November 08, 2012
Well-known artist will speak tonight in Carbondale
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Art and Design will welcome an internationally known artist and alumnus to campus today, Thursday, Nov. 8.
Harlan W. Butt, the Regents Professor of Art at the University of North Texas, will discuss his work and life as an artist at 7 p.m. at the University Museum.
Butt earned his master's degree in metalsmithing from SIU Carbondale in 1974. He earned his bachelor's degree from the Tyler School of Arts in Philadelphia in 1972. After earning his master's degree, Butt taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and San Diego State University before beginning as an assistant professor at the University of North Texas in 1976. He became Regent's Professor at the university in 2001.
Butt is the president of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, and art publications around the world feature his work. He formerly served as the president of the Enamelist Society along with a variety of council and board positions. His heavy involvement with the arts derives from his passion for living.
"As a human being I...live in a world of relationship, interaction and communication and so imagery, even of nature, can be metaphorical as well as literal," Butt said on his webpage. "The making of art, for me, is more than a record of things, it is part of the experience of discovering connections. It is part of the act of being alive."
In addition to the public lecture, Butt will participate in workshops for art students beginning at 9 a.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9-10, in the Pulliam Hall Industrial Wing.