DISTINGUISHED SOUTHERN MISS ART ALUMNUS RETURNS TO ROOTS

HATTIESBURG -- Renowned Mississippi native sculptor and painter Ed McGowin will return to his alma mater, The University of Southern Mississippi, Oct. 6-10, to share his knowledge and expertise with area elementary, high school and college students. His trip will culminate Oct. 9 with a public lecture on his long career as an artist.

His return to Southern Miss begins Oct. 6 with workshops for Department of Art students. On Oct. 7, he will present a workshop designed for art educators that focuses on aspects of K-12 art instruction. Presented by the art education program within the Department of Art and the Museum of Art at Southern Miss, the free workshop will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the George Hurst Building, Rooms 119 and 113.

On Oct. 8-9, McGowin will give workshops that benefit more than 300 area children in grades K-12. With stops at the Nora Davis Magnet School and Mason Elementary School in Laurel and W. L. Smith Elementary School in Petal, the former Hattiesburg native will conduct sessions geared to exploring narrative through sculpture. Each child will create a story line reflecting aspects of their daily lives and learn ways to transform it into a three-dimensional form. At Hattiesburg High School, McGowin will offer a slide talk on art as a career choice.

To round out the visit, Partners for the Arts will present McGowin Oct. 9 at 5 p.m. in a free public lecture, "Forty-five Years and Eighty Countries Later," which is a survey of his career. The lecture will be held in the Polymer Science Building auditorium.

A resident of New York City, McGowin is a 1961 graduate of Southern Miss with a degree in the fine arts. He later received a master's degree from the University of Alabama. Thereafter he moved north, yet, his memories of the deep South and his close connection to family in Hattiesburg have infused his narrative works of art throughout his career.

McGowin is particularly interested in the "coming together of various aspects of African American and white culture in the South." Often working with his wife, sculptor Claudia McMonte, he has recently created a series of public commissions in major cities around the world. McGowin is currently working on a series of multimedia works called "Osceola."

This series of programs is coordinated by the Elizabeth Leal, assistant professor of art education in the Department of Art at Southern Miss, in conjunction with the university's Museum of Art. It has been generously supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission, and, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and Partners for the Arts.

For more information, contact Leal at (601) 266-5815 or e-mail Elizabeth.Leal@usm.edu or museum director Tony Lewis at (601) 266-5200.

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