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| Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Protector |
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| __________________________________________ PRINT PAGES OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW. The Danish Immigrant Museum 2212 Washington Street P. O. Box 470 Elk Horn, Iowa 51531-0470 Telephone 712.764.7001 Fax 712.764.7002 |
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Helle Jørvad – Goldsmith and Danish Designer
Through June 1, 2008 Imagine visiting the work studio of an artist who has distinguished herself as goldsmith and silversmith. The Helle Jørvad exhibit offers museum visitors a tantalizing sense of this experience. The display features a wide range of one-of-a-kind pieces fashioned from these metals and several of the tools used to make them. Helle Jørvad is an independent Danish goldsmith and designer who has made commissioned one-of-a-kind works for the Royal Danish family and for members of the Danish government (Prime Minister, Secretaries of State). Photographs of some of these commissions are featured in the exhibit. Ms. Jørvad is a member of the association of Danish silversmiths‘ approved to carry out works of art for churches. The exhibition includes miniature reproductions, as well as photographs of some of her remarkable work for churches on the islands of Sjælland and Fyn. Depicted in the miniatures are candelabras and a baptismal font. Holding pride of place among the photographs is an exquisitely beautiful chalice of gold and silver, which Ms. Jørvad made for St. Michael’s Church on Fyn. Helle Jørvad studied her craft in Denmark, Germany and Scotland. Her workshop and studio is located in Ringsted, Denmark, a sister city to Ringsted, Iowa. The two Ringsteds maintain ongoing communication. Ms. Jørvad travels to the United States frequently in her capacity as a liaison in this sister city relationship. Because of these travels, Ms. Jørvad will be spending time at the museum as an artist-in-residence off-and-on during the course of her exhibit. She commissioned a work table to be built for the exhibit, which closely resembles her work table in Ringsted, Denmark. During her visits to the museum, she will work at this table, demonstrating to visitors various aspects of her craft. Her demonstrations during the Tivoli fest in May were exceptionally popular. She will return again in late August and early September. During her absence, Ms. Jørvad leaves her tools spread on her work table so that visitors can study some of the equipment with which she works. A video of her work in her Ringsted, Denmark studio plays in the background so that visitors can observe the way she forges, bends and manipulates her metals into the desired shapes. Those who admire fine jewelry and superb craftsmanship will be delighted by their visit to the Helle Jørvad exhibit. Gold and silver rings share the stage with handcrafted silver bowls, one-of-a-kind pendants, and elegant hand wrought metal bookmarks. |
| Kaleidoscopic Colors of Scandinavia
Artwork by Edward Matwijkiw Through October, 2007 Summer visitors frequently take time to relax with lemonade, coffee and cookies in the museum’s Bro dining room. As they do so this year, they are being treated to an exceptional experience; the area is awash with color and vibrancy. It is filled with original artwork by Edward Matwijkiw, a distinguished contemporary Danish artist. Last year, the museum featured a small exhibit of Matwijkiw’s original oils, which was enjoyed by a wide range of visitors. On a trip to the United States last summer, Matwijkiw visited the museum and studied its spaces. He offered to do a special exhibit for the dining area so that visitors could relax surrounded by art. His original oils, acrylics, watercolors and photographic studies, installed in late May, have transformed the space. They create a feeling of joy and celebration. The exhibit’s title, Kaleidoscopic Colors of Scandinavia, suggests some of the energy generated by the display. Edward Matwijkiw, who was born in Denmark, received his formal education as an artist from The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Accademia Di Danimarca, Rome, Italy. He works in several visual art mediums including oil painting, water color, drawing, lithography, sculpture, photography, and ceramics. Matwijkiw has the distinction of being in Kraks Blå Bog (Krak’s Blue Book). The book is an annual Danish publication listing prominent living people in Denmark who have influenced Danish society culturally, politically, or through business. To be chosen for such a listing is a high honor. The artist and his work are featured in a large number of catalogues, books, articles, interviews, dictionaries and biographies. Among the prestigious honors and awards that Edward Matwijkiw has received are The Georg Jensen Silversmith’s Art Award (1964); HRH Queen Ingrid’s Foundation (1970); The Danish Institute in Athen’s Fellowship (2001); Emma of Frederik Kragh ’s Memorial Foundation (2004); Grosserer L.F. Foght’s Foundation, Montana Foundation, Velux Foundation, and Knud Hoejgaard’s Foundation (2005). Matwijkiw’s paintings are found in many private and public collections in Europe. The museum’s gift shop offers two publications focusing on Edward Matwijkiw’s art work. They are artist-signed editions. |
| From Postcards to Instant Messaging: Friends and Family Stay in Touch
Through February, 2008 The museum’s premiere temporary exhibit is entitled “From Postcards to Instant Messaging: Friends and Family Stay in Touch.” It features four modes of communication: telegraph, postcards, telephone and computer messaging. The exhibit’s focus is on the drive towards immediacy and brevity which is inherent in these technologies. The heyday of the telegraph is brought to life through occasional visits by former telegraphers demonstrating to visitors how communications were once sent by telegraph. The story of the telephone is told through the Marne Elk Horn Telephone Company, located in Elk Horn, which has been in business for 105 years as of 2007. It has boldly met the challenges facing all phone companies and, in the process, has developed into a communication enterprise. Visitors will enjoy following the company’s history through the many artifacts displayed, including an early telephone switchboard. Each of the communication systems featured in the exhibit reflect the fundamental desire to communicate information and sentiments as quickly and as directly as possible. All, including the postcard, were enabled through developing technologies. The first three systems experienced their initial spurt of growth in the mid-span of the 19th century: telegraph (1840s), postcard (1870s) and telephone (1870s). The fourth – Instant Messaging – was developed during the last quarter of the 20th century. The postcard was clearly a “short messaging” departure from the long established tradition of correspondence by letter. In fact, writers of early cards often mentioned that their communications were “standing in” for letters, due to time and circumstance. Communication by telegraph was negotiated on a “per word” cost, contributing to the development of a clipped, abbreviated language unique to the telegram. The telephone allowed business transactions to be negotiated with a swiftness previously unimagined. In the personal sphere, long distance telephone usage was, for many decades, a carefully budgeted luxury for numerous families, establishing de facto the rule of short verbal communications over long distances. The computer has redefined time, particularly “work time,” compressing distances as well as the time traditionally involved in the organization and communication of information. The communication systems in this exhibit either were, as in the case of the telegraph, or are global in their reach. Continuing technological advances have made them financially available to a wide spectrum of individuals and organizations throughout the world. The exhibit runs through February 25, 2008. Visitors are invited to join with friends, family members and/or other visitors to participate in the ongoing Instant Messaging dialogue between Denmark and the USA. The Instant Messaging center is a focal point of the exhibit. |
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| Cynthia McKeen Through December, 2007 Cynthia McKeen has been working in acrylics, water-color, ink, paper and photography for the past 35 years. A graduate of Grinnell College and Drake University, she also studied design in Denmark in the late 1960s at Charlottenborg, Denmark’s Art Academy. While in Copenhagen, Ms. McKeen worked in several design stores, learning the art of store design. Her studies there were interrupted by her father’s failing health. She returned to the United States, eventually establishing herself in St. Paul. Under the name of proongily, Cynthia spent eighteen years in store, graphic, interior and exhibit design before changing to the die cut and custom paper cutting business in the late 1980s. Her paper work has sold in museum stores across the country. Her work in a variety of mediums has been shown in several cities in the United States and Japan. As much as possible, Cynthia’s thoughts and reflections have been the interpretative medium through which the exhibition is unfolded. |
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