NEWS RELEASE March 30, 2012 FRED JONES JR. MUSEUM OF ART UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA - NORMAN CONTACT MICHAEL BENDURE, Director of Communication, 405-325-3178,
[email protected] FAX: 405-325-7696 www.ou.edu/fjjma FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WITH PHOTO OU Art Museum Video Chat Series Features James Rosenquist April 4 NORMAN – University of Oklahoma students and the public are invited to interact with American artist James Rosenquist via live video chat at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The second of its kind in the new series, 30 Minutes With, the chat begins with a 30-minute talk by OU art professor Susan Caldwell at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 4 at the museum, followed by the live chat with Rosenquist. “Through this new series, visitors are given a unique opportunity to talk directly with major current artists,” said Ghislain d’Humières, director of the art museum. “We hope visitors will take this rare opportunity and learn about James Rosenquist, both from Susan Caldwell and from the artist himself.” Rosenquist was born in North Dakota in 1933 but grew up in Minnesota. While studying at the University of Minnesota, he spent his summers painting signs and billboards. These experiences heavily influenced his pop style as an artist. In 1955, Rosenquist moved to New York, where he studied at the Art Students League and continued work as a billboard painter. Living in the fast-paced, media-filled environment of New York City, he once said he was “amazed and excited and fascinated about the way things are thrust at us.” Alongside Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Rosenquist has become a central figure of pop art in New York.