Art /coloradan/ en Muriel Sibell-Wolle: Artist, Professor, Ghost Town Guide /coloradan/2024/07/16/muriel-sibell-wolle-artist-professor-ghost-town-guide <span>Muriel Sibell-Wolle: Artist, Professor, Ghost Town Guide</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-07-16T00:00:00-06:00" title="Tuesday, July 16, 2024 - 00:00">Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/heritage_center_muriel_sibell-wolle.jpg?h=1fa2f1fb&amp;itok=g0wm428Z" width="1200" height="600" alt="Muriel Sibell-Wolle"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/72"> Old CU </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/182" hreflang="en">History</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1561" hreflang="en">Museum</a> </div> <span>Kelsey Yandura</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/heritage_center_muriel_sibell-wolle.jpg?itok=sDdqlJ7d" width="1500" height="1013" alt="Muriel Sibell-Wolle"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h3 dir="ltr">1942</h3> <p dir="ltr">When Muriel Sibell-Wolle traded the East Coast for the foothills of Boulder in 1926, she was immediately spellbound by the region’s rich natural beauty, declaring she planned to stay "until they kick me out." She began teaching fine art at 񱦵 and went on to lead the department for nearly 20 years.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">One of the first and most prolific ghost town guidebook writers in the nation, Sibell-Wolle visited and sketched over a thousand mining towns in the American West. Here, Sibell-Wolle is pictured with her lithograph “Gladstone, Colorado,” which is now part of the CU Art Museum collection.</p> <p dir="ltr"></p> <hr> <p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"> <span class="ucb-link-button-contents"> <i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i> Submit feedback to the editor </span> </a> </p> <hr> <p>Photo courtesy Floyd Walters Colection, CU Heritage Center</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>CU fine arts professor Muriel Sibell-Wolle visited and sketched over a thousand mining towns in the American West. She is now known as one of the first and most prolific ghost town guidebook writers in the nation.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 12340 at /coloradan Betty Woodman, Master Potter and Boulder Legend /coloradan/2023/11/06/betty-woodman-master-potter-and-boulder-legend <span>Betty Woodman, Master Potter and Boulder Legend</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-11-06T00:00:00-07:00" title="Monday, November 6, 2023 - 00:00">Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/betty-woodman.jpg?h=56d0ca2e&amp;itok=_804rEFa" width="1200" height="600" alt="betty woodman"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/78"> Profile </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/168" hreflang="en">Boulder</a> </div> <span>Allison Nitch</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2024-10/betty-woodman.jpg?itok=Di40-GMl" width="750" height="500" alt="Betty Woodman"> </div> <span class="media-image-caption"> <p>Betty Woodman in her studio in Antella, Italy, 2012.</p> </span> </div> <p>For decades, Boulderites have enjoyed affordable ceramics education programming at the Boulder Pottery Lab, perched in the University Hill neighborhood within the historic Fire Station No. 2.</p><p>The hub of local creativity began as an innovative vision of the late Betty Woodman — master potter and 񱦵 professor for 30 years. Upon moving to Colorado, Woodman persuaded the city of Boulder in 1954 to open a recreational ceramics program that grew from seven students to 400 in 15 years. In her tenure at 񱦵, she most likely taught thousands of students, said Scott Chamberlin, ceramics professor.</p><p>“She mentored some of the most important artists and teachers in the nation,” Chamberlin said. “You will not find a ceramic artist who has studied American ceramics that does not know [of] her, many personally.”</p><p>Originally run by the Parks and Recreation Department for over 60 years, the Boulder Pottery Lab was the first city-supported pottery program in the country. In 2015, the Parks and Recreation Department entered a public-private partnership with Studio Arts Boulder to manage and operate the facility.</p><p>Throughout her rich career spanning nearly seven decades, Woodman became known for altering the perspective of pottery from functional objects to fine art. During her time as a postwar American artist, her work was showcased worldwide in more than 100 solo exhibitions, including a 2006 retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which gave her the unique distinction as the first living female ceramicist to receive such an honor.</p><p>At 񱦵, ceramic objects acquired during Woodman’s three decades of teaching are displayed as part of the Woodman Study Collection in the Visual Arts Complex.</p><p>“During critiques, her hands were never still — she was always touching the pieces on the table,” said Jeanne Quinn, a former student of Woodman who is now a professor of ceramics at 񱦵. “She used her senses with amazing precision.”</p><p>In honor of Woodman and her legacy at CU and in the Boulder community, the university created the Betty Woodman Fund in 2023 to support emerging ceramics artists and faculty professionals in the ceramics program. The fund also provides stipends for the Woodman Artists Residency, which provides one to two artists the opportunity to stay and create art for several weeks in the former home of Betty and her husband George Woodman, located in the rural Tuscan region of Italy.</p><p>“For her, ceramics was the crown jewel in all of the arts, the one that allowed touch and taste and sight and sound,” said Quinn. “She showed this to us.”</p><p><em>To support the Betty Woodman Fund, </em><a href="https://giving.cu.edu/fund/art-and-art-history-department-fund-0" rel="nofollow"><em>visit here</em></a><em> and note “Betty Woodman” in the comment section of your gift details at checkout.</em></p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents"><i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;Submit feedback to the editor</span></a></p><hr><p>Photo by Betty Woodman Collection, Woodman Family Foundation Archives, New York. Photo: Stefano Porcinal.</p><p><br>&nbsp;</p><hr></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Upon moving to Colorado, Woodman persuaded the city of Boulder in 1954 to open a recreational ceramics program that grew from seven students to 400 in 15 years.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <a href="/coloradan/fall-2023" hreflang="und">Fall 2023</a> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-10/cropped-pottery-lab.jpg?itok=dCAlgsxZ" width="1500" height="750" alt="Betty Woodman"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 12093 at /coloradan Campus News Briefs: Fall 2023 /coloradan/2023/11/06/campus-news-briefs-fall-2023 <span>Campus News Briefs: Fall 2023</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-11-06T00:00:00-07:00" title="Monday, November 6, 2023 - 00:00">Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/301373449_594545392075083_3475299704396809401_n.jpg?h=e0d9a4bb&amp;itok=P9iUMGq5" width="1200" height="600" alt="CU art museum"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/58"> Campus News </a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1563"> Fall 2023 </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/404" hreflang="en">Research</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/838" hreflang="en">Robotics</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><h3><strong>Accreditation for CU Art Museum&nbsp;</strong></h3><p>After a five-year process, the 񱦵 Art Museum <a href="/asmagazine/2023/08/15/cu-art-museum-earns-first-time-accreditation#:~:text=The%20University%20of%20Colorado%20Boulder,the%20American%20Alliance%20of%20Museums." rel="nofollow">gained its first accreditation</a> from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) this summer. Only about 3.5% of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums — including 26 in Colorado — have this designation. AAM awarded the art museum accreditation for its professional standards for education, public service and care of collections.</p><h3><strong>New Robotics Degrees</strong></h3> <div class="align-right image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/sm-istock-1156737068.jpg?itok=UBqBDeXz" width="375" height="432" alt="Robotics"> </div> </div> <p>This fall, 񱦵 began offering a <a href="/program/robotics/" rel="nofollow">master’s and doctorate program</a> in robotics. The program, which is one of about 15 like it in the nation, will equip students for careers in security, agriculture, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and first response. Specific courses include “Machine Learning,” “Medical Device Design” and “Introduction to Virtual Reality.”</p><h3><strong>In Couples, Opposites Don’t Attract</strong></h3><p>A <a href="/today/2023/08/31/news-flash-opposites-dont-actually-attract" rel="nofollow">񱦵 analysis</a> of more than 130 traits in heterosexual couples found that partners were more likely to have traits in common than not. The study looked at data from existing and new research for millions of couples, and found that partners were most likely to be similar in about 80% to 90% of traits, which can range from preferences in politics to religion or substance use habits.&nbsp;</p><p>“A lot of models in genetics assume that human mating is random. This study shows this assumption is probably wrong,” said the study’s senior author Matt Keller, who is director of the Institute for Behavioral Genetics.</p><p>The authors are studying same-sex couples in separate research.&nbsp;</p><h3><strong>Heard Around Campus</strong></h3><blockquote><p><strong>“You may tip your hairdresser, but do you tip your physical therapist? Probably not, but why?”&nbsp;</strong></p></blockquote><p>—&nbsp;񱦵 economics professor Jeff Zax, who told <a href="/today/2023/07/06/skipping-tip-why-some-restaurants-and-businesses-are-nixing-gratuities" rel="nofollow"><em>񱦵 Today</em></a> this summer he believes the U.S. economy would be healthier without tipping practices and would like to see employees compensated more fairly instead.&nbsp;</p><h2>Old Main Beehives</h2><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p>In August, <a href="/today/2023/08/30/old-main-bee-hives-said-have-been-80-years-old" rel="nofollow">񱦵 extracted two beehives</a> from Old Main that were nearly a century old. The bees will be rehomed.&nbsp;</p><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-hidden ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-lightgray"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">&nbsp;</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div class="row ucb-column-container"><div class="col ucb-column"><p class="text-align-center hero">8/15&nbsp;</p><p class="text-align-center">Date beekeeper removed the hives</p><p class="text-align-center hero">80+</p><p class="text-align-center">Years old</p><p class="text-align-center hero">~20,000</p><p class="text-align-center">Bees in both of the hives</p></div><div class="col ucb-column"><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class="text-align-center hero">60</p><p class="text-align-center lead">Pounds of honey collected</p><p class="text-align-center hero">4</p><p class="text-align-center lead">Feet long (larger hive)</p><p class="text-align-center hero">2024</p><p class="text-align-center lead">Old Main restoration project expected to begin</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class="hero">&nbsp;</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents"><i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;Submit feedback to the editor</span></a></p><hr><p>Photo courtesy University of Colorado;&nbsp;iStock/izusek&nbsp;(robot)</p><p><br>&nbsp;</p><hr></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Bees, CU Art Museum and a new robotics degree. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <a href="/coloradan/fall-2023" hreflang="und">Fall 2023</a> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-10/301373449_594545392075083_3475299704396809401_n_0.jpg?itok=HAUC62Vz" width="1500" height="563" alt="CU Museum "> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 12090 at /coloradan (Art)ificial Intelligence /coloradan/2023/11/06/artificial-intelligence <span>(Art)ificial Intelligence</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2023-11-06T00:00:00-07:00" title="Monday, November 6, 2023 - 00:00">Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/sm-processed-bd702440-483e-4017-b8dc-2d710499aa80-805dd3f8-1c8a-4e58-9917-cf8ceefb0438.jpg?h=acb825ba&amp;itok=RIkn4YGZ" width="1200" height="600" alt="Hannah Purvis art"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1518" hreflang="en">AI</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/786" hreflang="en">Students</a> </div> <a href="/coloradan/christie-sounart">Christie Sounart</a> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-left image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/sm-processed-bd702440-483e-4017-b8dc-2d710499aa80-805dd3f8-1c8a-4e58-9917-cf8ceefb0438.jpg?itok=fehAMmfX" width="375" height="466" alt="AI Paintings and Drawings"> </div> </div> <p><a href="http://www.hannahpurvis.com/" rel="nofollow">Artist <strong>Hannah Purvis</strong></a> (MFA’25) began using artificial intelligence (AI) programs in her paintings and drawings only last fall. Now, she uses them regularly.&nbsp;</p><p>She may upload a rough sketch into a deep learning model like Stable Diffusion to prompt the program to create similar imagery which she’ll then paint by hand, re-upload and create animation frames for interactivity. Other times, she’ll ask AI to purposefully manipulate one of her prints so she can respond to the new image by painting over it.&nbsp;</p><p>“This back-and-forth process explores interactive art and uses physical and digital space simultaneously,” said Purvis, who came to CU from Houston, Texas. “In a way, I’m trying to be a computer, and the computer is trying to be a painter.”</p><p>Art students at 񱦵 are experiencing a new era firsthand.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“As with the general public, the student population’s response to AI is mixed: Some think of it as just another tool to be used in the creation of new works of art and creative writing,” said CU art and art history professor Mark Amerika, who has worked with AI for four years and integrates it into his teaching. “Others are suspicious of the way AI has appropriated the work of others and prefer to imagine that the only real way to be an artist is to create something supposedly original.”&nbsp;</p><p>Amerika — who has his AI-influenced art published in two solo exhibitions this year in <a href="https://markamerika.com/news/mark-amerika-remixing-reality-1993-2023-solo-exhibition-at-marlborough-gallery" rel="nofollow">Barcelona, Spain</a> and <a href="https://markamerika.com/news/abducted-realities-site-specific-installation-opens-in-the-center-of-porto-portugal" rel="nofollow">Porto, Portugal</a> — plans to integrate more AI art techniques into the classroom and his creative practice. Students are following suit.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="align-right image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/grassark_312.jpg?itok=JowzAVv1" width="375" height="375" alt="Ceramics"> </div> </div> <p>Since 2018, <a href="https://ryzemakes.com/" rel="nofollow"><strong>Ryze Xu</strong></a> (MFA’24) has been experimenting with the ways public AI programs use language to produce an output. Then he started using these programs in his art.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>As a ceramicist, who turned to clay after eschewing a career path as a fashion designer, he likens his process with AI to using the kiln.&nbsp;</p><p>“I view AI as a form of machinery, a tool that, at its core, operates on basic principles akin to all kinds of our daily technology,” said Xu. “The kiln is where we input clay and heat and we end up with fired ceramics, but you can’t see what is happening inside the kiln…With AI we input the world, but we can’t see what’s happening with the AI, and there is unpredictability with this process,” he said.&nbsp;</p><div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><blockquote><p><strong>“I view AI as a form of machinery, a tool that, at its core, operates on basic principles akin to all kinds of our daily technology”</strong></p></blockquote></div></div><p>Xu is in favor of embracing AI and has digitized photos of some of his ceramics to train AI programs like Stable Diffusion to produce more art like his.</p><p>“I find gratification in comprehending AI’s capabilities and limitations,” said Xu. “This nuanced engagement allows me to offer a different perspective on how we interact with technology and how it influences our artistic expressions.</p> <div class="align-left image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/eileen_art.jpg?itok=sVkl3dMV" width="375" height="563" alt="Eileen Roscina"> </div> </div> <p><a href="http://www.eileenroscina.com/pagecv" rel="nofollow"><strong>Eileen Roscina</strong></a> (MFA’23) chooses not to use AI in her work as a filmmaker and multimedia artist.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s very troubling to me,” she said. “So much of it is an illusion — an illusion of connection.”&nbsp;</p><p>Roscina uses natural materials in her art, like creating works with pressed flowers. She’s drawn to the ephemeral nature of them, she explained, and the fact that they don’t last.&nbsp;</p><p>“Art brings the potential for a deeply human connection,” she said. “I want people to realize the beauty of not recording everything.”</p><p>Regardless of their views on AI, all three students agree that it’s too new to make predictions yet.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve only really been talking about this for a year,” said Purvis. “Just like in art history when the camera was invented and people were really resistant to the change it brought, I think AI can be seen as a new tool in the same way.”&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents"><i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;Submit feedback to the editor</span></a></p><hr><p>Art courtesy Hannah Purvis (top); Ryze Xu (middle); Eileen Roscina (bottom)</p><p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Some CU MFA students embrace AI programs in their work. Some stay far away.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <a href="/coloradan/fall-2023" hreflang="und">Fall 2023</a> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 12076 at /coloradan CU Alum Makes Puzzles for a Living /coloradan/2022/11/07/cu-alum-makes-puzzles-living <span>CU Alum Makes Puzzles for a Living</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-11-07T00:00:00-07:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2022 - 00:00">Mon, 11/07/2022 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/forever_buffs_whimsy_puzzle.jpg?h=bf654dbc&amp;itok=g8r6d9pS" width="1200" height="600" alt="die cut puzzle pieces in intricate shapes "> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1345"> Alumni News </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/168" hreflang="en">Boulder</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1333" hreflang="en">Games</a> </div> <span>Duncan McHenry</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-10/forever_buffs_whimsy_puzzle.jpg?itok=63xHY_MV" width="1500" height="563" alt="Puzzle from Chris Wirth"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div> <div class="align-right image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/credit_duncan_mchenry_2.jpg?itok=zKU6D35Q" width="375" height="488" alt="Puzzle from Chris Wirth"> </div> </div> <p class="lead" dir="ltr">Growing up, Boulder’s <strong>Chris Wirth</strong> (Law, MBA’97) was inspired by his mother’s antique Falls-brand jigsaw puzzles, which were intricately cut by scroll saw during the Great Depression. He proudly displayed one that featured a hand-drawn map of Mexico.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">The puzzles — some of which are now worth $7,000 or more — he realized, delivered a unique social experience when people sat down to do them.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">With the idea of puzzles as a social vehicle, Wirth founded Liberty Puzzles in 2005 with friend and business partner Jeff Eldridge.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">​​“Bring people together. That was our goal starting this company,” Wirth said. “Screens are off, bottle of wine is open — I would describe that as our first hook.”&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">When Liberty Puzzles first came to market, the company presented custom wooden puzzles at a fraction of the price of other boutique puzzle makers, ranging from $50 to $150. The real challenge, Wirth said, was making such a detailed, largely handcrafted product at scale.</p><p dir="ltr">“Each one touches 12 or 14 sets of hands going through our process,” Wirth said. “It’s really crafty, and it’s a really difficult product to make. We’re not just cranking out widgets.”</p><p dir="ltr">Liberty Puzzles has been a Boulder business from the start, and in the tradition of the classic Falls heirlooms that first piqued Wirth’s interest, all the puzzles feature “whimsy pieces.” Unlike most die-cut puzzle pieces, the pieces are theme-based, and must be hand-drawn before they’re sent digitally to a machine that laser-cuts the pattern out of wood. A puzzle the company currently sells with an image of Boulder’s Chautauqua Park, for example, features whimsy pieces drawn in the shape of Colorado wildlife and pine trees alongside climbers and hikers.</p><p dir="ltr">“We have one artist and a new understudy,” Wirth said. “He’s got books and books [of whimsy piece sketches]. He’s got thousands of them.”</p><p dir="ltr">Since 2005, Liberty Puzzles has grown to about 125 employees, two of whom are tasked solely with overseeing supply chain interests like shipping lumber from an Oregon mill to Denver.</p> <div class="align-left image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/credit_duncan_mchenry_3.jpg?itok=zNchgjCF" width="375" height="450" alt="Puzzle from Chris Wirth"> </div> </div> <div class="feature-layout-callout feature-layout-callout-medium"><div class="ucb-callout-content"><blockquote><p dir="ltr"><strong>​​“Bring people together. That was our goal starting this company.”</strong></p></blockquote><p dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p></div></div><p dir="ltr">While the company grew steadily over its first decade and a half, nobody could have predicted the boom in sales that the COVID-19 pandemic would bring.</p><p dir="ltr">“When everyone went into lockdown, the demand just went stratospheric,” Wirth said. “It was overwhelming and really frustrating and a huge challenge for us.”</p><p dir="ltr">He said that as people started to search for new, safe ways to have fun while quarantined with their families, they saw a massive surge in orders.</p><p dir="ltr">“We had to go on a token system for people to buy just one,” he said. “And they were waiting two months for their</p><p dir="ltr">&nbsp;token to come up because we could only release 500 tokens a day. So we would make and ship 500 a day.”</p><p dir="ltr">Wirth also points to a societal move away from technology-based entertainment as a contributing factor to the company’s success. He said this desire for a return to non-digital, analog ways of having fun wasn’t something he could have ever foreseen.</p><p dir="ltr">“Seven or eight years after the first year of the iPhone, there started to be this backlash against technology,” he said. “Well, what’s the perfect antidote to the iPhone? A wooden jigsaw puzzle.”</p><p dir="ltr">Liberty Puzzles now has three facilities in total — including its original factory space in Boulder — and produces roughly 600 rotating puzzle images, along with the option for custom puzzles. The company also has a retail storefront on the Pearl Street Mall for anyone wanting to see the puzzles.</p> <div class="align-right image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/forever_buffs_puzzle_1000_copy.jpg?itok=_WiZ13M-" width="375" height="275" alt="Forever Buffs Puzzle"> </div> </div> <p dir="ltr">Sage Wirth, Chris’ wife and a painter whose watercolors appear on several puzzle options, said supporting local artists by paying them to use their imagery has always been a goal.</p><p dir="ltr">“We’ve found that people come to walk the mall, and they want to bring something home from their vacation,” Sage said. “So all the local artists are featured on one wall in the store, and they do really, really well.”</p><p dir="ltr">With an annual spike in sales around the holidays, Liberty Puzzles is likely to stay a hyper-seasonal business.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">“We ship about 500 boxes a day [in the summer],” he said. “But in December we can fill up three UPS trucks per day. We ship out something like 1,000 units a day in December. It’s just the perfect Christmas gift.”</p><p dir="ltr"><em>A special-edition Forever Buffs puzzle is available at </em><a href="https://www.libertypuzzles.com/wooden-jigsaw-puzzles/forever-buffs" rel="nofollow"><em>libertypuzzles.com</em></a><em>.</em></p><p dir="ltr"><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents"><i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;Submit feedback to the editor&nbsp;</span></a></p><hr><p dir="ltr">Photos by Duncan McHenry and courtesy Liberty Puzzles&nbsp;</p><hr></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Chris Wirth founded Liberty Puzzles, a Boulder-based company that makes hand-designed puzzles. Business is booming. <br> </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <a href="/coloradan/fall-2022" hreflang="und">Fall 2022 </a> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-10/forever_buffs_back_xl_copy.jpg?itok=EMnlhKAk" width="1500" height="563" alt="Puzzle from Chris Wirth"> </div> </div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 11811 at /coloradan Master's Thesis "Chicana Light" Intertwines Personal Narrative with Civil Rights /coloradan/2022/03/11/masters-thesis-chicana-light-intertwines-personal-narrative-civil-rights <span>Master's Thesis "Chicana Light" Intertwines Personal Narrative with Civil Rights</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2022-03-11T00:00:00-07:00" title="Friday, March 11, 2022 - 00:00">Fri, 03/11/2022 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/coloradansp2022-chicanalight-1500x838.png?h=bc0522f9&amp;itok=z3O-dUNS" width="1200" height="600" alt="Andrea Fautheree Márquez"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/786" hreflang="en">Students</a> </div> <span>Patricia Kaowthumrong</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanalight-2000x1126.jpg?itok=Iw6vWgfN" width="1500" height="845" alt="Chicana Light"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p dir="ltr"><strong>Andrea Fautheree Márquez</strong> (Art,IntlAf’16; MATLAS’21) grew up in Pagosa Springs hearing stories about the racism her family faced in Colorado and her mother and grandmother's roles as activists in the Chicano Movement. But it wasn't until grad school that she was motivated to explore the intricacies of her Chicana identity.&nbsp;</p> <div class="align-right image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanalight-1500x841.jpg?itok=mlRpRzl1" width="375" height="211" alt="Chicana Light"> </div> </div> <p dir="ltr">Márquez’s interest in raising awareness about the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s culminated in the completion of her master's thesis project, “Chicana Light.” The multimedia display is a deeply personal yet historically rich narrative of the Chicano experience through the lens of a biracial Chicana.&nbsp;</p><p dir="ltr">“My family, especially my mother, was deeply involved in the Chicano movement. So this whole project started out as a love letter to them,” said Márquez. The 28-year-old earned her master’s degree in creative technologies and design from CU’s ATLAS Institute in December.</p><p dir="ltr">At least nine generations of Márquez’s family have roots in southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley, including her maternal grandparents. Participants in the Chicano Movement — many of whom self-identified as Chicano or Chicana, a person who embodies elements of Indigenous, ethnic and cultural hybridity— advocated for social and politicalempowerment after enduring decadesof racism and discrimination in the American Southwest.</p><p dir="ltr">“[My family] has Spanish conquistador blood and Native American blood,” she said. “The Spanish came and conquered the Natives and some of my ancestors were Native. And then, of course, there was a second round of colonization, when white settlers moved in and took this land with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo —which signaled the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. So, as Chicanos, we've been both the conqueror and the conquered.”&nbsp;</p> <div class="align-left image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanalight-1500x838.jpg?itok=uVKzrrPh" width="375" height="210" alt="Andrea Fautheree Márquez"> </div> </div> <p>Márquez was inspired to explore these complexities after a year of living in Spain — where she had the eye-opening experience of connecting to her Spanish roots even though she isn't “fully Spanish” — and watching Symbols of Resistance. The 2016 documentary focuses on events of the Chicano Movement that took place in Colorado, including the 1974 killing of Los Seis de Boulder— six Chicano student activists — and the boycott of Adolph Coors Company to protest the beermaker’s treatment of Mexican American workers. The film pushed her to spotlight Colorado’s Chicano Movement activists in her thesis project — activists who are lesser known than El Movimento icons in California and New Mexico like Cesar Chavezand Reises Tijerina, respectively, but equally impactful.</p><p>In “Chicana Light,” Márquez uses projection mapping to display three different videos — framed by nearly 150 Coors cans — featuring generational footage of her family dating from the 1900s to modern day. The footage includes images of Márquez’s grandparents in the San Luis Valley, her mother as a student activist at Adams State University in Alamosa and her as a child.&nbsp;</p><p>When her project was selected to be displayed in the “Voces Vivas” exhibit at the Museum of Boulder, its focus evolved from raising awareness about the existence of Chicanos and Chicanas in Colorado to a more meaningful, multilayered message tying together her personal narrative and broader political themes. In the year-long exhibit highlighting Latino community stories from the past and present, Márquezhopes “Chicana Light” educates viewers about the history and culture of her people — and pushes them to better understand and explore their own complicated and intersectional identities.</p><p>“I think that people should not be frightened by that,” she said. “It's always worth knowing where you came from.”</p><p><a href="http://www.andreafautheree.com/" rel="nofollow"><em>“Chicana Light”</em></a><em> will be on display at the Museum of Boulder until February 2023.&nbsp;</em></p><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-hidden ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-white"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">&nbsp;</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><div class="row ucb-column-container"><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="align-center image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanagallerya-1200x1500.jpg?itok=ssxwCamz" width="375" height="468" alt="Andrea Fautheree Márquez"> </div> </div> </div><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="align-center image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanagalleryb-1200x1500.jpg?itok=4fFvGVqM" width="375" height="469" alt="Chicana gallery"> </div> </div> </div><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="align-center image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanagalleryc-1200x1500_0.jpg?itok=5EfDHQDB" width="375" height="469" alt="Chicana gallery photos"> </div> </div> </div><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="align-center image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradansp2022-chicanagalleryd-1200x1500.jpg?itok=HZOf2FMA" width="375" height="469" alt="Chicana gallery photos"> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div></div><p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-regular ucb-link-button-default" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents"><i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;Submit feedback to the editor</span></a></p><hr><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p>Photos courtesy Andrea Fautheree Márquez</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div><hr></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Andrea Fautheree Márquez sheds light on the Chicano movement through her art. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <a href="/coloradan/spring-2022" hreflang="und">Spring 2022</a> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 11 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 11395 at /coloradan Student Turns Her Apartment Into Pandemic-Themed Art /coloradan/2021/11/05/student-turns-her-apartment-pandemic-themed-art <span>Student Turns Her Apartment Into Pandemic-Themed Art</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-11-05T00:00:00-06:00" title="Friday, November 5, 2021 - 00:00">Fri, 11/05/2021 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/coloradanfall21-nowc-2000x1600.png?h=74c6825a&amp;itok=KmTnCIgg" width="1200" height="600" alt="art installation"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1046"> Arts &amp; Culture </a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/56"> Gallery </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/336" hreflang="en">CMCI</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1287" hreflang="en">COVID-19</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><div class="ucb-box ucb-box-title-hidden ucb-box-alignment-none ucb-box-style-fill ucb-box-theme-white"><div class="ucb-box-inner"><div class="ucb-box-title">&nbsp;</div><div class="ucb-box-content"><div class="row ucb-column-container"><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradanfall21-nowa-2000x1600.jpg?itok=LqHKlO1H" width="750" height="600" alt="The ICA Loop"> </div> </div><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradanfall21-nowb-2000x1600_0.jpg?itok=m5tx5xsR" width="750" height="600" alt="The ICA Loop"> </div> </div><div class="col ucb-column"> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2024-10/coloradanfall21-nowc-2000x1600.jpg?itok=CrMBge20" width="750" height="600" alt="The ICA Loop"> </div> </div></div></div></div></div><p dir="ltr">When COVID hit, Taylor Passios (MediaPro’21) watched the world fall into the same pattern she lives in as a hypochondriac: Feel something, Google it, panic — repeat. She couldn’t find an academic name for this cycle, so she coined it “The ICA Loop.”</p><p>“The ICA Loop is a theoretical concept linking information overload, cyberchondria and the attention economy together using relational evidence between the information seekers and COVID-related media,” Passios told <em>CMCI Now</em>.&nbsp;</p><p>To physically demonstrate this idea of cyclical online patterns while adhering to COVID restrictions, she turned her apartment into a three-room, interactive art installation, complete with fog, heat and lighting. The public installation, part of her senior honors thesis, included walls plastered with news articles, graffiti, broken televisions and “a Wheel of Fate.”</p><p dir="ltr"><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"><span class="ucb-link-button-contents"><i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i>&nbsp;Submit feedback to the editor&nbsp;</span></a></p><hr><p dir="ltr">Photo courtesy Taylor Passios</p><hr></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>When COVID hit, Taylor Passios (MediaPro’21) watched the world fall into the same pattern she lives in as a hypochondriac: Feel something, Google it, panic — repeat. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Related Articles</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <a href="/coloradan/fall-2021" hreflang="und">Fall 2021</a> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 05 Nov 2021 06:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 11095 at /coloradan Barbara Takenaga's Got Art on the Brain /coloradan/2021/07/02/barbara-takenagas-got-art-brain <span>Barbara Takenaga's Got Art on the Brain</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-07-02T00:00:00-06:00" title="Friday, July 2, 2021 - 00:00">Fri, 07/02/2021 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/qabarbaratakenaga.jpg?h=1952eec9&amp;itok=LX_WbQ5g" width="1200" height="600" alt="barbara sitting in a chair"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/62"> Q&amp;A </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> </div> <span>Grace Dearnley</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/qabarbaratakenaga.jpg?itok=KL60Zteo" width="1500" height="2185" alt="Barbara sitting in a chair"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p>As a Guggenheim memorial fellow and professor emerita of Williams College, <strong>Barbara Takenaga</strong> (Engl, Art’73; MFA’78) is acclaimed for her large-scale abstract paintings. Her art strikes a balance between abstraction and representation, which evokes a range of possibilities for viewers.</p> <p><strong>When you graduated with a degree in English, you stuck around Boulder to take classes in Art. What made you stay and why did you choose art?</strong></p> <p>I loved my time in Boulder. There was so much going on at the time – the energy of the counterculture, the protests of the Vietnam war, being away from home for the first time.&nbsp; As a graduating senior with an English major, I decided at the last moment that I wanted to study art as well. So I took only art classes for a year and a half to get my double major.&nbsp; I lived in a house on the Hill with a wonderful group of friends and we all stayed after graduation. I have zoomed with them every two weeks during the pandemic. I took an art course every semester, and at some point, someone said, “why don’t you go to graduate school? You’re always around here anyway!” So I did and loved it. I actually went to CU for 11 consecutive years!</p> <p><strong>Did your studies in English shape your artistic approach?</strong></p> <p>Yes, definitely. What I learned about the English Romantic movement and their “reconciliation of opposites” looms large, as did poetry courses.&nbsp; I always felt poetry has a great kinship with visual art – a kind of condensed or distilled form that opens outward, expanding in meaning.&nbsp; Metaphor and ambiguity.</p> <p><strong>What is your favorite memory from your time at CU?</strong></p> <p>Oh wow, that’s a hard question. It’s like asking what your favorite song is. When you’re older, there are just too many options. I loved meeting my good friends at Williams Village in the first year those dorms opened. I loved the aspen trees turning and buying books at Brillig Works.&nbsp; Art department Halloween parties where teachers arrived in outrageous costumes. The foreign films series at the UMC, endless parties and working late nights in the art department. Getting lost in the parking lot in a snowstorm after a Rolling Stones concert. And for some reason, I remember walking on campus with my dog Ari, right after a big snowfall. No one was around, no footprints anywhere. It was silent and beautiful.</p> <p><strong>How did your time as a 2020 Guggenheim memorial fellow allow you to grow in your art practices?</strong></p> <p>What a great surprise. I was totally thrilled and grateful, especially in a pandemic year when so many projects were cancelled or postponed. The fellowship has allowed me to keep painting in the studio in practical ways, but it has also provided recognition, which really fuels my ambition for the work. There is an apt quote from the artist Joyce Pensato: “As I get older and shorter, I’m thinking bigger.”</p> <p><strong>Much of your work focuses on abstract representations of natural phenomena, how do you find inspiration and ideas for subjects?</strong></p> <p>Lately, my paintings rely on the randomness of poured liquid paint. I never really know how the image will dry since the paint moves, pools, and drags unexpectedly. It’s a small version of those larger physical forces - gravity, inertia, viscosity, etc. I think that parallel invites the look of natural phenomena, as in the small information is carried in the larger, like a Mandelbrot fractal or micro/macro views. I am drawn to those kinds of images as an abstract process painter. I enjoy trying to rein in the chance, organic image with structure and control.</p> <p><strong>You’ve said that you hope for your art to evoke simultaneous feelings of recognition and unfamiliarity. What effect are you hoping this experience of feeling will have on viewers?</strong></p> <p>I’m interested in that place where one can hold those two seemingly opposing views at the same time, a kind of standing in the middle; that space between naming something and having it be non-verbal.&nbsp; Clearly, it’s a very old idea that comes up in many philosophies and religions.&nbsp; I like that idea of possibility. Is a shape an island or a submarine, stars or bullet holes, meteors or missiles? Are we looking at a cross section of a mineral or a galaxy? We like the familiar&nbsp; — certainty is reassuring and it helps to resist entropy and change. But the unfamiliar can be surprising (or threatening), opening up options and opportunity. I like to think of it as encouraging visual tolerance.</p> <p><strong>Has your time teaching art at multiple higher education institutions changed your own approach to creating art?</strong></p> <p>Yes, I’m sure it has. Most artists have two jobs, their “day job” and their studio work.&nbsp; Teaching art allowed me to think about art all the time. For example, I often saw exhibitions and books through the lens of the teacher – that my painters will enjoy this show, that I should take a phone jpg for a particular student, or that an image will fit well into a lecture on figuration. But it’s interesting — when I was teaching, I approached looking at art, and everything else, with much more articulation and critique. Now that I’m retired, it’s a lovely respite to just look and not think.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href rel="nofollow"> <span class="ucb-link-button-contents"> <i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i> Submit feedback to the editor </span> </a> </p> <hr> <p>Photo Courtesy Barbara Takenaga</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>As a Guggenheim memorial fellow and professor emerita of Williams College, Barbara Takenaga is acclaimed for her large-scale abstract paintings. <br> </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 02 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 10893 at /coloradan Photo: Memorial for King Soopers Victims /coloradan/2021/07/02/photo-memorial-king-soopers-victims <span>Photo: Memorial for King Soopers Victims</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-07-02T00:00:00-06:00" title="Friday, July 2, 2021 - 00:00">Fri, 07/02/2021 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/gravityglue_memorial9ga.jpg?h=84071268&amp;itok=9zTFrggH" width="1200" height="600" alt="King Soopers Shooting memorial at Boulder Creek "> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1064"> Community </a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/56"> Gallery </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/168" hreflang="en">Boulder</a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1369" hreflang="en">Memorial</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/gravityglue_memorial9ga.jpg?itok=kAVBWaFV" width="1500" height="1125" alt="King Soopers Shooting memorial at Boulder Creek "> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr">The mass shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers on March 22 left the Boulder community reeling. For local artist <strong>Michael Grab </strong>(Soc’07), his natural response was to create art.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">For several days following the tragedy, 10 delicately balanced stone towers, one for each victim, stood quiet and tall in a slightly hidden spot in Boulder Creek, not far from Folsom Field.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">Grab creates his temporary art installations with nothing but stones, balance and concentration.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">“The true power of applying this art form in a memorial style like this exists very much in its transience,” he said on Instagram. “The fact that nothing lasts holds a very distinct style of almost melancholic beauty.”</p> <p dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p> <p><a class="ucb-link-button ucb-link-button-gold ucb-link-button-default ucb-link-button-regular" href="/coloradan/submit-your-feedback" rel="nofollow"> <span class="ucb-link-button-contents"> <i class="fa-solid fa-pencil">&nbsp;</i> Submit feedback to the editor </span> </a> </p> <hr> <p>Photo by Glenn Asakawa</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Artist Michael Grab created 10 temporary stone art installations in Boulder Creek this March. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Fri, 02 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 10871 at /coloradan Photo of the Week: Flatirons Digital Art /coloradan/2021/05/26/photo-week-flatirons-digital-art <span>Photo of the Week: Flatirons Digital Art</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2021-05-26T00:00:00-06:00" title="Wednesday, May 26, 2021 - 00:00">Wed, 05/26/2021 - 00:00</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/article-thumbnail/pw-flatironsart.jpg?h=1815c10a&amp;itok=ruXJip-x" width="1200" height="600" alt="A digital illustration of the Flatirons against an orange sky. "> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-categories" itemprop="about"> <span class="visually-hidden">Categories:</span> <div class="ucb-article-category-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-folder-open"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/164"> New on the Web </a> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/1097"> Photo of the Week </a> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/coloradan/taxonomy/term/444" hreflang="en">Art</a> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-above"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/coloradan/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/article-image/pw-flatironsart.jpg?itok=vU9XmucW" width="1500" height="986" alt="A digital illustration of the Flatirons against an orange sky. "> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p dir="ltr"></p> <p dir="ltr">Every Boulderite knows the beauty of sunset over the Flatirons. As Boulder’s beloved icon, the mountains are inspiration for all types of art, music and even tattoos.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">The illustration above, created by illustrator and graphic designer <strong>Charlie Hoesly</strong> (Anth’17), was a private commission for a fellow alum who wanted a piece that featured the Flatirons. Hoesly creates art pieces that he says are interpretations of things he is passionate about — “like animals, nature and Boulder (Sko Buffs).” He tries to create “intricate illustrations using simple layered shapes,” which is a process he notes he honed in the printmaking department at CU.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr">View more of Hoesly’s art on Instagram @choesly.design.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Alumni artwork depicts the sunset over the Flatirons. </div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Wed, 26 May 2021 06:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 10811 at /coloradan