KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 / NEWS
ART
7A
Artist turns junk into touring exhibit
BY MEG LOWRY
mlowry@kansan.com
Kati Toivanen finds beauty in everyday things — even her junk.
"Why not enjoy and appreciate the beauty and joy of the places we are at and what we are surrounded by every day?" Toivanen said.
Toivanen is a professor of the art and art history department at UMKC. Her newest exhibit, "Domestic Debris," will open Sept. 26 at the gallery in the Art and Design Building. The exhibit is a collection of 25 montages of images that Toivanen photographed in her home.
"In this work, I came to accept, and even embrace, the accumulation of debris in my domestic environment," Toivanen said. "As a single mom, I was kind of limited as to where I could work."
The pictures feature items such as balloons, cleaning supplies and houseplants. Toivanen's son Tristan, who is seven, inspired and facilitated the exhibit.
"The project is something I have been working on for three years," Toivanen said. "My art used to really focus on growing up as a girl. When I had a boy child, that sort of shifted the focus of my work. Having a small
child creates messes and chaos, so everything on my floor and in my house I just embraced with my camera."
Shannon Bybee, assistant to the visual art chairwoman, said Towanen's exhibit was well suited to the gallery's criteria.
Toivanen designed the exhibit to be interactive and relatable.
"We have about eight exhibits a semester," Bybee said. "This is a teaching art and design gallery, so we have to be very sensitive to the teaching aspect of it."
"I am hoping that people will see the everyday as actually kind of interesting and beautiful," Toivanen said. "People will say, 'I never looked at my toaster that way, that is actually very interesting. By seeing images of normal things larger or in a different way, I am hoping that it will become a celebration of what we live in."
Towanen's art has been featured in more than 40 exhibits around the country, but she still sees art as a way to learn.
"Domestic Debris" will be open until Oct. 13, and is free to the public.
— Edited by David Cawthon
RELIGION
Muslim leaders address outcries
NEW YORK — A summit of U.S. Muslim organizations is under way in New York City to address the outcry over a proposed Islamic center near ground zero.
Spokesman Shaik Ubaid said the Muslim leaders met Sunday in an effort to arrive at a united stand. The organizations also hope to address what they see as a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment and rhetoric that has accompanied the nationwide
debate over the project
Groups participating in the summit include the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Alliance of North America and the Council on American-Islamic Relations
The private meetings are taking place at a hotel near Kennedy Airport. The groups plan to hold a news conference Monday at the site.
Associated Press
Walking the Eco-Walk
Jason Hering, a senior from Hutchinson in environmental studies, discusses the Haskell Eco-Walk construction project with members of the Wetlands Preservation Organization. The WPO is using wire frames filled with small rocks to create nature-friendly pilings for the eco-walk along the Haskell side of the Wakarausa Wetlands. The pilings need to be erected by Oct. 1, and volunteers are still needed for the project. The construction dates can be found on WPOS Facebook page.
NATIONAL
Father shoots children, attempts suicide
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOUSTON - Three children were found shot dead in their beds Sunday at a suburban Houston apartment building, and their father was charged with their murders after surviving an apparent suicide attempt, authorities said.
was being treated for what investigators say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, Wagner said. A sheriff's office statement he was expected to survive.
Muhammed Goher, 47, was charged with three counts of capital murder in the Sunday morning shootings, said Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Jamie Wagner.
Goher's two daughters, ages 14 and 7, and a 12-year-old son were killed in the shootings, which were reported around 9:45 a.m. The apartment is attached to a convenience store where Goher worked, about three miles south of Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Goher was in stable condition Sunday afternoon at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston, where he
Gober is divorced from the children's mother, Norma Goher, but had court-ordered visitation rights, according to the statement.
Those rights were to be the subject of a Sept. 27 court hearing in Houston. However, Goher received the children Friday afternoon and was to have returned them to their mother Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
A female baby-sitter reported seeing Goher with a handgun and fled the apartment before hearing a gunshot, according to the statement.
Neighbors did not return telephone messages left Sunday by The Associated Press.
One neighbor, Julio Rodriguez, told the Houston Chronicle that
he dialed 911 after he saw a woman screaming when she left the apartment at the time of the shooting.
"I heard her screaming, "Gun! Gun! Shoot! Shoot!" I got scared because I knew there were kids in there," he said.
Muhammad Riaz, Goher's coworker at a convenience store near his building, told the Chronicle he spoke with Goher Saturday. He found him upset over the upcoming court date and the fear of losing his visitation rights. Riaz said
Goher said "everyone was lying" about him having a violent temper, Riaz told the newspaper.
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