Mixed Media

Last week, leaving Goodnight’s Pizza in north downtown, I saw an amazing thing. Outside of Greenstreet Cycles, mounted on the sidewalk, was a bicycle wheel welded atop some other metal bike parts that created a pedestal. I think I may have audibly gasped. You see, Duchamp’s “Bicycle Wheel,” the piece of art emulated by this dark metal sculpture, is one of my favorite pieces; possibly my absolute favorite. Every time I encounter it at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, my fingers itch to spin it. But I never do, lest I be arrested. Last night, I spun with glee. The wheel creaked and groaned as I walked down the sidewalk to my car. Perfection. Joslyn Art Museum’s Late ’til Eight series was so successful this summer that the museum extended its hours until 8 p.m. every Thursday through 2010. Guided tours will be offered each evening, and the museum will soon announce special programming for the extended hours. The 12th ananual Textiles Society of America Biennial Symposium is Oct. 6-9, in Lincoln, with many galleries there and in Omaha participating in tandem. The main event takes places on the UNL campus. Keynote speaker, Sheila Kennedy, is an architect known for her Portable Light project, focusing on generating ways to provide renewable power in solar textiles that can be adapted to meet needs worldwide. All UNL galleries will host textile exhibits: Cooper Gallery at the University of Nebraska State Museum shows Navajo weaving; Eisentrager-Howard Gallery opens a group show featuring digital weaving, all created on computers; Rotunda Gallery, in the City Union, shows clothing created by UNL graduate students; and the Sheldon Museum of Art opens New Material World: Rethreading Technology and ORLAN: The Harlequin Coat; both shows, while vastly different, focus on textile design. Lincoln’s Parrish Studios will devote four spaces to textile exhibitions. Tugboat Gallery, Project Room, Dushan Creative, Chocolate Cake Communication Design and Bella Skin Care will have shows. In Omaha, the Bemis will show new textiles and prints from Mary Zicafoose, and a group exhibition of emerging textile artists takes over the Underground. Examples of Jun Kaneko’s Madama Butterfly costumes will be on display at KANEKO, and the UNO Gallery will have two shows: one with fabric clamped between carved mirror image boards and a second of handmade books. Visit textilesociety.org for full schedule. Mixed Media is a column about art. Get local art updates at weekfiftytwo.com. Send ideas to mixedmedia@thereader.com.