PaperCuts

After nearly 50 years spent rolled in newspaper, this historic pastel drawing found in a closet is on display through April 14 in the Library Atrium.

For 2008’s Kansas Reads, the state-wide reading project sponsored by Kansas Center for the Book, a committee of experienced and qualified librarians selected Truman Capote’s 1966 breakthrough novel, In Cold Blood, for its broad-based appeal in hopes of encouraging and sustaining spirited discussion.

A week before the project ended, we received a call at the Sabatini Gallery from a gentleman claiming to have in his possession an original pastel drawing by In Cold Blood’s convicted killer, Perry Smith, who, along with Richard Hickock, brutally murdered the Clutter family in Holcomb, KS in 1959. The caller wondered if this might be of interest to participants of the project and future readers. After providing convincing documentation and exploring the work’s educational potential, we agreed to the loan.

Continue reading "in warm pastel / artblog 21" »

Posted on March 11, 2008 by Heather at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

How do we get Topeka's youth, teens and young professionals interested in supporting and participating in local arts?

Lately I've been going with my friend Drew to the Seaman men's basketball games on Friday night to watch his brother, Bryce Simons, one of our city's top varsity b-ballers, play and get scouted. The environment is awesome: parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, coaches, players, cheerleaders, band members, little kids—babies—everyone turns out to support, eat, catch up, watch.

When ArtsConnect met here for its Round Table breakfast last friday, we addressed the on-going challenge of re-seeding our arts community with younger people as Topeka's population ages. Mentally I exchanged arts community with sports community and imagined us asking the same questions in that context. It became suddenly obvious they embrace a philosophy that our arts community talks about but inconsistently does.

Continue reading "forging artnerships / artblog 20" »

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Heather at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

How do you know when you're looking at "good" art?

Last week I attended another of the Mulvane Art Museum's Conversations. We were there to discuss the work of Georges Rouault, French Expressionist (think distorting reality for emotional effect) painter and printmaker.

After about an hour discussing art and early 20th-century European history, one of the guests expressed dislike for Rouault's work. "I know these prints are famous and Rouault's a master, but I find this stuff kinda ugly and unattractive." Having said that she added, "So, how can you tell when something is good?" Great question. Here are some of the ways the fifteen of us attempted to define the elusive.

Continue reading "i don't get it / artblog 19" »

Posted on February 19, 2008 by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

All good things come to an end.

On January 20, Angelo Charles Garzio, master potter and KSU Distinguished Graduate Professor, passed away. Originally from Mirabello Sannitico, a small Italian village, Garzio made Manhattan, KS his home for the past 50 years. In addition to publishing articles in journals like Ceramics Monthly, he had a great affection for books and donated many texts on ceramic arts to the Manhattan Public Library. Several of his pieces from our permanent art collection are currently on display in the hallway between the Leamon Circulation Lobby and the Atrium (where the tax forms are located). He will be greatly missed by many.

Just last week on February 5, local artist and art therapist, Robert "Bob" Ault passed away as well. He spent 32 years on the Menninger Foundation staff applying theraputic aspects of art-making to the treatment and healing processes of patients. When Menninger's relocated to Baylor in Huston, TX, Ault started the Ault's Academy of Art which provided individualized therapy as well as classes in fine art. Bob was a Topeka institution and his contributions to our community will be hard to replace.

Full obituaries can be found at CJ Online: Garzio and Ault.

Posted on February 12, 2008 by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last summer we asked visitors to tell us what makes something valuable and consensus agreed on the intangible: meaning. Your child's first ceramic blob, the hotel keycard from your honeymoon, the ugly blanket your best friend made for Christmas one year—meaning appears to be the driving force behind keeping this stuff.

So, consider this: if subject matter determined the cost of a painting, would it affect the painting's value if size, materials and time invested remained the same? Are price and worth interchangeable? The constant tension between cost and value when experiencing and/or purchasing art is why I fell hard for New York City artists (husband and wife), Cristine Santora and Justin Gignac.

Continue reading "want vs. need / artblog 17" »

Posted on February 05, 2008 by Heather at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On this out-of-nowhere snowy day (it was a completely different season 24 hours ago), I thought it would be fun to look at some famous winter scenes throughout art history, all of which can be found in the 700s here at TSCPL. 

The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1413—16 AD) is often referred to as "the king of illuminated manuscripts". Commissioned by Jean, Duc de Berry, one of the highest nobles in 15th-century France, it was painted by the Limbourg Brothers from Flanders (now Germany) and is a classic example of a Medieval book of hours. The image on the right, February, is from the calendar section and represents winter in a peasant village. The inhabitants of a farm are shown warming themselves by the fire, while in the background, daily life—cutting wood, taking cattle to market—goes on as normal. Much has changed in 650 years but I bet if you looked outside right now you'll see some things are just the same.

Continue reading "snowy day / artblog 16" »

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Heather at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Happy New Year from Special Collections and the Sabatini Gallery. Our 2008 exhibit schedule will bring visions of hell, bug machines, bingo-playing seniors, a national contemporary print competition, impressions of Kansas from TSCPL's permanent collection and recent developments in the field of book arts.

First up is Dante's Inferno: Interpretations by Edward Navone and Robert Rauschenberg opening Friday, January 25. The last time I made contact with Mr. Alighieri's Commedia was junior year of high school, 1986, between Canturbury Tales and Wycherley's Country Wife, none of which I can resurrect in conversation without help. So, I refreshed my memory here and with the help of this and this, and came away thinking the Inferno was kind-of like a 14th-century roast of who's who in western civilization but without the laughs.

Continue reading "what's next / artblog 15" »

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Heather at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As of today we have two weeks until Hanukkah starts and one month until Christmas day and Kwanzaa week. If you’re like me and enjoy crafty gift-giving, you could probably use some fresh, last-minute ideas. My all-time favorite place to browse (we own the book AND magazine if you want to inivestigate off-line) is the ReadyMade website. Barbara Jacobs at the American Library Association's Booklist writes:

"...From the pages of ReadyMade magazine appears this compendium of more than 30 projects making the most of recycled paper, plastic, wood, metal, glass, and fabric. Not content to simply show and tell, authors Berger (magazine editor in chief) and Hawthorne (magazine publisher and CEO) add their own funny commentary. Want to debate the utility of chopsticks versus forks? Need to research the manufacture and ingredients of polyester, say, or specific alloys? Desire non-do-it-yourself recycling ideas for some of the more than 730 pounds of paper an average American uses each year? Instructions are easy to follow, the tone is always engaging, and all the projects are practical (for instance, why not have a beer-can room divider or FedEx CD rack?). Appended are abbreviations, hardware screw sizes, conversions, and glossary."

My favorite ideas for what to give your office mates, babysitter, pet, mailman, neighbors, coach, day care provider--that one person whose name you can never remember--are the ReadyMade shrinkysheet designs. These are so cool:

Continue reading "shrinkage / artblog 14" »

Posted on November 27, 2007 by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

"These are all copies, right?"

"Um...no. These are the real thing."

I imagine we'll be getting a lot of that when The Inspired Line opens this Friday. When exceptional and inexpensive image scanning meets loosely-used printmaking terminology, it's not unusual for people to confuse print reproductions with originals. Art marketing relies on you getting butterflies when the word "original" accompanies a work. To a collector it implies the piece they're buying is one-of-a-kind and therefore a more valuable investment. To a dealer, it means they can charge more. But original is a very broad term and can encompass everything from one (Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, ) to many (Gordon Parks' American Gothic photgraphs). So how do you tell the difference? What should you look for?

Continue reading "for real, yo / artblog 13" »

Posted on November 13, 2007 by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Designated by the Kansas State Legislature as the Official State Theatre of Kansas in 1992, The Jayhawk Theatre has been closed for more than thirty years. Plans to demolish the building have been thwarted repeatedly and a fund-raising campaign for full restoration is underway.

Having never been inside, I was especially interested in making reservations for a visit offered by Ghost Tours of Kansas, a guided walkabout through supposedly haunted spaces in both Topeka and Lawrence. Three days before Halloween, my friends and I paid $25 each to help save the theatre and maybe get lucky enough to see "the man in top hat and tuxedo" who frequently appears/disappears on the stage. Armed with cameras, twelve of us along with a local psychic/medium walked single file along an old hallway and into the cold and dusty past of the Jayhawk.

Continue reading "(p)reservation at the jayhawk / artblog 12" »

Posted on November 06, 2007 by Heather at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

...BUT MOVE IT TO A CORNER.

I've learned something from our recent show, The Journey of Tea: people aren't as forthcoming with comments / signing a guestbook when someone else is looking or it's buried with other stuff at an information desk.

With this exhibit, we moved the location to a corner near the exit. We put the book on its own pedestal, added signage and enhanced it with track lighting. Since creating the book in 2004, we've averaged about eight comments per six-week exhibition period. This is certainly one of the most popular programs we've done and I imagine the numbers reflect that, but equally popular shows in the past haven't resulted in this kind of comment activity. It will be interesting to track the numbers in 2008 now that visitors have more privacy, light and direction when expressing feedback. The Journey of Tea has been open four and a half weeks (with three days to go).

Total comments so far: 56 (total exclamation points: 28).

Here's what people have said:

Continue reading "embrace the guestbook / artblog 11" »

Posted on October 30, 2007 by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In addition to work and life pulling me in a hundred directions, there’s often a former professor, classmate or colleague asking if I’m working on anything new and if so, what. The answer is always the same: nothing worth showing at the moment but the ideas are piling up. There was a time when I looked down on artists who didn’t produce, who blamed family and work on their creative slump, and now I find myself in exactly the same predicament.

Fed up with talking about thinking, a friend and I went camping this past weekend and aside from my car battery dying (radio + KU/Colorado game + both doors open) we spent a desperately needed 48 hours away from the internet, e-mail, phone, traffic, neighbors, TV and assorted appliance humming. I brought my sketchbook, camera and new library book. Drew and I both agreed to allow each other time alone and it took nearly 18 hours to stop talking and laughing and branch off mentally to accomplish what we intended to do: think, write, not think, sketch, observe, snack, write, draw, think some more, walk alone, stare at nothing, stare at cows, close our eyes and simply be.

Why is this so obviously necessary but so impossibly hard to do?

Continue reading "the art of retreat / artblog 10" »

Posted on October 23, 2007 by Heather at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Those of us growing up in the 70s probably remember when chimps dressed in overalls and gingham dresses frequently appeared in supporting roles on shows like BJ and the Bear, Chips and Hawaii Five–0. I was only allowed to watch stuff like this as long as it was balanced by PBS/Jane Goodall documentaries, and all were responsible for my life-long fascination with primates  and how similar we are. Always on the lookout for new monkey-human bookstuff, I was excited to find Jill Greenberg's Monkey Portraits is on order for the Library's collection.

Greenberg, known as "The Manipulator" since the early 90s for her use of Photoshop techniques to "transform photographs into surreal portraits by tweaking colors, cutting and pasting and otherwise distorting images", most recently made headlines in 2006 with End Times, a controversial series of portraits featuring young children in various stages of emotional distress. Self-described as, "an allegory for the deepest fears of the human species as a whole drawing on the vocabulary of Christian millennialism, conspiracy theory culture and doomsday environmentalism", Greenberg saw in her young subjects an intensity which captured her own despair.

How did she do it? With candy.

Continue reading "boundary pushing / artblog 9" »

Posted on October 16, 2007 by Heather at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In my experience, when someone asks how an art piece was created, it's relatively easy explaining technical concepts: "oh, they used a mixture of paint thinned with linseed oil to get that varnish-y look" or "think of a lithograph like drawing on an Easter egg...the wax resists color the same way resin-treated stone resists ink." Thanks to Google, Wikipedia and hundreds of reference books 200 feet from our office door, I can talk technique in my sleep.

But some questions take much longer to process, and by process I mean: record in my sketchbook, respond from the gut, internet browse, reconsider original answer, redefine and reflect. I was looking at Interrogation 1 by Leon Golub at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art when a woman whisper-hissed bitterly to her friend, "Why in the world would anyone want to paint torture and interrogation scenes?" My first reaction was to mumble, "why wouldn't they?" But that's not enough. I rephrased it into what I think she was asking: why does the absense of aesthetic beauty in this painting make me feel such anger and disappointment?

Continue reading "on beauty / artblog 8" »

Posted on October 09, 2007 by Heather at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The collecting segment of the Topeka Kansas Archiving Project is behind us and over the next couple weeks I'll be sorting through submissions and making decisions about what to keep and what to release back to the "wild". This will be tough because many participants spent a considerable amount of time drawing and documenting their finds. But when faced with a potential acquisition, a museum must make decisions about what best fits the collection because they simply can't take everything.

Why? Well, first and foremost, an art museum deals with the very real issue of space. Collections tend to grow much faster than storage areas. If a collection supercedes its brick and mortar confines, off-site space is often considered. But that places the artworks and artifacts far from the hands of the people who need to access them on a regular basis, like curators, students, teachers and researchers.

Second, most art museums have a written collections policy guiding decision-making. This typically defines a scope or focus for collecting which might concentrate on a specific medium, a cultural group or particular movement in art history. Here, because we are a public art collection located in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas, it makes sense that we'd be drawn to art that best represents the interests of the people in Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas. But we also have West African artifacts, Chinese decorative art, international paperweights and Santos sculptures from Jorge López of New Mexico. A focus helps guide but it isn't intended to limit us when considering a new acquisition.

The Very Small Object Archive is an unusual acquisition that falls into a greyer area than most art works we've considered.

Continue reading "very small update / artblog no. 7" »

Posted on October 02, 2007 by Heather at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you’re a regular reader of the PaperCuts blog, then you know from last Thursday’s post that we (the Library) will be launching our digital branch in 2008. We’re working on ways to expand gallery services as well, and I invite--actually, crave--your input.


About a year and a half ago I started asking myself: what does the Topeka arts community need and how can we translate the Sabatini Gallery’s services digitally? Early answers came in waves and usually at PT's browsing websites, reading Art on Paper and Flash Art International and checking TechCrunch and under the radar. Our goals have been to get a solid dose of what's working globally, explore how it might fit locally and establish the Sabatini Gallery web page as a valuable community arts resource. Tomorrow I meet with our web developer to discuss content and want to share my thoughts with readers and future users during this early planning phase. Your opinion is extremely valuable to us. Comments and suggestions are always encouraged. Ok ... Let's take a look.

Continue reading "one of these days is finally here / artblog 6" »

Posted on September 25, 2007 by Heather at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

(Sample excerpt from my recent to-do list)


"...pull West African artifacts from storage; take to Menninger Room for Dr. Janzen’s African art class / eat pizza / introduce the collection and its provenance / find seating for 28 Washburn students; facilitate discussion; turn over to Janzen’s class; remain as back-up..."

After being told for years, “you’ll never get a job in the arts so study something more practical,” and then getting a job in the arts—one that’s located in a public library—well, it’s not just any art job. It’s better. I was reminded frequently during a talk last week how unique my workplace really is:

Continue reading "my job is cool / artblog no. 5" »

Posted on September 18, 2007 by Heather at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This past Thursday, I attended my first Mulvane Art Museum "Conversation" at Washburn University. I wasn't sure what to expect but upon entry noticed a circle of black chairs without a podium in sight and thought: wow--cool--this looks simple and informal. Subtitled "Connecting art to our lives", I knew in roughly 90 seconds (halfway through Kandis Barker's intro) I wanted to be part of whatever this happening happened to become. Here's why:


Throughout school there were endless opportunities to talk about art. In studio critiques, advising professors challenged me to discuss my work's direction. Museum Studies, Art Forum and Art Criticism  placed me in direct contact with permanent collections, registrars, curators and art professionals. We critiqued exhibits and learned trade secrets about art fairs, collectives, portfolio presentation, IRS tax procedures and curating. I grew from these conversations and pined for access to an old-timey salon where artists and writers and scientists and basketball players and gardeners and critics and zookeepers and knitters could just sit around, drink coffee and discuss current events in the arts. But a collective dialogue takes effort and commitment and getting people together outside of a formal environment was challenging.

Continue reading "we never talk anymore / artblog no. 4" »

Posted on September 11, 2007 by Heather at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

700 what? Who knew the Dewey Decimal System had so many art categories? There's a copy by my computer now--hooray!


sabatini gallery news: We will be closed for installation from September 8–27, reopening the 28th with The Journey of Tea. While we pack and patch walls, you can kill time between shows learning more about tea history. Check out The Eccentric Teapot, The Tea Companion or this tea recipe book. This one is good, too: Tea and Sympathy: The Life of an English Teashop in New York. Friday is your last chance to see Brian Collier’s Master Collection of Very Small Objects and your final opportunity to submit something for our Community Archive project. Congratulations to Brian on his new teaching position at the Kansas City Art Institute and upcoming group exhibit at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Weather Report: Art and Climate Change, curated by Lucy Lippard.


local: High-fives and jazz hands to Topeka's Collective Art Gallery, which celebrates its 20th anniversary on September 7. If you can’t make this retrospective, check for pictures on TSCPL’s Flickr account soon. It’s also the first Friday of the month which means you can participate in Topeka’s city-wide gallery crawl (Sabatini Gallery included). Check here for details.

Continue reading "artblog no. 3 / life in the 700s" »

Posted on September 04, 2007 by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If TSCPL departments were family members, Special Collections is like your great aunt and uncle who’ve lived in Topeka as long as you can remember and they seem to know everyone. They were friends with Langston Hughes, Karl Menninger and Grandma Layton. They’ve had dinner with Robert Sudlow and Anna Bloch.  They’re world travelers with a cool collection of art and artifacts and are as fond of their Chokwe Pwo mask from Angola as they are of Nikol Miller’s knitted burlesquewear seen this past summer at The Harveyville Project’s open house party.


Some say they’re master storytellers as recollections are often enhanced with odd trivia, amusing details, maps, yearbook photos or an architectural blueprint from the early 20^th century. They preserve tradition while encouraging innovation, and are permanently invested in maintaining our “family” history. Auntie Special and Uncle Collection are like your favorite relatives who want to see you more often and get to know you better.


Because most people don’t expect to find an art gallery, archivists, art historians and a 4500-piece (and counting) permanent collection of art and artifacts in a public library setting, we encourage you to explore our services.

Continue reading "What's so special about Special Collections?" »

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Heather at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

"Is there a difference between cheap and expensive oil paint?"
"Does contemporary indicate a timeframe or a style?"
"How can I enter the Topeka Riverfront Design Competition?"
"Is it true Valerie Solanis claimed she was making a performance piece when she shot Andy Warhol?"

In terms of reference, FAQ could also read: frequent art questions because staff in the Sabatini Gallery answers the bulk of the Library’s art-related inquiries. We also maintain and contribute to on-going art dialogue through our exhibits, educational partnerships, programs, daily interactions and our new Special Collections Papercuts column, Art & Antiquarian.

Ask us anything. We're an excellent resource for students, teachers, artists, gallery owners, museum professionals, collectors and art patrons. If we can’t immediately provide you with an answer, we’ll offer professional direction and research leads to other resources in the Library.

Here's a starter list of questions we've been asked (and these really only scratch the surface):

Continue reading "FAQs: What's your question?" »

Posted on August 21, 2007 by Heather at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)