Artist Keith Boadwee to lecture on campus today

If you've been curious as to what happened to the dynamic body-based, political artists of the 80s, such as Andre Serrano, Karen Finley, Renee Cox, Kiki Smith, look no further. Western’s Studio Arts Visiting Artist Lecture Series welcomes Keith Boadwee, one of the many artists who achieved fame in the 80s and 90s. Often categorized as a “shock” artist, he continues to make dynamic, thought-provoking work despite the recent repressive political era and fickle art market that would prefer to consume more “palatable” art.

Keith Boadwee Lecture "Sex, the 80s, Body, Identity Politics & Performance Art"
2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2
Old Main Theatre, WWU Campus

Regarding the object and the body, Keith Boadwee states, “… the idea and uses of painting beyond the traditional canvas and onto the body and into the third dimension has been crucial to my practice ever since. While I was interested in these ideas, I was also acutely aware that they represented the traditional white, heterosexual male paradigm present in the art world. While mimicking their strategies and methods, as a queer artist my works have built into them an inherent queer/feminist critique of the dominant power structure.”

Historically, his inclusion as the only male artist in the New Museum’s “Bad Girls” show, curated by Marcia Tucker, illustrates his importance as a participant in dialogue between new feminism and queer politics. His work has been reviewed in every major art publication, from "The New York Times" to "Art in America."

As a teacher and lecturer, he has presented at numerous major institutions, including NYU, Otis Parson and Mills College. Currently, he is teaching at San Francisco Art Institute and California College of the Arts.

The presentation is free and open to the public. This lecture contains content that some may find offensive.

Keith Boadwee is also the invited juror for the WWU student-organized “You Want Some of This?” juried art competition. For information regarding this opportunity, please visit http://www.wwu.edu/artphotography/Opportunities.html

For more information about the lecture, contact Garth Amundson at (360) 650-3436.