Transit of Venus

Art Exhibit

To commemorate the June 8, 2004, transit of Venus,
Glance Eyewear Gallery in South Bend, Indiana, will host the
Transit of Venus Art Exhibit.

Artists of all media are invited to submit an intent to participate by April 15, 2004. Upon acceptance, your artwork will be exhibited from May 8 through June 30, 2004. Artists who cannot deliver their artwork for the exhibit yet wish to show images of their handiwork online may submit digital images for a virtual exhibition on this website.

Call for Entries Details about delivering, exhibiting, and selling your transit of Venus art.
Invitation to Artists A letter from Chuck Bueter introducing the transit of Venus to the art community.
Entry Form Artist's contact information and description of your art.
Virtual Exhibit Images of commemorative art submitted for online display of pieces not exhibited at Glance.

Call for Entries

Show location: Glance Eyewear Gallery, 1639 N. Ironwood Drive, Suite 2, South Bend, IN 46635, USA.

Exhibit Dates: May 8 through June 30, 2004

Contact: Cathy McCormick, cathy@transitofvenus.org

This exhibit is open to artists working in any media. The theme relates to the celestial event on June 8 in which the planet Venus glides across the face of the sun. The transit of Venus last occurred in 1882. It will be marked by planetarium programs, community observing, music performances, and other events locally and internationally.

Artists are invited to create works about Venus, the sun, relevant mythology, the search for habitable planets, the view of the transit itself—subjects that address our attempts to understand our place in space as they relate to the transit of Venus. The exhibit will include The Sun as Art, a series of dramatic photos of the sun on loan from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

State your intent to participate by April 15.
Please email Cathy McCormick at cathy@transitofvenus.org by April 15, 2004, with your intent to participate. There will be no jury process, though Glance may decline works if display space becomes limited. Therefore, we encourage you to state your intent to participate early.

Deliver your art May 3-7.
Please deliver your works (maximum of 2) May 3-7 to Glance Eyewear Gallery,1639 N. Ironwood Drive, Suite 2, South Bend, IN, 46635, USA.

Regular business hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. (574 271-1000) All times are Eastern Standard Time (UT-5).

Two-dimensional pieces must be framed and ready to hang. Three-dimensional pieces should not weigh more than 65 pounds. Works may be for sale. Glance retains a commission of 25 percent on sales. Glance reserves the right to reject works they deem inappropriate for their gallery.

Label your art.
On the back of each piece please attach a note or business card listing the artist’s name, address, phone number, and email address. Also please list the artwork’s title, price and medium. Artists are responsible for insuring their artwork.

Invitation to Artists

Dear Artist,

On June 8, 2004, a natural phenomenon which has not been witnessed by any human now alive occurs at sunrise. Venus will appear to glide across the face of the sun, as seen on the eastern portion of North America. The transit of Venus is historically significant, for transits are the means by which we came to understand and to quantify the scale of the solar system. In the modern era, astronomers seek earth-class planets by detecting planets transiting distant stars. We invite you to experience this historic celestial spectacle and share that experience with others.

Participation by the art community is an integral component to the transit of Venus celebration planned for northern Indiana. Five transits of Venus have been witnessed since the invention of the telescope, yet there is only a handful of art known to commemorate those events. We solicit your artwork that specifically addresses the transit of Venus and its implications for human understanding of our place in the cosmos. Themes include Venus and the sun (including historic and mythological references), the search for extra-solar planets, global expeditions, the view of the transit itself, and other interpretations relevant to the event. The exhibit will include The Sun as Art, a series of dramatic photos of the sun on loan from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Several resources are available to bring you up to speed on the transit of Venus so that your artwork accurately reflects the event:.

A 45-minute DVD is available from the Great Lakes Planetarium Association, with an order form and details at http://analyzer.depaul.edu/paperplate/transit.htm. It is a good tutorial divided into 23 chapters, covering many of the key aspects of the transit.
The public sky show at the PHM Planetarium & Air/Space Museum (see http://www.transitofvenus.org/phm/index.htm for schedule of show times) parallels the DVD content.
A vast collection of original material and links are online at www.transitofvenus.org. Immerse yourself and you will likely find that the appeal of the transit of Venus is infectious.
Or you can contact me directly before May at bueter@transitofvenus.org.

The transit of Venus is an international event with local opportunities. Other transit of Venus highlights in northern Indiana include teacher workshops, musical performances, webcasts, a planetarium program, lectures, observing on June 8^th—even a transit of Venus beer from Mishawaka Brewery (something to cry in if we are clouded out). We also hope to have a liaison with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who will witness the entire 6-hour event concurrently with friends and family back home.

Please join us locally in commemorating global history. I appreciate your handiwork.

Sincerely,

Chuck Bueter

Entry Form

Please submit one entry form with each piece of art you would like to exhibit.

Your Name: ________________________________________________________________

Address:

___________________________________________________________________________

Phone :_____________________________________________________

Email: ______________________________________________________

Artwork Title: _________________________________________________________________

Medium: _____________________________________________________________________

Artwork value for sale: _________________ Not for sale, insurance value: _________________

Description/comments:

______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Virtual Transit of Venus Art Exhibit

We recognize that not everyone can exhibit their artwork at Glance Eyewear Gallery in South Bend, Indiana. If you have created a piece of art that features the transit of Venus and you want to show it online, we invite you to share an image at this website. Either upload the image to a website and send us the website's e-address, or send us an image (jpeg format is preferred) of the art as an attachment.

Due to the spam burden and virus concerns, we cannot guarantee that all attachments will be posted, much less survive our email filters. Hence, a link to another website is preferred.