In 1988, Kurt von Meier was one of the beneficiaries of a grant provided by The Getty Center for Education in the Arts, which specifically enabled him to invite a series of guest lecturers to his Aesthetics & Criticism class at Sacramento State University. The lectures were video-taped, later transcribed, and copies of those transcriptions were found in Kurt's archives. Drawing upon his academic and cultural relationships, Kurt assembled a remarkable group of speakers, and these transcripts document the thoughts of talented academics and artists, some of whom have since died. The transcripts can be accessed from the links below.
Dr. Raphael Monteñez (Ralph) Ortiz - Artist and Professor
In this powerful lecture, Ralph Ortiz discusses art that enchants and art that dis-enchants, artistic creativity, the cultural framework of what's called "art" and nature of experiencing art.
Dr. Daniel Herwitz - Professor of Aesthetics and Philosophy
In his presentation, Daniel Herwitz reviews the history of aesthetics as a discipline which arose in the 18th century, how those roots continue to affect our present view and appreciation of art, and the difficulty twentieth century art presents in aesthetic analysis.
Dr. Keith Gunderson - Professor of Aesthetics
Keith Gunderson tackles the difficult problem of defining what is and what is not art by recounting the struggles attempting to do that have engendered.
James Hanlon - Artist
Commercial artist James Hanlon discusses artistic creativity, satisfying oneself as an artist while satisfying a client, and the practical nature of the creative process.
Morrie Turner - Cartoonist
As a black cartoonist, Morrie Turner confronted some unique challenges, and met them with humor and creativity. In his presentation, he discusses this through the examples of the multi-cultural cartoon characters he created for his syndicated comic strip "Wee Pals."