Mississippi Symphony Orchestra - concert in Laurel this Friday

MSO in Laurel and Vicksburg

From ROSSINI to RINGO - a program of light classics and pops music will serve as the fare for MSO concerts in Vicksburg and Laurel in February. Additionally, MSO ensembles have visited schools in Laurel, and full orchestra will present 2 school concerts in Vicksburg. If you missed Concertmaster Marta Szlubowska perform the 5th Mozart Concerto at Mozart by Candlelight (or if you would like to hear her again), here is your chance! The program includes Rossini's famous William Tell Overture and music of the Beatles, Carpenters, Rolling Stones and more.

LAUREL
Thursday, February 17, 7:00 PM
First Baptist Church
607 W Fifth, Laurel
Free and open to the public

It's the little things...

This morning we took down the Robert Henri in order to take it to the conservator on Friday. The Henri is going to go out on tour in April, so our go-to conservator is going to make sure it's fresh, stable, and possibly re-line it, so it looks great while it's on the road. In the meantime, I had to pick another painting to put in its place in the American Gallery. Tommie and I thought the John Sloan would be a good choice, but we had to check and see if it would fit, or we would have to be prepared to take down the whole section of wall and re-calibrate the hanging. Materials and tools for hanging one picture are different than bringing up a cart and tools for re-hanging 8 paintings.

Luckily, last year, we finished a project to fully catalogue our entire collection on a digital database, thanks in part to an NEA grant. And because our cataloguer measured the painting *and* its frame, it took me all of two minutes to open up PastPerfect, check the width of the frame, pop out to the gallery with a tape measure, and decide that there was, in fact, room for the Sloan without it turning into a major endeavor. Ya. Hoo.

Before this, I would've had to go to the Registrar's office to use the card file, find the location of the Sloan, go to the vault, measure the frame, and then go to the gallery to check the space. I know this seems like a minor blip in a curator's day, but I thought: this just saved me a bunch of time. Every time I use the database instead of sauntering down to the accession card file, time is saved. It's really quite nice.

February Art Talk: Clint Martin

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will present ArtTalk on Thursday, February 17 at noon in the Museum’s Lower Level Lecture Hall. Artist Clint Martin will be the featured speaker.

Born in McComb, Mississippi, Martin is an aviation artist and model builder. He has been associated with the Tuskegee Airmen since 1972 and this association has played a profound role in his art work. His work has been exhibited at Camp Shelby Military History Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, The National World War II Museum, and the Pentagon. His models are on display at the Camp Shelby Museum. Martin is a retired dentist and resides in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Art Talk, sponsored by West Quality Food Services, Inc., is free and open to the public. Guests are invited to use the North Garden Entrance and bring a sack lunch. Desserts and beverages will be provided. For more information, call LRMA at 601.649.6374 or visit the website www.LRMA.org.

Guest Blogger: Mandy Buchanan

At the Museum: Free Art activities for Classroom Teachers and Families

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art education department has some great new programs for 2011! We have just introduced a new Folk Art trunk into our selection of art trunks. Art trunks are free art activity kits for classroom teachers. The kit contains instructions and materials for an art activity that is based on the Museum's collection or current exhibit. The new Folk Art trunk contains information and materials for students to create their own art inspired by the art of Mrs. L.V. Hull of Kosciusko, MS. Mrs. Hull's art is featured in the current exhibition Take Time to Appreciate: Photographs of Mrs. L.V. Hull and Reverend H.D. Dennis by Bruce West.

We now have five trunks available for teachers – a Native American basketmaking trunk, a printmaking trunk, an African American Heritage trunk, a Mississippi artists trunk, and the new Folk Art trunk. The LRMA art trunks are a great way to infuse art into the classroom!

Another exciting educational activity is coming up during spring break at LRMA. We are busy planning our annual Spring Break Festival. This fun event will be held on Tuesday, March 15, from 1- 3 p.m. on the LRMA front lawn. This free family- friendly festival will include spring time art activities, music and live animals. This day will be a great opportunity to visit the Museum, create art, and get up close to some Mississippi wildlife.

For more information, please contact Mandy Buchanan or Angie King at 601.649.6374.


Mandy Buchanan is Curator of Education at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.