Let's Get Real

What's the correct definition of "artifice"? The word can mean something skillfully made, or it can mean something false or insincere. All of art is artifice — it's a clever trick, a representation of something real. But then the question arises, what is real? The words are nesting dolls, always leading to more questions — and maybe this is the point of all art, and of all artifice: If you keep asking the questions, you'll keep making art. Artist Mary Sprague has been practicing the art of artifice for a lifetime. She shares her experience grappling with reality — whatever that is — in a discussion entitled "Drawing on Reality: An Artist's Illustrated Talk" at 12:15 p.m. in the JC Penney Conference Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; 314-516-5699). The talk is free, and light refreshments will be served afterward.
Mon., Feb. 2, 2009