8-19-08

Lycoming College’s 2008 Fall Symposium investigates the topic of “The Gendered Body” and includes a series of events during September and October that focus on the human body as a site of social and cultural exploration. The events, sponsored by the College’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program, are free and open to the public.

“This symposium on ‘The Gendered Body’ should be both visually arresting and thought-provoking,” said Dr. N. J. Stanley, coordinator of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. “We hope these events will stimulate our audiences to see their bodies, themselves and their culture from a fresh perspective.”

Photographer Laine Wyatt’s exhibit called “obsession/compulsion” opens the symposium on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in the Lycoming College Art Gallery, located in Snowden Library. Her installation began with investigations of her own and other women’s relationship with clothing. Wyatt observes that we live in a society where women are “consumed by our wardrobe,” in a culture where “we, in turn, are consumed by consuming.” Her exhibit incorporates clothing from her family members as well as constructions devised by the artist. The exhibit runs through Oct. 12.

On Thursday, Oct. 9, Wyatt will speak about her work at a reception for the artist held in the Art Gallery at 4 p.m. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions, and refreshments will be served.

Wyatt is an assistant professor of art at the University of Central Florida. She earned an MFA from Florida State University and BDAE from the University of Florida. Her work has been exhibited across the U.S. and Europe, including such venues as the Tampa Museum of Art and the Camerawork Gallery in San Francisco.

Kansas City artist Larry Kirkwood will be on campus Oct. 13-15 with his exhibit titled “The Body Image Project: Beauty as a Relative Concept.” He conceived this project in 1993 and since then has created hundreds of resin casts of the human torso in as many shapes and sizes, using ordinary people from across the United States as his subjects. According to Kirkwood, his exhibit examines “the reality of our outside appearance, examining prejudices such as sexism, racism and ageism.”

Many of Kirkwood’s sculptures will be on display in the Academic Center’s Pennington Lounge from 4 p.m., Oct. 13, through 7 p.m., Oct. 15. On Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m., Kirkwood will talk about his work during a reception for the artist.

For 17 years, Kirkwood’s primary medium was silkscreen printmaking. He has sold more than 40,000 of his prints and many are featured in commercial venues. Many of his artistic projects deal with social issues, primarily civil rights, peace and women’s rights. During his diverse career, Kirkwood has also served as the art director for two different corporations, and restored murals.

On Tuesday, Oct. 21, author Joan Jacobs Brumberg will discuss her 1997 book “The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls,” in Heim Building, G-11, Barclay Lecture Hall, at 7:30 p.m. Her lecture describes how the evolution of popular culture during the last 100 years has affected girls’ images of themselves and their bodies.

Brumberg, the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow and professor emerita at Cornell University, is internationally-known for her research and writing about the history of American girls. The author of three books and numerous articles, she has been a guest on many television and radio programs, including “The Today Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air.” 

The symposium’s final event is artist Gulia Huber’s multi-media presentation titled “Trespassing,” scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Heim Building, G-11, Barclay Lecture Hall.

Utilizing the form of clothing and media of sculpture, photography, installation and performance, Huber explores the human reaction to restrictive forces of social and cultural boundaries on gender division. She limits the materials and processes of her wild and fanciful artwork to “women’s crafts,” such as sewing and embroidery, as a comment on the accepted norms that restrict women’s rights and freedoms.  

Huber was born, raised and educated in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She immigrated to the United States in 1968 and earned an MFA in studio art/sculpture from Pennsylvania State University in 2008. Huber has taught at Lycoming, Lock Haven University and Penn State University. 

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