Category: Art

Law, Art, and Pork: The Heart of Little Rock (Day 2, Morning Edition)

After a quick coffee stop to help wake us, we were fortunate enough to visit the Supreme Court of Arkansas.

We met with the public education coordinator, Cara Fitzgerald, who earned her law degree from Southern Illinois University and who passed the bar in at least three states!

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She started the tour by teaching us more about the history of the building. Like the Old State House, the Supreme Court building has undergone changes throughout the years. The first building to house the Supreme Court was actually The Old State House, the second is at the location it is now and then it was remodeled a third time, which is the current building that houses both the Supreme Court and the Appeals Court.

We continued the tour of the west wing, where they display the portraits of the previous justices who have served on the Supreme Court…

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…and as we moved along we were shown the portraits of all seven presiding justices.  The first thing that stood out to some of us was that the majority of the Justices currently on the Supreme Court of Arkansas are women.

After learning more about the current Justices and the recent death of their Chief Justice, Ms. Fitzgerald introduced us to Associate Justice Robin F. Wynne who joined in on the tour! Once in the courtroom, we introduced ourselves to Justice Wynne and he then introduced himself and told us about his journey to becoming a Supreme Court Justice.

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He then asked us the simple most important question that he asks all of his students, “Why do you want to be an attorney?” Many of us had not been asked this question before, which led us to really reflect on why we wanted to go down that career path. Our answers to the question ranged from helping people and having a say in our society to solving puzzles and upholding the law.

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After Justice Wynne was able to get to know us more based on our answers, he and his law clerk, John Webster gave us great advice on how to get the best out of law school.

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John Webster explained to us exactly what a law clerk does and why, if we get the chance, it is an opportunity to take advantage of in law school. They also explained to us what they look for in applicants for their office, and one of the most important things was a “hook”. Justice Wynne explained that he not only looks at grades, but also the substance of the applicants’ character. After the very informational discussion with Justice Wynne and Mr. Webster, they took us on a very personal tour of his office where he explained what his typical week at the office consists of. Oral arguments are on Thursday; opinions are on Wednesday; and Monday and Tuesday are much-needed reading days. Each justice is assigned five cases a week and one of those is considered a primary case in which they take a leadership role. After discussing this process, he showed us the conference chamber where the seven justices meet after oral arguments to talk about the reasons they dissent or support each others’ opinions.

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Justice Wynne even let us take a picture in the conference chamber with him!

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After the private tour, we asked Ms. Fitzgerald how often tour groups get to go up to see the Justices offices and the conference room, to which she replied that she couldn’t recall it ever happening before! We were all extremely grateful for the hospitality that Justice Wynne showed us while teaching us an immense amount about the ins and outs of the Supreme Court of Arkansas.

During the last portion of the tour we dressed in black robes and acted as Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court. The tour of the Supreme Court of Arkansas was an amazing way to learn more about the court system, and left us all in awe of how great of a time we had while we were visiting. Once everyone had their turn banging the gavel, it was time to go onto our next adventure.

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Our next adventure was the Arkansas Arts Center.  Although  not as large as the major Art Museums, they have a nice permanent collection, much of which was donated by the Rockefellers (Winston Rockefeller was Governor of AR in the 1960s).  The collection contains works by Miro, Picasso, and Monet…

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…among many others.

This time, however, the real treat were the special exhibits.  One featured the photography of Dortothea Lange, the photographer who captured the Great Depression and the plight of the migrant workers so perfectly.

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Another exhibit featured the work of Charles Burchfield, who focused on the mixed blessings of urbanization.

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Both art collections were created near the same time period, but they were very different in medium and subject matter. Charles Burchfield’s art depicted “Industrial Beauty” using watercolor paints. Black Iron, the exhibit centerpiece, was inspired by the port of Buffalo on Lake Erie.

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According to the exhibit, Burchfield saw the bridges as part of an industrial complex spewing poisonous chemicals into the river; yet he found the massive structures irresistibly beautiful.” The paintings and drawings used darker colors to convey emotion.

Dorothea Lange is known for her black and white photography during the Great Depression Era. Each photograph captured emotion that strikes viewers immediately. Her works had great impact on legislation during the time period and even in the way films depicted people of the Great Depression Era. One of her most famous photographs, Migrant Mothers, was showcased along with a variety of other photos that were new to many of us.

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Each person left with a favorite photo from her collection.

A third,  smaller special exhibit featured the work of Nathalia Edenmont, who makes dresses from flowers and other produce.

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This theme tied into a discussion Megan and I have had in our art class, which revolved around the question of whether the Ag Department’s “Floral Design” class should be considered an art class.

The Arkansas Arts Center was the perfect place to learn about a large variety of art because it explained the distinguishing characteristics of each genre. The art ranged from small, detailed, and complex paintings to intricate, colorful, and sometimes puzzling statues.

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Overall, the LEAP Ambassadors enjoyed gaining new knowledge of art in Arkansas.

Lunch was a treat for us avid meat-lovers as we decided to fill our stomachs at The Whole Hog Cafe, a LEAP Center tradition. Catering a country style atmosphere while offering a variety of award-winning meat (as indicated by the line of trophies displayed near the entrance of the cafe), we knew we were going to be satisfied! To get the most out of our experience, we ordered three plates of The Ultimate Platter, which consisted of pulled pork, beef, chicken, ribs as the main course, and coleslaw, beans, potato salad, and rolls as sides.

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Enhancing the overload of finely cooked meat were the six diverse choices of barbecue sauces, ranging from sweet to spicy to slightly tangy.

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Each sauce was unique and each person had a chance to pick a favorite. The top three according to our collective preferences were Sauce No. 1 (sweet, mild, molasses flavor), Sauce No. 3 (spicy, traditional tomato, vinegar flavor) and Sauce No. 5 (sweet, heavy, molasses flavor) tied for 2nd place, while for third was Sauce No. 2 (a less spicy version of Sauce No. 3). We also indulged in the best (according to Alex) chocolate brownies for dessert. The service, the platter, the BBQ sauces and the fun conversations that filled our table made for a great experience at Whole Hog Café.

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The Midwest Comes South: An Evening with Garrison Keillor

 

Garrison Keillor is best known for his Prairie Home Companion, but he occasionally goes on the road without his entourage.  Even solo, he is quite the entertainer.

Keillor stopped n Houston on Wednesday, January 27th, and he spent a wonderful two hours discussing his background, his career, and all the while telling wonderful stories, singing the occasional song, and telling jokes.

Although Keillor has written for The New Yorker, he is best known for his midwestern musings, discussing the qualities that make up middle America: religion, literature, and family life.  Central to his stories is “Lake Wobegon,” a fictional place where all the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and the kids are above average.”

Among his songs, jokes and tales, our favorites:

  • Song: The Ballad of Sergeant Musgrave
  • Jokes:
    • Where do you find a dog with no legs?  Right where you left him.
  • Tales: Several tales, really, involving his aunts and uncles.  The wedding tale involved a duck decoy that doubled as a duck-blind; a naked para-sailor; a poorly-dressed lover named Raul; Babe Ruth’s last home-run ball; and a car wreck by the prospective bride and groom.

Keillor closed the evening to the strains of “Red River Valley” and “Goodnight Irene.”

Following the event, Keillor signed books and other memorabilia.  He spent much time with individuals.  Rather than have the line come to him, he would sign and then move himself to the next person, even going up the stairs of Jones Hall.

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To Ryan Brim, who is in a quest for the right college, Keillor offered: “You’ll never need math.”  Following a couple of minutes of conversation, Keillor signed Ryan’s book, “Lighten up, Ryan.”

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In a Sprint to the Finish, LEAP Ambassadors Visit Bush Library, Meet Ken Burns and Mark Burns

Even as the semester winds to a close, the LEAP Center Ambassadors refuse to slow down.  Indeed, on their first day in school following the Thanksgiving break, the Ambassadors embarked on an educational trifecta, attending three venues to learn about politics, history, nature, and art.

The tour began shortly after the Ambassadors got out of class on Monday, November 30.  From class the students drove to the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, where they learned about World War II, the CIA, China, the United Nations, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and other historical events in which former President Bush was involved.

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“My favorite exhibit,” noted senior Austin Campbell, “was the Oval Office, where the political action unfolds.” The students gathered with Campbell for a “presidential conference” in the office, much to the amusement of Museum staff…

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…as well as a more formal portrait…

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Brian Aldaco, on the other hand, most enjoyed the wing addressing Bush’s move from Yale to Texas. “I enjoyed learning more about his personal qualities and his family, which I think contributed to his success later in life.”

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This was also true of Megan Chapa, who enjoyed seeing the wedding exhibit on the Bushes.

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The students got a closer view of the seventy-year marriage of George and Barbara Bush hours later, when they sat about 20 feet from the couple for a presentation by Ken Burns and Mark Burns, who came to the Bush Library to discuss the 100th Anniversary of the national park system.

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Ken Burns has won two Emmys, two Grammys, a Peabody Award, and has twice been nominated for Academy Awards. He was also the director of “National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” excerpts of which were shown. Burns provided an eloquent defense of the national park system, noting that “In Europe, governments erect cathedrals or palaces, and these ‘monuments’ are often reserved for the national elite. In the United States, we invented the idea of preserving the land for the entire nation. It’s a democratic idea.”

The national parks system was created as part of the Organic Act of 1916, legislation designed “…to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner…as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

This idealistic notion was punctuated by Mark Burns’ (no relation to Ken) photographs, which captured the remarkable beauty of these sites. In fact, Burns is one of only three photographers to photograph all 59 of the US national parks and the only one to photograph them all in black and white.

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Burns’ monochromatic photography—evoking Ansel Adams—was on display at the Bush Library alongside paintings by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, and other painters of the natural world. Enriching the exhibit was the presence of Mark Burns…

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…and Ken Burns, whom the students had the opportunity to interact with on the tour of the exhibit.

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Campbell, combining politics and the environment, asked Ken Burns whether he had noticed global warming affecting the national parks. “Absolutely,” noted Burns, who went on to observe that it was possible that in a couple of decades, visitors to Montana might come across a sign that says, “the site of the former Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.”

On this ominous note, the students walked the short distance from the Bush Presidential Museum to the Bush School of Government and Public Service, where they learned about careers—with an emphasis on those that might allow them to influence public policy for the better.

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Staff were welcoming, reinforcing the strong relationship that the Bush School has with SHSU. Indeed, the Bush School’s Master’s Program at Texas A&M has more undergraduates from SHSU than any other national university with the exception of TAMU. Some of those former SHSU students are now in the workplace, holding down careers in the state legislature, in management positions for city governments, and even as administrators at SHSU.

It was a lot to take in at the end of the semester, and although only eight hours elapsed on the tour, the students vicariously experienced World War II, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Persian Gulf War, and the development of the national park system. And, as future public servants, they may also make history—as advisors, legislators, park rangers, or even presidents.