News

In October 2013, Through the Flower (TTF), a 501(c)3 non-profit feminist art organization founded in 1978 by Judy Chicago, gifted the International Honor Quilt (IHQ) to the University of Louisville and its Hite Art Institute to be permanently available for a variety of educational purposes, including academic research and study; curriculum programming; ongoing exhibitions; and opportunities for loan.

Louisville resident Shelly Zegart, an international quilt expert, Executive Director and host of the PBS broadcast series, Why Quilts Matter: History, Art and Politics, http://www.whyquiltsmatter.org/welcome/ served as catalyst for placing the collection with the University. She now chairs the governance committee that oversees the integration and use of the Honor Quilt at the University.

The International Honor Quilt (IHQ) is a democratic, egalitarian, collaborative artwork that has become an emblematic feminist archetype and a collective example of art that is culturally, historically and aesthetically significant. Its individual panels combine to create a spectacular collaborative artwork that carry the stories of its 539 individual makers, the women’s organizations and the individual honorees that inspired, motivated and sustained women worldwide.

The IHQ project, initiated by Judy Chicago in 1980 “to extend the spirit of The Dinner Party," continued to grow through the 1980s and ‘90s as it toured throughout the world with Chicago’s iconic The Dinner Party exhibition. After being in storage since 1996, when it was last exhibited in conjunction with The Dinner Party at UCLA’s Armand Hammer Museum, it is now being made available as a unique resource for academic research and study; curriculum programming; ongoing exhibitions; and opportunities for loan, ensuring that these women’s voices not be lost.

As an initial step in disseminating information about the IHQ, it has now been added to the University of Louisville Ekstrom Libraries’ Digital Collections: http://uofl.me/intl-honor-quilt.

Included in this searchable database are images of all individual quilt panels that make up the assembled artwork, the makers’ stories and registrarial documentation materials initially compiled by Dr. Marilee Schmit Nason, and now expanded by the staff of the Hite Art Institute.

Questions, further information and appointments to view the quilt in person may be obtained by contacting the International Honor Quilt Collection at ihqinfo@louisville.edu or calling (502) 852-1431.

Exciting news, President Obama is visiting our Main Street neighbor, Indatus, tomorrow! Unfortunately, Security is preventing us from opening our doors. We will resume normal hours of operation on Friday, April 3.

Due to the inclement weather, the opening reception for Sewol: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, March 11 • 5:00 - 7:00 pm at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts.

CANstruction benefits Dare to Care. Interior Design students and a faculty participated in CANstruction, Louisville 2015.
Title of project is “ Comfort food : Comfort form ”.

Voting at Mall St. Matthews is officially opened. Come see our work enjoy amazing structure.

Online voting for the People’s Choice Award is available on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/CANstructionLouisville

Mall voting: Feb 23rd – Feb 28th
Online Voting: Feb 24th – Mar 3rd

Chief Curator of the Frazier History Museum, Brigid Muldoon said that “[w]e are so happy to have Zac as a member of our staff, and working with him at the Frazier over the last 4 years has been a pleasure. His enthusiasm, leadership, creativity, and knowledge have made him a tremendous asset to our team, and I believe that he will continue to grow and excel in his new role here at the museum.”

Together, the Hite and the Frazier History Museum have built a rich exchange through the placement of many student interns in the museum staff since the museum’s founding. Established in 2004, the Frazier History Museum is an outstanding research institution that examines more than a thousand years of history to expand our knowledge of the past. With ever-changing and interactive exhibits, daily performances by costumed interpreters, and engaging special events and programs, the Frazier Museum is an important partner of the Hite Art Institute in their shared commitment to enriching the cultural life of Louisville.

Zac Distel, originally from Tiffin, Ohio, earned a Master of Arts with a concentration in Critical and Curatorial Studies, a Master of Public Administration, and a Graduate Certificate in Public History at the University of Louisville in 2013. Having interned at the Toledo Museum of Art and Corn Island Archaeology, LLC, Zac began as a Curatorial Intern at the Frazier History Museum in January 2011. When he earned his graduate degrees, Zac became a full-time employee of the Frazier History Museum as a Curatorial Assistant.  His MA thesis project “The Founding of the Art in Embassies Program and the Misrepresentation of American Art” was awarded Best Graduate Student Research Paper, Phi Alpha Theta Ohio Regional Conference 2013.

In the United States of America many slaves were safely carried to freedom. This monumental undertaking that has virtually gone unnoticed, has been the subject of my work over the past eleven years.  My current focus is on Frederick Douglass, Slavery in Maryland, and Underground Railroad (UGRR) Conductor, Harriet Tubman.

Each painting helps to memorialize a dangerous occupation that played a crucial role in the development of American society. In an ever-changing era these artworks are chronicles of an almost silent part of history. The viewer will find no noted heroes of the traditional kind. Those who play the role of hero and heroine in these works are the men and women who risked their lives and the lives of their families to preserve the UGRR.  

I began my research in 2003 and in May of 2004 following the routes on which Tubman took passengers to freedom. Many events have been recounted to me by noted historians, genealogists and descendants during my travels through Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Canada; retracing the steps of many who went before me on this route to freedom.  The wealth of personal experiences and detailed information I obtained is the foundation of this series of artworks.

The life of freedom seekers and those involved with the Underground Railroad was one of uncertainty. They carried on undaunted and these are the ideas that I strive to portray in this series. Figures are tugging and heaving, hoisting and dragging.  Figures depict the mental, emotional, and physical prowess needed to succeed on the UGRR.  Every muscle is strained to the limit.  

Vibrant color and light are used to lead your eye through the composition. I want the viewer to share both the positive and negative experiences of freedom seekers, their families, masters and various passengers on the UGRR.  My aim, as I think they would have liked it to be, is not to glorify them, but to acknowledge their fortitude, love of family and neighbor, and celebrate the value of all human life. In thus doing I hope to candidly portray the enormous effort that changed the tide of history for the African-American.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/arts/visual/2015/02/10/artist-paints-vivid-scenes-slavery/23183983/

Yasmeen Siddiqui, interim gallery director and head of the Critical and Curatorial Studies Program, and Eileen Yanoviak, PhD candidate, have an interview piece on the functions of the university galleries just published in BurnAway. Congratulations!

http://burnaway.org/talking-heads-three-curators-discuss-university-galleries/

Eileen Yanoviak received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and French in 2005 and a Master of Arts in Art History in 2011, both from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 2012, Mrs. Yanoviak began her journey at the University of Louisville, where she is currently a PhD candidate in Art History.  In January 2015, she accepted a position as the Exhibition and Project Coordinator at the Speed Art Museum.

http://louisville.edu/graduate/student-spotlight/student-spotlight-february-2015

The Hite Art Institute, the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Louisville, is pleased to announce a new fellowship program in conjunction with the Speed Art Museum, renewing the long-standing tradition of collaboration between the two leaders in the visual arts in Louisville. The inaugural Hite-Speed Fellowship (starting January 26) is awarded to Hunter Kissel, first-year graduate student at the Hite Art Institute.

Of equal significance is the appointment of the Hite Art Institute’s Doctoral Candidate Eileen Yanoviak as Exhibition and Project Coordinator at the Speed Art Museum. Her appointment will begin January 20.

The Speed Art Museum and the University of Louisville’s close proximity and shared commitment to art historical research and the contextualization of diverse and multidisciplinary art practices will continue to inform curriculum, exhibition, and publications at The Hite.

Inaugural Hite-Speed Fellow Hunter Kissel is currently pursuing a dual Master’s degree in Public Administration and Critical and Curatorial Studies at the University of Louisville. A native of Louisville, he graduated from Transylvania University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art. Hunter’s research focus is on contemporary artistic practice and post-war painting.

Newly appointed Speed Art Museum Exhibition and Project Coordinator, Eileen Yanoviak is a PhD candidate in Art History at the University of Louisville studying nineteenth-century American landscape with Professor Benjamin Hufbauer. In 2013-14 she was awarded the Hite Art Institute-Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft Curatorial Fellowship where she served as Exhibitions and Collections Manager. She contributes to Burnaway.org and is co-editor of Formations of Identity: Landscape, Society, and Politics, a collection of essays under Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Her essay “Shi Lu’s Beyond the Great Wall: Modernization and Ethnic Minority in Party Painting,” will be published in Art Review in 2015. As president of Aegis, the graduate student organization of the Hite Art Institute, she co-edited the journal Parnassus. Yanoviak earned a BA (2005) and MA (2011) in Art History from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where she has been adjunct faculty since 2007.

On December 26, 2014, the Courier Journal published an article highlighting 2014 in the arts in Louisville.  Out of many art exhibitions presented in Louisville in 2014, Elizabeth Kramer, art critic of the Courier Journal, selected eight projects to highlight.  The Hite Art Institute, with its faculty and alumni, hosted or participated in five out of the eight projects highlighted.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/arts/2014/12/26/weighing-arts-louisville/20907075

1)  Project Series, Zephyr Gallery, February onward

Professor Susan Jarosi and her students, and Professor Yasmeen Siddiqui curated two exhibitions in this ongoing series.

2) Second Life, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft,  June 14-Aug. 31

This exhibition was curated by Hite alumnus, Joey Yates (MA in Curatorial Studies, 2009), Associate Curator of KMAC. Professor Mitch Eckert and alumna Laura Hartford (BFA, 99) were two of the artists.

3)  Deep Ecology: New Work by Ying Kit Chan, Cressman Center for Visual Arts,  Oct. 2-Nov. 1

Presented by the Hite Art Institute. Ying Kit Chan is professor and chair of Department of Fine Arts.

4) Open Studio Weekend, Cressman Center for Visual Arts, Oct. 13-14

Hite Art Institute presented an exhibition of the 82 participating artists and was a co-sponsor for this community event fundraiser.

5) The Untold Tale of Bob Lockhart: A Retrospective,  November and December

Hite Art Institute hosted the largest exhibition of the three exhibitions. Peter Morrin, Director of Arts and Culture Partnership, and Jessica Kincaid, Exhibitions Assistant, curated two of the three exhibitions.

This year's AIGA Louisville Show was judged by Etsy product designer Jessica Harllee; Craig Welsh, principal and creative director of internationally recognized Go Welsh; and Helen Armstrong, assistant professor of graphic design at Miami University. This year's judges selected 48 pieces from the work submitted. Of those 48, 12 awards went to Hite Art Institute Communication Art & Design BFA students or recent alums.

Receiving awards in the student category were:

• Brittani Rosier for her Tyler Childers & the Highway record and poster design;

• Josie Degler for her Kings Co. Bakery desktop & mobile website design assignment; and a second award for her Bumble Booze package design assignment;

• Ca Nguyen for her Snapchat app redesign project
• Eric Warning for his design for Limited Edition Spray Cans;
• Danielle Roberts for her Vivalux Identity project.

Recent alums who received awards were:

• Scott Soeder (BFA '08) Designer/Illustrator for Pop Wheels;
• Ashley Trommler (BFA '11), Art Director at strADegy Advertising for "Willing & Able;"
• Ashley Trommler, Art Director along with Art Director Nathan Weaver of strADegy Advertising for usl2lou;
• Patrick Hill (BFA '12) for Edlin Farms Branding;
• Emily Musterman (BFA '07), Musterman Design, for Odiefest 2014;
• Emily Musterman, Designer; Dawn Knight, Creative Director; Jason Laughlin (BFA '00), Designer Director at Kindred Healthcare for the Thank You To Eddie Kuntz Book.

Link to Hite Art Institute from Opening Reception by Renée K. Murphy
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152941440016214.1073741883.33687161213&type=3

MFA student Marie-Elena Ottman has three sculptures in the exhibition THE CONSUMMATE CRAFTSMAN at OMFA

Professor Jongwoo Jeremy Kim, Art History, was awarded a new book contract with Ashgate Publishing. Co-edited with Christopher Reed, the book is entitled Queer Theory and Visual Culture: Rethinking Identity and the Sexed Body. Prof. Kim will contribute a chapter entitled "Not Melted Yet: Robert Gober’s Queer Delay."

Link to Courier-Journal, Three Louisville Galleries Showcase Bob Lockhart by Elizabeth Kramer
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/arts/visual/2014/12/05/exhibits-louisvilles-lockhart/19967229/

http://wfpl.org/post/louisville-noir-shows-gritty-side-well-known-louisvillians

The University of Louisville Hite Art Institute is pleased to present Deep Ecology: New Work by Ying Kit Chan. The exhibition will open to the public October 3, 2014 coinciding with the First Friday Trolley Hop.

This faculty project signifies a new conceptual development in Ying Kit Chan’s more than three decades of art making. The exhibition title is a direct reference to the writings of the contemporary environmental movement, which celebrates the richness and diversity of all life forms. The works on display include images of deteriorating industrial landscapes and environmental disasters alongside plant life, revealing the artist’s understanding of the built environment and the natural world as a volatile system compelled to evolve cohesively.

This turn towards a holistic interpretation of the dynamic relationship between humankind and the environment is organized by his effort as a translator of ideas and language. Chan translates ecological comments written by John Muir, Henry Thoreau, Rachel Carson into Chinese, and excerpts Taoist and Buddhist philosophical texts. The manifestation of this process in the forms of acrylic drawings, mono-prints, photography and mixed media, declare his commitment to intellectual inquiry and the creation of paths to knowledge that evolve through the expression, transmission, interpretation and re-interpretation of ideas and perceptions.

The majority of work in Deep Ecology was produced during Chan’s sabbatical from the University of Louisville, where he is Professor and Chair of the Department of Fine Arts. This project was funded in part by an Intramural Research Incentive Grant (IRIG) from the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Louisville. In conjunction with University of Louisville’s 2014 Translation and the Global Humanities Symposium sponsored by the Liberal Studies Project and the Humanities Ph.D. Program, Ying Kit Chan will give a gallery talk on Thursday, October 16, 6:00 pm.

Link to Hite Art Institute photos from opening weekend, Photographs by Renée K. Murphy
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152756074916214.1073741879.33687161213&type=1

Link to Courier-Journal, Exhibit Shows Work by Artist on Open Studio Tour by Elizabeth Kramer
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/arts/visual/2014/09/05/exhibit-shows-work-artists-open-studio-tour/15124813/

Link to Courier-Journal, Artist Open Studios for Second Annual Tour by Elizabeth Kramer
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/entertainment/arts/visual/2014/09/10/louisville-area-artists-open-studios-tours/15420103/

Link to The Voice-Tribune, Open Studio Preview Party, Photographs by Tim Valentino
http://www.voice-tribune.com/galleries/open-studio-preview-party/

Link to WFPL, Louisville Artist Open Studio Doors to Public This Weekend, by Erin Keane
http://wfpl.org/post/louisville-artists-open-studio-doors-public-weekend

Link to Insider Louisville, Yasmeen Siddiqui named gallery director of UofL's Hite Art Institute by Abby Rudolph
http://insiderlouisville.com/lifestyle_culture/yasmeen-siddiqui-named-gallery-director-u-ls-hite-art-institute/?utm_source=Newsletter+Subscribers&utm_campaign=47c45c4aae-Daily+Insider&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5ccd89012b-47c45c4aae-70784357

Once again, we are indebted to all professionals who took their time to provide feedback to the students. Our thanks for making this an excellent welcoming party for these emerging professionals.

As is our recent tradition, the BFA candidates received their Red Beret at Portfolio Day, signifying they will soon be joining the ranks of alums of the Hite Art Institute's BFA program in Communication Art & Design.

Five portfolios were selected for recognition. The BoB (Best of the Best Award funded by Bob Gaeta, Vice President of Welch Printing) winners are Brittani Rosier and Kyle Stewart for top honors;  Marc LaPilusa and Cassie Lydon received honorable mentions. This year's BoB Awards were selected by mystery judge, Phil Means, who has been attended almost every Portfolio Day since we started holding them in 2003. Phil said that he had a very tough job this year with so many quality portfolios. Phil is recently retired from leading Black & White, one of Louisville's outstanding design firms.