Art Exhibit

Austin College | Sherman Texas | April 2017

An art exhibit inspired by United States Patent Books from the early 1960s is on display in the Dennis Gallery of the Austin College Forster Art Complex through April 21. The exhibit, titled Patent Pending, features work by 30 artists using a variety of media.

Exhibit curator Jon Whitfill will give a talk about Patent Pending on Monday, April 17, at 1:30 p.m. at the Austin College Forster Art Complex, room 210. The exhibit and lecture are free and open to the public.

This invitational collection began when Whitfill sent original, de-commissioned patent books dated 1961 to 1965 to U.S. and international artists. They, in turn, sent back a piece of art that was inspired in some way by their book. Some artists responded to the physical nature of the thick, mustard-colored volumes, while others responded to the books’ contents. All books document the inventions and proposed inventions during this innovative time in history. The exhibit highlights the spirit of human inventiveness, the bizarre and technical aspects of the patent process, and a good dose of mid-century kitsch.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book College’s That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates and inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.

Austin College | September 29, 2015

The Austin College Art and Art History Department will host the photography exhibition The American Cowboy: GENERATIONS, by photographers Bank and John Langmore, from September 28, 2015, through April 15, 2016, in the Robert and Joyce Johnson Gallery in Wright Campus Center. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 903-813-2048.

Photographs by the father and son team showcase more than 40 years of documenting the American West.

Bank Langmore, who quit a corporate job more than five decades ago to pursue photography, is recognized by artists as one of the leading photographers of the American cowboy. In the 1970s, he traveled some 20,000 miles to photograph cowboys in the United States, touring the western portion of the country. His work was published in The Cowboy, a book that many consider the most influential body of work on the subject.

When Bank’s passion for photography grew, his wife Dorothy, also took up the art and developed a successful photography studio, first in Dallas, then in San Antonio. Obviously, John grew up in a family of photographers, but John took to the art later in life. A corporate attorney, once John’s work moved him to Asia, he quickly developed the same passion for photography that has become his family legacy. Today, his brother Will and sister Marie run the Langmore Photography portrait studio in San Antonio, Texas.

John’s work has been widely published, exhibited, and collected. He was a founding member and president of the Austin Center for Photography, in addition to having completed long-term projects on East Austin and Oaxaca, Mexico.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 36 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of 1,250 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 12:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.