September 15, 2010
Special reception planned for Danto exhibit
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale welcomes the public to a special reception for the current exhibit “Arthur C. Danto’s Woodblock Prints: Capturing Art and Philosophy.”
The reception is 4-7 p.m. on Sept. 24 in the museum. At 5 p.m., the museum offers a screening of an interview with the artist by Andras Szanto, one of his most illustrious students, currently affiliated with Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York City. At 6 p.m., Randall Auxier, philosophy professor and editor of the Library of Living Philosophers, leads a gallery talk featuring philosophy graduate students whose work is part of the exhibit.
The exhibit features 27 woodblock prints and six woodblocks Danto created in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to the art, the exhibit contains critical interpretations by philosophy graduate students. The exhibit helps the viewer understand Danto’s work and his place as one of the most influential art critics of the 20th century.
Danto is the subject of a forthcoming volume in the Library of Living Philosophers, a series of volumes highlighting notable philosophers and engaging them in a retrospective examination of their individual life’s work.
Danto was a student of art and history at Wayne State University in Michigan, and later both a student and a professor at Columbia University, where he currently is Johnsonian Professor Emeritus of Philosophy. Danto’s contribution to philosophy is significant, both through his writing and his service to the discipline in the positions he has held with the American Philosophical Association and the American Society for Aesthetics. However, he may be best known for his association with “The Nation,” where he has been art critic since 1984. “The Nation” is a weekly publication focused on politics and culture.
There is no admission fee for this event, though donations are always welcome.
The Danto exhibit is one of several currently on display at the University Museum. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1-4 p.m. on Saturday. Visit the website at www.museum.siu.edu.