Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center to host new Mike Hartung exhibition 'Political Porn,' Clay Wirestone book signing
The Lindsborg artist and his politically charged paintings are featured in a new book about opinion writing in Kansas.
The following announcement is based on a press release from the Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center.
LINDSBORG — Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center, 114½ S. Main St. in Lindsborg, will feature paintings by Lindsborg artist Mike Hartung in a new exhibition titled “Political Porn.” The show opens September 4 and continues through the 27th.
SVAFC will host a reception from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, September 6 that doubles as a celebration of the exhibition and an author event for Clay Wirestone’s new book “Opinionated: Kansas Journalists Who Proved Why Commentary Matters — Then and Now.” The book signing is the first of many events across the state for the newly published book. Hartung, who is referenced in the book, will give an artist’s talk at 2:30 p.m.
“Opinionated: Kansas Journalists Who Proved Why Commentary Matters — Then and Now” is a new book by Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone. Images courtesy of University Press of Kansas.
Wirestone, a native Kansan who graduated from the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas, is the opinion editor at the Kansas Reflector. His writing has appeared in PolitiFact, the Topeka Capital-Journal, Concord Monitor (New Hampshire), and Mental Floss. He has been published by more than 200 outlets in 30 states. Wirestone lives in Lawrence with his husband, son, and assorted animals.
The content of “Political Porn” will be familiar to viewers who have seen Hartung’s visual commentary. This exhibition includes all new paintings created this year.
Hartung’s exhibition takes on current events and other subject matter that the local artist often focuses on in his paintings. Some of the artwork is controversial and may be disagreeable to some viewers, given that the prolific artist uses his medium to document events, politics, and stories — both real and imaginary — of our time.
Hartung received a bachelor’s degree in art education from Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia before he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War. When he returned to Kansas, he continued taking art classes and met other local artists. Two of them, Don Osborn and Steve Scott, eventually relocated to Lindsborg and encouraged Hartung to do the same. Hartung moved to Lindsborg in the mid-1970s and has been producing art in his loft studio ever since.
This is the artist’s seventh exhibition at SVAFC, which is free and open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The center provides a formal space for artists, craftsmen, and performers to share their work and often hosts lectures, workshops, and demonstrations. To learn more about SVAFC or to become a volunteer, go to www.smokyvalleyartsandfolklifecenter.org.
Announcements are submissions from arts and cultural organizations and community members. They are published at the discretion of SHOUT editors and may be lightly edited. Send press releases and other announcements to emily@shoutwichita.com.
❋ Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs
❋ Socializing while sober: how some Wichitans are cultivating alcohol-free communities
❋ As a small creative business closes, the owner mourns
❋ Painting through it: Autumn Noire on 20 years of making art
❋ How a guy from Wichita resurrected 'Dawn of the Dead'
❋ Bygone Friends University museum housed curious collections
Support Kansas arts writing
The SHOUT is a Wichita-based independent newsroom focused on artists living and working in Kansas. We're partly supported by the generosity of our readers, and every dollar we receive goes directly into the pocket of a contributing writer, editor, or photographer. Click here to support our work with a tax-deductible donation.
