Dia de los Muertos
October 11-November 16, 2008
The Day of the Dead festival takes place November 1 (All Saints Day) and November 2 (All Souls Day) in many areas of Mexico and in Mexican-American communities across the US. The deceased are honored with displays of favorite foods and drinks as well as ornamental and personal belongings. This exhibition will feature alters created by the Floreciente Neighborhood, Black Hawk College, Moline High School Latino Unidos, Rock Island High School Spanish Club, Casa Guanajuato, and the Jose Lopez Family. A community celebration is scheduled 4-7pm Sunday, November 2.
Exhibition and related programming co-sponsored by Casa Guanajuato.
For more details
Decoy Masterworks of the Illinois River
October 18, 2008 - February 2009
Waterfowl lovers and decoy collectors will be delighted by this exhibition of approximately 50 famed decoys.
For more details
Sleeping with the Leopard: African Art from Cameroon
January 24 - June 28, 2009
This exhibition of over 60 wood, metal, fiber and mixed media objects highlights the beauty, diversity and importance of art from Cameroon, West Africa. Rarely has the public had the chance to view a private collection as widely representative of different areas of the country and such diverse social groups as semi-nomadic herders to royalty. Many of the pieces are decorated with animal motifs that have underlying cultural significance. Although the appearance of leopards, spiders and lizards may seem purely playful, these animals were chosen for knowledge and their association with the ancestors or with physical qualities such as power and speed, and were often the perogative of royals. Didactic images in addition to informal photographs taken by the collectors will be juxtaposed with the pieces to demonstrate their use and appearance in context.
For more details
Mother and Child: Henry Moore's West Dean Tapestries
April 12, 2008-January 11, 2009
Primarily known for his abstract monumental bronzes, modern master Henry Moore commissioned 8 tapestries to be woven at the West Dean Tapestry Studio in 1975. This exhibition will showcase both the tapestries, the drawings for which originated in the 1940's, inspired by the birth of Moore's only child, Mary. The tapestries, made from Moore's directions, represent charcoal, wax crayon, pastel, chalk and felt-tipped pen washed over with watercolor. The result is an accurate and pleasing translation of Moore's drawings interpreted in wool, cotton and silk. West Dean Studios: Director and weaver - Eva Louisse Svensson; Weavers - Dilys Stinson, Alison Innes, Valerie Power, Patricia Taylor and Diana Cameron. This is the first time the tapestries have been exhibited in the United States. Organized by the Figge Art Museum and Mary Moore.
For more information about the Henry Moore Foundation,
visit www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk.
For more details
In the Light - Photographs from the Brent Sikkema Collection
September 13, 2008 - January 4, 2009
.aspx)
This exhibition from a recent gift of over 80 photographs from the Brent Sikkema collection of 20th century photography displays the unique approaches of several early and mid-20th century American photographers.
Some experimented with abstraction, light, or exposure (Carlotta Corpron, György Kepes) some were early experimenters in color photography (Eliot Porter), some focused on the lyric qualities of modern dance (Barbara Morgan), others concentrated on the abstract qualities of assembled still-lives and their manipulation in the dark room (Olivia Parker), while others invented new technologies to capture on a negative what the human eye cannot (Harold Edgerton).
For more details