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Last week, I had the privilege of attending the College Art Association‘s 101st Annual Conference in New York. This was my first trip to New York since I was about 6, and I don’t remember more then the statue of liberty and a homeless man. I was pretty embarrassingly touristy, making sure I saw central park, time square, etc.

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What is the College Art Association (CAA)? Founded in 1911, the CAA is the principle professional association in the United States for practitioners and scholars of art, art history, and art criticism.

Every year, they have a conference in a major U.S. City. It is considered by some to be the most important conference of its type for makers and interpreters of visual arts.

Highlights:

On Wednesday, I went to an opening reception at the Guggenheim.  I met up with one of my professors, David Jude Green, who introduced me to a few of his colleagues, professors, and curators.

On Thursday, I went to a Lecture on Art and Medicine that was really interesting. Patricia Olynyk presented a series of works. That was followed by Fae Brauer who presented a paper entitled “Transplantation, Transpeciation, and Pattricia Piccini’s Transgenic Art”. The lecture ended with a presentation by Koan Jeff Baysa, a doctor, writer, and curator.

The talks were very interesting. The art was creatively inspiring.  CAA was a great experience, and I’m looking forward to next year when it’s in Chicago! Perhaps I’ll have something to present then…