The Museum of Nebraska Art recently opened The Oregon Trail: Francis Parkman’s Collection of Native American Cartes de Visite running through December 17. The exhibit includes journals detailing the artist’s Oregon Trail visit. Why Is It Art? through April 2012 explores how styles in art have evolved and what influences artists; with selections from the Museum’s collection. MONA celebrates the 100th anniversary of the building and 35th of its collection with From Postage to Paintings featuring newly acquired photographs documenting the construction, and a selection of work marking significant moments of acquisition such as the oldest piece, “The Stag,” by Titian Ramsay Peale.
Omaha based artist and Peerless co-director Caleb Coppock’s Graphite Sequencer Project is included in DATA/FIELDS a new media installation exhibition at Artisphere, an urban arts center in Arlington, Virginia. It runs through October. The artist is working with other Peerless directors curating their own show, Breathing Room, opening October 7. Omaha-based artist Brion Poloncic recently completed a body of work; he is selling pieces for $100 each on his website, brionpoloncic.com, to raise money for a film he is producing. University of Nebraska-Lincoln art professor Francisco Souto won honorable mention for “After Uno y Universo II” at the 2011 International Mezzotint Festival at the Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts in Russia.
Jim’s Seek and Save Antiques on the corner of Leavenworth and Saddle Creek commissioned artist Mike Giron to paint a 60-foot long mural on the west side of the building. The drawing that began on September 21 displays an array of antique items. “We’re shooting for realism with artistic flair,” Giron said. The mural is to be completed by October 1.
On September 20, students from University of Nebraska-Omaha Art in Public Places professor David Helm’s class displayed 10 invented or modified clip art road signs on campus. “The idea is to address public language, public context and audience response,” said Helm. “The response exceeded my expectations.” The provocative images included a silhouette of a woman pole-dancing, a banana peel on a yellow diamond-shaped sign and a human heart inside a heart-shape on a read octagon sign.