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5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY CAST IRON ART |
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| April 5th - 9th 2006 at The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, Shropshire, England. |
'IRON BRIDGING ART + TECHNOLOGY: Past, Present +
Future'
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5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY CAST IRON ART |
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| April 5th - 9th 2006 at The Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, Shropshire, England. |
'IRON BRIDGING ART + TECHNOLOGY: Past, Present +
Future'
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Why Ironbridge |
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The 5th International
Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art at the Ironbridge Gorge World
Heritage Site, England in April of
2006, comes full circle as the art of casting iron returns to the
birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. It seems entirely fitting that
in a Post Modern age, we celebrate this material for its aesthetic
possibilities. What Darby, Wilkinson and others
achieved in the Severn Valley in the late 18th Century
returns as practiced by artists in an information age. The first two
conferences were held at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in
Birmingham, Alabama, USA in 1988 and 1992; the third and fourth
conferences took place at Johnson Atelier and Grounds for Sculpture,
Mercerville, NJ, USA, in 1998 and 2002. The sites of the conferences
have influenced their themes from the history and practice of the craft
to the aesthetic possibilities and the creative practice of contemporary
artists. Ironbridge will be a special experience for all participants
and add to the unique quality of all of the conferences.
Ironbridge, England is the site of the famous Iron Bridge [The first large scale structural use of cast iron, though one could think of it as a large scale sculptural installation!] and many nearby museums and industrial archeological sites devoted to the history of iron making. As a World Heritage Site it offers a wealth of information about the Earth’s most plentiful metal and thus is the perfect place to convene a fifth conference, making the Cast Iron Conference truly international. The idea of the Cast Iron Conference is to share information about the use of cast iron as an art material and to network with other artists. Each conference has had its own unique character with exhibitions, demonstrations, and performances. We hope that you will gather with us in Ironbridge, April 5-9, 2006 to experience this unique place, celebrate the making of iron, and share your ideas and craft with artists from around the world. Thomas D. Gipe, Professor Emeritus, Department of Art and Design, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Wayne E. Potratz, Professor, Department of Art, University of Minnesota  |
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