JARED SOARES The Roanoke Times

George Penn and his son George Penn Jr.

ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Hoppie Vaughan (left) and his son Rob Vaughan playing at Blues BBQ.

The Taubman Museum of Art has unveiled four new summer exhibits, including photographs that were part of a "back to nature" movement a century ago that spawned our national parks.

"Peter Henry Emerson and American Naturalistic Photography" features 75 images from photographers including Emerson, Alfred Stieglitz, Doris Ulmann, Henry Troth, Edward Curtis and Rudolf Eickemeyer.

Emerson, who was born in Cuba and lived in England, was at the forefront of a movement that aimed to prove photography could stand alone as a fine art. He inspired a generation of American photographers who found nature beautiful and rejected urban life.

"American naturalistic photographers made simply composed, picturesque images, invariably printed in the subtle tonalities of platinum," says a museum release. Their work reflected an environmental movement "that led to the creation of national parks and wildlife habitats," the release says.

Visitors, however, should not come expecting Ansel Adams. Most of these images are modestly sized -- some are no bigger than a postcard -- and many include people. Indeed, the turn-of-the-century American people and their workaday dress and often humble dwellings are perhaps the most fascinating part of the exhibit, which includes images of fishermen, farmworkers and their families, and American Indians, all in rural settings.

The exhibit is drawn largely from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts' permanent collection, but includes several images from the Taubman Museum's collection as well.

Other new exhibits at the Taubman include "Eco-Sensing," a series of videos by Sam Easterson taken from the point of view of assorted animals; "Reverences," featuring works by North Carolina mixed media artist Terri Dowell-Dennis and Floyd County potter Donna Polseno; and "Eclipsis/LumenHaus," which showcases solar-powered home technology designed by Virginia Tech's Solar Decathlon team. All the exhibits may be seen through Aug. 17 with the exception of "Reverences," which closes Aug. 25.

This is the third group of exhibits the museum has presented since opening in November.

"It's part of a plan to keep the galleries fresh so that people come back over and over again," museum external affairs director Kimberly Templeton said. 342-5760; taubmanmuseum.org

A fleadh in Letterfrack

Those in the mood for more scenes of rural life after visiting the art museum might check out Vera Dickerson and Robin Poteet's new sketchbook, "Bonny Views of Ireland," on exhibit at Gallery 108 and Signature 9 galleries downtown.

The sketchbook, created from a 13-day trip the Roanoke Valley artists took to Ireland in May 2008, includes 48 paintings of people and landscapes on Ireland's picturesque west coast.

The artists spent time in County Galway and the town of Dingle. They took a boat to Inishbofin and the Great Blasket Island. And they witnessed a fleadh in Letterfrack.

And what's a fleadh? It's part competition, part party, Dickerson said. This one took place in local schoolrooms, and included fiddles, tin whistles, concertinas and uilleann pipes.

"Outside ... the pubs were spilling out into the street with lots of music, a little impromptu dancing and lots of empty Guinness glasses," Dickerson wrote in an e-mail.

As for the sketchbook, "My pages are largely of the people: musicians, farmers, children, and a wonderful older woman who told us stories of her life," Dickerson wrote. "Robin's pages are landscape, panoramic views, doors, street scenes."

A hand-lettered diary of the trip is included in the sketchbook, which has been printed in a limited edition of 500 and is for sale. For more information call Signature 9 gallery at 342-0703.

Library artist

Madeline Wiener, the Denver artist chosen to create a sculpture for the Gainsboro Branch Library, will discuss her work with Roanokers on Thursday. Wiener will meet with children at 10 a.m. and teenagers and adults at 4:30 p.m. in the Gainsboro Library at 15 Patton Ave. N.W..

The sculpture project will include opportunities for words, poems and illustrations that express the spirit of Gainsboro. Call 853-2476 for more information. To see examples of Wiener's work, visit madelinewiener.com.

Improv auditions

The Big Lick Conspiracy improv troupe is seeking new members. Auditions will be Saturday at Jefferson Center. Actors will be asked to participate in various unscripted exercises and scenes. Please register in advance by sending an e-mail with name and contact info to blconspiracy@aol.com.

Wine Festival a success

Last weekend's Roanoke Valley Wine Festival at Elmwood Park brought in more people and more money than any wine festival to date, said Jim Sears, president of Center in the Square. Around 1,400 people, several hundred more than last year, attended the Saturday event. The festival benefits Center and FiddleFest, Sears said, though a final figure was not available late last week.