2/23 Athenaeum at 1pm - The Decorative Unconscious: Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Judy Ledgerwood

Join us on Wednesday, February 23, at 1pm for “The Decorative Unconscious: Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Judy Ledgerwood” presented by Vittorio Colaizzi.

In modern art and criticism, “decorative” has been considered the ultimate insult, implying frivolity and capitulation to the needs of the privileged. And yet many artists have used decoration to expand concepts of the pictorial (Matisse) and to critique often male-dominated aesthetic orthodoxies (Miriam Schapiro). Upon closer examination, it is apparent that decoration is not an identifiable quality, but a field of overlapping ones. The three abstract painters mentioned here have explicitly denied the decorative in their work. Nevertheless, the way they produce meaning depends on their creative exploitation of aspects of decoration.

The Athenaeum is located on the second floor of the WSU Library, bluff side. The event is free and open to the public.

For the complete Spring 2011 Athenaeum schedule and for additional information about the Athenaeum, please visit the following: http://www.winona.edu/library/athenaeum/

10/17-Reception for Mo & Dorothy Weber - Max Weber paintings!

On Sunday October 17 at 2:30pm there will be a reception on the second floor of the Library (Performing Arts Center side). The Webers have donated three Max Weber paintings over the last few years. This reception is to celebrate the recent installation of these paintings and thank Mo and Dorothy.

3/11 Athenaeum at 1pm - Art and Students in China: Impressions from Jingdezhen by Anne Plummer

Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 1:00pm Anne Plummer presents Art and Students in China: Impressions from Jingdezhen

China has a rich cultural heritage that westerners find compelling in terms of its scale, longevity, aesthetics, and its high level of craftmanship. Contemporary Chinese artists and students find this history to be both a source of inspiration and a burden. Western art is recognized as cutting edge in the global culture. While Chinese artists and students struggle to incorporate contemporary western practices and earn recognition in the contemporary global art world, many westerners yearn to find the historic Chinese arts and culture intact. How do the Chinese and westerners deal with these conflicting expectations?

The Library Athenaeum is located on the second floor, bluff side of the WSU Library.

For the Spring 2009 schedule please go here: http://www.winona.edu/library/athenaeum/

1/29 Peter Henderson's reception and book signing at 2:30

Join the University community in celebrating Peter Henderson's new book

There will be a celebratory signing for Peter Henderson’s book “Gabriel García Moreno and Conservative State Formation in Ecuador” Thursday January 29 from 2:30 – 3:30 in Room 109 of the WSU Krueger Library. Cake and refreshments will be served.

Henderson's book was published by the University of Texas Press. For a summary of the book please check out the UT Press site.

http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/hengab.html

11/19 Athenaeum at 1pm - Treasures of Three by Joyati Debnath

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 1:00 pm"Treasures of Three" by Joyati Debnath

Debnath is a WSU Professor of mathematics. She will discuss the following:
We count in ten’s (decimal system), computers count in two’s (binary system), but who counts in three’s (ternary system)? This presentation will focus on counting in threes – Treasures in Three. It has been found that the notion of counting in threes was already implicit in Hindu Vedas (1500 BC), making the idea to be very old. Thomas Fowler in 1840 constructed a wooden calculating ternary machine to ease his calculations as a treasurer. It just happens that in the numbering system, when the base 10 is too big and base 2 is too small, base 3 is just right. There are multiple uses of base-three systems. It is used in counting Islamic prayers, to denote fractional parts of an inning in baseball, and to understand the self-similar mathematical structures like Sierpinski Triangle or a Cantor set. In this presentation, there will be something interesting for students and faculty all across the campus.

The Athenaeum is located on the second floor of the WSU Library.

150 Best Minnesota Books: A blog by MHS

The Minnesota Historical Society librarians are blogging about the top 150 books of Minnesota. Check it out and learn from those that collect, preserve and use them.
http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/?cat=72

2/13 Athenaeum at 1pm - Basics of Modern Art: Impressionism and Moving Through Post-Modernism by Vittorio Colaizzi

Basics of Modern Art: Impressionism and Moving through Post-Modernism

At 1pm February 1, Vittorio Colaizzi, WSU Professor of Art, will discuss the emergence and development of non-representation in Western art by starting with Impressionism and moving through Post-Modernism. He will suggest ways for the non-specialist to understand and enjoy abstraction. These include the growing desire for art's autonomous existence, the application of different standards than fidelity to likeness, and the comparison of different works of non-representational art, to emphasize the concept that art is a conversation conducted throughout history.