Summer 2007

Executive Director’s Report

You never know how and when you touch another person’s life.

Kevin Brewner, an English teacher at Fremd High School, brought students to the gallery to read their poetry more than 10 years ago. One of the students was Stephanie Walkenshaw. She’s now a poet and editor of a literary magazine, and recently sent a letter talking about how NWCC’s workshops helped to launch her career.

Stories like Stephanie’s are most gratifying for us and stand as evidence that our mission is important and valuable. Here’s her letter.

May 2, 2007

Dear Kathy,

It has been a long time and you may not remember me, but I used to read at the NWCCsponsored high school poetry events (about 14 years ago!)...

I had the honor of participating in the events you hosted where U.S. Poet Laureates William Stafford and Mona Van Duyn read, and those experiences certainly shaped me and guided me into my current pursuits. As a young writer, having the opportunity to interact with established writers is the kind of motivating experience that empowers a person to pursue her ambitions – to see that it can, in fact, be done.

Now, I am pleased to say, I am a co-editor of a new literary magazine that is something very special. Two dear friends/colleagues from the University of Montana’s MFA program and I have developed Greatcoat, a journal of poetry and nonfiction. Our first issue is hot off the presses, and showcases some extraordinary work by emerging and established writers from across the country, as well as Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines. We have received some wonderful initial feedback and are proud to have a number of local bookstores (in Denver, Iowa, Bellingham and San Francisco, so far) carrying the magazine.

I remain ever thankful for the opportunity that I had through your organization and I wish you continued success.

Warmest wishes,

Stephanie Walkenshaw
William Fremd High School Class of 1996

Greatcoat may be ordered at the website:  WWW.greatcoat.net where single issues and subscriptions can be purchased online for $15 and $8, respectively. If you wish you may send payment in check form to:

Greatcoat Subscriptions, 3228 Peabody Street, Bellingham, WA 98225

Potpourri

Allied Arts at the Gallery, October 24, 2006

For a number of years the Council has been hosting several of the monthly meetings of Allied Arts of Arlington Heights. This is an established organization of forty women interested in the arts. At some of the meetings the Council’s “Kids Meet Art”™ artists have adapted their presentations for adult enlightenment and enjoyment.

Last October bikers and sisters Evie Weber and Norma Witherbee recounted their adventures traveling Lewis and Clark’s route across the country by bike for the Allied Arts at the NWCC gallery.

Why the Arts Thrive @ Your Library

By Sarah Long, North Suburban Library System

I am delighted to have been asked to write an article for the Northwest Cultural Council newsletter. As an area resident, I am a beneficiary of the efforts of the NWCC. On the professional side, I greatly appreciate the long standing relationship and support the NWCC has cultivated with public libraries throughout the North Suburban Library System.

Here are eight reasons why art and libraries are a natural pairing.

For starters, most public libraries have a word such as “culture” in their mission statements to publicly declare the library’s intention to be a force for culture in the community.

Secondly, libraries have books, films, audio books and a whole range of other materials on every aspect of art from art history to art technique. Every form of art is represented in the library from literature to music, dance and drama. There’s also storytelling, architecture, landscape architecture, fine art, folk art, sculpture and I bet there are even books on chainsaw sculpture.

In the third place, many library buildings themselves are architecturally interesting both inside and outside. I’m thinking of the Vernon Area Public Library, Barrington Area Library and the Ela Area Public Library just to name a few.

In the fourth place, many libraries have made a point of collecting beautiful art for display both inside and outside of the library. Only recently the Mt. Prospect Public Library dedicated a beautiful statue, “Peace,” that graces the corner of Emerson Street and Central Road in Mt. Prospect. At the Schaumburg Township District Library, there is an incredible Dale Chihuly glass piece created for the space over the fireplace in the Fiction Room.

My fifth reason for putting libraries and art together is that most libraries have arts-related programs. For example, many libraries present speakers from the Lyric Opera on upcoming performances. A number of libraries hold poetry readings and teen poetry slams. The list goes on and on to include programs about art history, photography, as well as music and dance performances.  Check your library's Web site for upcoming arts related events.

In the sixth place, libraries and art organizations often work together for various programs and projects.  One big partnership in this regard is between the Ravinia Festival and the North Suburban Library System.  We receive free lawn tickets to most of the classical and jazz concerts and divvy them out to all 49 of our member public libraries.  In turn, library staff devise ways to distribute the tickets, which are always highly sought after.

In the seventh place, many libraries have begun to hold regular exhibits.  For example, in April at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, there was a small traveling exhibit, “Art and Architecture in Illinois Libraries” noting beautiful library buildings, exquisite building details and special art works found in many libraries. It’s a very nice exhibit and the library augmented it with a full color give-away booklet of all the art the library owns. It would make an exciting family game to search the library and locate each of the 13 art items depicted. They represent murals, sculpture and fine art and are a mixture of styles, too.

Finally, art and libraries go together because libraries use art to create a space that is both inviting and restful, but also exciting and provocative. This can be accomplished in all of the ways cited above but the overall goal is to make the library a center for culture and quality of life within the community.  Increasingly library officials aspire to not only be at the geographical heart of the community but also to serve as the heart or nerve center of the community. To do that, libraries must be destinations. We have some of the finest public libraries in the nation in this area. Make it your summer project to visit some that you haven’t seen before. Check out the art while you are there. You’ll be impressed and amazed.

You can hear more about the relationship between libraries and art in my interview with Lynn Stainbrook, executive librarian of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, at www.sarahlong.org/podcast.

Sarah Long is the Director of the North Suburban Library System (NSLS), an organization of 650 academic, public, school and special libraries in the north/northwest suburbs of Chicago. Prior to this position, she has held leadership posts at libraries in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. She was a consultant at the state Library of Ohio and was an academic librarian in England. Her career began as a school librarian. Sarah has held a number of leadership positions within the American Library Association including that of President, 1999-2000. She also is a Past President of the Public Library Association.

Guided by her extensive understanding of the importance of keeping the public informed about the value of libraries, NSLS has won the coveted and prestigious international John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award four times, most recently in 2005. Also in 2005, the National Association for Business Resources named NSLS as one of Chicago’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to work for.

Sarah pioneered Internet access in NSLS libraries 1993, part of a continued effort to establish the system as a learning organization and to model this structure for member libraries. Other community activities include: writing a weekly column on libraries for the Daily Herald, the third largest newspaper in Illinois; hosting What’s New in Libraries?, an award-winning monthly cable show that began airing in 1999 and is now broadcast in over 70 suburban Chicago communities; and hosting Longshots, a podcast that explores the world of libraries through interviews with key library figures and commentary on issues of importance to libraries. In September 2006, Sarah was awarded Emory University’s top alumni award.

The Northwest Cultural Council is most grateful to Sarah Long for her support. For many years Sarah has coordinated the distribution of NWCC publications to the public libraries in the North Suburban Library System. This valuable service has enabled the council to reach a wide audience. We are fortunate to have Sarah Long as a loyal friend.

Opera In Focus

Sharon Findley Kirmse

By his own admission William B. Fosser fell head over heels in love at the tender age of fourteen. Not with another starry-eyed teenager, but with a unique art form which would captivate him for the rest of his life. Fosser had discovered the Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera.

The miniature puppet theater concept had been developed in the 1930s by an opera lover named Ernest Wolf. Wolf had turned his basement into a small theater and populated it with rod puppets, figures which portrayed the famous characters from his favorite operas and were moved about through slots on the stage floor, propelled by puppeteers who operated them by wires from beneath the stage, moving to the music of the world’s greatest operas. When the concept was picked up by the Victor Recording Company for presentation at the 1938-39 Chicago World’s Fair, Wolf’s operation was able to become much more refined and, at the close of the fair, the little company toured the Midwest ending back in Chicago.

It was then discovered by Fredrick Chramer, a restaurateur who had purchased the old McCormick mansion at 100 E. Ontario and converted it into a very successful restaurant called Kungsholm. Chramer wanted to add an entertainment venue to his operation and he had found it. He converted the fourth floor ballroom into a theater and the Kungsholm Miniature Grand Opera was born in 1941. Two years later a persistent boy who had seen a performance and knew he had to be part of it besieged Chramer until the man agreed to allow the teen to join the puppet troupe.

The connection remained even after the time came for Fosser to go off to college. Unhappily the two were reunited in 1947 when they stood at the corner of Ontario and Rush and cried together as they watched the puppet theater burn. Neither was willing to give up on their grand idea. Chramer rebuilt the theater and, in 1950, Fosser returned for a few years. It was the mentor who ultimately convinced the protégé that it was time to move on, that he could not expect to make a living on the wages of a puppeteer. Reluctantly, Fosser headed in another artistic direction, one that took him to a successful career as a set designer for stageand film.

He returned to Kungsholm one more time as artistic director when illness forced Chramer to lease Kungsholm to the Fred Harvey Group. But his artistic reputation was built upon his considerable success in Hollywood, where he was the set designer for such memorable films as “Home Alone,” “Backdraft,” “Ground Hog Day” and “Ordinary People.” His success in this arena afforded him the means to follow his dream. He continued developing the puppets and staging, the production he called Opera in Focus, to an elegant level that Wolf and Chramer could not have imagined. Fosser’s beautiful creations are now patented and insured by Lloyd’s of London.

It was during the years that he worked for the Harvey Group that he met a very talented puppeteer and designer named Paul Guerra. Guerra became an integral part of the production in both capacities. It was he who created the gorgeous, lush costumes worn by the puppets. He delighted in showing them off to visitors and insisting, with a twinkle, that he couldn’t sew a stitch.

After Kungsholm was replaced by Lawry’s Prime Rib at Ontario and Rush, the puppets, without a home theater, appeared only sporadically. Their fortunes changed in 1993 when Opera in Focus was invited to become part of the Rolling Meadows Park District. A small, beautiful theater was built on the lower level of the district’s Park Central facility, decorated with Fosser’s collection of opera posters and featuring a magnificent golden proscenium shaped like the lens of a camera through which the audience views the tiny world of opera. Opera in Focus was home. Fosser retired from his work as a set director and began enjoying his lifelong dream. In just one year the production won the prestigious Dorothy Mullen Award. In his best Hollywood tux, Fosser accepted for the district the National Parks and Recreation Association award for excellence in fine arts programming.

As Fosser’s health began to fail, his concern grew for the future of the venture which had finally come together as he had long hoped. Then in 2002 Justin Snyder discovered Opera in Focus on the internet and felt the same call that Fosser had felt so many decades earlier. He was soon joined by his brother, Shayne. The Snyders, who were talented artists each in his own right, became the proteges. They immediately fit right into the troupe and quickly became obvious heirs apparent to the production. In 2005 Bill Fosser’s lifelong dream was acknowledged when he was inducted into the National Puppeteers Hall of Fame. At his death the next year, ownership of Opera in Focus passed to the Snyders and Guerra, who has since retired and given over his share to them. The Snyder brothers are committed to carrying on the dream, dedicated to maintaining the same level of artistic excellence their mentor would expect of them.

Park Central is located at 3000 Central Road, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008. Call (847818-3220x186 for reservations. The repertoire for the year can be found at www.operainfocus.com and will include Pops at the Puppet Opera and selections from Madama Butterfly, Carmen, The Student Prince, South Pacific, The Barber of Seville and other favorites. Each year traditionally concludes with Hansel and Gretel and A Christmas Offering.

This summer the Northwest Cultural Council celebrates the art of photography through the work of two gifted photographers.

Gordon Schenck
Schenck in September

Opening in September will be a very special exhibit of work by renowned architectural photographer Gordon Schenck. The exhibit consists of two rooms of work showing the two sides of his photographic vision, the professional and the personal.

Gordon is a North Carolina native who has traveled through much of the United States during his career as an architectural photographer. A graduate of N.C. State University, he has combined interests in photography and the design of buildings. Several chapters of the American Institute of Architects have honored him for his work, which has been widely published editorially and in advertising.

His approach reinforces the idea of architecture as a purely visual art. One of his most famous shots is of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, shot under a spectacular cloud filled sky. His professional photos emphasize modern technology and pristine design.

In addition to assignments from architects, magazines and building material manufacturers, he enjoys photographing personally for art’s sake -- sometimes “along the way” to assignments. These photos are more concerned with social uses of buildings, showing subjects such as a white farm house with flag in front, or a house in the Lowcountry with a moss-draped oak. What he is really expressing is the concept of human endurance and man’s uneasy relationship with the land.

This remarkable show of photography opens at the NWCC/ Kimball Hill Galleries on September 23 and runs until November 6. There will be a reception on Sunday, September 23, 2 – 4 PM.

David Plowden
Plowden in June

The NWCC is delighted and honored to shine our spotlight on David Plowden, distinguished juror of our annual international juried photography exhibition..”Eye on America, an Exhibition Celebrating the Best of America” opens June 14 at our gallery and will run until July 31, with a reception on June16 from 2 – 4 PM. The exhibit is being sponsored by Square D – Schneider Electric.

David Plowden is highly qualified to select entries for this show focusing on America. Over the course of a fifty year career, Mr. Plowden has written and co-authored over twenty books on various aspects of the American scene. Many of his photographs document a vanishing way of life, from abandoned farmhouses, to a general store in Iowa, to a rusty steel mill near Chicago. His old friend, historian David McCullough was quoted in an article in the Chicago Tribune Magazine in May, 2006: ”I think he sees America as no one has, except in paintings and literature. You see it in (Edward) Hopper and (Willa) Cather. He’s in that spirit. He’s a poet.”

A resident of Winnetka, Mr. Plowden has had a long career that includes teaching and lecturing at the Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Iowa, University of Baltimore and Grand State University in Allendale, Michigan. In addition to many books, his work has been featured in over thirty five periodicals, including American Heritage, Life, Audubon, and Modern Photography. His long list of exhibitions includes shows at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to mention only a few. His work has been honored with numerous professional awards and purchased by museums and galleries all over the country.

It was through a recent Show at the Brickton Art Center in Park Ridge that old friends of the Council suggested that Mr. Plowden would be ideal as juror for the NWCC Annual Photography Exhibit. We feel most fortunate that he accepted our invitation and hope you all come to meet him at the reception on June16, between 2 and 4 pm.

To fulfill that portion of our mission statement “to cooperate with existing art organizations”, the Council has partnered with ArtPak Impressions, the Center for the Arts at Little City Foundation and Northwest Special Recreation Center of Rolling Meadows (NWSRA) in a combined exhibition in 2007.

“Artpak Impressions”

January 16 – February 27, 2007
Reception Sunday, February 11, 2007, 1-3 pm

“Artpak Impressions” displayed the work of six artists who paint and exhibit as a group. Together they have created a diverse, yet complimentary, body of work. The Artpak artists paint in a representational/impressionist style, primarily in oil, acrylic and mixed media. Rich colors and a variety of compositions characterize their landscape, still life, floral, and figurative paintings.

The member artists are: Mary Bernd, Dyan Boxleitner, Cindy Hader, Marianne A. McKoveck, Pat O’Brien and Bernie Ward. They have exhibited in galleries throughout the northwest suburbs as well as Florida. Their work is also included in private collections in the United States and abroad.

“Achieving Creativity”

March 13 – April 24, 2007
Reception Sunday, April 15, 2007, 2-4- pm

“Achieving Creativity” was a collaborative effort between Little City Foundation Center for the Arts and Northwest Special Recreation Association.

Little City Foundation Center for the Arts located in Palatine supports the creative expression of people with developmental disabilities. In this show artists with disabilities used a variety of media including watercolor, crayon, pen, oils, marker, and collage, to create a selection of work focusing on people. Based on their own observations the artists developed individual interpretations about people; what they look like, their speech, social interactions and situations, and behavior with other people. The results were an array of artwork from representational to abstract.

The Northwest Special Recreation Association located in Rolling Meadows provides recreation services to individuals with disabilities throughout the northwest suburbs, serving sixteen communities. The pieces in this show were created by campers in the NWSRA Camp Connections Day Camp. The artists, ages 7 – 21, used special art tools designed so people with limited movement can be successful in drawing, painting and printing. These unique works of art were created using an art roller which attaches to the front of a wheelchair or walker.

The NWCC mission to enrich the life of the community through the arts includes cooperating with existing art and educational organizations. In the interest of promoting cultural offerings in the northwest suburbs, we are pleased to present this information.

Save the dates for

Portrait of an Age:  Romanticism and Revolution

At Roosevelt University, Schaumburg campus The Institute for Continued Learning, a lifelong learning organization based at Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg campus, is pleased to announce its third annual Humanities Seminar, “Portrait of an Age: Romanticism and Revolution.”  For two days in September distinguished speakers will focus on aspects of the nineteenth century with the goal of presenting an overall picture or “portrait” of what happened in that time frame and how it affects us now.

On Tuesday, September 11, attendees will hear Dr. Leon Stein speak on great ideas of the era. In the afternoon, Dr. David Schrader will present an overview of the vast musical masterpieces created during this period. Wednesday, September 12 will bring Dr. Robert Seiser to speak of major scientific developments of the era. Drs. Stein, Schrader and Seiser are all professors at Roosevelt University. The “portrait” will be rounded out on Wednesday afternoon with a presentation by Ms. Laura Mueller of the Art Institute who will focus on Impressionism, how it came to be, and what followed in the art world.

This seminar follows two others, the first on the Renaissance and Reformation, the second on the Enlightenment. The idea is to set the stage for the final in the series in 2008 which will focus on the Twentieth Century. All sessions will take place at Roosevelt University, Schaumburg. Doors will open at 9:30 each day. Coffee will be available and the fee includes a box lunch each day.

This Humanities Seminar series is the brainchild of Cathy Jensen and her dedicated committee of fellow ICL members For specific information on fees and sign up, please contact Mary Fioretti at the Institute for Continued Learning at Roosevelt University at 847-619-7288 or email: mfioretti@roosevelt.edu.