MUSKEGON MUSEUM OF ART MARCH 2008 CALENDAR

Wednesday, March 5, 10:30 am
FRIENDS OF ART PROGRAM
Legacy! The Lifeblood of the Muskegon Museum of Art
The MMA was founded on a tradition of legacy of giving, leadership, and vision, and continues to thrive 95 years later because of it. MMA Executive Director Judith A. Hayner will explore the roots of that legacy and discuss modern day examples that continue to keep the Museum and its collections strong and vibrant.

March 8, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
SUPER GREEN SATURDAY
Free Family Fun Day
Second Saturdays are made for fun at the MMA! This month, celebrate St. Patty's Day at the MMA as you explore the lucky color green! Free museum admission and activities. Super Saturdays are underwritten by a grant provided by the Alcoa Foundation supporting Howmet Castings Communities.
10:00 am and 1:00 pm
Film: Matisse & Picasso
Discover how these famous artists used vibrant colors in their works of art. Can you find green in their paintings?
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Guided Exhibition Tours: I spy something green!
Take a tour with docent Joyce Jack-Hughes and see if you can find works of art that contain the color green.
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Make & Take: Trace and cut your way to a fun and very green shamrock mobile. In the style of Matisse, kids will work with cut-outs to create hanging masterpieces.

Thursday, March 13, 12:15 pm
BROWN BAG FILM
Art Glass: Looking at the Basics
As a companion to the Sonja Blomdahl glass exhibition, learn about the Studio Glass Movement as you visit artists in their studios and see the various processes used to create glass art. Viewers will also explore the renowned Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle. (36 mins.)

Wednesday, March 19, 10:30 am
FRIENDS OF ART PROGRAM
Woman Artists in the MMA Collection - Part II
Friends of Art members Ann Erler, Anita Herald, and Melissa Morrow will discuss women artists represented in the MMA's collection.

Wednesday, March 19, 7:00 pm
Iddings Unleashed
WEDNESDAY NIGHT MOVIE AT THE MUSEUM
Finding Neverland (PG-rated, 101 mins.)
(2004) This movie, starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, details the experiences of author J.M. Barrie, which lead him to write the children's classic Peter Pan, a story about children who don't want to grow up. Film series is hosted by Muskegon Chronicle journalist and film critic Bill Iddings. View off-the-beaten-track films on the big screen in the intimate surroundings of the MMA auditorium and enjoy background information and film trivia, courtesy of Bill. Admission is free.

Thursday, March 20, 5:30 pm
OPENING RECEPTION AND ARTIST TALK
Rapture: Recent Paintings by Maria Tomasula
The Muskegon Museum of Art will open Rapture, an exhibition of recent paintings by nationally know artist Maria Tomasula, on March 20. The public is invited to a reception that evening, starting at 5:30 p.m. Tomasula will present a talk in the museum's auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Event admission is free. Rapture will be on display in the MMA's Walker B Gallery through May 4, 2008.

Thursday, March 27, 12:15 pm
BROWN BAG FILM
Winslow Homer: The Nature of the Artist
Explore the development of Homer's art from his early Civil War illustrations to his picturesque and charming country and seashore scenes and, finally, to the powerful images of nature that characterize his later work. If you plan to see the exhibition of Homer watercolors at the Art Institute of Chicago, this will be a good introduction. (29 mins.)

EXHIBITIONS

Through March 2, 2008
LYRIC VISIONS AND NATURE'S FURY: REGIONALIST ART FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
John Steuart Curry's Tornado Over Kansas is one of the MMA's most recognized paintings and represents the best of what defined the Regionalist Art movement, providing the viewer with a glimpse into history through an artwork that captures the spirit and landscape of the American Midwest. This exhibition will feature lithographs by Curry with accompanying art by his fellow Regionalists Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and Charles Burchfield, and by Michigan Regional painters Zoltan Sepeshy and Tunis Ponsen. Public broadcast support is provided by WGVU Radio.

Through March 16, 2008
Legacy: A Decade of Collecting
This exhibition draws from a body of artworks added to the MMA Permanent Collection since 1997. These artworks came into the collection by purchase and through the generous gifts of our supporters, both past and present. The exhibition features works by artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Montague Dawson, Stephen Rolfe Powell, Benjamin Moore, Debora Moore, and many more, including several prominent Michigan artists. Also featured will be several of our collections, including the gifts of Robert D. and C. Corcoran Tuttle, Basil and Louise Collins, the West Shore Graphic Arts Society, and Drs. Osbie and Anita Herald. As the MMA continues to grow and change, explore 10 years of our permanent collection and the generosity that has made our collection possible. Underwritten by Warner Norcross & Judd LLP. Broadcast media sponsor is WGVU Public Radio.

Through March 16, 2008
Heavens Above: Photographs of the Universe from the Hubble Space Telescope
This exhibition of 30 photographs of the universe from the Hubble Space Telescope was organized by the NASA Space Telescope Science Institute and the Midland Center for the Arts. Dramatic images from the farthest reaches of space, thousands of light years away, are mounted in light boxes to showcase the perspectives of space and beyond. The Muskegon presentation of this exhibition is underwritten by The Howmet Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County. Media sponsor is WBLV Blue Lake Public Radio.

Through April 20, 2008
Sonja Blomdahl: Incalmo/Glass
Exhibition of 35 works drawn from the artist's personal collection celebrates her career as a master artist. Blomdahl bases her colorful and vibrant forms on classical Greek container forms, but infuses her own sensibility and technical skill to transform them into distinctly modern artworks. She has exhibited internationally and her work is held in many significant public and private collections. She owns and operates her own studio in Seattle and teaches at the renowned Pilchuck Glass School. Organized by the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and is the artist's first solo museum exhibition. Tour is sponsored by Barrie and Laura Harmon, Jimmy and Margaret Lowder, Barry and Corinna Wilson, Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation, and Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass. The Muskegon presentation of the exhibition is underwritten in memory of Bob and Corky Tuttle by John Knott Tuttle and the Tuttle family. Broadcast media sponsor is WGVU Public Radio.

March 20 - May 4, 2008
Maria Tomasula: Paintings
Tomasula's vibrant, luminous paintings boast an eerie beauty in their tightly rendered trompe l'oeil still lives. Flowers, fruit, meat, insects, and other natural objects are portrayed within shallow spaces reminiscent of early Christian icons, their semblance to martyrs and saints becoming metaphors for human spirituality. Her rich artworks explore religion, life and death, and the wonder of the natural world. Exhibition Features approximately 20 new works and is organized by the Snite Museum and Zolla Lieberman Galleries. Tomasula currently teaches in the department of Art History and Design at the University of Notre Dame. Broadcast media sponsor is WGVU Public Radio.

March 29 - April 27, 2008
Expressions 2008: 26th Annual Muskegon Area Student Art Exhibition
Artwork by Muskegon Area K-12 public and non-public students is displayed in this popular annual exhibition co-organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. Underwritten by Comerica.