Exhibits and Displays – Post Art Library

Repetition: Mixed Media Paintings by Amber Mintert

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Post Art Library

Repetition, an exhibit consisting of mixed media paintings by local artist Amber Mintert, is currently on display in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library.

Amber is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Missouri Southern State University, but her life in the world of art started well before now. She grew up primarily in Bentonville, Arkansas and Ozark, Missouri in a creative home. She and her sister were always encouraged to sing, dance, draw, and explore their world. Amber’s sister was the performer, and she was the artist. Amber started watercolor lessons at the age of five, and never looked back.

Since that time, she has spent time drawing and painting, but also enjoys textiles and sewing. Most of her work is influenced by textile design, stitching, and fabric. She creates patterns and images that incorporate these elements, including actual stitching, on some of her work.

As time has passed, the events of her life have influenced her work with symbols representing people and places that have become a part of her own tapestry. Even when those symbols are only recognizable by her, they are placed in compositions filled with the patterns of fabrics and textiles she creates. Some of her work is also made up of observations and objects she finds amusing and calming in compositions that provide whimsy or contemplation.

Her personal life includes her art-teacher husband Fred, her three children, a daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. Her family is close, and this is her primary focus in life. She and her family live on a small farm raising goats and chickens, and they love to travel both stateside and internationally. She is also very involved in her church life and works with children and missions.

Repetition is on display through December 31, 2023. For more information, contact the Post Art Library at 417-623-7953 x1041.

Call for Entry!

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Post Art Library

Call for entry! We’re excited to partner with Joplin Public Library for their premier community read program, Joplin Reads Together, by co-hosting a call for entry for Lost & Found: Remarkably Bright Objects, a community-based art exhibition consisting of art created with found objects.

Guidelines/Eligibility: This call for entry is open to anyone ages 18+. Artwork must be original works of art that incorporate found objects. Open to all forms and mediums. 2D artwork may not exceed 16×20 inches and must be wired for hanging. If you’re interested in submitting a 3D piece, then contact Post Art Library director Jill Halbach prior to getting started. This is a familyfriendly show; no works of an explicit nature, please. Also, we will not accept copy works, such as those depicting licensed characters, photographs of public art, etc. This is a non-juried, community-based project.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CALL FOR ENTRY FORM

This exhibition coincides with Joplin Public Library’s premier community read program, Joplin Reads Together. The title they selected is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby van Pelt. “Lost and found” is among the book’s themes and motifs. Although participation in the Joplin Reads Together program is encouraged, it’s not necessary for submitting an artwork to this call for entry.
This call for entry is open from March 1-31, 2023. Completed artworks may be dropped off in the library’s Makerspace during the Makerspace’s regular hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 11am-8pm (staff break from 3-4pm) or Wednesdays & Fridays from 9am-5pm (staff break from 1-2pm). Other drop off times may be made by appointment only. Artwork will not be accepted without a completed and signed entry form. Artwork will not be accepted any later than March 31st–no exceptions!

Questions about the call for entry/exhibit may be directed to Post Art Library Director Jill Halbach at jill@postartlibrary.org or 417.623.7953 x1041. For more information about how to participate in Joplin Public Library’s Joplin Reads Together program, contact their Adult Programming Coordinator Sarah Turner-Hill at 417.623.7953 x1030 or visit Joplin Reads Together online.

JRAC Exhibit: The Eyes Have It

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Post Art Library

The artists of Joplin Regional Artists Coalition (JRAC) were asked to consider creating an original work of art concerned with and focused on the eye. For time eternal, artists have explored this theme–as symbol, allegory, and as thoughtful contemplation regarding the world around us. Encompassing a variety of mediums, JRAC’s talented members have once again shown us the vast array of viewpoints that art allows.

The Eyes Have It will be exhibited in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library November 1, 2022 – January 2, 2023.

1st Place, Midori No Honō by Emily Rose; 2nd Place, Seymour by Ginger Copeland

3rd Place, The King In All His Glory by Curt Penland

The Eyes Have It exhibit in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library.

Abstract Paintings by Lori Marble

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Post Art Library

Favorite Children’s Books Reimagined: What Do You See?, an exhibit featuring abstract paintings by Lori Marble, will soon be at the Library!

Remember your favorite books from childhood? Perhaps you even have one or two on your bookshelf today? Now, picture them reimagined as abstract paintings. Artist Lori Marble, the now adult child of a librarian, lovingly remembers the books that shaped her childhood.

She asked the librarians at Joplin Public and Post Art Libraries about their favorite children’s books, read them, and painted them in an abstract, mixed-media style. She paints in an ambidextrous fashion, laying down large swatches of bold color using a palette knife in her left hand, while incorporating bold brush strokes and subtle details with her right. Her love of symbolism and pattern is evident in each work on paper.

The display is purposely hung at a child’s eye-view and will prompt each viewer to ask “What do you see?” This exhibit is presented by the Post Art Library in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library. Free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Post Art Library Director Jill Sullivan at (417) 623-7953 x1041.

EXHIBIT INFO:

June 9 – August 31, 2022 | Opening reception: June 9, 2022, 6:30-7:30pm

Sculptures by Zach VanBecelaere

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Post Art Library

We’re glad to present Sculptures by Zach VanBecelaere in the Post Reading Room inside Joplin Public Library from Sunday, May 1^st – Thursday, June 30th.

Working primarily with steel and stainless steel, Zach VanBecelaere uses a variety of metalworking techniques to manipulate materials into new forms. He incorporates welding used for harsh texture, high mirror polished finishes, and patinated rusted finishes to create contrast and duality in his work. His work stems from a fascination with the natural processes of growth and decay while exploring the relationship between the two.

For more information, contact Post Art Library Director Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041.

EXHIBIT INFO

Sunday, May 1st – Thursday, June 30th

The Thought Knot by Zach VanBecelaere (with PAL Director Jill Sullivan for scale).

Photography by Mitsu Harter

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Post Art Library

We invite you to visit our Local History gallery to take in the photography of Mitsu Harter. For many years she expressed her artistic vision with paint, on canvas, and even on walls and ceilings within her home. After an accident that required the rebuilding of her hand, she searched for a way to continue to share her dreams of light, color, nature’s brilliant beauty, and exquisite timeless history. She eventually picked up a camera and now uses her artist’s eye to pinpoint the miraculous dwelling among the mundane, to expose the color residing in the shadows. Harter’s photographs feature historic sites and structures.

For more information, contact Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041.

EXHIBIT INFO

Sunday, May 1st – Tuesday, May 31st | Reception: Sunday, May 15th, 2-3pm

Church – Picher, Oklahoma by Mitsu Harter

COMBINE: Spring

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Post Art Library

COMBINE is a collaborative and interdisciplinary group of MSSU Art & Design students. This, their inaugural group exhibition, explores various creative responses to the concept of “spring.” COMBINE: Spring is on exhibit in the Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library until Sunday, May 29, 2022. Visit the library during the opening reception on Thursday, April 28 between 6:30-7:30pm for an opportunity to meet the artists.

For more information, contact Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041.

EXHIBIT INFO

Thursday, April 28^th – Sunday, May 29^th | Reception: Thursday, April 28, 6:30-7:30pm

Young Artists Gallery Exhibit

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Post Art Library

We’ve partnered with Joplin Public Library for the inaugural exhibit of their Young Artists Club! Open to children through age 12, the Young Artists Club meets monthly to learn new art techniques and make artwork. Exhibited here are their self-portraits, which they learned how to create in April.

Join us on Friday, May 13th from 4pm-5pm for the Young Artists Gallery closing reception, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet these young artists and celebrate their works, as well as enjoy light refreshments.

For more information about the Young Artists Club, visit Joplin Public Library’s Children’s Library or call 417-623-7953 x 1035.

City of Hope: Resurrection City & the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign

Posted on December 21, 2021 by Post Art Library

“City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign” will be on display from Saturday, January 15th through Monday, February 28th, 2022 in The Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery inside Joplin Public Library.

This Smithsonian-created poster exhibition honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final and most ambitious vision that each U.S. citizen have equal access to economic opportunities and the American dream. It examines the Poor People’s Campaign, a grassroots, multiracial movement that drew thousands of people to Washington, D.C. for 43 days between May and June 1968, where demonstrators demanded social reforms while living side-by-side on the National Mall in a tent city known as Resurrection City.

Although President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “war on poverty” in 1964, tens of millions of Americans were denied livable wages, adequate housing, nutritious food, quality
education, and healthcare. Led by Drs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) organized the Poor People’s Campaign in
response to poverty as a national human rights issue. Stretching 16 acres along the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, Resurrection City housed 3,000
protesters with structures for essential services like sanitation, communications, medical care, and childcare. It included a dining tent, cultural center, and a city hall along the encampment’s
bustling “Main Street.”

The Poor People’s Campaign marked an important moment in U.S. history and set the stage for future social justice movements. Within months after Resurrection City’s evacuation,
major strides were made toward economic equality, influencing school lunch programs, rent subsidies, home ownership assistance for low-income families, education and welfare
services through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and more.

Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “City of
Hope” highlights a series of newly discovered photographs and an array of protest signs and political buttons collected during the campaign. Featuring 18 posters, the exhibition will help
visitors engage and contextualize the Poor People’s Campaign’s historical significance and present-day relevance.

Queer Space by Luke Blevins

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Post Art Library

We’re glad to present Queer Space by Luke Blevins in Joplin Public Library’s Bramlage and Willcoxon Foundation Gallery from Sunday, October 10-Friday, December 31, 2021.

In this work, Blevins explores the tangential relationships between boyhood, social expectations, queer culture, and heteronormative assimilationism. He uses fantastical imagery to illustrate the shifting relationships we have with space and community as we grow and develop into our own persons. Through digital manipulation and processes, he creates imagery that proposes narratives without conclusions. Blevins was born and raised in Southwest Missouri. He studied art at Missouri Southern State University before earning his Master of Arts at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He teaches at Crowder College in the evenings and works in Admissions at Missouri Southern during the day.

The exhibit is open during the library’s regular hours of operation. An Artist Talk with Luke Blevins is scheduled for Saturday, November 6, 2021 in the Community Room at Joplin Public Library. This is a FREE, public exhibit/event. For more information, contact Post Art Library Director Jill Sullivan at 417-623-7953 x1041 or jhsullivan@postartlibrary.org.

Space Boy, digital photography, 2020

Peter and Jamie, digital photography, 2020

Seaman Abroad, digital photography, 2019

Transients Unwelcome, digital photography, 2018

Artist’s Statement

Nostalgia is most commonly related to the idea of longing for the past or, more appropriately, a past sense of self-identity. It is a tool to reference and re-contextualize the past through a personal lens. Nostalgia lends itself to fantasy as our memories are unreliable. We create gilded moments to revisit as escapism. Looking back on my childhood, I see the gaps between nostalgic memories and the events that shaped me. It is in these in-between moments that fantasy and reality intersect. Also, it is where my work originates.

As children, everything seems magical. As we age and understand more of the world, that the magic lessens. The in-between, the habitation of time when the world is not quite magical anymore, but not a stagnant reality, expands.

My work explores the tangential relationships between boyhood, social expectations, queer culture, and heteronormative assimilationism. I use fantastical imagery to illustrate the shifting relationships we have with space and community as we grow and develop into our own persons. I have felt isolated in my life. What was once a safe warm home can become alien and cold and the abandoned places we avoided as children seem more and more welcoming. The history we want to connect to becomes more and more elusive as we struggle to also connect with the people around us. I make art to better understand how society has shaped me and how I will allow that to affect my present representation.

Through digital manipulation and processes, I create imagery that proposes narratives without conclusions. Snap shots of the in-between. This is achieved via layers of information combined in Photoshop: color, shadow, and object that work to obscure reality and paint my experience of the world in all its falsity.

BIO: Luke Blevins was born and raised in Southwest Missouri. He studied art at Missouri Southern State University before going on to get his Master of Arts at the University of Missouri Kansas City. He teaches at Crowder College in the evenings and works in Admissions at Missouri Southern during the day. When not juggling his numerous jobs he enjoys drawing, painting, and a good book.