, Susie Kilpela, Jeremy Littlefield, Josh Loar, Elizabeth Meyer, Christopher Plummer, and Jess Portfleet.

The opening reception is at 4 p.m. Friday, March 31 in the Rozsa Gallery A-Space. The exhibit will run until April 28 and is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Volunteers Wanted for Every Color of Eyes Art Project

Published March 23, 2017

By Heather Powers

Anne Beffel is asking for volunteer participants in her “Every Colo r of Eyes” art project. This project makes visible our differences and our common humanity through the metaphor of eye color. Beffel, along with assistants Rebekka Guyon, Alex Pohl, J.P. Rewer and Phillip Wildner, are gathering eye color samples as the basis of a long scroll painting of color-filled circles.

Beffel is asking those who want to help to either email pictures of their eyes to info@EveryColorOfEyes.org or submit them here. Volunteers can also stop by the Studio for Here and Now, located in Wadsworth Hall G04W, from 3 to 5 p.m. today (March 22) or Wednesday, March 29

Beffel’s “Every Color of Eyes” will become part of the faculty and staff gallery exhibition, “Amusement Park Avenue,” from March 31 to April 31 in the Rozsa Gallery A-Space. An opening reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, March 31. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, contact Beffel at 7-1732.

50 Years of Great Jazz at Michigan Tech

Published March 21, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

Celebrate “50 Years of Great Jazz at Michigan Tech — The Gold Standard” at the annual Don Keranen Memorial Concert, the final jazz concert of the performance season, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (March 25) at the Rozsa Center. There will be a reception following the concert in the Rozsa Lobby.

According to Mike Irish, director of jazz studies at Michigan Tech, “Don originated the Jazz Lab Band in 1967, and since then, it has grown into one of the most respected non-major jazz programs in the country. We have so much to be thankful for from these 50 years. We hope that you enjoy this evening’s concert on many levels. Please join us for a reception in the Rozsa lobby following the concert.”

Tickets for the Don Keranen Memorial Jazz Concert are on sale now, $22 for adults, $6 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech Fee.

Tickets are available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office only opens two hours prior to performances.

Marimba Concert and Poetry Night

Published March 20, 2017

By Heather Powers

What is a Marimba? Think of a very large wooden xylophone, the national instrument of Guatemala.

The Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents Guatemalan writer Hugo Gordillo, and collaborator Zach l’Italian, who will read selections of Gordillo’s new poems (in Spanish and English) in a “Marimba Concert and Poetry Night” at 6 p.m. Thursday (March 23) in the Rozsa lobby.

This event was developed in collaboration with Michigan Tech music students and conducted by Mike Christiansen, Michigan Tech’s Director of Bands. The Marimba Concert and Poetry event are free and all are welcome.

The Michigan Tech Marimbist Band will play several marimba selections, arranged by Christianson. This event is the closing reception for “ChickenBus: a U.S. Guatemalan Experience,” a Rozsa gallery exhibit by Lisa Gordillo.

Several poems in Hugo Gordillo’s collection inspired the art in this exhibit. The exhibit will be open before and after the concert.

Michigan Tech Choirs Present Benefit Concert: Music for a Sacred Space

Published March 7, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

Join the Michigan Tech Choirs for an evening of sacred choral music presented in its natural habitat, the local treasure that is the magnificent space of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Linden. The concert will feature music of many different countries and cultures, with devotional music ranging from South Africa, Germany, England, Canada and 19th-century America.

The Michigan Tech Concert Choir and conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers, Jared Anderson, conductor, present “Music for a Sacred Space” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 19th, St. Joseph’s Church, Lake Linden.

Free-will donations in any amount are welcomed.

Rozsa Gallery B Presents “Come In We’re Open”

Published February 23, 2017

By Heather Powers

Announcements

The Rozsa Center and Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents the Rozsa gallery b show “Come In We’re Open,” an open house exhibition of student sculptors’ works in progress, as a part of the “Project Learning Lab” alternative classroom project. “Project Learning Lab,” a cutting-edge Visual Arts experiment that takes place within the Rozsa gallery. Students in 3D Design and Sculpture will use the Rozsa Gallery as an active and alternative classroom, transforming the space into a real-time work of art during the semester. Student work will be shown twice each semester. A mid-semester showcase will open the gallery for our community to see work in-progress; the end of semester exhibition will welcome community into a fully transformed space. As part of Project Learning Lab, our Visual Arts Faculty are working alongside our students as Resident Art Fellows.

“Come In We’re Open” will run from Monday (Feb. 27) to Saturday, March 4. The gallery will host a public reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 2. The reception is free and open to the public.

Rozsa gallery b is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Visitors may walk through at any time.