Joan Webster-Vore has devoted her career to close observation of nature. The artist, who lives with her husband across from a cornfield in rural Hudson, Iowa, often paints en plein air by bodies of water and works with natural and inorganic materials to build complex three-dimensional structures that incorporate painting and drawing. In her latest installation, Passing By, the artist has turned her attention to the passenger pigeon, a species that numbered in the billions in North America prior to the 19th century and was officially recorded as extinct little more than a century ago, in 1914.

The plight of the passenger pigeon and the story surrounding its demise inspired Webster-Vore to begin a new series of artworks addressing the continuing threat of species extinction. In Passing By, the artist transforms delicate avian remnants into an immersive, contemplative space, mimicking the pigeons’ flight pattern in a series of powerful waves that culminate in a tragic end. The installation mixes direct representation with more subtle expressions of the meaning of extinction using tactile materials and laborious hand-building processes.

Joan Webster-Vore grew up in Rockford, Illinois. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.F.A. in Art, an M.A. in Textile Design from the Department of Home Economics, and an M.F.A. in Design from the School of Art and Art History. Her work has appeared in numerous competitive, invitational, and solo exhibitions both nationally and regionally.

It’s Magic Week at the Dubuque Museum of Art, September 15th-20th. Eight new magic apparatuses are on view in the Museum’s Hafeman Lobby that were designed and hand-built by local magician and craftsman, Craig Steven (Beytien). Capping off Museum Week will be a free magic performance by Craig on Saturday, September 19th at 1:00 p.m.

The Dubuque Museum of Art is proud to host the 3^rd annual exhibition of photographs by members of the Dubuque Camera Club. The theme for this year’s exhibition is A City for All Seasons, signifying the vibrancy and diversity of imagery that can be found in Dubuque all year long. With support from exhibition sponsor Family Beer & Liquor, we are excited to be able to support this local group that is dedicated to exploring and improving their skills as photographers. Artists and other creative individuals can find fellowship, inspiration, collaboration, and constructive competition when they take the time and make the effort to regularly participate in groups, clubs, workshops, or colonies dedicated to their craft. Those who work in creative fields often work in isolation out of necessity and preference but when they have the occasion to participate in a group, or collaborate with another artist, the exposure can bring new ideas, themes, and techniques to their work.

For a beginner, it’s not always easy to attempt a new medium. Oil painters, potters, sculptors, and printmakers, for example, all have equipment and materials that require substantial upfront investments and need ample studio space. In a group like the Dubuque Camera Club where any skill level is welcome and the medium of photography is widely accessible, the motivated beginner can get started quickly and find an invaluable source of knowledge and support.

About the Dubuque Camera Club

The Dubuque Camera Club has been in existence since the early 1940s with its start at the Dubuque YMCA. The current club has over 30 members and is part of the N4C which is an organization of 42 camera clubs in 11 North Central states. N4C organizes contests where images are submitted and judged by members from other clubs with winners receiving awards. Photo enthusiasts of all skill levels are encouraged to join and learn more about photography, become a qualifying member of N4C, and be eligible to participate in contests and activities. More information about the Dubuque Camera Club can be found online at dubuquecameraclub.com.

In 2013, Kurt Ullrich, a nationally syndicated photographer and writer from Jackson County, Iowa set out to chronicle the Iowa State Fair in words and photographs. The result was The Iowa State Fair, a book published by University of Iowa Press, and a traveling exhibition of 52 black and white photographs that celebrate Iowa’s largest and most famous annual event. The State Fair has been a time-honored Iowa tradition since 1854 and Ullrich’s photographs embrace the nostalgia of the fair’s prestigious past while also bringing it into the 21st century. Just in time for the 2015 fair season, the Dubuque Museum of Art is excited to be able to bring these images to Dubuque along with some fun, family-friendly, fair-related programs during the exhibition.

During the exhibition, enter the Iowa State Fair weekly trivia contest. Visit the exhibition to see the trivia question and submit your entry. One winner each week will receive a six month individual membership. All correct entries will go into the final drawing at the end of the exhibition for a one year family membership. Good luck!

Originally from Maryland, John Preston earned his B.F.A. in 1984 from the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. He fell in love with the dramatic weather and bucolic landscapes of the Midwest and remained in Fairfield after completing his degree. A full-time artist, Preston is also sought after as an instructor. He recently led a week-long pastel and oil workshop in Dubuque through Mississippi River Art Workshops that brought seventeen artists from the region together to paint en plein air in the endlessly inspiring natural and urban landscapes of our area.

Preston works in pastels, oils, and watercolors and places special emphasis on seeing and capturing the effects of light and weather in his landscapes and small town scenes. Preston has participated in many solo and group exhibitions and his work is included in corporate and museum collections including Equitable of Iowa, Chicago Federal Reserve, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, John Deere, Hubbell Realty, Iowa State Bank, Amoco Oil, Iowa State University, Farm Bureau Financial Services, and Hotel Pattee. He is represented at Olson-Larsen Gallery in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Words We Know the Songs To is a special exhibition of 8 paintings by Clear Lake, Iowa artist Jaclyn Garlock, including 9 recently completed paintings from her series Hang 10, recalling Moondoggie surfer lingo of the 50s and 60s, which depicts people in and about the historical Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. Garlock’s larger than life paintings are dedicated to the many performers who played and people who attended shows at the Surf, making it the icon that it is today.

The Surf is most famous for the last concert played by Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens in 1959 who died tragically in a plane crash following their performance. Beyond its infamous history, the Surf Ballroom and many other similar ballrooms across the Midwest were host to all the big name bands of the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Before bands played to stadium crowds they toured the rural Midwest playing ballroom venues. Today the Surf Ballroom continues to be a venue for touring musicians. It was restored in 1994 and now also includes a

museum. The Surf Ballroom has received state and national registry recognition and in 2009 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Landmark Series. Jaclyn Garlock was born in Storm Lake, Iowa in 1950. She received a B.A. in Art and Secondary Education in 1973 from Adams State University in Colorado. In 1975 she started a screenprinting business creating complex photorealistic serigraphs, all hand drawn and hand pulled. Jaclyn progressed into painting in 2000, building a body of figurative works and showing them regionally at art fairs and in galleries. In 2008, she was able to commit to painting full-time.

In September of 1928, Grant Wood took what would be his last trip to Europe. This period spent in Munich is often considered the defining moment in his career when his style evolved from a painterly, conventional impressionism to a distinctive brand of closely-drawn realism. It was not an overnight evolution, however, and it was nearly two years between the Munich experience and the first clear statement of the new style. This small survey pairs works from Wood’s Munich period with works done in his famous realistic style.

2015 DUMA Biennial brochure

The fifth DUMA Biennial features the finest works of art by some of the most talented artists in a 200 mile radius of Dubuque. Generously sponsored by Premier Bank and Marella fine gift shop, this home-grown exhibition highlights the quality and variety of artwork that is currently being produced by the artists of this area. Special thanks to this year’s juror Mrs. Jane Milosh, Director of the Smithsonian Provenance Research Initiative, Office of the Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture. Milosch is a past curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. The 2015 DUMA Biennial was the most competitive call for entries yet with 176 artists submitting 508 works of art. Of those, 48 artists and 59 works of art were selected by the juror for the exhibition.

The 2015 Biennial artists are:

Les Allen, Dixon, IL; Mat Barber Kennedy, Chicago, IL; John A. Beckelman, Cedar Rapids, IA; Bird Beth, Galena, IL; JoAnn Boehmer and April Katz, Ames, IA; Tiberiu Chelcea, Ames, IA; Patrick M. Doughman, Cedarburg, WI; Heidi N. Draley McFall, De Witt, IA; Sandra L. Dyas, Iowa City, IA; Velga A. Easker, Cedar Rapids, IA; Adam L. Eikamp, Dubuque, IA; Bruce Erdman, Greendale, WI; Paul Eshelman, Elizabeth, IL; Delores Fortuna, Galena, IL; Mary M. Griep, Northfield, MN; Nichole A. Gronvold Roller, Tremont, IL; David P. Herwaldt, Waverly, IA; Karlee Holets, Winona, MN; Bruce Howdle, Mineral Point, WI; Thomas C. Jackson, Cedar Rapids, IA; Louise Kames, Dubuque, IA; Andrea E. Keim, Cedar Rapids, IA; Lialia Kuchma, Chicago, IL; Joan M. Ladendorf, Hanover Park, IL; Aaron D. Laux, Madison, WI; Linda A. Lewis, W Des Moines, IA; Melissa A. Lovingood, Mason City, IA; Chris S. Maddox, Madison, WI; Fidencio Martinez Perez, Iowa City, IA; Jean Melick, Cedar Falls, IA; Diane D. Naylor, Fairfield, IA; Jack C. Nixon, Wilmette, IL; Tim D. Olson, Dubuque, IA; Radha Pandey, Iowa City, IA; Nancy L. Purington, Iowa City, IA; Randy Richmond, Muscatine, IA; Robert H. Rivoire, Galena, IL; Brian M. Roberts, Pella, IA; Jennifer L. Rogers, Cedar Rapids, IA; Steph J. Rue, Iowa City, IA; Steve Sinner and Joe Meirhaeghe, Bettendorf, IA; Vlasta V. Smola, Chicago, IL; Johnathan C. Stepp, Dubuque, IA; William J. Weber, Crystal Lake, IL; Marcia Wegman, Iowa City, IA; and Margaret Whiting, Waterloo, IA.

AWARD WINNERS

1st – Heidi Draley McFall for Grandma  

2nd – John Beckelman for Shards 3 

3rd – Adam Eikamp for Luca 

Honorable Mention – Jennifer Rogers for Anxiety Cloud 

Purchase awards – Sandra Dyas for Sean Thomas Boyt, Near Iowa City, Iowa ;

Patrick Doughman for Wood and Hopper Debate Tooker ;

and Marcia Wegman for Route X40 

Salon-style is a method of hanging artwork that covers the walls from floor to ceiling as was done in the exhibitions or salons of the French Academy beginning in the 17^th century. The Academy was founded in 1648 by court artists trying to distinguish themselves from guild craftsmen and artisans who sold their skills and wares to those who could afford them, mainly the nobility and the church. Exhibitions, which too closely resembled artisans displaying their works for sale, were resisted for almost two decades by Academy artists – and with the patronage and protection of the aristocracy and the state there was no need to be concerned with the market. The first annual Salon exhibition did not take place until 1667 and included only Academy artists each year thereafter until 1791, following the Revolution, when the first open Salon was held. Artwork was hung salon-style, the traditional way of displaying art in palaces and public venues. As the economic power of a larger portion of the population grew over time, artists too became more involved in the market through art dealers, moving away from the Salon model. Dealers displayed artwork in domestic-like settings resembling that of the homes of their clients. By the late 19^th century, Salons faded as the more commercial Universal Expositions and World’s Fairs became the dominant international force in the art world. With the rise of Modern art, new modes of exhibition were devised to present the radical new forms of art. In the 1920s in Germany the first white-box style of installation evolved, where all works were hung at eye level with plenty of space between them, which literally and metaphorically isolated the artwork from the world around it. Alfred Barr of the Museum of Modern Art in New York saw this new installation style in Germany and used it with ground-breaking success and lasting effect in exhibitions at MOMA in the 1930s. This style of installing has long outlived the artwork of the Modern Art movement that it was designed to highlight and is the standard way galleries and museums display artwork today.

Beauty is the focus in the Kris Mozena McNamer Gallery at the Dubuque Museum of Art through May 31, 2015. Experience 15 images captured by Galena, Illinois photographer Robert Rivoire exquisitely presented in this solo exhibition.

A photographer must always be ready. Waiting for that one moment when a shadow falls just right or the light changes for a second and illuminates the subject exactly as they wanted, or the subject moves to that exact point where the scene goes from just another image to a beautiful composition. These are the moments that Robert Rivoire waits minutes, hours, and days to find. It requires patience and experience to develop the ability to observe your surroundings and know where you need to be and what you need to do to capture that moment, when and if it arrives. There is an element of chance or luck. Anyone can take a snapshot and perhaps get a lucky shot but Rivoire consistently finds those moments of beauty that the rest of us miss. He knows how to look for them and through a never-ending process of trial and error he has learned to capture those moments beautifully.

Robert Rivoire, was born and raised in Connecticut. He studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He worked in business and management for most of his career but always pursued his photographic practice. After retiring and moving to Galena with his wife in 2007, he was able to take up photography again full time.