Arts & Culture
Hot Pictures
Science and art combine to illustrate the effects of global warming.
An old joke holds that, though everyone talks about the weather, nobody ever does anything about it. But looking at the prospect of climate change in Wisconsin’s north woods, a group of artists, scientists, and educators is hoping to change the punch line. Together, they developed an ambitious art exhibition that delves into this prominent, complex issue of the state’s changing weather.
“This is a mission-oriented project,” explains forest ecology professor David Mladenoff ’73, MS’79, PhD’85, who shared his scientific expertise with the group. “Our goal is to communicate the effects of climate change through art.”
The exhibition, titled Paradise Lost? Climate Change in the North Woods, features an eclectic array of art commissioned specifically for the project, up-to-date information about the expected effects of climate change in the Lake Superior region, and ideas for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It will tour in Wisconsin and Michigan during the next year, and it includes a sizable paludarium — a living, indoor bog
It all started in spring 2006, when the exhibition team convened for a three-day retreat to exchange scientific information and artistic ideas. There, Mladenoff shared his research findings that suggest that, due to rising temperatures during the next century, many native Wisconsin tree species will likely migrate northward — into the traditionally colder climes of Canada — to stay in their climatic comfort zones.
An old joke holds that, though everyone talks about the weather, nobody ever does anything about it. But looking at the prospect of climate change in Wisconsin’s north woods, a group of artists, scientists, and educators is hoping to change the punch line. Together, they developed an ambitious art exhibition that delves into this prominent, complex issue of the state’s changing weather.
“This is a mission-oriented project,” explains forest ecology professor David Mladenoff ’73, MS’79, PhD’85, who shared his scientific expertise with the group. “Our goal is to communicate the effects of climate change through art.”
The exhibition, titled Paradise Lost? Climate Change in the North Woods, features an eclectic array of art commissioned specifically for the project, up-to-date information about the expected effects of climate change in the Lake Superior region, and ideas for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It will tour in Wisconsin and Michigan during the next year, and it includes a sizable paludarium — a living, indoor bog
It all started in spring 2006, when the exhibition team convened for a three-day retreat to exchange scientific information and artistic ideas. There, Mladenoff shared his research findings that suggest that, due to rising temperatures during the next century, many native Wisconsin tree species will likely migrate northward — into the traditionally colder climes of Canada — to stay in their climatic comfort zones.
Educational materials based on research by Mladenoff and other university experts will supplement the artwork featured at the exhibition. A watercolor made by Madison-area artist Helen Klebesadel ’86, MFA’89 is just one example. She painted an image of ice breaking up on a frozen lake.
“This painting is about the loss of winter,” says Klebesadel. “In the ice, I embedded things that we are going to lose as a consequence of the climate warming up. I researched what species are likely to move north, so we’ll likely lose them here in Wisconsin.” She included spruce trees, lake trout, whitefish, moose, and the Karner blue butterfly, whose eggs are protected by snow.
The underlying goal of the exhibition, funded by the Ira and Ineva Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment and the Wisconsin Arts Board, goes beyond educating its visitors, says project director Dolly Ledin MS’88 of the Center for Biology Education. “We hope to inspire public involvement and offer individuals options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Ledin.
The exhibition debuted in Rhinelander in February, and in 2007 it will make tour stops in Ironwood and Calumet, Michigan, and in Ashland, Manitowish Waters, and Wausau, Wisconsin, before concluding in Madison in 2008. For a full itinerary, see the exhibition’s Web site.
— Nicole Miller MA’06
“This painting is about the loss of winter,” says Klebesadel. “In the ice, I embedded things that we are going to lose as a consequence of the climate warming up. I researched what species are likely to move north, so we’ll likely lose them here in Wisconsin.” She included spruce trees, lake trout, whitefish, moose, and the Karner blue butterfly, whose eggs are protected by snow.
The underlying goal of the exhibition, funded by the Ira and Ineva Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment and the Wisconsin Arts Board, goes beyond educating its visitors, says project director Dolly Ledin MS’88 of the Center for Biology Education. “We hope to inspire public involvement and offer individuals options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Ledin.
The exhibition debuted in Rhinelander in February, and in 2007 it will make tour stops in Ironwood and Calumet, Michigan, and in Ashland, Manitowish Waters, and Wausau, Wisconsin, before concluding in Madison in 2008. For a full itinerary, see the exhibition’s Web site.
— Nicole Miller MA’06
Small Arms, Big Wounds
When wars erupt, history often records the winners and losers — the political leaders and soldiers whose efforts shape events and policies. But for photographer Michael Kienitz ’74, the real story of conflict is shown in those whose lives are shaped by events.
“I’m fascinated with how children cope with political situations dictated by adults,” he says. “Their lives come with a lot of turmoil, and that makes them both young and elderly at the same time.”
A former staff photographer for the UW’s news service, Kienitz spent twenty-eight years traveling around the globe, seeking out hot spots to photograph for news magazines. During that time, he took haunting photos of the children of war and civil unrest. Those pictures will be on display at the UW’s Chazen Museum of Art this fall in an exhibit titled Small Arms: Children of Conflict.
Even while preparing the exhibit, Kienitz continues to expand it. Currently, he’s working to find the children he photographed decades ago so that he can take their pictures again and continue to tell their stories. “I’m anxious to see how their lives turned out,” he says.
— John Allen
“I’m fascinated with how children cope with political situations dictated by adults,” he says. “Their lives come with a lot of turmoil, and that makes them both young and elderly at the same time.”
A former staff photographer for the UW’s news service, Kienitz spent twenty-eight years traveling around the globe, seeking out hot spots to photograph for news magazines. During that time, he took haunting photos of the children of war and civil unrest. Those pictures will be on display at the UW’s Chazen Museum of Art this fall in an exhibit titled Small Arms: Children of Conflict.
Even while preparing the exhibit, Kienitz continues to expand it. Currently, he’s working to find the children he photographed decades ago so that he can take their pictures again and continue to tell their stories. “I’m anxious to see how their lives turned out,” he says.
— John Allen
Hit Maker
Tony Simotes teaches theatre students to embrace violence.
It’s likely that no one on the UW faculty has had the opportunity to kill quite as many people as Tony Simotes. But to be fair, none has been killed as many times, either.
Simotes, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Drama and director of University Theatre, is a professional fight director, meaning that, when it comes to violence, mayhem, and murder, he’s the master. He’s been on both the giving and receiving end of many a mortal blow, and his goal is to help revive the lost art of dramatic violence.
“There’s much more to stage fighting than just playing with swords and daggers,” he says. “I think of it more as physical lines of dialogue. It can be a slap. It can be intimidation. It’s about building tension and fear — stage fighting should serve to focus the dialogue so that the audience can understand the intensity of the story that’s being played out on stage.”
Though he earned his MFA in drama from New York University in 1976, Simotes brings far more than academic experience to the UW. A Shakespearean actor by training, he is a founding member of the Massachusetts-based Shakespeare and Company, and he has appeared on and off Broadway and in stage companies around the country. He trained as a fight director under B.H. Barry, one of the founders of the Society of British Fight Directors and a pioneer of modern stage-fighting technique.
Now in his fourth year on the UW faculty, Simotes brings a skill in arranging stage violence that has been put to use this season in such University Theatre productions as The Rover, a Restoration comedy of love and revenge that includes broadsword duels, and Arabia Nights, which includes several physical confrontations.
It’s likely that no one on the UW faculty has had the opportunity to kill quite as many people as Tony Simotes. But to be fair, none has been killed as many times, either.
Simotes, an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Drama and director of University Theatre, is a professional fight director, meaning that, when it comes to violence, mayhem, and murder, he’s the master. He’s been on both the giving and receiving end of many a mortal blow, and his goal is to help revive the lost art of dramatic violence.
“There’s much more to stage fighting than just playing with swords and daggers,” he says. “I think of it more as physical lines of dialogue. It can be a slap. It can be intimidation. It’s about building tension and fear — stage fighting should serve to focus the dialogue so that the audience can understand the intensity of the story that’s being played out on stage.”
Though he earned his MFA in drama from New York University in 1976, Simotes brings far more than academic experience to the UW. A Shakespearean actor by training, he is a founding member of the Massachusetts-based Shakespeare and Company, and he has appeared on and off Broadway and in stage companies around the country. He trained as a fight director under B.H. Barry, one of the founders of the Society of British Fight Directors and a pioneer of modern stage-fighting technique.
Now in his fourth year on the UW faculty, Simotes brings a skill in arranging stage violence that has been put to use this season in such University Theatre productions as The Rover, a Restoration comedy of love and revenge that includes broadsword duels, and Arabia Nights, which includes several physical confrontations.
But Simotes’ academic interest in stage violence runs deeper than teaching young actors how to fight convincingly. He also wants to learn from his students about the effects of make-believe violence on young actors.
“I think there’s a cost to the actor when we do this work,” he says. On stage, actors may be playing out a fiction, but they’re asked to make that fiction psychologically realistic. Simotes suspects that these actions have an effect on the mental and emotional state of performers. “Actors are often asked to do some very ugly things — to murder or rape,” he says. “When we repeatedly do these things, part of us as humans doesn’t understand that the stage world isn’t real. I want to study what happens to the actors, whether [they’re playing] warriors, victims, or villains.”
But though stage violence may pose psychic — and physical — risks to actors, Simotes believes that it’s a vital part of what drama can achieve. By presenting humanity with all of its flaws, he argues, theatre helps people see how society can be improved.
“People sometimes ask me why we need to see violence on stage,” he says. “They feel that the audience and actors would be more comfortable without it right there in the open. But I feel that theatre has an essential role to play in who we are as human beings. It can help us better understand who we are — and violence is part of that. On stage, when we see violence, we can understand its consequences. And we need to see all that so we can try to effect change.”
— John Allen
“I think there’s a cost to the actor when we do this work,” he says. On stage, actors may be playing out a fiction, but they’re asked to make that fiction psychologically realistic. Simotes suspects that these actions have an effect on the mental and emotional state of performers. “Actors are often asked to do some very ugly things — to murder or rape,” he says. “When we repeatedly do these things, part of us as humans doesn’t understand that the stage world isn’t real. I want to study what happens to the actors, whether [they’re playing] warriors, victims, or villains.”
But though stage violence may pose psychic — and physical — risks to actors, Simotes believes that it’s a vital part of what drama can achieve. By presenting humanity with all of its flaws, he argues, theatre helps people see how society can be improved.
“People sometimes ask me why we need to see violence on stage,” he says. “They feel that the audience and actors would be more comfortable without it right there in the open. But I feel that theatre has an essential role to play in who we are as human beings. It can help us better understand who we are — and violence is part of that. On stage, when we see violence, we can understand its consequences. And we need to see all that so we can try to effect change.”
— John Allen
Artifacts
Musician and author Ben Sidran ’67 has just completed a massive new project, Talking Jazz. In a twenty-four CD set, Sidran has collected music and interviews with such jazz greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herbie Hancock. The New York Times has described the collection as “addictive.” For more information, see www.talkingjazz.com.
Those who saw Paramount Pictures’ new version of Charlotte’s Web, released in December, had the chance to see the work of Kathryn Rathke ’84, MFA’90. The film’s stars may be Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, and Oprah Winfrey, whose voices give life to the animals of Zuckerman Farm, but Rathke’s illustrations are featured over the opening and closing credits.
In January, the UW Press published an anthology of the oral traditions, literature, and historically significant documents of the state’s first peoples called Wisconsin Indian Literature Edited by Kathleen Tigerman, the book aims to present an accurate chronological portrait of each native nation, including the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, and Potawatami, as well as the three groups transplanted from the New York area: the Oneida, the Brothertown, and the Stockbridge-Munsee branch of the Mohican.
The Division of Continuing Studies, University Theatre, and the Madison Repertory Theater are looking for the next great playwright — and they’re holding an open call to find him or her. Through the Wisconsin Wrights New Play Project, a contest to find new authorial talent, a panel of experts, including Emmy-winning actor Bradley Whitford, is currently judging scripts. They will select three for public readings in June, and one will be produced by the Rep at the Madison New Play Festival in November.
Those who saw Paramount Pictures’ new version of Charlotte’s Web, released in December, had the chance to see the work of Kathryn Rathke ’84, MFA’90. The film’s stars may be Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, and Oprah Winfrey, whose voices give life to the animals of Zuckerman Farm, but Rathke’s illustrations are featured over the opening and closing credits.
In January, the UW Press published an anthology of the oral traditions, literature, and historically significant documents of the state’s first peoples called Wisconsin Indian Literature Edited by Kathleen Tigerman, the book aims to present an accurate chronological portrait of each native nation, including the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Ojibwe, and Potawatami, as well as the three groups transplanted from the New York area: the Oneida, the Brothertown, and the Stockbridge-Munsee branch of the Mohican.
The Division of Continuing Studies, University Theatre, and the Madison Repertory Theater are looking for the next great playwright — and they’re holding an open call to find him or her. Through the Wisconsin Wrights New Play Project, a contest to find new authorial talent, a panel of experts, including Emmy-winning actor Bradley Whitford, is currently judging scripts. They will select three for public readings in June, and one will be produced by the Rep at the Madison New Play Festival in November.
