Cultural critic and MacArthur Award winner Dave Hickey will be on campus March 22-24 as a visiting scholar in the Lamar Dodd School of Art. As a part of the Visiting Artists and Scholar Lecture series, Hickey will present “How Not to Teach Art” on March 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Room S151 of the art school. The lecture is open free to the public.
As both a friend to artist Robert Mapplethorpe and a defender of the late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms who denounced Mapplethorpe’s work, Hickey became the focus of critical tension during the height of the culture wars of the early 1990s. His book of essays from that era, The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty, was re-issued in 2009 with a new introduction and a new essay on the relationship between beauty and democracy. Hickey is also author of Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy.
Hickey’s visit to UGA purposefully coincides with the 2010 MFA exhibition, for which he will serve as this year’s designated critic.
“Our decision to invite Dave Hickey hinged both on his widely acclaimed art criticism and his unflinching honesty in assessing contemporary art and culture,” said Isabelle Loring Wallace, associate professor of art and chair of art history. “While he’s here, we are certain to benefit from both.”