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Collection Connection
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which assured the right to vote could not be denied or abridged based on gender, MONA’s 2020 Collection Connection presentations will focus primarily on the work of women artists, past and present. These presentations by regional experts are free and open to the public.
Nebraska was the 14th state to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1919. By August of 1920, 36 states ratified the amendment, ensuring that across the country, the right to vote could not be denied or abridged based on sex.
Molly Anderson: On-Edge Felt Revival
Wednesday: January 22 • 2:00 p.m.
Four years ago fiber artist Molly Anderson, primarily known for her hand quilted textiles, was ready for an invigorating challenge in a new direction. The iconic on-edge felt mosaics in MONA’s permanent collection by Jean Louise Berg Thiessen (1876-1960) were a source of admiration and fascination for Anderson, ultimately becoming the inspirational catalyst to her need for change. Anderson will discuss the on-edge felt mosaic technique, and how she has adapted it to her style of making and creating wool mosaics. She will also include a demonstration of her technique, show samples of wool, and works in progress.
Molly Anderson has a degree in Art Education from Bethany College, Lindsborg Kansas. She was introduced to quiltmaking in 1988 by her mother and grandmother. Anderson’s work is exhibited and collected nationally. MONA has two “quilts” in the permanent collection.
Presented in conjunction with Threaded, October 1, 2019 – February 9, 2020.
Jennifer Homan: Nebraska’s Boundless Skies
Wednesday, February 26 • 2:00 p.m.
Jennifer Homan’s pure pastel pigments eulogize the spectacular power, scale and moods of Nebraska’s boundless skies, and the land that’s moored beneath them. The emotional force inspiring Homan’s work is the beauty of the Nebraska landscape combined with the precipitating consequences of humankind’s presence. Her paintings are factual documentary records of interrupted horizons, or suffused spots of electric light, diminished by vast open spaces and the sweeping intensity of palpable pigmented skies.
Jennifer Homan has a BA in painting from Colorado State University and is a member of the Pastel Society of America. Homan’s work is exhibited and collected nationally. MONA has one painting in the permanent collection.
Susan Hart: Building a History
Wednesday, March 25 • 2:00 p.m.
Susan Hart’s richly textured paintings and collages read like visual rhythms, windows into ephemeral places, multiple layers hold reverberating chords, hidden echoes from past to the present. Using color, hand-painted papers, drawing, and painting tools, Hart extracts, contracts, and expands her thoughts, building connections, and making marks using her personal creative process. Process is the key, elusive hints, references, and fragmented images are presented in a dreamy format, deliberately Delphic, yet universally accessible.
Susan Hart received a BA in Art Education from Kearney State College and taught elementary art for 17 years in the Dawson County rural schools. Hart’s work is exhibited and collected nationally. MONA has one collage in the permanent collection.
Carolyn Ducey, PhD: Reach into Your Mind: African American Quiltmakers of the International Quilt Museum
Wednesday: April 22 • 2:00 p.m.
The International Quilt Museum (IQM) collection includes a stellar group of quilts made by artists such as Faith Ringgold, Nora Ezell, Yvonne Wells, and Michael Cummings. These artists express personal histories as well as larger social concerns, incorporating unusual materials, quilting designs and compositions, each with a unique message.
Carolyn Ducey, PhD, IQM Curator of Collections, will discuss work by these African American artists, illustrating the wide range of African American quiltmaking traditions, including the southern approach of the IQM’s Robert Cargo Collection. Ducey is Curator of Collections at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a position she has held since 1998. She oversees the ongoing care and management of the IQSCM collection of more than 6500 quilts. Ducey earned an MA in American Art History from Indiana University in 1998, and her PhD in Textiles, Clothing & Design, with an emphasis in Quilt Studies, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010.
Presented in conjunction with Nebraska Now: Celeste Butler, Fiber, April 4 – July 5, 2020
Just Can’t Make it to a Collection Connection?
Watch recordings of past MONA Programs at iTunes.
MONA’s Not Just A Book Club
Avid readers whose interests lie in authors from Nebraska or reading about Nebraska or art are welcome, and may join at any time.
1st Tuesdays: January 7- May 5, 2020
Time: 10:30-11:30 a.m.
MONA: Gary E. Zaruba Library & Research Center
January 7: Landline: A Novel by Rainbow Rowell
February 4: Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America’s Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe by Rebecca Erbelding
March 3: Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream by Carson Vaughan
April 7: The Echo Maker: A Novel by Richard Powers
May 5: Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
MONA Showcase
MONA Showcase is a six-program evening series featuring talented visual, performing, and literary artists held once a month in October, November, December, February, and March. Each program is 7:00-8:00 p.m., followed by conversation, art viewing, and light refreshments. Free and open to the public.
Thursday, February 20 – 7-8:00 p.m.
Thornton String Quartet
Thursday, March 12 – 7-8:00 p.m.
The Art of Dance
Program Podcasts
Watch recordings of past MONA Programs at iTunes.
Video Profiles of Nebraska Artists
Across the 500 miles of Nebraska, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of accomplished artists living and working. Here. Now.
Each of their stories is unique. Our goal is to help tell those stories within the context of the new Nebraska Fine Arts Educational Standards.
For further information, call (308) 865-8559.
Museum of Nebraska Art
2401 Central Ave.
Kearney, NE 68847
(308) 865-8559
