March Events @ Utah Museum of Fine Arts (SLC)


Media contact:
Shelbey Peterson, 801-585-1306
Shelbey.Peterson@umfa.utah.edu


Utah Museum of Fine Arts
March 2011


SPECIAL EXHIBITION:

The Smithson Effect
March 10–July 3, 2011
Experience The Smithson Effect, the most ambitious contemporary art exhibition ever organized by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Through sculpture, video, photography, installation, and sound art, this exhibition will introduce visitors to twenty-three of the world’s leading contemporary artists whose work is influenced by the legacy of artist Robert Smithson (1938-1973). Best known for his pioneering earthworks–the most famous is Spiral Jetty in Utah’s Great Salt Lake–Smithson’s significance extends beyond his remarkable interventions into the landscape. The Smithson Effect brings together work by an array of international artists whose practices have been critically shaped by Smithson’s art and ideas.


SPECIAL FREE EVENTS:

Highlights of the Collection Tour
First Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm and all Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 pm
Explore the UMFA galleries through a thirty-minute tour with a trained docent. No pre-registration necessary; free with paid admission.

Lecture: “Women’s Voices in Visual Art” by Cheryl Hughes
Wednesday, March 2 from 7-8 pm
In collaboration with the Women’s Voices Festival hosted by the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera, the UMFA will host a public lecture by art historian Cheryl Hughes. Beginning in March the UMFA will have a self-guide and audio podcast available at the front desk that highlights works by women artists. For more information please visit www.usuo.org/festival.

Artful Afternoons for Families: Art and Science Series
Saturdays, March 5, 12, 19, and 26 from 1-4 pm
Families are invited to enjoy a month of art and science at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Learn about air, fire, water, and earth through a series of free family art-making festivals on Saturday afternoons during the month of March. This program is sponsored by Wells Fargo and the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks fund. For more information, please visit umfa.utah.edu/art&science.

Saturday, March 5 from 1-4 pm: Air
The sky is the limit as the UMFA teams up with the Clark Planetarium and local meteorologist Ralph Patterson to explore air through art and science. Families will design a kite, learn about weather, and count their lucky stars.

Saturday, March 12 from 1-4 pm: Fire
Families will spark their creativity as the UMFA, The Leonardo, and the Salt Lake City Fire Department explore fire through art and science. On this Saturday, attendees will embark on a fiery treasure hunt, make their very own charcoal drawing, and meet their local firefighters.

Saturday, March 19 from 1-4 pm: Water
The UMFA will make a splash teaming up with the Great Salt Lake Institute and University of Utah Civil and Engineering Department to explore water through art and science. Families will make artistic waterwheels, paint watercolor cloudscapes, and investigate water through an aquatic treasure hunt.

Saturday, March 26 from 1-4 pm: Earth
Families will have a groundbreaking, earth-shaking good time learning about earth through art and science with the UMFA, the Utah Museum of Natural History, and the Utah Geological Survey. Kids and parents will create their own clay sculptures, journey through the museum on an earthly treasure hunt, and transform themselves into artistic dinosaur families!

Gallery Talk: “Renaissance Cabinets of Curiosity”
Sunday, March 6 at 2 pm
Gain insight into the Collecting Knowledge: Renaissance Cabinets of Curiosity exhibition as a student curator highlights specific objects and their stories. No registration necessary; free with paid admission.

Evening for Educators: Color
Wednesday, March 9 from 5:30-8:30 pm
Learn how to explore color with your students in this free workshop for teachers in all disciplines and grade levels. Teaching packets are offered for a donation of five dollars and state in-service credit is available. No registration necessary. Evening for Educators is funded in part by the StateWide Art Partnership. For more information call 801-585-7163 or email umfaeducation@umfa.utah.edu.


ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

Collecting Knowledge: Renaissance Cabinets of Curiosity
On view through May 15, 2011
Collecting Knowledge: Renaissance Cabinets of Curiosity explores items that were typically found in cabinets of curiosity in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe, including prints, books, scientific instruments, and objects obtained through travel. Organized by four graduate students from the University of Utah Department of Art and Art History, this exhibition examines the people who created cabinets of curiosity, their strategies for classifying and grouping items, and how they used this knowledge to make sense of their world.

Helen Levitt Photographs
On view through June 12, 2011
One of the great photographers of the twentieth century, Helen Levitt took the activity of city streets as her primary subject, paying special attention to the children for whom the street served as a playground. This presentation of photographs drawn from the UMFA's collection includes representative works from the late 1930s and early 1940s–when Levitt emerged as a key member of the New York School photographers–as well as later photographs from her long and accomplished career. Together these works highlight Levitt's astonishing capacity for capturing lyrical and mysterious moments in the everyday life of the city.

Don Olsen: Abstracts from Nature
On view through August 15, 2011
This special exhibition commemorates the 100th birthday of abstract Utah artist Don Olsen (1910-1983). A student of Hans Hoffmann, Olsen created abstract expressionist works using volumes, colors, and shapes derived from nature. Through large-scale paintings spanning more than forty years, Don Olsen: Abstracts from Nature will highlight prominent works from the artist’s oeuvre.


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Utah Museum of Fine Arts
University of Utah Campus
Marcia & John Price Museum Building
410 Campus Center Dr
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
(801) 581-7332

Museum Hours
Tuesday–Friday: 10 am–5 pm
Wednesday: 10 am–8 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 11 am–5 pm
Closed Mondays and holidays
Visit our website: umfa.utah.edu

General Admission
UMFA Members FREE
Adults $7
Youth (ages 6-18) $5
Seniors & Students $5
Children under 6 FREE
U students, staff & faculty FREE
Higher education students in Utah FREE