The Montclair Art Museum and Montclair State University Present Eleventh Year of MSU/MAM Art Talks

MONTCLAIR, N.J. - April 1, 2014 - PRLog -- The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) and Montclair State University are proud to welcome internationally recognized contemporary artists Spencer Finch and Vik Muniz for the spring 2014 season of the MSU/MAM Art Talks series. The lectures will take place in the Museum’s Leir Hall, with Finch on April 10 and Muniz on April 17, both at 7 p.m.

         Throughout his career, American artist Spencer Finch has used color and light as primary subjects and materials in his works. Best known for exploring ideas about memory and perception, the artist often employs a colorimeter, a device that measures the average color and temperature of light that exists naturally in a specific place and time. With this information in hand, Finch, who was commissioned by MAM to create a site-specific installation titled Yellow on the Museum’s façade, reconstructs the luminosity of the location through artificial means.

         Initially a sculptor, Vik Muniz grew interested with the photographic representations of his work, eventually focusing completely on photography. Primarily working in series, Muniz incorporates the use of quotidian objects such as diamonds, sugar, thread, chocolate syrup, and garbage in his practice to create bold, ironic, and often deceiving imagery, gleaned from the pages of pop culture and art history. In 2010, Muniz was featured in the documentary film Waste Land, which featured Muniz's work on one of the world's largest garbage dumps, Jardim Gramacho, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The film was nominated to the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 83rd Academy Awards.

The lecture series is a collaboration between the Master of Fine Arts degree program of Montclair State University and the Montclair Art Museum. It began in Spring 2002, after the Museum doubled its space including the addition of Leir Hall. It became an annual series in the fall of 2002, featuring four lectures a year. Former speakers include prominent artists Kiki Smith, Robert Storr, Philip Pearlstein, Tom Otterness, Mariko Mori, Shirin Neshat, Lorna Simpson, James Rosenquist, and Jeff Koons; and art critics Jerry Saltz and Holland Cotter. Each talk is followed by a question-and-answer session and a reception with the featured guest.

Tickets to each lecture are $12 for members, $15 for nonmembers, and free for Montclair State staff and students. Advance tickets are available online at https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/learn-lectures#ticket, in The Store at MAM, and by calling 973-259-5137. For the first time, MAM is offering a discount for purchasing both tickets. See both Spencer Finch and Vik Muniz at the discounted price of $20 member and $25 nonmember! Two-ticket offer is available online only. The galleries will have extended hours from 5 to 7 p.m. and tickets to the lectures include admission to the Museum on the day of the program.