Director of Foundations Mary Johnson presents on panel at SECAC conference
Mary Johnson, director of Foundations in the Alfred University School of Art and Design, chaired and presented on a panel discussion at the recent SECAC annual conference.
The SECAC 2023 conference, “Crossroads,” was held Oct. 11-14 in Richmond, VA. Johnson chaired and sat on a panel titled “Sights on the Stars: The Current Space Race & the Visual World” and presented her paper, “The Red Planet.” Alfred University alumna Elisabeth Pellathy, ’05 (B.F.A.) ’11 (M.F.A.) also participated in the panel. An associate professor of Art at University of Alabama, Pellathy presented her paper, “Birmingham Botanical Gardens: Half- Moon Tree.”
A description of the Oct. 12 “Sights on the Stars” panel is as follows:
The space race is back. And with it, we see an increase of nods to space exploration in visual culture. While there are texts examining this trend in the mid-50s to the 70s, research investigating the contemporary conversation, hinged to corporate missions, colonization, multiple global players, nationalism, sci-fi, and even agriculture, is just beginning. This panel is a part of that beginning.
SECAC (formerly the Southeastern College Art Conference) is a non-profit organization that promotes the study and practice of the visual arts in higher education on a national basis.