An art walk taking place Aug. 19 at DU not only gives visitors a chance to learn more about the public art on campus, it gives them the opportunity to hear about some of the works from the artists who created them.
“You can give a tour from an art history perspective, but having the artists and hearing the artist’s voice is kind of a richer experience,” says Jill Desmond (MA ’09), who organized the tour on behalf of DU Art!, a volunteer organization that provides financial support to DU’s School of Art and Art History. “It’s very interesting what art historians think about something and what the artists say — they’re almost always contradicting each other.”
Among the artists on hand will be DU Professor Lawrence Argent, who will discuss “Whispers,” his sculpture of talking lips outside the Ritchie Center; local sculptor Kathi Caricof, who will show off her limestone bas-relief sculptures at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts; and ceramist and Professor Emeritus Maynard Tischler, whose works on campus include a 300-foot-long tile mural at the El Pomar Natatorium inside the Ritchie Center.
The walk also will showcase a recently discovered 1929 mural by John Thompson in Margery Reed Hall and several sculptures around campus.
“When you’re on campus you walk by these things and they become invisible to you after a while,” says Desmond, a curatorial assistant for the department of modern and contemporary art at the Denver Art Museum. “Or some of them are more intriguing and you want to know more, but you don’t necessarily know where to go to find out.”
The DU Art Walk runs from 5:30–7:30 p.m. Aug. 19 starting at the Newman Center, 2344 E. Iliff Ave. Drinks and appetizers will be served in the Shwayder Art Building following the tour. Admission is free. To RSVP, call 303-791-6445 or e-mail kellegraham@comcast.net.