A BIG Thanks!!!!
We, at the Besser Museum would like to extend a big thank you to the 2010 exhibit schedule sponsors,
Dale and Joann Huggler
Wayne and Jill Kowalski
Mike and Kim Kendziorski
Pictured above is Dale Huggler and Besser Museum Education Curator ,Chris Witulski
The Works of Ann Gildner
Artist Statement
"Art is a part of my life. Art gives fuel for thought; the spark to ignite an idea; the energy to learn; the knowledge to understand; the desire to explore. Art opens the mind to view the world from another perspective.
Learning to see is how I constantly rediscover the world with line, form, shape, color and movement. The ordinary becomes unexpected. The unforeseen is everywhere in everything waiting to be rediscovered. My concern in art is not so much about copying a subject faithfully but letting pure energy be expressed. Finding the force and releasing the energy is the process of art.
Art has emotion. My work is the reflection of the events that touch me through my daily activities they may be personal or world wide. It all melts down into the subconscious. In return, the conscious sparks the emotion that brings the idea to life. The emotion that is beneath the surface waiting to be liberated by the artist is my motivating inspiration.
Art is the method of taking any kind of material or action and deliberately fashion a statement. My statement is expressed by mixed media. The materials are tape, fabric, paper, glue, oil or acrylic paints, soft or oil pastels, charcoal, pencil or whatever it takes that will solve the need for the desired result.
Most of my work includes the articles I have written for the local Cheboygan Tribune. I have found great pleasure in writing and experiencing the power of words. The combination of words and images stirs the power of emotion for my abstract vision.
I can not imagine life without art."
The Mystery Behind the Mask
Exhibit Currently open
Come and see a variety of Mexican origin masks
The Wildlife Art * Please call the Museum about touring any of our exhibits, for times, and availability
of
Chris Smith
("Rehead Respite")
January 16-March 27
www.chrissmithart.com
Artist Statement
"My goal with each piece I work on is to use my experience and what talent God has given me to create something real in terms of composition, anatomy, and habitat. I am looking not only for a memory captured or a moment in time that others may never get to see, but for things to look correct and fit together as they would naturally in the world. And hopefully my wildlife education and a life spent in the outdoors hunting and fishing have formed a basis of understanding that comes through in my art."
Christopher Smith, the 2009 Michigan Ducks Unlimited Sponsor Artist of the Year (work shown above), is a wildlife artist from Interlochen, Michigan. He specializes in dogs and wildlife scenes, which he executes for pet owners and wildlife lovers across the country.
Chris has illustrated more than a dozen hunting and fishing books. He is the Contributing Artist for The Retriever Journal, and a freelance illustrator for The Pointing Dog Journal, Just Labs, and Shooting Sportsmen. Chris is author and illustrator of Field Guide to Upland Bird and Waterfowl Identification, a pocket guide intended to help hunters and bird watchers properly identify the sporting birds in the field. He, along with brother Jason, is co-author of Waterfowling Horizons, a hardcover book about modern waterfowl hunting.
Chris attended Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, MI, and is a graduate from Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, holding a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management. Chris and wife, Lani, an artist and potter, have two children, Nathan and Audrey, and an obnoxious Labrador named Libby. He has hunted and fished across much of North America, adding hands on experiences to his formal education in the wildlife sciences.
To augment Chris's amazing paintings, we have added wildlife mounts from Limited Edition Taxidermy. Do not miss this opportunity to see some wildlife like you have never before.
(989) 356-2202
When Gerald Haltiner investigated the origin of the discs in the 1950s he solicited the help of University of Michigan anthropologists. The academic experts of the day concluded that the discs must be forgeries as no other like Native American object is on record in the country. Mr. Haltiner retrieved the discs from the University and kept them, eventually transferring them to the museum with his entire Native American collection. In 1983, Richard Clute encountered them in the Museum collection and recognized them as possible authentic artifacts. An archaeological investigation was conducted by ACC students, who were joined by U of M anthropologists. The excavation uncovered and additional 200 discs that are currently housed at the U of M anthropology museum. The excavation authenticated the discs as Native American dating from the 11th or 12th century. Pottery found with the discs allowed for this dating. One other disc has since been recovered directly across from Thunder Bay on the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. A great deal about the discs remains a mystery. Why have they only been found here? What were they used for? What is the significance of incised images? Understanding the culture of the Native Americans who lived on the Great Lakes at this time is an on-going study and what part the discs played is a part of that endeavor. Many of the discs were recovered as surface finds after their place in the soil was disturbed by gardening or shifting sands on the shore of Thunder Bay. The site where most of the discs were recovered was a family garden plot. The 1983 excavation in this family garden un-earthed a crushed ceramic vessel purposefully buried in an ancient sand beach ridge. The pot had been crushed by soil subsidence over time. Found un-disturbed the pot was easily reconstructed. Whether it was buried with the intention of later recovery or abandon is unknown. The discs themselves present many tantalizing indications. Some are worn through handling or friction against another object. Some are drilled with center holes. Many are blank. The central question remains, what are they? Native American elders, spiritual leaders and teachers have examined the discs. The inscribed images are powerful entities in the spiritual cosmology of Native Americans
The Naub-cow-zo-win Disc Collection
Gerald Haltiner recovered this group of artifacts in the 1950s and 1960s from a number of locations in and around Alpena. The round flat discs, ranging in diameter from ½ to 2 ½ inches, are unique and significant expressions of early Native American Culture in this region. About a third of the discs are inscribed with abstract symbols of powerful spiritual forms.
