Newswise — The Department of Visual Arts at North Dakota State University, Fargo, has announced that James Sham, Houston, Texas, has been named the 2011 James Rosenquist Artist in Residence at NDSU. Mr. Sham will work spring semester 2011 in the studio dedicated for the program at NDSU’s Visual Arts Department, interacting with students, holding public lectures, and opening his studio to visitors.
The focus of Mr. Sham’s work is to create interactions within the public sphere. He is interested in producing and/or setting the stage for specific interpersonal actions, which often lead into mistranslations and unanticipated meanings. This relationship is captured as video, performance, installation, photography, or sculpture. At NDSU, Mr. Sham will teach a seminar course and his residency will culminate with an exhibition and donation of a piece of artwork to the James Rosenquist Artist Residency Collection. Additional information about Mr. Sham can be found online at www.jamessham.com.
Mr. Sham holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has taught at Rice University, Houston, Texas, and is a visiting critic at the University of Houston. His work has been exhibited at the Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia, Penn.; Kim Foster Gallery, New York, N.Y.; Kunstprojects, Berlin, Germany; Appetite Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, Wash., among others. In addition to the James Rosenquist Residency award, Mr. Sham has been awarded graduate fellowship awards, the Wolfenden Fine Arts Award, Dartmouth College; and a Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship, Virginia Commonwealth University.
The James Rosenquist Artist in Residency Program for Visual Arts at NDSU honors James Rosenquist. Born in Grand Forks, N.D., Rosenquist is considered one of the greatest living artists of the Pop Art movement of North America. His work and career are internationally known. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from NDSU in May 2005.
NDSU introduced the James Rosenquist Artist in Residency Program in 2006 with its inaugural artist, Hedi Schwobel, of Ludwigsburg, Germany. One of her artistic installations included sculpted salt blocks placed in pastures with cattle near Casselton and Leonard, N.D. The second artist in residence, sculptor Jonathan Pellitteri, used his experience as a mason and carpenter to create artwork that included various mediums and processes representing his observations of the world around him. The 2009 artist in residence, Min Kim Park, explored issues revolving around gender, ethnicity and identity using multimedia performances. Last year’s artist, Michael Namkung, used video to capture kinesthetic drawing experiments that use the physicality of one’s body as the medium.
Artists participating in the residency program often integrate NDSU students and community members into the artistic process while in Fargo.
“The thriving Rosenquist Artist in Residency Program has brought international artists to campus over the past three years, providing additional learning options for NDSU students, as well as high school students, alongside activities with the regional arts community,” said Philip Boudjouk, vice president for research, creative activities and technology transfer, which funds the program.
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