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3lecJennySchneider

Jenny Schneider
CPS M, W 8:00
3/15/07


Artist Lecture



I attended the lecture given to the art department by Bill Hill, whom documented the construction of the Calder piece in Grand Rapids. He gave an interesting presentation with great photographs and insight, and he also had a fun sense of humor. I enjoyed listening to him talk, and being able to put myself in the year 1969, when the buzz about Calder in Grand Rapids was happening. Myself, not knowing much about the Calder sculpture, found it beneficial listening to someone who did.
I found his task of documenting this event to be very inspiring, as he did everything out of his own will. No one had told him to do it, nor did he expect to gain any benefit for himself by it. He was merely an interested and curious citizen, who took it upon himself to get involved. This is inspiring to me because, it makes me see how art can affect people’s lives in a positive way, and also that no matter who you are, you can get involved in the world of art. Even though Bill did have an art background, someone without an art background could have done this very easily as well. I thought it was neat that he attended Kendall College for a while, and funny that he left there after six months because he couldn’t stand it. I think everyone in an art program can identify with that feeling. I also respect very much his position as a graphic designer, before computers were even widely available. Doing extensive work by hand in that field must have been extremely time intensive, he must have been very skilled doing what he did. I bet many graphic designers today would not be able to do what he was doing back then.
His photographs were absolutely beautiful; the clarity on them was amazing despite being older photos. I loved seeing the photographs of Calder downtown by the sculpture, and the various shots of the dedication ceremony. It was almost as if you were there in some ways. He had taken intimate photos of many of the people involved and that was very inspiring to see. He mentioned how he had met Calder, which I thought was so cool, and I would have loved to hear more about his encounter with him. I thought his idea of taking one of the bolts used in the construction and then having Calder sign it at the dedication was brilliant. It is the perfect piece of documentation for his experience; it was even painted in the same red used on the monumental sculpture, which I really thought was neat. Bill expressed his guilt for having given the bolt to the museum in Grand Rapids, and I can definitely see where he is coming from. I would never want to give something like that away!
I’m very glad I got to attend this lecture; Bill was a very funny man, with many interesting stories. I loved how he constantly said “by the way” during his presentation. He definitely wasn’t lacking in personality and it was fun to listen to someone like that. The biggest thing I took from his presentation is to get involved in what is going on around you, because you never know where it might take you. I’m sure he didn’t think he would be talking to a bunch of art students about Calder so many years later, but there he was. That is very inspiring, because it proves that getting yourself involved is one of the biggest things you can do, not only in the art field, but in the larger sense as well.

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