John Neely on wed 13 oct 04
Ceramic Artist Walter Ostrom to Visit Utah State University
Ceramic artist Walter Ostrom will be in residence at Utah State=20=
University as part of the Department of Art Visiting Artist Program=20
from October 22 to October 29. His public lecture is scheduled for=20
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 at 7:00 pm in the Eccles Conference Center,=20
room 216. Ostrom will show slides and speak about his own artwork.
Walter Ostrom, an internationally renowned artist and educator, =
is=20
Professor of Ceramics at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design=20
(NSCAD). He is also Honorary Professor of Ceramics at the Jingdezhen=20
Ceramic Institute in Jingdezhen, People=92s Republic of China. Ostrom=92s=20=
work in the low-fire maiolica technique has brought him world wide=20
recognition, both as an artist and and as an authority on the history=20
and technology of ceramics.
In a statement about his work Ostrom says, =93My pots are made =
to=20
function in the everyday complex world of the home rather than the one=20=
dimensional world of the gallery or museum. A pot should never stop=20
working. In use, it should function to contain, present and enhance=20
both its content and its context.=94 He goes on to say, =93A pot comes =
with=20
all sorts of cultural information: social, economic, aesthetic, etc. I=20=
try to keep in mind both the utilitarian and informational role.
His work can be found in major collections including the Museum =
of=20
Civilization (Ottawa), The Victoria and Albert Museum (London), and the=20=
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), The Academy of Art and Design, Tsinghua=20
University, Beijing, People=92s Republic of China, and New York State=20
College of Ceramics at Alfred University, New York. He has written=20
extensively about ceramics in major publications including =93Ceramica=94=20=
(Spain), =93New Ceramics=94 (England), and =93Ceramics Monthly=94 =
(United=20
States).
As well as presenting slides of his work in a public lecture, =
Ostrom=20
will meet with students in ceramics classes and will meet one-on-one=20
with advanced students to talk about their work. He will present a=20
workshop from Tuesday, October 26 through Wednesday, October 27 from=20
9:00a.m.- 4:00 p.m. in FAV 121 on the USU campus. All events are free=20
and open to the public.
=93Our program brings artists working in a variety of media and =
with=20
varied backgrounds to USU=94, said Marilyn Krannich, program director.=20=
=93Now, with both nationally and internationally known artists, we are=20=
trying to broaden our students=92 view of the art world and to create a=20=
larger world context for them and their artwork.
Ostrom is the final guest in this fall=92s Visiting Artist =
Program. In=20
spring semester the program will include a painter, a printmaker, a=20
sculptor, and a photographer. The guest artists have been selected for=20=
their national and international reputations, the ways in which their=20
art reflects diversity with respect to the media used, and their=20
diverse backgrounds.
The Visiting Artist Program is supported by a generous grant =
from the=20
Marie Eccles Caine Foundation. The Utah Arts Council, an affiliate of=20
the National Endowment for the Arts, provides additional funding.
For more information about the Visiting Artist Program at USU, =
contact=20
program director Marilyn Krannich, 435-797-7373.
=09=
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