Athens, Ga. – Cultural critic and MacArthur award winner Dave Hickey will visit the University of Georgia 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 a lecture, “How Not to Teach Art,” on Tuesday, March 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Room S151 of the art school. The lecture is free and open to the public.
As both a friend to artist Robert Mapplethorpe and a defender of the late U.S. Senator Jesse Helms who denounced Mapplethorpe’s work, Hickey became the focus of critical tension during the height of the culture wars of the early 1990’s. 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.
A longtime student of American popular culture, Hickey is also author of Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy. He currently writes for Vanity Fair and Art in America. 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 in the art school. “While he’s here, we are certain to benefit from both.”
Since its inception in 1997, the Visiting Artist and Scholar Lecture series has brought over 50 distinguished guests to the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art. Visiting artists and scholars spend three days on campus interacting with students and faculty, the culmination of which is a public lecture on the subject of the artist’s or scholar’s work.
For more information, see http://www.art.uga.edu.