AUK Explores Art in Faculty Speaker Series

AUK hosted a new session of the Faculty Speaker Series entitled, Interdisciplinary Art Practice: An Artistic Journey of 15 Years, presented by assistant professor of art and graphic design, Dr. Clark Stoeckley, from the College of Arts and Sciences. Attendees included AUK president Dr. Rawda Awwad, faculty members, students, and members of the general public.

Professor Clark shared his experience in interdisciplinary art by displaying his body of work from the past 15 years including LOVE to VOTE murals; Average World Abstract global data visualization; courtroom illustrations from his graphic novel The United States vs. Private Chelsea Manning; an interactive social practice intervention, Chess Draw; Feral Felines, street cat photography; and his latest geometric painting series, Thoughts & Prayers. 

The inspiration behind Professor Clark’s projects were different life events that he went through since his senior year in college back in 2005. Some of the influences included war, election year, and romanticizing military propaganda. A common type of art that was witnessed in the projects was street mural designs using different art mediums.

The project, Feral Felines was the first photography project that Professor Clark worked on that included photographing street cats in different countries. He explained that the inspiration behind the project involved finding meaning and purpose in what is commonly considered mundane or in matters that are ignored; as he stated, “These cats are a metaphor to me, of resiliency, of migration, they are the survivors.” Additionally, Professor Clark touched on the adaptability of art, using his teaching techniques during the pandemic as an example where he started doing video timelapses of his drawings to teach his classes during distance learning. 
 
The talk concluded with a Q&A session with the attendees where Professor Clark was asked about the reason behind the diversification of his art and why he doesn’t choose one medium to work with, he responded, “I think to be truly creative you have to allow yourself to be free from everything that you made prior and be willing to reinvent yourself and remember that you only live once.”

The Faculty Speaker Series is a platform that enables faculty members to showcase their research and scholarly accomplishments. The event also allows AUK to make a difference in the community both in Kuwait and beyond by spreading knowledge and awareness about various topics while offering an opportunity to the general public to take part in the AUK experience.
 
 

Group photo of the lecture attendees