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from the issue of February 1, 2007
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First-time gallery event draws 140 students
BY TOM WHITE, SHELDON MEMORIAL ART GALLERY
Author John Updike says, "Art museums are endlessly entertaining, but they are more than entertaining. They're a kind of a superior version of reality."
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| | | COLLEGE NIGHT - Docent Kestrel Lemen (right), a senior art major from Lincoln, engages students with the question, "For something to be art, does it have to be made?" The students were among 140 who attended the first College Night Jan. 22 at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery. The next College Night is 5 to 8 p.m., Feb. 13.
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Hundreds of students are discovering that superior reality in a series of College Nights at Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery this semester.
This is the first time Sheldon has offered nights tailored to students with guided tours, information and refreshments. The evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. are open to all universities and colleges in the region.
With temperatures in the teens, about 140 students came to Sheldon Jan. 22 for the first College Night. Some like Seth Freudenburg, a senior economics and political science major, were museum regulars.
"I came to see ParkeHarrison (The Architect's Brother). It's great social commentary without being too political. I really like it. I see all the shows. It's a great place and it's free."
Others, such as Michelle Higgins, a freshman from Fremont studying in fashion design and merchandising, were newcomers.
"I'm at the beginning learning about what is art. Some things I see don't seem like art, but I have an open mind and want to learn."
College Nights accommodate students of all levels, individually or in groups.
"We will arrange guided class or group tours led by student docents for any group that calls two weeks in advance," said Karen Janovy, Sheldon's education curator. "Student docents are popular with other students because they are their peers."
Senior Kestrel Lemen, an art major and docent, led a small group of UNL students through "Expressing Identity, American Prints Since 1980." Examining the varied artworks, she pointed out that prints are not exclusively works on paper, but might be printmaking techniques applied to many mediums. Later, she posed "one of art's big questions" to the group, "For something to be art, does it have to be made?" One by one, Kestrel asked the students to respond.
One responded, "Made or assembled. A person has to do something."
A second said, "I think art just has to express an artist's concept, but doesn't have to be made."
A third offered, "I think artwork has to communicate to be art." And, on they went, each adding a new wrinkle to the discussion.
Engaging such questions and exploring current special exhibitions were at the heart of the evening for some. A few minutes later in the same gallery dozens of Delta Gamma sorority members puzzled over a print of a door to which a woman's shoe is mounted. "It's about an oppressed woman kicking down the door . . . the barriers to women," one volunteered and her sisters' heads nodded.
Audree Heine, a junior actuarial science major, organized the Sheldon outing for more than 90 of the sorority's members.
"This was a great idea for us," Heine said. "We tie a Monday house meeting to a cultural event every month. Having the student-led tours makes the museum more accessible."
Part of the attraction, Heine said, was social.
"This is a fun place to go together," she said.
Sheldon will also host Spring College Nights on Feb. 13, March 17 and April 5. The events are open to faculty, staff and students.
For more information, go online to www.sheldon.unl.edu or call 472-4524.
College Nights
Sheldon will host three other Spring College Night events. Dates and exhibitions are:
Feb. 13, 5 to 8 p.m.
American Art, 19th Century to Present; The Architect's Brother; and Comic Art
March 17, 5 to 8 p.m.
American Art, 19th Century to Present; The Architect's Brother; Comic Art; and Chris Ware
April 5, 5 to 8 p.m.
Comic Art; and Chris Ware
All events are free and open to faculty, staff or students. For more information, go online to www.sheldon.unl.edu.
GO TO: ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 1
NEWS HEADLINES FOR FEBRUARY 1
First-time gallery event draws 140 students
Economist to tender Feb. 8 Thompson talk
Gallagher chronicles state's No Child Left Behind effort
Graduate chambers unique niche in state crime lab
Research eyes climate shifts, instability at end of last Ice Age
Robotic outreach
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