The eminent nature photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum has been photographing the Alaskan landscape for nearly 40 years and has become one of the most foremost photographers championing the environment. Audubon magazine listed him among the 100 people “who shaped the environmental movement of the 20th century.” So it is a special occasion indeed for the […]
Ginny Lee
Posted inArts & Culture
A portrait of the landscape in barns
Photographer Larry Kanfer is known for his elegant, beautifully composed prairie scenes in Illinois. Many are like portraits of the landscape. The University of Illinois Press has just published Kanfer’s fifth photography book, Barns of Illinois, and who better to document the American barn than he? Trained as an architect at the University of Illinois, […]
Posted inNews
Shopping local is more fun
It may seem easier to shop online for Christmas gifts, but a growing number prefer shopping in person and buying local. Maybe the rise in shopping at farmer’s markets has folks looking for things homemade and authentic. We suggest heading to downtown Springfield for shopping. It will make the holiday a more meaningful occasion rather […]
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A dramatic move on Seventh Street
The twelve-member crew of Expert House Movers carefully eased the 19th-century Maisenbacher House into Seventh Street. east of the Springfield Clinic last Saturday morning. Though the weather was cold and blustery, a crowd gathered to watch the house move north on Seventh Street to its new home at Seventh and Jackson sreets. It moved a […]
Posted inNews
Considering the alternative
The Rev. Martin Woulfe grew up in a military family. His father was an officer in the Marines, and young Martin prepared for a military career. At 17, he received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, but, after much soul-searching, he turned it down. “It had been my goal, coming of age, to serve […]
Posted inArts & Culture
art seen 3-3-05
It’s not often that two such eminent photographers as Bea Nettles and Fern Logan show their work in Springfield, let alone collaborate for a unique exhibit that celebrates women. Merge, their joint exhibit at the University of Illinois at Springfield, runs for another week, but today (5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3), visitors get the opportunity […]
Posted inArts & Culture
An unlikely canvas
It’s the darnedest thing: Landscape painter Marina Mangubi paints on two-by-four boards. That’s right, lumber. Her curious miniature panoramic scenes of rural Ohio and Oregon, as well as the French Riviera are on view in the Visual Arts Gallery at the University of Illinois at Springfield — and they are certainly worth a look. Mangubi, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Just in time for Arbor Day
Arbor Day is Friday, April 30, and the Arbor Day Foundation (www.arborday.org) is offering you a deal. You can join the Foundation and for $10 receive either 10 flowering trees or 10 pine trees. Even though these “trees” are foot-tall sprouts, it’s still a pretty sweet offer. After you’ve read (or flipped through) Native Trees […]
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Warriors for peace
A year ago, as the nation prepared for the invasion of Iraq, support for the war and the ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein ran deep. Saddam’s history of brutal and criminal behavior was documented. His antipathy to the West — especially the U.S., which drove him from Kuwait in 1991 — was a matter of […]
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Photographer captured Harlem’s heyday with taste and levity
African-American photographer James VanDerZee operated a portrait studio in Harlem from 1916 until 1982, chronicling the lives of residents and the Harlem Renaissance. His work is a wonderful document of middle-class African-American life. The Art Institute of Chicago has put together a fascinating collection of almost 100 of VanDerZee’s black-and-white photographs, which are on display […]
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Georgeart
George Colin doesn’t exhibit at the Old Capitol Art Fair. He doesn’t need to. The 74-year-old Colin has become a folk-art phenomenon since he retired in 1977 from Pillsbury Mills, where he sacked flour for 30 years. Actually Colin did show some paintings at the very first Old Capitol Art Fair in 1962, but one […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A beautiful day in the neighborhood
Last Saturday was a good day. In the morning I shopped it up at a neighborhood yard sale. I came home with a chinchilla stole ($4) to wear on Halloween, a vintage handmade felt Christmas stocking decorated profusely with sequins ($2), a yellow twig dogwood shrub ($5), and a handful of trinkets. I even found […]
