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Traces of Being: The Timeless Language of Mark Making

ARTalk with Susan Goetz Zwirn, EdD

Speaker Susan Goetz Zwirn, painter and professor of art, will trace the evolution of mark making, the heartbeat of visual expression, across time and culture

From early cave painters to the sinuous lines and idealized forms of the Italian Renaissance, to the calligraphic energy and spiritual resonance of Asian art traditions, Susan will lead us to consider how the human impulse to leave a trace continues to evolve and why it matters.

Inspired by this exhibition, speaker Susan Goetz Zwirn will trace the evolution of mark making, the heartbeat of visual expression, across time and culture.

Our journey moves from the skilled imagery of early cave painters working deep beneath the earth’s surface, to the sinuous lines and idealized forms of the Italian Renaissance, to the calligraphic energy and spiritual resonance of Asian art traditions and more.

In an era of mechanized and digital image making and cultural shifts, what new meaning does the handmade mark carry? How do lines, dots, and brushstrokes direct our perception within this hand/brain connection? We will consider how the human impulse to leave a trace continues to evolve and why it matters.

Refreshments and gallery viewing at 6 p.m.
Program begins at 6:30 p.m.

Susan Goetz Zwirn is an artist and educator whose painting explores the shifting essence of landscape; how it is both seen and felt.

Moving from recognizable vistas of land and water to abstracted impressions of space, her work is shaped by seasonal change as well as inner emotional reactions.

Her work has been widely exhibited and is included in private and public collections in the United States and abroad. She has received numerous awards and enthusiastic reviews. Her writing has appeared in more than fifteen journals, and she has given more than fifty presentations to artists, educators, administrators, and the general public, nationally and internationally.

After more than two decades as a professor, Susan is now fully dedicated to creating art and engaging others in the creative process.

“Art is essential, vital to our lives as individuals and to the culture we create together.”

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