The Art Museum of West Virginia University and The Friends of the Museum announce the first “Art Up Close!” event of the spring semester, focusing on individual works of art from the museum collection. It will be held Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Titled “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” the presentation is by Rosemary Hathaway, associate professor of English at WVU.

According to Art Museum Curator Robert Bridges, the work “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” is a portfolio with poet John Asbery’s most famous poem.

“The text is handset letterpress on round paper,” he said. “The lines radiate as spokes from a hub, so that the pages literally must be turned to be read. The portfolio includes prints by eight well-known American artists who created images that respond to the poem and the painted self-portrait by Parmigianino that inspired Ashbery.

“The prints are in various mediums, including lithography, etching and woodcut, on handmade Twinrocker paper. All is contained in a stainless steel canister with a convex mirror on the lid.”

Hathaway teaches courses in American literature, folklore, ethnography, and young-adult literature. She is editor of “Folklore and Education,” the newsletter of the Folklore and Education Section of the American Folklore Society, and has published articles in the Journal of American Folklore, the Journal of Folklore Research, the African American Review and The ALAN Review.

She received her doctorate in English from The Ohio State University, and taught at the University of Northern Colorado prior to joining the WVU faculty in 2007.

The “Art Up Close!” presentations are held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Museum Education Center (formerly the Erickson Alumni Center) adjacent to the WVU Creative Arts Center. All the events are free and open to the public.

Each “Art Up Close!” presentation features an original work of art and commentary by WVU faculty, followed by a question and answer session and light refreshments.

This series of lectures is designed to give an in-depth look at a single work of art selected from the WVU Art Collection. Audience members will have the opportunity to view the actual work of art.

For more information, contact the Art Museum of WVU at (304) 293-2141 or see the website at: http://www.ccarts.wvu.edu/art_museum.

-WVU-

cl/01/30/13

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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