Lecture and Exhibit by Artist-in-Residence Gary Leib Planned for Feb. 3
Animator and cartoonist Gary Leib has been named as the 2011 Artist-in-Residence at Fairmont State University. Leib will present a public lecture at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, in Multi-Media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library. An opening reception for the artist’s exhibit in Brooks Gallery of Wallman Hall is planned for 7-9 p.m. that evening, and Leib will also speak about his work at that event.
Admission to both Feb. 3 events is free and open to the public. Leib’s exhibition will be on display through Feb. 28. The Brooks Gallery is open regularly on Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For special arrangements at other times, contact Curator Marian J. Hollinger at (304) 367-4300 or Marian.Hollinger@fairmontstate.edu.
Leib will work in collaboration with Jeff Greenham, Assistant Professor of Art while he is on campus today, Jan. 24, through Friday, Feb. 4.
Gary Leib has won wide praise for his work as an animator and cartoonist, including a 1994 Harvey nomination for his comic book “Idiotland,” a two-man anthology co-created by Leib and Doug Allen, which ran for seven issues from 1993-1994. The two collaborated on a number of stories in the fund-raising anthology comic “Legal Action Comics,” volume 1, published in 2001.
Leib’s illustrations and cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker, Musician Magazine, The New York Observer, Raw, Blab and as weekly features in The New York Press for many years. Leib, together with Allen, was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated band Rubber Rodeo, which recorded two albums for Mercury Records. He has also created original music for independent and feature films, including the critically acclaimed “Ironweed.” Leib also designed a popular line of promotional toys for The Hershey Company.
Leib created his animation studio Twinkle in 1993. It has produced animation and titles for film, TV series, music videos and web sites. Since 2008, he has created a series of short animations, accompanied by jazz selections, about New York City, which are hosted on the New York Times web site.
He is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and has taught in the graduate computer animation program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
The Artist-in-Residence Program at FSU is designed to enhance the academic and curricular arts programs of Fairmont State University, provide the opportunity for faculty development and growth and provide a valuable intellectual and cultural resource for the community. The program is made possible by an annual stipend from the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc.
Successful residency programs have been provided in recent years by British musician Emma Peake; stage director Jeffrey Ingman; poet Maggie Anderson; sculptor Wayne Trapp; the late local jazz legend, Johnnie Johnson; British actor Roger Jerome; freelance artist Patricia Musick; opera singers Mary Anne Talese and Stephen Lusmann; portrait artist Elizabeth McLain; writers Jaimy Gordon and Meredith Sue Willis; pianist Nada Loutfi; landscape painter Ann Templeton; singer-songwriter Larry Groce; professional dulcimer player Stephen Seifert; and Russian-American soprano Dina Kuznetsova. Residencies have included mentoring of FSU students, well-received performances and exhibitions for the college and community and workshops for public school students and teachers.
Jeff GreenhamArtArtist-in-ResidenceGary LeibSchool of Fine ArtsMarian Hollinger
