By Aaron Wright
Three local artists have been selected to take place in the Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship.
Josh Buss from Moore, Cedar Marie from Norman and Heather Read from Norman were selected to join with nine other fellows living within 350 miles of Oklahoma City to take place in this yearlong contemporary art program for art writers and curators.
Throughout the fellowship, these three will produce art writing and exhibition projects while being mentored by esteemed professionals.
Buss, who is currently serving as the education director at the City Arts Center said he is looking forward to refining his approach towards analyzing art, interpreting art and helping others do the same.
"I thought this program would be a good way for me to develop those skills," he said.
Heather Read, an art history graduate student at the University of Oklahoma, said she is hoping this fellowship will allow her to tell others about Norman's devotion to the arts.
"We're got this scene that has really gone unnoticed," she said.
Read is also hoping the fellowship will help her to answer a question she has been debating for some time as she continues to study art. The question is: Is the role of an art writer to critique art or inform the public about art?
"I'm trying to figure out which one I should do," she said.
Cedar Marie, an assistant professor with the OU School of Art and Art History, said she thinks writing and art naturally go together.
"I strongly believe that being able to write is very good to you as a practicing artist," she said. As a professor, she encourages her students to write about art as well as create art. She is hoping to compile her ideas and studies about combining the two crafts into a book she plans on writing parts of the book during this fellowship.
All three artists expressed an interest in working with the mentors that have signed on for this year, which include Tom Eccles, executive director of the Center of Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York; Tyler Green, noted arts blogger and founder of "Modern Art Notes" in Washington, D.C.; Eleanor Heartney, contemporary art critic and contributing editor to "Art in America" in New York City, among other publications and local mentor W. Jackson Rushing III, a scholar of contemporary Native American Art who recently joined OU.
Read said she is especially excited to hear from Heartney.
"She has a very conversational writing style -- it's very elegant and almost academic," Read said. "When I saw her name on the list, that's what made me apply."
A portion of the program which includes panel presentations will be open to the public. The first of these will take place Feb. 20 from 1-3 p.m. at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The following two presentations will be held at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. For more information on the program, visit www.write-curate-art.org.
