The Intermedia MFA hosted a series of visiting artists this fall semester. The series drew it's inspiration from the annual Without Borders Festival, Seriously, Funny, through highlighting the use of humor as social, political or cultural critique. All of the visiting artists shared their expertise through an evening public lecture with question and answer period to follow, as well as classroom visits and direct one-on-one student meetings.

Starting off our fall series, we hosted Jeremy Boyle from Easthampton, MA. He showcased his musical work by accompanying self playing musical instruments via Midi-controlled pneumatics.  Jeremy earned his MFA from Ohio State University, and is currently showing his work in the Hudson Franklin Gallery in New York, NY. For more information, please visit the artist's website, jeremyboyle.com.

Jill Miller shared some of her work exploring the social and psychological web of online communities as well as turning the tables on conventional artist and collector relationships. Her exploration into the myth of Bigfoot was an intriguing foray into the subcultures that surround the legend. While her work didn't turn up any concrete evidence of the creature, the insights into her creative research methods were a valuable lesson to learn. Jill Miller currently teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute and the California College of Arts. Her MFA work at UCLA included working with Paul McCarthy, John Baldessari, and Mary Kelly. For more information, please visit the artist's website, jillmiller.net. Working with D.S. Lobley and Gordon W.S. Lane in Portland, Maine, the creative firm of christophermichaelsullivan,  (CMS), explores the phenomena of the artist including the areas of the life of an artifact outside of the artist’s studio, the public’s perceptive role in the creation of meaning, and circumventing traditional routes to artistic validation. The performance art, that this group shared for the Without Border Festival, was a piece called Insider Trading. Through this work, CMS analyzed how process, material, and meaning circulate through society in the form of money as art. During their presentation, the group shared about their business process and approach to art. For more information, please visit the artist's website, christophermichaelsullivan.com.

Randy Regier, based in Portland, Maine, recently received this year's Maine Artist Fellowship. We were very lucky to have him share about his narrative approach to art through object inspired, created realities. In this vein, Randy explores social commentary through sculpture. His work often takes the form of toys, because of their inherent power of profound correlation to science and poetry, by attributing corporeal properties to inscrutable events. On a personal level, this art practice permits Randy to 'move freely within a bounded space', a sustainable form of play in which he still finds the world as fascinating, mystifying, frightening and full of potential as he did in his childhood.  For an in-depth article on Randy's artistic journey, please visit, rockkansas.com. Peter Rose currently lives and works in Philadelphia, PA. He teaches film and interdisciplinary time classes, in the Media Arts department, at University of the Arts. Since 1968, Peter Rose has made over thirty films, tapes, performances and installations. His early works raise intriguing questions about the nature of time, space, light, and perception and draw upon Rose's background in mathematics, and on the influence of structuralist filmmakers. The artist gave a film screening of a range of his films, as well as donated his collection to UMaine. During the artist's lecture, he presented his most recent work, which involves a return to an examination of landscape, time, and vision and takes the form of installation. For more information, please visit the artist's website, www.peterrosepicture.com.
 

Updated: 2009-04-03 by Julian Epps