The Art and Design Department kicked off its brand new faculty lecture series on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 12 p.m in the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery. The first event featured lectures from Art and Design Professors Emily Lambert and Randall Hoyt on their own projects.
Hoyt said that the lecture series was created as a supplement to the faculty art show on display at the Thorne Art Gallery.
“The problem is that sometimes, you don’t really understand what the work is,” he said. “So to hear the artist talk about their motivations, it fills in the gaps between just standing there and looking at it and experiencing [it].”
Hoyt said the lectures are also beneficial for art students to “see how their professors think, and how they make mistakes, and how messy it gets.”
Lambert’s lecture revolved around her travels involving art and her own work with painting and sculpture.
Hoyt’s lecture revolved around a number of trips he took to study highway typeface.
“It’s always fascinating to learn about something that you’ve seen your whole life,” he said. “It’s a study of signage.”
The lecture included pictures from trips around the U.S. (2019), South America (2022), and Canada and Alaska (2023). Hoyt plans to take a sabbatical in Fall 2026 to travel to Southeast Asia and Australia.
Hoyt said he thought that the event was well attended.
“I think the students are motivated,” he said. “They want to see this kind of work, and it showed.”
Senior Bugzy Richards attended the showcase for their senior seminar class, but also to support their teachers.
“I really love these professors, and I’m happy to be here to support them regardless,” Richards said. “I would have come despite being in the class.”
A senior student attendee also attended for her senior seminar, but said she enjoyed seeing a new side to her professors.
“You see them teach a class, but you never see the personal side to their artistic patterns and ways,” she said. “It’s nice to see how they view their own stuff.”
The next two lectures will be held on Feb. 24, featuring Jonathan Gitelson and Miles Warner, and on March 3, featuring Paul McMullan and Lynn Richardson.
Emily Sloane can be contacted at
