St. Louis, MO – The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts presents a panel discussion and student event, entitled People Watching at the Pulitzer on Tuesday, April 17th from 6pm – 10pm.
From 6pm-7pm a panel will discuss the topic "Portrait: Artists and Sitters in Contemporary Art" in the Pulitzer’s Main Gallery. Afterwards, panelists will take questions and continue the discussion with the audience.
Panel participants include: Susan Cahan, Associate Professor, Art and Art History, and the Des Lee Professor in Contemporary Art at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; Terrence E. Dempsey, S.J., Professor of Art History and Director of the Museum of Religious Contemporary Art at Saint Louis University; Jill Downen, Visiting Assistant Professor in Art, Washington University; John Klein, Visiting Associate Professor in Art and Archaeology, Washington University; and Matthias Waschek, Director of the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.
From 7pm - 10pm students from Saint Louis University will be in the galleries to discuss the exhibition, Portrait/Homage/Embodiment, with visitors. Through a collaborative program between the Pulitzer and Fr. Terrence Dempsey’s course “The Pulitzer, Art, and the Public” at SLU, these students have researched the exhibition and completed docent training in preparation for the event.
Simultaneously, Washington University students will be presenting art work they created in response to portraiture across the street in the Bruno David Gallery. This is a culmination of a program between the Pulitzer and Professor Jill Downen’s interdisciplinary studio course. Her class explored ideas and cultural contexts of portraiture, homage, and embodiment and focused on identifying emergent themes in order to develop and exhibit their own creative projects.
Both programs are featured on the Pulitzer’s website at http://pulitzerarts.org/events/university-programs/. Along with a general overview of each university program, students involved have also contributed to ongoing blogs. With postings and photos, their entries document the experience of working on the project.
Though geared towards students, the event is free and open to all and will be an excellent opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on Portrait/Homage/Embodiment. A reception will also be held in the Pulitzer courtyard, giving students an opportunity to meet, enjoy refreshments and discuss what they’ve seen.
The Pulitzer is located at 3716 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63108, Telephone: 314.754.1850, www.pulitzerarts.org.
