UK's 22nd Iron Pour Expands to Two Saturdays
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2015) — The heat will rise on campus again this month as the University of Kentucky School for Art and Visual Studies hosts its 22nd Iron Pour, however this time it will be doubly hot. In an effort to shorten wait time for members of the public who create scratch blocks to participate in the pour, the school will present two pours — a Community Iron Pour and a Halloween Iron Pour on Oct. 24 and 31 respectively.
UK's eight-day celebration of the metal arts will begin with the Community Iron Pour, which will run from 1 p.m. to dark Saturday, Oct. 24. at the metal arts studio at Reynolds Building Number 2. Throughout the following week, several other festivities scheduled in conjunction with the iron pours will be presented, including mold-making workshops and a lecture by visiting artist Kurt Dyrhaug of Lamar University. The festivities will culminate with the Halloween Iron Pour for UK students, alumni and profesional artists 5 p.m. to dark Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Metal Arts Studio.
Visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour of the UK Art Museum sculpture garden and student sculptures throughout campus.
Workshops with the visiting artist will begin Wednesday, Oct. 28. Bonded sand and ceramic shell mold-making workshops will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Oct. 28–30.
Throughout the week visiting artist Kurt Dyrhaug will not only present workshops, but also class talks, student work critiques and a free public lecture as part of his residency at UK.
Originally, from St. Paul, Minnesota, Kurt Dyrhaug is currently a professor of sculpture at Lamar University. A graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a bachelor's degree in printmaking and the University of Minnesota with a master's degree in sculpture, he currently teaches courses in sculpture, 3D design and graphic design.
A sculptor and graphic designer, Dyrhaug's work has been exhibited nationally, including the National Ornamental Metal Museum, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, the Galveston Art Center, the Art Museum of South Texas, the Dishman Art Museum, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and Blue Star Contemporary Art Center. Recent awards include First Place Purchase Award in the 42nd and 46th Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. Most recently, Dyrhaug's sculpture has been included in the permanent collections at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Del Mar College in Corpus Christi.
Currently, Dyrhaug's sculpture employs agricultural and nautical imagery taken from his experiences living in Minnesota and Southeast Texas. His work recalls the mechanical forms and functions of elements from industry, but present iconic images with new associations and meanings. He believes that reconstructing these familiar forms holds the potential for creating a number of applications and interpretations with the relationship of materials and scale.
The Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture with Dyrhaug will focus on his career. The free public lecture is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Metal Arts Building Research Room.
The iron pours will take center stage Oct. 24 and 31, in the open air metal arts studio located at Reynolds Building Number 2, also known as the Metal Arts Building on the UK campus. Individuals attending should enter these events from Scott Street.
Demonstrating the most dramatic part of the metal-casting process, historically UK's iron pours attract a national audience of artists, students and art enthusiasts alike, with past attendees coming from as far as New Mexico to take part in the event.
An iron pour is as exciting for for novices as it is professionals. At the Community Iron Pour on Oct. 24, art students from other disciplines and art enthusiasts from the community can purchase a scratch block and leave with their own pieces of art. The pour provides an opportunity for individuals to test their talents by etching an image in the resin tablets, having graphite applied and processed in the iron pour. Scratch blocks are $20 per 6”x6” block or $15 for students with a valid ID. Individuals planning to watch the Iron Pour should enter the site from Scott Street.
The following Saturday, many artists are expected to turn out for the Halloween Iron Pour on Oct. 31 to finish pieces of their work. It is $40 to produce a mold measuring up to 100 pounds in sand and 30 pounds in metal. Another $20 covers each additional 100 pounds of sand or 30 pounds of metal. Artists will begin their work at the pour at 10 a.m.
"We host this national caliber event to share the experience of an iron pour so audience members may take the practice and experience back and apply it for themselves in their schools or communities," said Garry Bibbs, associate professor of sculpture.
To find out more about any of the events presented in conjunction UK's 22nd Iron Pour, contact Garry Bibbs by phone at 859-257-3719 or e-mail to garry.bibb@uky.edu.
The UK School of Art and Visual Studies, at the UK College of Fine Arts, is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studio, art history and visual studies and art education.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu