Celebrated Artist John Ahearn Gives Guest Lecture at RIT, Jan. 13

Back in 1979, it was the talk of New York City—a mural across the storefront of Fashion Moda called “The South Bronx Hall of Fame.”

Artist John Ahearn gave Social Realism a new credibility by making painted plaster casts of real people in the South Bronx—energizing the debate about public art turning into something both life-sized and authentic. During that project, Ahearn met artist Rigoberto Torres, and through the years they collaborated on many community-based murals, most recently installed in Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Brazil.

Ahearn will discuss his artwork at an open forum at noon on Jan. 13 in the James E. Booth Building, Room 172, at Rochester Institute of Technology. The talk is free and open to the public.

Born in Binghamton in 1951, Ahearn attended Cornell University, was a founding member of Collaborative Projects Inc., and co-organizer of the Times Square Show, 1980. The artist is represented by Alexander and Bonin Gallery in New York City, and his work is included in more than 25 permanent museum collections in North America, Europe and Australia.

For more information about the talk, contact Alan Singer, RIT associate professor of art, at (585) 475-2649 or by e-mail at adsfaa@rit.edu.