The MFA Archive Project and Moth Press documents and publishes lectures, conversations and happenings inside the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art Program at Maine College of Art & Design, from its inception in 1998 to the present.
The Archive is a growing collection of books, prints, photographs, recorded lectures, documents, transcripts, interviews and original works of art culled from exchanges with over 90 contemporary artists, curators and thinkers. Moth Press publishes these exchanges in the form of unique artist books, audio and visual recordings.
The aim of the MFA Archive Project and Moth Press is to be an educational research tool for students, faculty, alum and the public. To date, we have transferred 75 lectures and seminars by 52 visiting artists to DVD. These recordings are available for viewing in the MECA&D's Joanne Waxman Library and by appointment in the MFA office.
Lectures on DVD
| Alex Coles Alison Saar Alix Pearlstein Allison Smith Amar Kanwar Amy Yoes Annette Lemieux Beverly Semmes Bonnie Marranca Bracha L. Ettinger Brian Conley Carolee Schneemann Cesare Pietrouisti Charles Hewitt Chuck Agro David Lang Dan Graham Daniel Bozhkov Dara Birnbaum David Batchelor David Driskell Ernesto Pujol Fred Wilson Gideon Bok Hal Foster Hamza Walker Harrell Fletcher Hartley Shearer |
J.Morgan Puett Jane Lackey Jason Lewis Jason Simon Jeanne Silverthorne Jessie Shefrin Joan Livingstone Joan Retallack John Schmor Jeanne Silverthorne Karyn Olivier Katarina Weslien Kathy Butterly Katy Kline Krzysztof Wodiczko Lawrence Rinder Linda Shearer Louwrein Wijers Lucy Lippard Marcia Tucker Mark Dion Mark Wethli Martha Buskirk Martha Rosler Mary Flanagan Mary Jane Jacob Mary Kelly Mel Chin |
Michelle Grabner Michiko Itatani Mike Bode Ming Cho Lee Mira Schor Miwon Kwon Nato Thompson Nina Katchadourian Peter Robinson Portia Munson Robert Storr Rona Pondick Rosamond Purcell Saul Ostrow Sean Foley Shirley Kaneda Staffan Schmidt Suzanne Bocanegra Suzanne Lacy Tom Burckhardt Tom Leeser Ulf Rollof Vito Acconci Wenda Gu Whitfield Lovell Will Rogan William Pope.L Yvonne Rainer |
Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work; An Explorative Guide to Making, Thinking, and Writing by Anne West
In partnership with MECA&D, Moth Press is proud to announce that this publication has garnered two prestigious awards:
- Author Anne West received the 2012 John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Designers Stephanie Grey and Daryl Smith received the 55th Annual New England Book Show Award (Best in Category, Digital Books)
In this timely book West describes a technique she calls "mapping through writing" that encourages visual artists to ask strategic questions, approach problems, and catalyze creative thinking. The book is structured as a series of exercises and prompts that define the mapping process and introduce methods for artists to develop, articulate, and disseminate ideas. Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work was edited by Moth Press Director Katarina Weslien. According to Weslien, "Anne West has cultivated a flexible, non-linear writing approach for the artist-writer. Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work introduces multiple skill sets to stimulate creative thinking, raising connections to the surface by creating visual maps of interconnecting links. It is a book supportive of the making process, an invaluable tool for anyone interested in articulating the layers of meaning embedded in the process of making."
For bulk orders over 20 units contact Moth Press at hhiggins@meca.edu for discounts.
A Conversation with Katarina Weslien & Anne West
Anne West is an educator, writer, and independent curator. She teaches in the Division of Graduate Studies at Rhode Island School of Design, where she supports students across disciplines in conceptualizing and writing their Master’s thesis. With research interests in phenomenology, poetics, mapping, and interpretive human studies, her work focuses on the nature of imagination, understanding, and being. West has a Ph.D. in Arts and Media Studies from the University of Toronto, Canada and is a Fellow of Syracuse University.
(Re) Making Performance
Conversations with Alison Knowles and Marina Abramovic
Is a collection of conversations regarding pedagogy and performance.
The Reinvention of the Truth of Gender
By Joan Retallack