Civic Engagement – Page 99 – Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics

Art + Community = A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening

The Art Department sponsored a nice evening for friends and supporters of the arts, honoring alumni, former faculty, and local artist/builder Dan Phillips. With all the LEAP Center Ambassadors on hand, plus some of the “friends of the LEAP Center,” it was a great way to kick off the end of the week.

This was the Art Department’s second such gala and, again, chair Michael Henderson emceed the proceedings. He was gracious and thankful, and repeatedly thanked the sponsors and the many people who support the arts in the community.

Community, in fact, was the explicit theme of the evening. We were happy to note that of the 29 registrants for heART of Huntsville, 19 were attendees at the Gala!

The stars of the evening, however, were those being honored. Henderson invited Linda Pease to memorialize local artists who passed away in the last year…

…and the Department honored alums Kim Cook and Dan Pratt; Art Department Scholarship winners; local art supporter and POLS faculty Jim Carter, who passed away in 2013; and former faculty Emmette Jackson, Charles Pebworth, Gene Eastman, Jimmy Barker, and Stanley Lea. While the former faculty were not able to attend, Lea’s wife, Ruth, did attend.

Mayor Mac Woodward introduced the the major award of the evening…

…which went to Dan Phillips for his support of the arts in the local community. Phillips, of course, is a local builder, whose previous careers include work in Military Intelligence, the Dance Faculty at SHSU, and newspaper writer.

Phillips said very nice things about his wife, Marsha, who is a partner in the Phoenix Commotion enterprise and works as a part-time mentor at SHSU after a long career teaching at HISD. Fifteen years ago, the two embarked on a new career building homes “made from unwanted materials for low-income people.” They’ve now completed 24 projects, and their structures dot and enrich the community, adding character to a small, historic town, work that earned Phillips this well-deserved honor from the SHSU Art Department.

Postscript: Following the gala, seven of the LEAP attendees headed to Dallas for their first-ever Moot Court scrimmage, which will be described in future posts!

Art and Architecture in Huntsville

With the fourth week of heART of Huntsville came a focus on architecture with, of course, a healthy dose of art. After weeks focusing on campus art, outdoor sculptures, David Adickes, performing arts, and Richard Haas, the final week of the program focused on three homes in the Huntsville Cultural District: The “Bone Home,” the Kellogg-Pritchett House, and the Wynne Home.

Part of what made the final week special was that Anina Moore, the Director of Communications for the Texas Commission on the Arts, traveled to Huntsville to observe the program. This was her first real visit to Huntsville, and we hope she enjoyed it!

Her visit, and our final week, kicked off with a tour of Dan Phillips’ Bone Home. For many of the Ambassadors, it was our second visit to the home, but for Ambassador Kaitlyn Tyra, it was a first-time visit. Phillips began with an overview of his philosophy, his company (Phoenix Commotion), and his work.

His talk is always engaging, mixing construction realities, with political preferences (e.g., recycling, sustainability), and philosophy (aesthetics).

From there, the tour began. The students posed with Phillips in the kitchen…

…where observers can note the intriguing floor patterns, and the bone-top counters. They also got a good look at the bone-bedecked stairway…

…and the bottle-cap bedroom floors.

The back-door patio, which connects the home to the studio, is also worth noting. The wall is adorned with decorative bones…

…and guests can rest in the bone chairs and bone table-top…

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…and enter the studio through a door equipped with bone handles.

The studio was determined by Constance to be the perfect place for a selfie or a groupie:

…and she may have gotten every person in the photo! Mr. Phillips is in the front center, alongside Huntsville artist Lee Jamison, the owner of the Bone Home, George Boone, and the aforementioned Anina Moore.

Following the Bone Home tour, we made our way to the Kellogg-Pritchett House, where Mary Laura Gibbs offered a wonderful tour.

The foyer, Victorian parlor, and Gazebo room were the highlights, although the top-secret attic is always a treat. Adding to the pleasantness and education of the evening was the presence of Lee Jamison, who did much of the artwork in the “KP” house. In particular, he did Gazebo room, which is painted in mural fashion as though it were an actual gazebo, replete with sky-views, vine-covered lattice, and the obligatory animals (e.g., hummingbird) attracted to foliage. The artwork also gave participants a chance to search for these animals, including the Texas-themed butterfly, seven-legged spider (said, Lee Jamison: “I’m an artist not a mathematician!”), and red, white, and blue snake.

And Constance enjoyed the photographic possibilities of the parlor.

As SHSU students, it was also helpful to learn about “Professor Joe Pritchett,” who owned the home, and who was the Dean of Students for more than three decades. Interestingly, he rode his horse to school until the 1930s.

With a fond farewell, to the KP house and its four porches…

…we headed to the Wynne Home, where we enjoyed their community art exhibit and heard from Ms. Moore about the work of the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The food, prepared by Sharon Rose, and sponsored by the Friends of the Wynne, was wonderful! It contributed greatly to everyone’s cheerful time:

The heART of Huntsville program brought many wonderful people together, and it was an amazing opportunity to learn more about art, artistic venues, local artists, and the community in general.

The heART of Huntsville will be offered again next year in September and October.

Down with the Downtown

For the third week of heART of Huntsville, participants were taken to Huntsville’s historic downtown to see parks, art, and fine arts at multiple locations, followed by a fine dinner at Carboneras.

Leading this tour was Linda Pease, the city’s long-standing public art authority. Pease isn’t an artist, but she has been behind much of the beautification of the community for the past forty years or so, and she offered an oral history of Huntsville’s art scene.

The tour began at Founders Park, on the southeast corner of 10th and University. This small park was created in the late 1980s at the springs that served as a meeting place between Huntsville’s founding father, Pleasant Gray, and the Bedias Indians. From the spring sprung Huntsville, as more settlers settled, business thrived, and civilization eventually flowered. The site recreates the springs with a small, shallow pond, and artists Monica Taylor and Larry Zink created statues of Indians at the site.

Taylor and Zink also contributed to the downtown area by assisting Richard Haas with his revitalization of the downtown square. Haas, an artist, informal architect, and unofficial “urban planner,” created 14 art works in the downtown area in the 1990s.

Perhaps the finest of these artworks is the three-part mural of Sam Houston on the east side of the Smither Building on University Avenue and 11th Street. This mural depicts Sam Houston in battle, with the Indians, and as gentleman of Huntsville, Texas.

Other key works include the faux Roman ruins, the mural of Leadbelly on Sam Houston Avenue, and the movie posters on the front of the Old Town Theater.

Speaking of which, the group also got a tour of this theater during a rehearsal of King Lear. Participants were able to explore the theater’s balcony…

…watch portions of the play…

…and meet many of the cast and crew…

…and truly see “behind the scenes”…

Bruce Chabot, a professor at SHSU’s English Department, is the director of the play, and the production crew graciously provided some comped tickets to members of the first-ever heART of Huntsville cohort.

Another downtown treat is the Art Department’s “Satellite Gallery” at 1204 University Avenue. Here, art students and art alumni display their work for the public. Following a quick tour of this gallery, the group headed to the historic Cafe Texan, where Linda Pease shared more information about Richard Haas….

…pointing out the work he did on the Leadbelly Mural…

…and discussing many of the other Haas detailing around the square.

Interestingly, Haas has produced more than 60 exterior murals in his career, and more than twenty of them have been destroyed by the elements or, more often, by construction projects. But his work still exists around the world, in Fort Worth…

…in New York…

[Richard Haas wall painting on South Street and Peck Slip.]

…St. Louis…

…and many other cities.

Interestingly, however, the largest concentration of his works is in Huntsville, Texas.

With help from the LEAP Center, Art Department, and the Huntsville Public Library, Richard Haas will be in town November 19th, 2015. He’ll deliver remarks on campus and at the Huntsville Public Library, where he has donated the studies for his Huntsville murals.

Moot Court Practices

The LEAP Center runs SHSU’s Moot Court team, and students have been working feverishly to prepare for the upcoming scrimmage (October 9-10) and tournament (October 23-24). The Moot Court is a great way for students to prepare for law school, and it combines people’s greatest fear (public speaking) with pre-law students’ greatest anxiety (preparing for law school)!

The Team

SHSU’s Moot Court team consists of six students: Kaitlyn Tyra, Alex Galvan, Austin Campbell, James Perry, Chelsea King, and Kristyn Couvillion. They receive no academic credit for being on the team, but it is something that law schools look at, and if done correctly, can result in enhanced skills, increased confidence, a resume entry, and even a letter of recommendation. Their coach is Jean Loveall, a Program Coordinator for the LEAP Center, professor of the pre-law cohort, and an attorney who received her JD from SMU School of Law. Mike Yawn is the LEAP Center director, and he helps out when needed.

The Process and Timeline

The Texas Undergraduate Moot Court Association provides the Moot Court problem in May, and students and coaches work on the problem over the summer and early fall. After much reading (the entire problem consists of 19 cases, each average 15-20 pages) and many questions, the coach has a better idea of who is ready and who isn’t. If necessary, the coach may cut team members who are not putting in the necessary work or who aren’t showing the necessary improvement. Some students, after getting a better sense of what attorneys do, change their mind about being on the team.

By September, team members should be ready for public, semi-formal practices. In the last month, for example, the SHSU Team has engaged in two practices . Local attorneys served as judges, and the students got their chance to show their stuff in a courtroom setting, while having questions fired at them.

It can be rough going, but it is also rewarding.

Students have the chance to improve their critical thinking skills, their understanding of legal and political issues, and their ability to think on their feet.

October is the month for the formal scrimmage and the tournament. This year, scrimmages will be held at St. Mary’s and UNT Law schools. SHSU chose to participate in the UNT law school scrimmage because all three of its teams could participate (St. Mary’s limited participation to two teams). This scrimmage will take place October 9-10. Although the performances do not count in the point system determining whether a team goes to finals, it’s an important performance. Coaches assess the students’ performances and have the chance to make final team assignments for the tournament.

Teams consist of two members, and both argue in front of the three justices, with time roughly split between the two members.

This year, the tournaments are held at Texas Tech Law School and Texas A&M law school. SHSU is participating in Tech’s tournament on October 23-24. This is the real deal, and the winners of this tournament will go to Nationals in Washington, DC, which are held in January.

Looking Ahead

Loveall and Yawn are always on the lookout for potential members. Some students, for example, watched the practice moot court proceedings to see what might be in store for them next year. Other activities also provide Loveall and Yawn the opportunity to find students who have strong oral communication skills, a knowledge of basic law and politics, the desire to become an attorney, and a strong work ethic.

Jamaus, Brittany, & Beatriz get a head start
on next year’s tournament.

LEAP Center Does Time: Huntsville Unit Tour

With some help from TDCJ CFO Jerry McGinty, LEAP Center students and guests went behind bars on Thursday, touring the Huntsville Unit (aka Walls Unit). The guest list included attorneys Audrey Biggar and Jeremy Romoser, City staff Marla Diers, SHSU Staff Deanna Briones and Renee Starns, and retired teacher Leanne Woodward.

The extensive tour included the historic part of the Walls Unit, where Clyde Barrow and Chief Satanta once served time, and the solitary confinement cell of John Wesley Hardin–who spent two years in solitary. It also included the holding cell for the death chamber, as well as the death chamber itself, by far the most sobering part of the tour.

The execution chamber is a small room, painted green, with a gurney located in the center. The gurney has numerous straps to hold down the inmate in his final minutes, and only three individuals are permitted in the room: the condemned inmate, the warden, and the chaplain. Invited guests witness the execution from viewing rooms. The execution has a live feed, but no recording equipment.

Also of interest was the textile mill, supervised by James Langley, who gave us a tour of its many-faceted operations. We saw how inmates made cotton for the uniforms; material for the mops, used at units across the state; and even the material used in mattresses for the inmates (and sold to Universities for dorm bedding!).

Finally, we concluded the tour with a walk-through of the chapel, the cell block, and a Q & A period following the tour. Perhaps most interesting is the sheer magnitude and diversity of running the prison system. While most people realize this involves guarding and housing inmates, few people probably realize that there more than 100 units across Texas; or that TDCJ owns some 1,600 horses; or that TDCJ farms produce millions of eggs; or that TDCJ is left to bury some 100 inmates annually, inmates who either don’t have families or whose families don’t have the means or desire to provide a burial themselves.

TDCJ Captain Joe Byrd (Peckerwood Hill) Prison Cemetery. Huntsville, Texas

It’s a daunting enterprise. But the enterprise was explained coherently and, at appropriate times, even entertainingly by Warden Jones, CFO McGinty, and Officer Langley.

While TDCJ tours are not available to the general public, much of TDCJ’s history and artifacts can be viewed at the Texas Prison Museum on HWY 75N.

Outdoors with Huntsville’s Sculptures and Indoors with Huntsville’s David Adickes

It was a fun second week for participants in the LEAP Center’s heART of Huntsville program. The week involved a behind-the-scenes tour of David Adickes’ “Big Sam” at the Huntsville Visitor Center, a bus tour of the city’s outdoor sculptures, dinner at the new Eclectic Studio, and a wonderful tour of the Adickes’ Foundation.

Jamie Matthews at the Visitor Center offered an informative and welcoming environment for us beginning at 6pm, with snacks and water on hand. We were treated to a viewing of the short animated feature introducing the building of the Sam Houston Statue (and Sam Houston, the man)…

…which was produced by SHSU students in the animation program of the University’s art department. Following the video, we visited the statue, gathered for a group picture….

…and learned cool facts. Did you know, for example, that there is a door to the interior of the statue, allowing people to climb to the top of Big Sam?

We also had an hour-long bus tour of Huntsville’s outdoor sculptures. We would bet that most Huntsville residents don’t know the city has more than 30 such sculptures, including work by world-renowned artists such as Charles Pebworth (“Totem Number One” behind City Hall), Jesus Moroles (two outdoor sculptures on SHSU’s campus and four on the Wynne Home grounds), and Pompeo Coppini (Sam Houston’s grave monument)? While those sculptors may be some of the more famous, there’s also the abstract Christ statue by Brother Melvin Meyer, who completed more than 10,000 sculptures (mostly from recycled materials) before passing away in 2013? Or that one of Stuart Kraft’s two Huntsville sculptures was lost by Huntsville Independent School District? Or that John Stewart’s “Reclining Figure” was inspired by the work of Henry Moore, perhaps the greatest 20th Century sculptor? Or that the seven trees surrounding the “reclining figure” represent the seven astronauts lost in the 1986 Challenger explosion? And how many people know that architect Harry Payne completed more seven or eight structures in Huntsville (e.g., Smither-Martin law firm, Sam Houston Memorial Museum) that are still standing? The arts are just one of the fun things to explore in Huntsville!

For most of us, our dinner was the first time to visit Eclectic Studio, but the food and the art will be bringing us back for more!

Although normally specializing in vegan and vegetarian fare, the chef (Jennie Dickenson) catered to our meat-eating group with scrumptious ribs, potatoes, pasta salad, and wonderful hummus and chips.

One of our participants, Betsy Maloney, even had some of her art work on the walls, along with art by Lee Jamison and Jennie Dickenson. We’d like to thank the POLS department at SHSU for sponsoring this week’s activities and dinner!

The highlight of the evening was the tour of the Adickes’ Foundation, the old Huntsville High School on Avenue H. Containing more than 300 pieces of art by Adickes, it is a wonderful place to spend an evening….

…although, at times, there were so much art to see, we didn’t know which direction to turn!

Each of us had our favorite Adickes’ painting, and we made sure we got him in the picture with us, whether it was Karla…

…or Megan…

….or Alex…

…or Kaitlyn…

…we all had fun. Even Ms. Woodward got into the selfie spirit!

But the most successful was a group selfie…

The LEAP Center Ambassadors have been to many art galleries as a group: the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ohr-Okeefe Museum in Biloxi (designed by Frank Gehry), the High Museum in Atlanta, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Ransom Center, and more. But as one of the Ambassadors noted, “We’ve been to art museums all over the country, but this one was the coolest, because the artist is with us!”

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He spent time discussing how he made certain pieces (one he used coffee to get the color right!), of how tapestries were made, or the art that was in Elvis Presley’s home…

…the stories were as interesting as the art.

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And for students who are political science majors, it was a treat to hear about the night he spent in the White House, when he had the privilege of going to the Kennedy Center with George H.W. and Barbara Bush, followed by a night in the Lincoln Bedroom.

It was a fun, educational evening!

Council Member for a Day

LEAP students, looking to become more civically involved, had the opportunity to learn from Huntsville leadership Thursday afternoon. In what was considered “Local Government Day” at City Hall, LEAP students came prepared to re-enact a city council meeting, complete with scripts and councilmember assignments.

The afternoon began with Mayor Woodward talking to students about the importance of civic involvement . We learned about his resume as mayor and of the ins and outs of holding the office. Mayor Woodward gave us a good portion of his afternoon to chat and answer questions before his next event. Taking his place, City Secretary Lee Woodward instructed us on city government and how it works. She spoke about the mission of the city, the different positions held by city workers, and what she does, specifically, as city secretary. Students, often coming to Huntsville from Houston where they are not as involved in the local happenings, listened intently, learning of all the opportunities that await them as members of the Huntsville community.

After learning about Huntsville’s Council-Manager system, students engaged in the exercise of the afternoon, acting out a city council meeting as members of the council and mayor. Each student was assigned to a different position, ranging from mayor to city attorney to hospital administrator, and we read from a script and extemporized the happenings of a typical city council meeting, including the proposal of a texting and driving ordinance–a topic of particular interest to college students.

We had the chance to be coached throughout by City Secretary Woodward and Professor Yawn, both of whom have extensive experience in the Tuesday night council meetings. Students acted their parts well for the most part and, in some cases, argued the proposal of the ordinance with the fervor of actual city council members. In all, we acted through two separate council meetings, with each of us switching roles.

Overall, we did pretty well. One of the most difficult things was adjusting to parliamentary procedure. Another was understanding the various rules under which city governments have to operate. If nothing else, this was a good exercise to know how hard council members work for virtually no pay ($10 a meeting).

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Ending the afternoon, students enjoyed cupcakes from and chatted about the excitement of being mayor or a councilmember for a few hours. We explored the park behind city hall and saw Charles Pebworth’s “Totem #1.” Inspired to become involved and entrenched in city politics, LEAP students left city hall eager to make a difference in the community. We would like to thank Mayor Woodward and City Secretary Woodward for their hospitality and for hosting LEAP during such an educational afternoon.

Exploring Art in the heART of Huntsville: Session One

Driven to learn more about the community, LEAP Ambassadors are participating in the heART of Huntsville program, which promotes local arts in the Huntsville area. The program consists of four meetings, each with a different artistic theme, tour guides, and participatory activities.

As Ambassadors, we were excited to once again learn more about our campus and community. This excitement, however, was dampened–literally–when, just minutes before the program began, it began to rain heavily. Ambassadors President Megan Chapa, in charge of driving one of the golf carts, arrived from across campus a bit worse for the wear. Professor Yawn, also driving a cart, arrived with one leg completely drenched. It occurred to us that the program’s participants would probably find the campus’s art much more appealing if they weren’t having to stand in the rain to view it. Fortunately, the rain calmed eventually and we all managed to arrive at the Art Department to kick off our first meeting with staff, locals, and faculty, albeit a bit belated and somewhat damp.

We began at the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, where Professor Henderson, the chair of the art department, kindly welcomed us and gave us some background of the art department.

At that time, Dr. Melissa L. Mednicov introduced us to the “Still Summer” exhibit, with work by Debra Barrera and Kelly O’Connor, and gave us a closer insight at the background of the exhibit.

While O’Connor’s work emphasizes memory, fantasy, and fiction; Barrera’s work emphasizes personal memories, specifically relating to her childhood participation in sports such as swimming, seen in most of the art in the exhibit, such as “Pool Rules” or “Bottom of the Pool”. Another piece of work we found fun and interesting was “Selfies on Mars/Selfies on Earth”, where we of course could not miss our group selfie with Mrs. Woodward, Mrs. Pease, and Dean Shields.

Before heading out to the Lowman Student Center Art Gallery, we all took a survey to test our knowledge of Huntsville community art so far. By the end of the program we should be able to see an improvement in knowing and recognizing artwork locally. Next, we arrived at the LSC Art Gallery where we enjoyed an exhibit offered by Professor Trish Ramsay, whose Family and Consumer Science class produced scarves and other textiles. The pieces were beautiful and creative.

As a bonus, we learned a bit about the large piece of art outside the LSC art gallery. Turns out, it is a piece by James Surls, who graduated from SHSU. The piece, unlike almost any of his other work, was done when he was a student at SHSU in the 1960s.

Following the scarves exhibit, we moved to the Gaertner Performing Arts Center where we enjoyed a walking art tour. Craig Brossman, the Facilities Manager of the GPAC, gave us a tour of the Concert Hall, Dance Theater, and Recital Hall. Turns out, an acoustician (!) was hired to design the rooms in such a manner as to make the sound optimal, while also providing state-of-the-art technology. This tour was filled with interesting information (Recital Hall fits 790 people!) and provided rich information about a building that was named among the twenty-five most impressive University Art Centers in the United States.

Professor Henderson was also on hand to discuss many of the pieces of art, such as the “Around the Flower Wall” by James Surls, the previously mentioned internationally known sculptor and a former undergraduate SHSU student;

“Elemental Mandela,” by Kathleen Ash;

“Diamond Waves Column” by Jesus Moroles, an internationally known granite sculptor whose work the LEAP Ambassadors have had the pleasure to see in Fayetteville, Houston, New Orleans, Norman, Austin, and Birmingham; “Firedance” by Jason Lawson;

and various pieces by Stanley Lea.

To end our educational evening, we had dinner at Austin hall, the oldest educational building in continuous use west of the Mississippi and the most notable landmark on campus. We are so thankful to Dean Shields and the College of Mass Communication and Fine Arts for sponsoring such a wonderful evening. We left stuffed with food and knowledge, eagerly awaiting the coming weeks of fun and surprises. Next week we will focus our attention on the outdoor art of Huntsville, Texas and the artwork of David Adickes.

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