Vincent Grenier, Filmmaker, March 8
Micki Spiller, Sculptor, April 4

Contact: Thomas Moore
Director of Arts & Culture
410-455-3370
tmoore@umbc.edu

Note: You may view or download this release as a pdf file.

The UMBC Department of Visual Arts presents its Fall 2006 series of Visiting Artist Lectures, featuring Vincent Grenier and Micki Spiller.

Vincent Grenier
Filmmaker
March 8, 7 pm, Fine Arts Building Room 221
Vincent Grenier was born in Quebec City, Canada. He has made experimental films and videos since the early 1970s when he received an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute. Grenier’s films have been shown in the United States, Canada and Europe at showcases such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Anthology Film Archives, the Pacific Film Archives, the Collective for Living Cinema and Cinéma Parallel in Montréal. His films and videos have earned him production grants from the Canada Council and elsewhere.

His films and videos include: Tabula Rasa (2004), 2nd prize Media City Festival, Windsor, Canada, Views from the Avant Garde, New York Film Festival and Onion Film & Video Festival; Here (2002), Awarded Gold for best Experimental film, New York Film Expo; Color Study (2000), Rotterdam Film festival, London and Toronto Film Festivals, Lincoln Center, second prize at the Black Maria Film Festival; Material Incidents (2001), Rotterdam Film Festival & New York Video Festival; Feet (1994) 2nd prize at the 1995 Black Maria; Out in the Garden (1991), Best Documentary, 1992 Ann Arbor Film Festival, Best Experimental Documentary, 16th Atlanta Film/Video Festival, shown on WNET and London Film Festival; You (1990), Black Maria Festival; Time’s Wake (1987), prize winner, Black Maria Festival.

Seven of Grenier’s films & videos were curated in the Whitney Museum of American Art 1970-2000 American Century Film program. Films by Grenier are in the collections of the Donnell Media Library in NYC, the National Film Archive, Ottawa, the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, and AGO, Toronto. Grenier is on the faculty in the Cinema Department at Binghamton University and lives in Ithaca, New York.

Micki Spiller
Sculptor
April 4, 12 noon, Fine Arts Building Room 215
Micki Spiller is an artist whose work examines the curiosities of space. She will speak about a recent project, Lost and Found in the Stacks, exploring the imaginary spaces created in books. In this project, Spiller breaks down barriers between libraries and museums by creating works that can be checked out of the Brooklyn Public Library. From the outside, these works resemble books, however when opened they reveal an elaborate miniature architectural world inspired by particular books. For example, one project replicates period rooms from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as inspired by E.L. Konigsberg’s mystery From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Spiller has exhibited her work at such venues as the Islip Art Museum (East Islip, New York), Indiana University Gallery (Terre Haute, Indiana), Spaces (Cleveland, Ohio), Franklin Furnace Archives (New York City), and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Spiller has participated in artist residency programs at the Smack Mellon Studios (Brooklyn, New York), The Evergreen House (Baltimore, Maryland), Henry Street Settlement (New York City), the AIM program at the Bronx Museum of Art (Bronx, New York), Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts (Omaha, Nebraska), and at the World Views Studios in the World Trade Center (New York City). She has been the recipient of numerous grants such as the Pollock-Krasner Grant, Art Matters Grant, and New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant. Spiller received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, and her MFA from Ohio State University in sculpture. Currently, she serves on the faculty at Parsons School of Design and The Pratt Institute.

Admission
All events are free and open to the public.

Telephone
Public information: (24 hour recorded message): 410-455-ARTS
Media inquiries only: 410-455-3370

Web
UMBC Arts website: http://www.umbc.edu/arts
Online News Releases: http://www.umbc.edu/news

Directions
• From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to Visitor Parking.
• From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile to the entrance of UMBC at the roundabout intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road. Turn left and follow signs to Visitor Parking.
• From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to Visitor Parking.
• Visitor parking is available in the Administration Drive Garage and the Commons Garage. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on all University calendar days. Hilltop Circle and all campus roadways require a parking permit unless otherwise marked.
Online campus map: http://www.umbc.edu/aboutumbc/campusmap/

Images for Media
High resolution images for media are available online:
http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/
or by email or postal mail.