Judy Linn, Photographer of Arts Icons, to Open May Lecture Series

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Art Museum will bring celebrated photographer Judy Linn to campus for a talk about her popular portraits of her artistic circle of friends and other images she has created throughout her career. Her lecture will begin 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in the Kincaid Auditorium in the Gatton College of Business and Economics Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Judy Linn is probably best known for the photographs she made between 1969 and 1976 of the soon-to-be-famous Patti Smith and her noted friends, including artist Robert Mapplethorpe and actor and playwright Sam Shepard. Long before Smith became known for her music and Mapplethorpe became infamous for the homoerotic photography that set off a national debate on morals and arts funding — Linn recorded their bohemian existence in New York City. Smith loved to model and collaborate in image making. Linn photographed her, her lovers and their mutual friends in the largely underground arts community. 

Since then, Linn has built a body of work rooted in wry observation and subtle juxtapositions. Major institutions, including The Getty Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the International Center of Photography, have collected her work.

The May Lecture Series explores photography's roots in the 19th century and its reinvention in the digital world. The lecture series is made possible through the Robert C. May Photography Endowment, a museum fund established in 1994 for the support of acquisitions and programs relating to photography. Other speakers coming to town as part of the 2016-17 series include Nicholas Nixon, Nov. 11; Andrea Modica, Feb. 10; and Graciela Iturbide, April 14.

The mission of the UK Art Museum, part of the UK College of Fine Arts, is to promote the understanding and appreciation of art to enhance the quality of life for people of Kentucky through collecting, exhibiting, preserving and interpreting outstanding works of visual art from all cultures. Home to a collection of more than 4,800 objects including American and European paintings, drawings, photographs, prints and sculpture, the museum presents both special exhibitions and shows of work from its permanent collection. 

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu