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Wyoming Humanities Calendar, July 12-18

Monday, July 12, 2010

Humanities Al Fresco! Jackson Hole Lecture Series: Grand Teton National Park
Monday, July 12, 6:30 p.m., Grand Teton Climber’s Ranch
“Geraldine Lucas: Mountaineering, Homesteading, and Fighting the Federal Government in Early 20th Century Jackson Hole,” with Dr. Sherry Smith.

Impressions on Wyoming Lecture Series: Casper
Wednesday, July 14, 7:00 p.m., Fort Caspar Museum
“The Pony Express,” with Les Bennington.

Reading Wyoming: Living With Violence: Saratoga
Wednesday, July 14, 2:00 p.m., Saratoga Public Library
A reading and discussion series that explores conflict and community in contemporary cultures, facilitated by Stephanie Jeffers.

Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art: Cody
On view through September 6 in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art features over 140 objects of American Indian art from the Northeastern Woodlands, Plateau, and Plains regions, all of unique artistry and powerful cultural expression. Organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, from the collection of John and Marva Warnock. Funded at the Historical Center by a grant from MetLife Foundation’s Museum and Community Connections program, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and a donation from Naoma Tate.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Kasebier: Cody
April 10-August 8, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, John Bunker Sands Photograph Gallery
In 1898, New York photographer Gertrude Käsebier embarked on a deeply personal project, editing a set of prints that were among the most compelling of her celebrated body of work. Käsebier was on the threshold of a career that would establish her as both the leading portraitist of her time, and an extraordinary art photographer. Her latest undertaking being inspired by viewing the grand parade of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West troupe en route to Madison Square Garden in New York. Within weeks, Käsebier began photographing, formally and informally, the Lakota (Sioux) people travelling with the show in her 5th Ave. studio. Since 1969, more than 100 of these photographs have been preserved in the Photographic History Collection in the National Museum of American History. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Käsebier represents the first time this important collection has been displayed together in over a century.  Also included are related ledger art drawings by Lakota artists, historical camera equipment, and more.

Allen True’s West: Casper
May 1-July 25, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center,
Approximately 55 works by Allen Tupper True (1881-1955), regarded as one of Colorado’s premier native-born artists, are featured in this exhibition. True – who made a name for himself as an illustrator, fine-art painter and muralist – also left his unique mark on Wyoming state government, literally. In 1917 True painted the eight murals that adorn the House and Senate chambers of the Wyoming Capitol Building in Cheyenne. In addition, in 1935 True also designed the state’s license plate that features Wyoming’s unique bucking horse and rider.

The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories: Casper
May 1-September 12, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center
This exhibition, which features more than 100 items from artists all over the United States plus Canada and Israel, explores the cultural meaning that shoes have. It presents imaginative objects of every size and art medium.

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Humanities Al Fresco! Outdoor Lecture Series Continues on July 12

Friday, July 9, 2010

Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, 1958.0651.001

The second presentation in the Humanities Al Fresco! series is scheduled for Monday, July 12, 6:30 p.m., at the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch. Dr. Sherry Smith presents, “Geraldine Lucas: Mountaineering, Homesteading, and Fighting the Federal Government in Early 20th Century Jackson Hole.” The program is presented in partnership with the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch, which is located within walking distance of Lucas’s homestead cabins. Bring your own lawn chairs, hats, repellent, and water! Park admission fees apply.

A long time Moose resident, Smith is currently employed as a distinguished professor in the history department at Southern Methodist University. She also serves as associate director, William B. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, and she previously taught in the history departments of the University of Texas, El Paso, the University of Colorado, and the University of Wyoming. Smith worked in the Wyoming Historic Preservation Office and has written many articles and books on Western topics and featuring Wyoming people.  Smith’s interpretation of Geraldine Lucas’s story entails many classic elements of American Western history: migrating, homesteading, mountain climbing, and barrier shattering. She did it as an “independent woman” – but with her family and the government providing support (and occasional vexation). Her story juxtaposes individual drive, self interest, and the growing demands of community in the changing West of the early 20th century.

The Humanities Al Fresco! outdoor summer lecture series is inspired by northwest Wyoming’s rich history of significant contributions to the conservation movement in America. The Wyoming Humanities Council partners with local organizations to present outdoor lectures related to America’s conservation movement and the preservation of historic cultural resources in the Jackson Hole area. Remaining presentations are “The Airport: Paradox for a Park” with Robert Righter on August 2 at The Murie Center, and “Cattle and Conservation” with Pete Simpson and Ken Thomasma on August 28 at the Teton Science Schools, Kelly Campus.

For more information about Humanities Al Fresco!, visit the Wyoming Humanities Council website or call 307-721-9243.

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Wyoming Humanities Calendar, July 6-11

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Impressions on Wyoming Lecture Series: Casper
Wednesday, July 7, 7:00 p.m., Fort Caspar Museum
“Heart Mountain War Relocation Center,” with Pat Wolfe.

Humanities Forum: My Horse, My Gun, My Libraries: Centennial
Friday, July 9, 7:00 p.m., Centennial Library
As Mabel Wilkinson, Lynne Swanson describes some of the adventures and difficulties of bringing libraries to Platte County and to the rest of Wyoming in the early 1900s.

Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art: Cody
On view through September 6 in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art features over 140 objects of American Indian art from the Northeastern Woodlands, Plateau, and Plains regions, all of unique artistry and powerful cultural expression. Organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, from the collection of John and Marva Warnock. Funded at the Historical Center by a grant from MetLife Foundation’s Museum and Community Connections program, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and a donation from Naoma Tate.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Kasebier: Cody
April 10-August 8, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, John Bunker Sands Photograph Gallery
In 1898, New York photographer Gertrude Käsebier embarked on a deeply personal project, editing a set of prints that were among the most compelling of her celebrated body of work. Käsebier was on the threshold of a career that would establish her as both the leading portraitist of her time, and an extraordinary art photographer. Her latest undertaking being inspired by viewing the grand parade of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West troupe en route to Madison Square Garden in New York. Within weeks, Käsebier began photographing, formally and informally, the Lakota (Sioux) people travelling with the show in her 5th Ave. studio. Since 1969, more than 100 of these photographs have been preserved in the Photographic History Collection in the National Museum of American History. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Käsebier represents the first time this important collection has been displayed together in over a century.  Also included are related ledger art drawings by Lakota artists, historical camera equipment, and more.

Allen True’s West: Casper
May 1-July 25, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center,
Approximately 55 works by Allen Tupper True (1881-1955), regarded as one of Colorado’s premier native-born artists, are featured in this exhibition. True – who made a name for himself as an illustrator, fine-art painter and muralist – also left his unique mark on Wyoming state government, literally. In 1917 True painted the eight murals that adorn the House and Senate chambers of the Wyoming Capitol Building in Cheyenne. In addition, in 1935, True also designed the state’s license plate that features Wyoming’s unique bucking horse and rider.

The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories: Casper
May 1-September 12, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center
This exhibition, which features more than 100 items from artists all over the United States plus Canada and Israel, explores the cultural meaning that shoes have. It presents imaginative objects of every size and art medium.

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Information, Visualized

Friday, July 2, 2010

It’s one thing to read that, say, airlines use 47 plastic cups per second, and quite another to see 47 virtual cups per second cascading down your computer screen. This is the genius of So Many A Second, which converts events (trees cut, stars born, blog posts published) into visual icons, making statistics visible. My favorite feature is the split screen, which allows you to compare, for instance, how many births are happening this second with how many deaths.

If you’d prefer something a little more qualitative, check out Bio Mapping. Artist Christian Nold equips people with devices that measure when they are stressed and when they are relaxed, and sends them out to wander cities including Paris, San Francisco, and London. This data is compiled to create Emotion Maps, which not only show which areas of the city tend be stressful or calm, but are also “packed full of personal observations and highlight the issues that people feel strongly about.” They’re also quite beautiful; the design of each map is quite different. They are all available online and zoomable, or each map can be purchased as a print. I should add that Bio Mapping is not just about making quirky, pretty maps; Nold has also created a free, downloadable book, Emotional Cartography,

a collection of essays from artists, designers, psychogeographers, cultural researchers, futurologists and neuroscientists, brought together by Christian Nold, to explore the political, social and cultural implications of visualising intimate biometric data and emotional experiences using technology.

Worth checking out!

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Wyoming Humanities Calendar, June 28-July 4

Monday, June 28, 2010

Humanities Forum: Stories, Songs, and Sodbusters: Lander
Monday, June 28, 7:00 p.m., Lander Library
When settlers came west, they sang of hope, adventure and Eden on the plains.  They wised up quickly, and soon their songs featured alkali, snakes and stampedes.  Presented by Bill Rossiter.

 

Humanities Forum: Stories, Songs, and Sodbusters: Sinks Canyon State Park
Tuesday, June 29, 7:00 p.m., Sinks Canyon State Park
When settlers came west, they sang of hope, adventure and Eden on the plains.  They wised up quickly, and soon their songs featured alkali, snakes and stampedes.  Presented by Bill Rossiter.

Impressions on Wyoming Lecture Series: Casper
Wednesday, June 30, 7:00 p.m., Fort Caspar Museum
“The Blizzard of 1949,” with Jim Ehrenberger.

Humanities Forum: Stories, Songs, and Sodbusters: Hulett
Wednesday, June 30, 7:00 p.m., Hulett Branch Library
When settlers came west, they sang of hope, adventure and Eden on the plains.  They wised up quickly, and soon their songs featured alkali, snakes and stampedes.  Presented by Bill Rossiter.

Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art: Cody
On view through September 6 in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art features over 140 objects of American Indian art from the Northeastern Woodlands, Plateau, and Plains regions, all of unique artistry and powerful cultural expression. Organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, from the collection of John and Marva Warnock. Funded at the Historical Center by a grant from MetLife Foundation’s Museum and Community Connections program, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and a donation from Naoma Tate.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Kasebier: Cody
April 10-August 8, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, John Bunker Sands Photograph Gallery
In 1898, New York photographer Gertrude Käsebier embarked on a deeply personal project, editing a set of prints that were among the most compelling of her celebrated body of work. Käsebier was on the threshold of a career that would establish her as both the leading portraitist of her time, and an extraordinary art photographer. Her latest undertaking being inspired by viewing the grand parade of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West troupe en route to Madison Square Garden in New York. Within weeks, Käsebier began photographing, formally and informally, the Lakota (Sioux) people travelling with the show in her 5th Ave. studio. Since 1969, more than 100 of these photographs have been preserved in the Photographic History Collection in the National Museum of American History. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Käsebier represents the first time this important collection has been displayed together in over a century.  Also included are related ledger art drawings by Lakota artists, historical camera equipment, and more.

Allen True’s West: Casper
May 1-July 25, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center,
Approximately 55 works by Allen Tupper True (1881-1955), regarded as one of Colorado’s premier native-born artists, are featured in this exhibition. True – who made a name for himself as an illustrator, fine-art painter and muralist – also left his unique mark on Wyoming state government, literally. In 1917 True painted the eight murals that adorn the House and Senate chambers of the Wyoming Capitol Building in Cheyenne. In addition, in 1935 True also designed the state’s license plate that features Wyoming’s unique bucking horse and rider.

The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories: Casper
May 1-September 12, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center
This exhibition, which features more than 100 items from artists all over the United States plus Canada and Israel, explores the cultural meaning that shoes have. It presents imaginative objects of every size and art medium.

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Who Knows Whom?

Friday, June 25, 2010

The journal Lapham’s Quarterly recently created a nifty chart called “Friends, Lovers, and Family” that traces the connections between notable writers, artists, actors, etc. It’s mostly writers, really, which makes it a sort of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” for the literary set — except that, in a wonderfully sly move, Kevin Bacon is actually in the bottom right corner. Here’s an interesting chain of connections: Walt Whitman was friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a friend of Margaret Fuller, whose grandnephew was Buckminster Fuller, who was a friend of Edmund Bacon, who was the father of Kevin Bacon. Maybe the party game is true after all…

If you’d prefer to learn about such luminaries in their own words, the blog Letters of Note is a treasure trove. Editor Shaun Usher posts a new letter that he deems interesting and/or important each weekday, including a transcription and, where necessary, a translation. This month alone brings letters from Jack Kerouac, Steve Martin, John Lennon, Richard Feynman, John Candy, Gene Roddenberry, Walt Disney, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, President Eisenhower, and Adolph Hitler. My favorite of this month’s letters, though, is from someone not at all famous: a prison official writing back to the mother of jailed civil rights activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland (pictured right, seated, with her head turned). He chides her thusly:

I notice that you state that as a mother of a minor that you want to be notified in case of any emergency. What I cannot understand is why as a mother you permitted a minor white girl to gang up with a bunch of negro bucks and white hoodlums to ramble over this country with the express purpose of violating the laws of certain states and attempting to incite acts of violence.

That particular letter was initially posted on Hunter Gray’s website (he is also in the photo, seated, left).

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Wyoming Humanities Calendar, June 21-27

Monday, June 21, 2010

Humanities Forum: The High Life: Laramie
Tuesday, June 22, 6:00 p.m., Wyoming Territorial Prison
In this dramatic series of first-person portrayals, Dorene Ludwig traces the role of alcohol and substance abuse in American life from colonial days to the present.

Impressions on Wyoming Lecture Series: Casper
Wednesday, June 23, 7:00 p.m., Fort Caspar Museum
“Forts of Wyoming,” with Jeff Barnes.

Reading Wyoming: Living With Violence: Saratoga
Wednesday, June 23, 2:00 p.m., Saratoga Public Library
A reading and discussion series that explores conflict and community in contemporary cultures, facilitated by Stephanie Jeffers.

Impressions on Wyoming Lecture Series: Casper
Wednesday, June 23, 7:00 p.m., Fort Caspar Museum
“Forts of Wyoming,” with Jeff Barnes.

Humanities Al Fresco! Jackson Hole Lecture Series: Grand Teton National Park
Thursday, June 24, 6:30 p.m., UW-NPS Research Center, AMK Ranch
“Partners in Preservation: American Studies in the Field,” with Mary Humstone. Park admission fees apply. Summer series barbeque begins at 5:30 with $5 admission.

Humanities Forum: Stories, Songs, and Sodbusters: Powell
Friday, June 25, 12:00 p.m., Powell Branch Library
When settlers came west, they sang of hope, adventure and Eden on the plains.  They wised up quickly, and soon their songs featured alkali, snakes and stampedes.  Presented by Bill Rossiter.

Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art: Cody
On view through September 6 in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art features over 140 objects of American Indian art from the Northeastern Woodlands, Plateau, and Plains regions, all of unique artistry and powerful cultural expression. Organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, from the collection of John and Marva Warnock. Funded at the Historical Center by a grant from MetLife Foundation’s Museum and Community Connections program, the Wyoming Humanities Council, and a donation from Naoma Tate.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Kasebier: Cody
April 10-August 8, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, John Bunker Sands Photograph Gallery
In 1898, New York photographer Gertrude Käsebier embarked on a deeply personal project, editing a set of prints that were among the most compelling of her celebrated body of work. Käsebier was on the threshold of a career that would establish her as both the leading portraitist of her time, and an extraordinary art photographer. Her latest undertaking being inspired by viewing the grand parade of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West troupe en route to Madison Square Garden in New York. Within weeks, Käsebier began photographing, formally and informally, the Lakota (Sioux) people travelling with the show in her 5th Ave. studio. Since 1969, more than 100 of these photographs have been preserved in the Photographic History Collection in the National Museum of American History. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Käsebier represents the first time this important collection has been displayed together in over a century.  Also included are related ledger art drawings by Lakota artists, historical camera equipment, and more.

Allen True’s West: Casper
May 1-July 25, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center,
Approximately 55 works by Allen Tupper True (1881-1955), regarded as one of Colorado’s premier native-born artists, are featured in this exhibition. True – who made a name for himself as an illustrator, fine-art painter and muralist – also left his unique mark on Wyoming state government, literally. In 1917 True painted the eight murals that adorn the House and Senate chambers of the Wyoming Capitol Building in Cheyenne. In addition, in 1935 True also designed the state’s license plate that features Wyoming’s unique bucking horse and rider.

The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories: Casper
May 1-September 12, Nicolaysen Art Museum and Discovery Center
This exhibition, which features more than 100 items from artists all over the United States plus Canada and Israel, explores the cultural meaning that shoes have. It presents imaginative objects of every size and art medium.

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The Past (and Its Future)

Friday, June 18, 2010

When I was growing up, my dad had a stack of Popular Mechanics magazines from the 1950’s. These fascinated me. My favorite articles presented things like the “kitchen of the future,” which, if I recall correctly, included disposable plates that dissolved in hot water after use. Oh, how I wish I could find that picture!

If I ever do find it, I will send it straight to the blog Paleofuture: A look into the future that never was. Paleofuture, which has been going strong since 2007, has assembled a fabulous collection of past visions of the future that stretch from the 1870’s to the 1990’s. The decades with the most representation, of course, are my beloved 1950’s and 1960’s; I was delighted to stumble across the 1959 Parade article, “Will Robots Make People Obsolete?” But it’s also fascinating to go back to, say, the 1890’s. If you do, check out “Jean-Marc Côté’s Visions of the Year 2000,” fantastical illustrations with a slightly creepy edge. Paleofuture appears to be starting a print magazine as well.

On the flip side of the coin are bits of the past that stay in the past. National Public Radio has produced a lovely multimedia essay for their site called “The Jobs Of Yesteryear: Obsolete Occupations” that is well worth a look! While the lamplighter wins ‘most romantic photograph,’ my favorite is the very first entry: Lector, someone who read newspapers and political tracts aloud to cigar-makers while they worked. Sign me up, I say!

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Wyoming Humanities Calendar, June 14-20

Monday, June 14, 2010

If you’re in Laramie this week, be sure to take advantage of our Summer Classics Institute Public Lecture Series, which runs nightly through Thursday, June 17! Here are the details:

Women and Wealth in Republican Rome
Monday, June 14, 7:00 p.m.
UW College of Law, room 186, Laramie
Marilyn Skinner from the University of Arizona.

Celebrating a Trojan Ancestry
Tuesday, June 15, 7:00 p.m.
UW College of Law, room 186, Laramie
Laura DeLozier from the University of Wyoming.

Hannibal’s Dreams: Cicero and Other Writers Remember the Wars
Wednesday, June 16, 7:00 p.m.
UW College of Law, room 186
Eleanor Leach from Indiana University.

Film Discussion: A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum
Start: Thursday, June 17, 7:00 p.m.
Location: UW College of Law, room 186
Our final evening program of the summer classics institute will be a screening of this 1966 movie, adapted from the comedies of Plautus.  Melvin Frank, director.  Songs by Stephen Sondheim.  Cast includes Zero Mostel, Michael Crawford, Phil Silvers, and (in his last screen appearance) Buster Keaton.  Discussion will follow the film.

There are also WHC grant programs taking place elsewhere in the state:

Impressions on Wyoming Lecture Series: Casper
Wednesday, June 16, 7:00 p.m., Fort Caspar Museum
Alfred Jacob Miller and the 1827 Rendezvous, with Chavawn Kelly.

Crazy Horse: An American Warrior: Buffalo
Friday, June 18, 7:00 p.m., Historic Bozeman Crossing Conference Center
The 2010 Bozeman Trail Days Symposium, co-sponsored by Fort Phil Kearny/Bozeman Trail Association.

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New Program: Humanities Al Fresco! Jackson Hole Lecture Series

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Please join the Wyoming Humanities Council for humanities “in the open air”! Northwest Wyoming has a rich history of significant contributions to the conservation movement in America. This series of four outdoor lectures will cover different issues related to America’s conservation movement and the preservation of historic cultural resources in the Jackson Hole area. Bring your own lawn chairs, hats, repellent, and water!

The series kicks off a week from today, on Thursday, June 24, at 5:30 p.m., with an opening barbeque at the University of Wyoming-National Park Service (UW-NPS) Research Center, at the historic AMK Ranch. Park admission fees apply. At 6:30, Mary Humstone will discuss student-driven preservation projects in her presentation, “Partners in Preservation: American Studies in the Field.” On Monday, July 12, 6:30 p.m., at the Grand Teton Climbers Ranch, Sherry Smith will discuss the life of woman homesteader Geraldine Lucas in “Geraldine Lucas: Mountaineering, Homesteading, and Fighting the Federal Government in early twentieth Century Jackson Hole.” Park admission fees apply. On Monday, August 2, 6:30 p.m., at The Murie Center, Robert Righter will explore the relationship between technology and park values in “The Airport: Paradox for a Park.” And on Saturday, August 28, 2:00 p.m., at the Teton Science School Kelly Campus, Pete Simpson and Ken Thomasma will hold a “Cattle and Conservation Conversation.”

Details, including descriptions of each lecture and each presenter, are available online. Contact Program Coordinator Sheila Bricher-Wade, (307) 721-9246, with any questions.

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