Friday, February 22, 2019
1:00-2:00 PM
Institute for the Humanities Osterman Common Room, #1022
202 S. Thayer
Map
2019 Efroymson Emerging Artist David Opdyke and writer Lawrence Weschler discuss Opdyke's current exhibition, Paved with Good Intentions, and the relationship between culture, politics, the environment and art in a contemporary landscape fraught with disorder and turmoil.
WIN ONE OF DAVID OPDYKE'S MICHIGAN POSTCARDS! Come to the event and you'll automatically be entered to win one of 10 vintage Michigan postcards painted on/modified by David Opdyke. Must be present to win.
About David Opdyke:
David Opdyke is a draughtsman, sculptor, and animator known for his trenchant political send-ups of American culture. Born in Schenectady, NY in 1969, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in painting and sculpture. His work is informed by the massive industrial and corporate restructuring he witnessed growing up, namely the abandonment of the city center by manufacturing giants General Electric and ALCO. As GE shifted resources to neighboring Niskayuna, the disparities became hard for Opdyke to ignore. Massive, decaying factories, an empty interstate loop, and unemployment were downtown; new streets, expensive homes, sushi and shopping malls were in the suburbs.
For twenty years Opdyke worked as a scenic painter and architectural model-maker. Ranging from intricate miniature constructions to room-sized installations, his artwork explores globalization, consumerism, and civilization’s abusive relationship with the environment.
About Lawrence Weschler:
Lawrence Weschler was for over twenty years (1981-2002) a staff writer at "The New Yorker," where his work shuttled between political tragedies and cultural comedies. He is director emeritus of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, where he was director from 2001-2013. His nearly twenty books of political and cultural reportage include "Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees" (on Robert Irwin); "Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder" (on the Museum of Jurassic Technology); "Vermeer in Bosnia"; "Everything that Rises: A Book of Convergences"; "Domestic Scenes: The Art of Ramiro Gomez"; and forthcoming this summer, "And How Are You, Doctor Sacks," a biographical memoir of his friendship with the late neurologist Oliver Sacks. For more: www.lawrenceweschler.com
WIN ONE OF DAVID OPDYKE'S MICHIGAN POSTCARDS! Come to the event and you'll automatically be entered to win one of 10 vintage Michigan postcards painted on/modified by David Opdyke. Must be present to win.
About David Opdyke:
David Opdyke is a draughtsman, sculptor, and animator known for his trenchant political send-ups of American culture. Born in Schenectady, NY in 1969, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in painting and sculpture. His work is informed by the massive industrial and corporate restructuring he witnessed growing up, namely the abandonment of the city center by manufacturing giants General Electric and ALCO. As GE shifted resources to neighboring Niskayuna, the disparities became hard for Opdyke to ignore. Massive, decaying factories, an empty interstate loop, and unemployment were downtown; new streets, expensive homes, sushi and shopping malls were in the suburbs.
For twenty years Opdyke worked as a scenic painter and architectural model-maker. Ranging from intricate miniature constructions to room-sized installations, his artwork explores globalization, consumerism, and civilization’s abusive relationship with the environment.
About Lawrence Weschler:
Lawrence Weschler was for over twenty years (1981-2002) a staff writer at "The New Yorker," where his work shuttled between political tragedies and cultural comedies. He is director emeritus of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, where he was director from 2001-2013. His nearly twenty books of political and cultural reportage include "Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees" (on Robert Irwin); "Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder" (on the Museum of Jurassic Technology); "Vermeer in Bosnia"; "Everything that Rises: A Book of Convergences"; "Domestic Scenes: The Art of Ramiro Gomez"; and forthcoming this summer, "And How Are You, Doctor Sacks," a biographical memoir of his friendship with the late neurologist Oliver Sacks. For more: www.lawrenceweschler.com
| Building: | 202 S. Thayer |
|---|---|
| Website: | |
| Event Type: | Lecture / Discussion |
| Tags: | Art, Environment, Visual Arts, Writing |
| Source: | Happening @ Michigan from Institute for the Humanities |
