Renowned ceramic artist visits campus
Released: September 23, 2004
Malcolm Mobutu Smith, a renowned ceramics artist, will be at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Tuesday, Oct. 12 and Wednesday, Oct. 13. Smith, an assistant professor of Art at the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts in Indiana, is participating in the Visiting Artist program at UW-Whitewater. His workshops will run from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. The workshops are free and open to the public.
“My colleague, Charles Olson, and I invited Smith because of his unique approach and knowledge of working with ceramic media,” said Jared Janovec, academic staff instructor of Art. “His work bounces from sculpture to utilitarian pottery and is coated with references to the historical and the contemporary.”
Smith will be creating clay sculptures and vessels, which will be generated via the potter’s wheel and through various hand-building techniques. The pieces will be painted with various engobes, which are liquefied clays with the addition of stains and oxide coloring agents. His slide presentation will showcase a variety of works created throughout his career.
“What we don’t get to absorb from viewing art via gallery venues, books and journals, is the person behind the work. With this upcoming event, the audience will be able to couple the work with a living, breathing human being and thus gain insight to the personality and scope of the individual,” said Janovec.
The Visiting Artist program was established in 1977 to bring internationally, nationally and regionally known working artists to the UW-Whitewater campus for workshops and lectures. To date, more than 40 artists have participated in the program.
For more information, contact Janovec at (262) 472-1324 or janovecj@uww.edu.
- Alenia Heisz,heiszam21@uww.edu
