Art in the Public Sphere:
a two-day event on public art in America
October 1-2, 2009
Art Spaces, Inc. – Wabash Valley Outdoor Sculpture Collection, the ISU Art Gallery and the Swope Art Museum are teaming together to present Art in the Public Sphere, a two-day event which will offer an opportunity for people to learn about current thought in contemporary public sculpture, and the historical context of the collections in our own community. The public is invited and all events are free of charge.
October 1
On Thursday, October 1, Dr. Erika Doss, Chairperson of the Department
of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame, will present Picturing
New Deal America: Visual Art and National Identity, 1933-1945. The lecture
will take place at 5:30 p.m., preceded and followed by a public reception
to honor Dr. Doss. The lecture will be held in the Music Recital Hall
at the Center for Performing and Fine Arts on the campus of Indiana State
University.
The impact of the Great Depression was felt far and wide in the 1930s, and so were New Deal efforts to restore American productivity and national spirit. In this lecture, American art historian and chair of the Department of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame will survey the variety of visual arts produced in the U.S. under the auspices of various New Deal federal art programs from 1933 to 1945. Such artists as Thomas Hart Benton, Stuart Davis, Berenice Abbott, Grant Wood, Jacob Lawrence, and Jackson Pollock (several of whom are represented in the Swope Museum of Art) were employed for the purpose of creating significant permanent art in schools, hospitals and libraries. Through the lens of visual culture and public art, Doss will examine issues of citizenship, changing understandings of public participation and the dynamics of national identity during a most challenging era in American history.
Erika Doss is chairperson of the Department of American Studies at University of Notre Dame, where she teaches courses in modern and contemporary American art and visual culture. She is the author of numerous publications including Benton, Pollock, and the Politics of Modernism: From Regionalism to Abstract Expressionism (1991), Spirit Poles and Flying Pigs: Public Art and Cultural Democracy in American Communities (1995), Elvis Culture: Fans, Faith, and Image (1999), Looking at Life Magazine (editor, 2001), and Twentieth-Century American Art (2002). Her new book, Memorial Mania: Commemoration and Public Feeling in America will be published by the University of Chicago Press in 2010.
Friday, October 2
On Friday, October 2nd, the three organizations will co-host a Community
and Panel Discussion: What is Public Art Doing in Your Backyard? It will
take place from 12:10 to 1:30 p.m. in the Mary Fendrich Hulman Gallery
of the Swope Art Museum.
During this one-hour session, panelists will discuss topics related to public artists responding to communities; the role public art can play in education; and the transformative nature of art for a city, community or campus. This conversation, including questions and input from the audience, will provide insight into the public collections of Art Spaces, ISU and the Swope Art Museum and how they relate to other models and current practices as well as their historical context. Attendees may order a lunch from the Swope by calling (812) 238-1676 by Thursday, October 1--or bring your own lunch. Boxed lunches from Boo’s Crossroads Café are $7. Otherwise, no reservation required.
PARTICIPANTS
Erika Doss
Chairperson, Department of American Studies, University of Notre
Dame
Douglas Kornfeld
Artist, Art Spaces Collection
The sculpture that Douglas Kornfeld recently installed in Terre Haute
for the Art Spaces collection is a synthesis of contemporary ideas infused
with a pop art sensibility, mixed in with some engineering wizardry. Runner
is a 23-foot high stainless steel running figure dramatically posed mid-stride.
The work, located outside the main entry of the new Indiana State University
Student Recreation Center and also part of ISU’S Permanent Art Collection,
is a site-specific work which was conceived in relation to the design
of the building. I wanted something that related to the building and expressed
the dynamic qualities of what is happening inside,” Kornfeld said.
“I also wanted something that everyone could relate to.”
Mr. Kornfeld, based in Cambridge, Mass., has large-scale outdoor sculptures
in cities ranging from St. Petersburg, Fla., Providence, R.I., and New
Haven, Conn. on the east coast to locations further west including Denver,
Bellevue, Wash. and Allen, Texas. In May his 15-foot high wooden sculpture
“Ozymandias,” was installed at the De Cordova Museum and Sculpture
Park in Lincoln, Mass. Runner is his first public work in the Midwest.
Julia Muney Moore
Public Art Administrator for Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis
As Public Art Administrator for Blackburn Architects, Ms. Moore coordinates the selection, fabrication and installation of any site-specific artwork commissioned in conjunction with a Blackburn Architects project, as well as public art commissioned as a separate project. Previously, as Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services at the Indianapolis Art Center, she was involved with the design and artist selection for its ARTSPARK outdoor art project space. In the past five years she has been the Project Manager for the new $3.9M public art program for the Indianapolis International Airport and has worked with projects for the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Bryn Mawr College in 1983, her Master of Arts in Art History from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts in 1986 and her Master of Business Administration from Ball State University in 1989. She has also pursued independent study in museum registration methods and project management.
Moderated by Melissa Vandenberg,
Assistant Professor, Foundations, Eastern Kentucky University
Melissa Vandenberg, born and raised in Michigan, has a BFA from College
for Creative Studies
in Detroit, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, both
in Sculpture. She was initially integrated into this project while Director
of the Indiana State University Art Gallery, but currently is Head of
Foundations for the Department of Art & Design at Eastern Kentucky
University.
Exhibition Opening and Public Reception
Radicals, Patriots & Artists of Conscience and Heartland Graffiti:
writers from the Midwest
6 to 9 p.m.
Swope Art Museum
Visit with the speakers and participants from the programs, in addition
to enjoying two new exhibitions at the Swope Art Museum. Great art, complimentary
hors d’oeuvres, fun people, gallery talks and a cash bar present
the opportunity for a fun close to the symposium and a brilliant beginning
to your weekend.
All of the events are free and open to the public. For more information,
please call the Swope Art Museum at (812) 238-1676.
