Visual Culture: An exhibit of art work in all media created by Ithaca High School Students during the 2012-2013 year and curated by Art Faculty

Every year, Carol Spence and the Art Faculty at Ithaca High School present Visual Culture an exhibit of artwork in many different media created by students in the different courses taken during the year.  This year, four projects are on display in the Library.

 AP STUDIO ART

AP Studio Art requires students to produce a portfolio of 24 pieces of art that reflect issues related to drawing or design. Drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, collage and photography are all appropriate media for expression in the development of the portfolio during the yearlong course.  In the “concentration” section, students develop a body of work that is derived from the investigation of an idea or theme that is of personal interest to them.   Aspects of the theme of the “concentration” are evident in these final portraits of the year.

FASHION, DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION

On display are some of the designs and illustrations created by the first IHS Fashion Design & Illustration course this past year. Students explored fashion figure proportions, color theory, media techniques, illustration approaches and style development.  Students are encouraged to think outside the box, with reference to ready-to-wear and haute couture design. Inspirations for these designs include, wearable art, black & white trends and cultural influences.  

 BJM PORTRAITS

In a new project this year, IHS Drawing & Painting students decided to connect with younger students who attend Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, by interviewing the students and painting their portraits.

Digital photographs were used as references and the second graders answered a brief survey to provide more information about who they are and what they enjoy.  When the exhibit comes down, the portraits will be given as gifts to the BJM students by the IHS artists.  

Art faculty hope to expand on this project in the future but this is a start for helping students make connections across grades and between buildings, to share art making ideas and inspire each other in the creative process.

 THE ARTFUL GARDEN

The Drawing & Painting students were introduced to botanical illustration
by illustrator, muralist and gardener, Kellie Cox-Brady. They have painted  botanical images in acrylic on the untraditional surfaces of cabinet doors & window frames and they will eventually be mounted on the
walls of the Artful Garden space. 

Through the new IHS Garden Club and with grant support from IPEI and FABG  IHS students are developing the Artful Garden, a community garden space  to grow produce, art, connection and refuge.  Students are investigating issues around planting and gardening, creating an outdoor art space, planting seasonally and designing a pocket park within the school community. With the Cooperative Extension’s Gardens for Humanity as our community resource, the students are planning, building, planting and decorating this atrium garden space adjacent to the school’s cafeteria.

The exhibit will be on display through July 19, 2-13.

Art in the Heart of the City starts at TCPL

TCPL is delighted to host the work of two artists in this year’s Art in the Heart of the City.

Outside the front of the Library you will Oval Keeper a monumental stone sculpture by Glenn Sweygardt.

Zweygardt is an emeritus Professor of Sculpture at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.  Zweygardt possesses an uncanny ability to fuse dissimiliar elements and concepts, naturally occurring and fabricated forms, into structures that command attention. More of his work can be seen at  www.glennzweygardt.com

On the Southwest corner of the building you will find the farmyard murals of Mary Beth Ihnken.  

Ihnken is a highly regarded local muralist who works on many different surfaces in many different locations.  She is the artist of the mural to be found inside the Thaler/Howell Program Room in the Youth Services Department of the Library.  

Check out the work of these artists and then come inside to check out our current exhibits - at the time of posting this blog they are Visual Culture by Ithaca High School Students and a five-year retrospective exhibit from the Ithaca League of Women Roller - and other Library programs.

Ithaca League of Women Rollers present a 5-Year Retrospective

The Ithaca League of Women Rollers celebrates 5 years of hard hits and fast feet with a retrospective in the Avenue of the Friends at the Tompkins County Public Library. On display will be uniforms and flyers through the years, treasured equipment used in actual bouts, and other pieces of roller derby memorabilia.

SufferJets READ at the Library

Enjoy docent-guided tours of the exhibit with members of ILWR, possibly on their roller skates, during July Gallery Night on July 5, as they share memories and facts about the league.

The exhibit has been arranged by TCPL Teen Librarian Regina DeMauro-Axel, also known as Valerie Valkyrie of the SufferJets. TCPL sponsors Regina in all her roller bouts and in return Regina/Valerie Valkyrie promotes the Library and all it has to offer wherever she goes and particularly to teens.

The exhibit will be on display in the exhibit cases in the Avenue of the Friends through July 19.

YMCA exhibit in Avenue of the Friends offers Summer Camp opportunities

During the latter half of June, the YMCA has been presenting information about their Wilderness Summer Camp for children on our public exhibit table.  You still have time to see this display before it is taken down and followed by a display by Tompkins Learning Partners.

Y-Wilderness camp offers children positive developmental experiences and encourages them to forge bonds with each other. Children experience a sense of achievement through opportunities in the outdoors. Y-Wilderness campers are able to explore creativity, experience teamwork and practice leadership in a wide range of primitive activities that influence lifelong healthy living. They have the opportunity to enjoy an outdoor environment where they develop an appreciation of nature. The Y believes that when kids stretch their legs, explore new fields, and connect with the world around them, they grow into healthy, inspired, and confident adventurers who are fortified with a richer sense of their environment and a set of values that are based on an appreciation for the beauty of the natural outdoors.

For more information about the Y and all they offer our children for “youth development, for healthy living, and for social responsibility” go to www.ithacaymca.com.

Ben Ortiz and DJ Rich Medina present "Collecting Hip-Hop" at Gallery Night, Friday, June 7

Tompkins County Public Library’s celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Hip-Hop comes to an end June 7 as Ben Ortiz and DJ Rich Medina present “Collecting Hip-Hop at Cornell” in conjunction with Downtown Ithaca’s Gallery Night.

This illustrated presentation will offer an introduction to Hip-Hop history and culture, provide an overview of the items included in Cornell University’s Division of Rare and Manuscript’s Hip-Hop Collection and offer a candid explanation of why Hip-Hop is important to Cornell University Library and its influence on American culture.

Ortiz, the assistant curator of Cornell University Library’s Hip-Hop Collection, and Medina, a 1992 Cornell grad will present “Collecting Hip-Hop at Cornell” at 6 p.m. in the Library’s BorgWarner Community Room.  TCPL’s acclaimed exhibit, “Top2Bottom”, a collection of photographs by legendary Hip-Hop photographers Tony Conzo and Ernie Paniccioli and Hip-Hop memorabilia on-loan from local collectors, will serve as the backdrop for the presentation. This is a last opportunity to see this exhibit before it is taken down.

The exhibit is accessible from 5 to 8 p.m. on Gallery Night.  Afterhours access to the Library will be through the BorgWarner Community Room entrance, behind TCAT’s Green Street bus shelter.


 

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month – Planned Parenthood shares educational materials with an exhibit table in the Avenue of the Friends

As well as our major art exhibits which are supported by funding from the Community Arts Partnership and exhibits in the display cases in the Avenue of the Friends, TCPL also makes table space available for community groups to present informational material to the community.  This table space can be reserved for two week periods on a first come, first served basis.  From May 18 through May 31, Planned Parenthood will be displaying educational materials for National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month.

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month emphasizes the importance of strong partnerships between communities and families in helping young people to make healthy, values-based decisions that promote achievement and avoid sexual risk behaviors, and promote parent-child conversations about healthy sexuality and relationships.  Planned Parenthood believes that parents can, and should, be the primary educators when it comes to these topics.  Research studies show that teens want to learn about sexuality and relationships from their parents.  However, conversations about sex can be difficult and Planned Parenthood works to support both parents and children in this sometimes challenging conversation with the provision of educational resources.

This table exhibit provides informative material from Planned Parenthood including Families are Talking, a newsletter published by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, posters and bookmarks and helpful books which may be checked out from TCPL’s collection.  To view this display at the library, check the table just inside the Avenue of the Friends beside the handicapped carts.

Community groups wishing to reserve this table space should email sgrubb@tcpl.org or call 272-4557 etc 232.

Hip-Hop: Unbound from the Underground Continues at Tompkins County Public Library at May 3 Gallery Night

TCPL continues its celebration of Hip-Hop Culture at First Friday Gallery Night, 5:00 - 8:00 PM on May 3 with two special events.

5:30 PM meet under the Ezra Cornell Portrait for a "Walk & Talk" through TCPL's current exhibit Top 2 Bottom - A Journey Through the Elements of Hip Hop Culture with graffiti artists Jay Potter and Jay Stooks.

Jay Potter, a graphic designer for Cornell Plantations, is also a founding member of Cap Matches Color which has loaned many items to the exhibit.  He will describe how a work of graffiti art is created from original concept in the artist's black book to completed work.  The example used, photos of which are included  in the display cases beneath the Ezra Cornell portrait, was painted early during Get-Up State especially for this exhibit.  Graffiti is ephemeral art however, and this particular piece was painted over during the weekend and no longer exists.

Jay Stooks, GIAC Youth Program Coordinator also loaned many items to this exhibit and will discuss some of the work contained in the exhibit cases as well as the artwork he created especially for the show.

If you are interested in Graffiti Art in all its many forms this is an event you will not want to miss.  The tour will start promptly at 5:30 PM.


At 6:00 PM TCPL is hosting local business owner Eldred Harris for a Gallery Night presentation on the roots of Hip-Hop.

A South Bronx native and member of the Ithaca School District Board of Education, Harris will present an illustrated talk "Days of F.I.R.E. and Birth of a Hip-Hop Nation." Harris grew up in the South Bronx during the early days of Hip-Hop and experienced first hand the arson that burned down abandoned buildings, as well as the high unemployment and poverty rates.  Hip-Hop arouse out of a community's refusal to be destroyed and a creative desire to survive. You will be left with a clear understanding of the importance of Hip-Hop in American Culture today.

This presentation will take place in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room in the Youth Services Department.

Entry to the Library for both these events, which take place after the Library is closed, is through the BorgWarner Program Door located behind the TCAT bus shelter on Green Street.