Press Release from the Catherine J. Smith Gallery at Appalachian State University
April 2, 2012. BOONE — Catherine J. Smith Gallery at Appalachian State University will present a visiting scholar lecture by Stuart Horodner, who will be speaking about his newly released book, “The Art Life: On Creativity and Career.” The talk will take place on Monday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. in Belk Library and Information Commons, room 114 at ASU. The event is free and open to the public, and copies of Horodner’s book will be available for purchase at the lecture for $25.
The Art Life: On Creativity and Career is a collection of solicited and selected texts that address the philosophical and practical issues that affect art making and the marketplace. It brings together visual artists, curators, dealers, writers, musicians, architects, actors, and educators who speak to their internal motivations, influences, and processes, as well as to their external engagements with community, audience, career, and success. Many of the contributors have taken part in exhibitions and public programs at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center from 2007 to the present, and others have been included to represent provocative historical and contemporary viewpoints by a range of influential figures. The texts are taken from lectures, interviews, published statements, websites, and email exchanges, and are accompanied by images of artists and their work, some of whom are in the process of making or installing.
The inspirational and analytical entries address the fact that a life in the arts can be simultaneously rewarding, frustrating, doubt-filled, joyful, and uncertain. And yet, thousands of artists persist every day, motivated by both a private and personal calling, and the promise of satisfaction and recognition. Each is attempting to combine their creative life with a thriving career, and this publication provides various “words of wisdom” which can serve to inspire, challenge, and reassure them. As painter Franz Kline said, “The real thing about creating is to have the capacity to be embarrassed.”
The composite nature of The Art Life: On Creativity and Career, as much found as it is written, is meant to suggest that creative individuals must find the necessary information and materials to best establish their unique voice. This book is a heady mix of opinions and questions that can be used in classrooms and studios by artists of all ages.
About the Lecturer
Stuart Horodner is the Artistic Director of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. Trained as an artist, Horodner has held director and curator positions at the Atlanta College of Art (merged with the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2005) in Atlanta, GA; Portland Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland, OR; and Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. From 1992 – 1996, he was co-owner and director of the Horodner Romley Gallery in New York City. He has contributed art-related writing to multiple publications, including Bomb, Sculpture, Art Lies, Surface, and Dazed & Confused.
The Catherine J. Smith Gallery is located in Farthing Auditorium at 733 Rivers St., Boone, NC. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (828) 262-7338 or visit www.art.appstate.edu/cjs.
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