Graeme Sullivan, Director of Penn State's School of Visual Arts, is an Australian artist, author, art theorist, and educator. He has contributed work to numerous exhibitions and events and is known for his international "Streetworks" project that plants public art in unusual urban locales.
His book, Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in the Visual Arts presents a compelling argument that the creative and cultural inquiry undertaken by artists is a form of research. He argues that legitimate research goals can be achieved by choosing different methods than those offered by the social sciences. The common denominator in both approaches is the attention given to rigor and systematic inquiry. Artists emphasize the role of the imaginative intellect in creating, criticizing, and constructing knowledge that is not only new but also has the capacity to transform human understanding.
There will be a workshop, “A Chair Raised to the Level of a Question” from 1:30 - 3:30 in Tyler Room B-86 followed by a reception at 4 pm in Architecture 104. Participation in the workshop is limited to 15 people, register by emailing Lisa Kay mo later than 5 pm on April 3.