SC State Visual Arts Program to launch Art in Focus Colloquium Series on Tuesday

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina University’s Visual Arts Program will launch its Art in Focus Colloquium Series on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Barbara Vaughn Recital Hall in SC State’s Fine Arts Building. The public is invited.

The Art in Focus Colloquium Series is centered on discussing the roles of the fine arts and artists in society. The inaugural program, “Memory, Perception, & Meaning; Art in Our Everyday Lives,” will be presented by Dr. Frank C. Martin, visiting professor in the history and theory of art.

In recognition of Black History Month, Tuesday’s discussion will concentrate on works by African American artists, including SC State alumna Zaire McPhearson, a visual artist and educator. During Tuesday’s program, she will be available to respond to the discussion of her works via Zoom.

McPhearson, a Charlotte, North Carolina, native, completed her undergraduate degree in studio arts with a specialization in photography in 2018. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts from Duke University. Since finishing the MFA, her work has extended into conceptual artworks, installation, and sculpture.

Martin is a graduate of Yale University and holds the Master of Arts degree in the history of art from the City University of New York, Hunter College. He further studied in contemporary art and art theory at the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy specializing in axiology and the history of aesthetics from the University of South Carolina, Columbia.

Before joining SC State, Martin worked in the Office of Education Services for the Uris Education Center of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Martin served as an academic advisor for the PBS documentary films “Shared History,” directed by Felicia Furman, and “Arriving: The Art of Leo Twiggs” directed by filmmaker Xiao Yu. He has worked as a contributing critic in the fine arts for Charleston’s The Post and Courier. Martin is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art) based in Paris.

The Visual Arts Program is a unit of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts in SC State’s College of Education, Humanities, & Social Sciences.

For additional information please contact Professor Kim LeDee at kledee@scsu.edu or 803-536-7101.