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130/150: Glenda Taylor, Fossil Vase, wood-fire porcelain, 2003. Taylor is the current chair of the art department at Washburn University. This slab-built vessel has leaves and other items impressed into the clay. Friends of the Library Purchase Award, Topeka Competition 26 2004.8
128/150: Bradbury Thompson, Rock/Roll, 1958/1992, litho and silkscreen, Friends of the Library purchase. 93.6 After graduating from Topeka High School in 1929, Thompson became a well-known graphic artist. He designed a variety of postal stamps including the Christmas series, the Love series and the United States’ Bicentennial stamps. He was a Washburn University graduate, and the alumni hall is named for him.
Albert Bloch
Lawrence KS
Autumn Night (1934)
Oil on canvas
Gift of Bernard O. Stone and Becky Richmond
2005.37.24
I picked this because I like surprises. When I started writing about this piece, I did so without knowledge of the title. My original description began, “I love winter. Winter demands attention and punishes unpreparedness. I can’t survive it without protection. Winter makes me grateful for small things: gloves, coffee, chapstick.”
When I discovered Bloch actually named it Autumn Night, I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about what draws me to art in the first place. Learning as much as possible about a work of visual art certainly enhances the viewing experience and gives us a broader set of tools with which to craft a response. But when all is said and done, when all the art historical stuff is set aside or the exchange of money is over, what really matters is that a work speaks to you. And I still like this painting because it reminds me of winter.
–Heather Kearns
Smithsonian Institution NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY at 8th and F Street, NW, Washington DC on Sunday afternoon, 9 February 2014 by Elvert Barnes Photography
THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE Permanent Exhibition
Paul Peck Gallery
Visit NPG / THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE website at www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/struggle/index.html
Elvert Barnes FEBRUARY 2014 BLACK HISTORY MONTH Project
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Albert Bloch
Lawrence KS
Autumn Night (1934)
Oil on canvas
Gift of Bernard O. Stone and Becky Richmond
2005.37.24
I picked this because I like surprises. When I started writing about this piece, I did so without knowledge of the title. My original description began, “I love winter. Winter demands attention and punishes unpreparedness. I can’t survive it without protection. Winter makes me grateful for small things: gloves, coffee, chapstick.”
When I discovered Bloch actually named it Autumn Night, I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about what draws me to art in the first place. Learning as much as possible about a work of visual art certainly enhances the viewing experience and gives us a broader set of tools with which to craft a response. But when all is said and done, when all the art historical stuff is set aside or the exchange of money is over, what really matters is that a work speaks to you. And I still like this painting because it reminds me of winter.
–Heather Kearns
Maasai Elder's sandals, Kenya
Leather; 20th c.
Gift of Gary K. Clarke
Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library Permanent Collection, 2008.14.7ab
Bao game players. Ghana, Asante. Brass or copper goldweight. Gift of Dr. Cotter and Jeanne Hirschberg.
*Actual Bao game in background
Jerald Jacquard, Reverse Perspective
Facing west (Garfield Street). Permanent outdoor sculpture and part of the Library's permanent collection (2004.16).
Glenda Taylor
Topeka KS
Untitled (1988)
Ceramic
Gift of George and Lois Monto
2004.14.1
I like the unique form of this piece. It has characteristics that resemble the human body and the tan color also reflects that image. It has a modern appearance—21st century. It calls forth imagination and study.
–Joan Glotzbach, Gallery volunteer
The form and movement of this vase evokes the human form. I feel as though I am looking at the graceful curve of a woman’s back as she slowly twists. The use of glaze and the color of the clay make this form appear soft and smooth.
–Zan Popp
25/150: The Boys’ Chronicle, 1903, Published by Boys’ Industrial School (BIS) which later became the Youth Center at Topeka (YCAT), which is still in operation today in north Topeka as a juvenile detention facility. The BIS taught boys trades, including printing.
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Edward Eberle
Pittsburgh PA
The Bow is Strong (1991)
Porcelain
2006.46
When I look at this piece I feel as though I am looking at a modern interpretation of a classical Greek vase. I like the continuous scene that is played out on the body of the vase. I am intrigued by the energy and movement the artist portrayed and feel myself drawn into the image.
–Zan Popp
I like anachronism. At first look, this vessel might be mistaken for a relic from a past civilization—possibly an ancient Athenian belly amphora (a container used to hold wine or oil) discovered on an archeological dig in Greece. It’s 2500 years younger, however, and was created just a few years ago by a contemporary ceramist working in Millvale, PA (a suburb of Pittsburg). It seems out of sequence from the art-historical narrative, which I like because I don’t expect it to be from the 20th century.
–Heather Kearns