MEDIA CONTACT: Polly Burks
561-297-2595, pburks@fau.edu

New York Artist Ellen Harvey to Lecture at FAU

BOCA RATON, FL (October 7, 2005) - New York visual artist Ellen Harvey will present a lecture on her work on Thursday, October 20 at 7 p.m. The lecture will take place in the Performing Arts Building, Room 101 on the Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Harvey was born in the United Kingdom and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Her work comprises video installation and painting and generally focuses on the social implications of visual art in our society. Harvey has recently published the book "New York Beautification Project," which is an account of her efforts to paint old-fashioned landscapes on graffiti sites in New York City. These 40 small-scale, oil landscapes can be seen throughout the city on public spaces such as telephone booths, power boxes and bridge pillars. Harvey's work is also on exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. This is a site-specific installation using video and engraved mirrors to explore the architecture and history of the Academy.

Harvey is currently a visiting artist-in-residence at FAU working on the "Picturing Florida" project, a community-based project funded by a grant from the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. She is meeting with senior citizen groups at the Boynton Beach Senior Center and the Mid County Senior Center in Lake Worth to get insights on and perceptions of life in Florida. From these insights, Harvey will create work directly on the walls of the Schmidt Center Gallery. This exhibition will be open from February 10 through April 8, 2006.

The lecture, which is presented by the University Galleries in FAU's School of the Arts, is made possible by the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. For further information, call 561-297-2966 or visit www.fau.edu/galleries.

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