The Art Department’s Contemporary Art class recently took a field-trip to the Kenny Scharf Studio in Los Angeles.

The field trip was for the Contemporary Art: 1970s to the Present course.

“Since the students really responded to our lecture on graffiti art it was important for me to give them the experience of talking to an iconic figure from that era,” said Art Professor Elizabeth Dastin. “Additionally, since the scope of the class is contemporary, I wanted them to meet a critically-regarded and economically successful artist (Kenny Scharf).”

When meeting with the artist, conversation with the students and him ranged from art historical questions of his references to how Duchampian strategy plays out in his work and to more practical concerns of the gallery/artist relationship. Scharf also discussed how the graffiti aesthetic changes or is muted when its context moves from the street to the elitist walls of the museum.