Donté K. Hayes, UI MFA graduate in ceramics, will discuss his research on the pineapple as a symbol that represents welcoming and hospitality and how this investigation relates to negotiating public spaces and places as a Black man and person of color. Hayes utilizes printmaking, installation, and performance to elevate the importance of his ceramic sculptures as a historical and creative base material to inform memories of the past. Hayes’s artwork suggests the past, discusses the present, and explores possible futures interconnected to the African Diaspora, while also examining deeper social issues that broaden the conversation between all of humanity.
Join us on Zoom: https://uiowa.zoom.us/s/91567294013
smART talks highlights work of faculty and graduate students at the University of Iowa. It connects their recent research and art to the Stanley’s permanent collection. Join us for a conversation filled with art, discovery, and community.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the SMA in advance at 319-335-1727.
Grant Wood’s American Gothic is probably the world’s most parodied American painting, second only to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. The fact that thousands of parodies of American Gothic exist, dating back several decades, speaks to the enduring inspiration of one of America’s greatest works of art. This exhibition—a first for the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art—will look at many of these parodies—some in the flesh on the gallery’s walls and many others digitally projected in an attempt to share the incredible reach of this iconic painting. From Bill and Hillary Clinton to Leonardo and Mona Lisa to RuPaul as male and female, these parodies speak to how this one painting serves as the basis for looking at various contemporary people and issues. Wood’s impactful 1930 painting continues to inspire “artists” of all ages and skills in a playful and humorous way that Wood would no doubt have applauded.
Retired computer entrepreneur Peter Norton (Norton Antivirus Software) is a contemporary art collector as well as an active participant in various civic and philanthropic activities. In 1988, the Norton Family Christmas Project began commissioning artists to create original, multiple-edition works that were mailed as holiday greetings to friends, colleagues, and selected institutions. In 2017, the CRMA received the bulk of these wonderful holiday greetings from Director Emeritus Terry Pitts and his wife Kathy Hall.
The objects and artists’ books that comprise the Project collection are incredibly varied. A sense of whimsy runs through many of the pieces: salt and pepper shakers become snow globes, a music box exhorts us to be silent. Many works also have a sociopolitical focus, addressing issues as varied as slavery, AIDS, and gender identity. Taken together, the Norton Family Christmas Project objects and artists’ books provide a wonderful snapshot of the last thirty years of activity in the art world at large, presenting the work of both emerging and more established artists. The 2018 edition of the Norton Family Christmas Project was the last and ended the series.
Members of The History Center $5.00
Grant Wood’s American Gothic is probably the world’s most parodied American painting, second only to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. The fact that thousands of parodies of American Gothic exist, dating back several decades, speaks to the enduring inspiration of one of America’s greatest works of art. This exhibition—a first for the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art—will look at many of these parodies—some in the flesh on the gallery’s walls and many others digitally projected in an attempt to share the incredible reach of this iconic painting. From Bill and Hillary Clinton to Leonardo and Mona Lisa to RuPaul as male and female, these parodies speak to how this one painting serves as the basis for looking at various contemporary people and issues. Wood’s impactful 1930 painting continues to inspire “artists” of all ages and skills in a playful and humorous way that Wood would no doubt have applauded.
Retired computer entrepreneur Peter Norton (Norton Antivirus Software) is a contemporary art collector as well as an active participant in various civic and philanthropic activities. In 1988, the Norton Family Christmas Project began commissioning artists to create original, multiple-edition works that were mailed as holiday greetings to friends, colleagues, and selected institutions. In 2017, the CRMA received the bulk of these wonderful holiday greetings from Director Emeritus Terry Pitts and his wife Kathy Hall.
The objects and artists’ books that comprise the Project collection are incredibly varied. A sense of whimsy runs through many of the pieces: salt and pepper shakers become snow globes, a music box exhorts us to be silent. Many works also have a sociopolitical focus, addressing issues as varied as slavery, AIDS, and gender identity. Taken together, the Norton Family Christmas Project objects and artists’ books provide a wonderful snapshot of the last thirty years of activity in the art world at large, presenting the work of both emerging and more established artists. The 2018 edition of the Norton Family Christmas Project was the last and ended the series.
Stanley Reads puts the museum’s recent exhibitions in conversation with literature. This fall we will consider Follow Her Lead in relation to Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Both the exhibition and novel focus on women and motherhood across time and geography. During each meeting of the book club, we will pair artwork from the exhibition with chapters from the book to connect deeply with the themes and expand our understanding of the objects and the story.
Stanley Reads is led by Kimberly Datchuk, curator of learning & engagement and is presented in partnership with Prairie Lights Books.
Homegoing begins in Ghana in the eighteenth century. It follows the lives of two half-sisters and eight generations of their descendants, those who endured enslavement in America and those who remained in Africa. The powerful story shows the deep and lasting effects of slavery.
Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Homegoing won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the NBCC’s John Leonard Award. It is Gyasi’s first novel.
Register for Stanley Reads: https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VR83aPIweoUmHz.
Once registered, you will receive invitations to all Stanley Reads events.
Registration will cut off at noon the Friday preceding each event. Anyone registered after that will be added to the following meeting.
September 19
- “Effia” (pp. 1–26)
- “Esi” (pp.27–48)
October 3
- “Quey” (pp. 49–86)
- “James” (pp. 87–109)
October 17
- “Kojo” (pp. 110–131)
- “Abena” (pp. 132–152)
October 31 (Led by Derek Nnuro)
- “H” (pp. 155–175)
- “Akua” (pp. 176–197)
November 14
- “Willie” (pp. 198–220)
- “Yaw” (pp. 221–241)
December 5
- “Sonny” (pp. 242–262)
- “Marjorie” (pp. 263–282)
- “Marcus” (pp. 283–299)
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the SMA in advance at 319-335-1727.
Grant Wood’s American Gothic is probably the world’s most parodied American painting, second only to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. The fact that thousands of parodies of American Gothic exist, dating back several decades, speaks to the enduring inspiration of one of America’s greatest works of art. This exhibition—a first for the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art—will look at many of these parodies—some in the flesh on the gallery’s walls and many others digitally projected in an attempt to share the incredible reach of this iconic painting. From Bill and Hillary Clinton to Leonardo and Mona Lisa to RuPaul as male and female, these parodies speak to how this one painting serves as the basis for looking at various contemporary people and issues. Wood’s impactful 1930 painting continues to inspire “artists” of all ages and skills in a playful and humorous way that Wood would no doubt have applauded.
Retired computer entrepreneur Peter Norton (Norton Antivirus Software) is a contemporary art collector as well as an active participant in various civic and philanthropic activities. In 1988, the Norton Family Christmas Project began commissioning artists to create original, multiple-edition works that were mailed as holiday greetings to friends, colleagues, and selected institutions. In 2017, the CRMA received the bulk of these wonderful holiday greetings from Director Emeritus Terry Pitts and his wife Kathy Hall.
The objects and artists’ books that comprise the Project collection are incredibly varied. A sense of whimsy runs through many of the pieces: salt and pepper shakers become snow globes, a music box exhorts us to be silent. Many works also have a sociopolitical focus, addressing issues as varied as slavery, AIDS, and gender identity. Taken together, the Norton Family Christmas Project objects and artists’ books provide a wonderful snapshot of the last thirty years of activity in the art world at large, presenting the work of both emerging and more established artists. The 2018 edition of the Norton Family Christmas Project was the last and ended the series.
