Kansas State University

Pete Souza: Two Presidents, One Photographer
February 5-April 27, 2019

The iconic photographs of Pete Souza are well known from his tenure as Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama. Many people don’t remember that Souza was also Official White House Photographer for President Reagan.
Two Presidents, One Photographer showcases fifty-six of Souza’s photographs of two presidents. It includes Souza’s favorite images of Reagan and Obama, providing us with candid moments that are windows into their humanity. What we see in Souza’s photographs are two presidents who clearly respected both the office they held and the people with whom they interacted, no matter the circumstance.
Souza earned a master’s degree in journalism at Kansas State University. He is currently a freelance photographer in the Washington, D.C. area and professor emeritus of visual communication at Ohio University.

White House photographs by Pete Souza. This exhibition was organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions. The exhibition is sponsored by Kansas State University Office of the President, Mary Vanier, Jackie Hartman Borck and Lee Borck, Jack Goldstein Charitable Trust, Holiday Inn at the Campus, K-State Department of Art, and other generous donors.

Related Events: 

Don’t Miss!

“One Photographer,
Two Presidents”
A Talk by Pete Souza,
Tuesday, March 5, 2019,
7:30 p.m.
McCain Auditorium,
Kansas State University
Free tickets available at McCain box office Tues. – Fri., 12 to 4 p.m. beginning February 19, 2019. Phone: 785-532-6428

Pete Souza served as White House photographer for Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. In this role, he had near daily access to the two leaders and captured them responding to grave events as well as bringing humor to their jobs. Souza’s talk is in conjunction with the exhibition “Pete Souza: Two Presidents, One Photographer,” on view February 5-April 27, 2019 at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.

Celebrating Heroes: American Mural Studies of the 1930s and 1940s from the Steven and Susan Hirsch Collection
March 5 – June 15, 2019

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s jobs programs for artists during the 1930s and 1940s introduced a golden age for murals in America. New Deal artists took inspiration from the panels of the Mexican muralists, in which various ethnic groups and the everyday worker became monumental “heroes.” Farmers, miners, American Indians, settlers, all found places in the government murals that still greet visitors in sites such as post offices and schools.

This exhibition of over fifty drawings explores the themes that emerged in American mural making from the Great Depression until after World War II. Artists featured include Anton Refregier, Jenne Magafan, Edward Chávez, and Arnold Blanch.

The exhibition provides an intimate look at the thinking processes of these artists and others who competed for New Deal mural commissions. Colorful and dynamic preliminary studies offer insights into artists’ thoughts about interpreting history, the notion of “hero,” and democratic ideals – topics still relevant today.

This exhibition has been organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.

Related Events:
Thursday, April 25, 5:30 p.m.
A New Deal for Public Art in the Free State
Documentary screening and post discussion with filmmaker Kara Heitz, Kansas City Art Institute.

Thursday, May 2, 5:30 p.m.
“Heroes for Hard Times: American Art During the 1930s and 1940s”
Talk by Lara Kuykendall, Ball State University

Image: Philo B. Ruggles (United States, 1906-1988) and John Ruggles (United States, 1907-1991), Steel Workers, 1939, competition sketch for Section of Fine Arts mural, post office, Bridgeport, Ohio (unrealized), gouache, watercolor, and graphite on cardboard, 16 1/4 x 37 3/8 in., Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Gift of Susan and Steven Hirsch, class of 1971, 2015.23.4.2

Thursday, February 28, 5:30 p.m.
Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble
film screening
This documentary follows master cellist Yo-Yo Ma as he brings together musicians from cultures along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to share the music of their regions and inspire new artistic exchanges. Discussion after the screening. Light refreshments provided.
This event is part of the Silk Road through Kansas program series.

Off-Site Programming:
Thursday, February 28-March 18
Meadowlark Memory Program: Art Exhibition 2019
Flint Hills Discovery Center
Art produced by participants in ARTFul Making and Memories in the Making classes will be on view at the Flint Hills Discovery Center. The act of creating has multiple benefits for those living with cognitive challenges. Please visit and support these programs during regular business hours at the Discovery Center.

Thursday, March 21, 5:30 p.m.
“BlacKkKlansman: A Response to the Resurgence of Racism in America Today”
Talk by Kevin Willmott, co-writer with director Spike Lee of the film BlacKkKlansman
Bluemont Room, Kansas State University Student Union

Acclaimed Kansas-based filmmaker Kevin Willmott co-wrote the film BlacKkKlansman with director Spike Lee. In this talk Willmott will discuss how the film explores and exemplifies our time under the Trump administration, including the rise of racism, Charlottesville, the Muslim travel ban, and the government shutdown over funding for the wall. Willmott’s films often reflect elements that currently define life in the USA. His insightful use of humor adds precision to his critiques, and at the same time affirms our humanity in the face of hatred.

BlacKkKlansman
Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay.
Received prestigious international awards: The Grand Prix at Cannes Film festival, Best Adapted Screenplay at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and others.

This talk will serve as a keynote for The Art of Democracy, a symposium co-organized by the Office of the Provost and the Center for Engagement and Community Development. The talk is presented in partnership with the Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies, Center for Engagement and Community Development, K-State Department of Art, UFM Community Learning Center, and K-State Black Student Union.

Thursday, March 28, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Just Doug and Ella: Film Screenings and Discussion with Director Dan Chen

Dan Chen grew up in Manhattan, Kansas, and now works as a filmmaker in Los Angeles. His films tell stories about being Asian-American in Hollywood and growing up Asian-American in a small Midwest town. Reception to follow.
Presented in partnership with the Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies and K-State’s Asian American Student Union.

Pete Souza: Two Presidents, One Photographer
February 5-April 27, 2019

Picturing Kansas
October 5, 2018 – June 1, 2019

Voices: Art Linking Asia and the West
December 4, 2018–December 21, 2019

Image: Kinkazan, Vase and Cover (detail), glazed porcelain, 14 x 31 in., gift of John H. Kohn, 1989.36
Currently on display in the exhibition Voices: Art Linking Asia and the West.

The Museum hosts a variety of classes and workshops throughout the year for all ages.

Click here to view Spring 2019 ARTSmart programs for families

East Meets West Part II
Travel the remainder of the Silk Road as part of the museum’s “Silk Road through Kansas” programming. We will visit India, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Next Class: March 6-9: Indian textile printing

Homeschool Tuesdays
Classes meet on the first Tuesday of the month and allow homeschool families a chance to participate in the museum’s school field trip program. Classes are appropriate for kids in kindergarten on up.
Next class: March 5, 1-2:30 p.m. Optics: Light, Color, and Pigments

Cost for all above classes is $3 per child, $1.50 for military families, and reservations are required. Call 785-532-7718 or email klwalk@k-state.edu for reservations. Children must be accompanied by an adult. If you need to cancel your reservation let us know so we can call those on the waiting list.

Special price for Military Families:  In conjunction with the Blue Star Museum program, the Beach Museum of Art offers military families half price on all workshops and classes!

The museum is open Tues, Wed, Fri, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thurs 10 a.m.-8p.m., Sat, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free admission. Free parking.

Visit us online at beach.k-state.edu

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Image: Elizabeth Layton, Untitled (business business business, you gotta have art), 1991, KSU, Beach Museum of Art