LECTURE: Creativity and Tradition in Iconography: A Balancing Act with Iconographer Maureen McCormick

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Sunday, August 18, 1:00-2:30pm
Members $6, Nonmembers $12

Maureen McCormick is a latter day iconographer, affiliate instructor of the Prosopon School of Iconology and Iconography, and iconographer in residence at Trinity Church, Princeton (NJ). She attended her first iconography workshop with Vladislav Andrejev, founder of the School in 1996 and was immediately drawn to the medium and to the mystical theology that informs this centuries-old sacred art of the Christian East. This illustrated lecture will explore the tension between tradition and creativity in the process of designing and executing icons in the 21st century. Using recently completed icons – including one inspired by an icon in the Museum’s collection –  Maureen will discuss the myriad decisions, artistic and theological, that the iconographer must make, all the while remaining within the canon of a centuries-old sacred art.

Maureen holds an MFA in printmaking from the Tyler School of Art of Temple University. She moved to the Princeton area in 1986 to join the staff of the Princeton University Art Museum. In early 2013, after years of juggling a satisfying but demanding career with her study of the icon, Maureen stepped down from her position as Chief Registrar and Manager of Collections Services to devote herself more fully to iconography.