> SFU confers honorary degree on visual arts pioneer
SFU confers honorary degree on visual arts pioneer
Contact:
Carol Thorbes, 778.782.3210, cthorbes@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, 778.782.3210, cthorbes@sfu.ca
September 26, 2008
Known as the visual Marshal McLuhan of our times, Iain Baxter& is a thought-provoking contemporary conceptual artist who has helped re-shape Canada’s modern art scene during the last half century. Like McLuhan’s insightful analysis of electronic media, Baxter&’s witty and satirical art has spurred us to ruminate about how information technology is affecting our perception of the world.
On Thursday, October 9 at 9:45 a.m., Simon Fraser University will confer an Honorary Degree of Fine Arts on Baxter&. The photographer, painter, sculptor and installation artist is originally from Middlesbrough, England and, at the age of one, moved to Canada with his parents.
Baxter&’s pioneering work in conceptual art has garnered several international awards for portraying everyday objects in a way that challenges our understanding of society’s cultural, social, ecological and political condition.
Among the many international awards bestowed on Baxter& are the Canada Council’s Molson Prize in the Arts and the Governor General’s Award in the Visual and Media Arts. Baxter& is also an Officer of the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Ontario. He holds honorary degrees from the Universities of British Columbia and Windsor. Baxter& is a professor emeritus of Fine Arts in the School of Visual Arts at the University of Windsor.
The renowned visual artist founded SFU’s visual arts program and designed the university’s original logo — a “toothpaste” strip of SFU’s three letters in the 1960s. Baxter&’s design also inspired the university’s latest visual identity.
Baxter& has taught at SFU, the University of British Columbia, the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, the Alberta College of Art and York University.
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On Thursday, October 9 at 9:45 a.m., Simon Fraser University will confer an Honorary Degree of Fine Arts on Baxter&. The photographer, painter, sculptor and installation artist is originally from Middlesbrough, England and, at the age of one, moved to Canada with his parents.
Baxter&’s pioneering work in conceptual art has garnered several international awards for portraying everyday objects in a way that challenges our understanding of society’s cultural, social, ecological and political condition.
Among the many international awards bestowed on Baxter& are the Canada Council’s Molson Prize in the Arts and the Governor General’s Award in the Visual and Media Arts. Baxter& is also an Officer of the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Ontario. He holds honorary degrees from the Universities of British Columbia and Windsor. Baxter& is a professor emeritus of Fine Arts in the School of Visual Arts at the University of Windsor.
The renowned visual artist founded SFU’s visual arts program and designed the university’s original logo — a “toothpaste” strip of SFU’s three letters in the 1960s. Baxter&’s design also inspired the university’s latest visual identity.
Baxter& has taught at SFU, the University of British Columbia, the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, the Alberta College of Art and York University.
— 30— (electronic photo file available)