PBR Book Club at the Tap Room and Reception for Laurie Culling

The PBR Book Club will be meeting on Tuesday at 8:00 at the Tap Room.  The current book is Michel Faber's Under the Skin. The audio for this book includes superb Scottish accents!
Many PBR book clubbers have rave reviews for Under the Skin, which will soon be released as a movie. 
Read our review of this book here: http://pbrbookclub.blogspot.com/2012/11/under-skin-revisit-to-art-project-story.html

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Laurie Culling honored at the Library

Laurie Culling has coordinated the gallery space at the Lawrence Public Library for 20 years, and is stepping down.  Her years of volunteer service is being recognized at a reception in her honor this Friday at 5:00. 

Check out Laurie's website here: http://www.laurieculling.com/

Upgrade on the Gallery Space at the Library
The Lawrence Public Library is going through renovations that will change the entire layout of the library.  This includes the current gallery space.  At one point,  no space was designated to show art for the new library.  However, this has changed. Serious discussions have been underway to decide how to show art work in the new space.  Permanent art will be displayed by means of one large purchase, or several purchases; artists from the region have submitted proposals.   Placement will depend on the materials and scale of the project. Because the gallery space for rotating work of the current library lay out is small and under used, some have felt an upgrade is needed.  Options on lights and display are being debated in designs for the new library.

Evans at the Nelson, Slideshow at the Gaslight, and Pizza cat is found

It's a slow week for Larryville for events, so we will take some time to visit some museums this week.

Among them will be Heartland: The Photography of Terry Evans,  at the Nelson

http://www.nelson-atkins.org/art/exhibitions/terry-evans.cfm

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Slideshow Photography at the Gaslight: Tuesday, 8 pm

We have heard favorable things about this group. Photographers bring their work to share and discuss.  Each month has a new assignment.  This month is "texture."

People in the Gaslight bathroom ( random photo)

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And we are happy that Jason and his family found Pizza cat ( we were worried!).  Pizza is safe at home, spoiled by a treat of tuna. 

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We love this pic that has been going around the net.  This is what Hyperallergic says:  

OMG. On November 11, Max Galuppo, 20, of Bloomsbury, NJ, encountered his doppelganger (aka his double) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The painting, “Portrait of a Nobleman with Duelling Gauntlet” (1562) by an anonymous artist, has an uncanny resemblance to the young man and  the hundreds of comments on reddit attest to it.

Events in Lawrence This Week

Here are some events and happenings in Lawrence this week:

PBR Book Club
Many are starting the new PBR Book Club pick for this month. The book is Michael Faber's "Under the Skin."  It is a short one, only about 300 pages.
The PBR Book Club website has this to say about the new book: 'Under the Skin  is a remarkable novel, a strange, sometimes crude meditation on mercy, pain and iniquity."
Crude and strange, eh?  These do seem like important elements for PBR Book Club, given many of our choices.
Here is the PBR Book Club website: http://pbrbookclub.blogspot.com/
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Tuesay: 
Poetry Reading Tonight at 7:00 at The Commons

Award-winning poet CAConrad will read from his recent work, including A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon: New (Soma)tics. 
The Facebook invite says this: "Conrad's reading and talk will explore (Soma)tic poetry, instructions and recipes that invite the reader-listener into deeply embodied experiences. “The aim of (Soma)tic poetry and poetics is the realization of two things about my work,” 
Here is the Facebook Invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/425153490872028/?suggestsessionid=10609241471352722105
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Wednesday:
Nerd Nite 
or
Stephen Greenblatt at Woodruff

Our favorite choice for Wednesday is Nerd Nite.  Nerd Nite has moved to the big ball room at Pachamama's. A letter addressed to the Nerd Nite attendees from Pachamamas tells us to bring cash only for the bar and it sounds like Pacha's wants us to order from the Star Bar before presentations start.  Doors open for seating inside the ballroom at 7:30 and presentations are at 8:00.
Here is a list of this month's presentations:
This month's presentations are:

1. You Sunk My Citizenship? – The Estonian Singing Revolution & Citizenship Dilemma by Dave Trimbach

2. Notes from the Underground: Dissident Music in the Soviet Union by Austin Charron

3. Bar Talk: Bela Bartok, Polymodal Chromaticism & Modern Classical Composition by Steve Dahlberg

More information can be found on the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/102563606573417/ 

Stephen Greenblatt speaks at Woodruff:
Special thanks to the Larryville Chronicles for reminding us of a lecture by Greenblatt starting at 7:30.  Here is what the invite from KU's Hall Center says:

 "Greenblatt is regarded as the father of New Historicism, a form of critical theory that seeks to unite literature, historical context, and cultural theory. He is the author of twelve books about Shakespeare, the Renaissance, and early modern culture, including the hugely popular Will in the World (2004), a biography of William Shakespeare. His most recent work, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern received the 2011 National Book Award, and demonstrates how something as seemingly insignificant as a poem could influence the cultural world." 

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Thursday: Artist Talk

Andy Reiger from Wichita will be at the Spencer on Thursday to discuss his new work that is described as a "racially themed sculpture." Thursday, 5:00 at the Spencer Museum of Art.

What makes a good tattoo?

                          Creating a tattoo at Lucky Devil Tattoo in Wichita                                       

What makes a good tattoo? 

To find the answer to this question, we went to a conference earlier this month in Wichita to learn about the history and art of tattooing.  An expert in this field is Rob Dolecek, owner of Wichita's Lucky Devil Tattoo located on Douglas Street.

Dolecek’s style is Japanese inspired, but his specialty is photo replication. He says he often sees the same designs over and over, but he prefers authentic designs. He works with his clients, sometimes with hours of consultation, to make original tattoos that have personal meaning for the client.

Rob Dolecek, owner of Lucky Devil Tattoo

According to Dolecek, some drawings work for tattoos, others do not.  How the skin ages and the details of the tattoo are considerations in the overall design.  Dolecek is not a big fan of text.  When thinking about the approach to creating a tattoo, Dolecek says that it is similar to the layers applied in a watercolor.  He starts with an outline, and then creates shading.  Color is the final step.

Although he loves his current shop, Dolecek plans to move to Colorado. In Wichita, there are more tattoo shops than steady client business, producing a saturated market.  It is difficult to know how many tattoo patrons there are. The state regulated Board of Cosmetology oversees operations of tattoo artists who have shops, but many artists are undocumented, working from their homes.  Furthermore, apprenticing tattoo artists is a lucrative business; but these artists have no guarantees for work after the apprenticeship is over.  Because of lack of steady business, some long time established tattoo artists in the Wichita area are migrating elsewhere.