Faculty Bulletin

Bruce Ferguson, the new Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS), comes to us with extensive curatorial experience in the art world. Last week Bruce curated an extraordinary event in Buffalo: a perilous tightrope walk by Didier Pasquette. (See the image below.)

Actually, Dean Ferguson was involved with more than the tightrope walk while in Buffalo. He reports as follows:

"I was the 'International Project Consultant' to 'Beyond/In Western New York 2010: Alternating Currents,' a recurring exhibition of contemporary art driven by a landmark curatorial collaboration among twelve art institutions in the Buffalo/Niagara region. This year's exhibition presents work by more than one hundred artists and explores the relevant theme Alternating Currents, with its implication of energy and power and the oscillations inherent in both. Other references to Didier Pasquette's 'walks' can be found on YouTune under Didier Pasquette and both Buffalo and Niagara Falls. The image [below] is the first walk between two replicas of the Statue of Liberty on top of the 23-story Liberty Building in downtown Buffalo, New York. The exhibition's dates vary somewhat due to the number of venues but generally are from September 24 to December 17, 2010. Works of art can be found in 27 locations in the city from the largest museum to the smallest art center as well as outdoor manifestations like the filigreed van by Kim Adams… It was my idea to bring Didier and provide a performative metaphor for the theme, and I wrote an introduction to the catalogue."