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Artist maintains optimism amidst pandemic losses with new exhibition
LAWRENCE – Michael Krueger said most of the colored pencil drawings, watercolors and prints in his upcoming exhibition, “(Just Like) Starting Over” at Haw Contemporary in Kansas City, Missouri, were made during the past year of pandemic lockdown, and many of them reflect upon that. The March 12-April 21 show will include some of the largest works the University of Kansas professor has ever created, collectively taking up several thousand square feet of space.
Dole Institute promotes annual Easter Egg Roll with Dole for local families
LAWRENCE – The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will host its annual Easter Egg Roll with Dole from March 5 through April 3 with a mix of in-person and online components. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the egg roll celebration will be modified this year to recreate the activities at the institute to increase safety. For in-person visitors, there is an egg hunt amongst the exhibition cases, a Dole Institute-themed putting green, a space for children to practice their bunny hop and treats.
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Contact: Rick Hellman, KU News Service, 785-864-8852, [email protected], @RickHellman
Artist maintains optimism amidst pandemic losses with new exhibition
LAWRENCE – Michael Krueger said most of the colored pencil drawings, watercolors and prints in his upcoming exhibition, “(Just Like) Starting Over” at Haw Contemporary in Kansas City, Missouri, were made during the past year of pandemic lockdown, and many of them reflect upon that.
One such drawing places the viewer inside a cave, with golden sunlight shining through the entrance. The University of Kansas professor of visual art said in a recent interview that it was one of the first artworks he made at the onset of the pandemic, so he declined to identify the light with COVID-19 vaccines. Perhaps it’s more of a generalized hope, he allowed.
Krueger’s March 12-April 21 show takes its title from that of former Beatle John Lennon’s 1980 hit song, “(Just Like) Starting Over.”
“The title of the exhibition relates to something we are all considering as we reemerge in a post-pandemic world. It is just like starting over, but it also isn’t quite starting over,” Krueger said. “There is something about the song itself that is very tragic. It’s a very upbeat song, based on an older style of rock ’n’ roll that he was so influenced by. But, of course, the tragic part is that John Lennon was killed shortly after that record came out. In my lifetime, that was the first experience I ever had with that kind of global grieving.
“I was just a young child, but everyone was grieving John Lennon. It was something that came to me later, as I thought about why I had chosen that title. But it relates, in a way, because the work is about starting over. It’s about beginning again.”
Many of the works in the show share the dichotomous, dark/brightly colored nature of Krueger’s previous work. But among them will be some of the largest works he’s ever created. The show will fill three rooms and several thousand square feet of space.
“They are some of the biggest paintings I’ve ever made. One is 6 by 9 feet. I feel that I have been inching larger, and there’s a kind of impact in them,” Krueger said. “There are also some very small, intimate pieces in the show, so I’m kind of demanding of both worlds — to see that impactful, large-scale piece and to go up close and experience something more intimately. Trying to create that kind of breadth, that possibility, for the audience is nice. It’s a pretty epic show for me, both in terms of the scale of the show and the scale of the works.”
As for the works themselves, Krueger said he wants each to stand on its own and as part of a whole. The show has a definite theme, he said.
“I’m trying to tell multiple truths at the same time — that you have a need for optimism when you start over,” Krueger said. “You also have a need for grieving your losses, which is oftentimes why you start over. The work is trying to contain these two ideas simultaneously. I’m also looking closely at things from the natural world that helped me to see ways to start over, in a sense.”
One of those things came to him on a 2019 trip with his family to the redwood forests of northern California, Krueger said.
“We went in the springtime,” Krueger said, “and I was so in awe of the little, tiny bits of life that were coming up everywhere — that bright, brilliant green color in contrast to the dark shadows of the redwoods. Just seeing those little beginnings of life — the new growth in the old forest — you feel the power of that, so there’s something in the work that’s trying to translate that.
“I had started this work before the pandemic, but now it seems even more important that we figure out how to start over, how to begin again, with everything that’s happened. How do we learn to start over again in a new way? How do we deal with the loss that we’ve experienced and grieve that and still be optimistic about the path ahead? I’m trying to do that in the work.”
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Contact: Zac Walker, Dole Institute of Politics, 785-864-9319, [email protected], @DoleInstitute
Dole Institute promotes annual Easter Egg Roll with Dole for local families
LAWRENCE – The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will host its annual Easter Egg Roll with Dole from March 5 through April 3 with a mix of in-person and online components. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the egg roll celebration will be modified this year to recreate the activities at the institute to increase safety.
To reduce group sizes, instead of a single event, the institute will be open to families throughout March. Online elements have been added as well. The Easter Egg Roll’s Facebook event page will be updated over the course of the month, with Easter-themed videos, crafts, coloring pages and more. Participants are encouraged to tag the Dole Institute to share their experiences using the hashtag #rollwithdole in their social media posts.
“We are excited to offer the annual Easter Egg Roll with Dole reimagined with social distancing, safety measures and virtual components for fun interactive family activities all month long,” said Julie Clover, public education coordinator for the institute. “We encourage families to begin their Easter celebrations early with us this year.”
The Dole Institute will partner again with the Lawrence Public Library for a special spring-themed virtual story time and hands-on crafts available for pickup at the Dole Institute.
The Dole Institute is following KU and Douglas County COVID-19 protocols for safe, small-group visits to the institute. There is an egg hunt amongst the exhibition cases, a Dole Institute-themed putting green, a space for children to practice their bunny hop and lots of treats.
The 2021 Easter Egg Roll with Dole begins today and will be open to the public Thursday through Sundays until April 3. The museum is closed Easter Sunday, April 4.
To plan a visit, view the operating hours and safety guidelines at the Dole Institute website.
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