Historic photographs of the Mississippi River by Henry P. Bosse are juxtaposed with modern photos of river restoration projects completed by the non-profit group, Living Lands & Waters. Quotes from Mark Twain’s prose link the river’s past with the present.
The exhibit is a partnership with UW-Whitewater’s Earth Day Committee and our community’s 4th Big Read. The 2011 Big Read Mural will also be on display. The exhibit was compiled by UW-Whitewater student Karly Modesti, in partnership with our Community’s 4th Big Read.
The community is invited to attend a special opening reception on March 12, 2012 from 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the Roberta Avonn Fiskum Gallery, James R. Connor University Center on the campus of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Artist and Big Read muralist Joel Schoon Tanis will speak in UC Summers Auditorium, at 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Henry P. Bosse was a draughtsman and cartographer with the Army Corps of Engineers at Rock Island, Illinois. Between 1882 and 1892 he photographed the upper Mississippi River and documented the untamed and wild river that Mark Twain encountered as a young river pilot. The exhibit includes a selection of his reprinted artwork, reproduced with permission from the Rock Island and St. Paul district’s collections of Henry P. Bosse’s works. Bosse’s works were mainly forgotten.
For 100 years, the artist remained unknown. Then, in the spring of 1990, a Washington, D.C., antique dealer discovered an album of Bosse’s images in the study house that belonged to Major General Alexander Mackenzie. General Mackenzie had been the Corps’ Chief of Engineers, or top ranking officer, from 1904 to 1908. Within a year, this album would be worth over a million dollars and Bosse praised as one of the late nineteenth century’s finest photographers.
Living Lands & Waters, is an active non-profit group dedicated to cleaning up and preserving our nation’s rivers. Photos from their community river clean ups provide a potent comparison to Bosse’s early images of the mighty Mississippi.
Living Lands & Waters has 10 full-time employees and a fleet of four barges, a towboat, six workboats, two skid steers, five work trucks, and a large box truck.
With this equipment, the crew is able to travel and work in an average of nine states a year along the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and Potomac Rivers, as well as many of their tributaries. Since the project’s inception, Chad Pregracke, his crew, and over 60,000 volunteers have collected over six million pounds of debris from our nation’s greatest rivers. Most recently, Chad expanded the mission of the organization to include Big River Educational Outreach, The Million Trees Project, and the Adopt-a-River Mile programs.
Noted children’s book illustrator Joel Tanis will discuss the 2011 Big Read Mural and his own artistic methods. In 2011, Joel worked with students from four area schools to create a culminating artistic response to Edgar Allan Poe’s writing. The students created four large 4’x6’ panels that depict scenes from the works of Poe. Joel will once again be working with four area schools for the 2012 Big Read. Students will delve into specific works by Twain to create visual art that captures the mood and emotions of the author’s work.
2012 participating schools include: St. Joseph’s School in Fort Atkinson; Eastview Elementary in Lake Geneva; Jefferson Elementary in Janesville; and East Troy High School in East Troy. The 2012 mural will be unveiled at the Big Read Kick Off at the historic Horticultural Hall in Lake Geneva, Thursday, March 29th at 6:00 pm.
For the fourth year in a row, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded a local partnership to bring the national Big Read initiative to Rock, Walworth, and Jefferson County. Mark Twain in the Rock River Basin will be the focus of this year’s Big Read in southeastern Wisconsin. Led by the Irvin L. Young Library in Whitewater, the Arrowhead Library System in Rock County, and UW-Whitewater’s Young Auditorium, the Big Read will provide a host of activities and in-school outreach.
This National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Grant gives young adults the opportunity to learn more about reading, writing, different cultures, and encourages them to explore their interest in these areas. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Local sponsorship supported is provided by Fort HealthCare, American Family Insurance, The Janesville Gazette and the The Daily Jefferson County Union.
The Young Auditorium is a 1,300 seat performing arts center located in Whitewater that serves southeastern Wisconsin. Each season the auditorium presents the best in touring professional productions from Broadway, Rock & Roll, Shakespeare, Family Friendly Favorites and Ballet. Over 500,000 K-12 students have experienced educational performances through the Horizons Matinee Series. The facility boasts two all-purpose rooms for up to 120 guests for special receptions, dinners, or business meetings. A non-profit organization, the Young Auditorium has special benefits for Members; and discounts for groups. Special email offers and giveaways area available via free email updates from ArtsENews.
Information: 262-472-4444 Tickets: 262-472-2222
The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation’s largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. For more information, please visit www.imls.gov.
Arts Midwest connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years.
For more information, please visit http://www.artsmidwest.org/.