Dawn to Dawn by Whitfield Lovell, 2006

Award-winning artist Whitfield Lovell will give a series of slide lectures on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, including at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, where he will spend time in-residence between Nov. 17 and 21.

Lovell draws upon a personal archive of hundreds of studio photographs of anonymous African-Americans, most dating from the early years of the 20th century. After developing the idea for each work, he draws the image freehand in charcoal on old wood, with careful thought given to the grain and texture of the wood as well as to any remnants of color from paint or wallpaper.

Whitfield Lovell

Found objects are then added in an intuitive process that varies from piece to piece to create three-dimensional tableaux.

Lovell’s most recent installations include: Visitation: The Richmond Project, displayed at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, the Columbus Museum Uptown, Georgia, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia; SANCTUARY: The Great Dismal Swamp at the Contemporary Art Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Grace: A Project by Whitfield Lovell at the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York City.

Lovell has been the recipient of a number of awards including a 2007 Fellowship Award from the MacArthur Foundation, sometimes referred to as the “genius grant.”

Whitfield Lovell slide presentations

• Nov. 18, 7 p.m. UH Hilo, UCB 100
• Nov. 19, 7 p.m. Volcano Art Center
• Nov. 20, 10 a.m. Mauna Kea Astronomy Center

Meet 2007 MacArthur Fellow: Whitfield Lovell

For more information on Whitfield Lovell in Hawaiʻi, email Wayne Miyamoto.

Tags: art, MacArthur Foundation, UH Hilo, Visiting Artist Program