FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Date: November 17 , 2020
From: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Contact: Ken Hannon @ 727.298.DFAC, x230

Hanging out, drinking delicious coffee, talking about art… ahhhh, that’s the life! Well, that WAS the life at least for an hour or so each month at the Dunedin Fine Art Center’s Coffee and Conversation series, sponsored by DFAC’s Sterling Society.

Times change and so do our pleasures. So many of them have become virtual. That doesn’t need to lessen the joy in connecting with artists you may know or have always wanted to meet! You can still enjoy the insights as each month’s invited guest holds forth on their own area of expertise, as the recent virtual Coffee & Conversations have proved… You’ll just have to pour your own coffee!

Tuesday, December 8th, 2020 at 12 noon, the series turns to DFAC’s current Vespertine exhibition for additional inspiration. Visual artist, designer, and USF professor McArthur Freeman, II is the result. In his presentation, “Sculpting with Digital Tools: From Tablets to Virtual Reality,” McArthur will discuss his journey with digital sculpting and digital fabrication to create sculptural works. In contrast to many forms of generating 3D objects, digital sculpting is a form of high-resolution modeling that is similar to working with digital clay in that it can be pushed, pulled, carved, and shaped intuitively. Using a range of approaches including Virtual Reality (or VR) sculpting, pressure sensitive graphics tablets, and grayscale image-based modeling, he will discuss how he uses these tools for 3D printing, CNC routing, and digital mold-making. The resulting objects that he will present are created in XPS foam, resin, bronze, wood, and ceramics. During the presentation, he will discuss tools, techniques, and reflections on the process.

McArthur Freeman, II is a visual artist and designer whose work explores hybridity and the construction of identity. His works have ranged from surreal narrative paintings and drawings to digitally constructed sculptural objects and animated 3D scenes. His most recent works combine three interrelated emerging technologies: digital sculpting, 3D scanning, and 3D printing. Freeman’s work has been published in Nka Journal of Contemporary African Art and has been exhibited nationally in both group and solo shows. He has presented talks at SIGGRAPH Asia and more recently at The National Council on Education for Ceramic Arts (NCECA). Freeman is the recipient of the prestigious McKnight Junior Faculty Fellowship. Freeman earned his BFA degree in Drawing and Painting from the University of Florida. He received his MFA from Cornell University, with a concentration in Painting. He also holds a Master of Art and Design from North Carolina State University in Animation and New Media. Freeman is currently an Associate Professor of Video, Animation, and Digital Arts at the University of South Florida where he continues to use digital tools to address traditional processes as he explores hybrid ways of making and thinking about art.

So drop in for this VIRTUAL Coffee & Conversation presentation. Registration IS REQUIRED. Login details will be provided for all those who register at www.dfac.org