01/27/11

Story by Stevie Greco, administrative assistant, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

Third Thursday • Visiting Artists

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College continues its popular program, Third Thursday · Visiting Artists’ Presentations, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in the museum’s M.R. and Evelyn Hudson Auditorium, with special guest artists Peggy Noland and George Timock, and moderators Joan McCrillis-Lafferty (chair, fashion merchandising and design) and Laura Harris Gascogne (associate professor, fine arts). The program is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required.

Peggy Noland, candy, cheese, Coca-Cola, plastic, Poly-Fill, spray paint, photo by Jaimie Warren

Peggy Noland wears one of her designs, Styrofoam, spandex and fishing line, photo by Jaimie Warren

Peggy Noland is a self-taught fashion designer who sells her avant-garde clothing line in her boutique, Peggy Noland Kansas City, located in the Crossroads Art District. Her store exudes a playful aesthetic and acts as a changing environment, where visitors may be engulfed within a giant cheeseburger, on a bed of poly-filled clouds, or amidst giant green hands with hot pink fingernails — all depending on that month’s installation. As a costumer, Noland frequently collaborates with bands and performance groups, including Kansas City’s SSION and Whoop Dee Doo, as well as The Gossip, Fischerspooner, Peaches, CSS, and Tilly and the Wall.  In addition to her pop-up shops in New York and Berlin and her exhibition at the Hole Gallery, New York, Noland showed her latest collection at New York Fashion Week, 2010. National publications including The New York Times, Spin, Rolling Stone, Nylon, Missbehave, Lucky and XLR8R, and international publications like Japanese Elle, British Elle, WWD, WGSN and Dazed and Confused have featured Noland's pieces. Recognized as a leader in Kansas City’s creative community, Noland is a recipient of a Lighton International Artist Exchange Program grant and was given a Mastermind Award by Pitch in 2006. The artist currently lectures in the renowned fiber department at the Kansas City Art Institute.

George Timock, portrait courtesy the artist

George Timock, portrait courtesy the artist

George Timock is a clay artist whose creative career spans more than 40 years. For most of his career, Timock focused on creating raku-fired, double-walled vessels. Emphasizing rich textures inspired by landscape, the artist fired his pieces multiple times, continually adding different glazes to achieve luminous colors in his sculptural works.  Following his first trip to Hungary in 2005, Timock shifted the focus of his work, taking inspiration from the architecture in Eastern Europe.  Working with Herend porcelain, known for its immense clarity and purity, Timock began to create exuberant, delicately carved porcelain vessels with opulent lusters of gold and platinum. A professor in the ceramics department at the Kansas City Art Institute since 1973, Timock’s career includes more than 100 solo and group exhibitions including The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Vatican Museum, Vatican City, Italy; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York. Selected collections include the Smithsonian Institution, The State Collection of Hawaii in Honolulu, Detroit Institute of Arts, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Noteworthy selected awards include Outstanding Special Projects Award at KCAI and National Endowment for the Arts Grants.

The next Third Thursday program is scheduled for March 24. These free programs feature two artists working within the KC region, with each artist giving a 20-minute presentation followed by discussion in the Hudson Auditorium. Museum staff members facilitate conversation and audience participation by pairing each artist with a JCCC faculty moderator. The Third Thursday programs promote student interface with area artists.

The Nerman Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays and all JCCC holidays. For more information, call 913-469-3000 or visit www.jccc.edu/museum. Admission and parking are free.

Third Thursday programs are supported in part by an Ovation Grant from the ArtsKC Fund of the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City.

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