ASU hosts the American Foundry Society’s Art Casting Conference and festivities

Who
The ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

What
The unique role of casting in contemporary sculpture is explored in a range of experimental work Nov. 9–14 in conjunction with the American Foundry Society’s (AFS) Art Casting Conference, which is being hosted in part by the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. The conference brings together metal casters and artists for the first time since 1990. Read the AFS press release: http://art.asu.edu/images/2009_artcasting_conference_pr.pdf 

Kicking off the Art Casting Conference activities, the public is invited to attend the official Solid Solutions exhibition opening at the ASU Herberger Institute School of Art Step Gallery on Monday, Nov. 9, 7–9 p.m.

The public can learn about both the traditional contemporary and nature of art metals, and about how choices of casting media relate to the content of artwork during the Solid Solutions exhibition, Nov. 9–20.

The exhibition features art castings made by ASU Foundry students. Program participants have researched the re-creation of historical and contemporary metal alloys, from ancient Bronze Age copper-tin mixtures all the way to contemporary silicon bronzes. Solid Solutions showcases students’ results of metallurgical investigations, featuring sculptural work in combinations of bronze, brass, iron and aluminum.

Attendees also can mix with members of the American casting industry during a special reception at the ASU Herberger Institute School of Art Step Gallery on Friday, Nov. 13, from 6:30–9 p.m.

In concurrence with the week’s events, the public also is invited to an ASU/Scottsdale Community College (SCC) Cupola Iron Pour, all day on Saturday, Nov. 14 in the back lot of the SCC art building. Observers will witness scrap iron transformed into a stream of molten metal in the white-hot blast of a small working iron furnace.

Where
ASU Herberger Institute School of Art, Step Gallery, Tempe Center Ste. 174, Tempe. The gallery is on the northeast corner of 10th Street and University Drive (located just north of the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center).

Scottsdale Community College, 9000 E. Chaparral Rd., Scottsdale, AZ. For a campus map to locate the art building, visit:http://www.scottsdalecc.edu/maps/scc_campus_map.html 

When
Solid Solutions exhibition opening, Nov. 9; 7–9 p.m.
The Solid Solutions exhibition, Nov. 9–20
Special casting industry reception, Nov. 13; 6:30–9 p.m.
Cupola Iron Pour, Nov. 14 

Cost
The Solid Solutions exhibition, receptions and Cupola Iron Pour are free and open to the public. To register for the Art Casting Conference, please visit: http://www.afsinc.org/content/view/816

Public Contact
Mary Neubauer
Sculpture professor
ASU Herberger Institute 
School of Art
480.251.7439
mary.neubauer@asu.edu

The School of Art is a division of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Its printmaking, photography and art education programs are nationally ranked in the top 10, and its Master of Fine Arts program is ranked eighth among public institutions by U.S.News & World Report. The school includes four student galleries for solo and group shows by graduate and undergraduate art and photography students: Gallery 100, Harry Wood, Northlight and Step. To learn more about the School of Art, visit art.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Mary Neubauer
Sculpture professor
ASU Herberger Institute 
School of Art
480.251.7439
mary.neubauer@asu.edu