Symposia looks at how art reflects external factors

ANGOLA (09/28/2017) Sarah Zimmer, art lecturer at Trine University, will speak on Part Gothic Revival-100% American, inspired by Grant Wood's famous painting American Gothic, on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

The event will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Wells Theater inside Taylor Hall on the Trine campus and is part of the university's Fall 2017 Humanities Symposia. It is free and open to the public.

Zimmer's presentation enters a gothic vernacular home built c. 1870 in a small Midwestern town.

"I promise that I won't ask the viewers to make anything, but I will ask them to go on a journey and listen to how I make art and what inspired this project," said Zimmer.

Part Gothic Revival - 100% American, aims at taking the viewer along on excavations and discoveries. It does not attempt to paint a portrait, but invites the viewer to construct the larger portrait of the Midwestern home and inhabitants.

"The project surveys layers of the physical house, revealing decoration trends of different eras and style choices of past occupants. Artifacts and items found within the house and on the grounds also play a role at constructing perceptions of the people who lived there, their interests, their means and their everyday activities," said Zimmer.

Zimmer added, "Attendees can expect to hear about an array of themes central to the project, including architecture, archeology, stories, and identity."

Join the conversation, #TrineU.

Trine University, an internationally recognized, private, co-educational, residential institution, offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in the Allen School of Engineering & Technology, Ketner School of Business, College of Graduate and Professional Studies, Franks School of Education, Jannen School of Arts & Sciences and Rinker-Ross School of Health Sciences. Trine is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and offers 23 varsity sports. Its golf program includes the university-owned 18-hole championship Zollner Golf Course. Founded in 1884 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org), Trine operates a 450-acre main campus in Angola, Indiana, and education resource centers throughout Indiana and Michigan.

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