Artspeak Radio + Garvey, Guadarrama, & Bunker Center for the Arts

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with author Marshall Garvey, artist/curator Tj Templeton, and Rockhurst University Dr. Zdeňka Guadarrama

MARSHALL GARVEY, author, Interstate ’85: The Royals, The Cardinals, and the Show-Me World Series (Sports and American Culture)
– For 40 years now, the 1985 World Series between the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals has been largely overlooked, save for the enduring notoriety of umpire Don Denkinger’s infamous missed call in Game 6 that helped galvanize a walk-off Royals victory that forced a Game 7, in which the Royals won in a blowout. Seizing upon the imagery of the famed Interstate Highway 70 that connects Kansas City and St. Louis, Interstate ’85 goes beyond “The Call” and recasts the 1985 Series as a unique and deeply compelling chapter in baseball history. In this blend of baseball and cultural history, Garvey defines the “I-70 Showdown Series” not only by the literal highway that links the two teams’ home cities but the individual and collective roads travelled by the players and others who took part in the event, both before the Series began and well after the last cheers faded. In addition to gripping human stories and vivid descriptions of on-field action long overshadowed by Denkinger’s monumental blunder, Garvey’s work captures the provincial spectacle of the “Show-Me Series” throughout the state of Missouri. Featuring 27 new interviews conducted by the author, including with George Brett, Ozzie Smith, Don Denkinger, Bud Black, Andy Van Slyke, Ricky Horton, and Mark Gubicza, Interstate ’85 is baseball history writing at its deepest and most captivating.
www.marshallpgarvey.com

TJ TEMPLETON – How We Cope is a three-artist examination of what motivates an artist to continue creating in the face of tragedy, adversity, and the challenges that life throws at us. How do we remain resilient and continue to create when the world pulls the rug out from under us? How does one continue to create in the face of loss?
Taking the concept of art therapy to the extreme, three artists come together to share their creative coping mechanisms and the creative output inspired by their recent struggles. Tj Templeton is introducing a fresh body of work that includes an installation as well as two and three-dimensional works which all come together as a public awareness campaign to help identify, avoid, and heal from toxic relationships.
Ada Koch also has 2-D and 3-D work that demonstrates her resilience and perseverance by focusing on light heartedness and happiness for the sake of happiness.
Monika Teal brings to the exhibition a variety of both absurdly silly figurative portraiture, as well as dramatic and insightful sculptures.
The exhibition spans the three front galleries of the Bunker Center and will be on exhibit through May. Opening Reception is First Friday April 4th. Gallery Hours are 12-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The Bunker Center is located at 1014E. 19th KCMO www.bunkercenter.com

Tj Templeton is an interdisciplinary artist and Kansas City native. His work has been collected for over 30 years nationwide and been featured in such outlets as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, ArtMove Magazine, and the Martin Scorsese screening room at the Tribeca Film festival. He is currently the artist-in-residence at the Bunker Center for the Arts, where he maintains his studio and curates the gallery’s inventory of over 20 local, regional, and international artists.

DR. ZDEŇKA GUADRRAMA is a Rockhurst University Mathematics Professor, Chair of Mathematics, Analytics and Technology, and Mathapalooza Director. She strongly believes that there is enough variety of mathematics out there for everyone to enjoy, and that play can help challenge conventions about what mathematics is and how it is taught. She has written mathematics curriculum, given talks, designed workshops for teachers to help them bring mathematical inquiry and play into their classes, and created a range of programs to introduce the community to meaningful, beautiful and enjoyable mathematics. The latest of these programs is the KC Math Art Community exhibit “Math Play with Light”. Zdeňka lives a life in which people, nature, art, play and mathematics are essential, and are best when combined.

KC Math Art Community Exhibit 2025: “Math Play with Light”
“Math Play with Light,” showcased at Rockhurst University from May 1st to June 1st 2025, is an integrative project that unites mathematical concepts and art to create a striking window tapestry. Drawing on principles of tiling and the geometric patterns found in architectural jalis, the installation broadens awareness of how math intersects with visual art and design. Through interactive workshops held in math and art classes, each student contributed a unique piece that weaves into a cohesive display—building community and demonstrating the power of creativity to empower children in expressing their individuality. Aligned with Ellise Gagliardi’s “Still Life” exhibit in the Greenlease Gallery, “Math Play with Light” serves as both a call to action and a source of inspiration—creating access to original works of art for students, and offering an opportunity to meet the featured artist, thus emphasizing the value of cross-disciplinary exploration for learners of all ages.

Dr. Zdeňka Guadarrama
Ph.D. Mathematics, University of Arkansas, 2006
Research
Mathematics and Art
Mathematics through Play
Mathematics Education

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