Title
Proclamation recognizing internationally renowned artist Elizabeth Catlett, who will be honored at Carnegie Mellon University with an exhibition of her work and the presentation of her long-awaited Doctor of Fine Arts degree.
Body
WHEREAS, an exhibition entitled, “Preserving a Legacy: The Art of Elizabeth Catlett” will be on view at Carnegie Mellon University from May 16-May 18, 2008 and will conclude with the presentation of Ms. Catlett's honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon; and
WHEREAS, with a career spanning seven decades, Ms. Catlett has been quoted as saying that the purpose of her art is to “present black people in their beauty and dignity for ourselves and others to understand and enjoy”; and
WHEREAS, well-known for her abstract bronze and marble sculptures, Ms. Catlett has also completed more than eighty prints in woodcut, screenprint, lithography, and lineoleum cut, a technique that she learned while attending a workshop and artists' collective in Mexico City in 1946; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Catlett graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from Howard University of Washington, D.C., went on to earn her Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Iowa, and also studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York City; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Catlett has devoted much of her time to sharing her expertise, through her work at the George Washington Carver School in Harlem, an alternative community school for working adults and as the department head and professor of sculpture at the National School of Fine Arts, Mexico; and
WHEREAS, despite her 1975 retirement, Ms. Catlett, now a citizen of Cuernavaca, Mexico, remains active in the art community;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, Allegheny County Council is honored to welcome artist Elizabeth Catlett to Pittsburgh. Your commitment to using your art to promote social change is truly an inspiration to the Members of this Council and all the res...
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