Engaging directly with art on display in the Portfolio Gallery’s current exhibition “Still All Over the Place” featuring works by artist Lonnie Powell, participating students will be invited to experience what it means to create an art exhibition. How are works chosen for the exhibition? How is location determined for works to be placed in the exhibition space? How is the exhibition organized to give the viewer a better sense of the artist’s concepts, themes, inspiration, etc? How does the way works of art are exhibited affect the viewer’s experience of them? We’ll explore these questions and more as students ask questions of artist Lonnie Powell and the gallery’s owner and curator. Mr. Powell paints both portraits and landscapes in various media including watercolor, oil, charcoals, and pastels. Students will learn about the central themes of the exhibition, see selected works, and view video of the exhibition being put up, video of the exhibition’s opening night and reactions from patrons at opening night.
About the Exhibition and Portfolio Gallery:More information about Mr. Powell’s exhibition, some images of Mr. Powell’s paintings, and details about the mission and artistic and educational programs of Portfolio Gallery can be found at the Portfolio Gallery website,
http://www.portfoliogallerystl.org/.About the Artist:Lonnie Powell is a graduate of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri where he studied under the guidance of the late James Dallas Parks. His occupations have ranged from dishwasher to Xerox sales representative, but he has spent the vast majority of it dedicated to teaching art in the Kansas City Missouri Public School District. His work is in numerous private collections as well as The American Jazz Museum, The Negro League Baseball Museum, and Sprint Nextel Corporate Collection.
Powell is most well known for his oil paintings, but in the past few years has begun to work with watercolor. He is not dedicated to a single medium but prefers a range that includes charcoal, pen and ink, pastels, pencil, photography, and printmaking.
“I realize that my art is an experiment in a genre that most artists have forsaken for more ethereal pursuits and I have no problem with that. I do not believe that artists like Bearden, Vermeer, Charles White, and Rivera said all that needed to be said.
My art is the only part of me left uncompromised and it is my intention to keep it so. For this reason I have never made art my source of income. My art should never be referred to as work — like a saxophonist, I don’t work, I play. If my art ever becomes work it too will be compromised and I am sure I’ll not last long after that. My art is not a business or something done solely for competition, nor is it a hobby or a pastime — its much more than that. My art is something that I am compelled to do. It is my very life, it is my way of life — my religion.”
Artist biography taken from Mr. Powell’s biography as part of the Artist Residency Program for Review Studios in Kansas City, MO.
http://reviewstudios.org/resident-artists/lonnie-powell/| Program Format | | The program will focus on the work needed to stage an arts exhibition. The format will be a question and answer session as students view the works, tour the exhibition, and interact with the artist and curator/gallery owner.
1. Welcome and Introduction—Student groups and experts will be introduced and welcomed to the program.
2. Background of the Artist—Mr. Powell will share information about his education and training as an artist, his life’s journey, and how both those things and others have influenced and inspired his works and the media he chooses to use.
3. Experiencing the Exhibition—Students will view video of the exhibition being put up as well as opening night of the exhibition, and also take a tour of the exhibition space interacting with selected works as we take the tour. Student questions and artist comments about the creation of the exhibition, selection of the works included, placement of the works, etc. will form the focus for this segment.
4. Closing Segment--Including summary of topics discussed and final questions from students. |
| Objectives | | 1. Students will examine the process of selecting works for an art exhibition and creating a successful exhibition.
2. Students will examine works of art in-depth and talk about what they see through the use of some basic terms and principles of design.
3. Students will learn about what it means to be a “working artist,” and the process of inspiration and creation when painting a work of art. |
| Program Length | | 60 minutes |
| Dates/Times | | | Program Date | Program Time | Network Time | Registration Deadline | | All times below are displayed in Eastern Standard Time, as specified in your profile. | | 12/1/2009 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM | 11/24/2009 |
| | 12/1/2009 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM | 11/24/2009 |
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| Connection Type(s) Available and Program Fees | | Interactive Cost: $0.00
View Only Cost: $0.00
Receiving Site is responsible for own line charge
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| Program Fee Notes | | There is NO CHARGE for the program. |
| Cancellation Policy | | Since there may be a waiting list for interactive participation, please let us know of your need to cancel as soon as you know. |
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2007-08 Honorable Mention