A Visit to Mexico
Aug 22nd, 2011 by altermas
Guest post by Michael Flanagan, Crossman Gallery Director
Hello Everyone –
Our team of faculty members and one student from UW-Whitewater has just returned from our workshops in Oaxaca. As usual, Charles Cottle took the lead in making arrangements for our workshops and living arrangements. Professor Max White and I completed the instructional side of the visit.
We were hosted by Maestro Juan Alcázar at the Galeria La Mano Mágica (The Magic Hand Gallery) in the city center and spent two weeks there. Max White, along with second year art student Irasema Villarreal, worked with a group of about a dozen artists. Max taught the students a variety of monotype processes in a technically and artistically demanding series. Irasema provided Spanish language translations and produced artwork herself.
I taught the museum studies (museografia) portion of the workshop with about 8 students participating. I brought artwork from the collection at UW-Whitewater and Max provided a number of prints by advanced students, including Irasema, along with examples of her own work. After a few days of lectures, the students got to form into two working groups and began planning the exhibition that was to take place in the two galleries of Galeria Mano Magica. Students used the works from UW-Whitewater to form a basic concept and then we went on to borrow works from Galeria Mano Magica as well as from the well regarded print studio at Taller Rufino Tamayo to complete the exhibit. Each group selected 15 prints for display. As part of the process, the works were mounted and framed, then installed in the gallery. Students were also required to write a didactic panel, create a show title, write letters to the lenders and provide specifics for the exhibit labels.
The show opened with a reception on Friday, August 5, and the students in both classes were acknowledged with certificates of achievement signed by representatives from the galleries and workshop sponsors. A second, public reception was held Saturday evening where guests from the community, other artists and media representatives came to view the exhibit and monotype prints from both workshops.
We were pleased with the outcome of the exhibits and workshops and have been invited back again next year.
As part of the relationship with our colleagues in Oaxaca, two shows will be mounted at UW-Whitewater this fall. One, Sobreviviendo: Manejese con Cuidado (Surviving: Handle with Care) is a portfolio of prints created by 28 artists from Oaxaca under the direction of Maestro Juan Alcazar that portrays the endangered animals in the region. Those prints will be on display in the Crossman Gallery in September.
The second exhibit, Viva Oaxaca, will display the results of the monotype workshop as well as examples of creative work by Max White, Michael Flanagan, Charles Cottle and Irasema Villarreal that were produced during our time in Oaxaca. That exhibit will be on display in the Fiskum Gallery, located in the University Center, also during September.
Finally, arrangements are being finalized for the visit to the UW-Whitewater campus by Maestro Juan Alcázar, Maestro Manuel Matus and staff members from Taller Juan Alcázar. These visits will coincide with the opening receptions for the exhibits and presentations and workshops on campus. Please watch the campus news for additional information about the exhibits and workshops. There will also be postings on the Crossman Gallery site.
Best wishes,
Michael Flanagan
Director, Crossman Gallery
http://blogs.uww.edu/crossman/