Through Oct. 10
Mandeville Gallery in Nott Memorial
Drawings and prints by the late Arnold Bittleman,
Union professor of art.
A reception on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 1
to 3 p.m. will feature remarks by
Stephen Pentak '73, professor of art at Ohio
State University;
and Joseph G. Perrella '78, an artist, archivist and
educator in Niskayuna. For more information, visit http://www.union.edu/Gallery/
or call (518) 388-6004.
Through Oct. 21
Burns Arts Atrium Gallery
“The Figure Drawn: Work on Paper by Sigmund Abeles and Philip Grausman,” a show that brings together two acclaimed
artists of the same generation who share an approach to the human figure.
Gallery talk with the artists on Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 2 to 3 p.m.
Abeles will give a slide talk from 3:30
to 4 p.m. in Room 215 of the Arts
Building. A reception will follow.
For more information, call 518-388-6131.
The Burns Atrium Gallery presents a show
that brings together two acclaimed artists of the same generation who share an
approach to the human figure.
The Figure Drawn: Work on Paper
by Sigmund Abeles and Philip Grausman runs from Thursday, Sept. 9, through
Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Atrium Gallery in the Arts
Building on the north side of
campus.
The exhibit is free and open to
the public. For more information, call 518-388-6131. Gallery hours are daily
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Abeles and Grausman will give a
gallery talk on Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 2
to 3 p.m. Abeles will give a talk
accompanied by a slide show from 3:30
to 4 p.m. in Room 215 of the Arts
Building. A reception for the
artists will follow in the Atrium Gallery from 4:30
to 5:30 p.m.
While both artists have a
generally representational perspective, they differ greatly in their
description of the human form. Abeles, known as a painter and printmaker,
presents his images with psychologically penetrating directness, employing bold
and incisive lines and marks that crackle with emotion. His many grants and
awards include those from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the National
Institute of Arts & Letters, and the American Jewish Committee Academic
Seminar in Israel.
In contrast, Grausman, a master of
classically refined sculptures of people and animals, establishes linear
amalgams of sheer elegance in which the viewer meets subjects through somewhat
idealized geometry. His honors include a sculpture fellowship from the American
Academy in Rome,
the Ford Foundation Purchase Award, the Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, and a
grant from the National Institute of Arts & Letters.
Despite their differences, each
artist creates forms with passion, conviction, and authority from years of
seeing, reflecting, and making art.
The exhibition is made possible
through the support of Union College,
its Visual Arts Department, and the Walter C. Baker Fine Arts Endowment.
Untitled {detail}, pen & india ink/paper, by Arnold Bittleman
Drawings and prints by the late
Arnold Bittleman, Union professor of art, will be on exhibit from August 26 through Oct. 10 at the Mandeville
Gallery in the Nott Memorial.
The show is free and open to the
public. Gallery hours are Monday through Sunday, 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.union.edu/Gallery/
or call (518) 388-6004.
A nationally renowned artist,
Bittleman (1933-1985) joined the Union
College faculty in 1966 after
teaching at Skidmore College,
Parsons School of Design, and Yale University.
He arrived at Union as the founding and only member of
the Studio Arts faculty, and was an artist-in-residence and lecturer in the
arts, initially declining the position of professor, and declining offers from
Yale to return there to teach.
Bittleman, a very popular
professor, was not interested in rank, or in the machinations of departments;
he was interested in educating students and creating art. During his 20 years
at the College, Bittleman taught drawing, painting, design, color theory,
photography, and printmaking. He was extremely active on campus,
designing event posters, designing and advising for The Union Book,
organizing concerts, film series, and lectures. In 1970 he received tenure and
became a full professor.
His own work flowed slowly,
carefully onward, and though he often had difficulty in finishing work, he
exhibited widely and regularly. His work was shown at numerous venues
including the Museum of Modern
Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New
York City, and the Museum
of Fine Arts in Boston.
His works are in a number of collections: the Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney
Museum of American Art; the Brooklyn Museum; the Boston Museum of Fine Arts;
Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY;
the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass.; the Schenectady Museum;
the Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock; and many others.
Bittleman grew up in the Bronx.
He attended James Monroe
High School and the Rhode Island
School of Design before receiving a B.F.A. (1956) and an M.F.A. (1958) from Yale
University, where he studied with
Josef Albers (about whom he later made the film To Open Eyes – on view
in this exhibition). In 1983, Bittleman was diagnosed with an inoperable brain
tumor. Despite his worsening illness, he continued to teach through the fall of
1984. He died April 7, 1985
at 51.
The show, previously at Gallery
100 in Saratoga Springs, was
curated by Rachel Seligman, director of the
Mandeville Gallery.
Charlotte
Borst, dean of arts and sciences, has
received a prize from the History of Education Society for the best article in
the history of education. She was cited for “Choosing the Student Body” in the History of Education Quarterly. The
committee, which called the article “thoroughly researched, theoretically
grounded, and engagingly written,” considered 40 articles published in the last
two years. Borst will be honored at the society's annual meeting in November.
Carol Weisse, professor of
psychology, gave an invited talk titled “How do Physicians Make Decisions
Regarding Pain Therapy?” at a scientific meeting of the Eastern Pain Association
in New York City.
