UNews - Iowa

Lasting Images - Roloff Beny

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:42:42 +0000

Through the museum studies internship program, I am both entrusted with the responsibility and granted the opportunity to co-curate an exhibition for the Helen Christou Gallery.

During the research and planning phase for the 1950s exhibition, I came across Arctic Vertical by Roloff Beny, and was disappointed that I couldn't include this drawing because it was produced in the 1960s. What I love about this piece is that it reminds me of works both by Vincent Van Gogh, in its parallel echoing strokes, but also of Piet Mondrian's works, which are stripped down to simplified geometric forms.

Roloff Beny, Arctic Vertical, 1964 From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Bequest of the artist, 1989.

Discovering works like this one is one of my favourite aspects of participating in the Museum Studies Internship program. I am continually amazed at the beautiful works that find their home in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection.

Roloff Beny was born in Medicine Hat in 1924 and then spent a large portion of his life living abroad working as a photographer. His formal training took place at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto, the Banff Centre for the Arts and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Iowa. Beny is best known for his photographic work later in his career, but earlier he explored a wide range of media. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge acquired many of Beny's prints, drawings and paintings, as well as works by other significant artists from his personal collection, when Beny bequeathed his entire art collection to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ upon his death in 1984.

David Smith, Museum Studies Intern

Lasting Images - Mary Shannon Will

trevor.kenney — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:38:15 +0000

Mary Shannon Will was born in Ithaca, New York, and studied at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of New Mexico in Albuquerque and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Iowa. Upon moving to Canada, Will taught at the Emily Carr College of Art & Design in Vancouver.

Will is known for her diverse artistic practice, working in a variety of media including printmaking, painting and ceramics. Today, the artist divides her life and work between Calgary and New Mexico.

Mary Shannon Will, Untitled, 1971. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of the artist, 1999.

In 1999, Will donated 45 artworks to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection, spanning the breadth of her career from 1968 through 1993. This gift included ceramic pieces, paintings, drawings and archival materials associated with her practice.

These works demonstrate Will's vibrant use of colour based in Pop Art sensibilities, her sense of play within the funk ceramics movement on the Canadian prairies during the 1970s, her extension from traditional woman's forms such as jars and utilitarian objects and her complex grasp of the interests in form and composition developed within abstract artistic movements.

Mary Shannon Will, Unfinished Sculpture, 1980. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Collection; Gift of the artist, 1999.

For a look at the full issue of the November Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Staves, Jaidee win Roloff Beny awards

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:48:33 +0000

Sam Staves and Amornthep Jaidee, both of whom are in a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Art) degree program, are the 2008/2009 Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Award recipients.

The Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Award in Fine Arts is a prestigious, juried, $5,000 award that supports student travel related to research/creative work in photo-arts. Any new or continuing students enrolled full-time in any BFA degree program with a focused interest in photo-arts is eligible to apply for this competitive award.

Staves is in her fourth year of study in the BFA art studio program and plans to travel to New Orleans, Belize City and Kingston, Jamaica to study
Creole culture.

Jaidee is in his third year of study in the BFA art studio program and has proposed to return to his native Thailand (Chaiprakarn, Chiang Mai) to pursue a documentary project that focuses on the simple activity of a small rural village.

The 2007/2008 Roloff Beny award went to Corinne Thiessen Hepher, who is studying for a BFA in New Media. Hepher used the award to travel to Vancouver and Montreal to produce photo/performance works. In Vancouver, she produced Woman with Monkey On Back: Vancouver and in Montreal she produced Rue St. Remi.

Originally from Medicine Hat, Roloff Beny earned degrees from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto and the State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Iowa before developing an international reputation for his photographic work. He is considered a distinguished artist in Canadian history and travelled widely throughout Europe and Asia for subjects that subsequently appeared in his own work.

In recognition of his contributions to the fine arts, Roloff Beny was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 1972 by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Upon his death in 1984, the
U of L received a significant bequest of Mr. Beny's visual art collection.

In 2004, the Roloff Beny Foundation endowed the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts Art Dept. with the Roloff Beny Foundation Photographic Award in Fine Arts, an award that recognizes and supports excellence in the fine arts.

UNews - Iowa

Lasting Images - Roloff Beny

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Lasting Images - Mary Shannon Will

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Staves, Jaidee win Roloff Beny awards

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