Terry Allen, a recording and conceptual artist whose creativity is hard to categorize, will be working with Texas A&M students April 11 - 17 as the College of Architecture’s second Spring 2008 Artist in Residence.
Somewhat resistant to being pigeonholed as a particular type of artist, when introduced as a critically acclaimed musician, Allen has said, “People tell me it’s country music, and I ask: ‘Which country?’”
The Artcyclopedia website lists Allen as an American sculptor. He pops up in the New American Radio website as the writer, director and producer of “Dugout,” an audio drama that was presented on National Public Radio in 1994.
His drawings in pastel, graphite and other media are on the Web too.
In January, Allen’s work-in-progress multimedia theater piece, “Ghost Ship Rodez,” was presented at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
“He’s one of the most creative people I’ve ever met,” said Mary Saslow, a senior lecturer with the College of Architecture’s Department of Visualization and chair of the 2008 Artists in Residence program. “He’s a perfect choice,” she said, “to show students the process of creation, how you find ideas, and explore possibilities.”
Allen will lecture on this work and creative process 12:30 p.m. Monday, April 14 in the Langford B Exhibit Hall.
He said students in his Artist in Residence workshop will investigate “where ideas come from and how they might be developed into making a work of art. Using notebooks, discussion, and possibly field trips, the primary focus will be on generating concepts, not finished work.”
