School Notes: School of Art
November/December 2018

Women breaking the canon

Throughout the 2018–19 academic year, the School of Art is holding a series of public lectures bringing women artists and scholars to campus who are breaking the canon of contemporary practice on the cusp of the school’s 150th anniversary in 2019. The speakers celebrate the revolutionary founding of the School of Art in 1869—not just as the first fine-arts professional school in the United States, but also as the first school at Yale to admit women as students.

October began with artist Andrea Fraser’s all-school workshop and public lecture, followed by a public dialogue between feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey and Yale assistant professor of film studies and African American studies RizvanaBradley. Later in the semester A. L. Steiner, Yale Presidential Fellow in photography, will give a lecture, and artist and Hayden Fellow Hito Steyerlwill return to campus for a presentation on her recent work, which includes a collaboration with the Yale Precision Marching Band.

This dynamic group of women artists and scholars serves as an introduction to the series as it continues throughout the academic year. More speakers will be added and the current listing is available at the school’s website.

Alumnus to exhibit at 2019 Venice Biennale

Sculptor Martin Puryear ’71MFA will represent the United States at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Founded in 1895, the Venice Biennale is recognized as the world leader in contemporary art exhibitions. Puryear will produce a series of new site-specific works for the United States Pavilion at the Biennale, which opens in May 2019.

Exhibited nationally and internationally for decades, Martin Puryear and his works have been recognized with prestigious awards and fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Foundation award. His work resides in the collections of museums internationally, including several pieces at the Yale University Art Gallery.