Taking a page from its popular Bjorklunden Summer Seminar Series offered in Door County, Lawrence University will sponsor a two-and-one-half-day seminar on public art July 19-21 on its Appleton campus.
“Public Art: Process and History” will feature three classes led by members of the Lawrence art and art history department. The classes will start at 8:30 a.m. each day in the Warch Campus Center.
Sculptor Rob Neilson, associate professor of art, opens the seminar with the class “Contemporary Public Art: Purpose, Process, Product and People.” The class will include a trip to the Appleton Art Center and a stop at a local downtown establishment for wine and conversation.
Elizabeth Carlson, assistant professor of art history, presents “Public Art in the 20th Century.” The class will include an afternoon field trip to the Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh.
Michael Orr, professor of art history, concludes the seminar with the half-day class “Public Art in Renaissance Florence.”
Participants can attend either as commuters or as residents, with housing provided in Lawrence’s Hiett Hall. A light breakfast and a lunch are provided each day. Seminar cost is $200, with an additional charge for housing if needed. The fee includes transportation and admission passes to the two art centers.
Class size is limited with a registration deadline of July 9. To register or for more information, contact Lori Vosters, 800-283-8320, ext. 7019 or lori.a.vosters@lawrence.edu.
The dedication ceremonies for the $115,000 commission Neilson titled “About Place, About Face” culminates a project that was three years in the making. The more than four dozen metal portraits, some as big as four feet tall, feature faces of people who actually live in the rail station’s neighborhood.
