WEDNESDAY, JULY 17,2002
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 15
Art exhibit showcases animals and insects
Todd Smith
Kansan staff writer
The art of nature comes to the Spencer Museum of Art.
The latest exhibit, Fish, Flowers and Flying Things: Nature at the Spencer Museum, is on display in the Kress and South Balcony Galleries and runs July 20 through Sept.1.
Joe Lampo, assistant to the museum director, said the exhibit was in conjunction with the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, which was having a conference in Lawrence from Aug. 4 to Aug. 9.
Sara Taliaferro, chair of the conference, said they approached the museum about having the exhibit held in conjunction with the conference.
Lampo said the museum curators agreed that it was a good idea.
They worked as wildlife artists or illustrated textbooks and scientific journals, she said.
*Taliafero* said the illustrators' worked in a variety of fields from botany to astronomy.
Taliaferro said they were interested in coming to Lawrence because the Allen Press, Inc. in Lawrence printed many scientific journals illustrated by members of the guild.
Lampo organized the show of artwork depicting fish, amphibians, reptiles, plants, mammals, birds and insects. The art is by American, European and Asian
artists and craftsmen from the 12th century to the present.
He said many of the works came from the museum's original benefactor, Sallie Casey Thaver, in the early 20th century.
"She gave 7,000 objects to the University of Kansas in the late 1920's for the purpose of the University starting the art museum." he said.
He said some of Thayer's objects that will be displayed were an 18th century English cauliflower teapot, a pair of dolphin pressed-glass candlesticks and a Japanese "netsuke," or miniature sculptures. in the form of animals.
He said the exhibit included decorated snuff bottles made during the 18th and 19th centuries in China.
Snuff was powdered tobacco that sometimes had aromatic substances added to it to gave it a different flavor, he said. Each snuff bottle had a small spoon, Lampo said.
Lampo said that Europeans brought the tradition of using snuff to China.
CONTRIBUTED ART
"The spoon would take the snuff out of the bottle and then it would be plugged in the nose." he said.
She said in addition to the exhibit at the museum there were two other exhibits held in conjunction with the conference.
Watercolor moth paintings by John
The Lawrence Public Library had an exhibit called Watercolor Studies of Insects and Moths. Taliaferro said.
Cody of Hays and watercolors of mostly beetles and other insects by Gilles Bosquet of Paris were on display, she said.
This exhibit will be on display from July 1 to Aug. 9.
Then from Aug. 3 through Sept. 30, the KU Museum of Natural History hosted the
Above: An alligator study done in 1940 by Luis Jimenez is part of the Fish, Flowers and Flying Things: Nature at the Spencer Museum exhibit. The lithograph was purchased by the museum in 1992 with funds provided by Elmer F. Pierson.
Left: The toad, also part of the exhibit was created in Italy during the 17th century.
conference's annual members' juried exhibit and traveling exhibit, Taliafero said.
The Spencer Museum of Art will also sponsor a showing of the film A Bug's Life at 7 p.m. on Aug.22 in the museum auditorium.
Contact Smith at tsmith@kansan.com. This story was edited by Mandy Miller.