We got our money's worth. And I don't usually say that.
- Member of a sponsoring art group
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
The Itinerant Artist Project - exchanging art for hospitality across the USA - has been my response to fine art's disconnection from everyday life and to the more general breakdown of direct, shared experience in our culture. A series of painting road trips now in its twelfth year, the project has proven to be a very demanding, highly rewarding exploration of the connections that art can make in fragmented times.
Creative odyssey, geographic and social adventure, art performance, experiment in gift exchange, and ongoing painterly dialogue with the American landscape... the Itinerant Artist Project (IAP) gives audiences a lot to think about. With dozens of painting images, exciting location photos, maps, charts, and more... the Road Artist presentations give people plenty to look at, as well.
CONTENT AND AUDIENCE
American Road Artist presentations combine narrative, imagery, and commentary, along with technical and philosophical background, to share the story of the IAP: the challenge of living by one's wits, one's art, and the kindness of strangers; the privilege of interacting with people and places in a way that only art makes possible; and the less than perfect but usually amusing ways that things play out when someone is bent on stubbornly following ideals through a rugged world.
Above all it is about art coming to life, humbly but powerfully, in a culture that often seems to either over-hype or ignore it.
Presentations are flexible in scope and length and can be adapted to suit a wide range of audiences, from graduate painting seminars to a the general public. Discussion is encouraged. Painting demonstrations, residencies, and exhibits can be part of the package.
Venues for American Road Artist presentations have included college art and philosophy classes, graduate seminars, teacher conferences, museums, libraries, churches and high schools.
CONTACT
To arrange a presentation or for more info, email: jim@jimmott.com