Faculty Focus: Claire Cowie

Come to the Henry tomorrow for this month’s Focus Tour! The 30 minute tour will be led by UW School of Art faculty and artist Claire Cowie who will guide visitors through Like a Valentine: The Art of Jeffry Mitchell. The tour starts at 12 and will leave you with enough time to grab a sammy at Molly’s all within your lunch hour!

From painting to sculpture to photogravure, the work produced by Seattle-based artist Claire Cowie conjures up a bizarre menagerie, replete with composite creatures and exotic locales. Haunting disembodied figures populate her landscapes; they appear at once otherworldly and familiar as they beckon the eye and the imagination. Her collages, watercolors, and prints recall Chinese and Japanese landscape painting traditions. Using a minimum of strokes she achieves deep spaces, producing dreamlike landscapes that recede into the distance. Claire received her BFA in Drawing and Printmaking from Washington University in St. Louis in 1997, and her MFA in Printmaking from the University of Washington in 1999. She is locally represented by James Harris Gallery.

In summary:
Claire Cowie Faculty Tour of Like a Valentine: The Art of Jeffry Mitchell
wednesday (november 21) at 12:00 – 12:30
Henry Art Gallery

See you there!

The Henry on History Detectives – round #2

 

In case you missed last Friday’s special screening of History Detectives at the Henry, don’t fret. It’s on again tonight, Tuesday, June 28th, at 8 PM on PBS. 

In this episode, Wes Cowan visits Seattle’s Museum of Flight and the Henry Art Gallery to decode the message and strategy behind a U.S. World War II propaganda leaflet. The segment is called “The World War II Leaflet.” Parts of it were filmed at the Henry Art Gallery, which holds some of those wartime leaflets — intended to convince the Japanese to end their war effort — in its permanent collections.

What do the violent images on this pamphlet mean? See for yourself tonight and view some of the objects featured in the Henry ReedCollectionStudyCenter.

 

“Watching the Detectives” – Works from the Henry featured on History Detectives this Friday

Some of the Henry Art Gallery’s permanent collection will make an appearance on an episode of History Detectives to air Friday, June 24th. Join us for a free special screening of the PBS show in the Henry Auditorium at 7-8pm. Host Wes Cowan also visits Seattle’s Museum of Flight in this episode.

The segment is called “The World War II Leaflet.” Parts of it were filmed at the Henry Art Gallery, which holds some of those wartime leaflets – intended to convince the Japanese to end their war effort – in its permanent collections.

The artist in question is Frances Blakemore (1906-1997), who graduated from the UW (after 10 years of study) with a degree in painting, sculpture and design in 1935 and traveled to Japan to teach art and English. Fascinated by Japanese life, she chronicled her experiences in art and writing. She leftJapanas war was coming in 1940 and spent the rest of the war years inHonolulu.

In 1996 the Blakemore Foundation donated more than 300 objects to the Henry, including Japanese prints, textiles, stencils and ceramics as well as some of the propaganda leaflets. Among the donations are 26 Blakemore prints, which are viewable through the Henry’s online collection search. 

Read more about Blakemore’s collection and career in UW Today.

The Henry is so excited about this upcoming appearance on History Detectives that some of us can’t get a certain Elvis Costello tune out of our heads….and we’ve decided we must share this with all of you. Enjoy!