Visual and Performing Arts News

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the Rozsa Center and Pavlis Honors College announce the fall gallery exhibition, Hero City: Documentary Photography by Meghan Kirkwood. The exhibit features a collection of silver gelatin and inkjet photographs of modern Mongolia.

The images capture the unique and storied history of Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, its transition through economic and cultural change – and the rich and thriving culture that animates this young Asian nation.

This exhibit is presented in collaboration with Michigan Tech’s Pavlis Honors College and the D80 Conference, where Kirkwood will give the keynote address.

The title “Hero City,” refers to the chosen name for this urban center before pressure from soviet activists led to its renaming, Ulaanbaatar (city of the Red Hero). Mongolia’s history is long and complex, and most recently marked by its transition from communism to democracy following the fall of the Soviet Union. This transition was guided by international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Fund, but the nation’s swift entry into a market economy has brought many challenges for its citizens, in spite of optimism from outside economists who view the country as a “global growth generating” nation. Mongolia offers a prescient look at the disconnect between prescriptive policies and the cultural and political realities that limit their success. Kirkwood’s images seek to capture these tensions, and to draw attention to Mongolia’s vibrant culture.

Kirkwood is an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Her photography has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and South Africa. She holds an MFA in Photography from Tulane University, and a PhD in Art History from the University of Kansas. w ww.meghankirkwood.com.

The exhibit will run from Monday, Sept. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 14. Works of art are also hung in several campus buildings and can be seen through a self- guided walking tour.

Gallery hours:

• Monday – Friday — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday — 1 to 8 p.m.

Walking tour hours:

• Monday – Friday — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kirkwood will give her online D80 keynote address at noon on Friday, Oct. 2, and an online gallery talk on at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. A tour map, Zoom links, and more details to all related Hero City and D80 Conference events can be found on the Rozsa Center website.

This program is partially funded/sponsored by the Visiting Professor Program which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the State of Michigan’s King- Chavez-Parks Initiative. 

For the latest news and events, please join our Rozsa newsletter, check our website and Facebook page frequently, and stay informed as we announce new events each week.

Outside – apart – together, the Visual and Performing Arts Outdoor Sculpture class’s online sculpture exhibit, opens today. The exhibit is an online sculpture walk, and it features work by eight student artists: Sarah Arnold, Mykaela Cayemberg, Mara Hackman, Olivia Hohnholt, Erin Mauk, Tristan Robb, Zoie Schafer, and Michael Stock. The students’ major disciplines include Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Theatre and Entertainment Technology, Medical Laboratory Science and Computer Engineering.

Students in the class, instructed by Lisa Gordillo, found inspiration for their works of art from many different places. Erin Mauk’s sculpture, “Preserving Beauty,” grew from a quote by ecologist Aldo Leopold. Mara Hackman’s work of art re-envisions Alice in Wonderland as a commentary on mental health. Tristan Robb, who’s projects were frequently inspired by the locations where they were to be installed, chose an “anxiety-inducing” space, and sought to make it more welcoming.

Students spent part of the class developing their creative process, and studying a range of artists and working styles. Artist Michael Stock says, “As I developed my creative process throughout the semester, I was learning to strike a chord between pondering my ideas, playing around, and trying to act on an idea.” It wasn’t without its challenges! Zoie Schafer created a ring of handcrafted bowls, and “there was a moment when I was setting the sixth bowl out in the sun to dry and realized there were only five. My dog had stolen the smallest bowl and eaten all of the wheatpasted paper off of it, literally eating my homework.”

The exhibit will remain online through September 1st.  Visitors may also wish to see the class gallery, where works of art from the semester are still on display. Individual projects are also featured on this VPA blog. 

Lisa Gordillo’s home studio is featured in a video collection created by SooVAC, The Soo Visual Arts Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The video was created by SooVAC, “as a way of staying connected in a time where everything seems so far away.” Twenty-four artists’ workspaces, in the U.S. and abroad, are featured. The Soo Visual Art Center is a nonprofit art space whose mission is to connect the Minneapolis community with fresh, under-represented, provocative art. More of Gordillo’s work can also be seen on her website.

Play Soo Visual Arts Center's Mission is to Connect. video

Soo Visual Arts Center's Mission is to Connect.

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Visual and Performing Arts Outdoor Sculpture students spent last week making kites and holding a community (physically-distanced) picnic. Faculty member Lisa Gordillo designed this project to connect her students across the distances they’re feeling.

Students learned about a traditional Guatemalan kite – the barrilete, made Guatemalan recipes such as chilaquiles and chirmol, read works by Guatemalan writers such as Rigoberta Menchu and Antonio L. Cota Garcia, and studied paintings by Carlos Merida. The class also learned about U.S.-based artists who create community connections, such as Theaster Gates.

Student Sarah Arnold based her kite design on a mandala, then installed it in a forest. Erin Mauk was interested in Guatemala’s quetzal bird – her kite was inspired by the bird’s mythology and it’s long, flowing tail. Marah Hackman drew inspiration from Michigan’s Northern Lights.

Each student made their own barrilete, and hosted a picnic with the people in their household, then came back together to share what they made, so that everyone felt connected. Together, the students created a patchwork event – with many different things happening in different places, but everyone working together.  

The student gallery is on view until August 28. More works will be added each week.  

The landscape is their studio. Students in Outdoor Sculpture will spend their summer class session creating works of art outside. The class is taught by Lisa Gordillo (Visual and Performing Arts). It is Michigan Tech’s first fully-online sculpture class.

Gordillo is working with her students to build a class that creates connections with community (even at a distance). Students consider art, ecology, and social connection as they make their works of art.  

The class has found inspiration from environmentally and socially engaged artists such as Lita Albuquerque,  Shoehei Katayama, Nancy Holt, Andy Goldsworthy, and Rebecca Louise Law.  

Student Mara Hackman’s first sculpture was inspired by Katayama’s work of art, Golden Repair. In that piece, Katayama uses emergency blankets to “repair” a glacial crack, referencing the Japanese tradition kintsukuroi, the ceramic practice of embracing flaws and imperfections by repairing them with gold. Hackman combined flowers and trash into a wave that followed a shoreline area near her home, considering environmental impacts and resilience.

Next up: students will make kites and hold an online community picnic. 

The student gallery is on view until August 15. More works will be added each week.