With winter break tantalizingly in sight, seniors in UW-Milwaukee’s Design & Visual Communications program are prepared to display the fruits of the semester’s labors in two highly anticipated annual showcases.
Naturally, the Design Entrepreneur Showcase is well designed and visually striking. The young entrepreneurs’ projects are also an illuminating cross-section of the trials, concerns and desires of contemporary college students. Projects include an app to show students walking at night the safest route home based on proximity to campus safety walkers, an app where owners profile their dog’s personality to streamline the playmate search and a company that infuses coffee with vitamins. The showcase takes place from 5-9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10 at Kenilworth Square East, Third Floor.
On Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 6-9 p.m., Kenilworth Square East lights up once again with capstone projects from juniors and seniors for its biannual Arts+Tech Night. The interdisciplinary event engulfs three floors of the industrial-chic space that graduate students and faculty in Peck School of the Arts call home. The 30-plus capstone projects show the range of contemporary artistic practices, from 3D printing to experimental film and from installations to time-based media.
‘Preservation Lab: Loy Bowlin’s Holy Jewel Home’
John Michael Kohler Arts Center
608 New York Ave., Sheboygan
Loy Bowlin (1909-1995) was a good ol’ American eccentric hailing from McComb, Miss. On the heels of Glenn Campbell’s 1975 hit, “Rhinestone Cowboy,” Bowlin felt entitled to the honorific “Original Rhinestone Cowboy.” And he put his Bedazzler where his mouth was, embellishing his suits, 1967 Cadillac and even his dentures. By the end of the ’70s, Bowlin’s house had metamorphosed into, as the sign on the porch read, “The Beautiful Holy Jewel Home: The Home of the Original Rhinestone Cowboy.” The property was narrowly saved from destruction after Bowlin’s death and eventually ended up dismantled in John Michael Kohler Arts Center’s collection. For only the third time since 2001, the Jewel Home has been reassembled and will remain on display throughout the entirety of 2016.
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‘Growing In The Arts - Youth Arts Showcase’
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts
839 S. Fifth St.
There’s a singular charm to the art of the young. Lacks in maturity of technique are more than compensated for by the endearing earnestness and idiosyncratic worldview separating childhood from the creeping uniformity of adulthood. Encouraging the creativity of the young is a core component of the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts’ mission. “Growing In The Arts” showcases the diverse accomplishments of the WPCA’s Hands-On youth arts programs. Drawing, printmaking, sculpture and a dance recital will be enjoyed on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5-7 p.m. at the WPCA.
