Julian LaVerdiere, co-creator of the “Tribute in Light” temporary memorial to the victims of September 11, 2001, will lecture on Art after Crisis – the Tribute in Light on Friday, September 15, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
The free and public lecture is sponsored by MIAD’s Board of Trustees and Lighthouse Development Company, LLC. It will be held at Lighthouse’s Transpak project, 235 E. Pittsburgh Avenue. A public reception will follow on MIAD’s Riverwalk at 9 p.m
- Location map (pdf)
- Julian LaVerdiere, "The Power of Art" (pdf)
LaVerdiere, a native resident of New York City, holds a bachelor of fine arts and a master’s degree in sculpture. He is a founding member of the production-design collective BigRoom LLC, which has received international acclaim for its innovative approach to commercial production design.
Following the events of 9/11, in 2001 and 2002, LaVerdiere worked with fellow-artist Paul Myoda, three architects, Creative Time and the Municipal Art Society of New York to create “Tribute in Light.” This public artwork has subsequently been selected to become an annual addition to the World Trade Center memorial.
Art after Crisis – the Tribute in Light will focus on the work’s genesis, its effect on the artist and the role of politically conscious art. As befitting a college of art and design with 11 B.F.A. majors, LaVerdiere will also engage MIAD sculpture students in an intensive seminar.
LaVerdiere is the recipient of numerous awards and grants for individual and public art collaborations, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant and a Warhol Foundation Grant. He has had solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Europe, and his work is included in the permanent collections of PS1-MOMA, New York; MOCA, Miami; Museu Nacional de Historia Nattural, Portugal; and the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. In 2000, he was granted a residency at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Studio Program on the 91st floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
Employing a pastiche of symbols, signs and themes from the past and present, LaVerdiere draws attention to pivotal moments and events that serve as harbingers of change.
For information on the Tribute in Light, visit www.tributeinlight.com. For information on LaVerdiere’s current work, visit his agent’s site, www.lehmannmaupin.com.
Image credit: "Towers of Light Over The Brooklyn Bridge," artist concept rendering by Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda © 2001.
