University Daily Kansan / Thursday, September 3, 1987
Arts/Entertainment
7
Spencer Museum of Art celebrates 10 years of growth
By JENNIFER ROWLAND
Staff writer
Ten years ago, the Spencer Museum of Art was moving its works to a new building west of the Kansas Union and trying to accommodate everyone from brides and grooms to musicians and diners.
"Suddenly everyone wanted to do something with the museum," said Doug Tighman, acting director for the museum. "We had requests for weddings, concerts, meetings, dinners. People wanted to show films in the museum. We suddenly were the hot place to do things," he said.
he placed two images.
He said the museum was instantly popular when it relocated from Spooner Hall, east of the Kansas Union, to west of the Union on Mississippi Street in 1977.
"We got requests for everything that first year. Then it tapered off a little, and we decided we weren't going to kill ourselves forever," he said.
"That lasted for quite awhile. We had to decide what we could do and couldn't do. We don't do weddings."
The museum moved into its present quarters after Kansas City arts patron Helen Foresman Spencer donaed most of the money needed to construct the $4.6 million building.
Since then, the museum's budget has grown from $200,000 a year to $1 million a year, about half of which comes from state funds.
Tilghman said the museum's primary responsibility was to serve the
est of students.
"We try very desperately to meet requests for academic support. Those are our first priorities, obviously. If somebody wants to bring their class to the museum, we very seldom turn down something like that." he said.
University and the academic interests of students.
"The other side, of course, is providing service to the public. For example, we work with the local school district. We give tours to every fifth grade and sixth grade in Lawrence, preceded by a talk at their school," he said.
"The building and the community support that we have are the reasons we've grown," he said. "The growth of our staff and our budget and our level of activity are the ways that we've grown in response to that stimuli.
The museum also offers tours to some area grade schools, high schools, regional colleges and the community, he said.
we may not have the collection that some other university museums have, but in terms of what we do with that collection, we'd have to be ranked very high," he said.
Tilghman said good staff relations helped the museum to thrive.
"A lot of university art museums do not have very good relations with the art departments or the art history departments. They sort of exist within in the academic department. And if they don't, they are viewed as com-
said.
"We do not have that problem. We have developed really good relations with the art history department."
petitors for staff and attention," he said.
with the art teacher. Several artists, including contemporary painter Elizabeth Murray and noted photographer Aaron Siskind, are scheduled to speak at KU about their works. Tilghman said obtaining exhibits and attracting speakers hadn't been difficult.
work. he said.
One recent acquisition, titled "Chaotic Lip," is a 20th-century painting by Murray, who is considered one of the top painters of the '80s. She is scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the museum's dedication.
in the "Most artists want to explain their work," he said.
Siskind is scheduled to speak Sept. 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Spencer Museum of Art auditorium.
Museum.
The celebration will begin Jan. 15 with a party for the Friends of the Art Museum, followed on Jan. 16 by a public exhibition of about 150 works acquired over the last 10 years. Jan. 16 will be the 10th anniversary of the public opening of the museum. A concert designed to attract students also will be that evening. On Jan. 17, Oxford University art historian Francis Haskell will speak.
Francis Baker was a visitor. Although the museum's reputation is good, there is still room for improvement. Tilghman said the 20th-century art collection was one area the museum was working to
improve
"You don't get many donations in that area. It's hard to acquire contemporary art because the best is expensive."
Thomas Southall, curator of photography at the museum and associate professor of art history, said he came to the University of North Carolina in 1978, opened to the public in January 1978.
"I think the collection has well more than doubled in the last ten years," Southall said.
He said a collection including 500 photographs from the 1950s and 1960s, published in Esquire magazine and acquired by the museum in 1980, had helped the national reputation of the museum's photography division.
Other highlights of the collection include photographs by Harold E. Edgerton, Ansel Adams and more than 30 original photographs by the famed 1960s photographer Diane Arbus. This is one of the largest museum collections of her work, Southall said.
portraits of 19th century French authors donated by the department of French and Italian also have added to the exhibits, he said.
Southall said regional photographs of small-town activity by Earl Iversen and of Kansas landscapeing by Terry Evans also were on display.
KU senior's practice pays
Michael Tyler plays on album with jazz great Bill Watrous
By MICHAEL HORAK Staff writer
Michael Tyler regrets never getting the chance to trick or treat on Halloween when he was a kid. Walking around in costume would take time, he was told, and that meant being away from his trumpet.
"I always envied the other child, Kids would come to our door, and we'd have to stop practicing to do it," Tyler said. "I really bothered me."
"Our music and keeping us fed was all that mattered to my dad. It was his obsession, so we practiced all the time," he said.
Tyler, Dallas senior, said practice started the moment school was out and sometimes didn't end until 2 or 3 the next morning
During that 10-day stay, Tyler so impressed Watrous that he got to play a duet with him called "Mountain Dance." That song will be included on the instrumental jazz album scheduled for national release on the "Soundwings" label this month.
"When Mr. Watrous was here last spring for our jazz festival, I slipped him a tape of five songs I wrote, hoping he would give them to Quincy Jones," Tyler said. "The next week, he called me back and said 'Mike, if my daughter likes this, it's got to be good.'"
Recently those long hours of intense work began to pay off. In June, Tyler was flown to California at the invitation of world-known trombonist Bill Watrous to watch the production of Watrous' next album.
Watrous and music producer Pat Williams, famous for writing
the theme songs to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Bob Newhart Show", invited him to Los Angeles for the recording session.
Tyler said his duet with Watrous was an accident. He said that when he heard "Mountain Dance," he thought it would make a great duet. He mentioned the idea to Watrous, who agreed. Tyler said he had to beg to be considered for his role in the duet.
"The Spencer Museum started collecting photography in the 1960s, which was ahead of most museums in our country. Most museums around the country," Southall said.
Watrous didn't want to waste time on a college kid, especially when studio rental was costing him $2,000 a day. Tyler said.
"When I walked into the studio, he said to me, 'When the red light goes on, that's when you've got to it. I knew if I didn't do it right, I would be taking the next plane home.' he said.
"I did it in one take, and I did it great," he said.
Appearing on Watrous' album was one of the highlights of Tyler's music career, he said.
nat career, he joked, started before he was born.
I tunnk I was probably playing music when I was in my mother's womb," he said. "I've always loved it."
Tyler, now 21, is bitter when he talks about growing up in a household obsessed with music.
"I didn't have a normal childhood," he said.
Iyer said that when he was nine, he traveled with his family's band around the nightclub circuit. He would play into the wee hours of the morning, go home and get up to go to school.
Boy Scouts, after-school play and television were specifically
Scott Carpenter/KANSAN
forbidden.
Michael Tyler, Dallas senior, recorded an album this summer with trombonist Bill Watrous.
toobudget
During grade school, Tyler members secretly watching television for a couple of hours one afternoon instead of practicing.
His father came home from work, felt the warm console and as punishment made him practice all night.
Tyler went to a high school in Dallas that emphasized fine arts and music. During his four years there, he won several top county, city and state music awards.
He said playing in school bands offered him an escape from pressure at home.
It was during a high school cross-country band trip that Tyler was first introduced to the KU music department.
muse department. "On our way back from Minnesota, we came through Lawrence and just happened to play at Lewis Hall," he said. "Being a sophomore in high school and seeing all those women, I said, 'Man, this is the place for me.'"
Ron McCurdy, coordinator of jazz studies at KU, said he saw Tyler at Lewis Hall and knew he bad talent.
"Some people have great instincts, he's got more than that going for him," McCurdy said. "It's only a matter of time before he makes it big."
the talents Tyler exhibited during that Lewis Hall performance continue to impress his music professors. Not only does he play the trumpet; he also has studied the flugelhorn, drums, trombone, piano and bass. He sings and claims to be a decent whistler.
Roger Stoner, assistant chairman of the music and dance department, said, "The combination of abilities he has is truly remarkable. He is not just good by college standards, but I consider him good for professional standards.
Recently, he has been spending most of his time composing and arranging new material. He has written more than 100 songs in the past year.
For now, Tyler is declining offers to drop out of school and become a professional. He said his career would take a back seat to the two years he still has left to graduate,
In spite of the confidence Tyler's peers and professors have in his abilities, he said it would take more than talent to make it big in the music industry.
"He will definitely make it in the big time," Stoner predicted. "If I had to bet on the stock market, I'd bet on him."
He will continue to write and record music, under the sponsorship of Charles Oldfather, retired KU professor of law.
"If I have to, I will commute to the West Coast, but I won't quit school." he said.
"I guess the whole moral is never let a dream loose . . . get after it and work hard to attain it, because nobody is going to give it to you.
He said that hard work and making contacts within the music industry would be the keys to his failure or success.
"I honestly believe that God put me on this earth to play music. If I don't do it and do it well, I think I will be letting God down."
He said the photography exhibits had attracted students and that the Edgerton and Adams exhibits had been popular.
been popular. The museum's print collection is another attraction, partly because of its historic span.
"We have almost 500 years of graphic art in our storage area," said Steven Goddard, curator of prints. In the past three years, the museum has worked to expand its collections, including 16th-century Northern European art, which is Goddard's special. A January exhibition of Dutch posters had been a recent highlight, he said.
James Larson/KANSAN
A sculpture by artist Louise Nevelson called "Seventh Decade Garden" is located outside the Spencer Museum of Art. The museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
She-Bop, from left, Nancy Crane, Carol Dressler, Kim Allison and Jody Biesche have been playing together as a band for four months. The group performs rock 'n' roll mainly from the '50s and '60s.
Ordinary women turn rockers by night, form new local band
By KIRK ADAMS
Staff writer
By day they're ordinary folk — a high school junior, a music store owner, a secretary at a KU school and another at a grain elevator in Lawrence.
By night, they're members of what they say is Lawrence's only all-woman rock band.
As a rock band, they're doing exactly what they've always wanted to do.
The group, called She-Bop, was formed by Lawrence resident Carol Dressler in May. Dressler is a secretary in the aerospace engineering department at the University of Kansas.
The band plays '50s and '60s music, and they try to stay as close to the original material as possible.
original material to purchase.
"But it's mostly male material, so it sounds a little different," Dressler said.
Dressler and Jody Bieshe have been playing together since November. Later, their friend Nancy Crane joined the group, and they found their lead guitarist, Kim Allison, through a newspaper ad. All are Lawrence residents.
are Lawrence. "We do some '70s and '80s stuff,
too, some Bananarama, some Bangles.
Mainly what we do in the way of music is Buddy Holly, the Beatles and Elvis." Dressler said.
and EVIs. The band plays its own rendition of "Venus" modeled after both the Bananarama and the Shocking Blue
versions.
They sing together for "Chains" by Cookies and "The Peppermint Twist" by Joey Dee and the Starlighters. They really find a groove when they play "Stormy Monday", modeled after the Allman Brothers' version.
— Carol Dressler She-Bop band member
The four of us have come together and it's one journey for now. These are three of the most committed people I've ever worked with.'
keyboard. Before She-Bop, she played rhythm and blues.
"T
Biesche said, "We've got the ultimate gimmick — we're all women!"
Dressler said she thought the Lawrence music scene had some tough competition. But she said the group members all had a common goal to make the band successful. They have been practicing twice a week.
Biesche plays the drums and also plays the guitar. She is experienced in folk and bluegrass music. Biesche has played in the bands New Reflections and Apropos, and has played in
marching bands. She is co-owner of Band Instrument Care, 2601 Iowa St.
"I once drove 45 miles just to play
Biesche also plays the harmonica and banjo in solo acts.
All the women help with vocals, but Crane is the lead singer for the group. Crane works as a secretary at a local grain elevator. She plays the guitar, keyboard and drums. Crane, a KU graduate, has played in the bands Dream Machine, Sun Puppy I and Sun Puppy II.
Allison, a Lawrence High School junior, plays lead guitar, bass, keyboard and the flute. Allison said she liked classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Yes.
"We call Kim 'The Ice Woman' because she's so cool." Biesche said. "Kim is our favorite person to pick on because we're all old, and she's young and talented, and we're jealous."
Dressler said that each of the band members had different preferences in music, but they wanted to appeal to a large audience and also be danceable.
unikeabee.
She-Bop will perform for the first time at 9 p.m. Sept. 26 at Bogarts, 611 Vermont St.
"The four of us have come together and it's one journey for now. These are three of the most committed people I've ever worked with," Dressler said.