Filmmaker Jason Burlage @ Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Jason Burlage, a Bozeman local and MSU graduate, will screen his documentary film, Mi Chacra (My Land) at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival on February 19th at 5:30pm at the historic Wilma Theatre in downtown Missoula.  Burlage’s film is among 46 feature documentaries that will show at the festival between February 12th and 21st.

With the Peruvian Andes as a backdrop, Mi Chacra tells the story of Feliciano, an indigenous Peruvian farmer who works as a porter on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in hopes of some day taking his son to live in the city. Framed by the seasons, the film chronicles one year in Feliciano’s life, from the planting season in his community to the harvest, and through a season of work on the Inca Trail. It paints a vivid picture of this man’s world, of the conflict between his love of the land and the desire to see his son living what he sees as a better life in the city.

Burlage originally went to Peru as staff and then director for a program that conducted community service projects in small villages in the Sacred Valley.  It was during one trip that a Peruvian friend told him about the situation of the porters on the Inca Trail and the disappearing culture of the indigenous people. Many porters are subsistence farmers who leave their communities to work on the trail and have difficulty adapting to the outside world. Burlage was struck by this story and knew there was a film to be made.  He spent a total of five months filming Feliciano and his family.

Burlage plans to host a screening of his film in Bozeman sometime this Spring.  For more information, contact Jason Burlage at jason@michacrafilm.com or go to www.michacrafilm.com.

Until Now: Sarah Angst @ Sola

Local artist Sarah Angst displays the bulk of her portfolio as a printmaker at Sola Cafe February 2 – March 31, 2010. Please join us for an opening reception February 5th from 4:30-6:00pm.

Sarah and Sola Café are donating 20% of any sales of her original work to The Emerson Center for Arts & Culture.

The Stones Have Memories: an photographic exploration of Berlin’s Cold War Landmarks by Kelly Gorham

ASMSU Campus Entertainment presents The Stones Have Memories, a collection of photographs by Kelly Gorham. The exhibit will be showing in the Exit Gallery February 1 – 12. There will be a free public artist reception Thursday, February 4th, 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

After the devastation of World War II, Berlin became a city on the frontline of a struggle between two great superpowers. This tale of political unrest, dominance and oppression played out over the next four decades between the powers of East and West in the city of Berlin. In 2008, following nearly two years of research, Kelly Gorham set out to explore the neighborhoods of former East Berlin to create images for “The Stones Have Memories”. With guidance from historians at home and in Berlin, and from friends who lived on both sides of the Wall, Gorham traced back history and photographed a dramatic story.

In a professional career that spans nearly twenty years, Kelly Gorham has worked for clients such as AAA, Bentley Motors, Holiday Inn and Harley Davidson, and his images have been featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Forbes Life, Skiing Magazine, Robb Report and GEO. Gorham has earned many honors, and his work has been exhibited at several galleries. “The Stones Have Memories” began its tour November 9, 2009 at the 7444 Gallery in Saranac Lake, NY.

The Exit Gallery is located in Strand Union Building room 212, Montana State University, Bozeman. Hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. For more information contact ASMSU Arts and Exhibits at 406.994.1828 or asmsuexhibits@montana.edu.

Bozeman High School Art Club hosts Volkersz exhibit

Artist Willem Volkersz will exhibit his traveling exhibition In Memorium at the Bozeman High School art gallery. Volkerz with present a talk at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 28.

This show commemorates elementary classmates lost to the Holocaust during his childhood in Holland. It was created to travel from gallery to gallery, each installation unique because of input from the students or gallery directors who assist and according to the gallery space. The exhibit opened in the Montana State University’s Exit Gallery and after the BHS show, will travel to University of Montana in Missoula in the spring.

In the installation, each suitcase represents a student who was lost. As the show travels it creates a poignant reminder of history and the terrible uncertainty the students felt as they were removed and relocated to concentration camps. See a previous announcement for more information.

Off Campus: MSU students in Livingston

The Livingston Center for Art and Culture has opened an exhibit of art by Montana State University students. The exhibit, Off Campus, will display works of sculpture, printmaking and metalsmithing by the Bozeman students. A reception for the exhibit will be held 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29.

Professor Nelleke Beltjens’ sculpture students arranged their pieces in their gallery, including an installation in the front window. The students constructed their works from metal, wood, cloth and even plastic cutlery. Printmaking students from Gesine Janzen’s classes contributed large, colorful screen prints, as well as smaller prints on wood. Bryan Petersen’s metalsmithing students use a combination of recycled metal and purchased materials to create rings, pendants and small sculptural pieces.

The exhibit will be displayed through Feb. 6. The Livingston Center for Art and Culture is located at 119 S. Main St.

“Peculiar Portraits” @ The Emerson

The exhibit Peculiar Portraits of sculpture, ceramics, prints, paintings & drawings will be on display at the Jessie Wilber Gallery through March 5. These unusual portraits are both comical and contemplative. The gallery will be open for Art Walk, February 12, 5-8 pm, and a closing reception will be held March 4, 6-8 pm, with a gallery talk at 6 pm.

Lifesized sculptural portraits by Bozeman artist Mimi Babe Harris; ceramic heads by Bray resident artist Kelly Garrett Rathbone; prints, paintings & drawings by Bozeman artist Robert Royhl, and drawings and prints by Missoula artist Patricia Thornton.

“Life Forms” Paintings by Adele Pittendrigh

Paintings by Adele Pittendrigh are on display in the Emerson lobby through March 8. The gallery will be open for Art Walk, February 12, 5-8 pm, and a closing reception will be held March 4, 5:30 – 8 pm, with a gallery talk at 5:30.

Pittendrigh’s work was inspired by images from the electron microscope that reveal an invisible world in graphic detail. These ultra close-ups reveal unexpected lines, shapes and edges. Most of the paintings are based on images of plant cells, which sometimes echo landscape forms viewed from the sky. The paintings are not meant to be scientifically accurate, but instead are variations on a theme and evolve during the process of painting. Texture and collage contribute to a sense of construction as the paintings develop over time.

Pittendrigh studied painting at the High School of Music and Art in New York, the University of Chicago, and Montana State University. Although her training is in the humanities, she has a life-long interest in science and enjoys the cross-disciplinary atmosphere in the College of Letters and Science at Montana State University, where she has worked for over 30 years.

Love the little things @ Artists’ Gallery

The Artists’ Gallery displays affordable miniatures just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The Artists’ Gallery invites you to see their new wall of 8×10 works inspired by LOVE. Featuring everything from painting to jewelry these local artists have had fun creating a unique collaborative to share. Each individual piece is for sale and affordably priced to make an excellent gift. Show you’re sweetie how much you care this Valentine’s Day with an original work of art made right here in Bozeman. The Artists’ Gallery will also have an assortment of unique Valentine’s Day cards for sale.

This show will be on display February 1st- 22nd, 2010.

Give your Heart some Art, and join us for a reception during February’s Art Walk, Friday, February 12th, 5:00 pm – 8:00pm at the Artists’ Gallery in the Emerson. 111 S. Grand Ave.

Sound is Transportation: A Collection by hj mooij

ASMSU Arts and Exhibits presents: Sound is Transportation, a collection of prints by hj mooij, an alumnus of MSU. The exhibit will be showing in the Exit Gallery January 19th through January 29th, 2010. There will be a free public artist reception at the Exit Gallery on Thursday, January 21st from 5 to 7 pm.

Hj mooij has been a printmaker for ten years and has practiced a wide variety of printmaking techniques from experimental food to traditional lithography.  Nothing has fascinated him more than the process of printing a lithograph, thus he has taken a strong liking to that medium. During the summer of 2009 hj mooij was asked to be a resident artist at the Kala Institute, in Berkeley California.  Kala is a large, well-equipped printmaking studio that now occupies the former Heinz 57 building.  It doesn’t smell like Ketchup.  The work on display is a selection of prints made at Kala, combined with various other prints that have rarely seen viewers.

The Exit Gallery is located in Strand Union Building room 212, Montana State University, Bozeman. Hours are Monday-Friday, 9 am – 5 pm.

Hatch Show Print posters @ Copeland Gallery

The Helen E. Copeland Gallery is excited to announce a month-long exhibition of letterpress posters from the legendary Hatch Show Print. Truly an American treasure, the print shop is located literally around the corner from the original Grand Ole Opry building in Nashville, Tennessee. This working letterpress and design shop has been in operation since 1879 producing promotional posters for recording artists and advertisers alike.

On display are 40 color prints including those for concerts by music legends such as Johnny Cash, Dolly Patron, Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, as well as more contemporary artists like Frank Black. The exhibition also displays several samples of classic advertising posters created for county fairs and 50’s travel trailers, which incorporate large woodblock printing techniques.

Sponsored by the Graphic Design program in the MSU School of Art, the exhibition will run from January 11 to February 12, 2010. There will be an evening reception open to the public on Thursday, January 21st from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

The Helen E. Copeland Gallery is located on the second floor of Haynes Hall at Montana State University. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. For more information please call 406 994-4501.