Humanities Institute Uncategorized

Bhakti Sharma, “Public Art for Public Good”

sharkgirl

Did you know that Buffalo is often listed on top 10 lists of cities to take selfies? Bhakti Sharma, Associate Professor and Chairperson of Interior Design at SUNY Buffalo State, will explore the connections between public art and revivals of cities. You’ve probably heard of “public art for public good,” but what does it mean to link artistic production to the economic vitality of cities? How does art galvanize a sense of community and local culture? How does the localization of public art in neighborhoods reflect the changing neighborhood?

What do you think about the connection between an explosion of public art and Buffalo revitalization? Certainly, there have been an exciting number of new art installations, murals, and sculptures placed in or scheduled for public spaces in Buffalo. You’ve probably heard or seen Casey Riordan Millard’s Shark Girl, (who even has a Twitter account with 1800+ followers!!!) but the most recent include Brooklyn-based artist Amanda Browder‘s forthcoming August large-scale fabric installation dressing three downtown Buffalo buildings: Richmond Methodist Episcopal Church at Richmond Avenue and West Ferry Street, the historic Eckhardt Building at 950 Broadway, and the Albright-Knox’s Clifton Hall. 

Public art can also offer an opportunity to involve the community directly in the creation and material of the artwork. Browder and the Albright Knox are asking Buffalonians to drop off fabric and participate in sewing the large patchwork fabric. You can find the drop-off locations and public sewing dates here. 

For long-time Buffalo residents and new visitors alike, taking selfies at Buffalo’s many public art pieces can be a fun scavenger hunt. The Albright Knox Gallery, a  Buffalo Humanities Festival partner, established a Public Art Initiative in 2013 that was joined by the city of Buffalo in 2014. The Initiative commissions art specifically for public sites in Buffalo and range widely in media, location, and content. For photo documentation, visit the Albright Knox Public Art Initiative Site. Or make your own photo documentation! Take selfies at one or more of these public art sites and share them with us (@ubhuminst) on social media with #BHF16 or #bfopublicart … In fact, we’re throwing down a challenge: you’ve got almost two months to catch them all* before our Humanities Festival begins!

Do you have a favorite public art piece? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter! And don’t miss Bhakti Sharma’s talk, “Public Art: Top Ten Lists and Other Gains,” on Saturday, 9/24 from 1:00pm-2:00pm in Rockwell 304.

*Dear @sharkgirlbflo: we know you are not a Pokemon!

Humanities Institute Uncategorized

Celebrating Annie Edson Taylor, the “Queen of the Mist ”

Queen-of-the-MistA key factor in selecting this year’s “Gender Bender” festival theme is the fact that Western New York is closely linked to the American women’s rights movement. But one piece of colorful local history that you probably haven’t heard about is the story of a solo female pioneer, Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and survive. And she was 63 years old when she did it.

Taylor was an adventurer well before she attempted her most daring stunt on October 24th, 1901, a date that was, incidentally, also her birthday. Born in Auburn, New York, she was a schoolteacher in her early adulthood, but when her husband died just four years after their marriage along with her infant son, she spent the rest of her adult life traveling and working odd jobs.

In Bay City, Michigan she trained to be a dance instructor, and when she couldn’t find work, she opened her own studio. She later became a music teacher, then moved to San Antonio and on to Mexico City. Reaching old age and having little monetary wealth despite her many skills and experiences, she decided to become the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

Although many believed it to be a suicide mission, Taylor went over the Falls in a custom made oak barrel padded with a mattress. Two days prior to her stunt a cat was also sent over the Falls in a barrel in an attempt to determine whether or not it would be possible to survive. Both Taylor and the cat lived, and posed for the press together in the photo above.

After completing her Niagara-Falls stunt, Taylor continued to travel and earned a modest income by speaking about her harrowing experience. Unfortunately, she never earned the fame and fortune that she had hoped to gain, and when her manager stole her famous barrel and disappeared it became more difficult for her to make a living off of her story.

Nonetheless, Taylor persevered and remained independent, continuing to speak at tourist destinations and even finding work as a clairvoyant until her death in 1921.

You can read more about Annie Edson Taylor in Charles Carlin Parish’s biography entitled The Queen of the Mist. And you can learn more about other daring women and men in history, literature, and the arts at this September’s Buffalo Humanities Festival!