Public Free Days Video

A short video about Public Free Days at the Fine Arts Center - free admission to the museum galleries on the third Tuesday of each month. The next Public Free Day is Feb. 16, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (And FAC members get free admission every day!)

'Looking Up' installation by FAC Board member Mike Esch

An installation video of the site-specific piece, "Looking Up," starring FAC Board Member Mike Esch, who built, hoisted and installed these rather large video screens all by himself.

The Independent previews NASA | ART

Art of the cosmos lands at the FAC and unveils a creative look at exploration ... the Colorado Springs Independent previews NASA ART by Edie Adelstein. Here's an excerpt from the preview related to Monica Petty Aiello's contribution to the theme.

Monica Petty Aiello: Frozen Inferno is a series of 25 works — all but two of which were created just for NASA Art — studying the surfaces of the extreme moons. Petty Aiello, a Denver artist, works with paint, yarn, resin, water and ink to build layers of landscape.

From a distance, her works look like flat abstracts; they may suggest a sunlit, lily-pad-topped pond (Io), or life forms under a microscope (Europa). But upon closer inspection, the depth in each work reveals itself as an impossibly detailed artistic rendering of an alien expanse.

"Images from NASA's Galileo and Voyager missions — still striking years later — provide Petty Aiello's starting point ...

"The actual geology of the place inspires the development of new painting techniques to emulate it," she says, adding, "I actually get all these spacecraft images and sit down with scientific specialists and deconstruct the geology, and then I try and come up with painting techniques to interpret that."

"Petty Aiello's experimental working method illustrates the way creativity and curiosity fuel both the sciences and art."

Read the whole preview here.

T.D. Mobley-Martinez reviews NASA | ART

“NASA” show is astronauts and rockets and so much more ... a review of NASA ART by T.D. Mobley-Martinez of the Gazette. An excerpt:

“(T)here are plenty of great moments. Rockwell’s meticulous painting of astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young. William Wegman’s charming obsession of inserting his Weimeraners into every place, even the final frontier. Mitchell Jamieson’’s fractured, shimmering paintings of emblematic NASA images. The seemingly banal realism of Martin Hoffman’s “Sunrise Suit-up.”

And in a stroke of brilliance, museum director Blake Milteer has also mounted four special exhibitions with “NASA.” Each is standalone fascinating. Each investigates the work of four well-respect local artists: Springs painter Eric Bransby, Denver painters Vance Kirkland and Monica Petty Aiello and video artists Mike Laur and Rick Mazzola.

Add to that a line up of events and family programming — from Bemis classes to a sci-fi film series to a road trip to Denver to see an original play about space — and you have a show that is about art, sure, but also about culture, about American dreaming, about local talent and about community.

"That’s the kind of thinking that saves museums, that saves the arts and consequently, saves the world.”

Read the complete review here.

The Gazette previews 'NASA | ART'

The Gazette's T.D. Mobley-Martinez's preview of NASA ART appears online today, prior to tomorrow's GO! section:

In addition to the NASA ART and the four complementary exhibitions, "The museum will also offer an impressive lineup of other programming, including a lecture by shuttle pilot Richard Truly, a film series, family activities, classes and a trip to Denver with performing arts director Alan Osburn to see the world premiere of the play “When Tang Met Laika.”"

Read the complete review here.

Christopher Weed's giant "Red Paperclips"

Sculptor Christopher Weed will contribute his unique art to the Fine Arts Center's spring offering, Conflict Resolution.

Earlier this fall, Weed's giant "Red Paperclips" installed downtown in front of the COPPeR offices garnered an article from the Denver Post.

"(O)ne of the most successful public art projects to come to the Front Range this year. Perched in front of the Plaza of the Rockies office building in Colorado Springs, the piece consists of — as its no-nonsense title makes clear — two giant, 24-foot paper clips leaning against each other. It's an easy-to-like diversion for the downtown crowd, whimsical and deeply fascinating at the same time." Read the complete article and interview with Weed here.

FAC mentioned in Westword article about DAM's Lewis Sharp

In a nice article about the retiring Denver Art Museum Director, Lewis Sharp, Michael Paglia writes, "(H)e transformed the DAM from the rather modest place it was into a nationally renowned regional museum. In thinking about it, it's impossible to overstate the positive effect he's had on the DAM and, by extension, on the city itself. In fact, he's remade the museum in so many different ways that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's had a greater effect on the institution than anyone else in its 100-year-plus history."

The FAC adds its congratulations to Lewis for all he has done for art in the state of Colorado. He is a true gentleman and friend.

Later in the article ... Paglia remarks on Sharp's effect on the DAM permanent collection:

"To give you an idea of how much the DAM's permanent collection has changed during Sharp's reign, consider that a generation ago, the collection at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center was generally regarded as being more important."

Read the complete story here.

NewsFirst5.com previews 'NASA | ART'

"Haven't made it to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.? Good news--it's coming to you! Well, some of it, at least. The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center will present NASA ART: 50 Years of Exploration, organized by the Smithsonian and NASA. The exhibit opens Friday and runs through Mar. 7." Read the complete story here.

Westword previews 'NASA | ART'

"The mysteries of space have always held the power to inspire art. With that in mind, NASA created an art program in 1962, calling upon the talents of everyone from Norman Rockwell to Andy Warhol to explore and illustrate the beauty, majesty and wonder of exploring the last, greatest frontier." Read the complete article here.

Westword's Michael Paglia remembers two Colorado Springs artists

"Based on my experience — and my files — I figure there are 300 serious contemporary artists in Colorado. I make note of this because three of them died in November, which strikes me as a pretty high number. On November 8, Elaine Calzolari succumbed to cancer (Artbeat, November 19); on November 10, Jeremy Hillhouse died after a long struggle with spine damage; and on November 23, veteran abstractionist Al Wynne died, also of cancer."

Both Hillhouse and Wynne were born in Colorado Springs. Wynne's paintings (see picture) was recently featured at the FAC in the exhibition, "Colorado Springs Abstract." Read the complete story here.

Building a Timeline of Space Exploration

The NASA Art program, opening on December 18, will include an interactive gallery that allows visitors to further explore space and art. Located just beyond the Vance Kirkland and Monica Aiello galleries, the Discovery Space will feature an illustrated timeline of the history of space exploration. The timeline tracks man’s advances toward space exploration, from the earliest examinations of the night sky and celestial phenomena, to the technological advances that allowed us to leave the bounds of Earth. The gallery will also contain monitors playing Powers of 10, a 1977 short documentary by Ray and Charles Eames, and Trip to the Moon, a 1902 French black and white film directed by Georges Méliès. An interactive station will provide visitors with access to activities and further resources on space. The Discovery Space will also showcase art by Bemis School of Art Students, including sculptures made out of a unique kind of precious metal clay developed by NASA.

Working as an intern at the Fine Arts Center, I have had the opportunity to work on the Discovery Space, my main task being to research and put together the timeline. Now, having finally arrived at the final stage, installation, I find myself looking at piles of events, images, and objects, and the difficult challenge of creating visual order and clarity with them. There is a lot to fit on this timeline, especially as you near the 21st century, when fast-paced developments in rocket science and astronomical knowledge occurred! I know, however, that the final result will be fun and interesting, and I am excited to see this project come to fruition.

— Leá Norcross, curatorial intern

Installing Bransby's 'History of Navigation'

When you enter the Fine Arts Center for the NASA ART program (opening Dec. 18), the first space art you’ll see is Eric Bransby’s The History of Navigation mural in the Glass Corridor. It depicts significant moments from seafaring navigation to the future of cosmic navigation. The mural was commissioned in 1968 and captures the excitement and energy of the space race. Eric was working on this sequence of paintings a year before humans set foot on the moon in 1969, yet sections of the mural predict current aspects of exploration such as an orbiting telescope like Hubble and future initiatives such as permanent settlement of the moon.

Laurel Swab and Aaron Jakos are pictured installing one of the eight panels. To best protect the mural, we decided to hang it a bit higher than we usually would. It is on loan from the Air Force Academy, and originally hung around the interior of their planetarium’s atrium – that’s why the panels are slightly curved. Eric has always been interested in making his murals an extension of the existing architecture, and although we have them hung on a flat wall, the curved panels create an unexpected visual dynamic. Another unique aspect that you’ll notice on the mural is that Eric also created actual depth in each image by raising parts of the surfaces. This epic mural really sets the tone for the rest of the exhibition experience!

— Blake Milteer, Museum Director, Curator of American Art and the NASA ART exhibition

The Kirkland paintings are here!

Earlier this autumn, I worked with Hugh Grant, Director of the Vance Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, to choose the paintings from their collection for an exhibition to be display in tandem with our upcoming NASA ART show. We put together a group of Kirkland’s nebulae and cosmic explosion paintings from the 1954 to 1980. Kirkland’s The Mysteries of Space exhibition includes 17 paintings that are astounding in their own right and that also tie some of the themes of the NASAART exhibition to Colorado art.

Kirkland’s paintings arrived last week and we are installing the works in our second-floor North Events Gallery over the next couple days. These are overwhelmingly beautiful paintings in which Kirkland was simultaneously pushing the limits of his art and of human exploration itself.

-- Blake Milteer, Museum Director, Curator of American Art and the NASA ART exhibition

Big weekend ahead at the FAC ...

What do you do after hosting 400 guests for Gala Weekend events? Well, at the Fine Arts Center, we load up four events for the very next weekend, because we are gluttons for punishment.

We have a very special Opening Celebration on Friday, Oct. 2; from 5-8 p.m., in conjunction with the First Friday Gallery Walk and the exhibits, Personal Paradise, Bold, and At the Foot of the Colorado Rockies. Meet the four artists from Personal Paradise! Admission: FAC Members ($5); non-members ($15). Visit csfineartscenter.org or call 719.634.5583.

Artist Panel Saturday, Oct. 3 11 a.m.
The four renowned artists featured in Personal Paradise will talk about their work and experiences in the El Pomar Gallery: Mexican artist Eric Pérez; American Indian artist Kay WalkingStick; Montana artist Theodore Waddell; and Argentinean Julia Fernandez-Pol. Admission: FAC Members ($7); non-members ($12). Visit csfineartscenter.org or call 719.634.5583.

Gallery Treks Saturday, Oct. 3 11 a.m.Look, listen, and share ideas while exploring At the Foot of the Colorado Rockies in the FAC galleries. Interactive activities and discussions give everyone in the family the chance to participate! Gallery Treks are designed for young visitors – 6-10 years old – and their adult companions. Admission: FAC members (free); non-members ($2.50, kids 6-10); $7.50 (adults). Visit csfineartscenter.org or call 719.634.5583.

SOLI Chamber Ensemble Sunday, Oct. 4 7 p.m.The UCCS Contemporary Music Concert Series kicks off this weekend at the Fine Arts Center with the SOLI Chamber Ensemble. This award-winning ensemble consists of Stephanie Key, clarinet; Carolyn E. True, piano; Ertan Torgul, violin; and David Mollenauer, cello. They will be playing the following program:

• Air and Simple Gifts (2008) John Williams as heard at the inauguration of President Obama
• Musica, por un Tiemp (2008) Xavier Rodriguez commissioned by SOLI
• Quartet for the End of Time (1941) Olivier Messiaen

Call the FAC Box Office for tickets at 719.634.5583 on online at csfineartscenter.org. Tickets are $15 general and $5 students. Visit solichamberensemble.com for more information about the group.